I'm Serious.

Agents don't give a shit if you use Times New Roman or Courier.

They don't care if you do underlines or italics.

They don't care if you space between your ellipses.

They don't care if your margins are an inch or an inch and a quarter.

They don't care if your book is a few thousands words shorter or longer than the guidelines writers quote like the Bible.

Your readers don't care if you have a bit of telling instead of showing.

Your readers don't care if chapter one isn't your absolute strongest chapter.

Your readers really don't give a shit what your query letter looked like.

You have to believe me. The writing world is full of archaic rules and guidelines that only exist because writers preach them. WRITERS preach them, and they are the ones who do.

Don't let this bullshit infiltrate your mind. Get a few beta readers, but for God's sake go easy on getting critiques from other writers. Writers know every rule in the book and they will tell you every single one. Which is awesome. If you want your book to sound like everyone else's.

Read agent blogs. Read editor blogs. Find out what's going on in the agency.

Listen to readers.

For God's sake, listen to readers.

But remember to cover your ears sometimes when you're talking to writers.

We don't know as much as we think we do.

If you ever believe anything a writer says, believe this: Writing is all about the readers.

All about them.

And that's all it is.

:)

Sorry for being all crazy MIA and abandoning you guys. If you thought reality TV was a timesuck, try college.

If you've missed the melodious sounds of my voice, you should DEFINITELY check on Blogfest--it's a very cool S&S project where 40 authors sound off on some different topics---and guess who's one of the 40? Stay tuned for a few more posts there from me in the next few days, but my first one's already up!

http://www.simonlittlegreen.com/blogfest/

Definitely check it out.

WIN WIN WIN

From Publisher's Marketplace...


18-year-old author of BREAK Hannah Moskowitz's INVINCIBLE SUMMER, the story of a young man who tries to come to grips with his family's slow dissolution while also finding himself in a chaotic love triangle, pitted against his own brother, which plays out across four summers, again to Anica Rissi at Simon Pulse, in a two-book deal, by Brendan Deneen at FinePrint Literary Management.


:D

I haven't forgotten about you!

I'm just so busy it hurts.

I will have some BIG NEWS in the coming days/weeks whatever, however. Stay tuned.

Quick post...

Check out these two reviews!

http://thedreamereader.blogspot.com/2009/09/break-by-hannah-moskowitz.html

http://tencentnotes.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/debut-review-break/

I'm still waiting for the "WTF THIS BOOK SUCKS" review. Lemme know if you see it before I do and I'll prepare myself emotionally.

(the second site also has an interview with me, check it out, I'm pretty sure I say something funny--and some of the stuff I say every interview, but ya know.)

Oh Dear God Education

So I'm leaving for college on Thursday. This means I'm paaacking and paaaacking and marathoning America's Next Top Model (because I mean obviously this is really important).

So. Expect sporadic (or no) blogging until this weekend. I hope you all are having a lovely lovely week.