tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548791728880135916.post499615914489564303..comments2023-10-23T09:23:08.495-07:00Comments on An Englishman in Davis, California: A writer's work is never done...Kevin Weedonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10357526890440910175noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548791728880135916.post-41167147851545749072010-02-01T18:23:07.162-08:002010-02-01T18:23:07.162-08:00I like to pick new year's resolutions that are...I like to pick new year's resolutions that are really projects that I can tackle bit by bit as I have the time over a year. <br /><br />One of mine this year was to actually send out query letters. I have spent A LOT of my life putting all kinds of false, imaginary, ludicrous psychological barriers between me and getting published. I think "no one will ever want to publish this," "I would need some kind of CREDENTIALS" to get published," "I know! I should go write a blog and get followers and get famous and then publishers will come GET me! And if they don't, it means I would never have gotten published anyway!" And other such bullshit. And maybe I send out one query letter or proposal every couple of years, get rejected, and give up again. <br /><br />And over and over, lately, I hear published writers bemoan how they got EIGHTEEN rejections or a couple of DOZEN rejections before they fiiiiinally got published. And I think to myself: "I COULD SEND OUT EIGHTEEN LETTERS/PROPOSALS." I mean once it's written and a list of publishers and agents is assembled, all that is actually physically in the way of sending out dozens of the suckers is POSTAGE. I can buy postage!!<br /><br />So here is my proposal: Sure, you have a million things on your plate. You have a ton of more pressing and stressful things to deal with than getting published. But that just means that this is the PERFECT TIME to try, because getting rejected can pale into insignificance next to everything else you are dealing with! (This is the nihilist's pep talk.) <br /><br />How would you like to be QUERY LETTER BUDDIES? We could have some sort of mutually chosen commitment of a certain manageable number of query letters/book proposals to send out every month (ten, one, a quarter of one, a twelfth of one...) and check in before and after (by email, phone, in person, whatever) to say that we've done it. Yes no?oaklinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17844684581990890352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548791728880135916.post-31968528846402667882009-10-22T11:27:41.618-07:002009-10-22T11:27:41.618-07:00I'm not writing at the UK one for several reas...I'm not writing at the UK one for several reasons; one is that I lack the time, the other is that I'd need to update the software for that blog first.<br /><br />What with my beer blog, this one and Everything2, I'm swamped.<br /><br />One the subject of links, that's what drives traffic.Kevin Weedonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10357526890440910175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548791728880135916.post-68845979213004049042009-09-19T08:33:16.209-07:002009-09-19T08:33:16.209-07:00I followed links all over the place. You aren'...I followed links all over the place. You aren't writing on the uk one any more. Interesting how it's all linked. -- luddite lizardAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5548791728880135916.post-30632652714432421732009-09-19T08:14:25.392-07:002009-09-19T08:14:25.392-07:00and are you no longer at the co-op?-- lizardand are you no longer at the co-op?-- lizardAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com