Caffeine: 1 gorgeous homemade latte + cinnamon
Rating: Hornby: sentences: 8/10, drawing of relationship: 9/10, ability to make me want to read more about these incredibly unhappy, incredibly well-drawn characters: 5/10. Napoli: 11 out of 10, just because I've loved this work since I first read it as a teenager. Proof that publishing does not steamroller everyone's soul.
Caffeine: 1 tea, English Breakfast
Queries: 63
Queries requested: 14
Manuscripts in inbox: 138
Hard copy manuscripts in office: 9
Manuscripts my calendar says I must get to today: 7
Call from rude author: 1
Emails from rude author (another): 2. Wants to know 1) "When [he] can expect to hear [I] love it," 2) if we can have a phone meeting "before this goes any further," and 3) WHY he must send sample chapters (like everyone else) and what, specifically, I think is lacking in his proposal that I'd want to see sample chapters (again: like everyone else).
Manuscripts reviewed: 12.
Average pages (for this day) before deciding they're not right: 28.5 (Note: there were several good manuscripts, which means that the number of them reviewed is lower than usual.)
Emails sent with bullet-pointed lists of suggestions for author: 2
Literary events added to calendar: 2. Slice Magazine's Literary Family Feud (publishing houses sending reps to compete against other houses in a trivia show with "all the craft beer one can politely drink"), Reboot's "People of the Book: Are We Born to Wander?" event with A.J. Jacobs
Favors for friends in the business: 2 (pitch edited, editor suggested)
Errands: 2.5--library books, Trader Joe's/TJ's wine store
Check-out lines that wrap around the perimeter of the store: 1
Fistfights over last package of organic, free-range spinach: 0, though they seemed imminent
Bags' weight: Approx. 30 pounds. Who needs the gym?
Collisions with other commuters: 3
Angry looks: 1
Evil sentence composed but not uttered: 1
Podcast: 1. KQED: The Writer's Block. Suzanne Finnamore reading from her darkly comic memoir, Split.
Book I plan to buy because of podcast: 1
Magazines perused: New York Magazine, Time Out New York
Magazines that, I realize, could be read on Kindle instead of crumpled in my bag next to melting chocolate-covered espresso beans: 2
Errands: 2.5--library books, Trader Joe's/TJ's wine store
Check-out lines that wrap around the perimeter of the store: 1
Fistfights over last package of organic, free-range spinach: 0, though they seemed imminent
Bags' weight: Approx. 30 pounds. Who needs the gym?
Collisions with other commuters: 3
Angry looks: 1
Evil sentence composed but not uttered: 1
Podcast: 1. KQED: The Writer's Block. Suzanne Finnamore reading from her darkly comic memoir, Split.
Book I plan to buy because of podcast: 1
Magazines perused: New York Magazine, Time Out New York
Magazines that, I realize, could be read on Kindle instead of crumpled in my bag next to melting chocolate-covered espresso beans: 2
Work emails replied to from home: 4
Manuscripts from the day's reading that stayed with me through the day: 2
Well-earned television: 1 episode of Glee. I heart you, Hulu.
Manuscripts from the day's reading that stayed with me through the day: 2
Well-earned television: 1 episode of Glee. I heart you, Hulu.
6 comments:
Oh holy cow. I should have known you'd love GLEE. I'd choose you again just for that.
Love this list!!
I won't point out that with 138 manuscripts in your inbox, 9 in hardcopy and average stopping place of page 28.5, you have 4189.5 pages to read before you can clean out your requests. Yikes! You are much braver to face those numbers than I could ever be. How you find time to do anything but read submissions is more than impressive. Enjoy Glee -- you've obviously earned it :)
If you like Regina Spektor, she was just on the Barnes and Nobles Upstairs at the Square 8/18/09 podcast episode with Kurt Anderson. It was cool.
I read six other agent's blogs daily (sometimes more), and yours is the only one that gives a real glimpse into the actual job of an agent. As an unpublished writer on the agent hunt, I would like to say thank you for shedding some light. It sounds like a great way to spend the days (though a bit overwhelming). Fabulous job on the blog. Love it.
You put me to shame with that list! And with your sense of humor...much better than mine.
And, one of the bullet points reminds me....you should come to the DFW Writers' Conference in 2011. I think the 2010 is already full, but it's great! And if you've never been to Texas, well, it's great too!
Now to try and complete all of the things on *my* list for the day. Phew.
I heart your blog. Peace through writing, Carl
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