A Little Truth-Telling February 7, 2012

We’ve left the Year of the Rabbit and entered the Year of the Dragon. It’s time for me to document some of what happened in late 2011 that led to the mysterious silence around here.

I can’t remember if I’ve talked much about INTO DARKNESS PEERING. I started working on the manuscript to pass the time while UNBONDED was out on submission. I figured it was a fun back-up project to help keep me sane while we tried to see if any editors would bite on wanting to make UNBONDED into a trilogy.

I didn’t start on the sequel in case we only sold it as a standalone, and this turned out to be precisely the correct thing to do because not only didn’t UNBONDED sell as a trilogy, I ended up asking to have it pulled from consideration because some trends in the feedback made me want to re-write it.

I got 12,000 words into the re-write when my former agent told me she was going to be leaving the publishing industry and I would need to seek new representation because no one at MTM was able/willing to take me on. It’s kind of funny, as I was struggling with the re-write–something in my sub-conscious was screaming at me that what I was doing was wrong–every sentence felt like I’d squeezed it from a stone. It turns out my ‘radar’ was spot on because not only was losing my agent personally stressful, it also pretty much signalled the death of UNBONDED as a saleable manuscript (it can be very tricky for a new agent to take on a ms that’s already been shopped around and rejected), so my re-write (had I continued) would have been for naught.

Thankfully I’d completed an initial draft of INTO DARKNESS. If I was going to find a new agent, I needed a new project.

I sent out some queries and started getting requests. A lot of requests. I should have felt buoyed by this, but I couldn’t get past the disappointment of being in the query trenches again. I knew the idea for INTO DARKNESS was awesome, but I think in the self-doubt that came with having to find new representation, I allowed myself to believe I hadn’t done it justice.

Self-doubt can be killer. It’s insidious and almost impossible to escape.

I’ll be honest. I didn’t write a word during the entire month of December because that evil little voice had me questioning whether or not I could handle writing professionally. It didn’t matter how many little accomplishments I had indicating that yes, I really can write, the fact I’d been knocked off-stride by losing my agent negated every. single. one.

Thankfully I’m too stubborn to quit. I decided I would only query my top choices for agents and agencies. If I didn’t receive an offer of representation from anyone in my top ten (plus half a dozen referrals to agents my former agent thought might be a good fit) I would stop querying until I had a different project to query. There was no way I was going to feel like I was begging for a new agent, knocking on doors hat in hand, and waiting to be lifted from the gutter of obscurity.

I decided self-doubt and I had to part ways. If I was going to keep playing this writing game, it was going to be on my terms. I wanted the best damn agent in the industry, and I was determined to write a novel capable of netting me such an agent.

Losing my agent really hurt, but I found an inner strength that reminded me I started on this journey because I love to tell stories. This journey is about me, not about my agent, or about editors, or about Amazon, or anything else. It forced me to re-evaluate my priorities and my motivations, and truly clarify what I wanted to accomplish with my writing career.

I know where I stand and nothing, not self-doubt, criticism, or anything else the world of writers or readers can throw at me, is going to shift me from this point. My goals are crystal clear, and the strength I’ve found means I’m not going to compromise or settle for less than where I see myself going. If I’m not ready to reach a certain milestone yet, I’m not going to give up or search for a closer goal post; I’m going to draw on that inner steel and work my butt off until I reach the goal that rings true.

This is my game.

C.

Agent Interviewed – Brianne Mulligan February 11, 2011

Krista over at Mother. Write. (Repeat) posted an interview with Brianne Mulligan today.

http://motherwrite.blogspot.com/2011/02/interactive-interview-with-agent.html

I’m linking to this post because not only is Brianne my agent (*squee*), but the interview is phenomenal. Brianne’s answers to the questions are thoughtful and detailed. She also popped back to the blog several times throughout the day to answer questions posted in the comments section, so while the interview itself covered some great material, there’s a tonne of bonus stuff down below too!

And, to my great surprise and excitement, there was a moment of *squee* in the comments for me when she described one of her clients’ books…

Go and check the interview out for yourselves – Brianne is an awesome agent, and Krista runs a really neat blog.

C.

QT Interview! January 26, 2011

My success story is up over at the Querytracker site!

Go check it out!

http://querytracker.net/cheryl_angst.php

I’m serious!

Stope reading this blog – I’m not going to write anything of great import further down the page.

Go!

*taps foot*

Dude! Why are you still here?

Did you forget to click the link?

Let me help you: http://querytracker.net/cheryl_angst.php

I promise not to write anything exciting – I pinkie swear.

C.

Welcome to 2011 January 1, 2011

The new year is off to an interesting start for me. I’m juggling the math textbook, keeping Nikko’s Bond in front of agents, finishing the Firestorm sequel, and playing around with my new YA WIP.

When I first started the math textbook, it was like I had a switch in my head; flipped one way, I could think about writing non-fiction but was completely cut off from my fiction ideas and creativity, and flipped the other way, I could work on my fiction stuff, but the idea of math gave me a headache. It’s getting easier to switch between the two types of writing, but the first day was brutal. It took me a LONG time to get into the right mindset for writing non-fiction, so once I was there, I was reluctant to leave lest it take several hours the next day to get back in again. I thought it was a good idea to ignore my fiction and go to bed still in textbook mode.

I was wrong.

Boy, was I wrong.

I barely slept. My mind wouldn’t relax and slip into its usual pre-dream state. I could ‘see’ my novels on the other side of the glass, but my mathematical mind wouldn’t let me go play with the characters. It was one of the worst nights ever. And, to top it off, I awoke with a vicious migraine. Now some of you are going to claim this as coincidence (and I’d be willing to do the same, except for one tiny detail), but I’m doubtful. You see, when I get a migraine it always starts behind my left eye and spreads from there. In fact, that’s how I know I’m getting a migraine as opposed to a normal headache. This migraine though, was firmly centered behind my right eye. I have NEVER had a migraine on that side. Ever.

And people wonder why some people hate math. Dude! It makes my brain hurt!

All joking aside, I am enjoying the challenge of writing non-fiction and I like how it’s stretching my brain ‘muscles’ in new (okay, not new, but long-neglected) ways.

With all the excitement of a new WIP, the textbook, and the various Firestorm novels, I’ve been neglecting Nikko’s Bond. Starting this week I am going to go through my list of agents and see precisely where I’m at. A few new agents have come onto the scene since July when I made my initial query list, so I will probably spend some time checking them out to see if any might be a good fit.

I’m still working on the sequel to The Firestorm Conspiracy, and while I’m not 100% sure I’ll be querying it, I do have three possible e-book publishers in mind if I decide to put it out there. The first is Lyrical Press – even though they have decided to discontinue their sci-fi line, they are more than willing to look at subsequent books from their authors, AND seeing as the story seems to have turned into a romance, it kind of fits with their other lines anyway. The other option is a Canadian e-book publisher, MuseItUp. They publish all genres and give preference to Canadian authors. I don’t know if they’d be interested in running a sequel, but you never know. The third option is more of a long shot as it’s Harlequin’s e-book line, Corina Press. But, the novel’s not finished yet, so I don’t need to worry about any of this for quite some time.

On a fun note, I was trekking around Lyrical Press’s site and noticed they’ve pretty much finished all the covers for their January, February, and March 2011 releases. That means the April and May ones are next. I can’t even begin to imagine what my cover will look like, but if the other covers are any indication, it will be amazing. I can hardly wait to see it!

2011 looks like a promising year for my writing journey. I have and e-book coming out in May, a textbook later in the year, and hope on the horizon for my first YA novel as well as possibilities for a Firestorm sequel and a new, darker, YA. At this point anything is possible, and that’s a really exciting place to be.

C.

Wicked Awesome Contest November 29, 2010

It seems authors and agents are offering contests on a pretty regular basis around the interwebs, but every once and a while, a contest comes along that is just *kablow!* in it’s amazingness. What am I talking about this time? Only a speed dating contest with an agent where the top prize is not a query critique, not a manuscript read, but an OFFER OF REPRESENTATION.

You think I’m joking? Taunting you with your ultimate writing contest fantasy only to strip it away from you with an evil laugh?

BWA HA HA HA HA HA!

You are WRONG! Wrong I say!

The contest is real! I have proof! I do, I really, really do!

http://knightagency.blogspot.com/2010/11/super-big-mega-gigantic-contest.html#links

See?

Neener neener neener! I was telling the truth!

Now set your alarm and get up in time to enter the first round.

C.

Day Twenty-Four 2010 November 24, 2010

I wrote close to 4,000 words yesterday!

I am 1690 words from 50K – so close I can taste it! Of course, my word count may differ from NaNoWriMo’s, so I’ll be writing beyond 50,000 words just in case.

In other news, I was contacted by a Canadian publisher to see if I am interested in writing a chapter for a national mathematics textbook! Um, hello? *SQUEE*

In more good Canadian news, one of the Canadian literary agents I queried in September emailed today and asked to see the full manuscript for Nikko’s Bond. That makes 13 fulls requested! WOOT!

Thankfully I have exciting things like NaNoWriMo to keep me occupied while waiting to hear back from the agents with my novel. That, and I put the first few chapters of Job Hunted (http://www.authonomy.com/books/28571/job-hunted-/) up on authonomy.com – so if you’re interested in reading it (or better yet, rating it and adding it to your bookshelf), you can check it out.

Authonomy is an interesting site in that it functions like a slush pile for Harper Collins. The writers and readers on the site rate the samples and every month the five highest-rated novels are picked up and read by the editors of HC. They agree to read the first 10K (minimum) and provide feedback on the book. They do not promise book contracts, but the editors do say they have published some of the books they pulled from the slush and a few have even gone on to be bestsellers.

It’s a little like WEBook, but seems to be way more active. As soon as NaNo is done I am going to spend some time doing my share of reading and rating.

All right, time to put this puppy to bed. We should hit 50K sometime tomorrow (I doubt I’ll get there tonight, but you never know).

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.

What Happens After an Agent Offers? October 18, 2010

As much as I wish the title could be my less-than-creative way of saying I had an agent call me, it’s not. So really, is anything that follows going to be definitive and pronounced with authority? Nope. It will be peppered with research though.

The call comes in. Agent Dreamboat from Perfection Literary wants to represent you and your work. What do you do?

1. You breathe.
2. You bite back the giant *SQUEE* and pretend to be nonchalant.
3. You breathe.
4. You look at your script.

What? You don’t have a script?

Aside from oxygen, the first thing you need is a script–or at least some notes–to refer to because let’s be honest – are you REALLY going to be in the right frame of mind to be thinking logically and critically?

The trick is to remember the agent isn’t going to rescind the offer if you don’t say, “YES!” immediately. In fact, the agent will pretty much expect you to ask for time to consider the offer. I suppose the agent might secretly be hoping you’ll jump at the chance, they won’t be surprised or disappointed.

So what works as a script?

You need to thank them for their interest, and spend some time getting a feel for their personality and how they view your work. But once the touchy-feely niceties are done, you need to ask for time. You could try saying something along the lines of, “There are several agents who are also evaluating my manuscript at the moment, and I feel I owe them the courtesy of informing them that I have received an offer.”

You need to do this. You need to contact the other agents who are looking at your work.

Why?

Well, two offers are better than one (for you), and because it’s the courteous thing to do. If you plan on accepting the first agent’s offer you can demonstrate your professionalism by informing the other agents so they don’t waste their time falling in love with a book they won’t get to represent. Who knows, one of the agents you nudge might also want to rep your work – and now you’ll get to have the same heart-stopping conversation more than once!

Now, you don’t want to keep the agent who offered waiting too long, so you can’t ask for months to make up your mind. From what I’ve gleaned from around the web, a week seems about average. If you’re on the ball and get to the other agents right after the first phone call, they’ll have almost a week to decide if they want to throw their hat into the ring too. They’ll appreciate the time – they have to squeeze your manuscript into an already busy schedule to see if they want a chance to pick it up – and at the very least, they’ll appreciate the notification.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about some of the key questions to be asking these savvy agents who’re going to come knocking.

C.

Confidence Boost October 17, 2010

*happy dance*

I contacted my publisher yesterday because I need a VERY SPECIFIC letter to send to the IRS in order to receive an ITIN (which will prevent the IRS from keeping 30% of my royalties). I mentioned in passing that I was planning a sequel to The Firestorm Conspiracy, and wondered if Lyrical Press would be interested in looking at the manuscript once it’s complete.

I figured I’d be thrilled to get preferential treatment in their slush pile (after all, the contract is only for one book, not like an agent who–theoretically–is invested for the author’s entire career).

The response was:

“Yes, just submit the manuscript to your editor.”

*faints*

No queries.

No slush.

Just pass the completed novel on to my editor.

Wow.

Isn’t that just the coolest?

C.