Skip to main content

Fashion Plates Not Necessary

Happy Thursday Everybody,

I hope you're having a good week so far. (Mine's been okay).

I was just watching something on my Yahoo homepage called Hollywood's Top 5 Fashionable Moms and well, it got me thinking...

You see, I've never been real big on fashion. I like looking at some of the clothes and determining if it's something I'd wear or not, but generally it's something that isn't my style.

I'm about comfort, modesty, and being presentable. I tend towards things like cotton shorts or Capri pants comfy short-sleeved tops, sandals or sneakers. In the winter, cotton pants, comfy big shirts, sweatshirts or sweaters (or my cloak--thing that reminds me of a blanket with sleeves and a hood in black). When I dress up I get fancier, obviously.

As writers, though, no matter our style, we must remember for certain things we have to be professional. This means dressing professionally. I don't think you necessarily have to wear a suit for everything, but wear something that shows you are serious and understand the publishing world is a business.

I actually have a gray skirt with white pinstripes that I could wear with a black or white blouse and black flats (I used to own closed toed black heels, but they got old and fell apart).

When I was in business school, they told us women should wear closed toed shoes and either a knee-length skirt (or longer) skirt or an another appropriate length dress. Men were to wear shirts, ties and dress pants with dress shoes.

So, for me, if I was to go into a pitch session or meeting, I'd probably be wearing something like I wore when I was interviewing in the corporate world. (I'm a stay-at-home wife/mom, now so I don't worry as much about corporations, unless it has to do with my husband's job, or the book publishing world or if I'm involved with that corporation somehow--like the Grocery store). Or at least something relative to it that was at least some type of professional clothing.

You want to make regular eye contact.

Have a firm, but not too tight, hand shake.

Hide your nerves as best you can. Don't fidget. Don't ramble.

Sell yourself, but be smart about it.

These are actually some of the other things Agent Scott Eagan talked about.

It's nice to know all those things that were drilled into me at business school will come in handy in the publishing world. Makes me feel like I'm using what I learned, which is always cool.

So yeah, you don't have to be a Fashionista or fashion plate, but you do have to be professional.

Have A Triumphant Thursday!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

It's Worth A Fortune

Happy Tuesday Everyone, Does anyone remember the song If I Had A Million Dollars by Barenaked Ladies ? I can't remember when or how I was first introduced to this song, but it's a fun song. So, how about if you had a million dollars? What would you do with it? Of course there's the responsible things to do with a million dollars--pay off debts, and such like that. Then there's the question of whether or not you give to charities, and how much. But, suppose you answered all those questions and you still had quite a lot left; what would you do with it? Maybe I'd go to Disney World. I've wanted to go, and I've never been able to. Or, perhaps I'd go to Germany and England, and Belgium (three of the countries my ancestors are from). Travel around seeing family and friends I don't see often. There's all kinds of possibilities. So, what about you? What would you do with a million dollars? Have A Tremendous Tuesday!

Spotlight On Author: Loretta Wheeler

Happy Tuesday Everyone, There's a gem of an author I've had the privilege of coming across...I'm talking about my friend, Loretta Wheeler. She's a sweetheart and very talented author. I enjoyed her YA Paranormal novella, The Pan Man immensely. And, she also writes Romance. So without further ado, come into my parlor and meet Loretta Wheeler: Me:  In your YA novelette, The Pan Man , you mention Pan's looking for his long lost soul mate. What made you choose Pan out of all the Greek/Roman gods and goddesses? Loretta:  I chose the Greek god Pan, because of the connection with the music. I found later on in the story, (my stories take over and write themselves usually) it applied even more than I realized because of the band's name. I won't mention the name of the band in here, because it's part of the surprise ending. Me:  You're mostly known for your Romance stories. How would you describe your writing style? Hot, suspenseful, sensual, sw...

Myths About Writers

Afternoon Folks, I thought we'd do a post to dispel some of the myths people seem to have about writers. I'll put the ones that first come to mind then y'all can chime in. Myth: Writing is a great way to make a lot of money. I'm not sure exactly how this one matriculated. Probably in the wake of some of the big best sellers (i.e. Stephen King, Anne Rice, Stephenie Meyer, JK Rowling, and the like) but most of the time writers put in more money for their writing than they do get out of it. Generally a writer doesn't make a ton of money unless somehow his/her book is a blockbuster hit and blasts through what the author owes in the advance (which is paid back to publishers through royalties). Most writers I've met and talked to are not millionaires. I'm not saying it can't happen, I'm saying it's not one of those things that's automatic. Myth: Writing Is Easy Anybody Can Do It. Okay, granted this isn't entirely a myth, but it's not ent...