Comments on: A snark’s snark

By: Tricia

Tricia — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 17:22:41 +0000

My husband and I write for the MG/YA markets and spend a lot of time reading those books. I think the most frustrating thing is when famous adult market authors write for the MG/YA markets without doing their research and still get great results. The most noteworthy of these being John Grisham. Both books he’s written for the market would never have been published if not for his name. The characters are cartoons, stero-typical and have no depth. The plots are simplistic, unrealistic and unbelievable. For example, in a child abduction case anyone who watches any crime shows on television knows that the first thing police do is track down the parents. But, not in Grisham’s book. In his world, the missing father is not a factor at all to the police. Ahhhh, but Theodore Boone knows better and, holy cow, guess who the missing girl is with…Other authors have done a much better job with similar material.

By: Catherine Whitney

Catherine Whitney — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:59:55 +0000

This is a perfect post-earthquake, pre-hurricane topic. Most recently, I read EVERYBODY POOPS to 2 1/2 year-old Margot, and it annoyed me. There were all these animals walking around with poop dropping on the ground. Margot gave me an alarmed look and asked, “Where are their potties?” I thought this was insightful. We don’t want to encourage kids to poop where they stand, in or out of the forest. Wild animals are terrible examples when it comes to poop education.

By: Yat-Yee Chong

Yat-Yee Chong — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 01:26:38 +0000

Famous, fabulous, and fearless: I like that.

By: Deirdre Coppel

Deirdre Coppel — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 23:55:32 +0000

You have a fabulous blog! I’m an author and illustrator and I made some awards to give to fellow bloggers whose sites I enjoy. It’s not a pass on award. This is just for you to keep. I want to award you with the Best Books Blog Award for all the hard work you do! Go to http://astorybookworld.blogspot.com/p/awards.html and pick up your award. ~Deirdra

By: Miriam

Miriam — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 23:39:44 +0000

Yes, Dorothy Parker raised snark to an art form and she’s a hard act to follow. Jaclyn, you can e-mail me at miriam@dystel.com if you want to ask me a specific question.

By: Kristin Laughtin

Kristin Laughtin — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 22:53:15 +0000

Thank you for giving me words of snark through which to live vicariously. Don’t get me wrong, I get my snark on–I had a rather lengthy bout of it over the phone earlier–but alas, I am too timid/polite/afraid of repercussions to put a good portion of it online. Perhaps someday I will be famous and fabulous and thus more fearless.

Yat-Yee is right, though; it does take a certain finesse to pull off. Still, I’d much rather read attempts at it than things that are too saccharine.

By: Jaclyn

Jaclyn — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 22:39:16 +0000

Hi, Miriam! Great blog entry. I’ve been following the Dystel blog for quite some time now, but this’ll be my first comment. I strongly agree with your point.

I have yet to read The Help, but I’ve certainly heard a lot of its accolades. I, for one, had trouble getting myself to enjoy the widely worshipped Hunger Games trilogy.

PS. Is there anywhere on this website where I could ask you agents a question about writing a novel?

By: Yat-Yee Chong

Yat-Yee Chong — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 21:27:51 +0000

Those with less wit and experience than Parker may not pull off snark with as much style and effectiveness. I, for one, will stay away from this difficult art.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 18:02:06 +0000

Oh, I cherish her.