What is the Slush Pile?

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Since my email is open, I can't help but pop in everytime something new comes up... bad habit, but there it is. So I took a break from writing and skimmed over the Nelson Agency Newsletter. I found myself surprised by a comment from Agent Sara Megibow. The feature is called, Tips from the Slush Pile, and I know that, so I'm not sure why this didn't occur to me sooner. What the heck is the slush pile?

For me, the slush pile is that stack of manuscripts in an editors office that may or may not get looked at, depending on how busy the editor is at the time. The pile that a good editor might shift through, or randomly select out of once a week to read through in hopes of finding the next Bestseller. These are the manuscripts that really don't belong in the process. It's the shot in the dark for that desperate writer who either doesn't know what they're doing or has been rejected by every agent on the block.

The comment Sara made says, Allison emailed us a query at the end of 2009 – yup, she was a slush pile find!

Whoa! What do you mean a slush pile find? Has the agency changed their submission guidelines and now only accepts solicited manuscripts? Do we have to meet you at a conference or be referred to you by another author? Must an author have credentials of some sort to query you?

If not, I wouldn't consider Allison a slush pile find. I would consider her a working find.
What about you? What's your take on the "slush pile"? If you send out a query to someone who is ASKING for queries, do you consider yourself lucky to be pulled from the slush pile?

Again, for me, if I query an agency who is asking for queries, I expect that they'll read it. I wouldn't consider it lucky... more hard work, dedication, determination, and perseverance. I don't think Sara was implying otherwise, but I do wonder why she would call it a slush pile.

GIVE ME YOUR THOUGHTS!

Dragging my Butt back in

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When it comes to my writing, I like to keep moving. I don't like to 'take a break' from a project just to let it stew for a while. I like things fresh in my mind and I like to get it done. That's my way. It's good for me.

I took a little vacation and went to NYC [FUN, btw, loads of it], and now I can't seem to jump in to my newest manuscript. Maybe I finally need that break. Unfortunately, I have two projects I want to squeeze in before Nevember. A sequel to my Dark Summer story [which is actually my Summer Lovin' story retitled], and a Christmas short story to get into an anthology my crit group is putting together. Both I'm excited about...

Yet neither seem as important as that nap I haven't been able to steal. Just once!!! Please! A nap when no one wakes me up!! No kids, no phones, no nobodies! :D :D

I think if I give myself a week or so, I'll feel better.
That's all I can ask for...
Have a great week.
With Love,
Bethanne

Searching for the Perfect Outfit

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I went shopping this morning for the perfect outfit. I have a wedding to go to in June. A location wedding for my brother in law and his fiance at Kitty Hawk. I'm sure a great time will be had. :D

But, if you know me, I HATE to shop. Well, this morning I broke records by staying at Kohl's for two WHOLE hours! I think I must have tried on at least 30 items. I looked at dresses....

Then I went for something that would actually look good on me, and I ended up with a lovely pantsuit. Lightweight, dressy brown pants with a cute trendy top--brown and turquoise. I just need a pair of strappy sandals to bottom it all off. :D Very happy with my purchases. Though I was, at first, discouraged by how everything was fitting... through perseverence I managed to find the Perfect Outfit.

Yay me! :P

On Writing by Stephen King

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I'd like to say first that no one ever told me Stephen King's On Writing was a memoir.

I'd also like to mention what a HUGE difference this makes in the grander scheme of things.

I'm avid nonreader of how-to books. I avoid how-to books like the plague. They bore me. Fly Lady? Hanging out under my sink, possibly water and rust stained at this point. I have a hard time getting past the first page of another book about real life, lessons, spirituality, home life... books about how to make my life better. I just can't see how anyone out there really knows what needs to be done in my life. Maybe I'm too confident, but I'm in charge of meshing my life with God's plan and being happy. Is there really a person out there who isn't going to be wasting at least 50% of my time when I read their book? I don't see how. Because most of those books offer suggestions.

Back to King. I am enjoying his book sooooo much. Not only for the flashes of insight into the writer's mentality but for the narrative. I'm laughing and moaning and sighing... i may even shed a tear, but that will probably just be hormones. It's like encouragement. It's not how people have always described it to me... as the book to read if you want to get your writing right.

On the other hand, it just might do that as well. hahaha. :D

Music Monday -- Beach Baby

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Summer, Summer, Summer!!!
I'm ready for a GREAT year with time on the beach spent with my hubby and my kids. Time I plan to hold tightly to and treasure because I just don't know when Matt will leave us for his new job. Could be anytime in the next six months. So, I plan to make summer ours: camping, a trip to the beach, gardening at home, bike riding with the kids. I hope your summer is as filled with love as ours is going to be...



This video ought to put you in the mood for summer... it certainly puts me in the mood for something seventies. ;-) Haha. Love the tight clothes and stomach paunch. :D

Happy Mother's Day

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Here's something funny--funny ironic, not funny haha.

Sometimes being a mother is trying and confusing yet unexplainably rewarding and filled with love. Sometimes, when I think back on my childhood and adolescence, I remember wishing for different parents [a different mom]--how could mine be so strict when those Dorans and Dewitts were allowed to do so much--like date! haha.

Now, when I look back, I just see the deep, wide river of motherhood with spots of heavy rapids and lots of rocks and stretches of calm, cool waters, and I realize one thing...

We're in the same boat now. :D

Happy Mother's Day to all you crazy, strict, eccentric, embarrassing, yet all-in-all loving mothers out there.

Getting a tiny bit Political

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Because I couldn't believe the article on MSNBC about the kids who got kicked out of school for wearing shirts with the USA flag on it. Talk about strange.

The whole incident came up because of the Mexican-American holiday...

First of all, Cinco de Mayo isn't a Mexican holiday. Right? Maybe as hispanics, Mexican like to remember the day? I don't know, I'd have to ask my brother-in-law who is Mexican [and legal, btw ;-)]. Anyhoo...

The biggest question is... let's say a group of United States citizens goes to Mexico, they could even live there, go to school there. Whatever. What if, on the Fourth of July, their friends wore that shirt with the Mexican flag on it. They wear it off and on throughout the summer, but OMG, how dare they wear that shirt on our holiday?! That's it, throw down time.... right? Jiminy, Mexico would...well, hell, they'd probably throw you in jail and laugh about it all the way home. You do not want to be thrown in jail down there! You've seen the movies, haven't you??? :D

I just don't understand why citizens of this country have more pride in a country they may [or may not] have ever lived in. Why would school administrations have to worry about fights breaking out over kids wearing clothes with the American flag on it? Why are the Mexicans in that town and at that school offended by someone's clothing? Don't we live in a free country? Aren't they HERE because they wanted to live the American Dream? Have freedom?

I don't get it. Why is the United States the only country in the WORLD who cares about feelings and political correctness? Doesn't everyone in this country--excluding the Native Indians--have ancestry from another continent? another country?

Hi, my name is Bethanne and I'm Irish Scottish German English American....
Oh, and i'm really offended when people wear the American Flag on St. Patrick's Day. {insert sarcastic tone} *eyeroll*

Who do you Ask?

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I've got a nice following on my blog now.
And so I have to ask of all my writing friends, "Who do you find to beta read for you?"

I've struggled with this in the past. I have an AWESOME critique group and I'll get a good beta read from at least one of those gals--maybe even more. But deep down, I'm also interested in getting a random perspective.

This time, I asked a girlfriend who dropped off my radar except for the occasional blog visit. I'm considering sending an inquiry out over the RWA PRO yahooloops...but I need nerves of freaking steel to do that. What if I've pissed someone off? I hope I haven't, but not everyone likes me. *gasp* I know! Can you believe it?! :D I have the same issue posting on the writing boards. Besides the fact that mostly, I lurk--which, btw is an entirely different topic altogether--I really don't want to step on toes.

Hence, the need for nerves of steel!!
Asking for a beta reader is a BIG DEAL, because it's time consuming. And most forums won't even let you ask for one unless you have a certain amount of posts or involvement.

In case you're curious. The manuscript is a novella length [28K] romantic suspense, with some[a few] heated moments between a married couple, called Dark Summer. :D

Have a great week everyone.
With Love,
Bethanne

Music Monday

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Today is Music Monday.
And I've been on You Tube all morning, trying to get a song for my post... but nothing seems to be working correctly. Errors abound.

Not only that, but blogger was off for me, too[until I hopped over to Google Chrome]. Why? Why me?! LOL

The question is, when your computer and internet service go wonky, who do you blame? How do you determine who is culpable? Is it Internet Explorer 8, which I just downloaded this week? Is it Windows? Is it a virus on my computer that all the scans in the world don't seem to find?

Or, and this just came to me, do you blame the particular webpage? Google Chrome has issued a message for You Tube, the webpage might be temporarily down or it may have moved permanently... :P

ACK! Oh crap, or is it my typing? I just realized I had w w w w on the url. Dang!

Don't forget, when it comes right down to it, as writers we need no more than our word program [or something comparable] and our imaginations... the rest is important but hardly story-making.
Take care out there.
With Love,
Bethanne

Escape with a Pina Colada

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Look at me. Now that I don't have all these blogs I'm worried about keeping up with, I'm actually posting regularly. Though today is Wednesday, I'm going to kick off MUSIC MONDAY. I don't do things in the normal fashion... ask my mom, she'll tell you. I march to the beat of my own drummer.

I heard a song on the radio this morning. A song I've heard off and on almost my entire life it seems. But today, I actually listened to the lyrics all the way through. And I was thoroughly entertained all over again. People want to know where I get my inspiration. This totally inspires me. :D You just have to listen to it...and the cute little cartoon is fun, too. Thanks for putting it together tamibashi from youtube!

Pretending

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When someone mentioned paring down unnecessary words on my crit forum today and gave an example--the gal stopped ALMOST A FOOT from the edge--someone else jumped in to say, "but how many people have the ability to be PRECISE?" If you stop short of an edge with heart pounding and danger at your back, do you stop to measure the distance?

Probably not.

And the lovely crit partner Nina Croft said this, "It's not about being precise. It's about pretending." *clapping*

I can't stop thinking about this concept. The reader [ME] is able to suspend belief in something ordinary--like not really knowing the measurement, because we need to see, without a doubt. Think about it...

If the gal ran toward the edge of the cliff and skidded to a stop almost a few feet[or even inches] from the edge. The reader is left hanging. I'm left hanging. So, what is she really? Be precise, right?! Keep me on the edge of my seat!

And cut out all the fatty words... almost, tried, started <-- why say she started to look around when you can just say, she looked around? If you add the phrase, when [something happened], then you're messing with chronology. Even there you can use a phrase like this: At the sound of the church bells, she looked around, every nerve in her body humming with tension. Someone was out there. Watching. Waiting.

Have a great week.
With Love,
Bethanne

Something Catchy

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Well, now that it's time to submit my novella around to the epublishing quarter, I think it's also time to interwine my writing names. Do you wanna hear a long story? No. Probably not. So, long story short, when I first started writing, I chose a pen name. It's fun and exciting...like being a fifteen year old and demanding that you are going to change your name as soon as you're old enough. I picked a name then and ran with it for about a year. At that point, I said to myself, "Why? Are you hiding?" And perhaps I was. Romance is poo-pooed in alot of circles. My stories carry an element of passion that could possibly shock some of the people I know. [I really don't know how, since I have four kids of my own and am totally in love with the man I married 11 years ago, but there you go.]

I didn't want to hide, though. So I broke off my relationship with that name and fixed myself a webpage and blog featuring ME!

It's been a few years, and now I'm considering that name thing again. Why? Because Bethanne Strasser is a mouthful. I'm a REAL CATCH. Don't get me wrong! But I want something that is easy to remember, easy to pronounce [it's strawser, not str-ass-er], and catchy. That's when I came up with Penny Dune. It's nothing like my name. I have been called Betty most of my life by my family, so I could go Betty Dune... *scratching head* Eh. Doesn't ring the same, does it?

I know my hubby is reading this and thinking, "yup. certifiable." Haha. Either way, I'm going to mess with my header and give people a taste of Penny here and on my webpage. It's a conundrum that I'll need to be making money to fix: webpage designs, domains... Ugh. Can't have someone looking for Penny Dune and not find Penny Dune, right? :D

In the News

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Big talk in my critique forum this week had to do with the idea of MASS REJECTIONS. There's an agent out there who--busy as a bee--decided to cut a few losses and TWEET rejections. i.e. If you've queried me before April 19th and have not heard from me, I'm not interested.

The bigger part of me is scratching me head on that one. I understand perfectly that an agent may or may not have the ability to answer every single query. There are several highly reputable agencies who state politely on their webpage that they can't respond to everyone. Therefore if a writer hasn't heard from them in XX number of days [or weeks], to please accept their apology and move on. They are not interested.

There's something direct and honest about that. I would much rather encounter that then the twitter agent. I'm not saying I couldn't be persuaded to see her side of it. I just don't like the fact that, as writers, we are expected to adhere to all these rules, professional manners and etiquettes. Crossing our Ts, dotting our Is, greeting with a name... make it personal [BUT NOT TOO PERSONAL!].

Some reciprocation would be nice, especially for those of us who are serious about making a career, serious about taking our work to the next level.

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Hey! On another note, READ Red's Hot Honky-Tonk Bar!!! First non romance book--not sure how to label it...love story? [Too good to be women's lit!]--I thoroughly enjoyed in too long to recall. *hugs* I LOVE TO READ!!!

Enjoy life.
With Love,
Bethanne

Point of View Switches

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This past week, I read two of Christy Reece's Last Chance Rescue books. I was pleased. I didn't know what to expect. It looked like your basic paper back sexy, romantic suspense novel. Good, but could possibly leave you feeling 'eh'. Surprised to find an emotional level that rivaled any of my favorite authors[I really do find myself reading my backlist quite a bit], I can't wait to get my hands on the third book in the trilogy...

and after that, her next LCR trilogy.

So, on to a quick writing discussion. Reece played her POV switches really well. They were there, and I can admit the first time it happened I thought, whoa, wow. That was not bad at all. But mostly, it made me remember how I really don't mind a POV switch midscene. I don't write them much anymore, because people are so freaking anal about it. Still, it's nice to read in a NY published book. Shows me that not everyone out there is anal retentive.... :D

If you like a high intensity, suspenseful read, try Christy Reece this week. She certainly made my day.
Have a great week!
With Love,
Bethanne