Smile Writers, It's Friday!

I've decided to make Friday's a chance to explore the word on the web.
Today I'm going for a bit of humour to kick start the weekend.

So, sit back and enjoy. 

Cats, A Writer's Best Frenemy Since 1445:

This article in the Guardian wins the prize for pure cuteness.

"Emir Filipović, an academic at the University of Sarajevo, was researching his PhD in the Dubrovnik State Archives when he stumbled across a medieval Italian manuscript from 11 March 1445, from "the 13th volume of a series of archival registers called 'Lettere e commissioni di Levante'".

Doesn't sound that exciting, does it? But the discovery has placed Filipović at the centre of a social media whirl – because the medieval manuscript was stained with inky cat paw prints. I dropped Filipović a line, and he says he's still surprised at how popular the photograph has proved to be ("Cats - walking all over your shit since the 15th century", says a Reddit post)."

 

If you've read my The Five Day Writer's Retreat, you'll be laughing with me. I suggested cats make great writing muses. Obviously writers have had them around for longer than I suspected!

Writing Advice From a Fitness Magazine?

Men's Health has run an article on how to become a millionaire by publishing an e-book. 
All you have to do is follow their simple steps:

"Become an ebook millionaire

With Amazon now selling twice as many ebooks as paper versions, and Kindle offering 70% royalties to authors instead of the standard 15% from publishers, it’s time for you to write your way to riches. Here’s how..."

 

Yes boys, it really is just that easy as following a few steps to become a best selling author. You just keep telling yourselves that. 

 

Finally: Agents Answer!

 

Writer's Digest asks literary agents four questions we have all been dying to hear the answer to. Check out their post for the answers to questions about whether they really read query letters, and if it is possible to be picked out of the slushpile. 

My favourite part? 

Dear Agent:  What do you really think of speed-pitching events at conferences? Do you secretly hate them? And how many of your new authors do you find at writing conferences, versus the slush pile, versus other methods?

Well, let’s see. Here are some things that have happened to me at speed-dating-style pitch sessions:

• After I said I would not be interested in looking at a man’s poetry collection, he said he would kill himself—and the police had to be called.

•  An octogenarian and his wife pitched his mystery and she mouthed his memorized pitch next to him the whole time he talked, and then clapped and cried when he was done—and I had to sit there knowing from the start that a 42,000-word World War II mystery (which is far too short to be viable, for starters) was something I was for sure about to say no to. To this octogenarian’s life dream. In front of his lifelong soul mate. Thank goodness the bar was within sprinting distance.

• A woman sat down across from me and opened with, “Jesus already told me you would be my agent, so I’m not nervous at all.” I said, “That’s weird, when we had coffee the other day, he didn’t mention you.” And then I chuckled. She did not. And then my bladder loosened a bit in fear.
 

I've suddenly got a lot more respect for agents!

 

Hope that brought a smile to your face.

Any tips on what you would like to hear about on Fridays?