this woman’s work

You are browsing the archives from 2007 July.

You know one of the things I love best about it? Quick editorial turnarounds. Someone sends me something with edits and I can incorporate ‘em damn quick. I love this. I love being able to get through my to-do list even if I get handed something I wasn’t expecting. And I like edits. Even when the edits aren’t what I expected (tougher than I expected or asking for way more rewriting) I always always always learn something while I’m doing it.

I think I’m an easy writer to edit, too, because even if my initial response is “What the hell???” or outrage or tears or fit-throwing I keep that reaction to myself (a few carefully chosen writer-friends may get an earful and hand me back less emotionally-charged perspective), I am eventually able to back down and listen to what they’re saying. And I have yet had an editor force me to do something I didn’t want to do because by the time I’ve sat down and really considered what they’re saying my reasons against it make sense to me and I’ve been able to make them make sense to the editor. (Because eventually I get rational.)

Now granted, I’ve never written for one of the big women’s magazines, which I hear run your stuff through a shredder. I’ve been marvelously lucky with my editors so far. Besides I’m happy when people want my copy to look good because I sure as heck want it to look good, too.

(Can you tell? I just got some edits handed back and joyfully applied myself to them. I’m in a good mood today. I blame Julia.)

I sent him because he’s better at small talk than I am. Also I figure as personable as he is, I shouldn’t be wasting it! He had a pretty good time (the food was good) and says he’ll go again. Someone asked him what he did for the company (because he was saying that I’m the writer) and asked specifically, “Or are you just the pretty face of the operation?” Brett blushed just telling me about it. I told him he shoulda said yes because he’s certainly got the pretty face!

We’d always talked about having a family business and I’d really like for this set-up to work out. He drives me crazy but 97% of the time, I’d just rather have him around.

Mom: “Son, even though you’re adopted you’re just as much a child of ours as if you were of our own flesh! There’s no possible way you could be a … a …”
Kid: “Asian, mom!”
Dad: “You watch your mouth, young man!”

Heh.

Dad: “Ronald Reagan Johnson, I am surprised at you! We taught you to look beyond skin and see the world in a colorblind way!”

Go see it at: Adoptees on the Stage Baby! « A Birth Project

This morning I had coffee with a writing friend and it made me SO HAPPY and last night look at what showed up on my front porch!

Yes, it’s BISCOTTI!! Homemade courtesy of this brilliant woman and her equally brilliant chef-husband!

I love biscotti anyway but THIS biscotti was like the pinnacle of biscotti! You all know how I adore chocolate so I expected the chocolate-oriented batch to be fabulous but the citrus one — I didn’t want to share any of those. (I had to — I stupidly opened it in front of my family.) The citrus batch — orange, lemon and key lime — had flavors so delicate yet so clear. And the texture! Satisfying biscotti crunch but just enough give to be truly delectable even without anything to dip.

Noah ate himself silly and Madison left biscotti crumbs in the bed (my side, natch). We were a very happy family last night and this morning but now, alas, they are gone.

I’m hoping she starts mail order at some point or gets herself a nice account in Columbus. That key lime flavor, that could be one of those things that wakes you up at night desperate for another taste. I’m not kidding.

Life is sweet! Biscotti and coffee and good friends all around!!

I’m adding prospects to my campaign list. I won’t get into how I’m finding them just yet but after I see if it works, I’ll let you know. So far I have 51 prospects; I’d like to have 100.

It’s a numbers game (partly). Sure, you need to be prepared and all that but it’s like anything else — queries, pitches, ideas — the more you have the better your chances.

You know the secret to having good ideas, right? It’s having a lot of ideas. Some of them won’t be good (some prospects will toss your postcard in the trash) but some of your ideas will be great (some prospects will call).

By the same token, I have a lot of writing ideas that never make it past the first draft/notes phase. Sometimes I think, “I’ll never think of anything good again!” but so far I haven’t run out of things to say. When I feel like maybe my well is running dry (this can happen when I flip open a magazine, book, etc and see my idea that someone got to first) I set myself on wondering what I’ll be writing about in ten years.

So remember this: The secret to having good ideas is having lots of ideas. And remember this: Once you start freeing up those ideas, they just keep coming.