Saturday, May 21, 2011
The Final Chapter of Protected
Well, I'm finally writing the final chapter of Protected. As soon as I catch up on all my edits from my critique groups, I'll get it out to my beta-readers. It's so exciting. I also started the first chapter of book 3 in the Watched series (still unnamed) I hope to finish the first draft 6 months from now.....It's so nice when it all just flows right out.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Hot chocolate for the soul
Today is a hot chocolate kinda day. High whispy clouds create a sky of white-my favorite color by the way-the trees are bare, snow covers the ground and it just looks cold out there. Luckily, I have hot chocolate to help me stay at the computer writing.
Watched, my first novel, is finally done and I've started the querying process.
What is the querying process, you ask?
That is the same question I had when I decided I was ready for my book to be published. It would seem that once you have finished your book, you would just send it off to publishers and they would read it and accept it. Wham bam thank you ma'am. No such luck.
The reality is, submitting a book to be published is a multilayered, multiparus, multinightmare. (Mulitparus is a new word for me, too.)
There is so much information out there on querying, that it has kept me busy for two weeks-and I've just scratched the surface. Whole books have been written on the process. WHOLE BOOKS! I'm not a fan of research, so it has driven me to blogging out my frustrations.
It seems that everyone has a different opinion about the best way to write a query. The subjectivity of it is daunting. An author or agent will write a blog or article on their website about how to do it, along with tips, and then some will even include examples of ones they've liked. I dare anyone to find a single example that matches the tips given.
What I have learned the past two weeks:
Watched, my first novel, is finally done and I've started the querying process.
What is the querying process, you ask?
That is the same question I had when I decided I was ready for my book to be published. It would seem that once you have finished your book, you would just send it off to publishers and they would read it and accept it. Wham bam thank you ma'am. No such luck.
The reality is, submitting a book to be published is a multilayered, multiparus, multinightmare. (Mulitparus is a new word for me, too.)
There is so much information out there on querying, that it has kept me busy for two weeks-and I've just scratched the surface. Whole books have been written on the process. WHOLE BOOKS! I'm not a fan of research, so it has driven me to blogging out my frustrations.
It seems that everyone has a different opinion about the best way to write a query. The subjectivity of it is daunting. An author or agent will write a blog or article on their website about how to do it, along with tips, and then some will even include examples of ones they've liked. I dare anyone to find a single example that matches the tips given.
What I have learned the past two weeks:
- There is a pattern for a query
- The pattern varies wildly dependant on what the agent/publisher is looking for
- Interest of the agent/publisher is what really makes them think a query is great
- Reading all information out there on querying could take your entire lifetime
- Creating a cookie-cutter query for all agents and publishers is impossible
- Researching the agent/publisher is the best way to know what to write in a query
- A query is a must
- Queries open the door to agents and publishers
- Write a trillion, pick a few
- Individualize queries for specific agents/publishers
- Don't sweat it like I did
- Get them out as soon as you can
- And last, but not least, enjoy the ride. Writing queries can be fun, if you know a few things up front. Keep this list handy.
Friday, May 2, 2008
What?
You may be asking yourself why I have a picture of an amazing sunset instead of me on my profile. The answer is simple. I looked through ALL of the photos on my computer and guess what?? I took 95% of them. The other 5% were taken by my 2 sweet girls, who did not need to take a picture of their mom. I have only myself to blame. It was actually a strategic move of mine. If I was behind the camera, no one would see me....or how much weight I had gained in the last few years. Yes, I actually think about that when people pull out cameras, or I want to pull out a camera. I am always the happy picture taker. Unfortunately, that leaves you with a picture of a sunset from our back deck. It is amazing isn't it? I do promise to post a picture of myself as soon as I can. I think there is a picture of me in Hawaii last week. Unfortunately, we have the worst luck with computers and getting them to do what we want. Somehow, when our exchange student was here in August, we lost the ability to download pictures onto our computer when she added her camera to our computer. We now go to my parents and e-mail the pictures to ourselves. Crazy huh?
You may be asking yourself why I have a picture of an amazing sunset instead of me on my profile. The answer is simple. I looked through ALL of the photos on my computer and guess what?? I took 95% of them. The other 5% were taken by my 2 sweet girls, who did not need to take a picture of their mom. I have only myself to blame. It was actually a strategic move of mine. If I was behind the camera, no one would see me....or how much weight I had gained in the last few years. Yes, I actually think about that when people pull out cameras, or I want to pull out a camera. I am always the happy picture taker. Unfortunately, that leaves you with a picture of a sunset from our back deck. It is amazing isn't it? I do promise to post a picture of myself as soon as I can. I think there is a picture of me in Hawaii last week. Unfortunately, we have the worst luck with computers and getting them to do what we want. Somehow, when our exchange student was here in August, we lost the ability to download pictures onto our computer when she added her camera to our computer. We now go to my parents and e-mail the pictures to ourselves. Crazy huh?
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