Volume 7 Number 4
Have the April showers made it your way yet? How do you like that early switch to Daylight Savings Time? I have mixed emotions about it. So far, it seems a bit artificial for my body clock which just refuses to adjust.
WHAT'S NEW ON THE WEBSITE
This update contains new WRITTEN WISDOM on each page with all the quotations coming from writers: W. H. Auden, G. K. Chesterton, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Ken Kesey, Henry David Thoreau, and Mark Twain. Can you find them all?
WELCOME: April NOTE FROM ... guess who?
READING: BOOK REVIEW "Tourjours Provence" by Peter Mayle
WRITING: 10 Questions To Ask Agents.
WORDPLAY: You're reading it! You'll find 2 articles below: both readable and entertaining though one is focused toward writers' interests.
ARCHIVES: After appearing as a feature and then an alternate, the articles are moved here. As I warned last month, the oldest articles on the website have been deleted, but a wealth of resources remain.
WORK IN PROGRESS: New NOTE 4 OF 12.
PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED: Announcement about my big sale to Ulverscroft, my new English publisher.
Now, let me entertain you!
------FOR READERS------
Here's an amusing Internet floater, courtesy of my pal Frank Lofton who's always poking fun at Texas - in an affectionate way of course since he used to call the Lone Star State home.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS - TEXAS STYLE
People here in Texas have trouble with all those "shalls" and "shall nots" in the ten Commandments. Folks here just aren't used to talking in those terms.
So, some folks out in west Texas got together and
translated the "King James" into "King Ranch" language and came up with The Cowboy's 10 Commandments which is allegedly posted on the wall at Cross Trails Church in Fairlie, Texas.
(1) Just one God.
(2) Honor yer Ma & Pa.
(3) No telling tales or gossipin'.
(4) Git yourself to Sunday meeting.
(5) Put nothin' before God.
(6) No foolin' around with another fellow's gal.
(7) No killin'.
(8) Watch yer mouth.
(9) Don't take what ain't yers.
(10) Don't be hankerin' for yer buddy's stuff
Now that's kinda plain an' simple don't ya think?
-----RIGHT FOR WRITERS & OTHERS TOO-----
Since I'm running a series on researching and analyzing agents, this article is a nice complement to those at WRITING.
THE ASSOCIATION OF AUTHORS' REPRESENTATIVES ONLINE
by Joan Reeves
Every selling writer must be a business person also. Enter the agent.
Gone are the day when authors huddled in cold garrets and penned their masterpieces which they in turn gave to gentlemen publishers, trusting that they would be compensated in a fair manner. Some were. Some weren’t. Some were taken advantage of.
Today, the smart writer learns everything possible about the business aspects of being a writer. Preferably, they do this before they actually receive money so they’ll know what to do with the money when they get it.
The first step in being a professional author who makes a living wage is to get not just literary representation, but literary representation that is competent, conscientious, honest, smart, and, representation that matches your career plans and your personality.
If you haven’t already started drawing up your own lists of A agents, B agents, and C agents, then get moving. The A agents are the dream agents. Those power brokers who play with the big boys and girls. B agents are the established agents who can perform. C agents are kind of like you. They’re just starting out so they’re hungry. Get a good one and grow together.
If you are new to thinking about this agent business, then your first stop should be learning about the Association of Authors’ Representatives found at http://www.aar-online.org. It’s exactly what it sounds like, an organization of literary agents.
The AAR was founded in 1991 when the decades-old Society of Authors' Representatives and the new kid on the block, Independent Literary Agents Association, founded in 1977, merged.
Many writing organizations say to make sure an agent is a member of the AAR because membership requires agents to conform to a code of ethics along with having other beneficial objectives. Visit AAR online and learn all about them. Use their searchable database of agents to learn more about those agents you put on your lists.
Authors usually have a lot to say about literary agents. My favorite quotation is from an anonymous wit who said: “Changing literary agents is like changing deck chairs on the Titanic.”
Funny, yes? It also points out the necessity for making a good choice. A literary agent is necessary in this business so educate yourself so you can make an intelligent choice when the occasion presents itself. AAR is a good place to start.
