THOSE FABULOUS ADVICE TO WRITERS

Contrary to popular believe unpublished and aspiring writers are intelligent people with no intention of being a burden to prospect publishers and literary agents.

I just read an article on advice to writers about submitting to agents and editors written by an advocate of new Hispanic writers, and again I am dismayed at the tone of mockery she uses to advice us.
She is not the only one that treat us like children, or like people that is in the world with the mission of bothering the industry that needs us in order to justify its existence.
Take for example the fallowing from this editorial consultant:
"Which of the following is more likely to impress editors?

• “I have a Creative Writing MFA.”
• “I’ve read tons of books about how to write.”

"Those who chose B need a reality check."
I really doubt a writer would come up with answer B.

Another advise from the same advocate.

Consider this scenario:

You: “What do you think of my book idea?”

Editor: “Sounds great! Send me the manuscript.”

You: “Um, I haven’t finished it yet . . .”

"Think editors are impressed by unprepared writers? Think again."

I wonder who is that lucky writer that can catch an editor attention without any previous preparation. More over, who would answer, 'I have not finish yet' instead of offering some of the chapters already finished to entice even more.

And here is another fabulous advice from the submission guidelines of a literary agency:

"Contrary to popular believe we don't like our name misspelled, nor coffee stained query letters."

Is this an internal yoke? As a prospect client I could interpret this as a patronizing remark.

These kind of articles impress me as a self-promoting tools at expense of their own audience. Unless these writers have forgotten completely about us and are talking to each other, exchanging pleasantries to humor themselves until one day the Great American Novelist of their dreams send them the perfect query letter with the perfect credentials, and all the perfect papers without, of course, coffee stains.

And the last fabulous comment is something like this one:

"...better speaking gigs aren’t expected to be James Joyce, but a basic writing class is in order."

With all due respect, I doubt that James Joyce would have landed an agent when submitting his books.

FABULOUS NOVEL WRITING

In the Dominican Republic, noveleando means snooping around, finding out what is going on, what's new, what's the buzz. The novelero or noveler is looking around for news to retell to others, of course, with some fictional adornment. To that meaning I add my own notion as a novel writer, noveleando or noveling, novel writing. French philosopher Michel Foucault commented that the real opus of an author is the life that she/he has to live in order to become a writer. This resounds deeply for writers like me, that had taken a long road to become published. If this is so I decided to live as fabulously as possible in search of my writing life. To place my self in the most wondrous spots that I can possibly be so my novel don't miss me when passing by.