A few years ago the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) added some new words to their authoritative book. What made the news is that four of the words weren’t words at all but acronyms that crept into our everyday communication via the Internet. “Words” like LOL, OMG, BFF, and IMHO.
In honor of that rather auspicious occasion I thought it would be fun to see if we can find other acronyms that should become part of our language, if for no other reason, because of their frequent use. I’ve included, with citation, a few that came from our blog readers.
Without further adieu and to alleviate your personal FOMO:
ID (It Depends) – Attributed to Steve Laube whenever he is asked a question about publishing.
IHMM (I Hate My Manuscript) – A common cry of every writer while in the midst of the creative process. Self-doubt and lack of confidence created this acronym.
WINE (Will it Never End) – Peter DeHann said this acronym comes as an outgrowth of his SOTP (Sick of This Project) declaration.
INMT (I Need More Time) – Deadlines should be carved in stone, but are often sketched in pencil. Ask any editor what frustrates them the most and missed deadlines will be in their top five.
GTMTWT (God Told Me To Write This) – A regular one claimed by authors in their proposals. Thanks to Katherine Hyde for contributing that one. She also added, MMNNE (My Manuscript Needs No Editing) and TWIRFMB (The World Isn’t Ready For My Book).
GMMM (Get Me More Money) – A universal cry for all who write for a living when talking with their agent. A variation of the infamous SMTM (Show Me the Money) quote in the movie “Jerry McGuire.” (Click the link to see what the agent does after hanging up the phone.)
DQYDJ (Don’t Quit Your Day Job) – See the above acronym.
DRTBR (Don’t Respond To Bad Reviews) – Lisa Hall-Wilson contributed this and added “Watched an author swirlie their writing career by commenting on a blog review this month. Yikes.”
HOGR (Harbinger of Grim Reality) – Pronounced “ogre.” After hearing my presentation on the state of the publishing industry at a writers conference this acronym was conferred on me by Thomas Umstattd. Despite the appellation I hired him to design this web site.
POPF (Prophet of Publishing Future) – Richard Mabry said I wasn’t a HOGR but a pop-off!
HP (Human Prozac) – Robin Caroll, Susan May Warren, and Tosca Lee conferred this acronym on me in describing my management style when working with anxious authors.
ILMA (I Love My Agent) – Ah, sweet mystery of life. The rarest of acronyms. Much more desirable than the alternate…BSP (Blood-Sucking Parasite).
BUTTPW (But I Thought the Publisher Would ______ ) – A common fill-in-the-blank phrase used by debut authors, contributed by Marti Pieper.
ISBWNRSB (I Should Be Writing Not Reading Steve’s Blog) – suggested by Sue Harrison. Now get back to work!
FSEAHS (Found Spelling Error After Hitting Send) – contributed by Christine Long.
What acronym can you create to add to our updated version of the OED?
BTW & FYI I’ll BRB w/a new blog post L8R.
[Based on a post which originally ran in March 2011]
Fun Fridays – August 17, 2018
I am guilty of this one all the tim…
TMBF (Today Must Be Friday) – because this is way too much fun for a Monday morning.
IJWTW — A frequent feeling regarding platform demands.
Oops! I l left out what IJWTW means: I just want to write.
NNTR No need to respond.
EIL – (Editing is life) because I never realized just how much editing was required before embarking on this endeavor!
IHSMMIUI: I Hate Social Media, Must I Use It
To new authors, I’d offer this advice – never underestimate the chagrin authors shall endure.
Which is, conveniently, NUTCASE.
Chortle-snort! Andrew, you are priceless!!
Fun one, Andrew!
These are great, but Peter is going to have to come up with something else because SOTP is already taken by those of us who write seat-of-the-pants! 😉
And there’s the hollow reassurance some give to increasingly worried agents and editors as Deadline Day fast approaches:
Should have it tomorrow.
Andrew
LOL, OMG (goodness), ROTFL, ICL (I cried laughing). IMHO, TWTF (this was too funny)!
DUDM: Don’t use dangling modifiers…like the one in a sentence above. See if you can find it.
Tantalizing post, because All Aspiring Authors Are Acronym Addicts (AAAAAA). Another needed acronym Mr. Hostetler could use: SWIDT?
Rebekah
That’s a group like AA or AAA. But, we may be stuttering.
Exactly what happens when an agent emails/calls and asks for entire manuscript and/or publishing house offers a contract (presumably a good one).
Let’s not forget WOAP and the related WOAA. Waiting On a Publisher and Waiting On An Agent, both of which can take a long time even after a request for the full manuscript. RFTFM?
And if I’m WOAP or WOAP, I’m also OCE – obsessively checking email.
Great article. Have you read this one?
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/05/the-h-in-imho-does-not-mean-humble-or-honest/559514/
Leave it to the internet to try to reinvent a commonly held phrase.
I figuratively rolled my eyes.
Or did I literally roll my eyes? (That would have been both painful and gross.)
Sigh…
Be careful, Steve. Roll them too far and they’ll lock.
Or…they’ll do a full 360, and you can get an acting gig in the next phase of the Marvel Comic Universe.
Steve, the Argus-Eyed AgenTerminator
Truly a fun post. Gave me a great Monday morning grin.
LKGITW is what I’m living right now . . .
Life Keeps Getting in the Way . . . Of writing.
Hah, these are great.
One vital acronym to add because for some, it’s a writer’s lifeblood:
INMC = I Need More Coffee
Speaking of . . . cutting this response short. . . .
YESSSSr = You Er So So So So right…
I like the ones that spell out what they are:\
AGENT: A Generally Empathetic, Nifty Thinker
I read of a grandmother who received notice of a death and thought she was sending Lots Of Love to the bereaved. I’m too insecure about acronyms and fearful of the possibility of doing something like that to add a suggestion to this great and growing list. I’ll lurk, smile, giggle, and smirk, instead. Wait–is that LSGS??
Hilarious, thank you for the Monday snortfest! HTYFTMS
Hi All,
I loved all the new acronyms (ILATNA).
Great way to start an otherwise blah Monday.
I believe I may have fallen into a few of the acronym categories.
IWNTYWTA ( I will never tell you what they are). OTAKFS (only the agent knows for sure)
And, EDIT (English Doesn’t Immediately Translate).
oops I forgot…
IHSWIMSE
I hit send when I meant something else. Such as, editor points out error, please fix. Instead of saying I know, you write No.
Send. And… hope you find it. Otherwise. Otherwise ERHE (editor rolls his/her eyes).
Sending an ILMA shout-out to Tamela! ?
WITSDY – Why Isn’t This Story Done Yet
SMCSLT = So Many Characters So Little Time
alternate – SMSSLT = So Many Stories So Little Time
alternate #2 = SMVSLT = So Many Voices So Little Time…
WYLTBMA (think Mr. Rogers) = Would You Like To Be My Agent #winkwink
BALANCE = Be Aloof, Laugh Alot (ahem) Never Choke Editors…
OKTE – OKay That’s Enough
You all are having WTMF
(Way Too Much Fun)
Remember? ISBWNRSB (I Should Be Writing Not Reading Steve’s Blog)
NRFML: Not Right For My List. (Did someone mention this already?) Pronounced nerf-mel.
This is from another agent’s blog: NORMAN (No Response Means No). The one that gives authors anxiety disorders if we didn’t have them already.
And, let’s not forget an oldie but a goodie:
TEOTWAWKI The End Of The World As We Know It
It actually comes from the prepper crowd, but I think it ought to be included since it is the setting for so many novels.
FB- Fried Brain….trying to write a novel in one month, just to see if it can be done….don’t try this at home.
NFTFOH_ not for the faint of heart
When grading my students’ papers: TMF – Too Much Fluff
Hubby texts this when I’m running late: WOAW – Waiting On A Woman – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-C-IbkuNWs
When texting a member of our writers group: KW! Keep Writing!
By reading this blog post and thinking up acronyms to decompress for a few minutes in the midst of a very busy day 🙂 TABBL: Taking A Break Back Later
Thanks everybody – you made me smile!
WYSA – What’s your story about? – The question writers get a million times and never tire of answering.
This was a great way to start my week. I literally laughed out loud. Thanks!
Now, my lunch break is over so . . . ISBWNRSB! 😉
These are too funny! INCBIRTYB= I need chocolate before I respond to your blog because IR =in reality ISBW= I should be writing. And yes, ILMA!
I can’t believe I didn’t see this yesterday. It’s hilarious! My favorite is the world isn’t ready for my book. That cracks me up. Get ready, world! Here comes my novel.
ISBWNRSB but ILMA #TeamBob 😉
SPAW- Stop Procrastinating And Write – My daily matra
In the infancy stage of a manuscript, I call it U.B.B. or Ugly Book Baby. With diligent work, it becomes, hopefully, much cuter.