Comment

Comment by Tracy Slater on March 9, 2012 at 7:17pm

Thanks, Lynne--really appreciate the advice. Everyone else that I've asked has said not to worry about the title, either, that editors will know I most likely didn't choose it. The happy news is that an editor from Penguin contacted me after reading the piece about whether I'd be interested in submitting a memoir proposal about my life between Boston and Japan, so that was a really nice, and totally shocking, affirmation that the title didn't turn everyone away from reading the piece. 

Anyway, I so appreciate you taking the time to weigh in and offer your insight.

Warmly,

Tracy

Comment by Lynne Barrett on March 9, 2012 at 10:22am

For what it's worth, I think you simply have to grit your teeth and use the clip as is.  Editors know writers don't write the headers and they are used to ignoring them and starting by reading the piece.  It will be more important to them that you had a well-written and thoughtful piece which appeared in the New York Times online.

And suggesting a difference of opinion with an editor won't just be unseemly, it will indicate that you might be hard to work with.

Hope this is helpful.

Comment by Tracy Slater on February 25, 2012 at 9:39pm

Hi everyone. Would love some advice.

Had my 1st piece in the New York Times online this week, about which I was thrilled, but they gave it a title I'm a little upset with and I worry is actually offensive to people who are adopted. The title I originally gave was "Biology and Longing," and here's what the piece ended up with: http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/23/why-i-wont-adopt/

I emailed the editor, who I think is actually really great, but she said she couldn't change the title from the one they chose. So now my concern is, when I use this article as a clip to other editors I may pitch to in the future, how do I explain that this title is not one I chose and one I actually think belies the whole point of the piece (which is that I'm not necessarily proud or cavalier about this decision we've come to not to adopt) without suggesting in any way that I'm complaining about the editor? (I don't want to pitch to one editor and suggest a difference of opinion with another--seems, well, unseemly).

Thanks for any advice!

Comment by Alle C. Hall on January 29, 2012 at 1:19am

New, 3-post series: how to get into/benefit from TBA even if you aren't in it ... this year!

http://wp.me/psSjA-11N

Comment by Alle C. Hall on January 9, 2012 at 3:24pm

For PLOP! magazine, I just published the first Seattle review of Ryan Boudinot's new novel, “Blueprints of the Afterlife (he is reading at Newton Books on Jan 15th.

http://www.facebook.com/literallyplop

/span>http://literallyplop.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/wall-e-meets-gravitys-rainbow-as-boudinot-gives-birth-to-the-next-generation-of-sci-fi-fantasy-in-blueprints-of-the-afterlife/>

“Blueprints of the Afterlife” runs a gorgeous gamut: complex, blunt, evocative, grimy, and disgusting; full of pain, of hope, of pure bliss. The plot is your straightforward sci-fi fantasy based in post-apocalyptical Seattle.  Valued garbage is everywhere. Food is yucky. Joys are few. Anti-heroes must save humanity. Don’t yawn yet. The sheer imagination with which Boudinot’s tale unwinds is stunning.

Comment by Harriet Segal on November 25, 2011 at 11:43am

I live in the Boston suburbs (Dedham) and would like to join a writers' group along the same idea as the group I belonged to in NY for many years. We met once a month for lunch.  Altogether, there were about 30 members: journalists, non-fiction writers, and novelists, like me. We didn't read or critique one another's work. What we did was network--trade information about agents, editors, media.  Anything relevant to the business aspects of our work. We reported on what had happened to us since the last time. As a first novelist who didn't know many writers, I found it immensely helpful. Grub Street is wonderful, but if you're not interested in taking courses, it doesn't provide the kind of support and connections that a writers' group does.

 

Comment by Anjum Wasim Dar on October 28, 2011 at 12:59am

I am based in Pakistan but I feel I am now connected  with Boston and Harvard, one of my dream places as a writer, Thanks to She Writes

Comment by Lynne Favreau on September 11, 2011 at 2:08pm

Hello All,

I'm originally from Dorchester now living in Haverhill. Just beginning to connect to the writing scene in an around NE. I'd love to get involved at Grub Street at some point. I am hoping to attend an event in Salem-- http://www.salemlitfest.com/

What other events in the area have any of you attended?

Comment by Andrea Roach on August 7, 2011 at 10:56am

Janet- I met Kathy Power in a Grub Street workshop.  Her story is pretty incredible.

Comment by Janet Tracy Landman on July 30, 2011 at 7:58am

Hi, All,

Whew, looks like i'm the village elder in this group--which is fine with me. I hope it's good with you all. I'm also a flaming introvert. But I love Boston (been here 16 years now), and I'm a writer, so I'm giving this a try. 

My 2nd nonfiction book is coming out this spring. Working title is Pursued by Conscience: Former Fugitive Katherine Ann Power. Based on my many interviews with her when she was in prison for antiwar-related armed robberies and manslaughter (the latter unplanned). Anybody remember her surrender in 1993? Your reactions?

Janet

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