My Funny Valentine

Okay, it's a Hallmark holiday.  But it's still an opportunity to share your love, so Happy Valentines Day!

The rejections continue to pour in.  I received in interesting one the other day.  Evidently this particular agent had a bunch or responses printed that explain that due to the changes in the industry (and the volume of submissions), they aren't taking on new clients.  It's time to send out a new batch of queries, and I'm sensing that finding an agent is even more challenging than in the past.  This is still a labor that's worth the effort for me.  I still believe I can benefit from the expertise of someone who knows the ins and outs of the industry.  This isn't like travel agents, folks (yes, they still exist).  Maybe somewhere down the road literary agents will be as rare as travel agents, but I do believe there will always be a market for them.

This is the hard part.  The "Chumbawamba" part (I get knocked down/but I get up again).  I'm still plugging away.  Whoever said writing and getting published was easy?

Flu Season

Well, I've survived the blizzard of 2011.  Fortunately (or unfortunately) I missed out on it as a result of Influenza, Type A.  I don't normally get sick, so I didn't get a flu shot.  Reconsidering that position for next year, especially as this persists. . .

Another rejection for the scrap pile.  This is disheartening, since I think the query is pretty sharp, but I'm still plugging away.

My mission for this year is to get the stories I have sitting on the shelf either market ready, or permanently retired.  With all this down time courtesy of the flu, one would assume I would have lots of spare time to dedicate.  Sorry.  Not the case.  Hard enough to concentrate without trying to be creative, but my goal remains.  Living Canvas remains my modeling clay - that story still needs work, so I can still shape it the way I need to.  Epitaph is pretty solid, although it can always use some tightening, and Legend People is 90% ready IMHO.  That being said, the latter two are strong contenders and ready for the shopping process (which is started).

Back to Living Canvas - this is the story without a strong focus.  I've twisted it and turned it and actually had some passing interest from one agent.  I think there's hope for it yet, and in this world where we all have some symbiotic connection (people come into your life at a particular time for a reason), I'm renewing my interest in the focus that interested the last agent.  The symbiotic connection?  That's a story unto itself that you wouldn't believe if I told you.  Life fascinates me sometimes, but I'll save that for a later post.  In the meantime, I have to continue my road to recovery - this flu won't let go! 

Persistence

They say it pays off in the end.  One of my favorite quotes is "Life's real failure is when you do not realize how close you were to success when you gave up."  Often, that keeps me going, especially when I get one of those polite rejection letters that says "I really liked it, but I can't take it on right now."  The nice ones.  The ones where they aren't just xeroxed form letters that are cold and generic and faceless.  If someone takes the time to write me a personal note, even if its a rejection, they generally stay on my agent list.  I figure the cold, generic letters don't care, aren't even slightly interested.  The handwritten ones - the personal note that shows they've read your proposal - those are the agents worth remembering.

They say an agent should be like interviewing a friend.  You want someone you connect with, someone you feel will represent you well and that "gets" you.  I sent out a new batch of queries last week, and now I play the waiting game.  I'm still waiting for some from my first batch, but I feel I've got a much stronger query letter now.  My first batch was largely email queries, and the second batch is snail mail, and might I say that I'm amazed at how many agents still prefer snail mail!  That being said, one agent that I queried maintains a blog that shows the status of queries to the agency.  Interesting little piece of information, they have over 150 email queries still to sort through and 0 (yes, that's a ZERO) snail mail queries.  Makes you kinda think maybe snail mail wouldn't be so bad for those agents that are taking both.  On the other hand, in the interest of being "green," it's a lot of paper (and some expense) to go the snail mail route, so email is more environmentally friendly.  However, it might not be as agent friendly considering the glut of proposals they have to sort through.

And so, as I've said, I'm back to waiting.  Feeling good about my proposal - better than with the first batch of queries - so hoping for the best.  And while I'm waiting, I think I'll go back and sharpen my proposal for Epitaph.  I didn't do proper shopping for that one because I was so excited about moving ahead with the Legend People, so time to slow things down a bit and do the business end of writing for a while.

I'll keep you posted . . .

Anon

. . . the behinder I get

Trying to keep up as the pace of life picks up once again.

The good news is that I'm nearly finished with my edits of The Legend People.  The semi-good news is that I haven't received any additional rejections - yet.  My process is to send a handful of queries out (cream of the crop, if you will) and wait for them to come in.  If no nibbles on the first go-round, check for improvements in the query letter/synopsis and send out a new batch.  I'd begun to jump the gun a bit on improving, but I'm exercising some patience (although still reviewing for "better").

In addition to trying to keep up with myself, I'm attempting to honor my New Year's resolution of losing some poundage, I'm involved with a family wedding which entails Bridal expos and bridesmaid's dresses, etc. and busy season at the day job is right around the corner just waiting for the dam to burst.  It's an exciting time of year, to be sure.  The adrenalin is pumping!  So apologies ahead of time if I get behind in my blogging.  I promise to keep you up to date as new information becomes available.

Staying motivated

I started my New Year sending out queries, doubtless like thousands (if not millions) of other authors.  My process is to send out a handful at a time, more or less to test the water.  If I get flat, form letter rejections, I know I need to tweak things a bit.  Then again, the agents are likely being overwhelmed and are more likely to send those flat, form rejections. 

So far, I've received two rejections - both with form letters.  The amazing thing is the amount of time it took to get them back.  Often, it takes a month or longer to hear back on a query.  The fact that I got them both back within a day or two tells me those agents are inundated and don't want to spend the time.  On the other hand, it also shows me that I could improve my query somewhat.  I'll wait until the rest of my handful comes back, but in the meantime, I'm rethinking my query letter.

In the meantime, my new Christmas gift - my Kindle - has inspired me to put Intimate Distance on Smashwords (an e book site), so anyone interested in picking up an electronic version of that book can now buy it in multiple formats for the low, low price of $0.99!  And just to make it easier for you, here's the link Click here for Intimate Distance, the e-book.

Editing continues on my Legend People book, and I'm still excited about it, although motivation dwindles when rejections begin to float in.  The thing that pushes me on, however, is that I'm still excited about the story.  I've written six books to date.  Some of them I never even tried to market because even I didn't think they were very interesting.  A couple of them I like, but I believe they could be better, but I haven't been this sure of a story since my first one - this engaged with it.  Maybe its subjective interest - like with everything involved with this business.  Enough to keep plugging along with the mundane part of writing.  At the end of the day, if you don't believe in your writing, its hard to convince someone else to like it.  As long as I'm still interested in the story, I feel confident I can interest someone else in it - enthusiasm is contagious.  So the process continues  . . .

Painting a Picture with Words

I've begun the arduous job of editing what I've already written.  The plus side is that it's all down on paper.  The down side is that it's flat in places and needs to be jazzed up.

I've gone through the first three chapters - generally what you need for a proposal - and I'm pretty satisfied with the start.  I found a crutch word that I didn't realize I'd used so frequently, and deleted a whole bunch of the word "still."  This is where the editing really starts, though, moving forward into chapter 4.

Often, in the rush to get the story down, critical details are left out - sensory images.  This is what I'm paying attention to now.  Can you still see the sand in the desert wind?  Feel the heat rising from the ground in waves?  Hear a bird in the sky or the howl of a coyote?  Is the climate so dry you can taste it?  On the first draft, you tend to believe your readers have ESP and can see everything that's going on inside your head.  BIG MISTAKE!  Everything you see, hear, feel, taste, touch - these have to find their way to the page.  When I started this story, these images were all fresh in my mind and the ones that fascinated me the most I tried to put down in great detail.  As I moved forward, I took for granted that everyone else could also see what I saw, and with time and distance between my visit to the location, some of the details faded - they were less in the forefront of my mind.  Readers need to be reminded of the landscape through which your characters walk.  As they move from page to page, the story has to follow them as if you are painting a picture with words.

Today is "painting" day.  Tomorrow I'm going to update my spreadsheet for who I want to send proposals to (and likely do more "painting").  I want to make sure I take my time with the painting part, and there are details I know I missed on the first go 'round that I have to incorporate this time through (found such a detail in my third chapter).  Now that I know what the finished picture looks like, it's all about the shadowing and light that will make it "pop."

Back to it - before the colors dry up!

Good King Wenceslas

I'm not sure of the nationality or the festival, but I DO know today is the Feast of Stephen.  Don't ask me why.  It's a Christmas thing.  And in England, it's Boxing Day.

In the USA, it's the day after Christmas.  For some, it's a collective sigh of relief, for others, the countdown to next year begins.  Put me somewhere in the middle.  I'm a Christmas elf, for certain, but for most Christians, we celebrate Christmas all year round (with special emphasis on December 25th).  As for the gift giving - I have finally entered the e-book realm.  I received a Kindle for Christmas, and for all I know, I'm actually a step behind the trends.  First order of business?  Download my own books to my new device :-D.

With the holiday, I have several days off from the day job - in a row!  Planning to put full use to those days working on the Legend People (which is my newest completed story).  There are queries to be sent, proposals to be assembled.  Synopsi (what is the plural of synopsis anyway?) to be polished.  And now, books to be read.

Wishing everyone a prosperous and happy new year.