Finally ready to start querying agents for CB! That's right, the manuscript is ready. I think. I hope.
As terrifying as the query process is, I actually think it's fun at the very beginning. You know, when you send it out, full of high hopes and dreams. Before the soul-crushing phase begins.
And I know that a truckload of soul-crushing is on it's way, so just let me have this one day. One day to enjoy the thrill of sending off my baby into the big wide world of literary agencies.
3.29.2010
3.27.2010
Query Time
I recently tinkered with my query for CHARM BRACELET. Since Marlowe's voice is kind of wryly funny, that's what I initially went for in my query. Except I think it was setting a skewed expectation for the tone of the book as largely comedic. And while there's definitely funny bits--well, people actually die in it. Unfortunately for them. So clearly some not-so-funny bits. I think the new version gets that across better. Have a looksie.
Marlowe Thomas is gifted, but not in the way most people think. Sure, her 4.0 grade average comes easily. And she’s one of the top gymnasts on the Devil’s Den High School varsity team. But Marley’s really special talents are ones she can’t put on her college application essays. Unless Georgetown is now offering courses in divination and telekinesis.
Marley’s halfway through her junior year, and she just found out she’s a witch.
So she’s going to tackle it like she does everything else—with hard work and diligence. Except there are the distractions…
Gabe Connelly is aloof and cautious, while his brother Fin thinks being a witch is all fun and games, no toil and trouble. Despite her overachieving personality, Marley gravitates toward fun-loving Fin after Gabe refuses to help her learn the Craft.
Until things get serious.
It began with the suicide that left the medical examiner scratching his head; and then the murders followed. All connected. All unexplained by modern medicine. Meanwhile, the entire cheerleading squad is acting like a bunch of brainwashed puppets. But who’s pulling the strings? Turns out, there’s another witch at school; one whose motivations are considerably darker than scoring beer underage. One by one she’s picking off the people she holds grudges against. And Marley is one of them.
CHARM BRACELET is contemporary YA—in the spirit of Mean Girls with a magical, murderous twist. The manuscript is complete at 55,000 words.
Marlowe Thomas is gifted, but not in the way most people think. Sure, her 4.0 grade average comes easily. And she’s one of the top gymnasts on the Devil’s Den High School varsity team. But Marley’s really special talents are ones she can’t put on her college application essays. Unless Georgetown is now offering courses in divination and telekinesis.
Marley’s halfway through her junior year, and she just found out she’s a witch.
So she’s going to tackle it like she does everything else—with hard work and diligence. Except there are the distractions…
Gabe Connelly is aloof and cautious, while his brother Fin thinks being a witch is all fun and games, no toil and trouble. Despite her overachieving personality, Marley gravitates toward fun-loving Fin after Gabe refuses to help her learn the Craft.
Until things get serious.
It began with the suicide that left the medical examiner scratching his head; and then the murders followed. All connected. All unexplained by modern medicine. Meanwhile, the entire cheerleading squad is acting like a bunch of brainwashed puppets. But who’s pulling the strings? Turns out, there’s another witch at school; one whose motivations are considerably darker than scoring beer underage. One by one she’s picking off the people she holds grudges against. And Marley is one of them.
CHARM BRACELET is contemporary YA—in the spirit of Mean Girls with a magical, murderous twist. The manuscript is complete at 55,000 words.
3.26.2010
Not "The News," but News Nonetheless
A little while back I posted on not quitting your day job (and here's the part where I'm supposed to link to it, but that would be ridiculous considering I only have like 10 posts up here).
So much for following my own advice.
So I quite my job. Or tried to. And then they went and dangled a carrot in front of my face. A copywriting position.
Here's the thing. I've been an editor the past 5 or so years b/c it's one of those "hard but easy" jobs. Your day is crazy, there's deadlines, sometimes your eyes feel like they're about to drop out of your skull. But for the most part the creative part of your brain gets to stay shut off, takes a nice nap while the analytical side is working overtime.
This is good and bad. Good because I've always felt I could save up my creative "juice" for my personal pursuits. Why would I want to spill a drop of that on actual "work" when I could be using it on my novel? Bad because I've gotten bored of my job over the past year or so. Which, among many other reasons, is why I quit.
And then they go and bring up this copywriting thing. And I go and take it.
Because you know what? Why put your happiness on hold? I really believe, one day, I will be the published author of a novel (dare I say novelsss? Sure, what the heck). But I'm not foolish enough anymore to believe it will happen overnight. So in the meantime, I figure it's time to start challenging myself in other aspects of my life.
So much for following my own advice.
So I quite my job. Or tried to. And then they went and dangled a carrot in front of my face. A copywriting position.
Here's the thing. I've been an editor the past 5 or so years b/c it's one of those "hard but easy" jobs. Your day is crazy, there's deadlines, sometimes your eyes feel like they're about to drop out of your skull. But for the most part the creative part of your brain gets to stay shut off, takes a nice nap while the analytical side is working overtime.
This is good and bad. Good because I've always felt I could save up my creative "juice" for my personal pursuits. Why would I want to spill a drop of that on actual "work" when I could be using it on my novel? Bad because I've gotten bored of my job over the past year or so. Which, among many other reasons, is why I quit.
And then they go and bring up this copywriting thing. And I go and take it.
Because you know what? Why put your happiness on hold? I really believe, one day, I will be the published author of a novel (dare I say novelsss? Sure, what the heck). But I'm not foolish enough anymore to believe it will happen overnight. So in the meantime, I figure it's time to start challenging myself in other aspects of my life.
3.23.2010
Strike That
About the edit going great. Ugh. Just had one of those "what was I thinking all of this completely sucks I should just trash the whole thing" moments.
Hopefully it passes...
Hopefully it passes...
3.21.2010
Status
Final edit is going great! About halfway through, and added a new opening "chapter." It's just one page, I guess you could call it a prologue. But I've heard agents hate prologues so I'm not going that route. I think it really adds some punch to the opening and sets the tone better for the book. There are some dark moments in the book that I don't think you'd expect based on the original first chapter. With the new addition, I think the reader knows what they're getting into right up front.
3.16.2010
Confession
So I pulled a rookie move. I feel like I probably shouldn't even admit it, but seeing as I'm the only person who probably has ever laid eyes on this blog, I suppose I can treat it like a diary.
I haven't quite completed my final edit--and I submitted to 3 agents over the weekend anyway. I know, totally unprofessional. But they were 3 "yeah, right--in my wildest dreams" agents. The kind where you figure you have a better chance winning the lottery than getting a partial request from them.
So I wasn't shocked when I got a form rejection from Kristin Nelson today. But I have to say it stung a little more than I expected, just the same--I thought the query was pretty snappy. But then again, it's not the most original book idea so I can see how a lot of agents would pass. I mean it's basically Mean Girls with witches. Hopefully at least one agent will give it a chance and fall in love with the characters like I have, and enjoy my own personal twist on it.
I haven't quite completed my final edit--and I submitted to 3 agents over the weekend anyway. I know, totally unprofessional. But they were 3 "yeah, right--in my wildest dreams" agents. The kind where you figure you have a better chance winning the lottery than getting a partial request from them.
So I wasn't shocked when I got a form rejection from Kristin Nelson today. But I have to say it stung a little more than I expected, just the same--I thought the query was pretty snappy. But then again, it's not the most original book idea so I can see how a lot of agents would pass. I mean it's basically Mean Girls with witches. Hopefully at least one agent will give it a chance and fall in love with the characters like I have, and enjoy my own personal twist on it.
3.13.2010
Destruct vs Construct
I was an English lit major in undergrad, but always have had a tiny artistic streak in me (well, let's just say I've found out I'm better at appreciating the aesthetic than actually creating it), so I took a design class.
I actually did fairly well in the class, having not much background in art to begin with. But there was one assignment I failed miserably at. Whereas all the other projects were constructive (ie, putting items together to create a finished product), this one was destructive.
We were all given a cube of plaster, about 4x4 inches. We were supposed to cut away and whittle down this cube into a 3-dimensional abstract piece, demonstrating our knowledge of lines and planes.
I briefly tried to sketch in pencil on each of the faces, trying to envision what the final, 3D piece would look like. Unable to do so and frustrated, I just started hacking away. Does anyone want to guess how that approach worked out?
The problem with working in a deconstructive art form is that there are no take-backs. Once you cut something away, the piece is changed forever in that respect. It's not like clay, where you can stick it back on, add a little bit here, a little bit there, to build something up. If you make a mistake, you may have to rethink your entire strategy, change the overall end goal entirely.
I think there are both constructive and deconstructive aspects of writing. That first draft is like the clay. You start throwing words at the page, they're coming to you so fast you can't type/write fast enough to keep up. Ideas come to you when you're falling asleep, when you're in the shower, when you're in the middle of a conversation. They just start piling up in this massive lump of raw material.
That's the easy part.
The second part has to be a little more thought out. You can't just dive in there and start hacking away. You have to have a better idea of the goals of the characters, a clear direction for the storyline. And you have to ask yourself when you're weighing each scene, each paragraph, if it contributes. If it has a meaningful place in what you envision to be the final piece. And somewhere in the process, you'll inevitably stumble upon a new idea, so fantastic you can't leave it out--yet it completely changes a main story arc. And then you have to rethink your finished piece entirely.
Yeah, that's the hard part.
I actually did fairly well in the class, having not much background in art to begin with. But there was one assignment I failed miserably at. Whereas all the other projects were constructive (ie, putting items together to create a finished product), this one was destructive.
We were all given a cube of plaster, about 4x4 inches. We were supposed to cut away and whittle down this cube into a 3-dimensional abstract piece, demonstrating our knowledge of lines and planes.
I briefly tried to sketch in pencil on each of the faces, trying to envision what the final, 3D piece would look like. Unable to do so and frustrated, I just started hacking away. Does anyone want to guess how that approach worked out?
The problem with working in a deconstructive art form is that there are no take-backs. Once you cut something away, the piece is changed forever in that respect. It's not like clay, where you can stick it back on, add a little bit here, a little bit there, to build something up. If you make a mistake, you may have to rethink your entire strategy, change the overall end goal entirely.
I think there are both constructive and deconstructive aspects of writing. That first draft is like the clay. You start throwing words at the page, they're coming to you so fast you can't type/write fast enough to keep up. Ideas come to you when you're falling asleep, when you're in the shower, when you're in the middle of a conversation. They just start piling up in this massive lump of raw material.
That's the easy part.
The second part has to be a little more thought out. You can't just dive in there and start hacking away. You have to have a better idea of the goals of the characters, a clear direction for the storyline. And you have to ask yourself when you're weighing each scene, each paragraph, if it contributes. If it has a meaningful place in what you envision to be the final piece. And somewhere in the process, you'll inevitably stumble upon a new idea, so fantastic you can't leave it out--yet it completely changes a main story arc. And then you have to rethink your finished piece entirely.
Yeah, that's the hard part.
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