Reflecting on the last couple of days, the phrase “First in, first out” came to mind. No, it’s not the motto of the Marines–which I thought when it first popped into my head. In fact, it’s not the motto of ANY armed forces unit. The closest I could find was the U.S. Army’s Pathfinders’ motto: […]

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When I was in college, I would delay, procrastinate, and put off what I needed to get done until the very last minute–usually at the end of the semester. “Finals Week” for me was a collection of empty 12-oz. diet soda cans and a haze of chain-smoked cigarettes. (For the record:  I have long since […]

Read more "Working Under a Deadline"

While it’s easy to be measured in comments about those things of which we are wholly ignorant, it’s less easy to keep our mouths shut when it comes to the wider categories. For instance, I’d never contribute to a conversation about coding. In fact, never having heard a conversation about coding, I’m not sure these […]

Read more "You Never Know . . . Unless You’re Told"

I deserve either a medal or a public flogging. Yesterday I managed to be some odd incarnation of myself. Possessed with the spirit of awful, I went off the rails twice: once with the 15-year-old and once with the dog; and to complete the “bad things come in threes” truth, blew it with my son–on […]

Read more "Trifecta of Parental Failure"

Yesterday I learned of a competition where fifteen editors volunteer their time to work on a manuscript (or two) with writers who wish to tighten and strengthen their fully-completed MSs. After those 15-30 MSs are honed and polished, there is an “agent round” where the writers can pitch their now-stronger novels to prearranged literary agents with the […]

Read more "Betting on a Long Shot"

In the publishing world, there are scores of acronyms specific to the language of that world. Here’s are two perfectly legitimate sentences: Last week, I finished my WIP (work in progress) and had it printed into an MS (manuscript). In a couple of months, I’ll copyedit the MS before drafting a QL (query letter) to send […]

Read more "R & R (Not Rest and Relaxation)"