Monday, February 29, 2016

Monday Musing

The blear is strong in me this morning.

I woke up in the dead of night--or morning, technically. 3:22, to be exact. I'm not sure what woke me up: too hot, too cold, fingers falling asleep, spider running across my face, who knows? But I was sure, for just a few seconds, that it was actually Saturday morning, and I was happy.

And then I woke up a little more. Ah, well.

Anyway, if I'm not quite as cohesive as I sometimes am, that's my excuse.

First things first, Agent Carrie is accepting submissions for her Query Critique contest. Submit a query to Carrie's contest and, if you're the lucky winner, she will critique it on her blog. And if you're really lucky and enough people comment on your query, you can win a critique of your first 100 pages! Go for it!

Second things second: I probably shouldn't talk about this, but last night I sent my current project off to Carrie. It's that wondrous time of imagination, where anything's possible: she can tell me "It's fantastic, I love it, it only needs a few tweaks and it's ready to go, and I know five editors who will kill for this!" She can tell me, "I really like this a lot!" and send me tons of notes that will have me revising for another five months. Or, it can be, "I like it, but there's just no way to sell this. What else have you got?" It's Schrödinger's Manuscript!

Third things third, it's Leap Day, but more important than that, it's the National Hockey League's trade deadline. I have to say, I kind of hate what this day has come to mean in the NHL. Time was, you made a trade to improve your team. It could be for now, it could be for next year, it could be a little further down the road. Now? It seems it's all about the salary cap, or all about getting 'value' for a player who looks like he'll walk away as an unrestricted free agent. The fact that the phrase "Hockey Trade," as in, "It's a good hockey  trade" has been invented (and is so rarely used) says a lot about the state of the sport.

Time for another cup of coffee. How are you all today?


9 comments:

  1. *crossing my fingers for you!* I don't follow traditional sports. Now esports ...

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  2. I've done the waking thing thinking it was Saturday. I had looked at my clock and wondered why I'd set the alarm. So I shut it off. Then realized it was Wednesday. Turned the alarm back on. Maybe every day should be Saturday, huh? :)

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  3. I'm just glad to work from home. But still have to get up at some point. That query critique sounds pretty good.

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  4. Just got home, but it sounds like Trade Deadline Day was a bust! No big trades from the tiny bit I've gleaned so far. All the action happened in the past week!

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  5. -Donna--Yeah, I just can't get behind that e-sports thing.
    -Stacy--I could go for that.
    -Sheena-kay--I definitely liked working from home, but there's something to be said for being in an office full of people, too. And there's definitely a lot to learn from query critiques, even if you don't submit your own.
    -Jemi--I'm doing a lot of eye-rolling and head-shaking at the temper tantrums being thrown by the Boston fan base right now. It's amazing how much the bloggers could have made such better deals than the guys running the team!

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  6. Hey Jeff I share in your occasional Carrie-noia! Some days you think she'll be gushing over your genius, and others you figure she's probably having a hard time breathing what with all that pointing and laughing at your MS. However, I think this is a core requirement if you're going to be a writer. If there's an opportunity for self doubt, bring it on! But one thing's sure: it's good to have CP on your side! :)

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  7. -Dan--yes, I suspect you're right. I imagine even the best and brightest chew their nails while waiting for agents/editors to read their work--and, yes, it's great to have Carrie in our corner!

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  8. You cracked me up! (Although I really hope it wasn't a spider... Eek!) I wish you truckloads of good luck that Carrie loves the ms & thinks you can sell it quick. I know very little about hockey, but paradoxically, since my new WIP is set in Alaska, I decided to put in some hockey fans and an ex-hockey player named Moose (changed it up though and have him living with a guy named Anton. lol) If I run into any probs, I'll be emailing you with hockey questions. :)

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  9. -Lexa--ask away, and I'll do what I can to help! No spider (as far as I know); just wanting to see who's paying attention!

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