Friday, September 12, 2008

Friday Feeding Frenzy....More Chumly Chum

Friday posting here!
:-)

69 comments:

Kiersten White said...

Thanks for the warning this time, Chris ; )

Chris Eldin said...

Sorry about the last time!
:-)

Shona Snowden said...

You cut off my post! I'm going off in a huff...

Robin B. said...

So as I was sayin' (and by the way, Hi Janet, nice to meet you and all, but...)

Can you please share EE?

Janet Reid said...

Share him?
I don't even know him!

Kiersten White said...

See, Robin, I told you it was just business.

Robin B. said...

Well, it's that demon baby thing...

Bill Cameron said...

It is 4pm.

Robin B. said...

Well, yes Bill, I suppose it is...in some places that are not the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S.

Kiersten White said...

IVF--she's not even carrying it, I am. Just business.

peggy said...

My goodness, this is becoming quite the fun day. Demon babies, aliens, bucking naked horses..wait, did I say that right?

Janet Reid said...

Bill's hoping Susan will come back and tackle him again.

Janet Reid said...

I'm reading Eric Stone's next one. Gadzooks that man can write.

Janet Reid said...

Naked bucking horses

Janet Reid said...

I really want a cupcake but I don't have any and it's raining. And the bakery is closed. Those sadists close at 6.

Kiersten White said...

That's just sick, Janet. You should picket.

Chris Eldin said...

But...Backing up Robin here.
There was that thing in Tupelo...

Kiersten White said...

Maybe she meant know in the biblical sense. Which, good news for Robin, right?

peggy said...

hahaha..in the bibical sense.. yeah right

Janet Reid said...

Tupelo! I forgot about Tupelo.
Not that anyone can really EVER singe the sight of EE in Tupelo from one's retinas.

In fact, I've spent much of the intervening decade TRYING to do just that (which explains my Scotch habit quite nicely)

Robin B. said...

I've always wanted a biblical sense relationship with a cartoon of a guy.

Oh wait. That's right. Already did that before I ever met EE.

Phoenix Sullivan said...

Welcome back, Janet!

So I've frequented Query Shark, EE's blog, She who shall be nameless's snarky little blog, and I've got the query thing down, I think. Where do I go with it now? Can I get a book of queries published? Queries seem to be all I've been writing for the past year. There must be something marketable about them, right? Else why so many blogs with 'em?

Robin B. said...

Or didn't meet, really...

Phoenix Sullivan said...

Hi K and Robin and Bill and Chris and Shona ...

Kiersten White said...

Oh, goodness, Phoenix has them down and then some. She's a query machine.

Robin B. said...

I think a book of queries sounds kinda cool.

Robin B. said...

Hey, phoenix bird!

Phoenix Sullivan said...

So how many can I put you down for, Robin?

Janet Reid said...

Are there a lot of blogs with queries? I don't hang out much at writerly type blogs and sites so I'm not well versed in this area.

Chris Eldin said...

I wonder what person invented the query.
What did bookwriters do before queries?
What is the history of the query?
And the future?

Robin B. said...

At least one. And maybe some gift copies for Christmas?

Kiersten White said...

Not too many.

Wow! Saved! My sister-in-law is coming to rescue me from a dirty apartment and stir-crazy kids. I'm out for the night. Janet, thanks for showing up--you are a delight, and I'm glad I know about you now. Book Roast, especially Chris who will beat me up at the slightest provocation, thanks again!

Phoenix Sullivan said...

I really want to ask Janet a very witty, writerly, roasterly question, but I can't think of one. Can you, Janet?

Robin B. said...

Well, I'd like to know, honestly,
why you can't just cut and paste the first five pages into an email.

If the reader at the other end likes them and wishes there was another 'page' or more to read, isn't that saying something?

Janet Reid said...

Bye Kiersten, nice to roast here with you!

Janet Reid said...

Robin, it's almost impossible to evaluate a work without some sort of paramenter: what category it is, intended age group, etc.

What works in romance doesn't work as a thriller.

It just helps to know those things, and to know something about you the writer.

Thus the query.

Chris Eldin said...

Robin,
My next topic in my new blog series "Stuff Writers Like" will deal with what to copy and paste in a query.
And trust me. It's not your own work.

Robin B. said...

I wrote a query 'on the fly' several weeks ago. I wrote it in a state of distress, as I had to hurry. It ended up being pretty good, but even so, I realized (was told) later on that I'd skimmed over the first half of my novel.

I actually had a harder time writing that, from the nerves perspective, than I'd had writing the beginning or ending of my novel.

That's why I was wondering, I suppose. I see what you mean about parameters.

Phoenix Sullivan said...

Oh, I know. If you love a client's book but can't sell it to a New York house, do you take it out to the small pubs or e-pubs? What size publisher is it not worth your while or the author's to pursue?

Or would you rather not talk biz and just have some drinks instead?

Janet Reid said...

I have a remnant of sushi on my EYEBROW!!!

ewwwwwwww.

I am my own seal.

Chris Eldin said...

You and Thing 2 will get along just fine.

Robin B. said...

Sushi. My entire family loves it.

Except me!

Janet Reid said...

Phoenix, I sell clients books to any kind of publisher I can as long as they'll publish it well.

I try not to take on books that I think I can't sell for big money, but my crystal ball turned out to be a Canal Street knock off and not as reliable as I'd been promised.

Phoenix Sullivan said...

Well, Robin, if the beginning wasn't worth putting into your query, do you really need it (the beginning) in your book?

If you can't read a book in the dark, are the words still there?

Something to think about...

Janet Reid said...

What's not worth taking on is a small, one time project. Small is ok if it's the start of more, but one time small, that's inefficient.

Chris Eldin said...

Janet, I know it's been a long day for you. You started with us last night even!!!
Let's close the drinking story contest at 8pm, and if you can pick a winner anytime after that....

Of course, the chat line will stay open! But I didn't want you to feel obligated to stay another hour and half to announce a drinking winner.
;-)

peggy said...

Was nice to meet you Kiersten, have fun this evening

Robin B. said...

I've just received 'the call' from my female versions of Thing 1 and Thing 2 - and I need to go and pick them up.

Nice to see you all!

Nice to meet you, Janet.

Have fun!

Janet Reid said...

Chris, that works fine for me.
I'm pretty wiped out from being here at 9:30 this morning. How you all do that is beyond me.

Phoenix Sullivan said...

Well, Janet, perhaps next time you'll splurge the $20 on the real thing, crystal ball wise. I think Chris mentioned she's tucking $25 into her next submission to you. That should cover the tax, too.

Chris Eldin said...

Janet, finish your sushi and kick up your feet.
You work too hard.

We'll see you the other side of 8pm....
:-)

Bill Cameron said...

Chris, the way I see it, there is normal human time, which is my time, and then there are all those other weirdo times, which are clearly all wrong.

Phoenix Sullivan said...

Yeah, Bill. All these eastcoasters throwing out times like they mean something to the rest of us...

Janet Reid said...

Chris Eldin better save her money for when the world rolls into her town next month! Bail is spendy.

Janet Reid said...

Bill, that's kinda how I view most things. My way, and then the other way, the wrong way.

Chris Eldin said...

Bill, I've always wanted to visit Oregon. I love the West coast...

Chris Eldin said...

i'm tempted to stop comments so janet will get some rest...
;-)

Bill Cameron said...

Oregon is great. The whole West, really. I grew up back in the East, and while it has its charms, I am a fully western fellow.

Janet Reid said...

I'm good.

Well, ok, I'm not good.
Im evil.

But I'm fine, honest.
Don't shut down unless you want.
I'm here, answering queries for a while yet!

Chris Eldin said...

Janet just handed me the envelope...

Phoenix Sullivan said...

Writers all have some "Can you believe it?" type rejections. Have YOU ever sent one of those out to a writer and what was the gist of it?

Janet Reid said...

What's a can you believe it rejection?
I send form rejections unless it's really good or really close.

Chris Eldin said...

And the winner is.....

Julie Weather!!!

WOOOHOOO!!

That was one fine story!
Congratulations!!! Thank you for sharing it with us!!
When Shona wakes up, or joins us, or whatever Aussies do, you two will arrange for Michael Jackson's ostrich... I mean, book. Book. That's it.
:-)

Janet, all of us at the Book Roast would like to thank you--a heartfelt thanks--for teaching us, entertaining us, and giving us valuable insights into the world of publishing!!

Thank you!!!!

I'm going to say goodnight and thank you to EVERYONE for stopping by!!!

Comments will be left on, but I'm going to turn them off before bed (which as you know could be in the next half hour or so!)

{group hug}


:-)

Janet Reid said...

It was my great pleasure to be invited, and to be here!
Thank you all for a "warm" welcome!

I'm bowing out since I need to finish Eric's book before he wonders if I'm dead.

Bill Cameron said...

*hic*

Phoenix Sullivan said...

Thanks, Janet! Keep sending your authors on over. We promise to take very good care of them: marinade massages, a cozy fire...

peggy said...

It was so nice to meet you Janet and again, Thanks for letting me stop in and play. It's a fun day when I can play. have a great evening one and all :)

laughingwolf said...

that's a good choice, picking julie! it IS her birthday, today, and the tale was excellent!

janet, thank you... also the rest of you... it's been a grand week :)

Chris Eldin said...

Nighty night all!

I'm going to turn comments off, but will be back over the weekend with another post.

Thanks again!
:-)