Tuesday, September 27, 2011

You Are an Imago in the World of Publishing but Sometimes Even Spiders are Shown Mercy

The agent sat in her armchair, a manuscript nestled in her lap. Miasma hung in the air, brought upon by the dim lighting and the storm outside. It coated her tongue. Her eyelids drooped, and she rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands before starting to read. She couldn't help but oscitate at the first sentence, but by the end of the first paragraph she was laughing, all signs of sleepiness gone.

Behind the windows, the sky grew darker, not a drop of sun shining through. She squinted to see and kept reading. The paper crept closer and closer to her nose. Her eyes screeched to a halt at the end of the last line. She stared at the last period, then slowly set the manuscript down.

Thunder crashed right aside her window. A mirror on the wall fell and cracked. The agent jumped, awakened out of her revery.

She hugged the submission, excitement bubbling up inside her. It wasn't perfect. There was a elephant-sized lacuna in the plot and some synchronicity wouldn't hurt. But the writing, and the characters, and the voice. She sighed, happy.

She stood and hurried to the phone, hoping the line wasn't down.

41 comments:

  1. Very nicely done, if only I had met that Agent! Lol! ; )

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  2. Awesome! That would be a tragedy if the phone was down. At least for a few hours. Unless she had a cell. But, yeah! That was a fun read. Smooth the whole way through.

    Great job, Brooke! :)

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  3. This story is every writer's dream :) Nice use of the words.

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  4. Fantastic! Great take on this challenge! :)

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  5. HA! Love this entry for the challenge. Good one :)

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  6. Oh yes, the kind of fairy story we all hope for :-) Nice one!

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  7. Great POV! :) For the sake of the author of the story, I hope the line isn't down . . . LOL.

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  8. Yay! A happy ending for someone! I think this entry speaks to everyone! :)
    Mine is #3.

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  9. @Sheri Exactly how I feel. If only, if only, the woodpecker sighs... -starts to hum because I don't know the rest of the words-

    @Julie Thank you. ^^ I hadn't originally planned for it to be a flash fiction piece, it just sort of came out that way.

    @David Hmm... didn't consider a cell phone. XD Shows how much I use mine to actually call people.

    @Daina Thank you. ^^ But really, my dream is to be a green ballerina who floats, um hum. :D

    @Kerri Thanks! I simmered on it a few days to make sure I did a good job.

    @Lynda Does that mean maybe you'll 'Like' it? -puppy dog eyes- (That's me practicing promotion because I suck at it, as you can see.)

    @Sarah Faires? Where? I want one.

    @Eagle I have a feeling it isn't. ^^

    @Jen At least writers anyone. :) Thanks for reading.

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  10. Every writer's dream. Very clever. Well done!

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  11. That was cute! :) Now to get my MS in front of an agent before the next storm. There must be something special in the atmosphere... *grins* Nice work!

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  12. I want this agent! Good job of working everything together.

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  13. @Angelina Now I'm picturing a big cloud around my story. XD

    @Carrie At the end of your query letter attach: Please wait to read until it is raining. I appropriate your time. Thank you. XD

    @Barbara Why thank you. I thought a lot on how I was going to slip the words in there.

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  14. Why thank you, Chantele. ^^ Glad to know you enjoyed it.

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  15. Ah yes. Every writer's dream. Everyone that reads this is going to wish they wrote that manuscript and queried that agent.

    Cute story. You get my vote. :)

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  16. Michael summed it up nicely, brilliant. The title caught my attention and the entry was terrific.

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  17. @F. E. Sewell Thank you for taking the time to vote and comment and read. ^^ I hope your dream comes true soon.

    @Michael How on earth am I supposed to come up with a personalized, heartfelt response for one word? -sigh- I guess I'll just have to be all ordinary and simply tell you: Thank you.

    @Cherie Thank you! I particularly thought the title was well thought out myself. :)

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  18. what a happy story. Mine is #29

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  19. Just goes to show that the mood doesn't always come off as what it appears. :)

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  20. Thanks. ^^ Wait 'til you see my story on Friday. I'm proud of it.

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  21. Can I have that agent, can I? I love that this is a happy entry, and the words flowed well.

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  22. I think we are all a little jealous of this imaginary writer who hooked an agent so well! Good job on this piece!

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  23. @K. T. Hanna Sure. I'll just wring her right up. Yes? Hello?

    @Rebecca Thank you. I have to admit I'm a little jealous too. ;)

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  24. Love it. Great job with the challenge. Now, where's that agent hiding :)

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  25. Somewhere where there's a storm. Have you checked the weather report?

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  26. Do you have that agent's address? I have a manuscript I'd like to send her. Seriously, this was nicely done. I liked the contrast between what was going on indoors and outdoors; and you used the challenge words to great effect.

    My entry is 128 if you want to take a look.

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  27. It's around here somewhere, I'm sure... Thank you. ^^ I put a lot of thought into how to use them.

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  28. Very enjoyable post with good descriptions!

    The Write Soil

    Mine is #50.

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  29. Thank you. ^^ Descriptions are something I feel I have to work on.

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  30. The agent every writer dreams of meeting ! Great attention to detail in your writing !
    My entry at no.#185

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  31. Everyone says that, but I'm wondering where the people who dream of mid-sized publishers are... ^^ Thanks.

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  32. I hope that agent is calling me. But if she's looking for me to use that kind of language, I'm in trouble.

    Great job. It made me laugh when I realized who she was.

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  33. I guess a proper sentence would've been, "... when I realized she was an agent."

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  34. Hi Brooke, I gave you an award over at my blog: http://cheriecolyer.blogspot.com/2011/10/blog-love-to-share.html

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  35. Why thank you, Cherie! I'll go check it out. ^^

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  36. Thank you for painting such a pretty picture using all those words. You did a great job!

    #189

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  37. ...painting such a pretty picture... Thank you for awesome alliteration. ^^

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