22:12:36: (The Elephant) has entered the chat.

[teaberryblue]

Notice: I have a lot of regular life stuff I want to post about but this was a surreal week and I just haven't been able to get my thoughts together. Also, my computer cable broke after I uploaded some of the Thanksgiving prep how-tos I meant to post, so they didn't happen. I'm on my netbook and eternally thankful that I am able to do things like

Comments

[batchix]

i've had the same situation with art, especially at work or meeting people who work other places... and it's hard. It's even harder when they're in charge of you or in charge of a project. you love this person, you have to work with them everyday, but... dear God they're breaking the beakers!

[teaberryblue]

Yeah, and I think it really is much harder when you really genuinely like the person and they're just not doing something they're good at. I've had this problem at jobs, too, and definitely in roleplaying. I have just met some sweetheart people who, the minute you let them run rampant with a character, you want to tear your hair out.

[katieupsidedown]

This just makes me think of the people I meet in fandom who are cool and amazing and great on the internet and then we hang out in person and they are a socially awkward mess in some way or incredibly shy or kind of pretentious or just some crazy elitist. And you're like "Fuck. But you're so cool on the internet."

Now I might add this to my small stack of potential topics for this week, actually. XD

[teaberryblue]

Yeah! I wasn't even thinking about that, but it's true. Fortunately, I don't think I've had that happen too many times. But yeah, you want to keep talking to them online but then they're like, "wanna hang out?" and it's like, "ehhhh..." I do know a few people whom I love IRL and can't deal with online, which is a little weird, but is also kind of the same thing.

[gratefuladdict]

That is exactly how I comment!

[teaberryblue]

Yeah! I think it's a good way to comment whether you like someone's writing or not. It's always nice to see a comment that makes it clear someone took the time to say something nice and personal about what you wrote.

[3_foot_6]

Oh, lord, this brings back the worst memories of all my college workshops - and then we were SUPPOSED to be critical of each other, but in every class there was always someone who was super sweet and great about other people's work but couldn't string two words together herself. Usually everyone would go with option 1: Seize the one decent sentence and praise the crap out of it.

In your case (I'm dying to know who it is, btw) I'd really want to ask them about their experiences in getting published and how it came about. Which may be a little backhanded in my own head ("How did YOU get published?!") but might be an interesting insight into the sort of things publishers look for: To reach not-so-far for an example, everyone thinks Twilight is irredeemably crap, but it was a screamingly obvious hit for a publisher. And I imagine any published author would be happy to talk about how they hit it big.

[teaberryblue]

I would never say who this was in public, partly because they were such a ridiculously nice person. And when it came to talking about reading and writing, they had really smart things to say-- they had helpful tips for understanding the writing process, for outlining and story planning, and stuff like that.

I think the difference is in whether you ask, "how did YOU get published?" and "HOW did you get published?"

Oh, I should also mention on that note, that I don't think that being a bad writer is equivalent to not having valuable things to say about writing.

[zeitgeistic]

This is a very awesome and informative post. Thanks for linking to it!

ETA, because, lol, I just realized how that could sound exactly like one of those 'I didn't read this but I'm commenting anyway' comments. That wasn't the case at all, and in fact, I was very intrigued with your apparent publishing-related career (like some other Idolers, this is a ~dream job for me), and I found the information useful.

I think, for the most part, that it was something I knew in the back of my mind, but it seems like I still go blank sometimes. I do try to choose things I liked about the post, but sometimes I do struggle, so this helps.

[teaberryblue]

No, it's cool! There's a difference to me about comments that people are leaving on something like this, that is supposed to be here for your information, and something like Idol where I think sometimes people just wonder if someone is out there reading or just commenting to "play the game."

I can tell you lots about my job if you want! It isn't a secret! I am currently a comic editor for King Features Syndicate, but I've been working in the arts for about fifteen years now and I have had a bunch of different jobs. I have a ton of friends who work in publishing here in New York, so if you ever have questions, please feel free to ask. If it's not related to my job, I probably know someone else who can answer it.

[zeitgeistic]

Ooh, how exciting! Were you a comic book reader before you started working there? I keep meaning to look into some of these graphic novels that get so much talk, but my reading list is already a yard long as it is. Unfortunately, I never got into comic books as a kid

[teaberryblue]

I've worked for a few magazine (Rolling Stone, US Weekly, and Playgirl [yes I was an art director for a porn mag]), and for DC Comics as well. I've also worked for a webcomics company and this weird art collective conceptual art project turned mobile software company). Nothing specifically with books. However, I'm going out to lunch with several friends in the industry-- specifically in book publishing and I can ask around, and I'll take a look at the Hearst job board to see if there's anyone offering internships. My parent company owns a lot of newspapers, magazines, and a couple book imprints as well as having a digital arm and some television connections, so there are a lot of options there as long as they're looking for something like what you do