Sunday, August 10, 2008

Back from Backspace

New York was amazing. I'm sorry for the lack of blogging; my hotel room had a few difficulties, and lack of internet service was one of them. The others included a wad of gum stuck under the desk between the beds (right at eye level, just inches from my face when I woke up), a giant puddle swooshing out of the air conditioner, and a sadistic room fan that kept going on even after I turned it off. The fan was on some sort of sensor...if I laid down for more than four minutes (I timed it), the fan would come back on, as if it thought I'd left the room. When I sat up to turn it off, it would switch off right before I got to it. This wasn't frustrating at all, really. Just delightful.

On a happier note, the conference was great. John Searles, novelist and books editor for Cosmo magazine, gave a funny, inspiring keynote address on Friday. He shared the first (& worst) rejection letter he ever received for his writing. The editor accidentally included a note that said something to the effect of, "I could barely get to page 60...I feel REALLY bad for anyone who has to read all the way to the end..."

Ouch.

And yet, now he has two novels published, a fabu job at Cosmo, and even recommends books
for the Today Show. Not too shabby, right? It was inspiring stuff.

I'm watching the Olympics right now...realizing that swimming is WAY more fun to watch than I remembered, and that the only thing more boring than civil litigation is Dressage. Being one with the horse??? That's just a little strange, no?

Go Michael Phelps!

8 comments:

Alyssa Goodnight said...

I love watching the swimming! I'm cheering in my living room, tense with anticipation, pulling for the U.S. It's exhausting. (Imagine what they're going through.)

xxxx said...

Swimming is always my favorite ... which is so ironic since I can't even swim, but I love it.

Stacy said...

Ouch! Quite a rejection letter.

I'm a bit jealous. The Backspace conference must have been great.

Larramie said...

And GO Dara Torres!

mslizalou said...

I love to watch the swimming, diving, and gymnastics. I just wish the results weren't already out on the internet before the events.

Angela Williams Duea said...

Oh, I hope I never get a really painful rejection letter. So far they've all been positive.

angelawd

Anonymous said...

I don't like rejection, but being ignored is maybe worse. That's the most common response I've been getting -- NO response. Oh well, I plan to laugh at the these tough times someday and keep on trying. The Olympic athletes are reminding me that talent isn't enough: You must practice, practice, practice.

Anonymous said...

You should ALWAYS tell which hotels are disasters to warn everyone else!

Glad you had a great time...