Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Contest 5 - The Best Advice Moonrat Ever Gave Me


This one is a little more serious (despite the image above). No rhyming or singing required.

Contest: Post a comment about the best writing or publishing advice you ever gleaned from Moonrat's supportive pages.

Deadline: 12 noon, ET, November 6th

Prize: You could win a set of customized Lillian Vernon leopard-spot pencils (who would dare steal them?) in their own leopard-spot case, courtesy of Andromeda at 49writersblogspot.com.

The pencils say "I MAKE MISCHIEF" and "editorialass.blogspot.com." Use them as inspiration or leave them in public places to spread the word. We'll send Moonie her very own set so she isn't jealous.

Judge: stuffed animal or innocent child.

19 comments:

Froog said...

Um, well, OK, this isn't actually a piece of Moonrat's own advice, it's one of 'Robert's Gems'; but she posted it, so I think she can take the credit.

"In life, we all have girls we should have kissed a little more, and those we never should have kissed at all."

cindy said...

ooh. this is a hard one. i've learned
so much from moonie. but the one that comes to mind is what you should expect from your editor.

she posted it right before i went to auction and it was so helpful. MOONIE!!

also, i've learned from moonie what it means to be a friend. her actions always speak louder than words.

moonrat said...

wow! really?! you have pencils that say that?!?

Natalie Whipple said...

Since I'm still in the query trenches, I appreciate every piece of advice and word of encouragement she's given about trying to find an agent and what to expect from one.

Sherri said...

So much of what I've learned from her has been assimilated into my neural net.

I like the "What Makes a Dream Author" post, but I think I learn the most from the everyday posts about her job. That perspective is priceless.

Precie said...

This really is a toughie.

She gives great advice.

I think what's best about moonie is her total and undying love for words and books and writers. Even when she's slogging through the manuscript-from-hell or dealing with the author-who-is-a-genuius-in-her-own-mind, moonie looks past all the grit and grime to the ultimate prize...books worthy of publishing and writers the world Needs To Read.

Andromeda Romano-Lax said...

To Moonie re: the pencils -- yes, they are custom, and will in fact be personalized as described unless Lillian Vernon Kids catalog refuses to print the word "ass" on kids' pencils. (Will find out in 2 weeks!)

cindy said...

andromeda, hahahhahaa! i love it!!

Chris Eldin said...

To me, it was about going downtown to visit some lady giving away free baked goods.
So, yeah, hunting down free food is terrific advice.
:-)
hehehee

Chris Eldin said...

But seriously, I have learned a lot, and have continued to be uplifted by Moonie's enthusiasm and integrity in this business. Thank you for taking time to help all of us....

Anonymous said...

For me, it was in this post, from August: "I do think that if possible you shouldn't work on the next book in your series."

I wasn't the one who'd asked her the question, but those words leapt out of the screen and rapped me with their knuckles right on the -- what's it called? the little space between the eyebrows? -- rapped me right there, anyway. As if to say, "Hey, dummy, this is for YOU too."

Instant liberation for me. And like all her advice, it seems so obvious in retrospect that you wonder why she had to say it aloud (so to speak) at all.

Thanks so much for your site, Moonie, and thanks to the Secret Squirrels (heh) who pulled this little surprise out of the hat.

Linda said...

Moonie gives such great advice all the time, but the posts that move me the most are the ones that remind me of my humanity, that remind me of the bigger picture. So the raffle for her friend with lymphoma, while not 'advice', certainly made me take stock of what is important - and made me reprioritize aspects of my life.

In regard to writing, it was this recent post that gave me the courage to have faith in my story and the energy to start querying again:
http://editorialass.blogspot.com/2008/10/story-of-underdog.html

Peace, Linda

Trixie said...

Oh Moonrat! I can't pick just one - all the ones cited in the other comments, your contest to raise money for your friend, your advice for finding an agent, and everything else. You are just so wonderful with all the time you put into your blog and all the advice and good will you share with us. I'm glad I found your blog through the lymphoma-money raising contest. And thanks for all of it!

Ello - Ellen Oh said...

All of Moonie's advice is terrific, but one of my hands down favorite quotes about publishing is this one because it is so very apt:

You can't build a great publishing business out of serendipity because God only very infrequently smiles. He also produces tsunamis.

Andromeda Romano-Lax said...

Thanks to everyone for entering. THE WINNER IS ELLO! (See wonderful specific bit of Moonie wisdom offering in comment above.)

Ello and Moonie -- can you send me your physical mailing addresses to andromeda (at) romanolax.com. The pencils will take a few weeks but I look forward to sending them to you as soon as they are ready!

moonrat said...

you guys are all so sweet!! i loved reading these all because it's always soooo interesting what people react to. it makes me feel worthwhile in ways i never thought i would!

Chelsea said...

Hi Moonrat!
I lurk on your blog occasionally, and as a non-published-non-writer, I just enjoy what I read. I've found that writers usually have marvelous blogs, what with their love of words and all that.
But should I write, query, get accepted, be edited, and then publish someday, you've shown me that editors are people--people who love books. And they love good books most, so that's the point of their jobs.

Ello - Ellen Oh said...

I won I won I won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How cool!!! And I didn't have to cheat for the prize? WOW!!!!!

Me happy pig!

Precie said...

Yay, ello!!!!!