Vive la difference!
leucistic peacock - a rarity...(thanks Doug for the clarification - it's not albino but LEUCISTIC)
See Doug Hoffman’s blog for more leucistic animals
and for a good explanation!
A fellow writer was reflecting upon her own peccadillos and idiosyncracies the other day, and she moaned that either she or her writing was just to strange for editors to buy. Not one to bite my tongue when given the chance to stick my foot in my mouth, I suggested she look at her so-called faults and oddities in a different light.
Remember when there was no chick lit? When a Black author couldn't sell a mainstream novel, much less a MAN write a relationship book? How about when a nonfiction book by a journalist couldn't make the NY Times bestsellers' list? Or when there was nothing but bodice-ripper historicals or category romance in the romance sections of bookstores? There were also few lesbian and gay novels that made the shelves. Arthur C. Clarke and William Gibson were decades ahead of scientific discoveries, and Tom Clancy had yet to be investigated by the government for having such a vast knowledge of military practices and submarine technology.
************
A marriage of minds between an author and an editor is like any other relationship - a lot depends upon the timing, and it's not so much as if one or both are perfect but whether or not they're perfect for each other. Preparedness has a lot to do with whether or not a book sells, too. Know your target - you can't hit a target you don't have, according to motivational speaker Zig Ziglar. So know your subject matter, your Ps & Qs as a writer, the editor or at least the house you're targeting, and above all know yourself. Know what you're willing to do to get what you want, and don't work too hard to gain what you don't really need or want.
*****
Books such as Wishcraft: How To Get What You Really Want by Barbara Sher are excellent for helping you pinpoint your true desires. Inspirational biographies of people you admire may help you keep what you've acquired once you reach your goals. As one shewd person once wrote: If you want to be rich, take a rich man to dinner and pick his brain. Same goes for writing - learn how 'the other half' lives if you are unfamiliar with how to get what you want. Study the pros. Learn from them.
View things with a new eye - embrace the different until you at least understand it well enough to say 'that's for me' or 'boy, that isn't for me'.
And accept, cherish, and nurture you own unique abilities and talents. Don't try to copy - try to set or raise the bar, to carve you own niche. Your day is coming if you but stick to your dreams.
And have FUN on your journey. Get a little silly along with serious. Discover what motivates you and practice becoming who you want to be, writing what you want to write. Treasure those who support your vision. Nobody can be a better you...than you.
posted by Bobbie (Sunny) Cole @ 1:48 AM
8 comments
8 Comments:
GREAT point, Jason - Thanks!
Unique is a wonderful thing - but sometimes it's hard to be different. LOL
Was that for me? LOL
Good post! I freaking love that commercial!!
Lyn, what a great post! Terrific peacock (leucistic and not albino, if birds are anything like reptiles), great photoshops, and I love the Hyundai commercial, too. As for the skewer, any man that well endowed deserves to be barbecued. He makes the rest of us look bad.
As for the bottom line message: I hear you. In my writing, I only sought to write something I would find entertaining, and I took it on faith that others would, too. It's unlike anything else in the genre, though, so it remains to be seen if I can get an editor to believe in it.
I LOVE discovering new words - THANKS, DOUG!
2 entries found for leucitic. (from Dictionary.com)
leu·cite ( P ) Pronunciation Key (lst)
n.
A white or gray mineral of potassium aluminum silicate, KAlSi2O6.
***
leu·citic (-stk) adj.
Leucistic, Lyn, and for you, because your Brokeback Happy Meal link just ate up my afternoon (once I start watching Google videos, I can't stop), I'll do a blog on leucistic animals.
Damn it, I haven't worked on my manuscript a single minute today.
Leucistic - well, shit, I was close -lol. Never stopped to look at it once I found it.
THANKS!
I have another video I'd love to post but can't get the darn thing to work. Alas. You're welcome to email me and I'll send it to you.
Post a Comment
<< Home