Disqus - Latest Comments for Xujun

Re: litpark » Question of the Month: Renew

Xujun — Mon, 03 May 2010 19:14:04 -0000

Yes, that'll be great! I look forward to it!

Re: litpark » Question of the Month: Renew

Xujun — Mon, 03 May 2010 10:14:44 -0000

I'm envious, Sue. I feel too isolated as a writer.

Re: Book Deal!

Xujun — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:16:14 -0000

Huge congratulations, Sue! I look forward to reading the novel!

Re: Dan Conaway, Literary Agent (part 1)

Xujun — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:52:54 -0000

Good advice, Dan. Thanks! I'll leave the issue to my future agent and focus on the writing.

Re: Dan Conaway, Literary Agent (part 1)

Xujun — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:20:22 -0000

I have a question for Dan. When I was with my ex-agent, she tried to sell my story collection with an unfinished memoir. She didn't succeed in selling anything, but one publisher expressed interest in the memoir. Later when I was leaving the agent, she said if my memoir ended up being published by that publisher, it would count as her sale. I've since sold my collection by myself and am now looking for a new agent for my memoir. I wonder how I should handle the residual issue with the ex-agent. I prefer not to deal with her again. Should I try to avoid the publisher who expressed interest before, or, since my memoir has changed almost completely, should I try to make the case that this is a different book?

Re: Dan Conaway, Literary Agent (part 1)

Xujun — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:41:00 -0000

Sue, sorry I hadn't been here often during the last two months - I was too busy doing the book marketing thingy. I'm happy to tell you that I've just sold the Asian rights to "Apologies Forthcoming," so that's something. :-) Now the marketing period is over I can resume my writing for the memoir. And I really look forward to reading your book!

Re: Dan Conaway, Literary Agent (part 1)

Xujun — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:52:37 -0000

Hey, Dan is so right! I got an agent at a reputed NYC agency about three years ago and I was always afraid of her. She wasn't communicating and I didn't dare to ask why. I didn't dare to call her , or even email her when needed to. Eventually I left her after 1.5 year of trying. Now I can see those were the signs of a bad "marriage" right from the beginning. Thanks, Dan, for telling us we writers can be picky on agents, too!

Re: Ask a Literary Agent

Xujun — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:46:16 -0000

I had an agent for over a year but things did not work out. I can never figure out what you are supposed to do when she does not answer your email questions, or when she schedules a call and you don't dare to go anywhere all day but the call never comes and no explanation ever given. And I can't figure out what questions are appropriate or inappropriate. Or does she really mean it when she sends you an one-word email reply such as "Fantastic!" ? Or what does it mean (good or bad) when she says she needs time to edit your manuscript but you never see any edits at all?

I think we do need agents but the question is how to find a good one (or right one).

Re: Xujun Eberlein

Xujun — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:07:25 -0000

Thank you, Nathalie!

Re: Xujun Eberlein

Xujun — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:55:29 -0000

James, that's very nice of you to say. I certainly had fun during the conversation with Sue.

Re: Xujun Eberlein

Xujun — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:53:37 -0000

Thank you, Patry! I'm glad the title grabbed your attention. I hope you'll enjoy the stories.

Re: Xujun Eberlein

Xujun — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:51:43 -0000

Thank you, Gail! You are always so kind and supportive.

Re: Xujun Eberlein

Xujun — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:49:00 -0000

Exactly. "Mao was bad and this is why...." does not give one much insights into history or human behavior, doesn't it.

Very interesting that you studied political science. I have an article that touches this field. If you have the time and interest, here's the link: http://thechinabeat.blogspo...

Re: Xujun Eberlein

Xujun — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:43:04 -0000

Thanks for the comments, Carolyn. It is true that these two adages are very similar. Interestingly, this raises a question in writing: which adage would you use when there are similar ones from two different cultures? I tend to use the one from my native language.

Re: Xujun Eberlein

Xujun — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:39:20 -0000

Thanks for visiting, Mayra!

Re: Xujun Eberlein

Xujun — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:59:23 -0000

Nice to see you here, Mary!

Re: Xujun Eberlein

Xujun — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:55:57 -0000

Very nice pics, Aurelio. The "stick and mud construction" photo is a great one! The picture of you with the Peking Duck is funny. And I adore the two playful baby pandas. Could I email the panda photo to my daughter? She was born in America but she just loves pandas.

Were you with a tourist group? I wonder why Chongqing wasn't in your itinerary. It is only a few hours from Chengdu by train or bus.

Re: Xujun Eberlein

Xujun — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 19:24:33 -0000

Thanks a lot, Ellen! You have been one of the most helpful friends.

Re: Xujun Eberlein

Xujun — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 19:23:40 -0000

Thanks Jessica. But there is a story here. At first I planned to name the collection "Men Don't Apologize," which comes from one of the stories. However when I discussed this title with a group of writer friends on Zoetrope, it got lots of objections, :-) I told Joe (my publisher) about my friends' opinions and he suggested a tweak to the current title, and we all liked it.

Re: Xujun Eberlein

Xujun — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:30:19 -0000

Nathalie, the video is no long available. Strange.

Re: Xujun Eberlein

Xujun — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:02:06 -0000

Hi Jerry, thanks for the nice comments. I'm learning a lot from you as well. I do hope people will go read your memory writing essays - they are wonderful.

Re: Xujun Eberlein

Xujun — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:57:59 -0000

Hi Susan! How nice to see you here. When are you going to visit Boston? Please email me the details. I really look forward to seeing you again. And thanks a lot for ordering my book! I look forward to your book as well.

Re: Xujun Eberlein

Xujun — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:51:39 -0000

Thanks for the link and for commenting on my blog, Nathalie. It is nice to have an agent; it's just that it is hard to find the right one...

Re: Xujun Eberlein

Xujun — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:46:58 -0000

Hi Pia, how are you? So you remember we workshopped that story at Tin House! Your insights into the story were quite helpful. Thanks again - and I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the stories in the collection.

Re: Xujun Eberlein

Xujun — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:42:59 -0000

Thanks, Sarah. "Red Crag" is a bit of a wild card, not sure how well it will read in translation. It depends a lot on the translator.