Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day. Woo Freakin' Hoo. I am just angry about the whole rejection thing now. Tired of talking about it.

So, I applied for the job that is my destiny: a $5-an-hour screw-off job answering telephones at a mortgage company. I mean, hell, let's face it: I was never meant to be a recording star or a published author or a famous designer or anything really other than a cashier or receptionist. I mean, nothing against those professions, but if I am half as talented as people seem to think that I am, then why hasn't something happened yet?!?!?!?

Fer F&#%'s SAKE!

It happened, just like I knew it would. A few weeks ago, I sent a letter (on the advice of those I considered to be more knowledgeable than me) to the editor (actually, she's an ASSistant editor) who had requested the full copy of my manuscript for Night Cries. She had had the manuscript for six months, so I thought, you know, I have some right to know what's happening with it. It turns out that writing that letter violated the one and only rule that applies to aspiring authors after a publisher has requested a full cpoy of your manscript: DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, CONTACT THE EDITOR FOR ANY REASON. HER TIME IS VALUABLE. YOURS IS NOT. So, she rejected the manuscript because I contacted her. What's so sick that it's almost funny is that they spent $15 to send the manuscript back to me. The manuscript pages themselves were mutilated to the point that they are almost unreadable, but there were no markings of any sort on it, thus ruling out some editorial changes as the reason that they sent it back to me. It was almost as if someone had used the pages as hand-drying material in the bathroom or something. Appalling. To top all of THAT off, even after "mulling the manuscript over" for SIX FREAKING MONTHS, I got a FORM LETTER rejection. It was addressed: "Dear Author." Now, what do you think would have happened if I had addressed my query letter with, "Dear Editor" instead of using her title and surname? She would have wiped her nose on the rejection letter before she stuck it in the envelope that she forgot to mail for three years.

What's really galling is that, a few weeks ago, I sent a query letter to an agent seeking representation for Night Cries. Even though I clearly stated that the book was a FANTASY NOVEL set in 1066 AD, they rejected the work on the grounds that a historical novel is a hard sell.

Thus, I have come to the conclusion that many editors and agents are not only cranky, picky, and tempermental, but they are also certifiable morons. Not to mention rude (sentence fragmentation on purpose).

SSDD

Well, my company is well under way. I have spent the last couple of weeks (besides school, the band, and other things) getting the Crescent Moon Design Studio underway. I bought a domain name and set up my site. I have prototype game boards of "Oh,Ship!" made and am preparing for The Real Thing, I have secured funding and have even hired two employees. I may make my millions yet.

In other news, I managed to screw off enough last week that, even though it is Spring Break this week, I am still having to do schoolwork. How dull. I know this stuff. Anyway. The band got a gig last Saturday, and it went well. We made a lot of contacts. I just wish we would do more original material live, but I realize that original material is not what the bar patrons come to hear. They want to hear familiar music that will comfort them and not challenge them; they go to bars to escape, not to think. That's why bands get paid to play cover material and have to pay bars to play originals.