Typos

I'm reading through the manuscript of Those Who Trespass again, in preparation for a revision round that I do not feel prepared for, not at all. And I have found the most mortifying things:

• I misspelled the word 'transition' and did not fix it.
• I also misspelled the word 'sacrilegious'. Didn't fix it, either.
• But the worst of it is that at some point I somehow replaced all my "On" and "on"s with "on". Which wouldn't seem like such a big deal until you read things like this:
• ...to the cloud. once she saw...
• ...the stairs. on top of the roof...
• ...no hope. only a miracle...

Of course, I'm making up all those lines, but the point remains the same. I have lost count of how many sentences begin with "on" instead of "On". AND I SENT THIS TO AGENTS. AND THEY READ IT!

 And they requested fulls! They requested revisions!

So just so you know, if you didn't believe it, typos will not make or break your writing career. Not if your writing is good and your story is good. Not if it's obvious that you do indeed know how to type.

Just give your manuscript--and your query letter, and your synopsis--one hundred percent. Do your best. Agents understand. They can tell when you've given it your all, and they're willing to be forgiving.

Just in case you wondered.

Only You Can Know

I've had a few responses to my requests. And they all go something like this:

One agent doesn't fall in love with Jenn's voice.

The next one tells me that Jenn is such an engaging character.

Then she goes on to tell me that the murder should be less of a murder and more of an accident, or a self-defense killing.

Yet a previous agent made it quite clear that she liked the gray-ness of the murder and appreciated that it wasn't an accident or in self-defense.

 I have come to the conclusion that you cannot depend on another person to tell you what your book is. They can tell you if it's marketable, and they can tell you if it's plausible. They can tell you how a scene made them feel.

But only you know how you wanted the scene to make them feel. Only you know what the book was meant to be. Critique partners and beta readers and agents can tell you stars* of valuable, valuable, valuable things about your book. I cannot emphasize that enough. Without them, you're pretty much...sunk.

Some of them, those that know your heart, can help you find out what your book is.

But only you can know it. Your book is your creation. It's between you and God, because no one else knows your heart like God does. And it's up to you to stay to true to your book. It's up to you to make the decisions that will make or break...everything.

* Stars: Synonymous with 'tons' or 'oodles'. References the fact the stars are innumerable.

Subjectivity

I was "out of the office" all day Saturday, which is to say, I was having lunch with my extended family. Of course, when I got home, I had a nice bunch of emails to sort through--mostly junk, as usual. I have seven email addresses that all flow to one melting pot of emails {thank you, Thunderbird}, which means I have everything from band updates, query replies, friendly emails, newsletters, forum updates, and everything in between...all in one place.

But on Saturday, there were two emails right on top of each other. And both of them were responses to partials I had sent out in response to requests. The first was a short rejection, shorter than even some query form rejections I've received. It wasn't right for the agent; she hadn't fallen in love with the voice.

The very next email was actually from yesterday's snail-mail agent. It began with how much she was enjoying the book, and could I send the full manuscript {via email, thank goodness} so she could continue reading. There were lots of exclamation points. {You can't judge a book by its cover, but you can judge an email by its exclamation points.}

Subjectivity.

Two agents, both with partials. One didn't fall in love with the voice. One wants more, please!

This is a subjective business. Everywhere you look, agents and editors are turning down books that others make bestsellers. One agent loves your voice, another hates it. One thinks your MC is depressing, another thinks she's way too bubbly. One thinks it won't sell, the next thinks it's been over-done. One likes the plot but hates the MC. The other loves the MC but doesn't think the plot makes sense.

Subjectivity.

Your book can be the next Twilight, and you're still going to get rejections. They're going to happen. You're going to get rejections from agents, from editors, and from readers. They're going to tell you what they dislike...and I doubt they'll all say the same thing. And that's okay.

I'm here to write the best book I can write. If someone doesn't fall in love with the voice, that's not my problem. {Unless 20 different agents are telling me the same thing, of course. Then it's time to go back to the drawing board} If someone disses my plot and someone else thinks it's brilliant...it's not my problem. It's my job to write the best book possible. That's all I can do.

I Got To Live That Life

To all my new and lovely followers--welcome! :)

I recently got a partial request via email {all my queries have been via email} to snail-mail my partial to the agency. That involved a ridiculous amount of formatting, cover-letter crafting, and printing, but in the end, I took a beautiful manila envelope to the post office and sent it.

And all my annoyance at the whole snail-mail thing just vanished.

I felt like Louisa May Alcott. Or Jane Austen. Jo March and Anne Shirley. Just the...the romance of it, of writing a book, of printing it out {which they could not do, I know}, of sealing up my story and sending it off into the unknown. Of knowing it would be held in real hands and read with real eyes...

As convenient as email is, I do not think anything can equal the beauty of the real mail. Even if this agency does not end up offering me representation, I'm so very glad they requested a partial. Because just for a moment, I got to live the life of the writer in my imagination, the one who writes in secluded closets with a typewriter, wreathed by cigarette smoke, surrounded by half-full cups of days-old coffee, who stacks the paper with a grim smile, ties it with a ribbon, and sends it away...I got to live that life.

If You Do Your Best

Late again. Perhaps this is a...nightly blog? :)

Figured it was time for an update on Those Who Trespass. I've sent 50 queries. {Dude, I had no idea I could find that many possible agents!} FIFTY!

And I've gotten five requests--four fulls, one partial.

It's a whole new level of querying, let me tell you. I thought waiting on a query was bad. Requests are much, much worse.

I owe so much of this to my query, which, in turn, owes itself to Shelley the Awesome Beta, and Robin, the Writing-Accountability-Partner. {Yes, I've revealed her name! Yes, I still have full intention of giving her her own introductory post!}

It's a good query. Not going to lie. And so, so, so much of the credit goes to Shelley and Robin.

And sometimes it kills me. What if? I wonder. What if my query is is worth reading but my book isn't? What if I'm letting down these awesome agents? I know it's not true; I know this is a good book {credit here goes to critic {critique-er?} extraordinaire, Aimee L. Salter, and Shelley the Awesome Beta}. I think it lives up to the query.

I think there are always doubts. I know there are. I read enough blogs. I see the worries. It starts with wondering if your query is good enough. And then you wonder if your partial is...then your full. Then your synopsis, or whatever it is your agent takes to publishers. Then your book in the hands of readers! Then a sequel! What if they feel like you let them down?

You don't have anything to be ashamed of if you do your best. Your best query. Your best story. Your best writing. Your best editing. Your best promotion. Your best invention of a sequel, if yours is the sort of story that merits a sequel. If you let anyone--friend, beta, agent, editor, reader, fan--down, you can't blame yourself if you did your best.

And I've done my best. I know I have. It's all out of my hands now, out of my hands and in God's.

Chocolate Sessions

I ate chocolate yesterday and today.

Yes, this means something. Because I eat chocolate to 1) celebrate, or 2) ...whatever the opposite of celebrate is. Basically, this all adds up to: good news and bad news.

Bad news first. AKA, Chocolate Session #1: A rejection on a full request. A form rejection to a full request. From one of my dream agents. Le many sighs. I've been waiting and waiting and waiting and, yes, expecting every unknown number on my phone to be an offer of representation. But it's not to be. However, I am still alive. And I think this is worth noting. I now know that I can handle rejection of this magnitude. {With chocolate.}

Good news! Chocolate Session #2: I GOT MY DRIVER'S LICENSE TODAY! Passed the test with what amounts to a B-, which I'm sure is a lot worse than what my brother will get in a few years, but it doesn't matter, I am FREE TO DRIVE! I am almost five years late, but I have my driver's license! {The license journey has been long and arduous. And I blogged about it.}

Either way you look at it, I got chocolate out of the deal. And that rocked.

That Problem

I told someone recently that I didn't have that problem. You know, that problem. The one where you send out queries and then check your email every five minutes because, who knows, somebody might have replied! I said I didn't have that problem.

And I didn't. When I said it.

When I said it, I was perfectly at ease with sending out queries and promptly forgetting them. After all, I was used to getting rejections. So no replies were a good thing. No news is good news kind of philosophy.

It's been a week - nay, more than a week, a week and a half - and I've received no rejections. I would worry that the agents never got my queries, except that some of them have automatic responses, so I know this is not the case.

And I'm going something just short of crazy. I've got to know! Because...what if, what if, what if?! I'm a writer, which means I have an overactive imagination. And do you know what an overactive imagination does when left to wait on query responses? It overactivates. Oh my gosh, they love it! They hate it! They're reading it! They hate it! They haven't even looked at it. They adore it! They don't know about it!

*clutches one hand to my chest* ...the suspense...it's killing me...

So when I said I didn't have that problem...I lied.

Have you queried? Do you have that problem?


Also, and completely unrelated to this post, I just finished Patrick Ness' Chaos Walking series, and, um, the guy is brilliant. Brilliant. I am in awe. I may even be of the opinion that Chaos Walking > Hunger Games, despite the rotten tomatoes that are sure to come.

The One-Third Rule

If you've queried, I'm going to bet that you've heard of the one-third rule. You know, the one where your query should pretty much only cover the first third of your story. (Roni Loren goes into more detail here. Read it if you don't know what I'm talking about.) The first time I heard that, I thought, "That's impossible! How can I convey my story by just summarizing the first third? Seriously!"

But the more I thought about it, the more I experimented with it, the more I read other queries, the more book flaps I read, I realized...it was true. The reader (agent or civilian) needs nothing more than the first third.

I know it sounds crazy. But we're going to use the Hunger Games as an example (hopefully you've read it, or you won't believe me). Watch this trailer (and yes, this is educational):

Okay. Notice something about the trailer? It ends as Katniss enters the arena.

Okay. If you've read the book, you know that the book is about the arena. That's where most of the book takes place! The arena is IMPORTANT! That's where the ACTION is!!!!
...and yet, it's not in the trailer. If you think about it, the trailer is only the first third of the story.

Does it work? Do you want to see the movie? Even if you've never read the book, you're dying to see the movie after watching that trailer. What happens? How does she do in the arena? Does she die? Does Peeta die? Does Gale survive watching his girl?

Personal opinion here...I think it works. And that's how your query is supposed to work. Set up the story, endear the reader to the characters, make sure everybody knows what the stakes are and that they're high, high, high. Then fade to black make sure the agent knows that the full manuscript is available upon request.

Have you heard of the one-third rule? Have you used it in your queries? For or against?

{If you haven't read the Hunger Games, pick a movie-turned-book that you have read. Watch the movie trailer.}

That Send Button

Well, I sent my first query on Friday. This is what it felt like.

Pressing that send button is so hard. I set up everything perfectly. I have the query, the introduction, the attachments in PDF, the subject, the email address. All that remains is that dratted send button. It would probably still be unsent if I hadn't promised Robin, the writing-accountability-partner-who-really-needs-her-own-introduction-soon, that I'd send it Friday.

I have a goal to send 15 queries this week. I think I can do it. It's a bit crazy, but then, I like to think I'm a bit crazy. I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't.

Also, I bought Save the Cat. {If you didn't know, Walmart offers free ship-to-store for a lot of online products, including StC. And StC was cheaper that way than buying it on Amazon. Just a note.) I'm super excited, and I hope to implement everything I learn into the next MS. Because of course - there will be another MS. I'm working on two right now, the sequel to Those Who Trespass and another princess one. Just can't stay away from those princess ones.

And in addition to querying, reading, and writing fiction...I'm writing college application essays. Oh, joy.

This has been your random assortment of writing updates.

What To Do On Christmas Break

I have a list, and I'm checking it twice. No, it's not my Christmas gift list. {Speaking of this, I've discovered that I am neither a Black Friday, nor a Cyber Monday gal...but I am a Free Shipping Day gal. If nothing else, it dragged me from my indecision about what I was getting people for Christmas. And now I am relieved of much stress.} It's my to-do-on-Christmas-break list. Also known as the hurry-up-and-finish-before-2012 list. {Because, as we all know, new lists are made with 2012.}

• Finish Those Who Trespass Query
• One final read-through of Those Who Trespass
• Make Agent List for Those Who Trespass
• Make some semblance of progress on the WiP...or pick a new one
• Start keeping some legit writing records so I can write 10K/day like this author

Yeah, did you notice that epic little crossed out bullet point? My query is finished! FINISHED!!!!! And I think it's kinda beautiful. It makes me very happy. Maybe I'll write some posts about what I did - mostly, what was recommended to me by writing friends - that made it happy-making.

I thought about taking some time off for the break. I decided against it. Breaks bode ill for this blog. :)

Three Lines

After weeks and weeks of agonizing writing, of inserting words and taking them out again, of ending hours of work with only a handful of words to show for them - if that - there's been some breakthrough.

Query-wise, an arrangement finally came that made a semblance of sense. I came to the minute where I realized there was nothing more I could do without another pair of eyes, at which point I sent it off to Beta Reader Shelley, who had the quickest turnaround time ever and sent it back that night. Her notes were spot-on.

I'd pretty much rewritten the query {except for a few good lines that needed to stay}, and I was hoping I wouldn't have to do a rewrite again. I thought I may have to, though. Then I wasn't sure. The time comes when query-writing where you have no idea if your work has any merit or value or sanity or coherence at all. {This is when you send things to awesome beta readers like Shelley.}

I didn't have to rewrite. Basically, I have only three lines in the query that need work. Compared to the previous demolition of the first query, this was definite improvement.

THREE LINES. Three lines until I'm finished with the thing. And I will finish. Want to know why?

I've promised myself that there shall be no more White Collar watching until I finish this query. This, I promise, will work. Especially since my White Collar day is tomorrow. Oh yes, query-writing is definitely happening today.

What have you used to motivate you to finish those drag-your-heels projects?

Worth the Hard Work

Query-writing. Sometimes I wonder why I subject myself to it. The words won't come together, the sentences are cliche, the paragraphs make no sense when finally read aloud. Why? Why comply to such torture?

Because the book is worth it. Remember that story you slaved away on. Remember how you sweated and cried and pulled out your hair and wondered if it was ever, ever going to be finished. Or edited. Or revised. Or revised again. Remember how it felt when the plot made no sense. Now it made sense. Because you worked hard.

The hard work isn't over. But the hard work you've already done makes this hard work - worth it.

My Sanity and Its Longevity

As I mentioned yesterday, I've been doing everything but working on my query. I said as much to my writing-accountability-partner this morning when I checked in with yesterday's writing minutes. And very few minutes they were, too.

She wrote back and very eloquently gave me permission not to touch the query until December.

At first I was horrified. But I must! I thought. This is who I am! This is what I must do!

But then I realized two things:

1. She is published, I am not, and if anyone's in the mentor position here, it is she.
2. I'm not making any good progress on my query anyway, with this dread in my heart every time I open the file.

And so it is, with much regret, and yet much more excitement, I inform you that I am abandoning my query for the remainder of the month. {It's only two weeks, anyway.} And do you know what this means? It means shiny ideas shall abound, that's what it means.

It means I'm stoked.


What about you? Have you ever had to put any writing on the back burner, both for your sanity and its longevity?

Well, That's NaNo

I wrote while sleeping Saturday night. I know I was asleep, because I would jolt awake every time my ten-minute timer went off. And I know I was writing, because my fingers were still tap-tap-tapping at the keys. And I know that I was actually typing words, because my eyes were open.

Well, that's NaNo.

But I'm becoming not a little illusioned with my NaNo novel. It's not like last year. Last year, the story just came together. Beginner's luck, I guess. Or maybe it was because it was intentionally humorous, and the humor of my speed-writing only made it better. I'm not sure. All I know is that when I looked at it this year - I enjoyed it.

But now my NaNo novel is progressing with words I hate, with backstory that pops in and out on every other page - and changes every time. It's frustrating, but I'm going to finish it. I am. Because I'm committed, and that's how I roll.

Funny thing is, I probably would have given up on it already if it weren't for the query I'm supposed to be writing. This is how much I don't want to write my query:

1.  NaNo novel: Like a Sunrise (I hate that title)
2. the Shiny New Idea
3. the Shiny Old Idea (tentatively the Next Big Thing on my to-write list)
4. the Query

Dear, oh dear, oh dear.

Any query-motivation is appreciated.

I Have to Tell It

I have the best writing friends ever. I send them a query to look over, and they write me ASAP. Wow. I could probably count on one hand the number of writing hours I was free of Those Who Trespass. Don't get me wrong: I love that story. I love it tremendously. But I'm not going to lie, I was feeling like a kid on the first day of summer break. "Yes! I don't have to look at it anymore!" And then I got it back. And now I'm working on it again, because that's how I roll. It's kinda crazy. There are times, like this morning, when I look at myself and wonder how I do it. I mean, if I were me, I couldn't do it. :) I keep trying, and writing, and persevering, even though I don't have any results except the encouraging comments of others. And it's hard. I'm not going to lie. It's hard to keep going. It's even harder to keep going after a break. It's like running uphill, into the wind, through mud. So why do we keep doing it? Because it's worth it. To do what you're called to do - there's no better pursuit. And we writers are called to write. To keep perfecting our craft, to continue in our love of words and plots, of characters of romance, that's what we do. To not do it would be to deny what makes us - us. It's worth it. There is a finished story at the end, a finished book, a finished query. There are compliments and congratulations and encouraging words. There are full requests and publishing deals and hardcover books in our hands. There are book signings and readers and emails that say we changed a life. There are words on a page that tell a story that no one else has told, or will ever tell again. That's why I write. That's why I open documents I'm sick of, and change query wordings for the million-and-one-th time. Because it's my story. And I have to tell it.

Developments

I finished my query yesterday.

I know, right! Total whoa-ness! And total-I-don't-know-ness. I feel like I've been putting together some sort of puzzle for the past month, a puzzle where all the pieces are words and plot points and characters that must be arranged and rearranged and re-rearranged into something worth reading.

For a month. A month. I've spent days on single sentences, made lists of dozens - no, maybe scores - of possible wording sequences and wonderings of whether or not this aspect of the story should be included.

And yesterday, I finished it. Of course, I'm sure I'll edit it. Hopefully not drastically, but one never knows. Ha. I've sent it off to the magnificent beta-reader, Shelley, and we'll see what she thinks.

But I'm getting closer...

NaNo update: 15907 words :)

And since I'm on break from my query, guess who's outlining a new story............ :) :) :) :) Epic dystopian world-building, here I come! :)

Any new developments on your writing? Do tell...

Conflict & Consequence

You may have noticed that we're pendulum-swinging between query-writing and NaNo-writing here on the blog.

Well, yes, we are. And I don't plan on stopping any time soon.

I've got one paragraph - hook and setup - of my query written to a point that I'm happy with it. Oh, and one sentence of the second paragraph - conflict and consequence.

It's been so hard writing the rest of the conflict and the consequence, that I've taken to pen and paper. {You know I'm desperate when I'm writing on pen and paper.} And today I jotted down some thoughts to help. Some questions, because if I could answer these questions, I'd have my conflict and consequence.

• CONFLICT
• What does she want?
• What's in the way?
• CONSEQUENCE
• What happens if she doesn't get what she wants?

That's it. That's conflict and consequence. I had heard that a million times, but this was the first time I'd written it down myself. That's it? That's all?

{You can pry a little deeper. Answer the question, then ask why. She wants to find her brother. Why? He's the only person she can trust. Okay, so really, she's looking for someone she can trust. You don't have to write that in your query, that she's looking for someone to trust, but it's nice to know. When I wrote that down, I realized what was important to note about the love interest. She can trust him.}

So if you're query-writing, just ask yourself these questions for the second paragraph. {And if you're story-writing, ask yourselves these questions now. It really, really helps if you have them answered before you finish. Trust me.}


{Need more query-writing help? Download Elana Johnson's From the Query to the Call for free. It's epic.}


What about you? Do you know your story's conflict and consequence?

Tricks of the Query Trade

I'm query-writing today.

*silence*

*crickets*

*more silence*

Don't worry. I'm not exactly thrilled, either. I think I'm getting more comfortable with queries. At least, I'm beginning to hear Agent Janet Reid's critiquing voice in my head after reading through QueryShark archives {which, if you haven't done, you need to do}. But even though I'm getting comfortable doesn't mean I like it.

I figured out a little trick while writing my query today, and thought I would share:

When I write queries, I tend to get stuck on one sentence.

Despite their mutual unattraction, Jenn and Taylor set off on their mission and soon find answers. No, too long. And is it "unattraction"? Is "unattraction" even a word?

Despite their mutual dislike for each other, Jenn and Taylor set off on their mission... It's not a mission. It's a quest. Except that sounds like Lord of the Rings.

Despite their mutual enmity, Jenn and Taylor soon find answers. Mutual enmity? It's not like they're, I don't know, at each other's throats. I mean, yes, proverbially speaking. But they're working together. They're not enemies.


Meanwhile, I'm getting nowhere in the query. There are three or four more sentences to go, and I'm stuck on wording difficulties. I used to just sit there and pound away until I got it - which does work, eventually. But I've been discovering this little trick:

{Despite X, Jenn and Taylor set off and find answers.}

It's in cute parentheticals because I will come back to the wording. "X" equals their mutual unattraction. What it is they're setting off on isn't quite clear...and that's okay.

Now I can move on to the next sentence, one that comes together a little more easily. Now I now the rhythm of the sentences before and after the one in question, and I can play with it a little more easily when I get a skeleton query in place.

What about you? Any tricks of the trade you'd like to share?? :)

Twice Rejected, Euphoric Progress

Querying is...going.

• 53 queries sent
• 26 form rejections
• 1 partial request (rejection)

CRAZIEST RESPONSE YET? I sent one query to a certain agent and got a form rejection letter. A week or so later, I got the same rejection letter, sent again. I got rejected twice. If that doesn't damage a writer's ego, I don't know what will. :)

I haven't sent any for several days, choosing to focus on my WiP. I've spent so much time on said WiP that my hours are that of a part-time job (15-16 hours this past week). And I love how it's coming along. I don't know that I've ever had so much passion for an MS. I've never had this much belief in the story, this much dedication to making it just right. (Now I know how I was supposed to feel about the MS I'm querying.) There are surreal moments where I look at the sentence and think, "I wrote that. I wrote that. I put the words together to create just that tone. I turned that phrasing just so to make the emotion be felt. I created it." It's hard to explain. I don't think I've ever felt this euphoria before, and definitely never for this long. It's beautiful.

Layman Publication: The Querying Process

I'm in the process of writing a Facebook note detailing the publication process for my non-writer friends, because I've had to answer too many times that a "finished book does not a NYT bestseller make." This is part 2. (But if all the parts are this long, there will definitely be some cutting.)

• Once you're happy with your book, and your critique partners are happy with your book, and you feel that there's nothing you can do to make it better, it's time to send it off. You do not (usually) send it directly to publishers. That was how it was done "back in the day," but now most writers send their books to literary agents...
• What are literary agents? They are people, usually with legal and/or publishing experience, that now work as a liaison between writers and publishers. Agents are appreciated by writers because agents have relationships with publishers, can understand contracts, and have experience in the publishing world. Agents are appreciated by publishers because the agents act as a filter for all the bad writing out there, and because they provide a buffer against the eccentric author. :) Agents generally receive a 15% of the author's check.
• ...using something called a query (pronounced: kweer-ee) letter. Gone are the days of printing your entire manuscript and shipping it to publishing houses or literary agents. Now you email (about 85% of the time) a one-page letter that contains a quick summary of your book, its title, genre, and word count, and a little bit about yourself. Sometimes you include the first chapter of your book, or a two-page synopsis. You research which literary agents you would like to represent you (deciding upon certain ones based on what authors they've previously represented to which publishing houses), send them your query letter...
• ...and then you wait. If you're smart, you begin writing another book. You'll also continually check your email inbox and receive one of two things...
• ...rejections and requests. Rejections are usually form rejections that say nothing more than "thanks, but no thanks." Requests mean that your query letter sparked some interest, and that they want to see more. You email them what they ask for; a partial request means they wanted a part of the book to read, and a full request means they wanted the entire book...

Next up: offers of representation

Did I miss anything? What would you add/take-out?