Today is my wife’s birthday.
Pardon me while I send her this video greeting. (I’m the one at the end of the video wearing glasses.)
Why Does It Take Editors and Agents So Long to Read My Proposal?
Recently, a writer posted this question: I submitted a proposal to a publisher 6 months ago. The guidelines said that a response would be provided at the end of 4 months. At the end of 5 months I sent an email query to confirm that they had actually received the submission–still no response. Now I am at the end of 6 months.…Do I give up? I wish I had a magic wand to solve this problem for …
Fun Fridays – October 25
I have only three words in reaction to today’s video: I want one. Please donate to SteveIsDreamingAgain_AndIWishHeWouldStop.com.
Things My Editor Does That I Take for Granted
“You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what’s burning inside you, and we edit to let the fire show through the smoke.” – Arthur Plotnik “No passion in the world is equal to the passion to alter someone else’s draft.” – H.G. Wells You editor is someone with a special skill set. One that is often described as being intrusive, overbearing, heavy-handed, and just …
Fun Fridays – October 18, 2024
Writing can be a lonely, solo adventure. Publishing, on the other hand, is rarely done well in isolation. Today’s video is a metaphor for how publishing works. HT: Dan Balow
Happy Birthday Winnie-the-Pooh!
On this day in 1926 the book Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne was published by Methuen in London. Our household has celebrated this day each year with my wife baking Winnie-the-Pooh shaped cookies. (Yes, it is a scary thing to be a man in a house of Winnie-the-Pooh celebrations.) Some say the real birthday is the day Christopher Robin Milne was given his stuffed bear (August 21, 1921). But since …
Fun Friday – October 11, 2024
Someone took a video of me trying to get into a hammock. I only wanted to take a nap! In the end, I took my frustration out on an unsuspecting writer. Poor fellow, he just wanted to ask a question; and I snapped. All caught on video.
In Memory of John Wooden
Fourteen years ago, the great Hall-of-Fame basketball coach John Wooden passed away at the age of ninety-nine. As you can see from the photo above, I had the privilege of attending one of his basketball camps during the Summer of 1974–fifty years ago. It was a John Wooden and Bill Sharman (coaches of UCLA and the LA Lakers, respectively) camp in Honolulu. We lived and breathed basketball …
Fun Fridays – October 4, 2024
Terrible Christian Puns None of these puns are original. I take no credit or blame. (I only laughed.) All were found floating around the Internet. ___________ Where is a square dance class mentioned in the Bible? Jonah 4:11: “There are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left.” Who was the smartest man in the Bible? Abraham. He …
Fun Fridays – September 27, 2024
Yet another fascinating bit of world trivia. Today’s video is a four-minute piece about an office inside an elevator. Watch and be amazed. I want one.