Well, several days, three new chapters, a half inch of snow (IN ALABAMA), a car ride with the puppies, and a clean house later, I'm back to provide an update. And the update is.... nothing has changed since last time. I know. Exciting, huh? I still have several queries out, and one agent still has my manuscript, so I'm continuing to play the waiting game. It's the most mind-numbing process ever, and because I don't want gmail to get angry with me for refreshing ever five minutes like I secretly WANT to do, I've started working on the sequel to SEVENTEEN.
Now, I had already written about 150 pages worth of a sequel last spring, but that was before I made major changes to the first book. As such, most of those pages are fairly worthless, but they have some good ideas that I plan to carry over as I rewrite it. It's pretty daunting to commit myself to writing a sequel to a book that hasn't even been picked up by an agent yet, BUT I feel the need to continue the story, so I will. I've also begun writing down snippets of other ideas that might one day blossom into a full novel. I don't know if it's because I've been stuck indoors since Christmas due to rainy, cold weather, or if I'm just having a God-given spurt of creativity, but it's pretty exciting regardless.
So anyways, sorry I don't have any news that is more exciting, but I hope to hear back from some agents this week. If not, you can find me on Friday night with a massive margarita in hand.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Happy Accidents
Firstly, I stayed up until 2am last night reading Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi. As much as I loved Under the Never Sky, I loved this one even more! She's one of those authors who you read and then immediately feel bad about your own writing. She has such a way with words. It's ridiculous. I bow to you, Veronica Rossi. (And I may or may not have twittered her to tell her how much I liked the book. Too far? Possibly...)
Secondly, because my brain has been frying on non-stop book-related thoughts, the hubs and I decided yesterday was going to be a fun day. We took our time waking up, played with the pups, and then hopped in the car and drove north. The original goal was to just go over the TN state line (about 15 minutes from where we live) and buy a couple of scratch-off lottery tickets just for the heck of it. Well, we got to the state line, and I didn't slow down. I needed to see something new and to have a new experience.
15 minutes later, we pull into the downtown square of Fayetteville, TN. Let me tell you, it was like walking back in time to the 1950s. The square was gorgeous and rimmed with beautiful old buildings. Everything was clean and just... Ever watched Gilmore Girls (my favorite show EVER)? It was like walking into Stars Hollow. And even better? A lot of those old buildings were filled with antique stores! I'm not huge on antiquing, but every once in a while, I get a hankering for it, and yesterday was one of those times.
So anyways, we ended up eating at a home-owned restaurant called Honey's, which was an old-school diner. By the time we'd sat down in a booth, I was literally giddy from excitement. We ate too much food involving chili and cheese and even shared a fried coconut pie (stupid, stupid good), and then we walked through the square and checked out some of the shops. I found a vintage pyrex dish that I looove and that matches our kitchen (teal and white). And then I found an antique store that didn't take debit cards or credit cards. I felt like I was some demon terrorist swooping in from the twenty-first century trying to buy a couple of unique mason jars with my swipey card. Oh well.
I know it doesn't sound like much, but for two people who are only two weeks into the school year and are already feeling a little burned out from crazy students and crazy administrators, it was like a mini vacation. It had a lot of the charm of Savannah (my all-time favorite city) without the major traveling time. Perfect, perfect day.
And now for some photos, because I can:
Secondly, because my brain has been frying on non-stop book-related thoughts, the hubs and I decided yesterday was going to be a fun day. We took our time waking up, played with the pups, and then hopped in the car and drove north. The original goal was to just go over the TN state line (about 15 minutes from where we live) and buy a couple of scratch-off lottery tickets just for the heck of it. Well, we got to the state line, and I didn't slow down. I needed to see something new and to have a new experience.
15 minutes later, we pull into the downtown square of Fayetteville, TN. Let me tell you, it was like walking back in time to the 1950s. The square was gorgeous and rimmed with beautiful old buildings. Everything was clean and just... Ever watched Gilmore Girls (my favorite show EVER)? It was like walking into Stars Hollow. And even better? A lot of those old buildings were filled with antique stores! I'm not huge on antiquing, but every once in a while, I get a hankering for it, and yesterday was one of those times.
So anyways, we ended up eating at a home-owned restaurant called Honey's, which was an old-school diner. By the time we'd sat down in a booth, I was literally giddy from excitement. We ate too much food involving chili and cheese and even shared a fried coconut pie (stupid, stupid good), and then we walked through the square and checked out some of the shops. I found a vintage pyrex dish that I looove and that matches our kitchen (teal and white). And then I found an antique store that didn't take debit cards or credit cards. I felt like I was some demon terrorist swooping in from the twenty-first century trying to buy a couple of unique mason jars with my swipey card. Oh well.
I know it doesn't sound like much, but for two people who are only two weeks into the school year and are already feeling a little burned out from crazy students and crazy administrators, it was like a mini vacation. It had a lot of the charm of Savannah (my all-time favorite city) without the major traveling time. Perfect, perfect day.
And now for some photos, because I can:
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I found this lovely flower in my garden today... just had to share it! And now I'm going to go weep in a corner because we still have 2 months of winter left.
My honey at Honey's. Hands off, ladies. He's all mine, beard included. Though you can have the purple sunglasses. *Cringe*
Worst smile ever of me, but whatevs.
Carters are representin'!
I spy something creepy... and Fidel Castro.
Words do not even begin to describe how much I love this dog. He's such a sweet, adorable little badass.
Lady Chloe, queen of the house. She's the best snuggler ever. And her nickname is "Fat Neck." Don't judge.
My heart. And his heart, I mean new guitar, hanging out in the man cave.
They are best friends. I get stupid every time I see them snuggling like this and then I have to take a picture. Surrogate children, for sure.
And there you have it. Happy Sunday!
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Thursday, January 10, 2013
How this Works
On Monday, I did it. I finally came out of the closet to all of my friends and family... the writer's closet, that is. I figured that if I'm serious about publication, then I need to start building up a support base. A lot of close friends already knew that I was writing or had written a book, but I had always held back most of the details for what equates to little more than prideful reasons. Writing is very personal - it reveals your passions, your concerns, your viewpoints on life, your weaknesses. It's scary to open that up for critique. But, it comes with the territory for those who want to write professionally. So, I told everyone and the response was... unbelievable. I never expected that much support or enthusiasm. To say that I was blown away would be an understatement. I was touched and encouraged like never before.
I'm sharing all of this to lead into the following:
The process to go from manuscript to publication is not an easy, simple one, as I think some of my friends might believe. There are a few steps involved that require a lot of patience and vigor.
So far, this is what my path has looked like
1 - Development of the premise. In my case, this was started with a dream. It sounds cheesy. Maybe it is, but that's how the novel came to me. I wrote down the dream and let it percolate, and then I began writing. (October)
2 - The first draft. This was basically just a mad rush of writing in which I got everything possible out about the story. Truth be told, it only took me a couple of weeks to write the first draft. Granted, it was terrible and riddled with holes, but it was there. (January - February)
3 - The first revision. I went back through and started stitching loose seams together with dialogue and more story. Then I let it rest for a few days. (February)
4 - The second revision. Ditto. Only this time, instead of trying to start the third revision after only a few days, I set it down for about four - five months. (February)
5 - The third revision. I came back after a couple of months, read through the manuscript, and decided to pretty much completely redo it. The same characters and elements are still there, but I took it from first person to third person and added a lot more action and dialogue. The result? Not as bad. Then I let it rest some more. (July)
6 - Beta Readers. I then asked several close friends and family members and a few other people who are nuts about young adult literature to read the manuscript and make notes. This took a few months, and I got back the results somewhere in October, I believe.
7 - The fourth revision. Taking the beta readers' criticisms in mind, I started at the beginning and retyped the whole thing, adding in elements, fixing dialogue, upping the romance, fixing the pace, and revising the beginning. It now has no prologue and very little "slap you in the face" backstory. Instead, the book now starts where Chapter 2 had begun in the third draft. The result? MUCH better. (Thank you, lovely beta readers.) I now believe that it is prime for querying.
9 - Querying. In traditional publishing, the first step an author needs to take is to find someone - a literary agent - to represent his or her work. You can't just take your novel and send it to Scholastic and ask them to publish it... it doesn't work that way. So, essentially you take your entire novel, shrink it down to a few key points, and write a hook - something to get an agent interested in your manuscript. This makes up the body of your query letter. I have gone through about 8 different versions of my query letter, and I still tailor it specifically to each agent in whom I have interest. Once your query letter is submitted to the agent, it becomes a matter of...
10 - Waiting. At this point, I have had one manuscript request in the week since I emailed agents. It can take an agent anywhere from minutes to months to respond to a query and another couple of months to respond to your manuscript after they've requested it. It's enough to drive someone nutty. I just emailed out another round of queries last night as well. My goal is to cast my net as wide as possible without exhausting my resources.
Now, IF an agent liked my manuscript, this is what would happen.
1 - Most likely, I would have to make revisions to my manuscript to make it as publishable as possible.
2 - If the agent liked the revisions that he/she had suggested, they would offer me representation. This costs me nothing at the time - they don't make money until I make money, and their typical commission is 15%.
3 - The agent would then begin to try to sell the manuscript to publishing houses. Just because an author has an agent doesn't mean that the book will sell or ever reach publication. The editors and houses have to be interested in the idea and see a market for it.
4 - If a publishing house liked the book, we would go under contract. It would take another round or two of editing/revision, most likely, and then it would probably be another year or so until paper copies hit the shelves.
And there you have it. The whole process could die out at any moment or never even get brought to life if an agent doesn't like my work. So, here's hoping that SEVENTEEN draws someone's eye and that they believe in the story enough to help me through the process.
I'm sharing all of this to lead into the following:
The process to go from manuscript to publication is not an easy, simple one, as I think some of my friends might believe. There are a few steps involved that require a lot of patience and vigor.
So far, this is what my path has looked like
1 - Development of the premise. In my case, this was started with a dream. It sounds cheesy. Maybe it is, but that's how the novel came to me. I wrote down the dream and let it percolate, and then I began writing. (October)
2 - The first draft. This was basically just a mad rush of writing in which I got everything possible out about the story. Truth be told, it only took me a couple of weeks to write the first draft. Granted, it was terrible and riddled with holes, but it was there. (January - February)
3 - The first revision. I went back through and started stitching loose seams together with dialogue and more story. Then I let it rest for a few days. (February)
4 - The second revision. Ditto. Only this time, instead of trying to start the third revision after only a few days, I set it down for about four - five months. (February)
5 - The third revision. I came back after a couple of months, read through the manuscript, and decided to pretty much completely redo it. The same characters and elements are still there, but I took it from first person to third person and added a lot more action and dialogue. The result? Not as bad. Then I let it rest some more. (July)
6 - Beta Readers. I then asked several close friends and family members and a few other people who are nuts about young adult literature to read the manuscript and make notes. This took a few months, and I got back the results somewhere in October, I believe.
7 - The fourth revision. Taking the beta readers' criticisms in mind, I started at the beginning and retyped the whole thing, adding in elements, fixing dialogue, upping the romance, fixing the pace, and revising the beginning. It now has no prologue and very little "slap you in the face" backstory. Instead, the book now starts where Chapter 2 had begun in the third draft. The result? MUCH better. (Thank you, lovely beta readers.) I now believe that it is prime for querying.
9 - Querying. In traditional publishing, the first step an author needs to take is to find someone - a literary agent - to represent his or her work. You can't just take your novel and send it to Scholastic and ask them to publish it... it doesn't work that way. So, essentially you take your entire novel, shrink it down to a few key points, and write a hook - something to get an agent interested in your manuscript. This makes up the body of your query letter. I have gone through about 8 different versions of my query letter, and I still tailor it specifically to each agent in whom I have interest. Once your query letter is submitted to the agent, it becomes a matter of...
10 - Waiting. At this point, I have had one manuscript request in the week since I emailed agents. It can take an agent anywhere from minutes to months to respond to a query and another couple of months to respond to your manuscript after they've requested it. It's enough to drive someone nutty. I just emailed out another round of queries last night as well. My goal is to cast my net as wide as possible without exhausting my resources.
Now, IF an agent liked my manuscript, this is what would happen.
1 - Most likely, I would have to make revisions to my manuscript to make it as publishable as possible.
2 - If the agent liked the revisions that he/she had suggested, they would offer me representation. This costs me nothing at the time - they don't make money until I make money, and their typical commission is 15%.
3 - The agent would then begin to try to sell the manuscript to publishing houses. Just because an author has an agent doesn't mean that the book will sell or ever reach publication. The editors and houses have to be interested in the idea and see a market for it.
4 - If a publishing house liked the book, we would go under contract. It would take another round or two of editing/revision, most likely, and then it would probably be another year or so until paper copies hit the shelves.
And there you have it. The whole process could die out at any moment or never even get brought to life if an agent doesn't like my work. So, here's hoping that SEVENTEEN draws someone's eye and that they believe in the story enough to help me through the process.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Love and Peace
Well, after a tumultuous fight with Hotmail for the last ten hours, I finally managed to get to my inbox and find a response from the agent who initially showed interest. And...
She said it sounded fabulous and asked for the manuscript!
I then proceeded to bounce around the living room by myself like a spaz (my husband was at the gym). And then I called my parents and bounced while on the phone. And then Evan got home and we bounced some more. My legs are tired.
So anyways, once Hotmail decides to quit being a punk, I'll get my manuscript emailed to her and then spend the next several weeks trying not to give myself an anxiety attack. How? Lots of kickboxing, writing, fellowship, and general staying-busy. Not to mention that in the meantime, I still have to hear back from seven other agents who I queried along with this particular one. (I got a rejection yesterday, no surprise, from an agent who I was timid about but decided to query anyways.)
I am blessed. I am thankful. I am excited. I am humbled. I pray that this might be the beginning of something for me. I have done a lot of waiting (patiently and impatiently) since I graduated with my masters degree three years ago. I always thought that I would immediately land a teaching job and then that would be my life track until retirement. Seriously - I had it all planned out for the next 30 years. Only, God has taken my plans and thrown them into oblivion. I didn't get a job teaching, and I still haven't. Sometimes I doubt that I ever will. Instead, I've had a few odd jobs, grown a LOT through those jobs, met a lot of interesting characters and made a lot of friends, had a dream in which the book came to life, wrote down the dream and turned it into a book, and am now waiting to see where the book will lead me. Once I quit griping about how things weren't going the way I had planned, I realized that things were going much, much better than I could have ever imagined. God has a way of doing that, you know? So, my pride rests not with myself and what I have done. It rests with God and his unfailing promises to do what is best and what is good. I try to no longer pray for what I want. I pray for what He wants to do through me and with me. His guidance is more important than my whims. I can't wait to see where he guides me next.
With that, I wish you all love and peace. Good night, dear ones.
She said it sounded fabulous and asked for the manuscript!
I then proceeded to bounce around the living room by myself like a spaz (my husband was at the gym). And then I called my parents and bounced while on the phone. And then Evan got home and we bounced some more. My legs are tired.
So anyways, once Hotmail decides to quit being a punk, I'll get my manuscript emailed to her and then spend the next several weeks trying not to give myself an anxiety attack. How? Lots of kickboxing, writing, fellowship, and general staying-busy. Not to mention that in the meantime, I still have to hear back from seven other agents who I queried along with this particular one. (I got a rejection yesterday, no surprise, from an agent who I was timid about but decided to query anyways.)
I am blessed. I am thankful. I am excited. I am humbled. I pray that this might be the beginning of something for me. I have done a lot of waiting (patiently and impatiently) since I graduated with my masters degree three years ago. I always thought that I would immediately land a teaching job and then that would be my life track until retirement. Seriously - I had it all planned out for the next 30 years. Only, God has taken my plans and thrown them into oblivion. I didn't get a job teaching, and I still haven't. Sometimes I doubt that I ever will. Instead, I've had a few odd jobs, grown a LOT through those jobs, met a lot of interesting characters and made a lot of friends, had a dream in which the book came to life, wrote down the dream and turned it into a book, and am now waiting to see where the book will lead me. Once I quit griping about how things weren't going the way I had planned, I realized that things were going much, much better than I could have ever imagined. God has a way of doing that, you know? So, my pride rests not with myself and what I have done. It rests with God and his unfailing promises to do what is best and what is good. I try to no longer pray for what I want. I pray for what He wants to do through me and with me. His guidance is more important than my whims. I can't wait to see where he guides me next.
With that, I wish you all love and peace. Good night, dear ones.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Done and done... sort of
So, here's an update on the writing/editing/querying process:
I weighed my options between a ton of agents that I've been researching and finally emailed nine queries between Thursday and Friday to agents who have represented some of my favorite YA books. I completely revamped my query letter to make it short and catchy with the help of a former teacher and with a small prayer, I clicked send. Now, considering that last year I sent out oh... fifty to sixty queries... all of which came back with a formed response that essentially said "no thanks" (which in my head translated to "awww, hell naw"), I decided to take it much slower this time. Nine queries isn't too few or too many, and if they all come back with negative responses, then I haven't exhausted my list of desired agents. At the worst, they all send formed rejections again, at the best I get an offer of representation, and at the worst, and somewhere in the middle, I get a detailed rejection with critical feedback.
But now for the big(ish) news. I heard back from my first agent on Friday night (THAT SOON), and she had a question about the genre and wanted a synopsis of the novel. After I quit jumping up at down, I sent out the info she had asked for. I know, I know: just because she asked for a synopsis doesn't mean that she's head over heals with my story. She didn't even straight up ask for a copy of the manuscript. BUT - she's interested. This is new territory for me, and it feels pretty spectacular.
Now to continue with the waiting game. I still have to hear back from the eight other agents, along with hearing back from this particular one who has already contacted me. I'm excited to say the least.
Hopefully I will soon start working on the sequel again. I already have about 150 pages written of book #2, but it was written significantly before I made some major revision changes. It's still in first person, as the first book was before I rewrote it in third person. So, needless to say, there's a lot of work to be done with this.
Oh, and I also have another idea for an adult novel that includes a bit of time travel, romance, and weighty women's issues... strange, I know, but I'm excited about it. Now if I can only find the time to write some more...
I weighed my options between a ton of agents that I've been researching and finally emailed nine queries between Thursday and Friday to agents who have represented some of my favorite YA books. I completely revamped my query letter to make it short and catchy with the help of a former teacher and with a small prayer, I clicked send. Now, considering that last year I sent out oh... fifty to sixty queries... all of which came back with a formed response that essentially said "no thanks" (which in my head translated to "awww, hell naw"), I decided to take it much slower this time. Nine queries isn't too few or too many, and if they all come back with negative responses, then I haven't exhausted my list of desired agents. At the worst, they all send formed rejections again, at the best I get an offer of representation, and at the worst, and somewhere in the middle, I get a detailed rejection with critical feedback.
But now for the big(ish) news. I heard back from my first agent on Friday night (THAT SOON), and she had a question about the genre and wanted a synopsis of the novel. After I quit jumping up at down, I sent out the info she had asked for. I know, I know: just because she asked for a synopsis doesn't mean that she's head over heals with my story. She didn't even straight up ask for a copy of the manuscript. BUT - she's interested. This is new territory for me, and it feels pretty spectacular.
Now to continue with the waiting game. I still have to hear back from the eight other agents, along with hearing back from this particular one who has already contacted me. I'm excited to say the least.
Hopefully I will soon start working on the sequel again. I already have about 150 pages written of book #2, but it was written significantly before I made some major revision changes. It's still in first person, as the first book was before I rewrote it in third person. So, needless to say, there's a lot of work to be done with this.
Oh, and I also have another idea for an adult novel that includes a bit of time travel, romance, and weighty women's issues... strange, I know, but I'm excited about it. Now if I can only find the time to write some more...
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
And with a flair for dramatics, I say...
Okay, so I'm a little late with this, but...
*deep breath*
I'm finished! (With Draft 4, that is.)
Once I finally came down from my Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas-induced sugar rush today, I actually sat down and tweaked the last few things that I wanted to tweak, and now I think I can stamp draft four of SEVENTEEN with a big fat "Gotcha."
Now, I know I said I was going to have it finished by Christmas, but then life happened, and work happened, and the in-laws and out-laws and various other friends and family members happened, and well, here we are. New Year's Day 2013. I gotta say, it feels good. I know it'll probably go back under the red pen at some point, but at least for right now - for the last twenty-eight minutes remaining of January 1, I can sigh with relief.
Now...
*another deep breath*
It's time to query. Daunting to say the least, but exciting at the same time. Last year, when I finished the first draft, I threw out approximately 20 queries (okay, maybe 30... cringe) all at the same time out of some sort of writing-induced, egotistical mania, and of course, none of them bit (mainly because the book was... well, garbage). I feel in my bones that it is much better, and even just rereading through it tonight, I was impressed with how far it has come. I'm excited.
So anyways, here's how a dream version of 2013 would go (in no particular order):
1 - book picked up by agent and publisher (Shoot for the stars, my dear.)
2 - family started aka pregnancy later in the summer (Nervous much? Yes, why yes I am.)
3 - 5k completed (I had to throw that one in there for some motivation after stuffing myself with enough candy to fill the Willy Wonka factory over Christmas.)
4 - full-time job acquired (preferably teaching or writing)
5 - refinishing my bedroom furniture (gotta get it all in the list, you know?)
6 - a nice vacation with my sweet, bearded husband (whose beard resembles that of a dwarf from LOTR, by the way)
7 - learning to do laundry before I end up having to wash two months' worth of clothes in one shot. (Disgusting, I know. I HATE laundry.)
Seven things... I can handle seven things. Not - take notice - resolutions, but things. It's less intimidating that way. Granted, most of them are HUGE things, but with the grace and guidance of God and with the support of my best friend and husband, I've got this.
Happy New Year to you, and may God bless you and yours.
*deep breath*
I'm finished! (With Draft 4, that is.)
Once I finally came down from my Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas-induced sugar rush today, I actually sat down and tweaked the last few things that I wanted to tweak, and now I think I can stamp draft four of SEVENTEEN with a big fat "Gotcha."
Now, I know I said I was going to have it finished by Christmas, but then life happened, and work happened, and the in-laws and out-laws and various other friends and family members happened, and well, here we are. New Year's Day 2013. I gotta say, it feels good. I know it'll probably go back under the red pen at some point, but at least for right now - for the last twenty-eight minutes remaining of January 1, I can sigh with relief.
Now...
*another deep breath*
It's time to query. Daunting to say the least, but exciting at the same time. Last year, when I finished the first draft, I threw out approximately 20 queries (okay, maybe 30... cringe) all at the same time out of some sort of writing-induced, egotistical mania, and of course, none of them bit (mainly because the book was... well, garbage). I feel in my bones that it is much better, and even just rereading through it tonight, I was impressed with how far it has come. I'm excited.
So anyways, here's how a dream version of 2013 would go (in no particular order):
1 - book picked up by agent and publisher (Shoot for the stars, my dear.)
2 - family started aka pregnancy later in the summer (Nervous much? Yes, why yes I am.)
3 - 5k completed (I had to throw that one in there for some motivation after stuffing myself with enough candy to fill the Willy Wonka factory over Christmas.)
4 - full-time job acquired (preferably teaching or writing)
5 - refinishing my bedroom furniture (gotta get it all in the list, you know?)
6 - a nice vacation with my sweet, bearded husband (whose beard resembles that of a dwarf from LOTR, by the way)
7 - learning to do laundry before I end up having to wash two months' worth of clothes in one shot. (Disgusting, I know. I HATE laundry.)
Seven things... I can handle seven things. Not - take notice - resolutions, but things. It's less intimidating that way. Granted, most of them are HUGE things, but with the grace and guidance of God and with the support of my best friend and husband, I've got this.
Happy New Year to you, and may God bless you and yours.
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