Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Fictional Reactions to the Publishing Industry

Be vewy vewy quiet. We’re hunting rabbits, or chasing rabbit trails or falling down rabbit holes. I haven’t decided which. Anyway…today you get to tell me your response to the publishing industry. Sometimes the more I educate myself the more my brain feels like it has a leak. It’s a doozy out there.


So, you tell me on this I 8 Wednesday, which fictional character best describes what you might be caught saying about the publishing industry:

  1. “I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Though overwhelmed with it all, you readily exhibit your Dorothy-sized bravery. “I’m not afraid of her.”
  2. In typical Eeyore pout, you humdrum, “Nobody likes me.” And other such phrases like, “I guess I’ll never be published. I’ll never get an agent. Why is it this tale always seems to fall apart?”
  3. “People never give your message to anybody.” “People never believe you.” In pure phony-paranoid pitch, you hold tightly to a Holden Caulfield perspective of the industry.
  4. Or you break into, “What will this day be like? I wonder. What will my future be? I wonder. It could be so exciting to be out in the world, to be free. My heart should be wildly rejoicing. Oh, what's the matter with me?” In Maria’s lovable sing-song way, you swing your suitcase and dance through the streets of Salzburg, confident as can be.
  5. When being introduced to an agent or an editor, you’re apt to assert, “Wile E. Coyote – super genius.” You’re confident alright—perhaps overly so.
  6. You might sit back, fold your hands and smile, saying, “Fair is whatever God likes to do,” if you’re feeling at Peace Like a River.
  7. If you have a Southern and feisty take on the industry, you might proclaim as Scarlett did, “I can’t think about that right now. If I do, I’ll go crazy. I’ll think about that tomorrow.”
  8. Or if you are just having a day when you’d like to revert back to childhood, flying amongst the Lost Boys, you might insist, “Forget them, Wendy. Forget them all. Come with me where you’ll never, never have to worry about grown up things again.”

Any of those sound like you? I know which ones sound most like me. Do-re-mi, Swede! ;)

*photos by flickr

27 comments:

  1. Number 6 comes closest to what I'm feeling. I read the gloom and doom posts, but I don't feel like all is lost. Writers are still signing with agents. Agents are still selling books to publishing houses. Publishing houses are still selling books and even seeing growth. God is still in control.

    Even though times are tough, so am I. My future is in the hands of One who loves me deeply, and that gives me a sense of peace.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I go back and forth between Dorothy and Maria, depending on the day. Once in a great while I might be Eeyore, but not for long. Good post:)

    ReplyDelete
  3. 7 or 8. If I think about it too much, my brain drowns in shoulds, have-tos and goals. Other times, I say to the Lord--not Peter Pan--"just let me hear your voice; take me up with You where I don't have to play this game anymore."

    ReplyDelete
  4. I seem to jump from one to another. Maybe number 3 as of late. :O)

    ReplyDelete
  5. LOL, I am TOTALLY an Eeyore. Not that I want to be, and I fight it. But there you have it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm going to go with Scarlett. I can't sit and think about it too much or it will freak me out. I just have to take the writing thing one day at a time.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Aw... I wish I had an answer for this. I don't really know much about the publishing industry. Not from a writing perspective anyway. I had I couple things published in college but it was for my school, through the illustration program. I have yet to illustrate a book.

    If any of you writers are looking for an illustrator, I totally have connections!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have not yet had experience with the publishing industry, but know I will one day! So, today I will say #4. I will dance in the street of possibilty. But I think once cornered, I may choose #8. I love the picture of Rhett and Scarlett.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Totally Scarlett, which seems appropriate since that is one of my favorite stories AND I live in Georgia ;) I HAVE to focus on the present and not put the cart before the horse!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Totally Scarlett. I tend to escape back into my fiction and ignore the world around me. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Right now I'm a 4 and a 6, but I don't really have that much experience with the publishing industry. I've sent a few pieces of my work to literary magazines, all of which were rejected, but I just took it in stride. Disappointing, yes, but obviously God didn't want it to happen that day.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Fun post! I'm a combination of 6 and 8. I do leave things in God's hands and I'm very childlike while I wait.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm totally not in Kansas anymore. Like, not even on the same planet. Or something. But it's kind of a grand adventure, isn't it?? I think so. Sometimes. (Don't read my blog today...)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Can I say I've experienced them all?! But really, since my name's Maria, I have to go with my namesake in #4. Knowing that I'm doing what God's called me to do gives me great hope - sometimes I just get frustrated with the timing: Hurry up and wait!! Enjoyed this post - God bless!

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a creative and fun post! I alternate between Maria and Scarlett. Excited but overwhelmed at times!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Number 6 calls my name! Withouto this approach, I couldn't do it.

    FABULOUS post.
    www.pattilacy.com/blog

    ReplyDelete
  17. Yeah I can relate. But I'll think about it tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Oh, definitely Gone with the Wind, that's my fav movie! I'll think about that tomorrow. :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. I'm not prone to denial, but I'm probably taking the Scarlett O'Hara route on writing. I only think about things I can control, which isn't agents or the publishing at large. I focus on writing my book.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Cute post! I guess I'd be number one? Not sure. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  21. amusing post. I oscilate between 1, 2 and 4 lol

    ReplyDelete
  22. #4, but I do like the Peter Pan theme, too. I write for kids sometimes.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I'm going to go with T.Anne on #6. Don't know if I have that much faith, though!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Climb every mountain.

    I'm on 16, heading for 17.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Wendy:
    I am totally unsure. I feel like Eeyore but then I feel like Maria. This is a good exercise.

    ReplyDelete
  26. To learn about the new test structure, the board's subject specialists have created study materials with practise questions. AP 7th Class Question Paper The learning materials for all of the course's languages and disciplines have been prepared and proposed by teaching staff and education board specialists based on the updated curriculum. The BSEAP advised practise question bank with answer solutions is available for download by any AP State Board Class 7 student for self-studying.

    ReplyDelete

Taking Time

college applications                 homecoming                            flag football                basketball             SATs   ...