Blog Posts by Susan Egner
Inspirations, thoughts by Minnesota author and flight attendant
Agents have very precise guidelines for submitting work for their review. If you fall down on one, say margins or page numbers or typos, the entire submission is trashed, it appears. So, in striving to meet agent requirements, not only do I strive to meet all the guidelines, but I also review what writers the agent represents, and then I read a few of those authors. I’m currently reading a very interesting mystery, however the book is fraught with mistakes and typos. This agent who requires such precision, does not require it from herself when guiding the publishing of her client’s book. I’m not mentioning any names, but do your own research before allowing an agent to represent your work. I know one I’ve taken off my list.
Yesterday, I talked to an old friend who mentioned something that her son and my son had done together when they were in their very early teens. We lived about a half-mile to a mile from a house that had a front room converted to a candy store. It was called Dolly’s. The friend reminded me that our boys would ride their bikes there, quarter in hand, to buy candy. I got to thinking what a wonderful memory and then thought about the kids today. How few have the freedom to freely ride their bike to a candy store, if such a place even exists today. When I was a child, we had a similar place called Matt’s store, where we would buy candy to sell at our backyard circus. Buy it for a penny, sell it for two. Once again, a freedom that few children have today; much less the imagination to create a neighborhood circus. I must say, I’m grateful for my childhood and the childhood of my children, that was much the same. Technology can never replace the wonder of those years.
I have the most amazing Beta readers. Not only do they find errors after 8 rounds of editing; but they also offer insights into the research behind the story. The most enjoyable part is the relationship some of them have made with one or two characters, giving humorous anecdotes regarding their position in the story, their habits, and their tastes. I used to have a thin skin about any reader’s comments, now I relish them all. Sometimes I don’t agree, but I love honest opinions. Thanks to all my Beta readers.