It truly does..... Someone at a signing years ago asked why they should buy my book of short stories and a quick-thinking friend nearby said, "If you check the price against the table of contents, you'll see that the stories are less than a dollar each!"
It’s such a weird question, right? I was dumbfounded and happy my friend had a snappy answer. It was my first year of touring for a book, so I had a lot to learn! Sometimes I have joked that I’m saving up for a new toaster…. 😄
The toaster sounds like a good rejoinder. Or maybe I should give the answer I received from a freshman comp student when I asked her who her intended audience was--"everybody"--and why would they want to read her essay--"because I wrote it."
This is great stuff--and just scratches that proverbial surface. I'd put an addendum to "I want you to write my book" which is "I can't afford to pay you but I'll split the royalties with you. I'm sure we'll make a lot of money." The unspoken thing in all this is "I don't know what the hell I'm doing--you can do it for me and then I'll split the royalties, which will amount to doodlysquat."
Love this! Someone once told me if I wasn't always letting people know how old I am I'd probably get a younger crowd to read me. I wish I could say I came up with the perfect answer. I didn't. "Uh huh" was the best I could do.
Misery loves company. These are excellent company.
Nicely done.
The mind boggles . . .
It truly does..... Someone at a signing years ago asked why they should buy my book of short stories and a quick-thinking friend nearby said, "If you check the price against the table of contents, you'll see that the stories are less than a dollar each!"
It worked.
My response to receiving the same question about my novel was fumbling and bumbling. It didn't work.
It’s such a weird question, right? I was dumbfounded and happy my friend had a snappy answer. It was my first year of touring for a book, so I had a lot to learn! Sometimes I have joked that I’m saving up for a new toaster…. 😄
The toaster sounds like a good rejoinder. Or maybe I should give the answer I received from a freshman comp student when I asked her who her intended audience was--"everybody"--and why would they want to read her essay--"because I wrote it."
I love those!
I had to concede defeat for that writing conference!
I haven’t published yet, and still, I relate to your words… Few more comments to add to the list:
You describe too much
I would love to see more descriptions
There are too many characters… were those your only friends?
Did that really happen? (my favorite, after telling it is a fiction novel :))
LOL. And thanks for stopping by.
"Can you tell your agent about me?" This is the saddest. Don't agents say whatever you do don't send me anyone? I know I would : )
This is great stuff--and just scratches that proverbial surface. I'd put an addendum to "I want you to write my book" which is "I can't afford to pay you but I'll split the royalties with you. I'm sure we'll make a lot of money." The unspoken thing in all this is "I don't know what the hell I'm doing--you can do it for me and then I'll split the royalties, which will amount to doodlysquat."
You're right, but I was keeping things short and punchy.... :-)
Love this! Someone once told me if I wasn't always letting people know how old I am I'd probably get a younger crowd to read me. I wish I could say I came up with the perfect answer. I didn't. "Uh huh" was the best I could do.
The best response is to say Thanks! Greet snark with smart. 😁
The next time someone makes a snarky comment, just remind them that they know who you are and you have no clue who they are . . . .
You know how fast that would be all across the Internet? 😨
Besides, they make for great anecdotes....