Welcome to the AbsoluteWrite Water Cooler! Please read The Newbie Guide To Absolute Write
A publisher or agency using Google ads to solicit your novel probably isn't anyone you want to write for.
|
|||||||
![]() |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
|
|
#1 |
|
I'm a Bajaffe!
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: 2nd star to the right and 10 miles west of Sugar Tit
Posts: 2,653
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
My Tiara's Stuck
Okay, I threw my tiara into the blogging ring, then got stuck trying to decide whether to continue as is, start over, or pluck out the rhinestones and make some nice costume jewelry.
Please tell me. Am I on the right track? Thanks for your help!
__________________
"There are sequins on the thong." Sometimes it's best for Yin and Yang to get separate dressing rooms.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#2 |
|
Too stupid to know fear
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Bainbridge Island
Posts: 1,143
![]() ![]() ![]() |
You've only been blogging for three months. Now is not the time to give up!
I know the temptation is strong, but this is the equivalent to hitting the wall partway through a novel. Keep going, and keep the faith, and keep searching for your path.As someone who used to drop blogs after three months, I caution against dropping too early. This time I stuck with it, and it took a little over three months to even just barely start getting my act together. And I'm still so not totally with it. Your blog is definitely not in need of stripping down. Your content is there, and you have your archives prominent (good idea). What are your goals? What do you want to use your blog for? What kind of audience (numbers, niche) do you want to see? What's getting you down?
__________________
Spontaneous Derivation The unholy marriage of writing and blogging. Latest posts: - 5 WordPress Plugins That Make Life Easier - 2008 Hugo Awards Countdown: Best Professional Editors, Short Form - 2008 Hugo Awards Countdown: Best Professional Editors, Long Form |
|
|
|
|
|
#3 |
|
Here to network and learn.
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Maine.
Posts: 3,400
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
I linked to your blog awhile ago - I may not comment, but I do read. I hope you'll continue on the pace you're on and don't give up!
I have doubts about my blog, too, but I've been too chicken to ask for a review. LOL You're braver than I am!
__________________
Jenn Greenleaf
(Where I reconnect and reminisce about my old days on AW….) |
|
|
|
|
|
#4 |
|
I'm a Bajaffe!
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: 2nd star to the right and 10 miles west of Sugar Tit
Posts: 2,653
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Thanks so much to those of you who have been to check out my blog and special thanks to those who commented here or privately. We all need encouragement and guidance. You have helped me tremendously and I hope I can do the same for you!
__________________
"There are sequins on the thong." Sometimes it's best for Yin and Yang to get separate dressing rooms.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#5 |
|
Royal Bibliomaniac
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: On a Royal Tour of suburbia
Posts: 516
![]() |
Your content is very compelling. The first thing I noticed about the layout was the spacing - the text is in a solid block, which personally I find very difficult to read. It's a bit of a turn off. The text format for Jammin with Jimmi is much easier on the eyes.
__________________
Not just a Royal Wannabe, I also own the blog and its companion blog. Did you know The Queen has her own blog? And yet another one: All Kate, All the time Listen to my podcast: The Royal Report. WIP: Everyone Who Knew Me Current word count: 15,815 Goal: 70,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
#6 |
|
An old, sappy, and happy one.
Requiescat In Pace
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Sunny Arizona
Posts: 12,864
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Color me laughing my head off......What a joy to read. You are one funny gal. (IMHO) Erma Bombeck style. You should put all of these in a book. Thank you for sharing this and much success with your site. Will be grinning for awhile. (And I am skinny.)
__________________
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] love you guys..![]() http://softwinger.wordpress.com/Posted on Amazon.com and Smashwords.com Don't forget to give a buck or two towards the Number One writing site online. ![]() You are only a shadow standing in your own sunshine.[/SIZE] |
|
|
|
|
|
#7 |
|
I'm a Bajaffe!
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: 2nd star to the right and 10 miles west of Sugar Tit
Posts: 2,653
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Hmmm . . .I see what you mean about the spacing. I'll work on that. I'm just starting to learn coding, but the spacing from the Jimi piece comes from how I did it in Word, so I can start with small changes right away.
Thanks to Marilyn Braun and Cactus Wendy for stopping by. And Wendy, we all love you even though you don't require stretchy pants. . .yet! THANKS!
__________________
"There are sequins on the thong." Sometimes it's best for Yin and Yang to get separate dressing rooms.
Last edited by AmyDoodle; 01-09-2008 at 05:32 AM. |
|
|
|
|
|
#8 |
|
Here to network and learn.
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Maine.
Posts: 3,400
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
I really need to stop being afraid and just ask to be reviewed. LOL
__________________
Jenn Greenleaf
(Where I reconnect and reminisce about my old days on AW….) |
|
|
|
|
|
#9 |
|
I'm a Bajaffe!
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: 2nd star to the right and 10 miles west of Sugar Tit
Posts: 2,653
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Jenn, Go for it! I've been to your site. You have knowledge to share and remarkable insight. (I forgot to tell you, but I linked to you. Hope that's Okay!)
__________________
"There are sequins on the thong." Sometimes it's best for Yin and Yang to get separate dressing rooms.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#10 | |
|
Here to network and learn.
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Maine.
Posts: 3,400
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Quote:
)
__________________
Jenn Greenleaf
(Where I reconnect and reminisce about my old days on AW….) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
#11 |
|
practical experience, FTW
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: That fleshy part near the base of the thumb
Posts: 841
![]() ![]() |
Amy, you'd better not stop blogging...where will I go for my daily dose of pee-in-my-pants humor?
Seriously though, I think your blog is great. Like one of the PPs said (yes, I'm too lazy to scroll up), I agree with the spacing...but considering that the funky spacing hasn't detracted from the content at all, that's minor in the grand scheme of things. Your description of the blog is great and well...woman, what can I say, that I haven't said already? Keep on trucking.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#12 |
|
I'm a Bajaffe!
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: 2nd star to the right and 10 miles west of Sugar Tit
Posts: 2,653
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Thanks! I've started working on that spacing, and I can really see a difference. I find it also makes a punch line stand out when it's separated from the text.
I reckon with this kind of encouragement I'd better go work on some more posts. You know me; if I can make somebody wet their pants, it's been a good day.
__________________
"There are sequins on the thong." Sometimes it's best for Yin and Yang to get separate dressing rooms.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#13 |
|
A Law-Abiding Chicken
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Alive & Kicking
Posts: 116
![]() |
Unrelated, but too funny not to Comment
Whenever I read the subject line, "My Tiara's Stuck" I laugh and laugh. I have a friend named Tiara and one night she got so drunk she could barely speak. She just kept saying the same thing over and over again - she was stuck.
So, thanks for the laugh. I would say for the memory too, but really, it wasn't a pretty one ![]() Gina M |
|
|
|
|
|
#14 |
|
I'm a Bajaffe!
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: 2nd star to the right and 10 miles west of Sugar Tit
Posts: 2,653
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Oooh, there's somebody named Tiara? I love it. Maybe I need to change my name. . . .
__________________
"There are sequins on the thong." Sometimes it's best for Yin and Yang to get separate dressing rooms.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#15 |
|
Just hitting send
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: On AW when I should be working
Posts: 2,323
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Amy,
I'm going to be straightforward with you. I LOVE your blog. The only problem I have with it (once you started adding more paragraph breaks in your essays, which has helped a lot in terms of readability) is I think your stuff is publishable for more than a blog, girl. You should be getting paid for it--and paid well. I guess I'm still a bit "old school", in that I look at books and magazines as... well, paid writing..whereas a blog is mostly for fun. But the blogosphere is so much richer for your presence. You are WONDERFUL. I was not kidding or merely flattering when I said you are the next Erma Bombeck... your stories are brilliant. You've been published on CSM, which should be proof enough. Your blog rocks. If I were you, I'd collect them all in a book, write a proposal, find a publisher, and then we can all come to your book signings and TiVo your appearance on Oprah. For real. But don't stop blogging and don't change a thing. We love you and your tiara, you silly bajaffe, you. |
|
|
|
|
|
#16 |
|
And thus we begin the edits
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: still in the dungeon
Posts: 5,731
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
I'm a daily reader so I really hope you stick with it. As others above me already said, your writing style is very energetic and you tell a great story. You and DonnaDuck are my daily laugh!
I agree with the spacing issue, but I've noticed it's been better a couple times. Keep it up!
__________________
New website & blog! Melaniehoo. My dog has a blog, too. Super Owen Tweet. I've lost my mind --> Hooku: Hoo Can Haiku |
|
|
|
|
|
#17 |
|
I'm a Bajaffe!
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: 2nd star to the right and 10 miles west of Sugar Tit
Posts: 2,653
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Cat, Melanie--Buckets of thanks for the positive comments. I'm so hard on myself that I'll work on a piece until I don't think it's funny at all and I'll have to go ask somebody else whether it's usable.
I've backed off to twice a week posting so it'll be more fun, and I think that'll come through. Melanie, I'm working on keeping that spacing. The ADD in me (oh, that's documented, I'm not making fun) means well, but gets distracted by important things like the cat snoring, the dog wanting a cookie, or the teenage sons doing heavy-duty riffs on Guitar Heroes. Cat, I've had trouble getting people to accept humor. Local papers ignore me and magazines seem to want complete non-fiction, and the whole point of humor is to start off truthfully and really mean to keep at it, but, well, discover along the way that a certain amount of fudging makes a better story. So I originally started the blog to have something to show to editors, but you're right. I'm using all my good stuff. Reckon I could sell 'em as a book? I mean really?
__________________
"There are sequins on the thong." Sometimes it's best for Yin and Yang to get separate dressing rooms.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#18 |
|
Rock and Squiggle
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Two steps left of sanity
Posts: 981
![]() ![]() ![]() |
Are you kidding? Of course it's good enough for a book!!!!!!! Your blog is consistently hilarious, and I hope you keep doing it, because I'm a selfish, greedy worm who can't survive the week without a bajaffe injection directly into my funny bone. But those essays are more than good enough to be published. I admit, when I first started reading your blog, I did an Amazon search on you so I could get the book, because I thought, surely she's got a collection. The spacing never bothered me, because I got so wrapped up in each entry.
__________________
*********************************** Did you know laughing makes you look younger? Drop a few years over at An Army of Ermas! Every day is a geek holiday over at Pure Geek! Is the moon rising in your house or are you just happy to see me? Check out your weekly forecast at Wisecrack Zodiac! |
|
|
|
|
|
#19 |
|
This hat is keeping me warm
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Ontario, Canader
Posts: 2,737
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Linwood Barclay had a weekly column at the Toronto Star, writing in a style much like yours, with anecdotes about his family. I laughed out loud every time. He's got a couple of bestsellers under his belt right now.
People love this stuff. Keep it up, and find a way to get your vignettes published. I'd buy it! |
|
|
|
|
|
#20 |
|
This hat is keeping me warm
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Ontario, Canader
Posts: 2,737
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
I see you have wonderful credits listed on your blog, too. Great stuff!
|
|
|
|
|
|
#21 |
|
Just hitting send
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: On AW when I should be working
Posts: 2,323
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
YES! I definitely think it could make a book. I'm surprised newspapers haven't snatched it up, too. But... you're a columnist in TWM now, right? That's a start--and a GOOD one!
![]() Dawn ETA: Pick up some of Laurie Nataro's books if you get a chance. She writes short, somewhat connected humorous essays, but is younger, unmarried, no kids. Same sort of self-deprecating humor, though. And, demographically speaking, yours is the larger demographic right now... a humor book targeted at baby boomers should be a HUGE seller! P.S. If the link doesn't work, search her name on Amazon..that's where the link should lead. LOL
__________________
What's holding you back from being the writer you want to be? Get help here. Allcot Media: Writing, coaching, copyediting and more... Last edited by CatMuse33; 02-12-2008 at 08:02 AM. |
|
|
|
|
|
#22 |
|
What the hell is going on?!
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: In a new, weird life.
Posts: 319
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
I so love the blog and would so read a book of the same stuff.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#23 |
|
I'm a Bajaffe!
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: 2nd star to the right and 10 miles west of Sugar Tit
Posts: 2,653
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
I've had a double whammy with Crud/Flu this month and get back to read these wonderful, inspiring comments. I'm off to research Laurie Nataro and Linwood Barclay.
You guys are the best!
__________________
"There are sequins on the thong." Sometimes it's best for Yin and Yang to get separate dressing rooms.
|
|
|
|
![]() |
| Bookmarks |
| Thread Tools | |
| Display Modes | |
|
|
If this site is helpful to you,
Please consider a voluntary subscription to defray ongoing expenses.