A rose is arose is a rows
Dear Miss Snark,I have a novel in revision that I hope will be ready for querying in about a year. I've also written some short stories, which I plan to start submitting to markets. My hope is that...
View ArticleThis therefore that, uh, no
Well, this is a clever way to see the limits of artificial intelligence.Just type in Thomas Pynchon and see what comes up.I mean David Sedaris is a wonderful writer and I love his work, but putting him...
View ArticleMiss Snark shops at Alphabeta of course**
Dear Miss Snark,There are approximately 6,800 spoken languages in the world, but only around 2,200 of them have writing systems. That leaves 4,600 languages that don’t have alphabets. When I saw that...
View ArticleAnother good place to find out about publishing
You want to find out what goes on at a publishing company?Here's your chance.Ben at Bleak House books is doing a podcast a day about publishing.Here's the link.First thing I wanna know....When's the...
View ArticleRemainders
Your Snarkiness,While lounging at the bookstore today, browsing through the tables of "Was $25, now $3.99" books, I wondered... who takes the loss on these huge discounts? The publisher has sent the...
View ArticleSubmitting work that's in a contest
Dear Miss Snark,Please help me avoid acting clueless. I want to maximize my opportunities without doing something that will make agents snarl. Here's the deal. I will be submitting my recently...
View ArticleBut, but, I did that on purpose!
Hi Miss Snark--I've been querying my novel since March and have gotten responses from a few big agencies. I'm in my second round now, sending samples to the agents who said yes to a letter, and...
View ArticleHoly Burning Bakery, Batgirl!
Miss Snark is glad to see that others too like to light their hair on fire.
View Articlewhat! what! you mean...I'm NOT the exception??
Dearest Miss Snark,I fear that I already know the answer to this question, but I am compelled to ask, nonetheless...I have a successful "day job" career, but I'm trying to pursue my dream of writing a...
View ArticleSASE...cause really, there's SO much more to say
As a service to an author who isn't in it for the money and who can afford my rates, I'm putting together queries for a nonfiction book I edited (his secretary will do the printing and mailing; he will...
View ArticleMovin' on
I have been peddling a completed middle grade novel for some time now and have had three requests for full submissions. The first two came back with personal rejections and invitations to submit future...
View Article"no deals" isn't always what you think it is
An agent whose name I have seen several times with offerings but who has no deals listed under her name on Agent Query or P.M. has asked to see my complete manuscript. She requires a 1 year contract....
View ArticleStop, drop, (sc)roll
Dear Miss Snark,Since I read your advice not to mix genres in query letters I've been planning to market my novel as a mystery. The problem is that although I throw out some hints early on, the...
View ArticleOh here, let me help you
Dear Mistress of the Highest SnarkitudeI'm in the early stages of querying my mystery novel, and a top New York agent is currently reviewing the full manuscript. Meanwhile, an acquaintance of mine...
View ArticleMore on rejections
Dear Miss Snark,If your oven wasn’t already in use as a file cabinet, I’d be asking to stop by so I could stick my head in and turn on the gas. After the one-millionth rewrite and almost as many...
View ArticleThank yous (and giftage)
I recently entered a writing contest (a well-known one) and didn't make the short-list. No biggie, I learned a lot and made some good progress with my writing. Then I got a very encouraging letter from...
View ArticleResist! Resist!
Dear Miss Snark,I recently received this email:(Agent's name)I see you've already rejected my query on (title redacted) oh, a month ago. And you're in great company. Sorry-- please disregard the query...
View ArticleEmail query format problems
Dear Miss Snark:I've sent out a bunch of e-mail queries and noticed when I received some answers (and my query shows up at the end of the responses) that sometimes my letter looked strange on the other...
View ArticleMiss Snark is Retiring
Two years; two million hits (2.5 actually as of 5/20/07);yes, Miss Snark has run out of new things to say.It's been an amazing run.This blog wouldn't have been any fun at all without you, my devoted...
View ArticleThe Post-Snark Snark
Some questions have popped up in my email and in the comments:1. What are you doing next?The only thing retiring is the blog. I'm still agenting. KY is still chasing squirrels and Grandmother Snark is...
View ArticleMiss Snark is quite overcome
Killer Yapp (activating Nextel two way collar radio): "Grandma Dog! Grandma Dog!"Grandmother Snark: "KY? What's wrong?"KY: Snark! Snark! Melting!GS: Miss Snark is melting? I'll be right there, open the...
View ArticleBonus Content-one last post
Dear Miss Snark,I’ve got papyrophobia (fear of paper) and bibliophobia (fear of books). My therapist says my phobias are the most severe she’s ever seen, and there’s no hope of a cure for me.I’ve...
View ArticleBonus Content--like DVDs!
Dear Miss Snark,As a hugely successful and incredibly wealthy New York literary agent, I gotta tell you that you’re really causing me heartburn. In the good old days, crappy writers did a crappy job of...
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