Embarrassingly, it's been almost a year ago that I made my last post here. In between, I've shared pickleball tips, but I've been more-or-less silent about my fiction and personal life. I wanted to say hello and share what I was up to—but I needed to get the rest of the words on the page and then make them better first.
In the past, I've told you about my new book (from idea to finished draft) for FIVE YEARS. Good grief. In my defense, The Rift IS a long book (150,000+ words), but it's DONE, as much as my writing is ever done. I'm the perpetual editor, always finding a better way to say something, or discovering a place where a comma should go.
I've learned a few things during the last year:
Yesterday, I sent off the second query to agents who are looking for books like mine. A query is a brief synopsis of the novel couched in a letter asking for the agent's representation. Polishing the query is an art in itself: it can't be too long, and it has to entice the agent to keep reading, just like the blurb on the back of the book has to entice you to pick it up and buy it.
If the book doesn't get picked up by an agent, I will self-publish it, but I'd love to see it reach a wide market, something we "indie" writers find difficult to manage. But cross your fingers, cast a spell, whatever you like to send good vibes that will get my manuscript out of the agents' slush piles, as they call their email inboxes these days.
Hugs to all of you -- even those of you I don't know well. I figure you can't go wrong with a hug.
In the past, I've told you about my new book (from idea to finished draft) for FIVE YEARS. Good grief. In my defense, The Rift IS a long book (150,000+ words), but it's DONE, as much as my writing is ever done. I'm the perpetual editor, always finding a better way to say something, or discovering a place where a comma should go.
I've learned a few things during the last year:
- Life brings interruptions, despite my plans. I thought I'd have the book ready for you a long, long time ago. The book and the world had other ideas.
- Rather than self-publishing The Rift, I'm trying the traditional route again to see if this book will fare better in that market. Being a young-adult epic fantasy, it fits with the genre that is hot right now, so there's hope. That means, if it's accepted by an agent, it could be years before a published copy hits a bookshelf.
- I must stop being a perfectionist, at least to the degree that I've realized I am.
- I need to stay in touch with you. There were times when I thought of giving up. I bet if I'd shared those thoughts with you, it would have been easier.
- I love writing, and I won't give up. But sometimes, it's a lot harder than it looks. Nevertheless, I got it done!!!
Yesterday, I sent off the second query to agents who are looking for books like mine. A query is a brief synopsis of the novel couched in a letter asking for the agent's representation. Polishing the query is an art in itself: it can't be too long, and it has to entice the agent to keep reading, just like the blurb on the back of the book has to entice you to pick it up and buy it.
If the book doesn't get picked up by an agent, I will self-publish it, but I'd love to see it reach a wide market, something we "indie" writers find difficult to manage. But cross your fingers, cast a spell, whatever you like to send good vibes that will get my manuscript out of the agents' slush piles, as they call their email inboxes these days.
Hugs to all of you -- even those of you I don't know well. I figure you can't go wrong with a hug.
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