"An unexpected event will soon bring you fortune." Twitter is alive with a lot of publishing opportunities. Different hashtagged events allow access to agents and editors. Some examples include #PitchWars, #SFFPit, and #PitMad. Last week, I decided to participate in #Pit2Pub. This is a chance to get a 140-character pitch in front of editors at various publishers. If it's hard to whittle a novel into a synopsis, it's insane to do so into a tweet. But I tried. I wanted to provide a sense of … [Read more...]
My First #Pit2Pub
July 17, 2017 2 Comments
Filed Under: Publishing, querying Tagged With: #Pit2Pub, editors, Twitter
To Know It All
July 23, 2012 2 Comments
Dalaahn Sapuhn Mahndou Duk: to keep asking until one completely understands On a superficial level, this idiom refers to a crack (mahn) running to the bottom (duk) of a pot (sapuhn). However, the term mahn can also sound like the word for "ask." With the alternate meaning, the phrase then signifies someone repeatedly asking about something in order to fully comprehend it.The desire to understand.While querying, I've noticed agents also thirsting for this complete knowledge. The traditional … [Read more...]
Filed Under: Cantonese, Chinese, full manuscript, idiom, knowledge, literary agent, partial, query letter, querying, understanding
Being Mulan
June 25, 2012 4 Comments
Jiujik: acting too proud in one's speech or behaviorIn ancient times, Fa Muhk Laahn (the Cantonese pronunciation of the Disney princess Mulan) worried about her father's draft into military service. In the Song of Muhk Laahn, the verse goes:"We can't hear the sound of the shuttle of the loomwhen Muhk Laahn is weaving,But Jikjik again and againWe can hear her sighing."Jikjik is Cantonese onomatopoeia for sighing. When a person behaves too proudly, he will jiu (arouse) the jik (discontented … [Read more...]
Filed Under: literary agent, lowering expectations, Mulan, onomatopoeia, querying, rejection
