Tuesday, August 17, 2010

donde esta el bano?

i didn't always know what i was talking about.
oh, let's face it - i still don't know what i'm talking about most of the time. i'm just a newly agented wannabe trying to break into a biz full of real authors.

what i mean by "i didn't always know what i was talking about" is... when i first jumped into the online writing community, i didn't know what everyone else was talking about.
what's a WIP? what's a beta? what's a query?

i still run into acronyms i can't decode and sheepishly have to ask someone to interpret.
and don't get me started on text-style chat symbols that run rampant on twitter and forums.

do you realize i thought <3 meant "boobs" for months?!
seriously, i saw those little hearts everywhere and thought i was just completely out of touch and that apparently "boobs" was the new way to say "cool!" or "i like it!"

oh, and i finally had to get on a forum and just ask straight up what this meant:
0.0
thanks to the folks who let me know it meant blank stare or shock and not "heads will roll."
(it's good to know now that one of my early betas who used that symbol often was not actually threatening me.)

the point is, publishing has its own language, and the online community has its own hieroglyphics! unfortunately, there is no rosetta stone to interpret either, so you have to get what you can from context and suck it up and ask for help figuring out the rest.

i just thought i'd throw that out there for any writers new to the web community and trying to decipher the codes. i don't claim to speak the language fluently, but i can promise you there are kind interpreters over at Absolute Write ("AW") who can help. in the meantime, concentrate on writing a good book and worry about the lingo later.

that's all for tonight, because i have to get the WC up on my WIP and file away the old Rs and R&Rs from the Qs for my MS now that it's REPPED.
ttyl.

12 comments:

Kate Hart said...

Oh but now I want "boobs!" to take over for "cool" and "i like it"!

(I had to ask for a translation of O_o too.)

Jess said...

Oh how I wish I could corrupt my stepdaughter into making "Boobs!" a popular phrase for "Cool!" at her high school...sadly, that would be bad parenting because a)she's a fifteen-year-old who doesn't need any new obscene phrases,and b)most likely, it would catch on like wildfire and be traced back to me (I mean, YOU). Tee-hee, thanks for the laugh :)

Nomes said...

heheheheh.

i <3 finding other people who are as clueless as me about stuff like this.

someone wrote in a rep point to me: Han Solo FTW! and I googled: FTW. haha. i am so lame :)

Angie said...

Oh I am so clueless when it comes to internet hieroglyphs. Even when I find out what they are I sometimes can't remember. That's why I usually stick to a good 'ol smiley face. :)

Tahereh said...

!!!!!!!!!!!

WHEN DID YOU GET AN AGENT OMG!! why was i not allowed to CELEBRATE such good news?!

you are a TEASE!!

(CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!)

Jennifer Hillier said...

THANK YOU. I've been wondering for months what O_o meant, but was too afraid of being ridiculed to ask. Now I know.

erinjade said...

thanks Tahereh! :)

so glad i'm not the only one who didn't know o_o

oh, and i had to look up "FTW" recently myself. haha!

okay, based on comments, i set off on a mission today to make "boobs" happen, but someone's going to have to pass it on to the teens, cuz i gotta tell ya - it's just not catching on with the 30 to 40 set. :D

Unknown said...

Erin, for the longest time I thought FTW meant F-The-World. For-The-Win is much more cuddly, but man I miss the days when I'd say FTW in frustration. All this time, people thought I was giving props ... I'm a dork.

Unknown said...

BTW, can you ever have enough ways to say 'boobs'? As the only male representing, I had to say that or risk having my dude card revoked. Won't happen again ...

erinjade said...

LOLOLOL EJ! F-the World. hee hee hee.
and here, for your man card:
<3<3

Sajidah said...

I <3 this post. :)
(and the nerd I am, i sometimes use those online lingo dictionaries to decipher things for me. or my teen.)

erinjade said...

where are these online lingo dictionaries you speak of? i must bookmark them!