I am not in a good mood.
What better time to send unsuspecting writers into paroxysms of failure, in the continuing hope that soon I will be the only writer left standing? (Or limping, as it were.) So there you have it! The Clueless One has returned, graciously responding to one of the many, many heartfelt queries stuffing her emailbox.
Dear Clueless One,
I have written the first several pages of a novel of
extraordinary depth, universal appeal, and potential for a fifteen-part
animated movie series that I’m pretty sure Sir Laurence Olivier will return from
the dead to narrate. It is a
fun-filled tragedy of life and death, with an insouciant haiku about animal
husbandry at the opening of each chapter.
Obviously, I need no advice about my novel. The thing is, just after I whip
off the next 497 pages next week, I plan to sell one to two hundred thousand copies
myself before one of the Big However-Many-Are-Left publishers offers me
bazillion dollars, which I will turn down because, seriously, I’m a lone wolf
genius who chuckles in the face of conventionality and the soul-numbing horror
of the editorial process.
So here is the question: To sell my one or two hundred
thousand copies, I plan to be invited to talk shows on ABC, CBS, NBC, BBC, Al Jazeera,
NPR, and a gardening podcast produced by my Aunt Edith and viewed by between 14
and 76 people per week, mostly in Boca Raton.
Also, I will expect everyone I know to send copies to at
least 10 friends along with a chain letter filled with terrifying yet not
entirely illegal threats to their health and welfare if they don’t do the same.
What do you think, Clueless One? Is this a plan, or is this a plan?
Signed,
Rare Literary Dynamo, Yet Not Too Hoity Toity To Eschew Unprecedented
Commercial Success
Dear RLDYNTHTTEU,
Yes.
I'd say that^ query is a NO. But that must be because of how dense those know-nothing agents/editors are. ;=) It's pure genius.
ReplyDeleteDear Mirka,
ReplyDeleteOh ye of little faith, it's such a Yes!!! For the insouciant haiku at the head of each interminable yet gem-like chapter alone!
Ann
Sounds like a plan to me :) LOL
ReplyDeleteI so agree, Catherine. And with the added benefit that chain letters bearing threats are always so popular!
DeleteAnn