It’s been a busy week, jam-packed with a revision deadline, children’s extra-curriculars, errands, small household emergencies of various types and descriptions, houseguests, and preparation for an upcoming short vacation.
I grabbed my grins where I could find them.
Today, for your blog-reading pleasure, a compilation of funnies. My sense of humor was a little twisted this week, but hope you’ll find them worth a smile, too.
Amusing quotations, courtesy of: http://ow.ly/uezD
- I love being a writer. What I can’t stand is the paperwork.
Peter De Vries - A catless writer is almost inconceivable. It’s a perverse taste, really, since it would be easier to write with a herd of buffalo in the room than even one cat; they make nests in the notes and bite the end of the pen and walk on the typewriter keys.
Barbara Hollan
A spoof in The New Yorker about the demise of in-house publicity at publishing houses: http://bit.ly/4n1Vmr : Features a “letter” from an intern that’s been hired to take the place of the publicity department. She starts the letter to the author by praising the writer’s book, Clancy the Doofus Beagle: a Love Story and finishes the letter by saying she’s “looking forward to collaborating with you to make A History of Moorish Architecture, 1200-1492 the biggest success it can be.”
In between, the intern says soothingly, “Don’t worry if you think you’re not on Facebook, because you actually are. Jason enrolled you when you signed the contract last year, or at least he was supposed to, and he told Sarah Williams he did before he had to retire and Sarah left for nursing school. You currently have 421 Friends, 17 Pending Requests, 8 Pokes, 5 Winks, and 3 Proposals of “Marriage.”
An article in the Huffington Post entitled “Book Pitch Gone Bad: How to Piss Off Those You Most Want to Befriend : http://tinyurl.com/ybmjelo . It’s really a fairly serious article, but the publicist was so outrageous and clueless, it made me smile. I thought the title was funny, too.
I don’t remember why I was watching this video in the first place, but it’s really funny (and helpful, too for those of you facing a face-to-face agent pitch at a writing conference) and features several industry professionals in it:
Hope one of these will give you a grin, too.
Oh, this is *great,* Elizabeth! I agree with Helen that the quote, “I love being a writer. What I can’t stand is the paperwork,” is hysterical. Thanks for brightening everyone’s day! I wish I could add something equally side-splitting, but the coffee hasn’t kicked in yet ; ).
Love the catless writer comment.
All of the quotes are amusing and hold hints of truth. I read the article yesterday.
thanks- today I will need the humor.
Thanks for the chuckles. (No quotes from Myrtle?)
These did make me smile,Elizabeth, so thanks for that. It was needed today.
karen
I loved this quote: “I love being a writer. What I can’t stand is the paperwork.” Now I’m going to click and watch the video.
Thank you for gathering up funnies from your week. What a great idea.
Helen
Straight From Hel
Helen–I wondered if everyone else might enjoy a smile, too.
Margot–I’m hoping my coffee kicks in! I’m looking at cup #3, and that’s really pushing it for me…
Ingrid–Thanks. And congratulations on your new release!
Journaling Woman–Hope your day goes better than expected.
Alan–No, I think Myrtle is grumpy today and her literary quotes might not fit the funny bill. :)
Haha! These are awesome!!!
Have a great weekend, Elizabeth!
Thanks for giving me some giggles on a rainy Friday. The quote is hilarious; and also true! If we don’t keep a sense of humor we’d all be very dull.
Elspeth
As a rambler I have to watch out for things like the ones in the video. Have a great weekend!
Karen–Hope you’ll have a happy weekend!
A marvelous menagerie of smiles and chuckles today, Elizabeth – thanks!
The Old Silly
Hey, Elizabeth… I posted that New Yorker piece online at All About Romance, too, just as I received it from someone else! It’s going viral!
I suppose it’s so funny because it is scarily close to being true!
Very cute stuff. I don’t think you’re too warped. There was no mention of the cat behind the monitor trying to catch your fingers as you typed though (seems very true about writers and cats…)
Hope your crazy week is winding up so you can rest!
Thanks, Marvin!
Hart–Actually, I had to put my cat (who I call the Satanic Toddler) in time out this morning for eating my papers. Grr! He was remarkably unrepentant.
Kristen–Thanks! You too. :)
I’ve had such a fun, but busy, week – this was a nice little treat :)
I think my favorite is the pitch video. Very clever and a nice way to illustrate how not to get the job done.
Say, why were you watching this anyway? Digital fiddling?
Best Regards, Galen
Imagineering Fiction Blog
Elspeth–I *try* to hold onto the sense of humor (unsuccessfully sometimes!)
Tara–I think so many of us ramble when we’re nervous.
Galen–Gosh, who knows. Clearly I was supposed to be doing something else! And I *have* an agent?!
Oh man, that video brought back memories. Sitting across from agents at conferences! I loved it. So funny. I needed a laugh today, thanks Elizabeth!
Donna–I think it’s starting to be true. Oh well! We’re all out there publicizing anyway…
Jemi–Glad you enjoyed it!