"Never miss a chance to do good"--David Stanley
On Sunday, April 14, 2024, the literary community lost one of its guiding lights when Janet Reid passed away. A New York literary agent for more than twenty years, Janet was possibly even better known for her writings about the publishing industry, especially her advice columns for aspiring authors. Janet Reid was born in Seattle, Washington, the oldest of four sisters. Her sister Cynthia…
Several years ago, when I was much stupider, I briefly interned for a reasonably well-known agent. I let her know ahead of time that I had a vacation lined up where I would be off grid about a month after I started, which she was on board with. However, due to some wires getting crossed on my end and some stressful visa shenanigans, my last email to her before I left didn't end up getting sent,…
Here's a question for the blog: does a reasonably established but not MAJOR author really need an agent? I've been querying for months with a really good project because my agent is retiring. I'm getting full requests and plenty of "this is a great project but not for me" -- and no offers. And I'm also still selling work: short stories, and probably soon a re-up from the small startup press that…
Sorry for the dreadful delay in posting this. I was beset by a foul ailment that laid me low. I'd say it was fur deprivation, but I did have a nice long week with Mx Pix the parkour puss. There's no critique on these; they're all terrific and besides, they're your furred friends. They're perfect even when they're not. That said, the entry by Fburgos was breathtaking. I read it once and thought,…
I'm still under the weather but I console myself by saying at least I don't have pneumonia (which two of my friends have now) and at least I don't have covid (which half the world seems to have now.) Time for some medicinal flash fiction! The usual rules apply: 1. Write a story using 100 words or fewer. 2. Use these words in the story: jolly roger beach bum shell If you are Steve Forti , or wish…
A bit under the weather these past few days. More to come later this week.
A friend and I were talking about her dogs and she casually mentioned she had business cards for them! Well, that made me curious so I asked to see one. Kind soul that she was, she didn't mention she'd have to go digging, but dig she did. Here it is: So this week's flash fiction contest is: write copy for your dog/cat/dragon pet of any sort and post it in the comments column of this blog post.…
Dear Janet, The question is regarding maps in novels and sample pages (In usual fashion, my cart is bopping along the rocky road pushed by the nose of my weary horse. This is for my next and as yet unfinished novel). I did read your old posts regarding graphics and maps and understand why graphics are generally frowned upon for debuts and that illustrative maps are typically outsourced. However, I…
Thanks to all of you who stepped in to assuage my pain at the shellacking I've taken from Steve Forti. It was medicinal flash fiction indeed! Here are the entries that caught my eye. Steve Forti “I mean, who mixes meerkat with warthog? Ridiculous. And don’t get me started on Pac-man. ‘Cuz there’s Ms. Pac-man. Did she have just one choice in a guy? Is there like a whole race of Pac-men out there…
I am surrendering to the brilliance of Steve Forti. I've never managed to thwart him. I slink off in shame. However, we'll have a flash fiction contest to assuage my pain. The usual rules apply: 1. Write a story using 100 words or fewer. 2. Use these words in the story: punk button thwart acme pi If you are Steve Forti , or wish you could be, just enjoy your victory. 3. You must use the whole…
Jeff Somers has a terrific substack going that uses movies to illustrate points about writing. It's true-to-form Jeff: hilarious, and helpful. Here's one of his recent points that really hit home for me: Restraint can be challenging when writing a story, because it sometimes feels like it’s not writing. Depicting something in a realistic fashion sometimes feels like you’re simply describing an…
I had such high hopes. I figured string quartet would finally thwart Mr. Forti . I originally had Ouagadougu (the capitol of Burkina Faso) but I thought for sure he'd be able to twist that into something hilarious. I guess I should quit finding my prompt words in the Acme Dictionary. But string quartet?? Well, not only did Mr. Forti thwart me, a bunch of the rest of you formed a Forti Mob and did…
A lot of you want to be Steve Forti! Here are the various ways you deployed string quartet: french sojourn “G-String Quartet” Steve Forti best ring quartet Tim Lowe hamstring quartet BJ Muntain blust'ring quartet. Beth Carpente r string. Quartet, J.R. Raglow A string, quartet of queer days, has mired me in a shoal Colin Smith a string quartet of fishing lines KA Claytor tie around hamstring. Quart…
I'm renewing my efforts to thwart Steve Forti! It's almost the end of 2023! I must prevail at least once!! The usual rules apply: 1. Write a story using 100 words or fewer. 2. Use these words in the story: shoal rain drop atoll float If you are Steve Forti , or wish you could be, you must also use the word: string quartet BUT you can NOT use it to mean a group of four stringed instruments! 3. You…
On a recent fine autumn day I headed to the subway for my weekly jaunt up to MoMA. I like to go early to hit the members-only hour on Sunday because it's a LOT less crowded. Less crowded on the subway, too. As I approached the subway entrance, I couldn't help but notice a bevy of ladies-of-a-certain- age, clearly tourists, and clearly lost. Since I spend my days chomping on tender (toothsome)…
Richard North Patterson wrote an op-ed piece in the WSJ (sadly behind a paywall) about how he couldn't get published anymore cause he was an old white dude. After I stopped laughing, I realized he was serious. There's a nice piece from Slate on the topic. Richard North Patterson failure to secure a deal was NOT cause he was an old white dude. His book wasn't compelling; his last book was ten years…
Some of you confused hoard with horde. (insert evil shark laugh here!) Members of the Steve Forti Prompt Word Fan Club: Gail Tim Lowe ParmCharm ( with a lovely mention of my favorite color fuchsia!) Colin Smith LynnRodz J.R. Raglow Winner of the Steve Forti Prompt Challenge: Steve Forti, who used xylophone in a very distinct way. Foiled AGAIN! None of you took a guess about what provided the…
Given we have a whole extra hour this weekend, let's invest it in writing flash fiction! The usual rules apply: 1. Write a story using 100 words or fewer. 2. Use these words in the story: Noise Mere Hoard Hero Avenge Bonus points if you can suss out what I was thinking about when making that list! If you are Steve Forti , or want to be, you must also use the word: xylophone! 3. You must use the…
Reading your flash fiction entries was a lovely respite on a rainy Sunday. Normally I go to MoMA on Sunday but I also like to stroll down Fifth Ave after my visit, and the rain today just made that sound...soggy. I read all of these of course, and the first cull is usually based on whether the entry is a story. This is not a hard and fast rule, there are some exceptions, but generally you need to…
We had so much fun last week, it's only fitting we should have another contest this weekend. The hours have changed so do take a look (below) so you don't miss out! The usual rules apply: 1. Write a story using 100 words or fewer. 2. Use these words in the story: tuck iron sheet case fold (Can you tell I was making the bed as I was thinking of the FF prompts?) If you are Steve Forti , or want to…
Flash fiction contest winners get prizes, usually a book from my shelves that I've read and liked a lot. For this week's contest one of the winners mentioned she'd liked Bruce Borgos' The Bitter Past. Aha! I heard about The Peacock and The Sparrow by way of Bruce's newsletter. His comments made me want to read it so off I swam to the bookstore and got a copy. And Bruce was oh-so-right! This book…
Well I had to really think hard on this one. You rascally writers just up the stakes Every Single Time. (Very cool!) I re-read all the finalists, and I even brought myself to re-read Mr. Forti's entry. I soon realized there could not be just one winner. Three of you wrote pieces that are aspects of the same heartache. Thus: Madeline Mora-Summonte BJ Muntain KD James are all winners this week. Here…
It is lovely to see so many familiar names back in the comments section. Thanks to all of you for writing and sharing your work. Special recognition to Colin Smith: Fork she's a dish might be my new favorite laud. My former fave? Hubba hubba. Special recognition to Kregger for putting Tim Lowe in steerage on the way to Carkoon. Double whammy! As usual Steve Forti has thwarted me: We were somewhere…
From Tim Lowe: "I spent part of my day locating old FF entries in my mountain of unorganized Google docs. "Miss those -- they really sharpened the brain, became a great outlet, a wonderful diversion. The last one (as yet still in Preliminary results stage, unless I missed it) was a much-needed distraction from the skull-splitting boredom of a Covid isolation last January. "No, I don't have a…
Incoming query: My novel is "Propulsive! Heartwarming! Original!" Oh yes, your book is all that and a bag of chips. But when you put that in a query letter, my ONLY response is "Oh yea? Says who?" Cause you are not the most reliable source on how fabu your novel is. Not only are you not objective, you're blindly partisan. And that is A-OK. You should love your book. You should think your book is…