Plotting, Plotting, Plotting! July 12, 2011

Rather than spend my summer lazing about poolside, I am using my copious amounts of free time (ha, ha, ha – did I mention I have small children?) to start work on another project.

The textbook people are planning on getting in touch with me shortly, so my freedom is about to be cut perilously short. I must use the hours that remain to their maximum capacity because I don’t know how many (or how few) are left.

So,

Now I’m plotting.

You know what’s really cool? Having an agent to bounce ideas off, that’s what’s cool.

I wrote out these character sketches and a short pitch outlining a book I’d like to write and then I sent it to Brianne. I had some specific questions, but was mostly concerned with, “Should I write this, or is the idea so atrocious no one will ever want to pick it up?” And you know what was really awesome? She wrote back! (I was not surprised by this, as she is very good at communicating with me, but the whole novelty of having someone in the publishing field who will answer my newbie/weird questions still floors me sometimes.)

I would ask you to guess what her answer was, but I kind of spoiled it for you at the top of the post, so we’ll just move on as though we’re all squeeing together at the discovery that my agent likes my new idea. Ready? *SQUEE!*

Being me, I couldn’t just jump into writing (I am SOOOOO not a pantser) – no, I had to whip out a spreadsheet and map the whole thing out. And, ZOMG, I had so much fun! I would post a pic of my spreadsheet, but I don’t want to give away the surprise…

Aw, who am I kidding? Look what I made!

Plotting, Plotting, Plotting!

Don’t be too upset if you can’t decipher what’s written. For one, it’s all set-up and nothing exciting happens. Two, I just wanted to show off my pretty little columns and rows. This isn’t a full chapter-by-chapter outline, more like an event-to-event one. There are key elements that must happen in the story for it to play out the way I want, and I need to get them in order before I start writing.

I did something very similar with Nikko, but I used index cards (and then stupidly recycled them so I had nothing to refer to when I wanted to create this spreadsheet). Seeing as Nikko landed me an agent, I figure the system must not be too horribly flawed.

I still have a few boxes to fill in, but I should be able to do that this afternoon, which means… Da-da-daaaaa! Tonight I will be writing!

A new book!

Writing!

A brand new, shiny book!

*happy dance* (Well, happy dance until such time as the textbook people come calling…)

C.

Really Awesome Agent Interview Blog December 24, 2010

Check out this awesome blog post! (It totally proves just how subjective the industry is – AND it shows there really is an agent out there interested in YOUR book!)

http://metahypnosis.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-eve.html

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!

C.

Conference Meals – Worth It? October 26, 2010

When I first started budgeting for SiWC 2010, I resigned myself to not being able to afford the meals. The extra $100+ was just too much. Then, as registration day drew closer, it became apparent that the meals would be an option.

I had to decide.

Eat potentially less-than-stellar hotel food or brown-bag it.

I am a picky eater, and I didn’t relish exposing my foible to the publishing world, but I’d also read on many blogs and sites that the key networking events happen over meals and breaks, NOT during the pitch sessions.

So I decided to risk being mocked (or at least eyed askance) for my culinary tastes in order to participate in the meals with the rest of the attendees and publishing professionals. It was sooooooooo worth it. I had a blast at the meals, and I will never forget my amazing dinner companions.

Is the conference meal package worth it? Hell yeah.

C.

SiWC 2010 Day One October 22, 2010

ZOMG

Wow.

Words cannot begin to describe the fun I had today. Not only that, but I am floating around based on the awesome interactions I had with industry professionals today.

Seriously, it was way too much awesomeness for one person to handle.

I promise to go into more detail once the conference is over, but here are some of the highlights of my day:

• My pitch workshop with Chuck Sambuchino (editor with Writer’s Digest magazine) was fun and informative,
• I had lunch with a lovely group of people including Cameron McClure from the Donald Maass Literary Agency,
• Robert Dugioni’s workshop on character development was phenomenal,
• Joanna Bourne’s presentation on description was eye-opening and amusing, and I am sad I had to slip out for my agent pitch session,
• I met with Laurie McLean from Larson Pomada and talked about Nikko’s Bond,
• Laurie expressed interest in the manuscript and asked me to send pages plus a synopsis – as well as informing her immediately should another agent put an offer on the table,
• we discussed the differences between MG and YA and where my book fit (Laurie thinks it might be a better sell as YA, but doesn’t know for sure as she hasn’t read it), and she suggested I try to book a pitch session with one of the editors from Simon & Schuster to get her opinion on it,
• I had dinner at an awesome table with Joanna Stampfel-Volpe from Nancy Coffey, storyteller Ivan Coyote, and Annette Pollert (associate editor from Simon Pulse – the MG/YA imprint of Simon & Schuster), among some other really awesome conference attendees.

Yes, the editor Ms. McLean suggested I try to contact just happened to ask if she could join my table and ate a pleasant meal with me. Yes, we talked shop at the end. She came to the conclusion that the only way to decide where my book best fit would be through reading it. So yes, she offered to take a look. She asked for a few pages, and I asked if she’d like a synopsis to help with understanding where the sample pages are going, and she replied by asking if I had a full manuscript ready. I replied, “Of course,” and she told me to send her the whole thing.

I was a little stunned. An editor at one of the “big six” publishing houses requested my full manuscript as we chatted over tea and coffee.

Wow.

Seriously.

Wow.

Even if nothing comes from this, the entire experience so far (and there are two days left) has been absolutely phenomenal.

Wow.

C.

ZOMG! SiWC 2010 Tomorrow! October 21, 2010

*bounces*

*panics*

*bounces*

I suppose it would be a bit of an understatement to mention that I am a little excited about this weekend. I have no idea if I will be able to blog tomorrow or Saturday, but I will make every attempt to do so – I just don’t know if I’ll be home before midnight…

*squee*

I have to organize my laptop bag!

And print sample pages for SiWC Idol!

And polish my pitch!

And prep some queries and pages – just in case!

And get some paper and a pen!

And choose my workshops!

And write down my agent pitch time!

Oh! And print out pages for my blue pencil appointment!

*comes down from bouncing off the walls*

I’m thinking this weekend will be fun.

C.

More Agent Questions! October 20, 2010

Tonight I am going to focus on client questions.

1. How many clients do you have?

You don’t have to ask this one, but it’s a good opener for questions like about the agent having time to add another client to his/her roster and questions about how many clients the agent is hoping to acquire in the future.

2. Do you base your client list on books or authors?

A number of agencies are very clear on this on their websites, saying they want to work with authors for the long-term, but others are less clear. And yes, some agents only want to represent a title, not a career. Better to find that out early on than to assume one or the other.

3. Do you work exclusively with your clients or are there other agents/assistants who will be working on your behalf?

Again, there really isn’t a BAD answer to this. Yes, it would be nice to know that one person has taken your book to heart and is working tirelessly on your behalf, but when that one person has other clients who also need care and attention, it’s good to know someone else has you covered for day-to-day questions or little things. On the other hand, sometimes these other people create a barrier between the agent and author and you may feel as though you are being ignored or are unimportant.

4. How often do you contact your clients, and for what reasons?

Again, this is another subjective question. Perhaps you want an agent who reports in once a week/month/quarter with an update on what he/she has done on your behalf, or maybe you’d rather be told every time your agent sends your manuscript out to an editor. You need to know how the agent operates if you’re going to have a healthy working relationship with him/her. If you’re expecting daily emails or tweets, and your agent expects to only contact you if he/she gets a nibble from a publisher, you’re going to end up frustrating one another.

5. What kind of contract do you offer?

Believe it or not, some agents still work under the verbal contract, or hand-shake deal. In an age where no one trusts anyone, it’s pretty cool to find people who still do business based on their word. That being said, YOU have to feel cool about that too. If you need the reassurance of a contract in order to convince yourself you didn’t dream the offer and your acceptance, then you need to make that clear to the agent. Regardless of whether or not you’ve got a written contract, make sure you and your agent BOTH agree on the terms for ending the relationship. No one plans to break up with their agent, but sometimes it happens – hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

And that’s enough for one post. I’ll be back tomorrow with more questions!

C.

MY Game, Dammit! October 11, 2010

No more worrying and doubting my own work’s worth!

I started writing to please myself, to have fun, and to see if I could do it.

I love writing, it IS fun, and I did it – I have the book coming out in May 2011 to prove it.

So, you know what? I’m good. I’m fine. I’m me.

This is my game and I’m going to play it in a way that makes me happy. If I want to get excited when an agent emails to ask for the full manuscript, I’m going to damn well get excited. This process has rules (I get that and I’m not suggesting I’m planning on deviating from them), but no one is holding a gun to my head forcing me to sweat and angst over my inbox.

I write because I love to write, not because I’m hoping an agent will pick me up and whisk me off to fame and fortune. I will keep writing whether The Firestorm Conspiracy is my first or last novel.

I will keep tossing my completed works out into the world because they’re good. I KNOW they’re good, and I’m not going to let the little voice in the back of my head tell me otherwise.

I’m not going to pretend to be blasé about the fulls that are out right now. They’re a BIG DEAL. So if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to wander off and celebrate with a moment of *squee* and maybe a little something chocolate…

C.

My game. My rules. My passion.

Self-Doubt October 10, 2010

Okay, I’m going to be honest with you.

The query process for Nikko’s Bond is going so un-freaking-believably well I should be doing cartwheels around the equator. Seriously. Remember how deliriously happy I was when an agent asked for a partial back when I was querying Firestorm? Well, what’s going on here makes that milestone look like soggy leaves clogging a storm drain.

Why then, am I not driving you nuts with constant posts about it?

(And why does my house smell like banana bread after I cooked chicken? Although, that’s a matter for another time.)

I have two reasons for not blabbing all over the interwebz.

1) Apparently it is poor form to post one’s rejection/request stats. This makes sense. After all, let’s say you post that you’ve sent out 5,000 queries and only two agents have asked to see partials. If there’s an agent considering asking for more material, and they wander over to your site and see those stats, they may start to question their own interest. And how many agents want to be the 5,001st agent queried? Sure, they know we query widely, but to be that low on your list isn’t going to endear you to them.

2) I’m having trouble accepting it for what it is. I feel like I’m fooling people with my query, and that the agents who ask for more are getting the manuscript, reading it, and reacting with OMG-one-night-stand remorse. (I have nothing to base this on, as I haven’t heard back from these agents, but it’s pretty much what’s going through my head.) But then I look at my submissions to these agents and I am forced to acknowledge that I sent more than just a query to several of them – so they asked to read more because they liked what they already read. At which point my sex-guilt analogy kicks in again and I am left wondering if the requests (especially ones that come after a nudge on a query) are the equivalent of pity sex.

Then I wander over to sites like QueryTracker.net and discover that some of the agents who asked to see more have stats like:

427 queries received. 9 requests for fulls.

1049 queries received. 43 requests for partials.

Surely these stats should be enough to banish the doubts I have about my writing. Surely! But no, here I am wallowing in misery because I am afraid to get excited about the level of interest in my novel.

Have you faced feelings like this before? What do you do when you feel this way?

C.

Horrible Query Contest Results September 21, 2010

I didn’t win (or even place) in Natalie Fischer’s query contest, but I did earn an honourable mention for my unreasonable contact specifications, which was lovely. It’s always reassuring to learn something you wrote as humorous comes across that way. It makes me think the small things I add to my manuscripts will give one or two people a chuckle instead of causing eye rolls and utterances of , “lame.”

The top twenty queries in the Adventures in Children’s Publishing contest/mentorship were posted today, and I am saddened to say I was not one of them. One of my WriteOnCon friends was, and I am very happy for her. Should the opportunity arise in the future, I will query the agent judging the contest (Sarah LaPolla) because she seems really awesome for giving up her free time to help aspiring authors out.

Let the Editing Begin! September 1, 2010

This post is going to be short because I am in the middle of working through my manuscript – getting it ready to shop around to agents. I spent last night working on plot holes, and now I’m focusing on characterization (with perhaps a bit of world-building thrown in for kicks).

Oh! I will mention that Donald Maass and Lisa Rector are no longer coming to SiWC in October (I had pitch/blue pencil appointments with them). As a result, I had to choose a different pitch and blue pencil person. In a way, I’m glad. Sure, I’m disappointed I won’t get to meet THE Donald Maass, but at the same time I knew I wasn’t going to have anything ready to pitch to him anyway. Instead, I got to choose an agent who would be interested in the novel that is ready to pitch – and that’s exciting and a huge stress reducer!