Sybil Baker's Blog, page 17

How to be a Faster Writer

via Edit Torrent

http://www.slate.com/id/2301243/

Janet Reid on Types of Rejection

Agent Janet Reid wrote on rejection in her blog the other day. The upshot is, if you're a writer, no matter where you are in the process, rejection is a part of life.

I was a journalist for a few years and an editor at my college paper. One summer I interned at a Richmond newspaper and every time I sent an article in to my editor I'd get it returned with more red than than the original piece. I became a masochist and learned to appreciate what criticism can do--at least this editor took the time to tell me my articles were bad so I could get better. I became thick skinned, which has served me well with my fiction writing. I have yet to meet a writer, no matter how "successful," who hasn't had to deal early and often with rejection.

My advice for dealing with rejection: In your personal life surround yourself with people who love you and think you're wonderful no matter what your writing is like and try not to have too many people around who do the opposite. Don't expect or need that unconditional love from editors, publishers, readers, or agents--they will reject you for all kinds of reasons in all kinds of ways.

You can read Reid's post on the many types of rejections writers face here:

http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/2011/08/please-respond-only-if-interested.html

6 reasons your plans to move abroad might not work out

I lived in Korea for 12 years and had planned to live there even longer--a great job stateside and my father's terminal illness called me back "home." That said, I thought this article had some good points and was funny--if a bit exaggerated. For example, I was never spit on in Korea and was treated pretty well there--as a foreigner. I studied Korean off and on for years as well, and as the article says, it's three times as hard for English speakers to learn (my Japanese classmates breezed through). I think it's great to live abroad at least for a while if you can--it just broadens your horizons--but here are some things to think about as well:

http://www.cracked.com/article_19363_6-reasons-your-plans-to-move-abroad-might-not-work-out.html

Real Life Advice--for queries, writing, job apps

Yes, I teach at a university, but I still agree with this post and Janet Reid's follow up advice:

The rule of thumb here is: give the most weight to the advice given by people actually DOING the work you want to do or making the decisions about your work.



In other words:

for queries listen to agents.

for writing listen to editors.

for job applications listen to the people doing the hiring.

The original post is here:http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/2011/08/real-life-advice.html

Cover for Into This World

I'm on the road and hope to post some photos of Possum Valley Arkansas soon. Until then, I've got exciting news. Victoria at Engine Books is super organized--she's already got the cover designed for Into This World which is coming out in Aug. 2012. I'm really excited to be included in such a strong line up of books and writers. Check out all the Engine Book covers here:



http://enginebooks.org/blog/?p=185



And here's a sneak peak at the cover for Into This World. I love the green.

Hong Kong 4

In reverse chronological order--night on the town, party on campus after student reading:

So many writers, so many books

Big night on the town last night--dinner, drinks on yet another rooftop, jazz. Here is the crew at dinner at Kin's Kitchen--so many books here! Read the ones you haven't yet, I will!
From top left to right: Junot Diaz, James Scudamore, Xu Xi, Sybil Baker, Shawn Wong, Marilyn Chin, Lau Kin Wai
Bottom left to right: Robin Hemley, Ravi Shankar, Madeleine Thien, Luis Francia

Hong Kong 3

More Hong Kong

Hong Kong first two nights

Of course it's impossible to do the skyline justice, esp. with my basic camera. Here's a few photos of a night on the town with the other visiting writers as well as a few other miscellaneous photos. Will try to do better with photos in the next few days. Here's the link to the residency program:
http://www.english.cityu.edu.hk/mfa/

The residency is just starting. Met the students yesterday and classes start tomorrow--I'm looking forward to it. I've enjoyed meeting the other writers and hanging out with them. Being here reminds me how much I miss being in an international city and meeting people from all over. It's great to be reminded how large the world is.

In no particular order:




View from the bar Ozone:
Read!
The swimming pool at the CU of HK (which is connected to a huge mall!)
Writers books on display at the CU of HK library