Monday, July 10, 2006

The company of writers

Funny how I crave the company of writers. Getting together to talk about the writing biz may seem like an indulgence but it makes great business sense. It never fails when I have lunch or get together critique-wise I always learn something new about the market, trends, editors who jump ship to another company. This kind of inside info is even more valuable when you are contemplating a national conference like RWA in Atlanta in a few weeks. Knowing who has connections with who, who likes what, which newbies are the up and comers will all help you to feel at ease and knowledgeable.

Most people are amazed at how incredibly small the world of publishing is. When you understand that there are 50 or so acquiring editors in New York, it makes you realize how few people decide what is available on the shelf to read. When you couple that with the fact that most times they can't even tell you what they're looking for it can make the book business very frustrating indeed. One way to alleviate this frustration is to spend time with the multis. Who are the multis? The Multi=Published authors. They aren't a one shot wonder they've been around. They know people and connections. They hear the rumors as well as the fact and can separate the two for you. I have several multis I will be seeing this week so I can prepare myself for the stress and fun of conference.

Pricker update: someone ran over one of my little cacti....grrr......it's like six inches from my back wall in the alley......of course, being cactus, it looks like it's bouncing right back....I hope they got a flat....

1 comment:

Desperate Writer said...

Wonderful Amarillo water is the menace behind all of our ice maker disasters. I gave up, and now buy my ice. It tastes better anyway.

re:PRICKERS: Well, now you need some of those road spikes to sprinkle in with the cacti, maybe that would make careless drivers think twice....:)