Your palms sweat. You pace nervously. You check your
e-mail obsessively. Do that for six months or so, and you have an idea
of what it’s like to be an author.
Seven hundred or so
authors – minus those few who’ve already heard back – are anxiously
awaiting news of whether they made the cut for the next round of
Harlequin’s So You Think You Can Write contest.
The announcement period
was October 12th through the 18th, but Harlequin
posted early on that no one would be contacted those first two days,
because it was a weekend. Even editors need a day off now and then! It
was thought that most of the winners would get word on Monday – after
all, the top 25 would be tallied by popular vote, and how long could it
take to do that?
Ask the people in Florida that question.
As for me, while I’m as anxious as anyone, I’ve been in the game of
trying to get published for thirty long years. I’ve learned possibly the
most important personal skill a writer can have: patience.
When you're trying to get traditionally published, you quickly – or
should I say, slowly – learn that old Army adage: “Hurry up and wait”.
Even agented or requested manuscripts take weeks or months to be
returned, as overworked and undermanned editorial offices go through
stacks of them, trying to sort out the ones with possibilities. If you
came in through the slush pile, as I did when I wasn’t giving up in
complete discouragement, it takes even longer. A response time of
several weeks is common; months can go by.
Then you get The Call, and everything’s a rush! Wait, no it’s not. From the moment I got word that Storm Chaser would be published until the official publication day was over a year.
(Self publishers have a fast track in many of those areas, but even
then there it seems to take forever to get the manuscript perfect and
formatted. Print runs often have their own delays.)
Over the years I’ve learned many things about myself and the publishing
industry. One of those is that I would despair of ever getting
published, and give up completely – every winter. That realization led
to my diagnosis of Seasonal Affected Disorder, and since beginning
treatment for that I’ve stayed on the writing bandwagon year-round.
But the most important thing I learned – the most important thing any
writer can learn, when it comes to contests, submissions, and the
editorial process – is patience.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go jog around the house ten or twelve times, then check my e-mail.
http://www.soyouthinkyoucanwrite.com/manuscripts/coming-attractions/
The Life of a Novice Writer: Sir Poops and Hair Ball Host The Secondhand Shoes ...
The Life of a Novice Writer: Sir Poops and Hair Ball Host The Secondhand Shoes ...: Today, we’re doing another cover reveal for Mummy’s book, Secondhand Shoes. Mummsy says we’re giving away three books from the Twilight ...
voting time almost up
Popping back in yet again, coming home from a doctor’s
appointment and headed for a few hour’s sleep again. Less than six hours left
to vote in the So You Think You Can Write contest! Thanks, everyone, for your
support.
Or a kitten ... just vote
Way less than a day left in the
2012 So You Think You Can Write contest, and since I’m off to sleep now I’m
dependent on the rest of you to spread the word. So, if I get the top prize
this year, everyone who can prove they voted for me will get a puppy!*
But seriously, there are a lot of
great entries this year. So, if your conscience tells you to cast your daily
vote for someone more deserving … ruthlessly beat it into submission.
Fire Prevention: A Light Look at a Serious Subject
Before I get on to my weekly column, don’t forget that we
have less than 24 hours of voting left to go in the So You Think You Can Write
contest:
It’s getting tense!
###
This article first
appeared in the Albion New Era during 2009’s Fire Prevention Week.
SLIGHTLY OFF THE MARK
Fire Prevention Week is here, a time in which we try to – wait for it – prevent fires. Of course, Fire Prevention Week should go on year round, but if it did we’d have to change the name. So, to give you something you can take with you all year, here’s a quick quiz to see if you know … oh, just relax, nobody’s grading you.
Fire Prevention Week is here, a time in which we try to – wait for it – prevent fires. Of course, Fire Prevention Week should go on year round, but if it did we’d have to change the name. So, to give you something you can take with you all year, here’s a quick quiz to see if you know … oh, just relax, nobody’s grading you.
1. Fire Prevention Week was begun after a huge fire burned:
a. The City of Chicago.
b. The entire town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin.
c. A huge swath of Wisconsin and an even larger area of Michigan, all the way from one Great Lake to another.
d. Donald Trump’s hair.
The answer: All of the above. The most devastating forest fires in American history roared through Northeast Wisconsin and lower Michigan on October 8, 1871, leveling at least 16 communities, killing 1,152 people, and blackening 1.2 million acres of land – those are the conservative estimates. The disaster didn’t make much impact on the national news because of that little dust-up going on in Chicago at the same time. I was just kidding about Donald Trump.
2. President Woodrow Wilson issued the first National Fire Prevention Day proclamation in:
a. 1492.
b. 1920.
c. 1980
d. OMG! Nobody told me I’d have to memorize dates!
The answer: d. Meanwhile, since the early 20’s Fire Prevention Week has come during the same week as the anniversary of the Chicago and Peshtigo fires.
3. On the spot where the Great Chicago Fire began now stands:
a. The Chicago Fire Department Fire Academy
b. A shrine to Oprah.
c. Barack Obama’s birth certificate.
d. The burial spot of Donald Trump’s hair.
The answer: a. Can you sense the irony?
4. Okay, here’s an easy true of false question:
The Great Chicago Fire first burned down the O’Leary home.
The answer: False. Although the fire started in the O’Leary barn, a lucky breeze spared their house. However, rumors that Mrs. O’Leary’s firebug cow kicked over a lamp made them a pariah at the Homeowner’s Association meetings for the next 130 years. Later research revealed there’s no proof the O’Leary’s – or their cow – had anything to do with the fire’s origin. In fact, there’s some speculation that a fiery meteorite broke apart as it fell to Earth, explaining how several fires over three states all started at once.
5. Most fires are started by:
a. Mice with matches.
b. Men, women, and children.
c. Zeus.
d. A small, square animal called the Woozy that shoots sparks from its eyes.
The answer: b. Zeus is a myth, people – and the mouse was acquitted. Bonus points if you can tell me where I got that Woozy thing from.
Cooking, electrical problems, smoking, and children playing with fire-starting materials are the main causes of fires. Kids with matches or lighters cause hundreds of deaths every year, and that ain’t funny.
6. If a fire sets off a sprinkler system:
a. All the sprinkler heads go off, allowing our hero to escape in the confusion.
b. All the sprinkler heads go off, allowing the villain to escape in the confusion.
c. All the sprinkler heads go off, allowing the hero to electrocute the villain.
d. Only the sprinkler heads directly above the fire go off, saving untold lives and property every year.
The answer: d. You might want to consider getting a guard dog, because sprinklers are designed to control fires while doing only minimal water damage.
7. Your smoke detector batteries should be changed:
a. So you have fresh ones available for the TV remote.
b. Every spring and fall, when the clocks change.
c. Because otherwise they could develop serious diaper rash.
d. Because their behavior is just unacceptable.
The answer: b, no matter what time zone you’re in. Could we Hoosiers give that time zone dustup a rest, already?
8. E.D.I.T.H. is important because:
a. She’s the only woman James T. Kirk ever really loved.
b. I said so.
c. Exit Drills In The Home help families escape from home fires.
d. How would Archie get along without her?
The answer: c (and b. Come to think of it, all of the above). Smoke and toxic gases from a fire can fill a home within minutes, so practicing how to safely escape from a fire, and meet up in a safe spot afterward, saves lives. Firefighters are great, if I do say so myself, but most fire victims are dead from smoke inhalation long before fire trucks can reach the scene.
9. Firefighters die:
a. Because that gray is unacceptable.
b. hard.
c. in the wool.
d. At the rate of about a hundred every year.
The answer – is pretty obvious, and not very funny. Not only is the easiest fire to fight the one that never starts, but the least dangerous fire is the one that never starts.
10: Fire is:
a. Fast, sometimes engulfing a home in five minutes.
b. Dark, producing dense smoke and toxic gases.
c. Hot, over 1,000 degrees in a typical structure fire and searing lungs even at a distance from the flames.
d. Deadly, killing 2,900 people in 2008, injuring 14,960 others, and causing over twelve billion dollars in damage.
The answer: All of the above, and that’s no joke. So the next time you see or hear something serious about fire prevention – pay attention. When the real test comes, it’s life or death.
The Coming Attractions blogs
Recently I posted five interrelated blogs about the creation
of my novel Coming Attractions, which
is (as I’m sure you know by now), my entry in the So You Think You Can Write
contest here:
In case you’re interested in the process and may have missed
one or more, here they are in order:
Inspiration:
http://www.markrhunter.com/2012/10/05/inspiration-at-the-drive-in-the-genesis-of-coming-attractions/
Plotting:
Setting:
Main Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Hope you enjoyed them … I’m sure I’ll write in more detail
on those subjects in the future.
Running out of things to say?
Me, a writer, running out of things to say? Well, now we're in to the second to last day of voting for the So You Think You Can Write contest, and there are 700 deserving novelists who are very anxious to get that first prize -- a publishing contract.
I've described the contest and my novel, put up several miniblogs about the process of writing, blew my own horn, and begged. So ... questions? Comments?
http://www.soyouthinkyoucanwrite.com/manuscripts/coming-attractions/
(Oh, don't think I won't be back tomorrow!)
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