YOU JUST KEEP ON TRYING TILL YOU RUN OUT OF CAKE

[la_belle_laide]

Today is intensely historic and I can't seem to quit watching Al Jazeera's live feed of Egypt's celebrations. I realize it's not over, and they've still so much work to be done, but the people are just letting loose and partying in the streets and it's a beautiful thing. Just playing the live stream in the background keeps giving putting me in a good mood.

What else is happy times? Well, I have another poem up at HitRECord.

And, freaking, CHECK THIS OUT. My friend RJ, an incredible musician, toon an awesome reading of the poem I did before this one, and set it to music. It's fantastic. It's like, iPod, driving music fantastic. ^_^ He put a lot of effort into it and it paid off.

One of the happiest things that can happen in HitRECord is when you load your own page and you see a new "results" tab under your work. I can't even tell you how gratifying that is. :D

So, and check this out. One of my longtime good friends, a fellow crow-lady, has another longtime friend who has a book published. She was talking to her friend about my attempts to find an agent, and her friend revealed that her agent is someone whose name I dare not even mention, and whose most famous author-client I dare not even name, whose ridiculously well-known and iconic SF books—one in particular—he sold, and I dare not even breathe. ANYway. Ends up that said agent is super fond of his client who is my friend's friend, and he said that he would be open to an email from me. He's not looking to sign any more writers right now; he is closed to queries and even if he wasn't (he made this clear to me,) he doesn't deal with unpublished novelists anymore. BUT. Because he is such good friends with my other friend, he would make some time to, I don't know, give me some tips, some pointers and such.

He allowed me to send him the first three chapters of my novel.

I was like,


And that's how I still feel, awaiting his feedback. WHICH I WILL TAKE LIKE A HXC PRO. I actually kinda pride myself on taking all sorts of criticism as a writer and applying it instead of getting butthurt. There is something to be said for going through a writing program in college. If nothing else, it gets you used to having someone tell you, "This part blows, but here's what would make it better."

In fact in college, I had these two very stern teachers, stern in different ways. One was entirely old-school. He was this older gentleman with perfectly coiffed white hair, still wore 3-piece suits to lectures every day, and spoke in absolute perfect Northeast English. He'd offer devastating criticism with a smile, but wasn't above occasional vulgarity.

My other favorite writing teacher was of an entirely different sort. He was actually a published author of quite a few books, and he dressed in the same exact chalk-stained clothes every single day. He didn't temper his criticism with kindness. Or actually, he sort of did, but it was edgy kindness, like damn it, if you can't have a sense of humor about suckage, then why were you there? If I handed in something halfway decent to him he'd comment, "Fair enough, I guess. But what the hell was this part?" If something truly sucked he would just write, "Honestly?" in red ink. Or, "Must we?" He used to tell all of his students, "If you can only be intelligent for three pages, then please don't bore me with ten pages of filler."

I seriously didn't mean to get on this tangent. I loved college, (the first time, I mean,) and I miss a lot of my professors.

Anyway, today is a good day to send out another query. So I'm going to pick out one or two agents, tailor my stuff to their submission guidelines, and have another go.

I'm never going to run out of cake. :)

Here, look at some pics of my adorable crow with a heart crystal in his beak.









AWWWW.

Comments

[neomeruru.livejournal.com]

OMG, agent news, that is so ridiculously exciting. I am excited by proxy. I have compersion excitement for you. I love, lov,e LOVE hearing stories of people breaking into mainstream business with their passion.

I WILL BUY YOUR BOOK, BB. Or, like, the e-book, or something.

[shonagonchan.livejournal.com]

♥♥♥♥ So much effing hearts for you. :D

But first I gotta nab an agent. Like, maybe if I set a net, or something. Or put a bunch of twigs across a pit and cover it with leaves, I will get one. Then I'll hug it and cuddle it and give it chocolate.

I just sent out another query package, too. My fingers are too crossed to type anything else coherent. ^_^

THANK YOU!

[malenka-zeut.livejournal.com]

I've been really enjoying watching and listening to news from Egypt also. I got all misty when they played the Egyptian national anthem on the radio on my way home from work yesterday. It's mind blowing that they pulled it off while maintaining a peaceful protest- even after being attacked. I feel so joyful for them.

Congrats on getting great agent to look at your book, and on the Hitrecord works. You seem to be creating at an amazing rate. I wish I was. I wish you great good luck with the crit. I know which profs you're talking about too, and know why you love thinking of them. I have very fond memories of those times too. And truly, nothing gets you prepared for putting yourself out there than four years of professor and peer criticism.

Your new poem reminded me of a flower I think you ought to add to your garden this year. The common name (which I love) is Midnight Candy. It's got tiny little flowers that stay shut all day and look like little purple balls on stalks. Then, all of the sudden in the evening they all open up in a few minutes into little white stars no bigger than your thumb nail that smell like heaven. A true "midnight garden" flower.

[shonagonchan.livejournal.com]

I knew you'd get which professors they were! Weren't they just the best? I can still find one of them, but not the other. Wish I could.

If you get your hands on Midnight Candy let me know. Will they grow up north? If so, I want some!

Also, you should join HitRECord. SO fun. I was wishing you would actually, because there are some tarot collabs and we could put our old pictures up. ^_^

[malenka-zeut.livejournal.com]

http://www.selectseeds.com/cgi-bin/htmlos.cgi/012025.1.816274040815199703

I grow them from seed, but if you're not into that she does sell the plants. I can't recommend her stuff highly enough, not only are the plants the healthiest & best quality, but she's an awesome woman who works every part of her business including answering the phones! She's also taken the Safe Seed Pledge, which means no GMO's anywhere in her business. I'd recommend the moon garden collection, but several plants are poisonous, so if you can't keep the doggies away... Totally grows up North. I grew it for years in WA.

I have only made it part of the way through the agreements on HitREcord, since he seems adamant that it really needs to be read all the way through, but you're inspiring me to get to it faster. That would be great, to put all that work we did to good use. If there's anything you have ready to go, by all means do it, I have no objections, and some of them I can't remember who took, other than that if I'm in it, I probably didn't take it. Either way, I have no problems contributing to a project like that. As far as I can tell, it doesn't mean you can't use your own art elsewhere, which would be my only reservation.