Writing

Well, I've sent out 6 query letters and I have already decided I like writing the books better than asking people to publish them. But their is no choice. I have spent so much time writing it, I have to at least try. So I plug on. My goal? 100 Queries. I've gotten one rejection so far, so only 99 more to go.
I was just reading one of my favorite sites, Query Shark and she stated YA books have teenage charactors. I'm not sure how this affects my book, my main charactor is 20 ish. We will see.

Finally finished

So I finally finished my book. The word count is low, I'm worried. But the story seemed done so I'm onto the next step. Querying Agents. So nerve-racking. I have done a considerable amount of research on How to write a good query. My favorite advice sites were Fav- Query Shark, I also got great info from blogs by Kristin at Pub rants and Nathan Brantfords blog. My best advice? Carefully read all the submission guidelines from all the agents you are inquiring about. Most are slightly diffferent and adjustment to the query will have to be made for each.

Procrastination

Ugh, my procrastination is out of control. I have at least 20 things to do and can't seem to complete any. At least now blogging is off my To Do list! Well, I have spent alot of my time marketing in the last couple of weeks. I find that getting out and talking to people about what I'm doing really helps me. I have gotten so much good advice from friends in the business I need to share.  Apparently if you want Illustrations in your book, the Illustrator is picked by the Publisher. Hmmm, not good for me for two reasons, 1. I am pretty anal about my book and can't even consider letting someone I don't know and have never seen their work, contributing to the project. This will not work if I want to use a big publisher. So I may have to go with a smaller one. Less help with marketing after publication. 2. My Illustrator is a relative (unbeknowst to us both until very recently) of my main charactor. Seems to me he was destined to be the Illustrator. Who else would have such a vested interest??
One of the other things I learned is that if you are having someone do copyediting for you (periods, paragraphs, run-on sentences etc..), don't tell anyone, apparently this is frowned upon. I have no idea why....
So anyway, I am off to finish getting the info to my Illustrator, to heck with the Big house Publishers, I am doing this my way........... and you may never see me in print....

Waiting

Frustration!!!! I'm waiting for feedback on my latest story. It's so hard to remember how busy everyone is when you are waiting. So today is a break/catchup day. Bills, thank you notes, which if I don't write soon, I will have no friends!! Deep sigh. There is nothing I would rather do right now is dive into another book. But life has to be taken care of first. I have thoughts about plots, and character developement stuff I need to jot down before I forget them. I should, at some point, talk a bit about the stories I am writing now. But really, I would be doing it to avoid the aforementioned bills and thank you notes. So the tip for the day, avoid procratination, cause the sooner the boring stuff is done, the sooner you can go have fun!!!

Lesson learned #1

So I learned an important lesson last week while rewriting a story I had written for a Paranormal Magazine. The lesson:  write for your audience. I wrote a short story about Twin Psychics and their Mom. It was a sweet story about accepting others and their different opinions. Then, I spoke with the Editor and he told me he wanted it dark. So I rewrote the story and made it much darker. It turned out to be much better when I kept my audience in mind while writing. Paranormal followers have a greater threshhold for the dark. Interestingly enough, I found that I couldn't really have written it differently because I needed the framework of the original story to build the new story upon.
I hope it gets published, its out of my hands now. I really liked these characters, I see them moving on with the story at some point. But I have to finish another story first. My Pride and Joy, my book about the not-so-famous Hero of the American Revolution, Jack Jouett.  A blog for another time....

Well, I sent the first draft to the Editor. I don't think he's going to like it. He told me on the phone last night, he's looking for something dark. Okayyy, dark. How can I make my story darker? What's interesting is, I thought it would be harder to hear comments and critisisms. But it wasn't, my friend Jennifer was very helpful. Thanks, Jenn!! So, it's back to the story, to make it darker. I think I'll add the darkness and then take out the fluff when I edit it. I think I can do this. I'll let you know tomorrow/ next year. Hahahaha, sorry, bad pun......

Whew, I just finished the first thing I ever wrote, with the intention of others actually reading it. I feel sick. I sent it to two friends but I haven't heard from them. Totally nervewracking! Deep sigh, I know everyone is so busy right now, it's hard for me to ask them to read it. I spoke with the Editor yesterday, asking about the deadline. January 8th, he said. I didn't want to hurt your creativity. So nice, but the date is coming up so fast. I have so many questions, so many busy people to annoy....
So back to my story. I think it's good, but of course I do, I wrote it. I have the opportunity of a lifetime. The chance to publish in a Paranormal Magazine with over 150,000 subscribers. If it works out and the Editor likes the story, I can get a Literary Agent and publish the book I have been writing for a year. Hmmm, no pressure there.
So back to work now, the kids are all up and Spongebob has replaced the morning news. Which is, frankly, a relief from the fashion show and recipe swap that is now passing for news.