Something to Remember You By

Something to Remember You A lock of hair might be fitting (albeit obsolete, overly sentimental, and just plain weird.) A wallet photo maybe? Awkward. So what could you possibly give an editor or agent at a conference to help them remember you or your project once they shuffle back into their office the following Monday? I’ll tell you: The author one sheet. I recently attended a writer’s conference in which I was scheduled to pitch my new novel. To better my odds, I researched book pitches, and discovered the one sheet – a single-paged marketing document, aka author one sheet or pitch sheet, which describes a person, project, or concept. Brilliant! When one considers how many book pitches an editor or agent has endured, or how many queries and manuscripts they have likely slogged through in their career, the odds of an author or book standing out – being remembered – are not great. Anything you can get into an agent’s hands to take back with them from a conference will help, other than handing them your complete manuscript, of course. You’d never bring a manuscript to a conference, right? Everything you’ve ever read and heard has stated unequivocally not to. (Admit it – you brought it anyway.) Some one sheets are more elaborate, including word count, genre, endorsements, and agent name and contact info – designed more for promoting already-published works. Or you could opt for one more basic, including only information that one would find on a back cover of a novel. I chose the latter, since I was seeking publication. At the very least, your one sheet should include: Book title Logline/hook – One sentence that describes the concept of your book, and gets their attention. (My entire novel was easier to write.) Blurb – Short 3-4 sentence paragraph that describes your book and defines genre/audience. Who is the protagonist, what do they want, what’s in their way, and most of all, what makes your story unique? Think â€Å"back cover.† Author

Facts and Figures of Eudimorphodon

Facts and Figures of Eudimorphodon Although its not nearly as well known as Pteranodon or even Rhamphorhynchus, Eudimorphodon holds an important place in paleontology as one of the earliest identified pterosaurs: this smallish reptile hopped around the coastlines of Europe a whopping 210 million years ago, during the late Triassic period. Eudimorphodon had the wing structure (short forelimbs embedded in an extended flap of skin) characteristic of all pterosaurs, as well as a diamond-shaped appendage on the end of its tail that probably helped it to steer or to adjust its course in mid-air. Judging by the structure of its breastbone, paleontologists believe Eudimorphodon may even have had the ability to actively flap its primitive wings. (By the way, despite its name, Eudimorphodon wasnt particularly closely related to the much later Dimorphodon, beyond the fact that both were pterosaurs.) Name: Eudimorphodon (Greek for true dimorphic tooth); pronounced YOU-die-MORE-fo-don Habitat: Shores of Western Europe Historical Period: Late Triassic (210 million years ago) Size and Weight: Wingspan of two feet and a few pounds Diet: Fish, insects and possibly invertebrates Distinguishing Characteristics: Small size; over 100 teeth in snout; diamond-shaped flap on end of the tail Given Eudimorphodons nameGreek for true dimorphic toothyou may surmise that its teeth have been especially diagnostic in tracking the course of pterosaur evolution, and youd be right. Although the snout of Eudimorphodon measured barely three inches long, it was packed with over a hundred teeth, punctuated by six prominent fangs at the end (four on the top jaw and two on the bottom). This dental apparatus, combined with the fact that Eudimorphodon could snap its jaws shut without any spaces between its teeth, points to a diet rich in fishone Eudimorphodon specimen has been identified bearing the fossilized remains of the prehistoric fish Parapholidophorusprobably supplemented by insects or even shelled invertebrates. One of the interesting things about Eudimorphodon is where its type species, E. ranzii, was discovered: near Bergamo, Italy, in 1973, making this one of the most notable prehistoric animals native to Italy.  A second named species of this pterosaur, E. rosenfeldi, was later promoted to its own genus, Carniadactylus, while a third, E. cromptonellus, discovered a couple of decades after E. ranzii in Greenland, was subsequently promoted to the obscure Arcticodactylus. (Confused yet? Well, then youll be glad to know that yet another Eudimorphodon specimen discovered in Italy in the 1990s, which had been tentatively classified as an individual of E. ranzii, was likewise kicked up to the newly designated genus Austriadraco in 2015.)