The Target dog sends his best to KILLER YAP.
A tribute to Miss Snark on the Anniversary of her last post.
The first thing I thought of when I was asked to post a tribute to
MISS SNARK'S BLOG on this the first anniversary of its demise was: DON’T BE A NITWIT.
And then. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
(Kind of like hearing about a really great premise about a man winning the LOTTERY… but I digress).
There are others who are more worthy to do this. Have just the perfect subtlety of prose or just the right humorous take on what this blog meant/means to us writers.
I only know I am proud TO HAVE BEEN A NITWIT.
Proud to incorporate WTF as a copyediting mark on my manuscripts.
Proud to know all about RABINTAINIA
Proud to have been clued in about CLUEGUN.
Proud to be able to use SERIAL SCRUBBERS in a complete sentence.
Proud to understand and converse in fluent “SNARKSPEAK.”
Back in 2004 I was a hapless neophyte in query-land. I can’t remember how I discovered Miss Snark’s blog -- I wish I could. I was a lurker for ages. Not brave enough to post until flush with the thrill of obtaining representation I emerged from my shell and became ORION. I needn’t have feared…unless of course if I WAS A NITWIT.
Time passes. She is gone now but certainly not forgotten. I took some time to go back and peruse the posts starting in March 2004 that started with just a photograph, then March 2005 with the first comment appropriately enough by anonymous and finally to May 20 2007 when it all ended. Her advice is as apt now as it was then.
Don’t be a Nitwit.
I repeat.
DON’T BE A NITWIT.
Courtesy of
Stephen Parrish I have been given the following facts:
“According to SiteMeter, Miss Snark's blog has been visited some 300,000 times since her last post.
According to Technorati, almost 400 new bloggers have linked to Miss Snark during the past six months alone.
If you google "Miss Snark" you get 128,000 hits.
More and more blogging agents and writers are critiquing queries and opening lines for the benefit of the online writing community. Query letter advice seems to be converging along lines governed by a zeitgeist; the mark of the Snark is unmistakable.”
When I last checked the counter on Miss Snark’s Blog, it read over 2.8 MILLION hits. Like that suburban legend about exploding hamsters in the microwave or mules who kill cougars, the legend of Miss Snark lives on and on. Undeniable. Powerful.
So calling all commenters and Loyal Snark Fans. Let Miss Snark know her impact. Tell us if you have attained representation or sold your novel. Let us know how you found her and that she is missed.
She helped us to laugh at ourselves (and especially at other writers) and see the humor in the situation (especially at other writers). Helped us to realize that if we were going to be published it would take determination and the merging of a unique premise with solid writing (something other writers find difficult if not impossible to do).
I tried to explain all this to the guy on the next boat.
“I’m doing a tribute for an amazing person online.”
“For an obituary?”
“No, she’s still alive.”
“Who is it? Is she famous? Do I know her?”
“Her name is Miss Snark.”
*note: he was already on his 6th beer as it was 10 in the morning and we were in a boat harbor after all. He jumped up and pulled his feet out of the water because he thought I said “Shark”
“Miss who?”
“Miss Snark. She was an anonymous literary agent who gave great advice and rescued poor naïve writers from scamming predators.”
“You mean like a cross between Superman, Ann Landers and George Clooney’s future lover?”
“Exactly.”
“So what did she do that made her so special.”
“Well she called us Fuckwits when we were bad, Snarklings when we were good and we all fell over ourselves to submit to her Crapometers.”
“Oh,” he said. And then opened another beer.
I guess you had to be there…
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