11 Editors & Agents on Websites and Public Dissing

[cheymccray]

I posted these opinions on The Midnight Hour last summer and the responses were very interesting. Someone here at FFF asked about whether or not to have a website before being published, and another person mentioned editors & agents surfing the net. I thought everyone at FFF might be interested in reading the opions of some of the top editors and

Comments

[frost_light]

Excellent post, Cheyenne! Blogs can feel private at times, like chatting with a few friends, but of course the reality is that you're putting something in writing on the world wide web. More people could be reading than you'd ever expect, and anything you say can and will be used against you if it offends someone. These agent and editor responses are a reminder of that.

Plus, because she's my editor and I'm happy for her, I wanted to add that Erika Tsang is now Executive editor at Avon, having recently been promoted. Yay Erika!

[cheymccray]

Yes, and it's making me think, too. My biggest weakness is stressing and letting it show. It's an internal struggle, it's nothing negative about anyone else, it's just something that tends to burst out of me about every few months. Then I'm good for another quarter. :o)

[cheymccray]

Oh, and congrats to Erika!

[anywherebeyond]

Times, they are a'changin', but they don't change that much. I had a very early, proto-website in '97 or '98, and managed to unsnag an agent because I had fan fiction on it. I don't think that's such a big deal now, but at the time, it was a dealbreaker.

And I had an agent tell me straight up- don't complain about how hard writing is, don't talk about rejection, and don't talk smack about anybody. I didn't believe her when she said HOW small the writing world was. At least, until I got a comment one day from an author whose book I'd mentioned buying because the cover was pretty. She wanted to know what I thought of the insides. :D (Glad it was that and not smack talk!)

- Saundra Mitchell

[cheymccray]

Wow. Ten years ago I didn't even know what a website was! I never listened to my software developer dh. LOL.

Interesting about talking about how difficult writing can be is something that may turn someone off. It's not an easy process and we can learn from one another. It's a lot of hard work to learn the craft. More food for thought.

[casaubon]

And I had an agent tell me straight up- don't complain about how hard writing is

That's odd advice, since that theme is fairly constant across all the writer's blogs I read. :)

[cheymccray]

I won't even look at a site with blinking banners or cursors that look like little animals when you move them, or have things bouncing across the scrren, or that have that animated woman who talks to you. Drives me nuts. I just go somewhere else.

[yasminegalenorn]

Or music. Pisses me off when music comes blaring over what I'm playing on my computer, or the silence that I may not want broken.

Great post, Chey. Mind if I link to it?

Yasmine

[cheymccray]

Oh, yes. The music! Drives me nuts on MySpace. You go to visit a page and music blares out before you have the chance to turn your speakers down!

Sure, link away. :o)

[cheymccray]

This is more great feedback and advice, and I appreciate it.

[cheymccray]

I've run across that same thing--no info on the books just as you mention above. It makes me a little frustrated as a reader, especially if I'm considering trying a new author.

Also when I organize panels--if I want to ask someone to speak I need to know if they're a good fit for that panel, and if I can't find the info I move on.

I didn't think your thoughts came across disjointed at all. It was all well said. Ouch on the migraine. Hope you're feeling better!

[dpeterfreund]

I'm one of those authors that Deidre Knight picked up after a pass. She's sold six books for me since I signed with her in 2005.

[cheymccray]

Deidre isn't my agent, but I just love her to pieces. One of the nicest, most genuine people you can meet.