The journey toward publication: International Day of Tolerance

Monday, November 16, 2009

International Day of Tolerance

In the spirit of the International Day of Tolerance, which is today, unless I'm mistaken, which is possible, because life has been a bit of a blur lately (sick child, house renovations, life...need I say more?) I am going to try and be more tolerant in my own little bubble of isolation. I guess I could spew on the need for world tolerance, but the likelihood of anyone reading my diatribe on that is slim to none. I don't much care for being lectured, why would I expect anyone else to feel differently? And so, here is my pledge for the day.

Pledge of Tolerance

*I will continue to tolerate rejections from agents respectfully, even though I know that if they would just read the whole of my manuscript instead of a one page query letter, they might want to take me on.

*I will continue will continue to submit to agents and publishers while tolerating the knowledge that as an unknown author, the chances of getting someone to take a chance on me are apparently approaching the infinitesimal.

*I will continue to tolerate the fact that some publishers would rather take on a bad book from a known author than a good book from an unknown author, but I am only tolerating this, because really, what choice do I have?

Now, that's enough complaining for one day. I must recognize that as an author, agents get their pay from having authors that are highly marketable and successful. Since there is a very good chance that many more people might want to read what Ellen Degeneres has to say, vs. me. 'Ms. No One In Particular' I can see why she's much more likely to get a publishing contract than I am. I also have to admit that on a scale of funny, Ellen has me beat by a landslide. So, I shall suck up my frustration, and tolerate the realities of my situation. And in the meantime I will continue to work at trying to get published. This is the fight for the every day Jane, the small fish in the pond, the common person, because we have sometimes have something important worth saying, or writing and we need to be given our own little swimming hole.

Did I mention that I have emailed Ellen about my book? Well I did. I mean, hey, she campaigned Oprah for over a year to get on the cover of her magazine. I should be able to campaign her right? And just because I'm an unknown that doesn't make my campaign any less legit that hers...so wish me luck. Time to come up with some ideas. Anyone got any good ones?

And in the meantime, practice your tolerance...be kind to someone less famous than you.

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manuscript reader comments and critiques

I was hooked on this book from page one. The author tackles some heavy issues with the right mix of tenderness, irony and laugh out loud humour. The main character is someone you want to know - intelligent, witty, strong and imperfect. Witnessing her struggles and triumphs leave the reader at times cringing with embarrassment, cheering with joy and ultimately feeling rejuvenated and hopeful. A terrific read for anyone who relishes some absorbing alone time and loves to root for the dark horse. Jen K.
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What a fabulous book! It is a hilarious and captivating read. The main character is so wild and unpredictable one cannot wait to find out what she will do next, either on purpose or accidentally. The personalities of each character are well developed... and I could picture each one. The unexpected twist at the end was very clever and everything came together quite beautifully. Just enough romance to make it interesting without overpowering the theme. The animals added much to the humor and the characters who own them. Very, very well done. I think the audience for this book will be quite wide and enjoyed by many. This book MUST get published. I hope it is the first of many. Go Lisa!!

Once I got to the middle I couldn't stay away from it. I actually got grumpy when other things got in the way. I really enjoyed it. Do you have doubleday's number?? Donna R.

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Okay, I have to tell you right off that I loved it, Lisa. I genuinely mean that. I honestly sat with an overwhelming feeling of something almost spiritual after I finished it....it was like I could almost feel …{ ***}(as crazy as that sounds)… It was beautiful.I think this book should be on the "Required Reading List" for new therapists. I learned a lot just in the session with the "good shrink" (an oxymoron?) alone. I laughed out loud when you wrote about how shrinks should be called {***}...hilarious. I loved the {***}thing. Powerful stuff reading about how …{***}.The book has a good flow to it, you segue so beautifully. We see Danny metamorphose from…{***}. And throughout the entire process of that character development you make the reader fall more and more in love with Danny with your use of humour. The {***}…was powerful for me. I'll remember that metaphor for the rest of my life. I'm finding it hard to explain the feelings I was left with after finishing the book....a sense of possibility, hope....that it's okay to let go of certain people and situations in our lives if they are no longer working for us. To find humour in even the darkest times...that if we just open our eyes to it we'll see that there is no such thing as coincidence, that everything happens for a reason. Thank you for writing this, Lisa. I'm proud of you beyond words.Now let's get the {bleep} published. Dianne G.