Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Writing Update

Querying

Yes, I'm still knee-deep in the query trenches.  The bad news--the responses have been blah.  The good news--I'm becoming desensitized to them (well, kinda).  I did get a request last week from a query that included the first ten pages of my ms.  As anyone who has gone through the query process will tell you, these are the best.  When you get a request from a query with included pages, it makes you feel like you have a little bit of an advantage since the agent has already read some of your manuscript and liked it enough to want to see more.  It also gives your confidence a boost (which we can all use, no?).

I also participated in a contest held by literary agent, Suzie Townsend last week.  All you had to do was send your query to her within the allotted time frame, and she would give you personalized feedback (as opposed to the usual form rejection).  She gave me some really good feedback, but also confirmed what I had suspected all along (see my post from two weeks ago)--the main reason she passed on it was because it's a paranormal romance :o(   Because it's such a popular genre, she told me I REALLY need to stress in my query what makes my book different from everything else out there.  Soooo, I rewrote my query and really tried to focus on the non-paranormal aspects, i.e., the stuff that makes my story unique. 

Writing

I don't know about everyone else, but I have a really hard time writing while querying.  It's like my heart and mind is just not into it.  In spite of this, I did start a new WIP, but I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.  It kind of feels like a so-so first date.  I'm not really giddy about it, but there's something there . . .

As usual, it's totally different than my previous project.  It's still YA, but it's a contemporary romance told from a boy's POV.  I'm not sure how confident I am at telling a story from a boy's perspective; I've never done it before.  I'm even thinking about splitting the book and having half of it told from the boy's POV and half of it from the girl's.  For now, I'm taking things slow, at least until I have a better idea of the story/characters.  I'm not a big outliner, but I like to at least have a good idea of who the characters are and where things are going. 

I'm also in the process of outlining a potential sequel to the book I'm querying.  Now THAT is a book I can't wait to write.  Even if the first book goes nowhere, I still might write the second book . . . just for a sense of closure and because I love the story (even if none of those agents out there do ;-)

Oh, and I've written a couple blurbs for future projects.  They both have a paranormal component to them, and seeing as how paranormal is DOA these days, I'll probably hold off on doing anything with them for a while.

How is the writing going for everyone else?  Are all you NaNo'ers rockin' the wordage? ;o)  I have so much respect for those of you participating.  I'm pretty sure if I tried to do NaNo, I'd be loonier than Sybil by the end of the month :o)  Good luck to you all!

12 comments:

  1. I've never queried before so I can't say, but I'm sure I wouldn't write a thing either. Sounds like you are doing things right. Keep up hope! You are talented and someday you will get picked up, I'm sure of it :)

    BTW, I mentioned you on my blog today ^_^

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  2. J.A. linked you. So I followed. Now following.

    It can take a while, but you do eventually become desensitized with ... unfavorable query responses. It's the process.

    I'm querying one and revising another right now. Best of luck to your writing and requests! :)

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  3. I found that when I was querying, I turned to shorter works. Writing flash fiction, short essays, whatever, just to give me something else to focus on, but not anything so big that it would pull me away for too long. And then it also gives me more stuff to submit!

    I'm going through a cycle myself right now of trying to get my shorter pieces out there. And while I do that--I'm nano'ing on a novel. It's all about the balance for me. Just gotta keep those fingers moving across the keyboard, one way or another. :-)

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  4. Hey. You just got out of a long-term relationship--no need to assume the next boy you hang out with will be another one. He can be a one-night stand (not that I condone that behavior--especially cause in non-fiction land you're married) but just have fun w/this WIP--let it take you where it wants to.

    AND, as someone who has read your book--there is DEFINITELY a sequel waiting to happen there. I told you when I finished, "I WANT MORE!"

    Hang tough, sister.

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  5. Best wishes with your queries! It's an exciting place to be in, especially when the requests start coming in ... Hope you get many :)

    I clicked over from J.A. Bennet's, enjoyed browsing here ...

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  6. David and Joanne--thank you for stopping by! I love meeting new writers :o)

    Jen Bennett--thank you! I hope you're right ;o)

    Jenny Brown--My God, there's a lot of Jenny's around here. Anyways, yes I'm trying to write just to keep those creative juices flowing, but it's hard some days when you're not feeling it, you know? There's nothing worse than forced writing.

    Bethany--I know, I have so many ideas for book 2!! I really wanted to get started on it, but at the same time, I don't want to waste the time on something that's never going to see the light of day. Grrr . . . Oh, and I loved your metaphor, lol. It's so true! I kind of feel like I have "committment issues" right now, lol. I don't know if I'm ready for another "long term relationship" yet. Some harmless flirting might do me some good ;o)

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  7. Hi! I saw your blog mentioned on J.A.'s, and hopped over to check it out.
    Querying is hard! Good luck with the process...

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  8. It sounds like you have a lot of great story ideas lined up! I'm a little jealous. Best of luck in the querying trenches!

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  9. Kim & Peggy--Hi! Thank you for stopping by! I think I need to hire J.A. as my new publicist ;o) hehehe . . . Thank you for the good wishes :o)

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  10. Querying is so tough. Hang in there Angela! I know how you feel. I'm a little over 100 pages into my second MS, and I'm having so much fun writing it, but nervous about querying again (when that time comes). I didn't write anything during the query stage last time. It's hard, with so much energy focused on one project. I think if my second MS is rejected, I might self publish it instead. Good Luck!!! :)

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  11. Thank you, Meredith! Yes, querying is VERY tough-- especially when you're a querying a genre no one wants :o/ I'm going to keep going though, and hopefully it'll eventually fall into the hands of someone who can look past the genre and judge it for it's content.

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  12. Love you and your spirit, goat goddess! Stick to your guns and write what you want to write...write for kids and teens and not for anyone else. They are your TRUE audience.

    Back to Nano, although I suck and have written nothing for the past 2 days (business trip...bah!!!)

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