Ad Hudler - Ad Libbing

All depressed ... and messed ... and stressed
Wednesday, October 8, 2008

There's this odd behavior in the publishing industry. Everyone connected to the business in any way (editors, writers, publicists, agents, booksellers, etc.) always end their correspondence in the same way: Best

Like this:
Best, Ad Hudler

Or this:
All best, Ad Hudler

Honestly, NO ONE strays from this word. It's as if some 156-year-old man in a cave somewhere in Manhattan told everyone that if they didn't use the word "BEST" in their closing then he would put a curse on the people of the book industry, and they would forever grow orange toenails or something just as bad.

Wouldn't you think that an industry FILLED with creative people would show more variety in their correspondence? Where the heck does this come from? And why are there no rule breakers?

At any rate, another writer friend and I took it upon ourselves to shake things up a bit: We decided that, whenever we wrote to each other, we would NOT use the word BEST ... but we had to have a closing that RHYMED with it.

Very stressed,
Ad

Cleaning my nest,
Ad

Surely you jest,
Ad
Not one to confess,
Ad

BOOK TOUR NEWS: Be sure to catch these nifty online reviews of MAN OF THE HOUSE:

From errantdreams.com
And dewbookreviews

5 Comments:

newsandverse said...: Of your rhyming efforts, I'm impressed,
Though, in the future, I'd request
That you avoid a great protest
At valedictions you've possessed
Until their meanings you digest.
It's these conclusions, you confessed,
With which you're mightily obsessed.
To help you, please let me suggest
Your correspondents just expressed
(or maybe I should say "finessed")
A gentle sign-off to a pest.

I had to get this off my chest.
And to wish you
All my best.

~www.newsandverse.com; October 8, 2008 10:34 AM
Ad Hudler said...: You of ALL people....I KNEW you could not resist this one!!; October 8, 2008 10:57 AM
Gonzalo Barr said...: Touring is tough. Hang in there. All best, gb; October 9, 2008 9:54 AM
heather (errantdreams) said...: Oh god, I do that too. And I think I started back when I was a freelancer! Gack!; October 13, 2008 9:57 AM
Ad Hudler said...: Heather: Don't worry. We still like you.

Infatuated with The West,
Ad; October 13, 2008 7:19 PM