I am not Tim Duncan. I didn't just lose Game 7 of the NBA finals. Actually, I'm pretty sure I didn't even play. But I still felt bad, and that's kind of incredible. Look at that face. Try and tell him he doesn't get a fifth championship. I felt bad because I like Tim Duncan. He seems like a nice guy. He's 37. He has a kid. On the close-up after he missed a shot that would've tied the game, I could see white hairs in his beard. He's old by NBA standards, and even though he's won 4 championships, a 5th would put him in the rare upper echelons of NBA players. Is it important to be in those echelons? I don't know. I thought so. But at the same time, Larry Bird has 3 rings, and people seem to think he was pretty okay. I felt bad because I want people to live forever. And I realize now that I might have some disappointment ahead of me. I hate the idea that at 37, Tim Duncan might've already peaked. Hell, I hate the idea that it's eve...
So little over a year ago I finished writing a book. And I figured, no problem, all I have to do now is get someone to buy it. Books. Like the one I wrote. Well, it's a little more complicated than that. But I've since streamlined the process and offer you my knowledge, free of charge.* 1. Query some agents. I used Query Tracker , and it was fantastically easy to search through and for tracking my numerous rejection letters. 2. Lose some hope. Not all of it, but a good chunk. 3. Re-double your efforts. This time be a bit more strategic. Ransack your connections for anyone who might know an agent. Find agents who like the kind of thing that you do. Enjoy more rejection letters. 4. I can't stress this enough. You really have to enjoy the rejection letters. My goal was to get up to 100 rejections, at which point I'd say screw it and self-publish the damn thing. 5. Realize that even if an agent liked it, they'd still have to find a publisher that liked it...
First thing's first: Sarah and I are engaged! It seems that after all these years of living in sin, Sarah's finally going to make an honest woman out of me. I'm super happy. But Sarah and I had a hard time properly expressing this happiness in written form. Observe: 1. Sarah and I are engaged. While with a simple period, there is no one who doubts the fact that I'm now betrothed to my beloved, but there's also no doubt that I am a likely candidate for suicide watch. Not the right way to announce a new life. Pass. 2. Sarah and I are engaged!!!!!!!!!!! True, you get the sense that I'm very happy to be getting married, but you also get the sense that Sarah should be less happy, since she's going to tie the knot with an excitable pre-teen girl. 3. Sarah and I are engaged :) Yes, there should be a smile, but honestly, just a closed parenthetical? That's the smile you give when someone gets a free doughnut at work, not when he announces one of the bigges...
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