American Idol for Writer's

Trying to explain the process of getting a book published to a non-writer is like speaking Latin to a duck.  I'm sure you've been there.  The conversations are all the same, usually going something like this:

"How's the books coming?"

Big sigh. "It's coming.  I'm editing still."

"Really? How long you gonna edit that thing?"

Laugh. "I know. My cps are--"

"You're what?"

"Oh, sorry, my critique partners are looking it over now. Maybe I'll be done editing when they're done editing."

"Then you'll get it published?"

Laugh again. "No, then I send out a query letter."

"What the hell is a query letter? Is that even a word?"

"I know, I know.  It's a letter to entice an agent into requesting your manuscript."

"What? You don't just send your book somewhere?"

Sigh. "It's not a book yet."

I could continue this lovely back and forth for you, but you know where it's going. 

From now on, I think I'm just going to say writing a book is like trying out for

We write a "book", who hasn't right?

Then we send out the query letter, putting our best before the judges in an attempt to stand out.

Feedback goes something like this...

or this...

We're hoping for this

When that happens, we might get a full request, which must be something like this

But we're not there yet folks.  We're about here...

and then here

and then here

and hopefully

I know there's a lot more after this, but I think this is as far as my brain is willing to project.  Especially when I'm back here...























So good luck to all my fellow contestants!
I hope to see the confetti falling on you soon :)


(And I apologize for picking on the guys here, but the male contestant pictures were just so much better than the girl contestant pictures, I couldn't help myself! Thank you American Idol!)