What I Think About...
September 8, 2008
Rain.
It's fine when it's warm and a bummer when it's cold. But, warm weather without rain is a desert.
Britney Spears.
Moderate musical talent, but that's not how she got where she is. She got where she is because she's got a fantastic talent for staying in the spotlight. In this respect, the U.S. public and the media are enablers. I suggest they wean themselves off her cold turkey.
Asking agents you've queried how your manuscript is doing?
If unpublished, probably not, although I would if they've had the full manuscript for 2 months or longer. If published, follow up every 4 weeks, politely and professionally.
Sarah Palin
An impressive resume if you were to meet her on the street, but she's completely underqualified to be vice president. Aside from that (I didn't realize that Alaska's ENTIRE population is less than the city of Detroit's), there is almost no issue where she and I agree.
Losing weight.
Why is this so damned hard?
Barack Obama.
I still feel he's slightly inexperienced, but the way he's run is campaign indicates he and his people are thoughtful, well-organized and cautious... perhaps too cautious, but if they ran a White House like they run this campaign, we would probably be okay.
Bookstore returns policy.
Anachronistic, inefficient, ineffective and unlikely to go anywhere.
Joe Biden.
I like him, but it's been said there's no speed bump between his brain and his mouth. We'll see.
Book promotion.
Meh. The expression "necessary evil" comes to mind. So does "largely a waste of time."
John McCain.
I liked him as a Senator. I think he's too old to run for President and he's showing every sign of being reckless in his decision-making. He's a go-with-the-gut kind of guy, which has its moments of success, but can be scary in a president.
Marriage.
I like it. Saturday was my 22nd wedding anniversary. Boy, did I make a good decision back in 1986 or so.
Winter.
Sucks. I hate it, but I guess I'm stuck with it for a while.
Books.
Awesome. Where would I be without them?
Writing fiction.
I'm still doing it, despite knowing better. If there's a name for this disease, I haven't heard it yet.
Being a freelance writer.
I still love it. I'm still apparently succeeding at it, but this summer has been rough, which tempers my experience with it a bit.
How about you? Tell me what you think about these topics.
Cheers,
Mark Terry
posted by Mark Terry at 3:24 PM
12 Comments:
Happy anniversary! As a special present I will refrain from pontificating on either politics or writing.
I had a good marketing thing going for awhile, but I just got bored. It was fun learning how to do it. It's a little tedious.
Many have told me "but spyscribbler does it, practically! Just add the books!"
It's SO not the same thing. Spyscribbler has FUN on Facebook. She toys around on MySpace when she feels like it, for FUN. She blogs because she loves talking about writing and whatever the heck she wants. She (why am I talking about myself in the third person?) loves talking with other writers, people who just get what it's like to be a writer and who love books and stories.
My alter ego, not so much. It's boring. It's work. I haven't updated my site in like two years. A blog post once a month or two. It's pitiful.
Rain - not good for Crocs.
Britney Spears - I think if we ignored her she'd be better off and so would we.
Asking agents about queries - Never queried, don't know. I follow up on pitched articles based on a magazine's guidelines -- after a few weeks if there are none, and in two week intervals after that. I usually hear back after follow-up #1.
Sarah Palin - I think she is very pretty.
Losing weight - A losing battle.
Barack Obama - Lives nears me. But not for long, I hope.
Bookstore Returns Policy - I don't return books.
Joe Biden - A good balance.
John McCain - A true patriot. Not a president.
Marriage - Didn't like it.
Winter - An excuse to buy a new coat.
Books - A true friend - they give and never ask for anything in return.
Writing fiction - mind boggling and fun.
Being a freelance writer - The word hustle comes to mind.
:)
Yes, Amy, I think Sarah Palin is very pretty as well. My wife complains about her hair. What can I say?
As for McCain, prior to the campaign I often said I could live with him as president (and I don't suppose I have much choice if he wins) because he seemed capable and I essentially overlap with a lot of his stances on things. But the way he's run his campaign, eewwww. But yes, I think he's a true patriot as well. From time to time his responses to media questions have made me wonder if his age really is catching up to him. That's okay, really, he's in remarkable shape for his age, but even the sharpest knives lose their edge after 72 years. But when the media asks you how many houses you own, fumbling around for the answer the way he did and how he answered it was just lame--he had to know he was being tossed a political timebomb, didn't it?
Spy,
I have a MySpace page and it bores me. I haven't even checked it in months.
Aw, Eric, you sure you don't want to pontificate?
Have you read Anne Kilkenny's letter about Palin?
She's a Pentecostal Christian, and when she was mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire a librarian for not banning books she found objectionable.
I don't know. Do we really want her a heartbeat away from leading the most powerful nation in the world?
Jude,
I read about that somewhere else. ALthough I'm appalled, I'm also seeing a trend in her tendency to attempt to fire people she disagrees with.
On the other hand, mayors and governors do hire and fire people, so it's not clear yet if these reports are being blown out of proportion by people who got fired for cause or if there's an apparent series of improper behavior on the part of Palin.
It does suggest to me that the McCain camp did NOT vet her properly, despite their whining that the media is blowing things out of proportion. (When all else fails, blame the media).
Tess Gerritsen blogged about the book thing here.
Rain - good for staying in bed
Britney Spears - Please make her go away
Asking agents about queries - never did that. Ever. Weird, huh?
Sarah Palin - I can't read her name without feeling like I want to hurl
Losing weight - Up, down, up, down
Barack Obama - My man
Bookstore Returns Policy - Depressing
Joe Biden - Not my first choice, but . . .Go Joe.
John McCain - See Palin
Marriage - Oh, this is a LONG story . . . I'm not a fan
Winter - Adore it. Bring on the COLD.
Books - Love curling up with a massive physics text . . . my idea of heaven. See my note on marriage above.
Writing fiction - Joy.
Being a freelance writer - The word hustle comes to mind. (Okay, so I robbed Amy's).
Rain: Love it.
Britney Spears: A symptom of a larger social idiocy problem.
The query thing: I don't do it anymore.
Palin: Wants to control my uterus and is a psycho.
Losing weight: Yes it's hard, but you'll get there. I did. Now my challenge is more tone.
Obama: Like him okay, but not his running mate. (I'm libertarian and I'm done voting the lesser evil, so for better or worse I will be probably voting libertarian from now on.)
Bookstore returns policy: So stupid that I won't focus my efforts on bookstores.
Biden: He wants too much control on the internet and I'm against is RIAA stances.
Book promotion: Like all marketing it's not effective if you just throw it on the wall like spaghetti. I don't believe books sell because of magic. At some point a reader has to have some introduction to the existence and possible goodness of a book.
McCain: I feel like he's gonna croak if he gets into office then I'll be stuck with the evil uterus crusher as my president. Palin becoming the first female pres or vice president is pretty much anti-feminist in my view.
Marriage: hate the institution, love the man I'm with.
Winter: hate it. Love warm days and sunshine.
Books: Love them.
WRiting fiction: will always do it, will always fund my own projects, will always hope to at least find a way to break even.
Being a freelance writer: I'm not one of those. ;) Though you could probably call me a freelance person lol.
Rain - I think we get a reasonable amount where I live (Rhode Island) although the distribution of it could be better arranged (no rain on weekends please).
Britney Spears - Isn't this just another case of someone being destroyed by their success?
Asking agents about queries - I don't know anything about it other than what I have read (mostly in writer's blogs).
Sarah Palin - I mostly agree with what Camille Paglia has written about her. I have been leaning toward Obama all along (even voted for him in primary) but the volume of filth and lies being dumped on Palin is really making me wonder if voting for him would be the equivalent of agreeing with the looney left attacks. I'm not talking about differences of opinion about policy issues; I'm talking about the sexist crap and the lies. Oh, I'll probably still vote for Obama but currently I am really disgusted by his party (and by the "news" media).
Losing weight - I've lost six pounds over the past two months, would like to drop ten more -- it ain't easy.
Barack Obama - We have had worse.
Bookstore Returns Policy - I have never returned a book (well, except maybe in college when the bookstore had the wrong books out).
Joe Biden - A political hack -- at least if Obama wins Biden will be out of the Senate.
John McCain - I appreciate his service and sacrifice and consider him to be an outstanding patriot. I would have liked to have seen him elected in 2000. I've not agreed with much that he has said or done since then.
Marriage - Celebrated 29th anniversary this past June.
Winter - At least I don't live in upstate New York any more.
Books - Wonderful invention.
Writing fiction - Interesting and difficult and fun and painful.
Being a freelance writer - Not for me. (My wife and I are sort of working on a novel but...)
Only one comment:
Palin - I guess the Republicans changed their minds about affirmative action. But, they haven't realized that it's not about promoting the unqualified but about opening up opportunities for the qualified. Then again, being pro-war, pro-oil and anti-women's rights constitutes "qualified" in this case.
Sara,
the republican message coming through loud and clear is..."The only way we'll let a woman hold high office, is if she completely betrays her own gender to our anti-woman message."
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