tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post114719615792417364..comments2024-03-26T18:28:06.391-04:00Comments on Evil Editor: Face-Lift 19Evil Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03879826770199639420noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1147366074595840782006-05-11T12:47:00.000-04:002006-05-11T12:47:00.000-04:00In view of how long it takes most publishers to re...In view of how long it takes most publishers to reply, it's unlikely there's any data available--yet.Evil Editorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03879826770199639420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1147287520969592802006-05-10T14:58:00.000-04:002006-05-10T14:58:00.000-04:00If you are seeing a marbled background, the proble...If you are seeing a marbled background, the problem is at your end. Try using Firefox (windows) or Safari (Mac).Evil Editorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03879826770199639420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1147287281599804652006-05-10T14:54:00.000-04:002006-05-10T14:54:00.000-04:00Could you maybe use the return key a tad more ofte...Could you maybe use the return key a tad more often to break up those giant walls of text, or stop mixing blue and black type on a marbled background? I wasn't wearing glasses when I first got here, but now I think I might visit the eye doctor on the way home. Jeebus.<BR/><BR/>Somebody needs a good whap upside the head with an <A HREF="http://www.useit.com/alertbox/weblogs.html" REL="nofollow">RTFM </A> on blog design from Jakob Nielsen's useit.com .Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1147277415449433592006-05-10T12:10:00.000-04:002006-05-10T12:10:00.000-04:00Wow, this letter is a train wreck. I can see why y...Wow, this letter is a train wreck. I can see why you didn't want to try patching it up - some editor might get stuck reading a whole manuscript of that prose. Yikes.Mad Scientist Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10944489511151772939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1147268728574201362006-05-10T09:45:00.000-04:002006-05-10T09:45:00.000-04:00Rei: As the one who called you on your prank based...Rei: As <A HREF="http://misssnark.blogspot.com/2006/03/and-first-clue-gun-recipient-of-night.html#c114386682939999074" REL="nofollow">the one who called you on your prank based on the number of jokes per line in your fake query</A>, I think this one is real. I'm not 100% sure about it, but sadly, I think it's plausible as a query letter and not quite funny enough to be a spoof ;-)<BR/><BR/>To the author, assuming it's a real query: If you could use some honest yet encouraging words right now, maybe you should read <A HREF="http://www.scalzi.com/whatever/004175.html" REL="nofollow">this</A>. You're not a teenager, but IMHO it also applies to the rest of us who wish they could write publishable things already.<BR/><BR/>Love and kisses,<BR/>A MinionAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1147257314769718092006-05-10T06:35:00.000-04:002006-05-10T06:35:00.000-04:00...musician doesn't get an MFA (Master of Fine Art...<I>...musician doesn't get an MFA (Master of Fine Arts)...</I><BR/><BR/>You know, not being a native speaker of English, I always wonder at this acronym, and this may be the place to ask.<BR/><BR/>Does it <EM>really</EM> expand to Master of the <STRONG>Fine</STRONG> Arts? Or is that the polite euphemism, as in expanding RTFM to <I>read the fine manual</I>?<BR/><BR/>Somehow, <I>Master of the F***ing Arts</I> rings truer to me, so I wonder -- I wonder.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1147239767153205732006-05-10T01:42:00.000-04:002006-05-10T01:42:00.000-04:00Wow, and I thought my query letters sucked! Honest...Wow, and I thought <I>my</I> query letters sucked! Honestly, if you can't keep it down to a one page letter, you've taken too much of anyone's time, even an Evil Editor's.Sandra Richardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17504706455212740148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1147237343691344592006-05-10T01:02:00.000-04:002006-05-10T01:02:00.000-04:00As someone who successfully pranked Miss Snark on ...As someone who successfully pranked Miss Snark on April Fools with a fake query letter, I can't even tell. It's bad, but not awful enough that I'd immediately suspect a hoax.<BR/><BR/>Wait, wait, I phrased that wrong.<BR/><BR/>As a plumber, scuba diving enthusiast, and professional emu wrangler, I have gained a great deal of insight into the nature of query letter hoaxes...Reihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17005292189176596201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1147236404341371112006-05-10T00:46:00.000-04:002006-05-10T00:46:00.000-04:00Oh, Evil (any relation to Dr. Evil?)... You make m...Oh, Evil (any relation to Dr. Evil?)... <BR/><BR/>You make me wish I'd actually gotten around to finishing a book so I could have a query for you to criticise. I'd even spell czech first and everything.Sponge Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16611765425641311798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1147229875881582352006-05-09T22:57:00.000-04:002006-05-09T22:57:00.000-04:00Please, tell me this was a parody of a query lett...Please, tell me this was a parody of a query letter. It's too amusing to be real.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1147229714913456742006-05-09T22:55:00.000-04:002006-05-09T22:55:00.000-04:00When I wrote my first book, and was trying to writ...When I wrote my first book, and was trying to write a couple paragraph synopsis, it occurred to me that if I couldn't sum up its parts in those two paragraphs (much less the ten pages needed for a real synopsis), then I probably needed to go back and trim some 80,000 words from the 150k ms. <BR/><BR/>A wise editor (not Evil Editor, but my first rejecting editor, who several books later became my real very own evil editor at a real major publishing house) told me that a writer should be able to sum up the plot of the story in just a couple sentences. Maybe the theme, as well. And if you can't, your novel probably has some serious flaws in it. That novel is still under my bed. I never could get it down to a couple sentences, and finally scrapped it and started anew. Again and again. In a completely different genre... I am about to have book 6 published. So I'm living proof that there is publication after rejection by evil editors.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1147227823825491062006-05-09T22:23:00.000-04:002006-05-09T22:23:00.000-04:00True, but Evil Editor has always felt that music i...True, but Evil Editor has always felt that music is as fine an art as . . . well, art. Is playing first violin in the orchestra not <I>more</I> fine than painting caricatures in a mall? Is composing a symphony not more fine than writing a limerick? It's time musicians got the respect they deserve, whether you think so or not, John.Evil Editorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03879826770199639420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1147225595914241092006-05-09T21:46:00.000-04:002006-05-09T21:46:00.000-04:00I must take EE's invitation to mock mercilessly, p...I must take EE's invitation to mock mercilessly, pointing out that a musician doesn't get an MFA (Master of Fine Arts); she gets an MM (Master of Music). Not to be confused with the candy. <BR/><BR/>Although at this point chocolate would be more useful than my MM.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01171852692052049267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1147225410082730222006-05-09T21:43:00.000-04:002006-05-09T21:43:00.000-04:00Wow... a query beyond even an Evil Repair?I shudde...Wow... a query beyond even an Evil Repair?<BR/><BR/>I shudder at the thought<BR/><BR/>*yet, continue to spit seltzer on the keyboard as I read your comments*Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10996771273232767374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1147225282848876452006-05-09T21:41:00.000-04:002006-05-09T21:41:00.000-04:00Writer:In short - no.If you're at all familiar wit...Writer:<BR/><BR/>In short - no.<BR/><BR/>If you're at all familiar with this blog, then you knew what you were getting into when you queried EE. If you're not familiar with this blog, then you had no business querying without preliminary research.<BR/><BR/>Either way - sending the query implicitly authorized blog publication. You asked for it, you got it.<BR/><BR/>Be careful what you ask for. You just might get it.<BR/><BR/>Hide if you must, but stop whining.<BR/><BR/>Unsympathetic reader/lurkerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1147224940671819202006-05-09T21:35:00.000-04:002006-05-09T21:35:00.000-04:00Sure, but if you ever find someone to publish your...Sure, but if you ever find someone to publish your book, don't let them. <BR/><BR/>And while you're not letting them, send 'em my way to fill the void. Please.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1147219364688520212006-05-09T20:02:00.000-04:002006-05-09T20:02:00.000-04:00Evil Editor:Is it possible I could send a query fo...Evil Editor:<BR/><BR/>Is it possible I could send a query for critique without getting it published on your blog? I will now go hide, while you laugh at me ...<BR/><BR/>- WriterAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com