I've spent the last several days industriously editing the living hell out of two different manuscripts. I completely reedited an older project, as well as the one on submission, in case I decided to query for it again one day.
And then, as though mandated by fate, an agent Tweeted that she was looking for my novel. And not just any agent; an agent I really liked based on what I'd read about her.
Well, okay. She didn't use my name, or the title of my book, and until I queried her she had no idea I existed, but it nonetheless felt like she was saying "Hey, Andrea. This is what I want in a novel. Got anything for me?"
And, wonder of wonders, yes I did. A newly reedited version of my paranormal romance for young adults.
I love that novel so much it makes my stomach knot up. I love it so much, in fact, I've already put about 200 hundred hours of writing into the sequel. And roughly outlined the third in the trilogy. It was a story that caught me by the throat and hasn't let go yet.
I mean, I love my mystery that's on submission right now. But I always knew it was going to be a stand-alone. Knowing the romance was meant to be at least a trilogy made me connect more readily with the characters. I knew a LOT that happened to them. I just fell in love with them and everything they were going to go through. I sobbed my way through writing the ending of the first book.
Sigh.
Now it's time to write and wait. Write and hope.
I find it encouraging, though, that even if she rejects my work, I'd still want to take her out for a drink and talk writing. At least that lets me know she's the type of agent I'd want if she decides she wants me. And I think that's a really important thing to take into consideration.
That brings the grand total of agents about whom I've thought "I could hang out with them" to three.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for a best friend. I can't imagine any agent in the world would want or expect that from a client, nor should a client want or expect it from their agent. But the working relationship would probably be better if, in another time and different situation, your agent would be someone you could drink wine and discuss books with.
There has to be some basic underpinning of common interests and personalities, I would think, or the act of working together would just suck.
All three of the agents I've felt a glimmer of Okay, she's really a fantastic chick for currently have my work. I don't know if a rejection from someone I genuinely like would be easier or harder to deal with.
I'm hoping I never have to find out.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
I Feel Damn Good About This
Yesterday the Twitter world was all (ahem) atwitter--see, that's how you know I'm a writer, that kind of wit right there--with a contest presented by @slushpilehell. You can find the contest, entitled #badkiddybooks, right here. I entered. Repeatedly. I don't know what it says about me that the titles just kept popping into my head.
Some of the entries were hilarious, some a little disturbing, others were actually really thought-provoking and required some literary knowledge to "get." Granted, more fell into the first two categories than the last, but still. A good time was had by all.
Our brave leader chose a top 25 list and posted it on his site. And did I make that list? Yes, yes I did. Am I excited? Yes, yes I am.
Does this make me ponder who I am and what I stand for? Not particularly because that would be a lot of work.
Anyway, it's worth a few hours to read them all. The link up there will take you to the discussion. Or, if you just want to see the creme de la creme of the entries, you can go the easy route and stop by here.
Still. Excited to be on the list. Although I probably won't ever write a book entitled "A Buzzing in the Night: Why Your Wii Control's Batteries Are Gone."
Some of the entries were hilarious, some a little disturbing, others were actually really thought-provoking and required some literary knowledge to "get." Granted, more fell into the first two categories than the last, but still. A good time was had by all.
Our brave leader chose a top 25 list and posted it on his site. And did I make that list? Yes, yes I did. Am I excited? Yes, yes I am.
Does this make me ponder who I am and what I stand for? Not particularly because that would be a lot of work.
Anyway, it's worth a few hours to read them all. The link up there will take you to the discussion. Or, if you just want to see the creme de la creme of the entries, you can go the easy route and stop by here.
Still. Excited to be on the list. Although I probably won't ever write a book entitled "A Buzzing in the Night: Why Your Wii Control's Batteries Are Gone."
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Check That....AHHHHH!!!! Editing.
Got some notes today about strengthening my MS. I wondered how common it is for agents to send these to authors before they offer representation. Turns out, opinion is split.
I read several agent blogs that said they don't have time to do this with every MS they read. Which I can understand. I'm a logical gal. If I were an agent, I'd probably be dancing with the one I brought, too, i.e. clients. Also known as the people currently making it possible to pay rent.
So, I was pleasantly surprised to receive such extensive feedback. Did it hurt that it was really nice, complimentary feedback? No. No, it did not. I'm also an easy-going gal. You can tell me I suck out loud if you say it nicely enough. I'm Southern; we're all about manners, y'all.
I also found some agents that said this was a common practice for them when they first started out. Right up until they began getting snarky reply emails that were less than polite. One agent mentioned a reply she'd gotten from an author that called the agent everything you wouldn't say in front of your grandmother. I'm paraphrasing, of course.
That gave me pause. Why would anyone be pissed if someone offered them an opinion? I'm guessing the agent didn't say "If you don't make the changes I'm talking about I will burn down your house and tell every other agent I won't sit with them at lunch if they offer to represent you." It was a suggestion. One made by someone much more intimately familiar with the publishing industry, but suggestion all the same. No one said the author had to do anything.
I understand how important an author's vision and ideas are. I practically burped and diapered my MS. And, sure, I want people to love it just as it is. That ain't gonna happen. So I went into this knowing I was sending my baby out for rejection, requests, and revisions.
Maybe this is easier for me because I teach writing. I understand that asking for revisions is not code for "Gee and wow. This sucks." The more in-depth my revision suggestions, the more faith I have that the work can really blossom and improve. In order to believe that, I have to see there's a strong foundation to work from. It's actually a backhanded compliment. It's "I think you're good enough that I feel reasonably certain you can be even better."
Incidentally, I'm the teacher, so my suggestions are less suggestion and more demand. I give my students way less wiggle room than agents give. I know more about writing than my students do. Agents know more about the market than I do. So, I adapt.
This all made me wonder: Am I just naive? Am I missing something? Is a revision suggestion just one small step up from rejection? Have I not been at it long enough to be cynical?
Or am I just as determined to improve my writing now as I was when Mrs. Lewis told I could?
Off to edit.
I read several agent blogs that said they don't have time to do this with every MS they read. Which I can understand. I'm a logical gal. If I were an agent, I'd probably be dancing with the one I brought, too, i.e. clients. Also known as the people currently making it possible to pay rent.
So, I was pleasantly surprised to receive such extensive feedback. Did it hurt that it was really nice, complimentary feedback? No. No, it did not. I'm also an easy-going gal. You can tell me I suck out loud if you say it nicely enough. I'm Southern; we're all about manners, y'all.
I also found some agents that said this was a common practice for them when they first started out. Right up until they began getting snarky reply emails that were less than polite. One agent mentioned a reply she'd gotten from an author that called the agent everything you wouldn't say in front of your grandmother. I'm paraphrasing, of course.
That gave me pause. Why would anyone be pissed if someone offered them an opinion? I'm guessing the agent didn't say "If you don't make the changes I'm talking about I will burn down your house and tell every other agent I won't sit with them at lunch if they offer to represent you." It was a suggestion. One made by someone much more intimately familiar with the publishing industry, but suggestion all the same. No one said the author had to do anything.
I understand how important an author's vision and ideas are. I practically burped and diapered my MS. And, sure, I want people to love it just as it is. That ain't gonna happen. So I went into this knowing I was sending my baby out for rejection, requests, and revisions.
Maybe this is easier for me because I teach writing. I understand that asking for revisions is not code for "Gee and wow. This sucks." The more in-depth my revision suggestions, the more faith I have that the work can really blossom and improve. In order to believe that, I have to see there's a strong foundation to work from. It's actually a backhanded compliment. It's "I think you're good enough that I feel reasonably certain you can be even better."
Incidentally, I'm the teacher, so my suggestions are less suggestion and more demand. I give my students way less wiggle room than agents give. I know more about writing than my students do. Agents know more about the market than I do. So, I adapt.
This all made me wonder: Am I just naive? Am I missing something? Is a revision suggestion just one small step up from rejection? Have I not been at it long enough to be cynical?
Or am I just as determined to improve my writing now as I was when Mrs. Lewis told I could?
Off to edit.
AHHHHHHHHHH WRITING!!!!
Story idea.
Didn't start with a character this time. So there is no grabbing a notebook and recording action. No William Faulkner style character stalking this time. A whole world just sort of dropped into my head. Spent the evening writing reams of notes to get it all down.
I'm excited. Really happy.
I'm writing.
Didn't start with a character this time. So there is no grabbing a notebook and recording action. No William Faulkner style character stalking this time. A whole world just sort of dropped into my head. Spent the evening writing reams of notes to get it all down.
I'm excited. Really happy.
I'm writing.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Silver Phoenix
I just read a short blurb about the revamping of Cindy Pon's debut novel, Silver Phoenix. And I only have one question to pose.
What. The. Hell?
The protagonist of the story is of Chinese descent. Why in the name of all that's sane and logical, should the cover art NOT represent that? It bothers me for three reasons; the first as a writer, the second as a reader, and the third as a rational human.
1.) My novel has a female protagonist, and since it's told in first person, a female narrator. Should it be published, I'd have a real issue if someone slapped a boy on the front of it. Considering it's titled Balloon Girl, I get that it's unlikely anyone would. I also realize that authors tend not to have a lot of say in cover art, but in this case, the art is misleading. Which brings us to...
2.) I like to look at the cover of books. I do usually read the jacket flap, of course, but book covers often catch my eye and make me look further. Correct me if I'm wrong, isn't that the point of covers? If not, why aren't all covers matte black or shiny white? If the cover art isn't a representation of what lives below it, what's the point in having any art at all? If I pick up a book with highly stylized, colorful and cartoonish animals, I'm going to be pretty annoyed if it's a reprint of War and Peace. Not that I have a problem with W & P. But because that's not what I was expecting. I don't like being screwed with. In this case, it's kind of expected you're going to judge a book by it's cover. That's where the saying comes from, folks. I want to get a good idea of what I'm dealing with at a glance. Which leads to...
3.) I am a free-thinking human being. I credit everyone else with the same basic intellectual powers I have. I do not need something Americanized for me. It's called ethnocentrism, this belief that something must be appropriately "familiar" before we will purchase it. That's horseshit (as my daddy used to often say.) It's insulting to the author and it's insulting to the reading public. I have news for the people who chose to whitewash this cover--if people are turned away from the gorgeous girl on the cover because of her ethnic roots, they're not likely to be very enthused with the jacket copy. If someone chooses not to read literature written about another culture because it doesn't appeal to them, you're only adding the five seconds it takes them to read what the book is about before they have the same reaction as you believe they would have had to the cover in the first place. They're still going to put the book back. You're not moving more units. You're just annoying people by being misleading. You can't fix racism by slapping a shadowy Caucasian girl on the front of a book. And I understand that it isn't even always an issue of racism. We all have different interests in what we read. Either way, racism or preference, you're not going to magically appeal to more people by changing the cover.
If I was the author, I'd be heartbroken. From everything I've read, Silver Phoenix is a fantastic book, a book the author can be proud of. And the cover art should reflect her vision of her work.
Period.
What. The. Hell?
The protagonist of the story is of Chinese descent. Why in the name of all that's sane and logical, should the cover art NOT represent that? It bothers me for three reasons; the first as a writer, the second as a reader, and the third as a rational human.
1.) My novel has a female protagonist, and since it's told in first person, a female narrator. Should it be published, I'd have a real issue if someone slapped a boy on the front of it. Considering it's titled Balloon Girl, I get that it's unlikely anyone would. I also realize that authors tend not to have a lot of say in cover art, but in this case, the art is misleading. Which brings us to...
2.) I like to look at the cover of books. I do usually read the jacket flap, of course, but book covers often catch my eye and make me look further. Correct me if I'm wrong, isn't that the point of covers? If not, why aren't all covers matte black or shiny white? If the cover art isn't a representation of what lives below it, what's the point in having any art at all? If I pick up a book with highly stylized, colorful and cartoonish animals, I'm going to be pretty annoyed if it's a reprint of War and Peace. Not that I have a problem with W & P. But because that's not what I was expecting. I don't like being screwed with. In this case, it's kind of expected you're going to judge a book by it's cover. That's where the saying comes from, folks. I want to get a good idea of what I'm dealing with at a glance. Which leads to...
3.) I am a free-thinking human being. I credit everyone else with the same basic intellectual powers I have. I do not need something Americanized for me. It's called ethnocentrism, this belief that something must be appropriately "familiar" before we will purchase it. That's horseshit (as my daddy used to often say.) It's insulting to the author and it's insulting to the reading public. I have news for the people who chose to whitewash this cover--if people are turned away from the gorgeous girl on the cover because of her ethnic roots, they're not likely to be very enthused with the jacket copy. If someone chooses not to read literature written about another culture because it doesn't appeal to them, you're only adding the five seconds it takes them to read what the book is about before they have the same reaction as you believe they would have had to the cover in the first place. They're still going to put the book back. You're not moving more units. You're just annoying people by being misleading. You can't fix racism by slapping a shadowy Caucasian girl on the front of a book. And I understand that it isn't even always an issue of racism. We all have different interests in what we read. Either way, racism or preference, you're not going to magically appeal to more people by changing the cover.
If I was the author, I'd be heartbroken. From everything I've read, Silver Phoenix is a fantastic book, a book the author can be proud of. And the cover art should reflect her vision of her work.
Period.
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