100%

The last few months I have kept myself sane by working on what I term "the prequel" but even it has reached that point where you have to either develop a structure and take the project seriously or keep writing for fun and acknowledge that most of what you have done will later be undone when you try to transform "fun" into a marketable piece.

I never came to terms with this when the final book in my series started kicking about in my mind again, more like an emotional haunting, where I find myself trapped in the characters' angst.

So what does this mean?

I heard fabulous news from a colleague of mine from the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group (GLVWG), Kathryn Craft, whom I respect as a writer and for her diplomacy, wisdom and personality. She signed with an agent at Donald Maass' agency.

She had queried 129 agents prior to the one who signed her.

Meanwhile, other friends wait for news from small publishers, agents and contests. Other friends walk the "Indie" route and explore E-publishing, self-publishing and developing their own small presses.

And then people ask me what I'm doing. I'm sitting on my work.

I am still not confident the concept is 100% and I am close to nailing down what it should be. I want to see more of where the publishing industry is going. When I enter this game again, I hope to have three solid manuscripts and other projects in the works. That way if one doesn't sell, I have two others to hawk. And if the first one sells, I have the material for a multi-book deal.

But the key here is 100%. Because I think-- in anything in life-- you must stand behind it and be 100% confident. If you're not, those you're trying to impress will find your weakness and exploit it and crush you.

My last column for GLVWG this term

As I stood before the general membership at the May meeting, I had a strange moment of realization. Every meeting I ask for success stories from our membership, and without fail I receive them. It’s an uplifting exercise to hear the different forms of success and how success differs from person to person.
The end of the GLVWG year and the upcoming election also signals another event that many of us share: rejection season. After The Write Stuff conference in March, the membership as a whole must receive a lot of rejections at the end of May. Count out six to eight weeks from our conference, it brings us to our May meeting.
Every year there’s some good news, but every year at this time many members have a heavy heart. Rejected again. The exact words in the letters and emails change, but the message is the same.
No.
The form letters don’t sting. Writers easily toss those aside easily and forget about them. It’s the rejections that follow requests for partials or fulls that burn, cause doubts. Statements like “Many people will connect with this character, but I didn’t” or “I didn’t like the voice as much as I wanted to” can hit hard.
Many of these statements don’t even make clear sense, because it’s not a conversation. We don’t have the luxury of discussing with the editor or agent what they meant by their words, so it’s like secret code with no real key.
The simplest way to get over rejection is to start a new query and submit, submit, submit. Some people set it aside and continue work on a different project, to let the hurt cool. Some people view rejection as a sign that something’s wrong and set out to fix it.
Unless the agent or editor says there’s basic grammar mistakes, the plot sounds like a cliché or that every character was flat (or equally discouraging remarks), there’s nothing wrong.
An agent, editor or publisher must love the material he/she acquires as much as the author does or the relationship doesn’t work. It’s a tough business. It’s a tough world. Finding that one opportunity or that one person is hard.
Everyone at GLVWG understands.

On Rejection

Monday I broke four teeth and got stitches.

The next week, I gave myself a rather large second degree burn on my hip.

The day after that, I received this in an agent rejection:

"Thanks for your patience with my getting back to you. I really enjoyed reading MANIPULATIONS. You are clearly a talented writer and I think Adelaide is a character readers will connect with. I also think you’ve developed a really rich story."

Sigh. Form letter rejections are so much easier. 

Back to submissions. Someone needs to kidnap me, give me a laptop and Internet connection with good music... And reward me with food for each query I submit.

Momentum

Look at that title.

Momentum.

I didn't have any. Now all I want is to rearrange my entire life to renew my commitment to my writing.

I'm typing this on my iPhone. So, don't expect a long entry but do you want to know what made the difference? Not what, but who...

Donald Maass.

He spoke this weekend at the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group's Write Stuff conference and gave an intense two-day workshop. He is dynamic. I was blown away!

And I got a request from another prestigious agency for a full manuscript which I submitted whilE still in the hotel.

More later.

Query... or not to query

I queried a major publisher today that is having an open submission period. Querying can be thrilling, it reminds you of the juicy parts of your work and why you like it, but it's also draining. Most queries of even the best writers end up rejected. That's the nature of the beast.

So, there is something troubling about putting those words together, writing those letters and a synopsis. Every once in a while, there's a line that inexplicably feels weak, and you can't label why and you dicker with it. In some cases you "fix" it, in others you merely improve it.

Queries are like waving your arms in a crowd of people yelling "PICK ME!" when everyone else is waving their arms and yelling "PICK ME!"

And I imagine myself, as I peruse the tweets by agents and editors, reading others' queries and snickering or wondering if something could have merit. How can you tell by a letter?

Some interns, agents and editors are picking through the coins looking for treasure, and we all have an idea what we consider treasure.

Everything we all write is treasure. Problem is finding someone who is seeking that treasure.

In the 16th century, salt and gold were treasures. Pepper and rhubarb before that. Everyone-- even today-- will agree that gold is a treasure. But salt? And pepper? Needed to preserve meat for the winter.

Spices, coffee, chocolate, all once luxury goods. As was sugar. Europeans grew accustomed to the new sensation of "sweet" in the 17th century, thus sugar became a treasure.

A diabetic would not agree with that treasure.

Don't lose heart. Even if your manuscript is the "rhubarb" of queries. Which ironically, rhubarb was prized for its laxative qualities. But I'm not saying your manuscript is poop.

Adaptable and connected

Jonathan Maberry, a very prolific author of everything from paranormal-related nonfiction to paranormal thrillers and other odds and ends like comic books and movie-novels, spoke to Pocono Lehigh Romance Writers (PLRW) today about trends in the publishing industry.

My first exposure to Jonathan had to be in March 2008, at GLVWG's The Write Stuff, when I attended his query letter workshop. He was the keynote for the conference that year and the theme of his talk boiled down to write anything they throw at you and you can build a career. I oversimplify a tad, but the man lives by that motto.

He has fun with his work, and it seems like whether it's a GI Joe prose series to accompany a comic storyline, his novels or his zombie YA book, he's willing to tackle it.

When he walks into the room, he has so many practical ideas on how to build and market yourself as a writer, you might feel exhilarated and overwhelmed all at the same time.

I remember from two years ago, he told us to query up. He told us to start with all the dream agents, the big agents, because we didn't deserve to sell ourselves short. What's the worst that will happen? They say no. But maybe you will hit it big.

Today he talked about social networking in that same kind of light. Connect with people bigger than you, treat them as a colleague in a professional manner. Interview writers bigger than you for your blog. Use Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook.

And keep it positive. Because more kids want to play in your sandbox if you're positive. And Jonathan believes in the power of putting positive into the world.

It works for him.

And honestly, his enthusiasm is infectious. Now, if only I can find about six more hours in a day.

The Selfish Writer

My apologies to Molly Cochran for stealing her desired title for the talk she gave at last week's GLVWG The Write Stuff conference. The talk was actually titled "Finish your novel" or something equally boring, but she really wanted to call it "The Selfish Writer" because that's what it takes.

Sometimes you have to neglect your children, your life, your job.

And those of us who spend our lives being way too serious need to hear that.

I finished my agent submission Tuesday night and emailed it. When I should have been in class.

I allowed myself to work on a scene five chapters away because my emotions seemed drawn to that scene.

And I promised myself I would make time for writing. That no matter what happens, I will give myself 30 minutes to an hour of writing time a day.

Because I need this.

Uggh.

Preparing the agent submission as requested by the agent.

I got a request for synopsis plus three. That's pretty standard.

I freshened up my synopsis. (The agent's web site does not dictate a length for the synopsis, and I opted not to go with either my one page synopsis nor my five page, I edited a new 2.5 page synopsis.)

But I'm striking out on the query.

None of them sound right. I feel extra pressure since I did so uncharacteristically poor at the pitch.

Recap: GLVWG The Write Stuff

It was a fabulous conference today, put on by the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group.

My favorite author speakers were Jordan Sonnenblick and Molly Cochran. I also pitched to an agent, and let's just say she was a fabulous speaker and warm person, but I fell down on the job.

I let Étienne and his posse down.

Now, I'm not naming the agent because I know what a mix of factors lead to an agent accepting your manuscript: the right market, the right blend of personalities, that agent has to believe in your prose as much as you do (okay, probably more)... I'm not naming her because if she rejects me, as is statistically likely, I don't want anyone to say she's mean, or a bad person, or stupid.

On the contrary, I'm inclined to believe this person's a saint, because I did a terrible job at my pitch. I salvaged it enough so she requested a synopsis and the first three chapters so she's either a big saint or my ideas have some merit.

But let's talk positive.

What did I learn?

Jordan Sonnenblick mentioned a great technique for checking your character's dialogue. He suggested taking different colors of highlighters and using one color for each main character and highlighting just their dialogue in your book. Why? Because if some one read nothing else but the dialogue would that character's personality/characterization materialize?

Molly Cochran listed techniques to finish your novel. Luckily, I do most of them. But listening to her talk about "writing fast" and "allowing yourself to write [a first draft] badly," I let her pivotal advice sink in. Have a regular writing schedule. Even if it's only 30 minutes per day. Set this schedule based on your own goals and your own priorities regarding writing. Allow yourself to be selfish and write.

That made me realize:
I need to reorganize my priorities in life.
Not just in writing, in everything.

The Write Stuff

I'm getting ready for the GLVWG conference The Write Stuff this weekend. I was doing a lot of writing, two chapters over the weekend. And I felt like I was on fire.

Then yesterday I had a falling out with my boss. She made a list of criteria for me to keep my job and I didn't feel I could make it so I left.

Now I'm unemployed.

That's a scary feeling. But it's not worth the constant stress of the job, the job that only paid about $700 a month take-home. I was actually disciplined for being insubordinate on my day off, even though I did everything I was asked to do AND it was my day off.

I mention it because it happened before the conference. I was scheduled to work everyday this week so now I'll have more time. Hopefully I can practice my pitch.

Someone recently said, marketing your writing has always been a crapshoot. You still have the same terrible chances when it comes to the odds of making it, but she felt the uncertain economy had agents looking for the next great thing, instead of the predictable old thing, and maybe give us all a boost.

I don't know.

Contemplations on Contests

So, I've never entered a writing contest. Until last night. Last night I sent an entry to the North Texas Romance Writers Great Expectations. Not sure why. Perhaps because I plan to join our local RWA in another week. Perhaps because it's time to do something and I'm not sure what.

At the same time, an agent blogger I read talked about Amazon's breakthrough novel contest and knocked it, because the winner is "stuck" with a $15,000 advance and a publishing contract with Penguin. As an agent, he feels an author could do better with representation.

Now, I'm a newbie. I've only been rejected about ten times and I don't even have a manuscript "out" at the moment. My queries are all tucked nicely here at home for the holidays. I'm trying to meet people and make that personal connection to get the right agent because mailing out unsolicited queries seem like a waste of postage in today's environment. But, I could be wrong.

But if I entered Amazon.com's contest, and I won, would I "be content" with what Penguin has to offer. I thought about this, for about five seconds, and realized the answer.

A resounding "Hell, yes."

$15,000 isn't much. But it's more than I made at my job last year. It could pay for that extended vacation in France. It would not mean quitting my job. It would not mean a Mercedes convertible. But it IS more than I've made it writing thus far. I think the total from my fiction career weighs in at about $1500 and that's from editing other people's books, not mine.

And it's Penguin for God's sake! Penguin could offer me $20 as an advance and I'd treat the family to a meal at Sonic and we'd celebrate. We're not talking about a POD publisher or some small press. It's Penguin.

The alternative? To keep sending out queries to people I meet at conferences, networking in writers groups and with published authors, and reading and researching and praying.

That $15,000 sounds pretty sweet.

But one thing about the Amazon contest bugs me. Even before they determine the first round of survivors, they want the whole manuscript. This makes me very uncomfortable. First chapter, I'm okay with that. But the whole kit and kaboodle. To Amazon. Not happy with that.

Is it worth the risk?

I'm not sure.

First chapters

I hate first chapters. I'm a notoriously critical reader. It took me years to get past page eight of Wuthering Heights... I think it was Wuthering Heights... because the beginning was so dry. Once I got past page eight, I loved the book.

I go to the library or the bookstore, I open the book and look at the first couple paragraphs. What is the opening sentence? What 'person' is it? If it's first person, that's a hurdle the author will have to overcome.

I hate the first person. Now, there are exceptions. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games. But in general, authors who rely on the first person for their voice never fully developed their characters/writing enough to construct a well-crafted story... but that's an argument for another day.

I judge the authors I read on their sentence structure, their word choice and what happens on that first page. Perhaps I should be an agent... or a reader for a publishing house.

Some friends had posted this link on their facebook page:

Seven reasons agents stop reading your work
http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/7%20Reasons%20Agents%20Stop%20Reading%20Your%20First%20Chapter.aspx

Now, I don't think I do any of these things. (Although right now, I do have dates in the beginning of my chapter as a simple reminder to myself to keep my chronology straight. My work depends on moon phase for some events, and I have a pregnant woman who's going to give birth in this novel so I have to be careful with the time sequence. The dates will disappear in later drafts...)

First chapters are hard. It's hard to find that balance of tight writing, exposition, character introduction and compelling action. Agents and editors judge on that first five pages and what happens there sets the pace for the whole manuscript. As an author, there's nothing worse than the intuition that your first chapter doesn't measure up to the rest of the book...

So, the word count mentioned in the link above, doing a "writing idol" contest based on the first 250 words interested me. Now, I'm cautious about posting my work on the internet, but I have been mulling this over for a day and I want to address this question of openings...

This is the current first paragraph (66 words) of book one of my Fashion and Fiends series:
"A drunken jumble of bleached blonde hair, cheap denim, and tight tank tops crashed from the unlabeled door. Inside his car, he reached for his cigarettes, tapping the box with his finger. The blondes stumbled, arms tangled and bodies barely upright, to a Firebird. They exuded their intoxication as a dreary fog that blurred the defining lines between them. He only needed one for the ritual."

This is its predecessor, the former first couple paragraphs of the same book. I was pitching this book to agents with this paragraph at the lead and I hated it the entire time. That should have been a sign that these 144 words didn't work:
"Galen could kill her so easily right now. He could wrap his fingers around Adelaide’s throat and suffocate her, quickly and directly as she slept. He inhaled sharply, meditated, and sprinkled cleansing herbs across her bed.
Galen didn’t want to kill her. If he had, he would have done it as soon as she opened the sliding glass door to her balcony. But he didn’t. He had plans. Hopes. Instead of destroying her, he ushered her sleepwalking figure back to bed, not distracted by her nudity on this humid summer night. She had a toned, muscular figure and shapely bosom uncommon in other fashion models, but Galen recognized assets beyond those that might attract mere mortal men."

This is the former first paragraph (89 words) of book two of my Fashion and Fiends series:
"Something orange and translucent clung to the cuff of Galen's sleeve as he swapped lenses on his Nikon. Étienne hobbled closer, index finger and thumb pinched to grab the offending scrap but a sudden flicker stopped him. The vivid orange-and-red object moved toward the hem and over Galen's hand. A flame. Fire. As it licked Galen's fingers, Étienne's chest tightened. His throat swelled, blocking the air. He fumbled for a chair, but someone had moved the furniture to accommodate the clothing racks, the lighting equipment and the make-up stations."

Now I've determined my proposed chapter one is too fast past and unresolved to anchor the story, so I've mounted my umpteenth revision and this is my current first page or so (255 words) for the second book:
"Étienne d’Amille clung to the steering wheel of his wife’s Mercedes, his fingers grip tight enough to stretch the supple leather of his favorite old driving gloves. The keys laid in his lap as he surveyed the other cars in the parking lot from his rear view mirror. The typical array of dusty pick-up trucks and nondescript Chevrolets and Fords surrounded him, except for one gleaming black sports car with white racing stripes.
A Dodge Viper. His eyes remained nailed to the spot. Or, how did the Americans put it? Glued. Glued to the spot. The heavy emptiness that had dwelled inside him since September now ached, even worse than it had inside the house.
He couldn’t sleep inside the house. He hadn’t gone into the bathroom where Adelaide committed suicide, where he had his heart attack, but yet somehow his wife slept in a bed in the next room. He couldn’t. But then, these days he barely slept anywhere...
He thought he would sneak out, have a beer, and go home. This tiny town had a population of 400 people and in that respect, it reminded him of rural France. Not much to do and not much there. This particular country hamlet had one option at this advanced hour of the night: a bar péquenot... peasant? redneck? He hadn’t expected to find anyone he knew, let alone the Viper.
Galen’s Viper. The aspiring photographer had dated Adelaide. She was completely infatuated with him. Étienne hadn’t heard of him or seen him since her death."

In my revisions, I have moved the location of the opening of the second book to the same setting where book one opens. This makes for an interesting parallelism and I'm intrigued to see if structurally it will work...

I guess I don't have much of a point for this rambling but to say that first chapters are hard. Eternally. Because as authors we know what we have to say and it's bursting from us, but to try and control that initial flood of information... It's hard. But therein lies the fun and the frustration.

Contemplations on Writing

Today I attended the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group meeting (www.glvwg.org). Our member Kathy Kulig gave an informal presentation on social networking for writers. I also got to hear the usual round of success stories, welcome some guests and chat with some friends.

I'm president ex-officio this year, having done my term July 2008-2009. It's a good group, currently with 155 members, and what makes it magical is the combination of published and unpublished fiction and non-fiction writers of different abilities and different professional backgrounds.

But lately, I've found the group disheartening more than inspiring. Many of us have remained in similar places for the entire time I've participated in this group. Others have progressed, others perhaps given up on the craft.

With all this talk of social networking and marketing, it's a reminder to me of how this business has changed: from the rising oil prices and the effect on page counts in hardcover books to the rise of small, independent press... I find it dizzying. Every time I feel like I'm on the right track, something leaves me feeling derailed.

More and more people I know are pursuing small presses or self-publishing. Yet, others have not deserted the dream of a New York publishing contract.

I find that actual writing skill has less to do with success than marketability.

I find that recognizing your talent isn't enough for an agent. It's more like finding a spouse, someone who loves you and your work and can conjure great lust for your prose. Personalities have to mesh AND the writing has to demonstrate that special sparkle.

That's how my rejection letters can refer to my work as "very visual" and "highly commercial" yet still be rejections.

Writing brings us on a journey, and it's a journey where our hearts and minds will be tested. It's a journey that leads us to doubt. It's a journey where we learn to write for ourselves. It's a journey we make because it fosters happiness.

So, this blog, which will meander and have irregular posts as I search for my voice and what I have to say (yes-- they can be different), allows me to talk to others about the conversations I have with my imaginary friends. Call them characters if you must but if you're a writer on your journey, maybe my highs and lows will remind us all we're not alone.