Thursday, July 2, 2009

INDEPENDENCE DAY


"Fireworks, who needs stinking fireworks?"


By the look of my inbox, lots of folks have taken off for the holiday weekend. (I emailed a press release yesterday to 200 health editors at newspapers and 20 bounced back as "out of the office.") We're not going anywhere this weekend, preferring to use the time here. Jon's got a stack of partials and manuscripts to read and so do I.

OK, even though Norton opposes it, we will go to a nearby park for the fabulous fireworks display brought to us each year by the local mortician. Yep, that's right, the mortician. Think about it--it's great PR! Blast off with us...before you blast off for good!!

Since it's the start of the holiday weekend, I have some random thoughts to air, some book-related, some not.

  • On the query front--another "abused woman, greatest composer." When will it end?
  • We've always asked for partials and manuscripts in hard-copy format. We're beginning to change that policy. I'm asking for manuscripts to be sent electronically and partials will follow soon, I expect. Jon is wedded to his hard copies, and he's not unlike a large ocean liner, difficult to turn around. But eventually, he too will be reading online I suspect.
  • I want to get an electronic reader that allows me to load in partials and manuscripts. Any suggestions? Does Kindle do this?
  • As I've mentioned before, I read constantly--not just partials and manuscripts, but books. I'm reading Hotel Paradise by Martha Grimes now. It was published over 10 years ago, but it is worth your time if you like cozies. Grimes is so brilliant in relating back story.
  • I'm also reading an advance copy of a book I picked up at BEA called Friend of the Family, published by Algonquin. The author writes with a precision and flair that keeps me turning pages. She's not Jodi Picoult, but she's every bit as good. I'll give you her name in another post.
  • Jon's off to Chicago next week. I'll be busier than ever here.
  • When Jon returns we'll gear up for 3 days of grandsons Rob (age 4) and Max (age almost 2) while their parents go camping.

Happy Fourth of July everyone! Take a break from your writing. Eat a hot dog. ENJOY YOURSELVES!

4 comments:

Rebecca Knight said...

Happy 4th to you, too! :D

Kae--from reading some other agent blogs, I think the majority use the Kindle for partials and fulls. It seems to be really popular, and everyone who has one raves about it.

I'm seriously considering breaking down and getting one, and I'm not even an agent, so there you go!

Good luck on your work, and go have fun, too!

MeganRebekah said...

I can email Word documents to my kindle for free. They read just like a book you downloaded through the website, and you can even type yourself little notes, or make highlights, as you read.

Debra Lynn Shelton said...

"Take a break from your writing." Kae, you're a regular Jerry Seinfeld. I do, however, promise to spend some time swimming and reading by the pool. Have fun getting caught up on your reading. Happy 4th!;-)

Anonymous said...

The Sony reader allows you to load Word documents and PDFs straight onto the reader device - no emailing anywhere. Plug it in your computer and tada!