1/18/11

Dreaded Question #2: So When Are You Going to Get It Published? (or, an exercise in sarcasm)

"So when are you going to get it published?"

I have a sarcastic streak that a friend of mine swears I don't have (she doesn't know how much I've tried to temper it), and there are times when I have to grit my teeth to keep it from showing its face. This question is one of those times

Tomorrow. Definitely tomorrow. You should start seeing my book next to Twilight in less than a week. Because it's just. that. easy.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

*sigh*

I have it down. "Well, I'm still editing. And once I'm done with that, I have to send it off to agents. They read it and decide if they want to represent it to a publisher, who has to decide to publish it. I don't have that much say in the matter."

To which they reply, "Oh, yeah, I know about agents. I heard an interview with an author on NPR, and he talked about writing the query letter and how hard it was to find an agent."

Yes. Thank you for your words of wisdom. NPR, why didn't I think of that?

*sigh*

It's okay. I probably ask stupid questions about your job, too - I'm sure I do, actually. And I'll answer this question again...
...and again...
...and again.

"Soon. I'm going to get it published soon. God willing. It's really a 'God willing' thing. No, really. Seriously. I don't have any control past my storytelling skills and query writing skills. No, you don't understand...I can't set a date!"

What about you? Got any good sarcastic - or, better yet, gracious - answers to this dreaded question?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The other response I *love* is when people refer to self-published authors and say, "Well Fred published his book," with the implied message, how hard can that be. Believe me, I understand where you're at. And that's something you can take comfort in. Other writers know. Tak

Anonymous said...

Oh, those self-published answers... one of my friends was so proud of herself because she got four novels self-published. But it frustrates me because sometimes she just doesn't realize how hard it is to go the route of getting an agent, getting a contract, etc etc. Why not just self-publish it, she says? *sigh*