Nov 1, 2010

November is here, and it's intense. And we love it.

So November is not going to be doing anything halfway, it seems. It is the first of the month, and we already have client news; we have agency news; many of you brave souls have NaNoWriMo (and we salute you. You can't see us, I know, but we are saluting); and also the temperature in New York plummeted today, and it made everyone here sad, and once we'd finished complaining about how cold it was, we made an office trip to get ice cream. *I know* eating ice cream is not going to convince the universe that it is actually summer. But it seemed like it was worth a shot.

Things That Have Already Happened This Month:

1. The School Library Journal reviewed Kody Keplinger's The DUFF, and had this to say about it: "This debut novel is a fun read and surprisingly feminist in a number of ways. Keplinger makes good points about female body image and female friendship, and discusses how both men and women use offensive terms about women as a means of social control." It's a story, the review says, that "reluctant readers" will love. Congrats, Kody!! Huge smiles from all of us here.

2. Romance Writers Report is a fantastically fun magazine, and it is a happy, happy day in the office when our copy comes in. We are just one day late on posting about this...last month's cover:
That person in the top picture on the left is Meg Cabot. And next to her is our very own Erica O'Rourke. YAY, Erica!! Erica won the Golden Heart Award at this year's RWA (Romance Writers of America) conference, held in Florida, and accepted the award from Meg Cabot. More huge smiles on this one!

3. Today is the day our query guidelines change. Haven't heard about the changes yet? You can read all about them here. We are now also accepting sample pages. Please post the first five pages of your novel in the body of your email if you are e-querying. We cannot open attachments.

4. NaNoWriMo. So impressed by everyone who has decided to participate. If you're looking for motivation, or some good advice, check out Chuck Wendig's post here. In addition to excellent dos and dont's for the contest, there are also cyborg bears in this post. And a reference to knitting a sweater for a unicorn. Please read it.

Hope your month is off to just as wonderful a start! Though no matter how it's started, I recommend ice cream.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Attachments = the devil.

Ice cream FTW!

lexcade said...

ice cream is awesome no matter the temperature.

hyperbole and a half is one of the best blogs ever.

extremely excited about new guidelines! when i'm feeling braver, i'm querying :D

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

I see no reason to banish ice cream at any season. Ever. I think I shall go get some, too. :D
Congrats to Kody and Erica!

Anonymous said...

I just read about Kody in Writer's Digest, too! I have to get my hands on a copy of her book soon.
-Nancy V.

Susan said...

Woo! Go Kody and Erica! I guess NCLit reps the best. ;)