Snarking

Every thought is a seed. If you plant crab apples, don't count on harvesting Golden Delicious. ~Bill Meyer

No, the quote has nothing to do with this post. It's just a quote.

Moving on...

Part of me is enjoying Miss Snark's crapometer A LOT, and part of me aches for the participants. Some of their errors are so basic (like mis-addressing her), but some are not and these folks have obviously sent her what they think is their best work, the top of their game. And some of it is really, really bad.

Interestingly, a few of the "I would definitely request a partial on this" posts are things that bored me to tears, with one exception that was so funny I almost peed my pants. No, I'm not telling which one, you'll have to read all 60+ posts to find out.

Still, it's made two things abundantly clear to me.

1. In light of the 349 submissions she received to her crapometer, it's obvious that there are TONS of novice writers out there desperate for publication. I know, I know, I realized that somewhere in the back of my brain but the fact that she rec'd that many in one day is incredible.

2. There are some really, really bad writers out there in need of critique groups (hey, folks, there are a gazillion groups out there -- Google 'em and find one -- you won't be sorry). This fact made me want to kiss the feet of the folks who've helped me over the past few years. I'm nowhere near perfect, but I'm a million times better than I used to be. I cringe to think of the stuff I posted in the beginning. They were very kind. Thanks you guys, yooz is the bestest.

If you haven't been reading the queen of Snark's blog, you should. I've made a list of things not to do in my query. First and foremost (and this should be a given, but considering about 10 people messed this up, clearly it ISN'T): Address the agent or editor by their CORRECT NAME.

Sheesh.

And this one: fiction novel (as in, "My 70,000 word fiction novel).

Oh, and this: A query and a synopsis are two very different documents. Treat them as such.

Okay... off to write, so that I can submit a query and a synopsis somewhere soon.

Have a happy Labor Day!