Reading Habits

My reading habits have changed recently. I’m not sure if it’s the change of my living situation, taking my writing seriously, or the fact that I’m applying to obtain my MFA degree for the second time around that’s been a direct result of reading more.

I do more reading at home now. Before, I’d only read on the commute into Manhattan. Now, I read prior to going to sleep as well as on the train. I read before bedtime that last year but then I got busy or I was wasting time on the Internet.

I’m on roll this year as well – reading and writing different genres. Could this be what grad school is all about? I shall see!

What kind of reading habits do ya’ll have?

Cocky unpublished authors

Last week at my internship, the first few lines of a query letter read like this:

“I have no desire to permanently join your current stable of writers. I have written this one novel and I’ve said everything that I care to say within it.”

Who sends this to a literary agent? Who does this? Is this person seriously thinking he will receive a response from the agent? I was shocked and wondered how so many unpublished authors can be so cocky.

There is a certain assertiveness and confidence that writers should have with their writing but there should be a balance when they want an agent in order to be published!

This isn’t the first I’ve read. Others have discussed profits upfront and other madness.

The best advice for authors is to be humble; no one likes to deal with arrogant people, especially those that don’t have anything to show for being arrogant.

Be easy and be humble. If you get a super big fat advance, then there’s a little room to be overconfident but that’s after you get in the door. Make a good first impression. Publishing is a very small world.

Waves talk to me

I was sitting on Agrari beach in Mykonos, Greece and my mind became clear. I was struggling with the possibility of an upcoming job opportunity that has absolutely nothing to do with publishing and still pursuing a career in the industry. My traveling companion told me, “You are all over the place, girl!”

Upon the comment, I set the thoughts aside and didn’t revisit until I was on the beach. I talked to the waves and said, “Speak to me. Tell me what to do.” In times of indecision, I listen to the universe because when you ask, you receive a response.

As the waves pulled and tugged their way to me, calmly and smoothly they said, “Go with the flow. If you get this job, take it and continue on your MFA tract. If you don’t get the job, continue seeking vacancies in publishing. Either road works for you.”

After that, my worries and concerns dissolved; it was as if I put my indecision in a bottle and threw them out to the Aegean Sea.

I am much more calmer and peaceful. This trip has been amazing and has made me more introspective than usual.

When I get back to the states, I have so much to do but with excitement and gusto!

E-book reader vs. books

I love the smell of books and feeling the pages as I turn them, especially when they’re good. There’s nothing like the satisfaction of completing a book and turning to the final page.

As for the e-book readers created, I don’t see myself buying one any time soon. However, with my upcoming trip to Europe, I wish I had one. My flight will be about six hours and then a layover for four hours until I reach my destination.

There’s the part of me that is a complete traditionalist, not interested in ever purchasing an e-book reader because I love books too much. Books have something romantic, antiquated, but indistinguishable from an e-book reader. On one of those things, I’ll feel like I’m reading on a computer screen, a magazine article, or a blog in which I skim down when my eyes get lazy. Are more people reading because of the e-readers? I don’t even know.

I think it’s a great device for folks on the go, publishers, agents, and anyone who loves to read. I know someone that received a Kindle as birthday gift but he doesn’t even read that much. I find it interesting how some gadgets are bought for the novelty and not for their functions at times. I won’t even get into the iPad because I am not interested. If I had the Kindle, I might read quicker but then again, I can’t gauge that. I’m a different kind of consumer because I’m not quick to buy gadgets because they sound kool or because everyone else has one. I’m practical; if the gadget has functions that will work for me, I’ll purchase it. If not, why fix something that’s not broken? That’s just me.

Who knows? Maybe in a few months, I’ll get an e-reader. For right now, there’s nothing like the good ol’ fashioned feel of a good book.

Reading

Two years ago, I made the intention to read 1,000 books in less than ten years. This meant reading 100 books every year. Because life got in the way, I have only reached forty four books read this year in total. This means on average, I’ve read twenty books a year. This is a very small number and the goal is to read up to forty or more a year.

It’s not that I’m even a slow reader; I read twenty pages per half-hour. I’m sure I could finish novels in a few days if I really concentrated. Like I aforementioned, I get busy. And I’m serious about reading but I haven’t made time for it.

I’ve been reading Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon for two months now and the book is less that 400 pages! If I sat down for an hour every day, I’d be done by the end of the week, easy.

My intention is to read furiously and writing the goal down will motivate me to take it more seriously.

I have written the goal down on the website 43 things which is a life list you can print out, track, write entries on, and share with the world. I write down every book I read and review them as I have been doing on here. This website reminds me of the many things I want to accomplish before I perish or something terrible happens to me.

In sharing my goal on my blog, this will motivate me to read the books I own, review them, and learn from them. I am a writer after all.

I urge you to visit the website and create your own life list. It’s fun! You’d be surprised how fulfilling it is to complete something on your list and move on to the next. It’s a great feeling.

Publishing Employment Opportunities

As a writer, working in publishing is like a conflict of interest, right? I think not. Who says you can’t do both? Below are the websites I frequent when looking for jobs and/or internships.

The Publisher’s Marketplace has a job board I check every so often. The descriptions are clear and the jobs are easy to apply to. I recently applied to a job posted on the site and it was easy as pie. Will I receive a phone call from the agency? Only time will tell.

I plug Mediabistro all the time because the resources on the site are extremely helpful. You only have to create a free account on the site to apply which doesn’t take more than five minutes. At times, some postings have an external link to apply on the company’s website.

Book Jobs has a large quantity of employment opportunities as well as an exhausting list of internships as well. This site has postings updated weekly.

Now for some company career sites:

Simon & Schuster is such a huge company with many imprints. There’s no hurt in searching the jobs they have available. I peruse the website once a week, just in case something comes up.

W.W. Norton and Company has openings that range from 0-2 years experience to 5+ years experience. They currently have paid internships available.

Harper Collins presently has many New York opportunities available.

Random House constantly has job vacancies which I also peruse once a week.

Penguin Group is another site that offers employment opportunities.

There are many more publishing companies (smaller and other educational) but these are the ones I have bookmarked that I wanted to share for those who don’t know.

Enjoy and happy job hunting!

Copyediting

On Monday night, I took my first ever copyediting class.  The Mediabistro’s website offers many classes to provide useful skills for writers and anybody in the media industry.

The class had sixteen people, primarily composed of women.  The instructor was witty, intelligent, and supportive with our dreams of entering the wide world of copyediting.

I learned there is a difference between being a Proofreader, Copyeditor, and Line Editor.

We spent a huge portion of the class understanding the nuances and crossover of these three titles.

A Proofreader is in charge of spelling, grammar, punctuation, the layout, and structure of print.

A Copyeditor looks at word choice, tense consistency, jargon, overwrought prose, wordiness and fact checking.

A Line editor goes through the copy for context, tone, clarity, and stereotypes/clichés if by that part in the editing process it has not been looked at.

I thought that a Copyeditor did all these three jobs but apparently not; if a company wants a Copyeditor, now I know that I have to ask about the other positions because then my rate will go up accordingly! (Even though I don’t know what my rate is just yet.)

We did an in class exercise which was really fun and we also have homework.  With practice and resources, I’ll be a bona fide Copyeditor in no time!

This class is going to be a blast.