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Jul. 10th, 2003
Jul. 10th, 2003 10:13 am
Publication
I decided a while ago to bite the bullet and send the story of Pongo Foo to publishers. I've dressed it up a bit, made sure everything rhymes and reads crisply and correctly without any change in emphasis or other embarassing cludges, and given it a cover page and other necessary gubbins. It's currently sitting in an envelope, addressed and stamped and waiting to be posted. Barefoot books are the intended recipients, though what they'll make of it is anyone's guess.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Given that I'm "venturing" about 80p's worth of materials, I think I can cope if nothing happens :)
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Given that I'm "venturing" about 80p's worth of materials, I think I can cope if nothing happens :)
This day off is going like clockwork. Men have come and mended boiler and ceiling. Manuscript has been posted. Dental appointment has been made. Library has been joined and books procured therefrom. Chips and sozzies have been bought for lunch and summarily devoured. Trousers (PAAAANTS!! [1]) have been washed. A spot of household maintenance and an optional trip to the doctors and I'm done! Hurrah!
For those of you who might be interested, I've borrowed from the library such gripping titles as: The Tale of Duck, The Misfits Ride Again, The Odd Job Man and the Thousand Mile Boots and Terrible, Terrible Tiger. None of which are intended for persons with a reading age above about 10. To make matters worse, I turned up to the library in my usual attire, i.e. black clothes with a smattering of studs and extremely large, heavy leather boots. Mmm... incongruous... The librarian took it all in her stride, but not without the suggestion of a puzzled frown.
[1] If you don't understand this, you probably don't want to
For those of you who might be interested, I've borrowed from the library such gripping titles as: The Tale of Duck, The Misfits Ride Again, The Odd Job Man and the Thousand Mile Boots and Terrible, Terrible Tiger. None of which are intended for persons with a reading age above about 10. To make matters worse, I turned up to the library in my usual attire, i.e. black clothes with a smattering of studs and extremely large, heavy leather boots. Mmm... incongruous... The librarian took it all in her stride, but not without the suggestion of a puzzled frown.
[1] If you don't understand this, you probably don't want to
Jul. 10th, 2003 04:00 pm
Someone's having a larf
Having just read all the kid's books I borrowed from the library I've come to the conclusion that the publishing industry is actually some kind of global lottery, wherein dross is just as apt to be accepted as gold.
I've seen rhymes that don't, grammar that beggars belief and stories that even a child couldn't fail to find trite and ridiculous.
The best of the bunch was The Tale of Duck, which, though whimsical and light, at least has a discernibly complete storyline and doesn't leave you wondering what the hell you've done to deserve it. The Misfits one I'm not even going to attempt to talk about, except to note that it contains grammatical errors that even children young enough to be reading it wouldn't make (or perhaps shouldn't make, let's not get too carried away!).
I suppose I should be heartened, but I don't know that I am. It almost looks as if various submissions editors have just gone around with pins and a blindfold, going "I'll have that, and that, and that!".
I've seen rhymes that don't, grammar that beggars belief and stories that even a child couldn't fail to find trite and ridiculous.
The best of the bunch was The Tale of Duck, which, though whimsical and light, at least has a discernibly complete storyline and doesn't leave you wondering what the hell you've done to deserve it. The Misfits one I'm not even going to attempt to talk about, except to note that it contains grammatical errors that even children young enough to be reading it wouldn't make (or perhaps shouldn't make, let's not get too carried away!).
I suppose I should be heartened, but I don't know that I am. It almost looks as if various submissions editors have just gone around with pins and a blindfold, going "I'll have that, and that, and that!".
I really shouldn't watch The Green Mile on my own. With the sobering influence of friends I can restrain myself, but otherwise, I'm afraid I become a complete mess. If I ever write anything even half as good as anything Stephen King has written, I will consider myself a pretty damn good writer. Perhaps not his horror stuff, though that has its place, but certainly stories like this and The Shawshank Redemption. The injection of Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan into the proceedings is just the icing on the cake.