Show agents the love!

The fantabulous Kody Keplinger pulled together several authors to create something called Agent Appreciation Day. Of course, I joined in. After all, I love my agent! I posted this a few days ago and knew it would fit in perfectly.

If you want to read some other posts and pass the agent love around, visit Lisa and Laura - as they've been great enough to create one comprehensive list!

Because I love my agent, so let me count the ways...

1) She is positive - trust me you need this!

2) She knows her stuff. I find myself going "wow I didn't know that" every time we speak or email. And i think I'm pretty up on the industry as much as I can be. She is a bundle of information. I'm talking like she is the dictionary for the publishing industry.

3) She loves my book and my writing. That makes 2 of us :) Not counting my mother or my dog of course!

4) She cracks me up! Wanna know her brilliant thoughts about book rejections -"It always sucks when someone says your baby is ugly." (funny right!)

5) She is (currently) not into the whole social networking thang. Which I find refreshing since I am all in everyone's business. (Pssst. I am determined to convert her! She just doesn't know it yet)

6) She is passionate. I love this about her because it shows.

7) She has the confidence to put me in my place. "Um, you need to relax." (true, so true)

8) She answers all my questions - in detail and doesn't mind. She even asks me if I have any questions! That never happens to me. Usually people are running from my inquisitive nature. Either that or cowering from my Spanish Inquisitions.

9) She works hard for me (and I'm sure all her clients). She turns around revisions in record time. Like before I can breath. I always tell my hubby that my book is like a boomerang with her. Just as I send it out...bam...it comes back all marked up with great suggestions.

10) She has great ideas! I think I might have to list her as a co-author.

11) She watches as many movies and TV shows as I do. Which makes for fun conversations. When we are trying to compare scenes, we constantly throw around references. That's rare to find.

12) She is the fastest emailer in the NYC area. Almost as fast as me and trust me - that is lightening fast. She always responds so quickly even when I know she's slammed.

13) Did I mention, she loves my writing?

14) She always has time for me. On phone or on email.

15) She is a great editorial agent. I know that if she likes my book, it's good. I love knowing when my book goes out, it is clean and to her standards.

16) She makes me a better writer.

So, when you are looking for an agent, use this as a checklist.

I've heard horror stories about agents and how they treat their clients. How they rank their clients by advance amounts. I've heard of people regretting taking on their agent and dumping their agent because they didn't support them.

This is not my experience!

I'm so lucky to have Alyssa. Just in 6 months, my writing has gotten so much better. I obviously have a long road ahead of me but knowing she is by my side, makes this journey so much better. (Hopefully, she feels the same - gulp!)

Agents work their butts off, get chewed out, and take big chances on people like me. They act as our advocates and pretty much a professional therapist to us in a certain sense. And they do all this for very little in return. They do it because they love it. Because they don't get paid until you or I get paid. And just like you and me, they are committed, they put in the time and effort, and throw in just as much of the blood, sweat, and tears as we do. They get just as upset at rejections as we do. Our "babies" become their step children. They care just as much as we do.

Everyday, they fight for what they believe in and love.

Sometimes it works out for them and pays off, but sometimes it doesn't.

I think we spend too much time bitching about what they don't do and seem to forget what they do everyday. All day.

They fight for the books they love to get published.

So.... be sure to show your agents the love and maybe you'll get some back!

At the center of a busy life

As a mom, sometimes, I forget to stop and breathe.

Because there are so many thing to do as a mom.

doing the laundry, changing sheets, folding laundry, putting away laundry, stacking laundry in baskets and leaving in the bedroom until *someone* else puts it away.

unloading dishes, rinsing dishes (yeah right), reloading dishes, wishing I'd bought paper dishes, buying paper plates, feeling bad about environment and go back to dishes.

reorganizing kids closets, cleaning out old toys, reorganizing new toys, returning toys back where they belong, yelling at kids to return toys where they belong, threatening kids to return toys where they belong.

buying dog food, feeding dog, taking dog to vet after he eats a pound of chocolate, letting elderly dog outside in the middle of the night to pee - twice!

taking care of hubby, making hubby take care of me, managing an extended family, managing a British family (oi!:), getting together with family before family has withdrawals.

giving baths, forcing baths, taking a shower, skipping a shower, wishing for a shower, refusing to shower.

shifting kids from one place to another, carpooling, playdates, afternoon activities, planning family activities, allocating equal Mommy Time.

get an idea, write a book, rewrite a book, tear up a book, envying someone else's book, curse my book, love my book, cry over my book, get a rejection, get an agent, rewrite book, and rewrite book again.

preparing for school, packing lunches, giving money for lunches, forgetting lunches, forgetting homework, doing homework.

cleaning out old sizes of kids clothes, buying new kids clothes, attending kids school activities, volunteering at school activities.

planning menus (yeah right!), cooking...OK FINE!...microwaving, wishing I was organized enough to crockpot, grocery shopping, wine shopping, chocolate shopping, interim shopping, drug shopping (Oops, I mean drug store shopping!)

taking care of house stuff, bringing in the mail, sending out mail, recycling junk mail, taking out the trash, recycling, bagging recycling, paying bills, filing bills, hiding bills, forgetting bills, ignoring bills.

scheduling cleaners, calling yard people, calling car people, begging babysitters, begging mother to come down.

staying on top of holidays, moving shelf on an elf, filling advent calendars, buying presents, returning presents.

awarding stars for good behavior, awarding red stickers for bad behavior, keeping track of stickers on behavior, ignoring tantrums, having tantrums, yelling at tantrums,

going by the bank to take in a check, wishing I had a check to take in, spending money, balancing checkbook, wishing I hadn't spent money, wondering where money went.

going to the bathroom with bystanders, cleaning the bathroom accidents of bystanders, teaching kids to wipe, teaching kids to flush, stocking diapers, smelling diapers, running out of diapers.

scheduling dr appt, handling impromptu dr appt, tending to the sick, feeling sick, stroking hurt feeling, hurting happy feelings, attending to boo boos.

yelling at kids to ask for peace and quiet, wishing for peace and quiet, hiding in closets for a moment of peace and quiet (everyone does this right?)

With all that - there is little time to breath.

There are so many things to do as a wife

There are so many things to do as a daughter, sister and friend.

There are so many things to do as a writer, a critiquer, a blogger, a tweeter, a facebooker, a myspacer, and a goodreader.

There are so many things to do to change the world.

Then, there are those moments - that in reality probably come to us in every second of every day - but I miss them because I'm so busy I forgot to stop, grab it, and press it to my heart. I forget to hold it in my hand before kissing it back to the wind.

Sometimes I don't relish in the moments of joy that fly by me at the speed of light. I guess I don't open my eyes in time to see the drops of happiness wrapped in a picked leaf, a drawn picture, or a hug.

Sometimes I happen to get lucky and accidentally sit still in the small moment that I realize is perfect. Before, I mistakenly push it aside as the world blows another obligation or problem my way.

Sometimes I get tiny but memorable reminders, in the shape of a flower, or a note in crayon, a book, or a sappy song.

When the universe nudges me quietly, suddenly giving me the sense, the urge, the need, the ability...

To stop...

To breathe...

To love...

To laugh...

To live...

To just be...

And remember to cherish and be grateful for the things at the very center of my busy life.

I am a GLeek!

OK guys. I finally got around to watch last week's episode on GLee. It is amazing.

There are so many things to love about this show!

Top 10 reasons GLEE gives me glee!

10) It's funny. I laughed in alot of places. Some of the comments made me shake my head b/c they are so true, yet so sad to hear. And yes I even got teary at the end when the kids were all on stage dancing and singing. I am a sucker!

9) Love how the show has the same ole stereotypes yet still seems fresh. Agents and editors are always saying "this is a stereotype!" but these types of people still exist and they still work if you do them right. You just have to tie in a little something different. A jock who likes to sing. A cheerleader who likes to pray. A geeky girl who is confident and knows she's talented. And, the teacher who wants to save the underdogs yet instead of a sports team or poor school, it is a glee club. Just goes to show you can still make it work!

8) Emma (the school counselor) is too cute. At first, I did not want to like her - she was all in skirts, heels and silky tops. But I love that she wears plastic gloves when she sits in the teachers lounge. She also draws hearts around Mr Shu's pictures in her school book. A counselor who's a bit nuts is always fun, yet so endearing you already want Mr Shu to dump his phony wife and hook up with Emma! And its only been one show.

7) Terri (Mr Shu's wife) sux! First off, I have never gravitated towards really "crafty people" so the crafty thing bugs me. She even complains about having a cheap glue gun! (sorry to all you crafty bloggers - I love you as long as you are cool about it!) Mostly, I have a HUGE bias against people who try to prevent others from living their dreams in total happiness just because they want more money or a different status.

6) Love the music! They covered many decades of music just in the first show. My fav - the 80s twist! The song matched with the mullet guy. "Don't stop believing" by Journey used to be my favorite song when I was 11. I was in 6th grade and at a private school where kids used to throw rocks at me. I was miserable but only there for a year. It was a traumatizing year for many reasons, but this song (along with Air Supply!) pulled me through. (BTW I love Steve Perry - how can you not? the acid wash jeans, the hair, the leopard shirt??)




5) Poor Artie (wheelchair kid) is adorable. When I was in high school, my best friend Lauren, had cystic fibrosis (excess mucus in her throat body) and she especially struggled when she sang in the Glee/chorus club. But she loved to sing more than anything and fought through it. She deteriorated after high school and died when I was away in college. Poor Lauren. It amazed me (even then) how people would be so mean when they had no idea what a person was really going through. While they were worried about their hair, Lauren was worried at what age she was going to die. Back then in the 80s - the life expectancy was only 18!

4) Rachel - OMG. She has an amazing voice. I mean the kind that gives you chills. It's so clear and effortless. I used to sing in a Jazz band and sometimes wonder if I should have continued onto be a singer. I had so many opportunities that I passed by. Rachel makes me miss singing. When I was in high school, I wanted nothing more than to be on Broadway.

3) Coach Sue - I love Jane Lynch - loved her in Mighty Wind and Best in Show. In Role Models - her best line was "Don't mess with me. I used to have cocaine for breakfast." She's just as funny in this show. She calls her cheerleading squad "the Cherrios", drinks Protein shakes, and is a real meany. But she makes me laugh. The funniest line so far? "You think this is hard? Living with hepatitis is hard!"

2) Mr Shu is Gleeky hottie. Do you know how you know when a man is hot? He's cute. He sings. He play guitar. He loves kids. He wears button down sweaters and gets away with it. Oh yeah - and he makes John Denver's "I'm leaving on a jet plane." sound like a cool song again. I miss my Denver albums: Rhymes and Reasons and Poems and Prayers (yes I said albums!) - used to play them all the time. Yay! All us old people can now be cool again because we know all the words!!!



1) OK confession time!!! The main reason I like this show the most because I was in the Glee Club/Chorus in my high school. (Now lets see how many people UNfollow my blog!!!) Yes I was a Gleek!! But I was also a cheerleader (Don't ask!) and so I was teased about it by football team/other sportzy people. But I loved it and didn't really care.(not b/c of a high self esteen b/c I hated to be told what to do!) I played Rizzo in our school Grease rendition and also one of the leads in "Little Whorehouse of Texas" (which probably was not appropriate for high school???? now that I think about it). So I totally relate to this show. Too much.

You can still watch the pilot episode and the new season begins on Sept 9th (this wed).

If you write for kids, you will love this show. It is a glimpse into high school.

Sunny Sunday - Find out if you are really a Mom?

You Know Your a Mom When...

• You can no longer wear black, for fear of massive spit up marks
• You sing “Dora Dora Dora the Explorer” in the shower.
• You believe that macaroni and cheese should become it’s own food group.
• Play dates have taken over your life!
• You sing to the Elmo CD that is playing on your radio long after you’ve dropped your children off at daycare.
• You can’t wait to hug your own kids after you see something troubling on the news.
• You lick your finger to wipe the face of a child AND suddenly stop when you realize that child ISN’T YOURS!
• You can reach into your purse and pull out a crayon, a matchbox car and a dirty sock.
• You have no issues sniffing another person’s butt for a poopie diaper.
• A night on the town means taking the kids out past 6 pm.
• A packet of crisps (chips), and a chocolate bar is considered a hearty breakfast.
• At a party, you ask where “the potty” is.
• "Whine” is no longer simply red or white.
• When people ask you what you do, you tell them you are a “pediatric logistics specialist”!
• Sleeping in means… sleeping IN the middle of three little bodies!!!
• You count the sprinkles on each kid's cupcake to make sure they're equal.
• You find yourself cutting your husbands' sandwiches into cute shapes.
• You can't bear to give away baby clothes - it's so final.
• You hear your mother's voice coming out of your mouth when you say, "NOT in your good clothes!"
• You stop criticizing the way your mother raised you.
• You say at least once a day, "I'm not cut out for this job", but you know you wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
• and lastly, you know you are a mom because you hear the word 1,000 times a day and you still love it!
  

To Dump or Be Dumped?That is the question.

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To Dump or be Dumped?

OK so I think we need to give Jason a break on Bachelor. Yes he did humiliate poor Melissa on TV... but its The Bachelor! They all wanted to be humiliated on TV - right? No pain no gain. I mean, he humiliated Jillian (who is next bachelorette YEAH!) and Molly so what's the big deal? Who got dumped last? That's the name of The Bachelor game. Someone's heart gets hurt. If you don't want that - I woudl suggest not watching it and especially avoid going on it.

Besides, who here has NOT been dumped or done the dumping?

Anyone?

Bueller?

I would guess that most of us - if not all of us - have had our hearts crushed and have probably sacrificed a few along the way.

I've been both. In my mind it's a right of passage to finding your soul mate and life partner. Breaking boy's hearts and trying to repair my own (though i think you can still see some scars if you look up close) is what got me to my hubby (the best hubby of all!).

So my questions is "To dump or be dumped?" (I have changed the names to protect the innocent/and guilty!). Here's my story......

• When I was 5 and in kindergarten. I used to nap next to a boy named Charlie. Then one day, I just didn't like his mat anymore. I moved mine next to Jeffrey and Charlie was obviously crushed. And how did he repay my ever-shifting love? He broke my show-n-tell.
  
• When I was 8 - it was Dwayne. I just could not see myself with a boy who didn't like bugs. call me crazy but I needed a Real man!


• When I was 11. It was the HOT DUDE at my local skating rink. The one with the speed skates. Unfortunately, I never knew his name - but his slick scoffed black speed skates and no toe-stop had me at hello! Unfortunately, my shiny white skates with sparkly green laces were not serious enough for him. Not to mention, I broke my wrist trying to show off my "rolling arabesque".


• When I was 13, I LOVED Jasper. Unfortunately my friend did too. Kim if you are out there- I'm so sorry I won. Trust me - he wasn't worth it!


• When I was 14 - it was Dairy Queen and Mrs Winters. My beloved DQ. Yes, it was a lonely and fattening year, but a satisfying one.


• When I was 15 - it was Craig. Scar #1. My first love. I loved Craig. His Miami-vice jacket-wearing ways. I mean this love was the "I'm going to absolutely die and take you with me if you leave me" kind of love. he took me to my first dance and even bothered to match his bow-tie to my large blue dress with sagging hoop skirt. is that love or what? Eventually, he broke my heart and I think I broke his too. :( (Actually, this is his real name - he deserves the credit and title :)


• When I was 16, it was chris, lucifer, bob, henry... oh never mind... these were all crushes that never really panned out. I guess I didn't send enough tringular-shaped folded notes or something. This was a lonely year :) I even had to beg Chris to take me to the dance - I had to show Craig I had moved on! But he stood me up to watch Caddyshack. Jerk! ;) He is actually still my friend - but don't think it doesn't come up when I need something. I am not above uses grudges for personal gain. (BTW - Chris is his real name too - just another way to get in a dig :)


• When I was 17, It was Lee. He was cool and made me cooler because he was already in College (18). Not to mention, he took me to see Bon Jovi Dead or Alive Tour (what!!!??? how hot is that?)


• When I was 19. It was Brad. Poor Brad- he tried so hard. All I can say is - he just fell a few fries short of a Happy Meal; one Fruit Loop shy of a bowl. I guess I could say it clearer, some drink from the fountain of knowledge; Brad only gargled. Ha! I dragged Brad through about 120 breakups over 4 years. The fina straw came when he shaving-creamed "I love you" on my car? It was a mess to clean up!!!!


• And yes, I've been dumped too. Dumped on my @ss I might add. So badly dumped - my story was actuallyu chosen and published in O Magazine - yes Oprah's Magazine. My first publishing credit - how sad! June 2001 edition, page 136. The article title - short and sweet: DUMPED! I told you it was a bad one. SCAR #2. This one was after 10 years of dating, 2 years of living together, and 2 weeks BEFORE my wedding (yes you read that right). All due to a whole lot of issues and another chick (whom he did marry 5 years later - so at least it was for something!) For the record - he did the right thing in the wrong way. But this one crushed me and literally changed who I am as a person today. I don't think I've ever truly recovered from that heartbreak and I'm OK with that. IThank goodness for the shipment of Superglue that revived my exploded heart. (PS My hubby was the superglue :)


• And then, my hubby - whom I did mistakenly leave for a period of time when we first started dating. This was due to the aftermath of SCAR #2 and open wounds. I did some soul searching and he gave me a second chance 6 months later. Thank goodness!

Now I live happily ever after :) See how that worked?

So to Jason - you have to follow your heart! It sux to break some along the way. But better now then later. We all make mistakes.

So - let's give the guy a break!

Keep commenting! In just 3 days - we are up to 245!

Search Engine Optimization 101/Friday Five

Day 5: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 101

So you have a web site now. That's great as long as people can find it and come to it.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is when you improve the volume and quality of traffic through various search engines.

So how do you do that?

1) Pick a good domain and design it simple - try not to use too much flash. Any words in flash do not come up in searches.

2) Register your site with search engines/directories. For example, the 3 main ones are:

• Google Web Master - see this article for instructions


• Yahoo - see this article for instructions


• Technorati - see this article for more directories

3) Use good Key Words - make a short list of 1 or 2 key word phrases for each page of the site you want to optimize. Here is an article that explains this in more detail. Try not to be too generic - like don't pick writer or author. Try to make it easy for those looking for you to find you by selecting keyword phrases they will most likely think of and most probably use when searching for whatever you offer.

4) Meta-tags - Every web site has html - even the godaddy ones. You can view them easily. There are several "tags" that go into the HTML code for a page of a website. These tags are placed between the and . The most important tags are: The title tag and the "description" meta tag. The "keyword" meta tag used to be important but is basically useless now.

5) Use Keywords in your text.

6) Get others to Link to you!

Other articles to Help:

• Metatags


• Steps to SEO

Friday Five - 5 Reasons I love V-Day

1) Feeling Good- I am finally feeling better after 4 months of Vertigo. I still am only about 90% but I don't feel dizzy anymore. I may even try to go back to yoga this weekend. I have not been to Bikram in 4 months and my ass shows it! Did you knwo you can burn between 600-900 calories in 1.5 hrs of Bikram. You should try it!

2) La Familia - I love an excuse to show the love to those I love most. I got my hubby a climbing card and my kids little gifts for the morning. Without them, theer would be a hole in my heart.

3) Treats - This morning I treated myself to a sour cream blueberry cake donut from krisy Kreme. YUMMY! I got 5 more for Vday breakfast tomorrow. Only 4 in my family - who do you think will get the extra one?? Hmmmmm.

4) Learn something new - Do you even know why we celebrate Vday - besides Hallraks consipracy of course. Here is a site by the History Channel that tells you. Its fun! Who knew? I just thought it was about chocolate and kisses ;) Thanks St Valentine for a LOVEly day.

5) I love Quizzes - For those who knowI love quizzes, I found a fun Vday one called Dating through the Ages. You can take a quiz in different decades to see if you would have been a great date in that historic time. (BTW - I think I was a bit permiscous in the 1890s Yikes!)

For those who love my blog, I love you - here's a shout out to you!

For those in the world who have nothing else better to do than gripe, hate, bitch, gossip, put down, complain, or be negative - keep in mind what you focus on just gets bigger. So I ask you - Where is the Love?

Don't forget - we have Robin from Shrinking Violets joing us on Monday as a Marvelous Marketer!

Have a LOVEly Day!