Today was the one year anniversary of my three chapters, synopsis and cover letter for Heirs of Mâvarin arriving on the slush pile at Tor Books in New York. I was reminded of this fact in a dream this morning, in which Patrick Nielsen Hayden got annoyed with me for temporarily storing ham and cheese in a Tor mailbox, and announced he would have nothing more to do with me. I don't have the nerve to do it, but for months I've been fantasizing that I could mark this occasion with an anniversary card, something like this:

The reason I wouldn't send it is not that I think Patrick and Teresa wouldn't enjoy the joke. They might indeed find it funny, which is why I have no fear about posting it where they may possibly find out about it and take a peek. But actually sending such a thing, as a physical card or in an email, strikes me as the kind of unprofessional attention-grabbing stunts that Carol Pinchefsky writes about in her posting "It Came from the Slush Pile." Unfavorable attention on me instead of favorable attention toward the three chapters and synopsis is the last thing I want right now.  Yes, I do wish PNH would decide, and soon, to ask for the rest of the manuscript.  But if a little nudge from John Scalzi and a polite follow-up letter from me haven't hurried things along, a joke card certainly won't do so, except possibly to encourage the issuance of a rejection letter. 

In a way it's fitting that I be made to wait for this all-important reply. There's a reason why the Beatles' lyric, "It took me years to write, will you take a look?" resonates so strongly for me.  Heirs of Mâvarin did take me years to write.  Too many years, really, but that's what happens when a book slowly teaches you how to write it over the course of a few decades. Unless the bottom suddenly falls out of the fantasy fiction market, I don't really mind waiting a few more years for a publisher to buy, print and distribute my beloved first novel. Heck, it gives me more time to work on the sequels!

On the other hand, if this long wait for a response ends in a printed form rejection, I fully expect to cry for a week before sending it out again.

Karen

What Fantasy Archetype Are you?
The Mentor You are the prestigous Mentor! You're akin to Gandalf (Lord of The Rings), Merlin (ARthurian Legend), Obi Wan Kenobi (Star Wars), Aslan (Narnia), Door (Neverwhere), Dumbledore (Harry Potter) and Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander (Wizard's First Rule). You are wise and knowing, and know that there is not much time left for the Unlikely Hero to defeat The Totally Wicked Villain. Only you know the true motives and past of The Villain, so it's up to you to teach the Unlikely Hero all he has to know. Be careful as you'll invariably regret not telling The Unlikely Hero things sooner rather than later. You like teaching and often care very much for others.
Take The Quiz Now!	Quizzes by myYearbook.com

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A few days ago at the Outpost I blogged the New Year's Resolution stuff, and it was mostly about writing.  I had some good news on this front today - not the big news, but, well, read the comments to that entry and see what I mean. I'm going to follow through myself, too, though, and write the snail mail letter in a moment. Between a live-and-in-person reminder and my letter, maybe I'll finally hear from Tor soon.  My biggest fear it that it was rejected months and months ago but the response was lost in the mail.  My biggest hope is that it's either just waiting its turn in a long queue, and will now get special attention, and they'll like it, and I'll finally be on my way.  There's no reason that can't be true, based on what little I know of the situtation.  I hope I hope I hope!

The other thing I'm going to do here is simplify things a bit.  Rather than feel guilty about all the blogs and journals I don't read, I'm going to unfriend and unsubscribe a few. That doesn't mean they're not interesting or well written by good people I like.  It's a question of time.  Right now I'm reading some of my very favorite blogs once a week or once every two weeks, or, you know, never.  I may do better if the list is shorter.  Here on LJ, there's someone on my Friends list who writes long posts more than once a day, and my less frequently-posting friends get pushed off the page before I get there.  So the prolific, angry young nephew of my long-dead boyfriend leaves the Friends page today.  Sorry, Mike.  I wish you well, and all success with your writing and your class work and your love life.

(Ten minutes later: Mike is back on the friends list already, for several reasons. The main one is that I can now filter the Friends page to view different groups of people.  So Mike gets his own group, the group blogs get another, and so on.  So the rare flower journal entries will now be findable, I don't have to dump anything, and everybody wins.  Yay!)

Karen

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Baroness Karen the Abstemious of Similar Ealand Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Abstemious.  Interesting. If you're talking about drinking and certain other things.  it fits.  But in the bigger picture, temperance and moderation in all things, so not.

Via Aurora Walking Vacation.

And to those who wonder: not a peep from Tor. Ten months now.

Happy New Year!  The Baroness and I promise to do better in 2007.

Karen

P.S. Great gag from an episode of Top Cat (we finally have Boomerang): one of T.C.'s gang is reading a book with a plot that wanders all over the place.  Let's see iif I can remember the title correctly: Under A Bridge with Dick and Harry. I would amend it to Under a Bridge: Dick 'n' Harry.  What was T.C.'s friend really reading?  Hint: it begins with an aardvark.

NOW, when it's too late, I read the submission guidelines by the person who will actually see my manuscript in the slush pile. I followed the posted ones - really, I did! - but argh! It's not in Courier New, and the synopsis isn't double-spaced, and I didn't use a rubber band, and my three chapters are twice as long as the 60 page maximum she wants to see.

And I've got the stress test in the morning. It's safe to say I've got the stress part working already.

Karen