May the Force Be With You

Hey! It's a writing-related post... from me. Well, sort of. It's a catch-up post for those that don't follow me on Twitter.

I've decided to only query in odd numbered months and I'm trying for every Thursday. So, with May drawing to a close, I've got a bunch of queries out. I think I've received around eight responses this month... one for a partial and two for fulls. There was a huge book expo last week though, so I think most agents are going to play catch-up in June... if they respond.

I have a full still out from... April, I believe.

So, that's my big news. I'm really excited about the fulls I just sent out... but trying not to get my hopes up. Some writers cope with querying by being optimistic... others by being pessimistic. I definitely fall in the second category.

The husband and I are sick today. Hubby with a migraine... and me with a head cold. Hopefully, we'll recover to get a lot done tomorrow. I've gotten so far behind on everything. My WIP is sucking my time... and it's been a crazy week. Still, June is query free, so maybe I'll get some of that time back.

Names don't matter--unless you have a really stupid one--and then they do.

Or... porn name. C'mon. If you had any of the Bond girl names, would they hire you at Disneyland to hang out with a name tag that said "Pussy Galore"? No. No, they wouldn't.

Wait... what was I talking about? OH! Names... or titles or both.

I changed the name of all three of the manuscripts I'm querying during the last two weeks. The funny thing is that the one I haven't been mentioning online by its real name... is now called "Curse Me a Story." Scorched and Re:Straint both now have names that I won't be mentioning online anymore. Why? They're really good names. When I was on Twitter this last week, an editor was bemoaning the fact that she didn't have any Angels/Demons on her docket right then because she'd just thought of the perfect title. She wasn't going to share it of course... because it was that good.

That's the way it goes with this whole business, you know?

I was in a chat room at the beginning of the year and when I mentioned my name... one of the agents commented, "That's a really good name."

Yeah it is... which is weird, of course... because it really is my name, but still....

So, the other reason I'm thinking of it is because I just finished a Maeve Binchy book. It was awesome. It was basically a bunch of short stories intertwined around a town. It was well-written, funny, not stodgy... the voices were entertaining... I couldn't put it down. On the other hand, if it hadn't been a book club read, I never would have read it. NO WAY. C'mon... the author's name was Maeve Binchy. It practically screams "Literary Read for Old People" to me. I was actually prepared to yawn through this book. I didn't. I loved it.

So... what's in a name? A reputation... an assumption... a bestseller?

I've been working on my vampire book... not Honor... the one I'm continuing from the short story I wrote. (Yes, JT convinced me to do it.) I'm never going to publish this book under my name. No way. It's not trashy but it turns out that Darcy is the way she is because she was raped when she was converted into being a vampire. Violence and sex have built some funny quirks in her mind... and not "funny" as in "ha ha"... well, not just funny in that way anyway. I want to finish this story but there is no way I'd want my teenage beta reader to dive into it thinking it's like my other books. It's got some mature subjects in it in my opinion.

So, a name is a name is a name is a lot of stress and pressure and you thought picking the right name for your baby is hard. I still haven't gotten much feedback on this new round of queries. What if the agents take a look at "Curse Me A Story" and say, "You're ugly and your mama dresses you funny!"

What... it could happen....

Great Unexpectations

Last night, I was thinking of this whole querying process and trying to psyche myself for another round of queries to send out... and I realized that not even one small part of me thinks I'll get published. It's not that I don't think I'm a good writer. I do. There are lots of good writers out there, though. I'm not even depressed, because you have to have ambitions to be depressed. It's just a weird sense that this whole thing isn't my reality. My reality is that I'll be doing the same thing day after day... and there is some comfort in that.

Every query I send out... every contest I enter... it's like this big game with myself. It's pretending. Then, I'll wake up and write or revise just because I can't stop myself. Maybe it's because I have nightmares every night... or maybe it's the reality of coping with the kids. I don't have low expectations.... I have no expectations whatsoever.

Is that odd?

I mean, I have a full and now a partial out, but there isn't any expectation in my mind. I feel sad when I get a rejection, but part of that is just I put myself out there and exposed some part of me that I really care about. My characters are all so honest... even the evil ones that lie, because I know their souls and I write about that. It makes me wonder if I know their souls so well because they're each a part of me. So, that is what makes me sad about rejections.

As I was thinking on all this last night... I wondered if it was pessimism or pragmatism.

It's not like this will change the way I do things... because this is still fun. It's still fun to laugh with agents on Twitter. It's fun to enter contests. It's fun to pretend at this whole "writer" thing.

Okay, this was probably a really weird post. I didn't sleep more than four hours last night or the night before. So, if none of this makes any sense... it's not you... it's me. :)

Pitch... it's the new naughty word

Above is the cover I used for my hardcopy beta readers before I changed the name a little.

Okay, so I need to work on my pitch for Re:Straint today. I'm wondering if I should focus on Scorched and Re:Straint as far as querying and so on goes. Honor kicks tail, don't get me wrong, but it might be difficult to convey how Honor isn't your typical vampire book and is genuinely funny.

Oh... I should post a link to that Submissions Festival I keep bringing up:

http://nephele.livejournal.com/117703.html

So, I need to write that pitch for Re:Straint. I still have my full on Scorched in with CJLA. I have a couple Honor queries out, but I'm sure I'll get my rejections of those on either Valentine's Day or President's Day... or both. ;) If I do... it's seriously okay. Honor is really hard to query because of the over-saturation of vamp Lit. out there. Rejections on Honor have been much easier to take because I just know you can't get across Honor's voice in a small excerpt and a query letter. I've barely touched queries on these other two because I've been distracted with writing actually. So, I think Re:Straint has been queried once which went right to partial... and Scorched... maybe two or three times. Maybe. So, this will be new and fun to query on Re: Straint.

On the pitch, I'm going to use a tighter cut of the blurb below, but it needs to be one paragraph. So, that might be interesting. I've also had a really nice slushpile reader offer to critique my query on Re: Straint, so I'll work on getting that to her today.

I guess that's it. Hmm. I'm going to go visit blogs this morning and try to be a good blog friend instead of the twitterhead I've been lately.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

MWF seeking writerly relationship with DAW

Except... DAW doesn't stand for anything--that I know of.

Phew, I'm whipped already today, but I'm determined to finish this rewrite of Honor Among Thieves. (For a while, I was abbreviating it as HAT--but then I couldn't find anything and I kept thinking "What's with all these hat documents?") This morning was my family's turn to clean the church building. So, two and a half hours of mostly vacuuming has wiped my energy. I'd make a lousy janitor, I think. Our turn rolls around about twice a year and it's a testament to how much I believe in my church because, with no paid clergy and manned/staffed entirely by the voluntary efforts of the members, a lot falls onto the plate of the members. Nothing less than a strong testimony could inspire me to vacuum for two hours--trust me. I'm tired.

Anyway, so, I need opinions. Anyone responding to this post will be expected to render an opinion of some kind. Got that? Good. Here are my questions:

1. What would be your upper personal word limit for an urban fantasy for adults?

(a.) 125,000 words

(b.) 100,000 words

(c.) 75, 000 words

(d.) 42

(e.) none of the above

(f.) all of the above because I'm contrary

(g.) celery

2. If you read that a publishing company had a policy of exclusivity, would you assume this included not querying agents?

(a.) yes

(b.) no

(c.) I'm waffling.

(d.) none of the above

(e.) 42

(f.) chicken lips

(g.) bacon

3. If you received a rejection that included specific and personal advice on what your manuscript needed in addition to a comment to "consider them in the future," would you revise and resubmit the same manuscript?

(a.) yes, that's what they wanted in "publishing speak."

(b.) possibly--if I felt like I'd addressed their issues

(c.) no, a rejection is a rejection

(d.) no, but I might submit a different manuscript

(e.) the voices in my head have no opinion

(f.) 42

(g.) it's a secret

4. If you did resubmit, would you include a copy of their previous comments or refer to them?

(a.) 42

(b.) yes, a copy

(c.) yes, I'd refer to them in my query

(d.) no, start fresh

(e.) no and it's all just a big conspiracy

(f.) I always wanted to be a pirate

(g.) snakes have no arms that's why they don't wear vests.

5. If you've read Honor Among Thieves, how did you feel about the exposition of the lore of "Vampire", "Mother Earth", "Father Rock", and "Vesuvius" with the Master in the council room?

(a.) It got a little wordy and could be spread in other places.

(b.) I loved it and I love you to death, Wendy.

(c.) 42

(d.) It could be slimmed down.

(e.) I don't really have an opinion.

(f.) I haven't read Honor Among Thieves--or HAT as some might call it.

(g.) chowder

6. If you've read Honor Among Thieves, how did you feel about the flashbacks that Honor has in her dreams?

(a.) LOVED THEM! Seriously, I adore you in every way, Wendy!

(b.) Some were good, but the one with (the Shift Hunts, the funeral, her waking up, her in the hospital with the colorblindness thing) could be cut.

(c.) The Shift Hunt ones should be condensed somehow.

(d.) I hated all of them and I nearly ripped my eyes out and threw them against the wall.

(e.) 42

(f.) turtle

(g.) Seriously, I haven't read it--what's with the third degree?

7. If you've read Honor Among Thieves and you're familiar with DAW publishing, do you think this is a good fit?

(a.) 42

(b.) Yes, go for it!

(c.) I think other publishers might work better.

(d.) Go back to concentrating on the agent thing.

(e.) penguins are cute

(f.) Enough already! Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.

(g.) I'm torn on this--literally.

Random Comments/Praise/Insults/Muffin Jokes: (Psst. This isn't multiple choice. It's fill-in-the-blank or essay.)

Okay, so those are the questions. Answer these seven. Start at the beginning and when you get to the end, stop. These seven are to be answered. If you're too afraid, go back while you still can. They are not to be answered in random order. You must be over the age of two and still breathing to be considered eligible to answer these questions. If you answer 42 to every question, I'll know that you are a geek--and seriously, could you have been less helpful?

Here is how the answers shall be scored:

Those scoring between 0-20 points will be shot. 19-37 points will meet a stranger today and fall hopelessly in love. 30-31 points will receive $20 in the mail from Microsoft. 38-1425 points will experience a Saturday in the near future. Those scoring negative points will be forced to experience the same day over and over until they get it right. Thems the breaks.

Okay, so, good luck. Oh and you will be timed--just for fun. Don't use a number two pencil on your monitor, btw. It won't end well.

(I should warn you that my muffin joke is the best, and I wouldn't even bother trying to top it.)