How Social Media Helped Me Land an Agent

How Social Media Helped Me Land an Agent Like most writers these days, I have a love/hate relationship with social media. Yes, it can be one giant time vacuum. Were talking the granddaddy of vacuums- were talking Dyson. But writers need a life. Right? So the hours spent on Facebook are in the best interest of my career, right? They can be. With all the moaning about the downside of social media (mainly the time aspect), we writers tend to overlook the sheer beauty of what the various platforms provide: accessibility. Never before have we had the opportunity to be â€Å"friends† with so many publishers, agents, and other writers. Conferences are expensive and not everyone can afford to attend the more popular ones, the ones where big-name editors and agents are most likely to show up. Years ago, the only way to meet agents and editors was to attend conferences and hope you make the cut for a pitch session. Or hopefully grab a seat in their standing-room-only panel discussion. Or you could follow them into the bar, or restroom, or hotel elevator. In which case, if youre like most writers, youre a bit introverted so that elevator ride is probably going to be rather quiet. And the restroom thing- not cool. At all. Thats where social media comes in. Its much more pleasant, for all parties involved, to find an agent and follow them on Twitter than to follow them into a bathroom! If you prefer Facebook, send them a friend request. Follow their RSS feed. Comment on their posts. And comment again. And again. You know youre getting somewhere when the agent starts to comment on your comments. Im â€Å"friends† with and follow several agents. Ive had these cyber relationships for a year or more with various agents, and like any good relationship, it takes time to build. Ive been in the business long enough to say Ive sent my share of query letters to agents, without much success. But social media opened up not only a whole new door, but a golden door for me. Through Facebook, I was able to establish a friendly relationship with different agents before seeking a business relationship with just one. And even then, when I did approach the agent through a private message, it wasnt intended to be a query. I simply had a question, between friends, about the industry. That cyber conversation turned into a phone chat, which turned into longer talk which turned into an offer of representation. Social media not only helped me find my agent, it allowed me the opportunity to get to know her as a person before ever signing a contract. To me, thats just as important as how many deals theyve made. If I dont respect and like you as a person, how am I ever going to feel comfortable trusting you with my career? So go ahead and follow a couple of agents. You might be surprised where it can lead.

Tennessine Element Facts

Tennessine Element Facts Tennessine is element 117 on the periodic table, with the element symbol Ts and predicted atomic weight of 294. Element 117 is an artificially produced radioactive element  that was verified for inclusion on the periodic table in 2016. Interesting Tennessine Element Facts A Russian-American team announced the discovery of element 117 in 2010. The same team verified their results in 2012 and a German-American team successfully repeated the experiment in 2014. Atoms of the element were made by bombarding a berkelium-249 target with calcium-48 to produce Ts-297, which then decayed into Ts-294 and neutrons or into Ts-294 and neutrons. In 2016, the element was formally added to the periodic table.The Russian-American team proposed the new name Tennessine for element 117, in recognition of the contributions made by Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. The elements discovery involved two countries and several research facilities, so it was anticipating naming might be problematic. However, multiple new elements were verified, making it easier to agree on names. The symbol is Ts because Tn is the abbreviation for the Tennessee state name.Based on its location on the periodic table, you might expect element 117 would be a halogen, like chlorine or bromi ne. However, scientists believe relativistic effects from the elements valence electrons will prevent tennessine from forming anions or achieving high oxidation states. In some respects, element 117 may more closely resemble a metalloid or post-transition metal. While element 117 may not behave like halogens chemically, it is likely physical properties like melting and boiling point will follow halogen trends. Of all the elements on the periodic table, ununseptium should most closely resemble astatine, which is directly above it on the table. Like astatine, element 117 will likely be a solid around room temperature. As of 2016, a total of 15 tennessine atoms have been observed: 6 in 2010, 7 in 2012, and 2 in 2014.At present, tennessine is only used for research. Scientists are investigating the properties of the element and using it to produce atoms of other elements through its decay scheme.There is no known or expected biological role of element 117. Its expected to be toxic, primarily because of its radioactive and very heavy. Element 117 Atomic Data Element Name/Symbol:  Tennessine (Ts), was formerly Ununseptium (Uus) from the IUPAC nomenclature or eka-astatine from the Mendeleev nomenclature Name Origin:  Tennessee, the site of Oak Ridge National Laboratory Discovery: Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Dubna, Russia), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Tennessee, USA), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (California, USA) and other US institutions in 2010 Atomic Number: 117 Atomic Weight: [294] Electron Configuration: predicted to be  [Rn] 5f14  6d10  7s2  7p5 Element Group: p-block of group 17 Element Period: period 7 Phase: predicted to be solid at room temperature Melting Point:  623–823  K  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹(350–550  Ã‚ °C, ​662–1022  Ã‚ °F)  (predicted) Boiling Point:  883  K ​(610  Ã‚ °C, ​1130  Ã‚ °F)  (predicted) Density: predicted to be  7.1–7.3  g/cm3 Oxidation States: The predicted oxidation states are -1, 1, 3, and 5, with the most stable states being 1 and 3 (not -1, like other halogens) Ionization Energy: The first ionization energy is predicted to be 742.9 kJ/mol Atomic Radius: 138 pm Covalent Radius: extrapolated to be 156-157 pm Isotopes: The two most stable isotopes of tennessine are Ts-294, with a half-life of about 51 milliseconds, and Ts-293, with a half-life around 22 milliseconds. Uses of Element 117: At present, ununseptium and the other superheavy elements are only used for research into their properties and to form other superheavy nuclei. Toxicity: Due to its radioactivity, element 117 presents a health risk.