I know some have been offended by Miss Snark's blog recently (the Ms. Roth issue and if you don't know what I'm talking about, check it out. The link can be found to the right in Blogs I Visit section), but I am happy to say that I am a proud Snarkling! Yes, some of the comments in response to Ms. Roth's query were rude, even hurtful. Yes, I still found some of them amusing, I admit it freely. If Ms. Roth was offended or had her feelings hurt, she should have done more research before sending something to Miss Snark in the first place. Hopefully, she has learned from the incident and is now wiser.
The publishing industry isn't made up of nice people who send you hugs, kisses, puppies, flowers, and chocolate with their rejections. If you are looking for these things, get them yourself. Rejections hurt sometimes, no matter how nicely they are worded. Granted, the rejections on Miss Snark's site were from fellow Snarklings and not Miss Snark, but Ms. Roth never should have sent a query to Miss Snark in the first place. A few minutes on her blog make this apparent to anyone willing to actually read a bit.
I, for one, will continue to visit Miss Snark's blog. I find it refreshing that an agent will tell us how lame we as writers can sometimes be. It is a learning process and I must learn; if not from my own miskates (and I make plenty of them . . . yes the spelling of mistake was intentional), then from the mistakes of others.
Okay, I'm finished defending Miss Snark now (not that she needs me to defend her . . . she has Killer Yap for that, after all).
I know there will be those who disagree with me. Feel free to express your opinion, but if you do, please have the courage to not be anonymous! What good is having an opinion if we do not express it?
:-)
Thursday, April 27, 2006
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I am a Snarkling, but I feel really sorry for this writer. I'm glad I didn't have time to participate in the carnage, because I would feel guilty now if I had. On her website it shows she's an elderly lady. I think a lot of people didn't quite realize that she is an actual *clueless* person, and just took this as another writing challenge from MS like the Bat Segundo/terrapin contest. I bet that MS actually feels a bit bad about it all.
ReplyDeleteI love Miss Snark precisely because of her honesty. Writing is about communication, and if we're not communicating who will really tell us? Our friends? Nope. Mom? Not a chance, though she might want to encourage writing if she thinks it will get us husbands.
ReplyDeleteMiss Snark? Thank heavens for the Miss Snarks of the world. How else are we to ever learn a thing about writing?
Here is the comment I left on Miss Snark's Roth post, and I feel as strongly about it now as I did then:
"So is this the blogosphere equivalent of a writer's workshop? I've been told to save my self-esteem and avoid writer's workshops.
It appears, then, as budding writers, we have two options:
1) Avoiding writer's workshops and the scourging of Miss Snark (not to mention her devotees), saving our self-esteem and never getting a contract for anything other than a regular gig mowing the neighbors lawn; or
2) Risking a battered, bruised and entirely abused self-esteem, learning a little something or two, and having a shot at a nice fat book contract, or even one fine sunny day...a real movie contract.
Call me silly...I'll take door number 2."