That's like my brother's favorite detective/cop faux-pas "shot to death." You don't shoot anyone to life, do you?

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Shot to Gehenna, maybe?

Stupid phrase. Not sure it's quite at the level of obviousness as "my own eyes", but it's definitely up there.

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Reminded of one of the stupidest phrases on earth: "I saw it with my own eyes!"

I think that's a case of redundancy for effect.

That's like my brother's favorite detective/cop faux-pas "shot to death." You don't shoot anyone to life, do you?

I don't think that one is so bad. Because he could have shot him without killing him. It's like bludgeoning someone to death. Or boring someone to death.

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Hee! The thing that struck me most was the absolute monotonous nonrythym of the writing.

OTOH, erika made me snort lukewarm tea all over the cat: gave a woman like that a mercy-beta once and she complained I didn't respect her vision. Not true. I respected it like my own ability to throw javelins.

Can I tag?

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Yeah! Go ahead. So glad my snottiness amuses.

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Thanks, my old tag was losing its shine.

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In my case, Erika, it was coffee and my keyboard. It's a shame there's not an Olympics for snark.

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Tell me it just learned English on Thursday. The worst part is, she(?) won't want advice. I gave a woman like that a mercy-beta once and she complained I didn't respect her vision. Not true. I respected it like my own ability to throw javelins.

Damn, Erin beat me to the punch. I snorted at this, not least of all because I'm thinking of my own ability to throw javelins, and the innocent bystanders who'd certainly be injured, much like my own eyes were in trying to read the contents of deb's email.

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I just spent an hour procrastinating writing while still feeling like a writer. Tonight this took the form of going through all the RWA-recognized publishers who buy historicals and dividing them into three tiers roughly as follows:

First Tier--Tough nuts to crack for a first-time author, but the best places to be in the long run for everything from prestige to advance size to distribution.

Second Tier--Publish a lot of first-time authors, easier to break in without an agent. I'd still be over the moon to sell to any of them, but they're not where I'd want to be for the rest of my career for varying reasons--distribution not as good, rep for small advances, etc.

Third Tier--Smaller presses, I've rarely if ever spotted their titles in my friendly local B&N, but at least I'd be published!

Next time I'm looking for a way to procrastinate while feeling productive, I may try to put together a fourth tier of legit e-pubs and small presses.

This is like picking a college, except that compared to ANY of the publishers, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton will let just anyone off the streets in. IOW, it's confusing and overwhelming. I mean, what do I do with the fact that my absolute #1 favorite dream publisher from the first tier almost never publishes historicals by first-time writers? Or that one of my second tier is currently practically begging for books that sound just like what I write? If I submit to them the instant I finish Anna's story and it sells, go me! I sold my book! But OTOH, I'd never know if I could've sold it to the first tier. But if I wait and exhaust all my shots at the first tier before trying the second, who's to know if they'll still be seeking books like mine?

Still, I'm starting to form a strategy, as follows:
1. Finish the damn book. I can't sell what I don't have.

2. Three of my first-tier publishers seem more open to new authors than the others. Starting now, if one of their editors is the final round judge for a contest I'm qualified for, I'm entering it. And if one of those same editors is at a writers conference anywhere between Vancouver and Portland, I'm there if I can afford the registration fee.

3. After completing #1, aggressively seek an agent. My first choice agents will be ones who work with authors like me and have a track record of placing books with the first tier publishers.

4. If #3 fails, I'll query all the first tier publishers that accept unagented queries. And after them, the second tier.

I like having a plan. I'll probably have to change it several times before I sell, but plans make me happy.

And now I figure I'd better go work on finishing the damn book....

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How do you find out which agents place with which publishers?

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