This just in: Miss Snark has retired her blog.

The official notice went out Saturday: “Miss Snark has run out of new things to say.” And that, barring a few last tidy-up posts addressing the likelihood of Miss Snark’s bagging George Clooney, the apocalyptic possibility of Miss Snark weeping behind her monitor, and a cheerful portrait of Miss Snark’s killer poodle, was that.

And it’s like hearing that someone died. In a way, someone did. Miss Snark, the Literary Agent was a persona behind which lurked a real, unrevealed New York literary agent. With the blog gone, the persona is also gone. R.I.P.

The blog ran for two years, though it seems like much longer. Somehow this amazing agent found time to make not just daily posts, but multiple posts daily, in which she shared her wisdom with many a beginning writer betwixt finished draft and successful query letter. She answered questions, gave advice, interpreted rejection letters, and awarded the title “Nitwit Of The Day” where appropriate. And, most mind-bogglingly, she would occasionally open her inbox to Crap-O-Meter submissions (you send her your query letter or your “hook,” she pronounced it crap or not crap) and other contests.

These were exceedingly popular, making it even more unbelievable that she could fit it all into her daily schedule. Her Idols of March contest, a competition involving 100-word short-shorts, had a submissions window of 15 minutes… and received 200 entries. Well, 192 after Miss Snark disqualified 8 of them.

But her contests weren’t even the point. Much of the business of writing and the getting of agents she opined on wasn’t the point either. The point was this:

Every time you start obsessing about stamps I want you to stop, think, and return to your desk. For every wayward stamp obsession you owe me twenty minutes of writing.

Write well.
That’s all.

And this:

Every time you read one of my posts about nitwiticisms, or I sound cranky as hell, remember, I would not have a job doing work I love were it not for you.

We, the non-writer people of publishing, don’t say that often enough. We certainly add value. We certainly help you. In the end however, this entire industry is an upside down triangle and the point we all balance on is your writing.

We need your words, and we need you to write them. Don’t ever forget that.

The blog archives will be accessibly indefinitely. Go read them. Sic Google on them (”site:misssnark.blogspot.com”). There is a hell of a lot of wisdom packed in there, and, for all the T-rexual snarkiness, a hell of a lot of heart too.

Miss Snark, you will be missed. God bless you–and your little dog, too.