Nicola Morgan, the Crabbit Old Bat, is a multi-award-winning author of over 100 books across many genres. In this blog, she gives crabbitly honest advice to determined writers, and in her books, WRITE TO BE PUBLISHED, WRITE A GREAT SYNOPSIS, DEAR AGENT and TWEET RIGHT.
Saturday, 22 August 2009
THE PERFECT BLOG-READER ...
... is one who comes to my workshop, asks no stupid questions (actually, no one did - hooray for sensible workshoppers) and brings me chocolates. And chocolates of a very superior quality, too.
THANK YOU SUZANNE!
Although Toffee is Not a Way to Get Published, chocolate is a way to make me happy. If I were an agent or editor, it would consequently be hard for you to know whether chocolate would be an appropriate thing to send me in a submission, but my advice would be to wait until I've said I love your work and want to agent or publish you.
Since I am not an agent or publisher and never plan to be, chocolate is absolutely a very delightful thiing to bring me. However, please don't feel you have to, or I am going to put on too much weight.
Also, those of you who live too far away to come to Edinburgh, don't worry. I do not think any the less of you. Because really the perfect blog-reader is one who listens, joins in, is engaging and personable, does not leave spam (note to "glovin" - your ill-disguised spam is not appreciated) and then follows all my advice and gets published.
Can anyone bring me that happiest of all presents yet: one of you obtaining a contract?
Well, until then, I am grateful to Suzanne for today's lovely gift! It will certainly keep me going until that wonderful moment.
Meanwhile, please go and read today's main post, below. It's a long one. DOT - you especially should read it ...
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13 comments:
Thanks for the interesting post(s) - all highly readable, full of information and inspiration, and much appreciated! I thought a lot of the suggestions had validity, and were interesting. Congratulations to DOT!
PS Any more comps or challenges coming up? Lol. I followed your lead on making a 'movie', and put it up on youtube. Great fun!
Fantastic workshop, Nicola. Thank you so much.
Thanks, D - Submission Spotlight coming soon. And yes, I need a competition. But am somewhat tied up. Will put my mind to it. Soon ...
Suzanne - thank you! It worked well, mainly because there were no idiots. I do have a habit of attracting idiots. It was nice to meet you and put a name to your face, though i know I've seen you before. And thank you again for the chocs!
This comment is nothing to do with the post - just, England and Wales License? Really?
http://creativecommons.org/
press-releases/entry/5712
I promise to bring you chocolate (without cat hairs) from Adelaide when I eventually come to Edinburgh...will it be safe to leave it with Vanessa? (Do not label it 'chocolate'?)
j purdie - good point! Oddly, the list of countries wasn't alphabetical and I didn't see "UK: Scotland" in a completely different place. You'll see I've now changed it anyway. Thanks!
Catdownunder - no, if you attach a label to it saying "poison", that should be ok.
Hi Nicola. I'm new to your blogsite - I found it via Suzanne! But I've now added it to my favourites! Thanks for all your helpful advice - I am now going to read all your backlist blogs - a good a way to spend a rainy afternoon over here in north Wales. Take care. Caroline x
Poison? Vanessa might throw it away! This needs thinking about.
Hi Nicola, I would love to obtain the services of another agent for my writing. If that happened, I'd want to skip down the road with a silly grin on my face and, at my age, that would look highly peculiar!
Enough to say that if that does happen (touch wood, fingers crossed and all that), you would be one of the first to know.
Thank you for such a lively workshop yesterday and thank you for the inside information so generously given to us would-be authors.
Don't suppose I really count as I am already published (although still trying to persuade an agent of my merits). But after a long, dry spell (probably caused by clichés and over use of parentheses) - two contracts.
In haste as about to go and do event but a) thanks all b) welcome new readers and c) graeme - oh fear not: lots of readers are already published, as being published is (sadly, or not sadly) the end of the story!
I dunno...18 and 23?
I recommend Lucy Boston's Green Knowe books for her lovely, pure prose style.
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