How Do I Know What I Think Until I See What I Say?

Lately, I've been seeing a lot of blog posts about writing contracts and clauses. As a lawyer, the contracts part of the publishing business is one of the interesting parts of the business for me, and since I don't do publishing contracts myself, I thought I would gather up all the posts into one giant linkfest. Enjoy!* 1. Here's Jane at Dystel and Goderich Literary Agency on the importance of reading your contract, a post that was inspired by a publisher sending out a notice of amendment for their contracts. 2. Here's a post over at Bookends LLC by writer Sally MacKenzie, about how she realized there's no such thing as a "boilerplate" contract.** 3. Here's Agent Kristin at Pub Rants talking about why you might not want a multi-book deal. (Hint: it involves the term "cross-collateralization." 4. And here's Agent Kristin again, on how one unethical person can ruin things for the rest of us. (Long story short: an agent tampered

1. Elmo got a ticket this weekend. 87 in a 70.* But it's not my fault that Elmo doesn't really settle in until 75. I have a need for speed!** 2. I have been seeing a lot of baseball lately. A lot . And today was a very exciting game -- Brewers v. Pirates, which the Brewers won with a walkoff homer by Corey Hart. Not this Corey Hart: This Corey Hart: The thing that cracks me up is that Corey Hart, the baseball player, was born in 1982, which is a mere TWO YEARS before Corey Hart, the musician, became famous for "Never Surrender" and "Sunglasses at Night." Sometimes, the world works in mysterious ways. 3. I love high summer. The only thing bad about summer is that it's followed by fall. Stupid fall. 4. I'm visiting with my niece this week. It's only the second day, and I have already seen enough Hannah Montana to last me a lifetime. ::shiver:: ~~~ * Actual exchange between me and the polite officer who stopped me: Him: Do you know

1. I get what Swiffer is trying to do with those commercials where the broom, abandoned by its owner/operator, finds love with a bowling ball or a lawn flamingo, but I wonder if they realize that they are implying that the broom was having sex with a person. Think before you take the joke too far, Swiffer. 2. I love Friday Night Lights . I go on and on about why, but if you're watching the show, you already know, and if you're not watching the show, then you won't believe me anyways. 3. Revisions have eaten my brain. Fortunately, I wasn't using it for much anyways, so it doesn't seem to have affected my day-to-day life. 4. We had thunderstorms this weekend in Ohio. I love thunderstorms. I love them even more when no branches fall on my roof of hit my gutter, but I guess you can't have everything. Seriously, though, if I could live in a place where it's almost always summer, I would.

1. Even though I am not a championship marksman, I am really enjoying Top Shot on Discovery Channel. The funny thing is, when you're dealing with a bunch of people who are experts at handling firearms, you're not going to get a lot of really excitable drama queens -- that's sort of the opposite of the personality who becomes a marksman, you know? -- so the show is just about a lot of really talented people making really hard shots. It's delightful. 2. I've been thinking about the title for The Book a lot lately. Normally, I'm phenomenal at titles, but The Book has been particularly challenging. Agent Ted and I have settled on a couple of titles, all of which were adequate and none of which have been awesome. sigh. It's getting to the point where I'm going to open the manuscript to a random page and pick a word.* 3. I don't like vacuuming, but I like having vacuumed. Vacuuming is like exercise in that way. 4. Live Free or Die Hard is more

1. This weekend I went to Cedar Point (which is an amusement park, if you don't live in Ohio). It was great fun, but I have learned that eight rollercoasters is my limit. After nine, rollercoasters go from "whee!" to "blurg."* 2. Glee 's season finale is this week. I still watch it, and I still enjoy it, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that my enjoyment is tinged with regret for what might have been. There was so much promise in the show that just hasn't materialized. But that's always the risk when you sign up for a new show, and when it works out (I'm looking at you, Friday Night Lights ), it's like heaven. 3. I've been writing a lot, which means I've been reading a lot of nonfiction (I can't read a lot of fiction when I write, because I get contaminated), and I didn't realize until recently that there re good and bad nonfiction writers. I don't know why I didn't realize that, because, DUH , of cour

1. Happy Memorial Day! 2. Spring may finally have arrived in northeast Ohio. Maybe. Although I wouldn't be surprised if it snowed next week the way this year has been going so far. 3. Turner Field in Atlanta is a beautiful baseball stadium, but it's not in a very nice neighborhood. Also, the taxi drivers in Atlanta never turn on their meters and just quote prices once the cab comes to a stop. Still, the rest of the people there (besides the taxi drivers) are very friendly and helpful. 4. This is the best song in the world: "Booty Man" by Tim Wilson. I have never laughed so hard in my entire life than I did when I first heard this song. "Breakfast booty?" Sir, I don't even want to know. 5. Whenever I come back from vacation, I want another vacation to recover. I think I should be allowed to live a life of leisure, but so far I haven't been able to make that happen? Any ideas?

1. I saw Iron Man 2 this weekend. It was fine. It wasn't the first Iron Man and only Mickey Roarke was actually good in it (yes, I'm including Robert Downey, Jr. in that assessment), but it was entertaining. 2. Friday Night Lights is back! Yay! FNL is one of those shows that, when it comes on I can just relax, because whatever happens, it's going to be good.* I literally breathed a sigh of relief when I heard the theme music come on. 3. This weekend I also saw a-ha in concert. Who, you're asking? You know them as the band that made this video: But they've actually released NINE studio albums, and are huge internationally.** But you should know them for this song: Or this one: Seriously, they're a much better band than you think. ~~~ * In all honesty, there was a misstep at the beginning of season two (known as the Unfortunate Accidental Murder Incident), but hey, the misstep only serves to bring the awesome of the rest of the show into stark relief

1. You know what I love about hotels? Room service. There were never two more delicious words in the entire English language, were there? 2. Spring is finally here, which I am thrilled about, because I hate winter, but I am also ambivalent about because I hate yard work. If only I could have the easy no-yardwork days of winter with the warm temperatures and blooming flowers of spring. In other words, I need to make enough money to hire a gardener. 3. I am the official owner of a SA 2005 rated driving helmet! It's for track driving, but I'm thinking about putting it on and just driving around town and seeing what people do. Who'm I kidding--they aren't going to notice. 4. Sorry about the blogging lapse there -- some stuff came up (not interesting stuff, just stuff), but I think I'm back on track. 5. This morning in the shower, I had an idea for a scene for a book that I'm not even supposed to be thinking about right now. Isn't it weird how that ha

1. I am thinking about starting to use Twitter, but I don't know what I'm going to say on it. If I figure it out, I will let you know. Because I know you really care a lot about my thoughts, especially in little bite-sized chunks. 2. The reviews for the iPad are coming in and I have just one comment: your move, Amazon. 3. Spring is here, which would be great except that the kid next door got a basketball hoop last fall and spends hours everyday bouncing a ball erratically on the patio outside my office window. I am going to break his fingers.* 4. J.A. Konrath has an interesting post about the trajectory of his career and where he thinks he's going in the future. 5. HOME OPENER! Oh baseball, how I missed you. ~~~ * Note: I am not really going to break his fingers. I am going to think about it A LOT, though. And I might break his father's fingers for installing the hoop.

1. The Intern has an interesting post a couple of weeks ago about another reason why an author might not want to read your manuscript: if she did, you could sue her .* 2. The one reality show that I never get tired of is The Amazing Race, which is just what it sounds like -- a bunch of people in teams of two race around the world. It's not as annoying as other reality shows for two reasons: (1) there is not much advantage for the teams to form alliances or backstab each other, because the performance of other teams doesn't have a lot to do with how your team performs; and (2) there are no judges and no voting. Period. The team that shows up last gets eliminated (usually). So it's really a bunch of people (some of whom are awesome, and some of whom are less than awesome) racing around the world and doing really cool stuff. 3. Some day, I'm going to hire out my laundry. Seriously. There are very few chores I absolutely hate, but laundry is one of them. 4. P!nk

1. You may know Julia Stiles from the fact that she's a pretty famous actress whose been in a bunch of stuff (like Save the Last Dance , for example). What you may not know is that she has a blog, and it's pretty interesting. She doesn't post very often, but her stuff is usually worth reading and she seems really cool.* You can check her blog out here: You Know My Steez . 2. I tried last year to start a one sentence journal, where you write a single sentence a day, but it just doesn't work for me. I keep forgetting to write in it for, like, weeks at a time. I'm much better at writing my three paragraphs a day (as recommended by Bryan Garner). For some reason a bigger committment works better for me. But Leah Dieterich's blog --where she posts a thank you note a day, sometimes to things that you wouldn't normally think of as being grateful for -- is awesome. Some recent favorites of mine include: Dear Neon Yellow Highlighter Dear Future See you when

1. My dog was bit by another dog last week. It was a pretty serious bite, and it was totally the fault of the person in charge of the other dog* who didn't have her dog wearing a leash or even a collar, so when the dog RAN ACROSS THE STREET to attack my dog, all she could do was yell at it. ::sigh:: My dog will be fine, though. And she may eventually forgive me for making her wear The Cone Of Shame. Maybe. 2. This video, by Ok Go,** is just the latest in a long line of awesome Ok Go videos. Take a look: 3. I am watching another hoarding show, this one on TLC. I have to say that just watching this show makes me want to throw out everything I own and live in a t-shirt and jeans. I'm not a hoarder, but I do have a tendency to collect certain items*** and these shows make me nervous, like I'm going to open a closet door and discover that my stuff has multiplied when I'm not looking. 4. Thinking about writing? Is not the same as actually writing. Just in case yo

1. This weekend, I was getting dressed to go out and run some errands and suddenly I thought of the first lines for one of my dormant projects. I don't know why that thought came to me then -- there wasn't anything that triggered it that I can recall -- but it did, and I didn't want to lose it, so I stopped what I was doing and wrote it down. One thing I've learned is that when something comes to you, don't argue with it. Some times ( a lot of the time ) writing is work, so when it's not, you gotta take advantage of it. 2. Okay, I get it, February isn't spring time in Ohio. There's no need to dump seven metric tons of snow into my driveway in order to prove it to me. sigh. 3. Isn't March spring, though? 4. I recent saw Victor/Victoria again on television and that is an awesome movie! It doesn't have much of a plot, really, or at least not one that's resolved by the end, but it does have several song and dance numbers by Julie Andrew

1. I proctored a practice LSAT this weekend and once again, I was cold. Every time I do one of these I think to myself "wear a sweater so you don't get cold" and today, even though it was sunny out and I was warm, I put on a tank AND a really thick sweater (I was sweating in my house and couldn't even put on my coat, I was so warm) and still about halfway through I got cold. sigh. I think it's because I can't move around while students are taking the LSAT -- they don't appreciate that much. :) 2. It was Chinese New Year last weekend, thank god. My friends and I have decided that we are officially starting 2010 over again because the first month? Not so great. So Happy New Year, everyone!* 3. SciFi Channel** has been showing reruns of Joan of Arcadia recently. That was a good show. A little sappy sometimes, and the cop sections were a little...cheesy, but the high school stuff was almost as good as My So-Called Life and grittier than you would h

1. Dear Luke Wilson - I know you're just getting paid to do the AT&T commercials, but can't you do something about the writing? Because instead of your normal charming self, you're coming across as sort of a sanctimonious jackass, which I don't think is what you (or AT&T) are going for. Perhaps you could suggest that AT&T watch the Domino's commercials where they take on Papa Johns for some helpful tips about how to critique a competitor while still seeming like a nice guy. Thanks! Jay. 2. I'm re-painting my living room (I get these weird urges from time to time) and I have to say that Behr paint smells like cookies. Really. If that's intentional (and how could it not be?) I have to say that it's ingenious . It makes me happy every time I open the can of paint. 3. Steph Bowe, over at Hey, Teenager of the Year , is having a "Post Your First Page" event. If you want to see the first page of the Next Book, it's over the

1. I have too many pairs of shoes. I don't know why I didn't realize this before, but somehow it just occurred to me. Note to self: STOP BUYING SHOES. You already have some! 2. I think that by the time we've reached February, we have had quite enough winter already and it's time for it to be over. Some people may not agree with me (people who like skiing, for example), but they would be wrong. As a result, I'm just going to start pretending that it's no longer winter. It's spring, now. Just a very cold, snowy spring.* 3. I saw Precious this weekend, and...wow. Just...wow. There were a lot of problems on the story level with that movie, but Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'nique deserve the Oscars for that one, seriously. I've always liked Mo'nique--she's hilarious--but until now I didn't know she could act. And she can , man. And Gabourey? Talent oozing out of her pores! And if you've seen her in the movie and then seen her

1. I've been watching The Real World D.C. this season and I have to say that the women on the show thus far have been pretty cool. Sure, they have their issues, but they also seem to be bright and fun and they seem to stick up for each other and other women in a way that you sometimes don't see on reality shows.* 2. On the other hand, The Deep End , which is about first year lawyers, is not a good show. It's too melodramatic and silly, and the first years are allowed to do stuff that no first year would be allowed to do without any guidance or help. There are so many shows about lawyers, it's hard to understand why there are so few any good ones.** 3. I just got these shoes: Nice, right? Linea Paolo at Nordstrom . As an inveterate wearer of high heels, I can tell you that all of their shoes are superbly balanced and make it feel like you're not wearing a 4 inch heel. I also like the Gianni Bini line at Dillards, which has the same balanced quality. 4. Huma

1. Not only is Elmo (my new car) cute, but it turns out he's also a tax deduction. I love him more every day! 2. Bravo channel doesn't seem to realize that showing ads for Millionaire Matchmaker and Tabitha's Salon Takeover and Pimp My Line * during reruns of The West Wing only makes those shows look stupider than they are.** 3. Speaking of, we've reached the point in The West Wing where I stopped watching the last time (after Zoey Bartlett's kidnapping), so I literally have no idea what's going to happen now. Despite the fact that this is, essentially, a new show to me now, I may give up on it again. It's...not good at this point. People say it picked up toward the end of the run with the new candidates, so I might stick with it, but I say you know what would have made this a good show all the way through? Rob Lowe.*** 4. I spent a couple of hours this weekend writing backstory for the Next Book. I don't do that before I write (because not

1. Working from home (which I had to do two days last week due to snow) is not really as fun as it sounds like it should be. Sure, you're at home, and yes, you're wearing pajamas, but you're still working . 2. On Bravo, they've reached the episodes of "The West Wing" after Rob Lowe leaves and, just like the first time around, I am losing interest. I think it's because I don't find the character of Josh Lyman (played by Bradley Whitford) as engaging as everyone else does. Sam (Rob Lowe's character) is sort of the sweet gooey center of the West Wing staff on the show, the nice guy, the doll, and when he leaves, there's no real replacement for him, so the cast becomes a series of wise-cracking asses none of whom I find charming.* 3. Speaking of Rob Lowe, this weekend I watched the complete novel version of The Outsiders . Then I had to read the book. Then it was three in the morning and I had to go to bed. God bless you, S.E. Hinton. For

1. I saw "Harold and Kumar Went To White Castle" this weekend. It's not really my kind of movie, but it was mildly amusing and the scene where they sing "Hold On" by Wilson Phillips? Totally worth the price of admission.* 2. This? This is an awesome video: The United States of Pop 2009, by DJ Earworm. 3. Janet Reid has this to say: The Perfect Time Is Now . 4. I don't mind winter so much,** but I hate it when my feet are cold. Seriously. I will go to any extreme to avoid cold feet. 5. Happy 2010! ~~~ * I got it on Netflix, so there wasn't admission. But you get the point. ** This is true. I spent four years in New Mexico, where there really isn't winter, per se (we would sunbathe in February, no joke) and I really missed winter. I don't mind shoveling snow, or driving in it, and I love winter clothes. And cocoa, of course. So winter's all right with me.