Long Overdue

So I realize I haven't been as faithful to this blog as I hoped to be.  I applaud those who somehow manage to both blog and write.  As it is, I find it hard enough to carve out time to work on my latest manuscript.  And now that I've started homeschooling again...  I know, I know, no excuses.  If I wanna be a writer, I need to write, plain and simple.  So what have I been doing in the meantime, other than sneaking in time to write?  Well, I've been doing a bit of querying.  I believe I've sent 15 so far, and after getting a request for a full (which subsequently got rejected-boo!), I went to work applying the revisions that agent so kindly suggested.  And since resubmitting it, I've been working on a new manuscript.  So far I've finished three chapters--YAY!!  I have to tell you, after working on and off for three or so years on that first manuscript, it was highly intimidating staring at a blank new document!

Another thing I've been doing is spending an inordinate amount of time on twitter.  I only joined it a few months ago for the express purpose of getting the inside scoop on an industry I have practically (who am I kidding, absolutely) no experience in.  You see, I am pretty much the lone writer within my circle of friends, who, though they offer their support, can never fully understand the challenges and hardships of the writing life.  Anyway, due to twitter I've been able to glean wisdom from writers who have been laboring far longer than I have, and I've gained some insight into the industry via agents and publishers.  All in all, it's been very informative and I'm glad I got on board.  However, there is a very addictive quality to tweeting, so I need to learn to wean myself off long enough to get some actual work done.

So that's about it for an update.... I'm hoping I'll have something inspired to write about for my next one ;)

Update

So a response came in this morning regarding that full submission I turned in back in late June.  Here's the verdict in a nutshell...

LIKES:

• very interesting premise/really good plot
• great characters 
• surprising & fast-paced

DISLIKES:

• too many speech tags
• prologue
• cliffhanger ending

The agent has asked me to address the issues with my writing and to resubmit, so guess what I'll be doing for the next few weeks, possibly months?

Querying

I submitted my first round of queries in early April.  Of the 9 I sent out, I received 5 no's and 4 silent treatments.  I revised my query in late May and submitted to 6 more agencies.  Of the 6 I sent out, I've received 4 no's and 1 request for a full submission.  The full submission request came in four days ago and I've been wound up tight ever since!  And I thought waiting to hear back on queries was hard!!  I'm just glad I already have another WIP to help keep me occupied.  It's best to write, write, write while you wait, wait, wait...right?!

The Book of Your Heart

This is an interesting post from Beth Revis, author of Across the Universe, that I came across on Twitter.  I don't know if the only manuscript I've ever completed qualifies as the "book of my heart", despite the way it almost completely consumed me, but the article was thought-provoking nonetheless.

The Writing Process

The post title suggests, erroneously, that there is only one.  I just wanted to share Kristin Cashore's honest and humorous take because I think it will resonate with so many of us who approach the daunting task of writing in a similar fashion ;)

I needed this!

Feeling discouraged about your writing?  Thinking of quitting?  Wondering if it's worth all the time and energy?  Then listen to this interview from Ira Glass on the whole writing process.  Came across this gem on Absolute Write's website.

 

Diving In

So here I am on my brand-spanking new blog attempting to make my very first post.  By no means is this my first blog ever, but it is my first for this exciting/frightening endeavor which I initially embarked upon roughly 3 1/2 years ago.  To elaborate on what's written beneath my profile, after years of thinking, dreaming and talking about writing, I finally decided to actually DO IT!  And after 3 1/2 years of toiling late into the evening--often continuing into the wee hours of the morning--I realize now why I'd put the dream off for so long.  Writing is hard work, people!!!  Especially when you're a homeschooling mom for a very rambunctious six year old ;)  The only way I was able to stick to the overwhelming task was to treat the endeavor like a legitimate job.  It's been an exhausting process!  I've worked on at least three 400-page manuscripts, each having undergone several revisions.  If it's true that it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill, then I imagine I'm already a third of the way there!  As it stands, out of the three manuscripts I worked on, I have one that I'm very happy with.  I've labored over it, groaned over it, came close to pulling my hair out over it.  And now it's time to see if it was worth all the effort...