Always

It's been so long since I've logged into this here bloggy thing, I sort of forgot how to create a post. Ooops! 

 

Back when I started this blog in 2008 or 2009 (I don't even remember now), I had no idea what was coming for me. Where the voices in my head would take me. Here I am preparing to visit a teen book club this weekend, where they've all read one of my books. This is a real thing I get to do. 

 

And as I've struggled with writing (especially since my 3.5yo daughter was born and stole most of my brain), and wondered if this path is really for me, I always seem to get a boost telling me that I want to keep doing these things. Just when I doubt, I'll get invited to a book club, or I'll get a book report on one of my books in the mail, or a fan email begging for a sequel to What You Always Wanted. A little poke, a reminder that things I've created are out there, are finding homes, are nestling in hearts. 

 

It's so easy to forget, because writing is so lonely. We sit here in our yoga pants in front of a computer screen and surrounded by Cadbury Mini Eggs and it feels like a small miracle when someone reaches out to tell you that your creation has meant something to them. 

 

That's why I do it, even when rejection after rejection comes. Because there is hope. That I'm meant to share something that means something to someone.  

Do I have anything coming out soon? No. 

Am I still writing? Always.

 

How are you? I miss you. I miss the glory days of blogging and the tiny little writing community we carved out for ourselves.  

 

And before I forget! If you're at all interested in hearing me interviewed about my publishing journey, here's a podcast! 

 

xoxo 

 

The Jealousy Food Chain

There seems to be a food chain of jealousy in publishing. Someone just starting a WIP might be irritated when their critique partner announces they just finished a first draft; so-and-so is freaking out about a full request and you only got a partial; if one more person announces they signed with an agent you're going to throw something; the agented writer cringes when another book deal is announced and they're still on sub; the person with a one-book deal wonders why this other person got a two-book deal, with a bigger publishing house; everyone is jealous of the seven figure deal that's buzzing all over Twitter; this author over here really wishes their cover could have been as amazing as so-and-so's cover; the author that has to keep their day job may envy the full-time writer who cranks out more than one book a year and is constantly on tour like a rock star; we see yet another movie or TV series being made out of a fantasy or paranormal and think WHY CAN'T I WRITE A BOOK LIKE THAT?; those authors with movie deals might be jealous over another movie's casting, as they have zero control over this, or glare at the (few) people with theme parks/thrill rides based on their books/comics etc ... that's really as far as my brain can see this going. If you land a theme park set in the world of your imagination, YOU HAVE ARRIVED! ;)

*UPDATE - of course, as KM mentioned in the comments, we are also VERY happy for everyone's good news. It should be more encouraging than discouraging that dreams DO come true!

I think it's probably common to wish you were in a different place, no matter WHERE you are yourself. Unless you're J.K. Rowling, there's always someone ahead of you (and I'll bet even she admires someone else--you never know). For some reason, we get it into our heads that we need to rush rush rush. "But I want to be a NYT Bestseller NOW!" "I want that seven-figure deal NOW!"

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But we can't let that jealousy rob us of our individual experience. Sure, we can look to the future and have hopes and goals, but we can't be so blinded by it we miss what's right in front of us. Everyone ahead of you was right where you are at one point, they just happened to go through it first. I'm learning to look at them as proof that these goals can actually be accomplished, and work my rear off to get there. Channel that desire to be where they are into making it happen, and don't give up and start whining about it all. It's WORK. Hard work. You have to love it.

As I'm waiting and waiting for my first book to make it onto a shelf next year, I've found myself wishing time would just HURRY UP ALREADY so I can realize that dream. But... why would I wish my life to speed up? I have plenty to enjoy at this stage, as well as a lot of work before I'm READY to be any farther along.

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New Year, New Goals

Every year I say I won't make resolutions because I'm afraid I won't stick to them, but I do have some goals in mind this year. And the best motivation to stick to them is proclaiming them publicly! So here goes...

1. Writing: For the month of January, my goal is to write 1k words a week. I know most of you can write that in an hour, but my average is in the 200's per hour, so I have to be realistic and set a goal I can actually reach. Next month I'll see if I need to stick to it, or if I can push myself more.

1-2. Finish first draft of WIP by the end of April.

2. Health: I start every year with good intentions, but somehow over the last six years, I've put on 30+ extra lbs. Pathetic, yes. BUT the scale is finally starting to go backwards, and with the clean slate of 1.1.13, I'm happy to say I'm making major lifestyle changes. I haven't had bread, pasta or sweets since LAST YEAR!! So what if that was only four days ago, it's happening and I'm doing it! I'm staying strong until the weekend of my 30th birthday at the end of February (there will be cupcakes!), then picking back up again.

3. Fitness: No longer a paying gym member, I've devised a home workout calendar I may actually stick to. It's a hybrid of Turbo Fire, Hip Hop Abs, free weight workouts clipped from magazines, and I've started power-walking two miles a day (while listening to audiobooks! I'm not a great book 'listener' so half the time I don't know what's going on, but it's a nice distraction from the reality that I'm getting exercise haha). I've printed it all out on a calendar and check off each day. Great motivation to see those check marks!

4. Selflessness: Maybe it's a symptom of being an only child, but it's extremely easy to be me-focused. And the fact that this is the fourth goal I thought to type and not the first proves that I need to work on it. I want to be more considerate, pray for the needs of others above my own, and learn to help where I can.

5. Thankfulness: I am so so so fortunate for the health of my family, to be surrounded by people I love, to be able to drive a functioning vehicle to the grocery store any time of day or night and hoard food under a protective roof with heat, air conditioning, and plumbing. I take all of this for granted far too often. There should be no complaining, only thankfulness.

Of course there are lots of other things I'd love to happen this year, but those are the biggies that I have control over. Are you setting any goals for 2013? How are you staying motivated to stick to them?

How I Got My Agent

*I'm sorry this is a long post! But let's be real, you're going to skim it anyway ;)

Recently I signed with the amazing Marietta Zacker of the Nancy Gallt Literary Agency, a pairing that was actually rather close to not happening at all. I'm fascinated with "how I got my agent" stories, so for those of you who are curious, here's mine. Parts of it are ridiculously unbelievable, even to me, but I hope it will inspire you not to give up on your own dream!

So I wrote this book... that was step one. Drafting and a few rounds of revisions took about a year. Then came the time to actually send out queries. At first I targeted agents that had success representing books similar to mine. This isn't exactly the best idea, since they already have a client like me. I got great feedback from several agents, two of which took the time to send extensive revision suggestions, and I reworked where I saw fit. The changes made the story stronger, but mid-end of summer was maddeningly quiet on the query response/request front. I was losing hope. Maybe this story wasn't the one. So I worked to emotionally let it go, and dove into my next story.

And I went query-rabid.

Now, Marietta was closed some of the time I queried, but I had a watch set on her agent profile on Query Tracker to be notified when she reopened. To me, her and her agency felt extremely unattainable. One of those dream agencies you query and try to forget you queried because you don't want to think about the rejection that's coming. One of my critique partners queried Nancy Gallt, and for a second I was tempted to fill out that form on the website too, but something held me back. Inside, I knew I needed to wait to query that agency until Marietta was open again.

I spent the first half of September sending queries to the rest of the agents on my list (the peak of my query-rabid stage, expecting nothing, happy with how my new story was shaping up). On a whim, I participated in a Twitter pitch event (#pitmad) on a Thursday (that I only knew about because my critique partner happened to mention it on gchat that morning), which led to a request, which led to my first offer by an unscheduled phone call the following Monday, September 17th, which happened to be the same day Marietta reopened. I had queried her as soon as I woke up that morning, and the offer that stemmed from #pitmad came just a few hours later. I notified a couple agents with my material of the offer, as well as some agents I'd queried that I was especially interested in hearing back from. Suddenly there were a handful of agents interested, all promising to get back to me as soon as possible. But being me, I didn't expect any more offers.

After that first phone call, I got an email from Marietta, asking to read the entire manuscript! A same-day response from an agent that JUST reopened, on the same day I got an offer. This was just too unreal. I sent her the full, and notified her of the offer.

I got a second offer on Tuesday, and my head was spinning. I now had a decision to make. I was going to have to tell someone no, and someone yes. I could hardly eat or sleep.

Thursday, on my way home from work, I got another unscheduled phone call. It was offer number three. I had to pull over to a parking lot to talk to her so I wouldn't wreck.

Friday, an email from another agent to set up a phone call. Offer number four.

What. The. Bleep. Do. I. Do. Now?

I spent the weekend in shock. Tossing and turning. Not eating. Anxious. Confused. Thrilled.

Monday I checked in with the agents still considering, letting them know I now had four offers, and that I was preparing to make my decision. Marietta responded, and we set up a phone call for that afternoon. Offer number five. I felt so good after speaking with her. Not only did she get my story the way I wanted readers to get it, but she was incredibly kind, experienced, and just... right.

But I still had time to think, and Tuesday I got another offer. Number six (I told you this story got completely unbelievable. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around it).

Wednesday morning I woke up with the clarity that Marietta was my agent. I still had one more agent with the full, but she was pretty much unresponsive by this point. Convinced I was done, and confident in my decision, I emailed Marietta, set up a phone call, and accepted her offer on the phone. Much squealing of delight followed after I hung up.

I HAVE AN AGENT! OMG! WHAT? IS THIS REAL LIFE? AHHHHHH!!

Later that afternoon, of course, I finally got an email from the last agent I was convinced I would never hear from. She wanted to set up a phone call to make an offer. Number seven. You've got to be kidding. I wrote her back and thanked her, but had to decline the phone call.

I know what you're thinking. This story is bogus. Trust me, I was saying this to myself and my family the entire time. With each phone call, I just felt like I was falling farther and farther down some rabbit hole of a dream. It sounds exciting--the problem you want to have, they say. But it was, at times, heartbreaking. There were tears involved. There was much stress. I felt sick all the time because I wasn't eating or sleeping well. I had to choose between amazing agents who all loved my story. Who wanted to take a chance on me and my little YA contemporary story that I had just started to believe would never make it anywhere. Thankfully, once I talked to Marietta, the agent that almost wasn't an option, my choice was clear.

So I don't have one of those stories where I queried 10 people and got an offer right away. I queried wide, and for months. I got a lot of nos. I just about gave up, but decided to go ahead and send queries to the rest of the agents on my list. To jump into a Twitter pitch event, of all things. To go ahead and query that unattainable agent as soon as she reopened to queries. And suddenly it was all worth it. Every little thing during my query experience happened because Marietta and I were always supposed to work together. Let this encourage you not to take rejections so hard. They're going to happen. Keep in mind, that one "no" might be making way for that one "yes" you're meant for later.

And because it inspired me to see the numbers on these types of posts:

Total time querying: 5 months
Total queries sent: 121
Query rejections: 59
Partial requests: 13
Full requests: 13 
(Those numbers are the same, but not all partials were upgraded to fulls. Some agents ask for fulls right off the bat)
Offers of representation: 7
The rest are no-responders, or have yet to respond (as of the time of this post, I'm still getting rejections!)

"Your time will come, if you wait for it, if you wait for it. It's hard, believe me, I've tried..." 
- Imagine Dragons

Don't give up on your dreams. They're worth the effort it takes to get there. 

I Have an AGENT!!!

The past couple of weeks have been an absolute whirlwind, but I can now officially say, I HAVE AN AGENT!!! It's happened! And I might still be in shock. I mean, how long have I dreamed of this day? I found someone who loves my story just as much as I do. Who GETS it. Who is sweet, and funny, honest, professional, and just so wonderful I want to lace up my skates, hop onto the ice, and fling myself into a flying camel spin. (Considering I haven't been on the ice in years, probably not the best idea, but right now I feel like I could do it!) EEEEP!!

I've signed with Marietta Zacker of the Nancy Gallt Literary Agency! I'm agent-buddies with the fabulous Hilary Wagner! And I'm agency-mates with Rick Riordan! Y'all.... I just... I can't even....

Marietta and Nancy represent so many great authors, I look forward to familiarizing myself with them, and I feel so honored and blessed to be added to their client list! Could I possibly add any more exclamation points to this post?! Just a few more!! And I'll post the whole story soon, for those of you who are curious!

A big THANK YOU to all of my followers, blogging buddies, and my amazing critique partners and betas (KM, Kristi, Kim, Amy and Cari). Your comments, encouragement and critiques have kept me going. Much love!

Never give up on your goals. Ever.

GUTGAA Blogfest Meet and Greet

I'm taking part in some of the activities in the GUTGAA-Gearing up to Get an Agent Blogfest this month hosted by the lovely Deana Barnhart, and this week is the meet and greet! I look forward to meeting the other writers involved!

Getting to know me:

I'm quickly approaching the big 3-0, so that's exciting (not). I've always enjoyed being creative, whether with crafts, painting, music, photography ... and I started taking writing seriously around the time I graduated from college. I even brought paper to my graduation ceremony so I could work on my first novel (I mean, what else was I going to do all those hours they were calling off names?).
Born and raised in Texas, I still live here with Handy Hubby and our two boxers, Duke and Mylie.
And this is my blog, soon to celebrate it's third blogiversary!

-Where do you write?

Sometimes in my home office, sometimes on my laptop at the dining table, on the couch, in bed, at Starbucks. Sometimes in a notebook I keep stashed in my purse. 

-Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see?

Well, at my desk would be a row of Ball jars filled with pens, sharpies and highlighters. At the dining table I'm surrounded by research books, on the couch would be... the back of the couch since I sit on it sideways, in bed would be my nightstand, and at Starbucks, often Joy Preble will be to my left, churning out another awesome book. 

-Favorite time to write?

I'm probably most productive at night when it's dark and I don't feel like I'm missing something stuck behind a computer. 

-Drink of choice while writing?

I'm mostly a water drinker, but sometimes if I need a boost I'll reach for skim milk or apple juice. I'm probably the only writer that doesn't drink coffee, though I do love the way it smells when I write at Starbucks!

-When writing , do you listen to music or do you need complete silence?

I need music most of the time. I prefer movie scores (Danny Elfman, Alexandre Desplat and Hans Zimmer are some of the favs right now), but if I'm unfamiliar with the song lyrics I can listen to music with words (If I know it, I'll sing or type the words instead). Sometimes I listen to KPOP, because I REALLY don't know the words and never will. 

-What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it?

The MS I'm querying was inspired in part by my trip to Italy, and in part by my intense brainstorming session to try to set a story over there. 

-What's your most valuable writing tip?
If you don't have at least two really good critique partners, find some! Make sure they're honest and can balance the encouragement with actual constructive feedback. We're artists, we're needy. We need to be told how awesome we are, but we also need to know where to improve. Make sure your critique partners are helping you get better rather than holding you in place. Also, find a reader you trust--someone who doesn't write, just enjoys stories--because they can spot inconsistencies and plot holes your critique partners might not have found. Everyone looks for different things. I'm very very very blessed to have my critique parters and readers. They are made of awesome!  

Writing the Next Novel (Getting Your Groove Back)

Since the query process is taking its old sweet time, I've finally made myself work on something else. But it's been like torture trying to get even 300 words out of myself in an hour. Most of my ideas are for later on in the story ... it's the beginning I'm not sure about, and that's where I am. I'm still getting a handle on the characters, working on their introductions, laying the groundwork for what I know is coming. It's exhausting. With the last book, I flew through the first ten chapters in a week (of course, the first three didn't survive revisions at all), but that's far from happening this time around.

I know it's not a race, but it's frustrating when something that came so easily before is now a source of intimidation. I'm going to blame it on my inability to completely refocus on something other than querying. It's easy to say "dive into another project" but really, you can't ever forget that you're waiting to hear back from actual agents. It steals your joy consciousness. I mean, it's exciting for any of us to be at this point--we finished an entire book! That's huge, right?! But now we have to work on another one. And my original goal of a chapter a day is not quite happening yet. But I'll get there!

How do you transition from one completed book into another with new characters? How long does it take you to get your groove back?

I promise I'm not a robot

Seriously these word verification things have gotten ridiculously hard to read. Is it just me? I'm not going to lie, I failed the test like four times on a comment the other day! I've got to REALLY want to post that comment to try a second and third time. Sometimes I see the word verification and just close out of it. I promise I'm not a robot, but those things kill my patience. I used to have the verification here on my own blog but recently removed it. I don't currently have a huge issue with spammers to need it, so you're welcome. :)

In other news, I surely wish a robot could write my query for me. Okay. I'm done complaining about it. It's part of the process, I know. It would just be nice if it came a little more naturally to me. In other other news, I'm working on round three of revisions! I'm actually really excited about these new changes inspired by my first beta's notes.

How's your WIP coming? Are you revising too? Querying? Still working on that first draft? Tossing around a Shiny New Idea?? Are you a robot?

The Query Distraction Decoupage

It's official: I'm really really really bad at query writing. Nothing I have come up with has been met positively, and it has me baffled. This is a short little thing. It shouldn't be this hard. I get bogged down in details. Apparently my mind is more fitted for the synopsis, which I'm not attempting until this query is DONE because I'm trying NOT to be detailed right now. Grr. *opens From The Query to the Call by Elana Johnson*

So yesterday while I was going back and forth with query attempts and a manuscript critique for a friend, I experimented with my first decoupage. It was harder than I expected (or maybe I was just already frustrated), but I threw together a couple pictures from Florence with some scrapbook pretties. I plan to put text in the blue box but my handwriting is terrible so I'm not sure how I want to do it yet.

So that's pretty much all I have to show for this weekend. How was your weekend? 

How Long Does it Take You to Write a Book?

Some people spend years on one of their stories, some take only weeks to complete that first draft. For the book I'm currently revising, the first draft took me around ten months. Now, I'd love it if my next one came to me faster than that, but I think it happened the way it was supposed to happen (obviously, since it happened that way).

Every time I sit down to write, I can't help but think about how my surroundings, mood, time of day, etc. all play a part in what I actually type at that specific moment in time. What if I hadn't met up at Starbucks that one particular morning? I probably would have gotten lost in house cleaning and done nothing constructive (in a writerly sense). And when I actually did find time to write, who's to say that section would turn out the same as it may have writing somewhere else, at a different time? Am I losing you yet? I guess I'm just saying find the time to write, if that's what you love doing. You never know what's going to come out... but you may wonder what's not coming out if you skip out.

While it may have taken me longer than some to write that draft, I sometimes edited as I went along (with the help of my fabulous critique gals *waves to Kristi and KM*), because I like less work later. This is why I'm terrified to try NaNoWriMo that so many people seem to dive into. Besides being insanely busy with photography in November, I can't imagine making that much work for myself later. To bust out a wretchedly rough first draft just to get it out in such a short period of time, then have to completely rework it later?? EH.

So how do you go about your first draft? Do you take your time, or do you like to rush through and rework later?

By the way, Kristi is giving away a SIGNED copy of Lauren Oliver's Pandemonium! ENTER HERE!

Revisions: Round 1 - COMPLETE

So I've been MIA from the blogging world, but I have a good excuse. I'm pretty much a zombie as I type up this post (Sunday evening). I've been nonstop reading my pretty spiral bound copy of my WIP, scribbling notes in it, and scratching out the most ridiculous sentences I've ever seen since Thursday. But round one is DONE!

I like this method because the first round is a physical copy that I make actual physical notes. I get to slash through things with markers and mark things with stickies. I found things I forgot about, things I don't even remember writing in the first place, some things that made me scratch my chin and say WOW, I WROTE THAT? in a good way, and in an omg that's awful way too.

Now this week, I'll go back through all my pretty notes (and by pretty I mean so messy I can barely read my own writing and follow all my arrows) and implement these changes in the actual document on the computer, thus becoming the SECOND round of revisions as I read through everything again. I actually can't wait for this one. I'm hoping I cut out as much as I think I did.

How do you handle revisions? Do you do it all on the computer, or do you like to print it out and get messy with a hard copy like I do?

And so it begins... the first revision.

REVISIONS REVISIONS REVISIONS. How intimidating are you? You make me anxious. You make me sick to my stomach. You steal my brain from me when I'm supposed to be working (you know, the kind that actually pays me for my time). You make my leg bounce up and down any time I'm seated. You draw me to the computer only to sit and stare at the screen without accomplishing anything because you. scare. the. mess. out. of. me.

I will say that changing two characters names throughout the entire manuscript in three seconds by the click of a button was a REALLY cool feeling! Wish I'd thought of these names sooner though because I adore them. :)

I have a few things I want to clean up toward the end of the book before looking at the beginning and finding the real place it's supposed to start. So I've been trying to repair a scene that's been determined to be ridiculous, but then it made me think of a scene a few chapters later and I hopped to that one instead thinking it would be a quick fix... it's not. So now I have two scenes torn apart and bleeding. How do you keep yourself focused on one thing at a time? Are you systematic in your revisions, or do you hop around until it all gets done?

I think I need a game plan. I'm just not sure what it is yet. But there will be chocolate.

The ORIGINS Blogfest!

This blogfest is hosted by DL from Cruising Altitude 2.0, Katie Mills from Creepy Query Girl, Alex J. Cavanaugh and Matthew MacNish from The Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment.

ORIGINS: When my writing dreams began


I was homeschooled from grades 4-6, and one day a week (or two days a week... or maybe once a month, I don't remember) my "homeschool group" would get together for classes and special activities, organized crafts, competitions, you name it. It was super fun. One of these events, a woman involved in the publishing industry (I don't remember if she was an author, editor or what) came to help us with creative writing. Whatever story I came up with impressed her because after class, she pulled my mom and me aside and gave us some info, encouraging me to consider pursuing writing as a career one day. I thought that was pretty awesome, but I was like, nine or ten and my dad was still working on me to hold my pencil the right way (I still don't... sorry). 


I had fun with assigned creative writing exercises all through school, but never thought much about writing on my own until a few weeks before college graduation in 2005 when this group of friends started pestering me... in my head. I didn't know who they were or what their names were, but they were trying to tell me their story, so I began to write it down. I got so obsessed with this story, I even brought a notebook with me to my graduation ceremony and kept on writing while they announced everyone's names. But over the next four years, I would work on it, forget about it, work on it, research the publishing industry, get scared and abandon it again, work on it. I finally finished it, got involved in my local Writers Guild and a critique group, started blogging in 2009 in effort to network and learn more about the industry, met some online buddies *waves*, realized my story was crap, shelved it, and began work on some of my other ideas.


My current WIP (which I just might finish within the next couple days! EEEEK!) is probably the project I've been the most excited about. I shared it with my mom and grandmother once I had the first two chapters written, and ever since then they've cheered me on and begged for more. Their encouragement (along with that of my critique girls and writing buddies) has really pushed me forward and helped me believe that anything is possible if I put in the work. 


Walt Disney believed that the difference between winning and losing was not quitting. Sounds good to me :)

How do you celebrate your first draft?

I'm so close, y'all. SO. CLOSE. I finished another chapter yesterday and in my mind there are four or five left. I'd LOVE to be done by Monday when I go back to work three days a week in an office (got offered an old job I had as a geo-tech doing oil exploration), but I definitely hold myself back. For all that I'm excited about being done and diving into revisions (I really am excited about revisions, and I plan to implement the system Tera Lynn Childs uses with all the pretty highlighters and stickies. See her post HERE), I'm also very antsy and nervous that I won't be able to tie everything up as pretty as I see it in my head. It makes me hesitate when I sit down and write, which translates into the whole thing taking me WAY longer than it should (which is why I'm still working on this draft I started last APRIL).

But it's going to happen. It will be finished, and SOON. I need to grab onto something else to look forward to, a reward. When you finish a first draft, how do you celebrate? Do you treat yourself to something new? Go eat a fancy dinner? Buy a pretty new pack of highlighters for your revisions? ;)

Give me some ideas, because this labor of love will definitely be celebrated when it's finished!

Stranger Things Have Happened

I feel like I'm nervous all of the time now that I'm mere chapters away from finishing my first draft (and by first draft I mean first draft of the first book that I actually plan to do something with). I have trouble falling asleep because my brain won't shut up. I'm busy stitching together all the loose ends in my mind, making sure it's all going to actually WORK. And since I just registered for a conference this summer, complete with an agent meeting, I can't stop thinking about THAT.

Before I really started researching how to get published, I had NO idea how much went into it. How much love, stress, rejection. I didn't think about the YEARS that author spent on their baby getting it out to the world. The number of drafts, the querying, the sleepless nights waiting to hear back about submissions, this round of edits, that round of edits, etc. etc. ETC. For the consumer, it just shows up on the shelf at the store (or these days, online) and they either read it or don't, love it or meh.

What really got me thinking about this was going through the blog archives of Stephanie Perkins, way back to the beginning when she was painting her writing desk and working on the first draft of Anna and the French Kiss. Her posts were about normal things, things you and I blog about. Then as the years go by her posts get sprinkled with good news about this and that. DREAM AGENT LANDED, BOOK SOLD, BOOK RELEASE DATE, SEQUEL RELEASE DATE, etc, etc. She's friends with ladies like Laini Taylor, Kiersten White, Maureen Johnson and Beth Revis. She's got John Green vlogging about Anna and the French Kiss and telling everyone to buy it!

Go back to your favorite author's blog archives and speed through in minutes what they went through in years. It's extremely motivating to see proof that they were normal, unpublished writers once upon a time. We can do this. Stranger things have happened. 

Calling anyone who's been to a writing conference!

I'm taking the plunge in 2012. I'm going to my first writing conference. Just the thought of meeting with an agent face to face while they listen to me blab on about my story makes me want to curl up in a ball.

The thing is, when I go on job interviews, I get so nervous I lose control of everything that comes out of my mouth. I'm not the best at thinking on my feet when they spring random questions on me. I panic. I don't exactly lie... but I do pretty much feel like I'm making things up just so I'm saying something instead of sitting there going UUUHHHHH..........

Meeting with an agent sounds like a job interview times a gazillion. I won't even be ready for one until this summer, but I'm already nervous about it (though I hope a lot of that is because I haven't even written my query yet, thus, I have NO CLUE what my pitch will be).

Have you been to a writing conference? Did you meet with an agent? Did they put you at ease right away or did you blabber on without much control?

It's not easy being green (with envy)

The publishing world is jam-packed with things to be jealous about.

Oh, they got an agent! How great! 
Translation: omg why don't i have an agent? oh yeah, i'm still on my first draft. i suck.


Oh, they sold their book to a publisher! I can't wait to read their book!
Translation: omg i'm so far from that. what am i doing? i suck!


Oh, that's such a pretty cover! It will look fab on my bookshelf!
Translation: omg they lucked out on that. there's no way my cover will end up that cool. i suck!

Oh, they're having a launch party! I can't wait to meet them!
Translation: omg am i ever going to have a launch party? i suck!!!


Oh, they got a movie deal! Can't wait for that to come out!
Translation: omg i suck so bad. 


Seriously, it's exhausting being excited for everyone ahead of you, isn't it? It really is exciting to hear people are making their dream come true, but when you have the same dream, that little envy worm curls itself up inside your ear and tells you lies. It tells you that you can't make your dreams come true. That you'll never get an agent, you'll never sell your book, and even if you do you'll get a crap cover and no one will want it!

This new year presents a clean slate, envy free and full of possibilities! It's up to us to put in the work to make our dreams come true. Let's not waste our energy being jealous of everyone else. Let's channel that into making it happen for ourselves. 


What are you going to make happen in 2012??

The Resolution Paradox

Do you make resolutions? I feel like I go through this every year. I probably change my mind about how I feel about them every year too. Yes, I make resolutions! No, no way. Resolutions never pan out, why make them? Maybe.... I could try to make a few....


I never stick to resolutions. There, I said it. I just don't. RESOLUTION sounds so... definite. Which I guess is the point, but to avoid setting myself up for disappointment, I think I'll just make note of a few writerly things that would be pretty cool if they happened in 2012.

• Finish a first draft of my current WIP - I'm coming up on 60k words TODAY (1,645 words to go), so that next 10k or so to wrap everything up should be a January BREEZE. But you know, I thought I'd have the whole thing done last July, so, I'm hoping this is more than wishful thinking.
• Revise revise revise and query said WIP - *bites nails prematurely* 
• Get an agent - I got a B&N gift card for Christmas (Several) and one of the things I bought with them is the 2012 Guide to Literary Agents. I've thumbed through it and it seems useful. But first my plan is to research the agents of authors that I've heard of and love, because, well, obviously their agent gets it. LOL. 
• Finish a first draft of the WIP I started in, what, 2010?? The one who's characters keep nudging at me saying, please tell our story. It's good. We promise. I'm actually really itching to get back to that one. But my Italy story is rolling right along right now, so I'm not stopping until it's done and in my Beta's hands.

Then of course, more personally, there's the old standby to lose weight. But, as DL points out in this fantastic BLOG POST, we're insane if we keep making the same resolutions without changing up our method. We set ourselves up to fail them every year because doing the same thing over and over and expecting different outcomes is INSANE. I took the bull by the horns BEFORE the New Year, and started my workout reboot a month ago. No resolution there. Just a lifestyle change. Now to just stick with it....  

Any writerly aspirations for 2012? I'm still just SO pumped about what this year has in store, I can't explain why. Does it feel like you're just standing on the edge of something really exciting?? 

However you ring in the New Year, please be safe out on the roads especially! Not everyone is as smart as you are. ;)

When Blogging Friends Get Agents

Happy dance! Blogging friend Amy Sonnichsen from The Green Bathtub landed herself an agent!! Head over to her blog and share in her excitement!!

When one of our own is offered representation and is one step closer to getting their work on a shelf, I'm so energized and inspired. It really really is possible. We just can't give up! Keep writing!

Congratulations, Amy!! And thanks for inspiring the rest of us to keep going!

Miscalculations and Word Counts

Sometimes... a miscalculation can be a good thing.

I'll admit it, I'm a bit obsessed with word count on my current project. I just think it's fascinating how I started with 0, and every time I sit down to work, the number climbs, sometimes higher than expected! It's just a rewarding part of the experience for me... my efforts all tidied up into a compact yet telling number.

This past week, I've been doing lazy math with my WIP word count. I use Scrivener, so each of my chapters are separate. I see individual word count, but not whole manuscript word count (which would be inaccurate anyway because I write all sorts of notes in one "chapter" slot and also put everything I cut into another slot). I have to add everything up by hand for the grand total. Well, last night, I thought I was about 500 words from 40,000, but today I added everything up on a new sheet of paper with pretty pen colors, and then added it again... because my actual current word count is 41,151!!

It's such a spiffy feeling to know I've written more than I thought I did. Makes working toward the next goal of 45k that much more exciting (and closer!). Seriously, seeing these higher numbers, I'm making even MORE time to write. Staying up late... sitting at my computer when I really should be house cleaning. And the story itself is starting to really swing too, so that helps ;)

What about you? Ever write more than you thought you did and got excited about it? Do you even pay attention to word count until after your first draft is done? Or does word count motivate you, like it does me?