I agree with you for the most part [about resubmitting an ms.], but I wanted to chime in on just
one thing, speaking from experience as an editor who reads a lot of
unagented material.

See, I probably wouldn’t even notice if requested pages from a new or
unfamiliar writer failed to materialize — usually I’m so swamped that
anything that’s not on my desk is out of mind.Even if I did notice,
I doubt I’d feel slighted.People’s lives are complicated and I can
think of dozens of reasons why I’d never hear from a writer again,
ranging from “writer is a slacker” to “writer hit by truck,” so it’s
pointless to judge.And as for feeling that the writer is “trying to
slip something past me” by not mentioning that he/she sent the same
query seven years ago…well, you should see some of the bullshit
writers try to slip past me on a regular basis.I get letters from
people who fake their publication credits, try to make their self-
published stuff sound not self-published, or lie in their letters
that they already have an offer on the manuscript, hoping that I’ll
pay more attention that way. So “Better Late Than Never’s” offense
hardly registers on my scale.

That said, “Better Late” should tell the truth — that he/she sent a
query before and but never sent pages.If the query happens to ring
a bell with the same editor (highly unlikely, but you never know), the
editor will want to be reminded that he/she never saw the pages.
“Better Late” doesn’t need to say much beyond “After you requested
sample chapters, I felt that the manuscript needed more work,” and a
quick “sorry.”An editor isn’t likely to object to a writer making
sure he or she is sending his best work. We only care about time when
we’ve actually bought the manuscript, and there are contracts and
deadlines.”Better Late” shouldn’t worry too much.Tell him or her
good luck!

Hope you’re good,
Wendy

Sars!

You had a publishing/agent question and emailed Miss Snark before me?! Kidding.

But I think you’ve got it right with Mr/s. Late — 1. S/he should be querying agents. 2. S/he should include a note to the people who expressed interest at first, but not make a big deal about it.Something like “Back in 1999, you were kind enough to request XYZ of my novel. Unfortunately, real life got in the way and I’ve just recently completed my manuscript. I do hope you’ll consider taking a look at this. Thank you so much for your patience…” et cetera.When people send me things WAY after I’ve asked for them, there’s a chance I won’t be interested anymore, but if the writing’s good — that trumps all.I don’t really hold that against authors because I’m not taking attendance with my requested manuscripts.And I wouldn’t mention the first submission to the agents/editors who are seeing it for the first time. Since no deal/contract came of it, it’s immaterial.

Hope that helps!

K

Thanks, guys.Readers also suggested checking out the following links for advice on navigating this part of publishing:

publishersandagents.net
http://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/2005/01/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about.asp
http://www.nielsenhayden.com/makinglight

We recently put the IKEA Expedit bookcase in our daughter’s bedroom. I
don’t think she’ll use it for LPs (since she’s only four), but I just
measured it and it’s made entirely of 13″ cubes. It comes in a variety
of sizes (2×4 cubes, 4×4 cubes and 5×5 cubes). I have no idea where the
closest IKEA is to Vinyl, but it’s worth a look. (It looks like you can
buy it online as well.)

C

Dear C,

Thanks for the tip.I got a ton of recommendations for IKEA Expedit, as well as the ones below; if I got them more than once, they’re asterisked.

Rolling Storage by West Elm
Modular Storage by West Elm
SpinKeeper
Crate & Barrel
Estate sales
Ballard Bookcase
Read the Stereophile Forum for suggestions
Dividers (or free-standing solutions) from the Container Store*
Container Store’s galvanized steel cubes
Unfinished-furniture outlets
Unfinished pieces at craft stores
The wooden LP display case from Bags Unlimited*
eBay*
kixsoftware.com/vinylresources.html
www.rackittm.com
Get a modular cube/rectangle box solution built*
Target
IKEA Bonde*
IKEA Lack*
IKEA Lekman boxes
Design Within Reach’s Cubits boxes or Cubitec system*
One of the stands at www.crosleyradio.com
Boltz Steel Furniture, www.boltz.com
Brodart’s acrylic display unit
Demco
Highsmith shelving
Gaylord archival products
Google “library shelving”
Costco’s Kathy Ireland wine cabinet

Sars —

Since you have recently had to face the world unexpectedly bald I thought
you would be the perfect person to ask for advice on the subject of public
baldness etiquette.

My 12-year-old son was recently diagnosed with alopecia. While he is not
physically ill (thank god), having the disease meant that he would lose a
little, some or most of his hair.Up until six months ago, he had a full
head of curly longish hair — kids would see him in the halls at Middle School
and exclaim over his ‘fro.It was a big part of his budding pre-adolescent
identity.At first, just a little bit of hair was falling out and we were
able to cover it up pretty well with the rest of his hair.He had A LOT of
hair, so we weren’t too worried.Recently, it became obvious that the
disease was going to keep progressing.The bald spots were getting harder
to hide, so my son reluctantly decided to shave his head.

He is an upbeat, positive kid with a lot of supportive friends and a family
who think he’s been really brave and sweet throughout the whole traumatic
experience, but unfortunately he still has to deal every day with both kids
and adults who are insensitive jerks.Adults stare, kids ridicule, a lot of
people assume he is sick.Do you have any tips that can help him deal with
people who are less than kind?I realize he’s twelve and you’re not, but
you’re both people who most people wouldn’t expect to be bald.I just don’t
want my sweet, good-natured cutie pie to be too scarred by the whole
experience and want to arm him with some coping skills.Can you help?!

Thanks,
Bald Is Beautiful

Dear Beaut,

I’ll tell you how I dealt with some of this stuff; it may not apply to a 12-year-old, who doesn’t have the luxury that I had of just choosing not to deal with certain people because he has to go to school, but he can take what works and leave the rest.

The staring is the easy part.Ignoring it is a muscle you build up fairly quickly; the other solution is to return the gaze and smile pleasantly.That “you’re busted — how’s it going?” strategy worked pretty well for me.

I didn’t have to deal with any ridicule; a few people laughed when they saw me for the first time, but they were people I knew and I didn’t feel any meanness in it.The best way for him to deal with that is, I think, not to deal with it at all — not respond, and go elsewhere if he can.If he can’t do that, he should come up with a form response, something like “I don’t understand why you would say these things to me” or “thanks for your comments.”And let him know that it’s okay to get frustrated and upset when people are dicks.

The assumption that he has cancer is trickier, because a lot of the time, that’s one that isn’t voiced because people are afraid to bring it up.Nobody ever asked me outright about it, but I could feel it being presumed.If people do assume it, but don’t bring it up with him, it really isn’t his responsibility to put them at ease; if they do bring it up, he might want to rehearse a quick explanation of what’s going on, a la “I have alopecia; it’s a condition that makes my hair fall out, but it’s not life-threatening and I feel just fine.Thanks so much for your concern.”

It’s hard to be the polite, calm one when other people are behaving intrusively; he’s not going to keep it together every day, because it’s maddening when people decide what you are for you.But that’s how it goes for everyone, bald or not, 12 or not, unfortunately, and the more support he gets from you and from his friends — the more you can reinforce the idea that other people’s cluelessness isn’t about him — the better he’ll feel.

I often considered having a t-shirt made that said, “I shaved it for charity,” with the Donors Choose URL on the back, but never got around to it.If he wants to get a little jokey with it and make a “Bald Is The New Black” tee for himself, he can do that here.

Tell him good luck for me, and to keep a spare bandanna on him.Drafts are a bitch.

[9/19/06]

Share!