A Little History

re: Publishing Always a can-do kind of girl, I set out this year with a resolution to get Parvenue Throws A Party into print. I had previously let a very nice agent take a look at it, read it several times and after keeping me on pins and needles for a LOOOONG time (or so it seemed), ultimately pass on the project. Then I let a very nice editor at a very nice publishing company take a look at it, hold on to it for a LOOOONG time (or so it seemed), and ultimately pass on it because it was just a little too sarcastic for her imprint. Sarcastic? Who me? So rather than hit the four hundred zillion other agents and publishers up for a look-see only to die a shriveled and unpublished old hag at age 96, I decided to publish the darn thing myself. I would say the war on publishing officially began in February when I incorporated Hoyden Press, LLC. Prior to that, I spent some time deciding that Print-on-Demand wasn't going to work for me. (A story for another day, I promise.) Some definitions: A "parvenue" is an upstart in the bad sense, somebody who makes a claim of importance without having earned it. There was another lesson for me here too. I put the definition, "A female upstart" on the cover of my book which is entirely correct. But it turns out that on the street and in real life, the word "upstart" has developed a positive connotation. Oops. Nobody told me or Merriam Webster. Anyway, calling somebody a parvenue is a bit of a put-down. Finally, a "Hoyden" is a girl who behaves boisterously. Enough said.