Showing posts with label Manuscript Update. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Manuscript Update. Show all posts
Good Times for LSM
Just a quick update on Love Sex Magick. I't been a good two weeks for writing. I've been submitting the novel to editors, agents and contests and am getting some good buzz. I've got two requests for fulls right now one from an agent and one from a publisher. I'm polishing up my synopsis so that I can continue submitting queries. My goal is to have five queries out to agents or editors for this book at al times. Once I get the other three or four out, I will spend my time editing Salem's Triad and Queen of Hearts! Hmm...I wonder if I can make three sales in one year. Happy writing all!
No More Edits!
It's official. Love Sex Magick is complete. I've gone through four revisions and am finally pretty satisfied with the final product. Which means I am no longer allowing myself to make edits. Why? Because I have three other projects waiting for my attention that need revisions of their own! I'm very excited because I feel very confident about submitting this to agents and editors. I also love that I have a first draft of book two already complete. However I am going to take a break from editing the Chai books and focus on Salem's Triad Trilogy. I think I might be able to find a home for it, given the obsession with dystopian fiction right now and the number of credible E-publishers vying for fresh voices. It's a completely different type of novel than the Chai books. But again, that could be a very good thing.
Oh and I got word that my SHU application is complete. All of the material has arrived and I should know by the end of April. Now if I could just do my taxes to make sure I can actually afford this!
Oh and I got word that my SHU application is complete. All of the material has arrived and I should know by the end of April. Now if I could just do my taxes to make sure I can actually afford this!
Love Sex Magick Update
Now that I have finished a first draft of the second book in the Chai Macek series I've gone back to my edits on the first, Love Sex Magick. Unlike the first three rounds I am actually finding this bout of edits fairly manageable. Perhaps because at this point I'm focused on line edits. Fixing sentence structure, cutting unnecessary words and correcting the odd typo. I'm very excited about my progress thus far. I'm on track to finish edits by the end of the month (which if you're counting is less than a week away). This weekend I edited 114 pages! I would have managed more, having Monday off for President's day, but I needed to finish my letter of intent for my Seton Hill application.
So that's what I've been doing this month. With the edits wrapped up at the end of the month I will begin querying agents and editors. I think in March I will take a break from this series and do edits/revisions to a quick Novella that is almost complete. I'd like to test the waters with a few e-publishers and I think the break from these characters will be good for me. I should be able to wrap that project up in March and at that point I suppose I will have to pick straws to determine which project I want to work on next. I need to figure out how to write AND edit at projects at the same time. But with my current full-time job, it makes it difficult to even get in the time for one of those activities, let alone both. We'll see. If anyone has suggestions on how they manage multiple writing projects at the same time I'd love to hear it!
So that's what I've been doing this month. With the edits wrapped up at the end of the month I will begin querying agents and editors. I think in March I will take a break from this series and do edits/revisions to a quick Novella that is almost complete. I'd like to test the waters with a few e-publishers and I think the break from these characters will be good for me. I should be able to wrap that project up in March and at that point I suppose I will have to pick straws to determine which project I want to work on next. I need to figure out how to write AND edit at projects at the same time. But with my current full-time job, it makes it difficult to even get in the time for one of those activities, let alone both. We'll see. If anyone has suggestions on how they manage multiple writing projects at the same time I'd love to hear it!
Halfway there....
Howdy from Texas! It's official. We've crossed the halfway point in both days and words. I just hit 31k last night. So I am ahead of the official pacing. Yay! I still have a long way to go to get to my personal goal. Can we say turkey and dressing and keyboards oh my! Today is day two of conference week. It is 6:00 AM Central time, and I have twenty minutes to get dressed and 15 minutes to write, if I am lucky. Then set up. I'm wondering when throughout the day I can sneak in some extra words. I just can't stand a day with zero. I'd love to write more, but no time to waste. Maybe tomorrow.
Week One Comes to a Close
Hey Folks,
The end of Week one is drawing to a close and a lot has happened in my NaNo Journey. I'm still ahead of the official NaNo pace, with 14,665 words. I am pushing to get to 20k by the end of the day. It's not the writing itself that takes time but the knowing what to write that is hard. This year I've been scene jumping, which basically means that if I don't know exactly what is supposed to happen in a certain scene and I don't want to waste writing time trying to figure it out I move on. I'm using Scrivener so it is easy hop around and lets face it, by the time I finish this first draft there is a good chance I am going to move these scenes around anyway, so why stress about writing in chronological order?
I think it has actually made me more productive. I mean sure if I skip scene two and then later when I actually get around to writing it discover that my main character only has one leg, well yes I am going to have a lot of editing on my hands. But I know my characters pretty well and I know the story. So major revisions as a result of left field surprises aren't as likely. In my opinion, it's too much time and energy when what I need to be doing is polishing it up and sending it out. But jumping scenes allows me to write what I'm most passionate and excited about. There are certain character who when brought together on stage are just hilarious. Those scenes are fun to write and because they come so naturally. I can move a lot faster in a short amount of time. And once I work out the logistics of a scene and better understand the character's motivations, those scenes will become fun too and I get really excited about cranking them out.
So here is the plan for today. I'm going to take a few hours to plot and outline so that I can keep cranking out pages this week. With all of the craziness at work this is the only time I have to do that stuff. I'll through in a couple of writing blocks in between so I can move further ahead in my word total. It is kind of a catch-22. I can either write fast now, get to my goal and then get stuck tomorrow and fall behind or pause and strategize so that I can keep writing this week without spacing out. I think I will go with the later, in an attempt to save my sanity. But well see how that goes.
Thanks for all your encouragement. Click on the chip-in widget to donate to Wicked Jungle and the OLL foundation. We are still far from our goal and even a dollar helps!
The end of Week one is drawing to a close and a lot has happened in my NaNo Journey. I'm still ahead of the official NaNo pace, with 14,665 words. I am pushing to get to 20k by the end of the day. It's not the writing itself that takes time but the knowing what to write that is hard. This year I've been scene jumping, which basically means that if I don't know exactly what is supposed to happen in a certain scene and I don't want to waste writing time trying to figure it out I move on. I'm using Scrivener so it is easy hop around and lets face it, by the time I finish this first draft there is a good chance I am going to move these scenes around anyway, so why stress about writing in chronological order?
I think it has actually made me more productive. I mean sure if I skip scene two and then later when I actually get around to writing it discover that my main character only has one leg, well yes I am going to have a lot of editing on my hands. But I know my characters pretty well and I know the story. So major revisions as a result of left field surprises aren't as likely. In my opinion, it's too much time and energy when what I need to be doing is polishing it up and sending it out. But jumping scenes allows me to write what I'm most passionate and excited about. There are certain character who when brought together on stage are just hilarious. Those scenes are fun to write and because they come so naturally. I can move a lot faster in a short amount of time. And once I work out the logistics of a scene and better understand the character's motivations, those scenes will become fun too and I get really excited about cranking them out.
So here is the plan for today. I'm going to take a few hours to plot and outline so that I can keep cranking out pages this week. With all of the craziness at work this is the only time I have to do that stuff. I'll through in a couple of writing blocks in between so I can move further ahead in my word total. It is kind of a catch-22. I can either write fast now, get to my goal and then get stuck tomorrow and fall behind or pause and strategize so that I can keep writing this week without spacing out. I think I will go with the later, in an attempt to save my sanity. But well see how that goes.
Thanks for all your encouragement. Click on the chip-in widget to donate to Wicked Jungle and the OLL foundation. We are still far from our goal and even a dollar helps!
NaNo Day 2
Today was a rough day. I woke up this morning and was still exhausted. My stomach was upset, I had trouble writing and about a billion emails waiting to be answered. Long days of both writing and work are hard. One can only spend so much time staring at a computer screen. Somehow I managed to squeak out another 2350 words, which puts my two day total somewhere around 5200. I also managed to eat all of my emergency chocolate. In my defense, it wasn't that much chocolate to begin with and if it had been a true emergency, I may have perished. But still. Not a great way to start the second day. Hoping tomorrow gets better. I like that I have some scenes planned out, but wish that I had more time to prep! It makes the writing go so much faster. That's all. No great words of wisdom today. Just proof that you can keep slogging through even when all you want to do is crawl into bed and eat chocolate.
NaNo Is here!
It's November first and that means NaNoWriMo has officially started. I stayed up until Midnight so that I could celebrate the start of November with the first 500 words of my book. I made good on my promise to do my first hour of writing in the morning, before I switch gears and devote all my time and energy to my real job, and yes, I got my day one goal in. Now I am working towards my "stretch goal" of 2800 words, which means I still have about 1000 words to write tonight. But I think that is doable. If I can get more, I might keep trucking along. I need to make up for the days I know I will be too crazy busy to get my quota.
I love the first scene (which is almost complete). It is sooooo good to be writing again and my characters are very happy to see me. It's like the first day of school after a long summer break and we are all eager to see what is going to happen this year.
Stay tuned!
I love the first scene (which is almost complete). It is sooooo good to be writing again and my characters are very happy to see me. It's like the first day of school after a long summer break and we are all eager to see what is going to happen this year.
Stay tuned!
Taking On NaNoWriMo (PT 2)
Must Have Resources
Now that you’ve got the basics, here are a few must have resources to help you stick to the rules!
1. Visit the Official NaNoWriMo site www.nanowrimo.org
If you haven't already done so, visit the official website to learn the rules and sign up as a participant. Join the forums, build out your buddy list, and most importantly ask questions. You don't want to lose time searching the boards once November comes. You want to know how to update your word count and track words before hand. Remember, time is precious!
2. Do the plotting and character development exercises
There are tons of books out there that are designed to help writers plot and develop their novel. Some of them even tote the tag line, write your novel in thirty days. Here are a few that I recommend. Check them out at Amazon.com.
- No Plot No Problem by NaNoWriMo founder Chris Baty
- Book in a Month by Victoria Lynn Schmidt
- First Draft in 30 Days by Karen Weisner
- Writing the Breakout Novel Book and Workbook by Donald Maass
3. Get the write (he, he) software
Most people use word by default, but it isn't always the best writing software, especially if you are trying to keep track of your daily word count. Personally I love to use Scrivener. In fact, part of the reason I went mac is because I needed a better writing program that worked with my personal writing and organizational style. The great thing about a program like Scrivener is that it allows you to create smaller separate documents within a larger project that are inter-related. So you can easily edit or move scenes, keep track of scene word count and my favorite, enter a full screen writing mode that blocks out everything else from your screen except for a basic document file. There's no ads, no links, no Internet browser lurking about to tempt you away from your writing. Consider it a typewriter for the modern age. Scrivener also allows you store your research notes and prep work in one central place. Do you have pictures of your characters or settings? You no longer have to open up another program to view them. Did you create a separate PDF outline, link to a specific movie, or reference a certain web page. You can copy and paste it into the program without opening 100 word documents.
So, that's all fine and dandy, you say. But you don't own a Mac. Right. Well. That Sucks. I've been there. In a pinch, Word will suffice. Just familiarize yourself with the daily pacing vs the word count goal. i.e. on day 6 you should be at X words, so if you are writing everything in a single document, than you can easily see total word count with the click of a button. You could also do separate docs for each scene, but you won't have a running total and you will have to compile it all together at the end anyway. I do recommend using document maps and creating headers for each chapter to easily navigate through your 200 pages! it will help make highlighting chapters or scenes easier if you are trying to get a word count.
So that’s it! Happy writing and good luck. Feel free to share any tips your your NaNoWriMo username in the comments. You can find me as Meliwriter!
Taking on NaNoWriMo (PT 1)
NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, is an annual writing challenge that takes place every November. Each year participants attempt to write a 50,000 word novel (I say novel loosely because most novels today are much longer than this) during an intense thirty day period. For a professionally published author making a living writing full time, this may seem as easy as tying your shoes, but for an novice writer who has never finished a manuscript or an aspiring author trying to pursue their dreams of a writing career while juggling the demands of everyday life, the task can seem as impossible as climbing Mt. Everest. Don’t worry! We’ve got you covered. I’m using today’s post to share my strategy on how to take on this mammoth beast and succeed with flying colors. Read on to learn more.
Basic Rules
Let’s start with some basic ground rules. Because you can either set yourself up for success or failure. And we don’t want you go cripple yourself before the challenge even starts. You wouldn’t enter a marathon without training right? Well, consider this your boot camp. Listen and learn.
Rule #1. Don't Wing It
I know many of you true artistic visionaries will cringe at the thought but now is not the time to fly by the seat of your pants. Can you complete fifty thousand words with out plotting or outlining ahead of time? Sure. I've even done it in the past. If your ultimate goal, is just to cross the finish line, than fine. Go for it. But if you are planning on actually doing something with this novel, and don't want to spend the next six months editing it to get it into some kind of readable shape, trust me, you're going to want a road map. I've participated in this challenge twice. The first time I went wherever the muse took me. That book was a complete mess. Though I did indeed finish it, I spent two years going back to revise and edit it, trying to make a better (and thus saleable) novel. It didn't happen. But you know what they say about your first book. The goal is to complete a novel, not to sell it. You get better as you go and you may not want to be judged by your very first attempt.
The second novel I wrote is actually much stronger and I do believe that was because I had already done a significant amount of research and plotting. It still needed some edits, and though I hit my 50K goal I did not finish the novel in one month. For the most part, I knew the plot, the scenes that I wanted, who the major players were. There was plenty of room to adjust as the characters interacted on the scene, but I could reel them back in when I sensed we were going off course in a not so good way. This is actually the novel I've been pitching to agents and editors. And yes, I still continue to tweak it.
This year I will be doing even more plotting and character building. Not because I am completely anal, but because I cannot stand editing and want to minimize the amount of time and energy I need to devote to that portion of the writing process. I tend to get stuck there, dreading out of place commas, typos, and entire scenes that need to be rewritten or worse. It sucks and anyway I can make it easier on myself so that the novel goes out the door faster and I'm back in the more creative realm of writing, the better.
I am also doing a significant amount of prep work because my goal is actually not to write 50k words. My goal is closer to 85,000 or about 2800 per day. That's where most of my manuscripts wind up and I'd like to have a full first draft done at the end of the month. I truly believe, that if you know what you're doing, it isn't impossible to do. But you can't get there with out a clear vision and actionable strategies that will get you across the finish line.
I am also doing a significant amount of prep work because my goal is actually not to write 50k words. My goal is closer to 85,000 or about 2800 per day. That's where most of my manuscripts wind up and I'd like to have a full first draft done at the end of the month. I truly believe, that if you know what you're doing, it isn't impossible to do. But you can't get there with out a clear vision and actionable strategies that will get you across the finish line.
Your goals might not be as lofty as mine, or they might be double what I've outlined. Either way, the prep work is important. Aside from helping you put together a logical story structure with relevant scenes and meaningful and dynamic characters is that the prep work allows you to make the most of what little time you have to write each day. Let's face it. Ultimately what happens when you don't collect your thoughts before hand is that you sit down with the intention of writing 1666 words or more in a single session and end up staring at a blank screen for the first twenty minutes. Time is a valuable commodity, especially when we have so much going on in our busy lives. Don't waste it brainstorming when you have a deadline looming. One of the great things about this challenge is that it forces you to stop making excuses and get something on the page. It teaches you the discipline of writing daily, and if you don't well the punishment can be severe. My first round I missed three days in a row. Next thing I knew my daily goal was no longer 1666 but 6664! It was a long and painful day, especially because I had no idea where the story was going or what was happening next. It was easy to push forward with 2000 words, but eventually you have to stop and figure out what comes next. And without realizing it you are back into the daydreaming, brainstorming stage instead of the producing stage.
Rule #2. Set a Schedule
Be proactive and plan out a schedule for writing ahead of time. Know how long it takes you on average to write 1666 words. Can you do it in two hours, or do you need more time? My goal is to write two hours in the morning before I go to work and do another two in the evening after I get home from the gym. And if I know that it's taking longer, I can cut the gym or write during my lunch break. Whatever it takes to get the words on the page.
Rule #3. Eliminate Non-Essentials
Along with setting up a specific writing time, look at your schedule and figure out what the non-essentials are. What are the things that you can cut out if you have a crazy day and need more writing time? Can you skip the gym, bypass the PTA meeting? TiVo Glee? Basically this is all about prioritization. If completing this challenge is important enough than spending time writing will come first. Note, I am not advocating you quit your job or starve your kids. But you don't have to cook a five course meal or make homemade pasta for dinner. Order a pizza, get carry out.If you don't like the idea of fast food all the time, plan out your meals for the week and prep them the Sunday before. Casseroles and soups can be frozen and reheated in the oven or crock-pot with minimal effort involved. If you love fresh salads, chop up your veggies and store them in storage containers so that you can quickly toss your favorites together and have meal in five minutes or less with little dishes to clean. Remember, now is not the time to go caffeine free. Don't take up an additional college course, try to plan a wedding or take on a part time job. A couple of late nights won't kill you but it will make you cranky. We want this to be a happy positive experience, not a death march to the end of your writing career.
If you live alone, you can stock up on healthy frozen dinners, snacks and quick serve meals. If you have a spouse or partner, USE THEM! Explain what you're doing, why it is important. Ask them to take over meals, childcare, bath time, etc. (that's bath time for the kids not you! No distractions!) and you can buy yourself a few extra minutes with the computer. If they see how hard you're working (meaning you can't be staring at a blank computer screen) and know that it's only for one month, they will hopefully be happy to support you.
Rule #4. Reward Yourself
Sure, winning the challenge and crossing the 50K mark is huge and a great motivator in and of itself. But if you aren't use to writing everyday the task can seem daunting, even for talented writers. Celebrate the little milestones, did you write today (even if it was just a sentence, good job. Are you on track or ahead of the pacing for the month? Good job. Did you meet your daily word count? Good job. Reward yourself with a chapter from a good book, an hour of your favorite TV show, or some special time with your significant other. :)
RT 2010 Update
The conference is a blast,and yet totally and completely exhausting at the same time! How can that be? I've met a lot of new friends (so nice to put a face to the online folks I've been chatting with) and gotten lots of great info from the panels. Last night I went to the Faery Ball and got my picture taken with Charlaine Harris! Yes, I know you are jealous. This is the second time I have met her. She was at DragonCon last year, and I just love her to pieces. Her accent and sense of humor are the best. I'd love to just sit on the porch with her, drinking sweet tea and talking vampires. LOL.
I had some audio of the first panel she moderated but the battery on my recorder died and I lost the entire file! I am going to try and get some more today.
There are book signings this afternoon and tomorrow. The Saturday one is open to the public so if you are in the area stop by and you can meet up with more than 300 authors for just 5 bucks! I also have an appointment with another editor this afternoon to talk about some of my short fiction. I was going to do a straight pitch, but really I think I will use the time to ask her a bunch of questions. I don't know if I am ready to pitch my novella yet. I have been so obsessed with Love Sex Magick that the novella has become the neglected baby in the family. but I am super interested in learning more about the changing nature of these epublishers. I look forward to picking her brain!
I did survive my first live pitch for Love Sex Magick. I was very nervous about the whole thing, despite the fact that my day job involves training people how to make pitches for fundraising! I used the same basic principles for this, and once I had my pitch outlined, I practiced on my writing group, with my parents and even recorded myself so that I could watch it and give my own feedback. Super helpful if your nervous, because you get all the rambling and stammering out of the way and the pitch has a flow and a pace that makes you look like you know what you are talking about! Which of course you do, because you wrote it, right!
Okay beeps. It's officially time for me to hit the rode. It's after eleven and even though I am annoyed that I could not find my black skirt for the vampire ball, I am going to truck on. I've got things to do and people to meet/greet. Tomorrow I will be posting pictures and maybe some video, maybe. I'm not making any projects. But man, it is crazy how much I miss writing and my time to work on the blogs, when I am at things like this. Sometimes I just need an hour or two to recenter and feel connected to everyday life.
Happy Friday!
I had some audio of the first panel she moderated but the battery on my recorder died and I lost the entire file! I am going to try and get some more today.
There are book signings this afternoon and tomorrow. The Saturday one is open to the public so if you are in the area stop by and you can meet up with more than 300 authors for just 5 bucks! I also have an appointment with another editor this afternoon to talk about some of my short fiction. I was going to do a straight pitch, but really I think I will use the time to ask her a bunch of questions. I don't know if I am ready to pitch my novella yet. I have been so obsessed with Love Sex Magick that the novella has become the neglected baby in the family. but I am super interested in learning more about the changing nature of these epublishers. I look forward to picking her brain!
I did survive my first live pitch for Love Sex Magick. I was very nervous about the whole thing, despite the fact that my day job involves training people how to make pitches for fundraising! I used the same basic principles for this, and once I had my pitch outlined, I practiced on my writing group, with my parents and even recorded myself so that I could watch it and give my own feedback. Super helpful if your nervous, because you get all the rambling and stammering out of the way and the pitch has a flow and a pace that makes you look like you know what you are talking about! Which of course you do, because you wrote it, right!
Okay beeps. It's officially time for me to hit the rode. It's after eleven and even though I am annoyed that I could not find my black skirt for the vampire ball, I am going to truck on. I've got things to do and people to meet/greet. Tomorrow I will be posting pictures and maybe some video, maybe. I'm not making any projects. But man, it is crazy how much I miss writing and my time to work on the blogs, when I am at things like this. Sometimes I just need an hour or two to recenter and feel connected to everyday life.
Happy Friday!
Theme of the Day....
Today was all about revisions...apparently the cosmos want me to know that I'm not alone in my struggles to get LSM ready for prime time. Two quick examples that I just had to share....
1. The Simpsons episode this evening starred Mel Gibson who was screening a movie in springfield and obsessed with good reviews. Of course Homer gave a negative review and despite the fact that all of the other review were amazing he became obsessed with creating a movie that stood up to Homer's taste. Of course, that was a horrid idea and you can only imagine what happened!! It was pretty appropriate, given my mood yesterday.
2. Had to share the quote of the day that I randomly stumbled upon on the FF&P Blog. "We all know the secret to good writing is rewriting--or at least we should! I’ve never met an author who turned out a perfect manuscript on the first go." Again the perfect sentiment for where my mindset is this week.
Anyway, hope you all are doing well. Please say hello and if you get a moment hop on over to my side project www.wickedjungle.com. We have two new stories up and would love to know what you think.
1. The Simpsons episode this evening starred Mel Gibson who was screening a movie in springfield and obsessed with good reviews. Of course Homer gave a negative review and despite the fact that all of the other review were amazing he became obsessed with creating a movie that stood up to Homer's taste. Of course, that was a horrid idea and you can only imagine what happened!! It was pretty appropriate, given my mood yesterday.
2. Had to share the quote of the day that I randomly stumbled upon on the FF&P Blog. "We all know the secret to good writing is rewriting--or at least we should! I’ve never met an author who turned out a perfect manuscript on the first go." Again the perfect sentiment for where my mindset is this week.
Anyway, hope you all are doing well. Please say hello and if you get a moment hop on over to my side project www.wickedjungle.com. We have two new stories up and would love to know what you think.
Working out the kinks....
I thought I'd get a lot of edits done this weekend but alas, I got very few. Which is completely frustrating. To be honest I've been in a little bit of a funk the last two days. I'm struggling with the edits to LSM, getting feedback from a lot of different people and of course there isn't much agreement on anything. So now I am stuck with the challenging task of deciding which feedback is worth embracing and which is worth tossing. Because lets be real, you can't please everyone and that is certainly not my objective. On the other hand, it is foolish to believe that your work cannot be improved upon. To be honest, I think it is one of the harder aspects of writing. Everyone has an opinion and some people are going to like your work and some people aren't.
So here I am at 1 in the morning, rambling on my blog because I am feeling not so good about the status of my novel. Wait, I should clarify. I love the book. And having the feedback of my peers has given me some insight which I know will only enhance the story and the likelihood that it will sell. I think I am simply disappointed that not everyone loves all of the characters as much as I do. Which perhaps is my fault. I'm not sure. It seems that I failed to do my job as a writer and provide them with opportunities to fall in love with the characters or sympathize with them or at least stop hating them. Annoyance and hatred I didn't expect. But then I think about some of the books I've purchased and hated. There are character's that I cannot stand, series that I have stopped reading because I didn't agree with a major plot point, (like killing off a beloved character). Certain things are not my style or preference, but plenty of other people love it. So in general does everyone but me hate the characters or is it a matter of preference. Are people just being nice to spare my feelings when secretly they don't like or get the characters either?
This is where I get into trouble and have to distance myself. This is also why I am writing this post. Because I, Missy Lynn Ryan, am a people pleaser. I like praise, recognition and will often ignore my own thoughts or feelings in order to receive the praise and approval of others. I've been doing it for many years. In fact, some of my earliest memories deal with me sacrificing my happiness and well-being in an effort to seek approval from someone else.
On the flip side, I am also incredibly harsh on myself. I put so much pressure on myself to be perfect that the fear of failure paralyzes my ability to move forward. I just finished watching the Oscars and am reminding myself that I am willingly choosing to be in a business that is full of criticism. That in itself is a huge risk. You have to have enough confidence in yourself to keep moving forward even when some people think you should walk away. You have to have a vision of who you are and what you want to become even if the end seems impossible to obtain. I know that I am not perfect and that is okay. I know that I am not defined by the thoughts and opinions of others, which if you can come to that point in your life, is an absolutely freeing moment.
That said, I am not posting this to whine about crits of my work that I don't understand or disagree with. I am posting this because I know there are other writers struggling with the exact same thoughts and emotions. As writers, we like to pretend that it is all so easy. Writing is hard. Rewriting is hard. Releasing your project for the world to see, judge, love or hate, is even harder. But you aren't alone and just as I am going to keep tweaking LSM and trying to get this book published, so should you follow your dream, no matter how far off it seems.
Peace out for now. I really need to try and sleep, or tomorrow I am going to be one cranky lady.
So here I am at 1 in the morning, rambling on my blog because I am feeling not so good about the status of my novel. Wait, I should clarify. I love the book. And having the feedback of my peers has given me some insight which I know will only enhance the story and the likelihood that it will sell. I think I am simply disappointed that not everyone loves all of the characters as much as I do. Which perhaps is my fault. I'm not sure. It seems that I failed to do my job as a writer and provide them with opportunities to fall in love with the characters or sympathize with them or at least stop hating them. Annoyance and hatred I didn't expect. But then I think about some of the books I've purchased and hated. There are character's that I cannot stand, series that I have stopped reading because I didn't agree with a major plot point, (like killing off a beloved character). Certain things are not my style or preference, but plenty of other people love it. So in general does everyone but me hate the characters or is it a matter of preference. Are people just being nice to spare my feelings when secretly they don't like or get the characters either?
This is where I get into trouble and have to distance myself. This is also why I am writing this post. Because I, Missy Lynn Ryan, am a people pleaser. I like praise, recognition and will often ignore my own thoughts or feelings in order to receive the praise and approval of others. I've been doing it for many years. In fact, some of my earliest memories deal with me sacrificing my happiness and well-being in an effort to seek approval from someone else.
On the flip side, I am also incredibly harsh on myself. I put so much pressure on myself to be perfect that the fear of failure paralyzes my ability to move forward. I just finished watching the Oscars and am reminding myself that I am willingly choosing to be in a business that is full of criticism. That in itself is a huge risk. You have to have enough confidence in yourself to keep moving forward even when some people think you should walk away. You have to have a vision of who you are and what you want to become even if the end seems impossible to obtain. I know that I am not perfect and that is okay. I know that I am not defined by the thoughts and opinions of others, which if you can come to that point in your life, is an absolutely freeing moment.
That said, I am not posting this to whine about crits of my work that I don't understand or disagree with. I am posting this because I know there are other writers struggling with the exact same thoughts and emotions. As writers, we like to pretend that it is all so easy. Writing is hard. Rewriting is hard. Releasing your project for the world to see, judge, love or hate, is even harder. But you aren't alone and just as I am going to keep tweaking LSM and trying to get this book published, so should you follow your dream, no matter how far off it seems.
Peace out for now. I really need to try and sleep, or tomorrow I am going to be one cranky lady.
Writing Update
It's been a while since I posted, well by a while I mean two days! I know, can you believe it. My new MacBook has got to be my favorite purchase in a long, long time. Probably haven't been this excited about something since I purchased a Wii two years ago. Anyway, I wanted to give some quick updates on my writing and various projects.
1. Love, Sex, Magick. I am actively seeking an agent and getting ready to submit to some publishers that don't require an agent. In fact I sent out the second query this morning. I'm starting to get a little nervous. One woman told me that she sent out 62 queries before signing with her agent. Another only did four or five queries. Talk about a drastic difference. It makes me wonder, was the quality of the work that different or was it just a matter of luck and timing. So much of securing an agent is about finding the right person with the right need that can fully represent you and your work. That is not an easy thing to do. I guess my writing grants for non-profits has helped me mentally prepare for this. I know that you are going to get a certain amount of negative responses. Inevitably people are going to say no and it doesn't always have to do with the quality of the validity of your project/work. Sometimes there are factors at play that you couldn't have known about or cannot control. That said, all you writers who are struggling on this journey with me: chin up! The sun will always come out tomorrow.
2. Wicked Jungle. It is up and running and in full swing. We posted our first round of fiction on Monday. Two really fun short stories that I think you will love. I've been tweaking the layout. All posts on the homepage now have thumbnail images. We are adding profiles on some of our favorite books. Let us know if their is a new novel coming out that you think we should feature. If you are a new author and want to do a guest post we can arrange that as well! Basically, it is a lot of time but I am having so much fun and the Mac has made my life so much easier. I can barely work on the Dell anymore.
3. General Writing. Started outlining next book in the LSM series. It takes place in Las Vegas and coincidentally I will be in Vegas next week. Hopefully I will have my new flip cam with me so I can document some of the "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" moments. I'm planning on doing a few touristy things and exploring some of the hotels and casinos. One of my characters owns a Casino and I am curious to see if something their matches the vision in my head. I'll get off the strip a little bit. My company has an office about 6 miles away and hopefully I will work from their one day. I should probably think about general questions I want to ask residents of the city and see if I can pick their brains.
Anyway that is it. My life is all about writing, Wicked Jungle, and more writing.
1. Love, Sex, Magick. I am actively seeking an agent and getting ready to submit to some publishers that don't require an agent. In fact I sent out the second query this morning. I'm starting to get a little nervous. One woman told me that she sent out 62 queries before signing with her agent. Another only did four or five queries. Talk about a drastic difference. It makes me wonder, was the quality of the work that different or was it just a matter of luck and timing. So much of securing an agent is about finding the right person with the right need that can fully represent you and your work. That is not an easy thing to do. I guess my writing grants for non-profits has helped me mentally prepare for this. I know that you are going to get a certain amount of negative responses. Inevitably people are going to say no and it doesn't always have to do with the quality of the validity of your project/work. Sometimes there are factors at play that you couldn't have known about or cannot control. That said, all you writers who are struggling on this journey with me: chin up! The sun will always come out tomorrow.
2. Wicked Jungle. It is up and running and in full swing. We posted our first round of fiction on Monday. Two really fun short stories that I think you will love. I've been tweaking the layout. All posts on the homepage now have thumbnail images. We are adding profiles on some of our favorite books. Let us know if their is a new novel coming out that you think we should feature. If you are a new author and want to do a guest post we can arrange that as well! Basically, it is a lot of time but I am having so much fun and the Mac has made my life so much easier. I can barely work on the Dell anymore.
3. General Writing. Started outlining next book in the LSM series. It takes place in Las Vegas and coincidentally I will be in Vegas next week. Hopefully I will have my new flip cam with me so I can document some of the "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" moments. I'm planning on doing a few touristy things and exploring some of the hotels and casinos. One of my characters owns a Casino and I am curious to see if something their matches the vision in my head. I'll get off the strip a little bit. My company has an office about 6 miles away and hopefully I will work from their one day. I should probably think about general questions I want to ask residents of the city and see if I can pick their brains.
Anyway that is it. My life is all about writing, Wicked Jungle, and more writing.
No Go for Amazon Competition
I finally found out about ten minutes ago that I did not make it to the second round of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Competition. I don't know whether I should be sad or relieved. I was starting to get nervous about the timing of the whole thing. I really wanted to start sending out queries to Agents. In fact I sent my first official query out yesterday and I was a nervous wreck. I kept thinking, what if she is really interested and I have to explain to her that the book is in this contest and Penguin has first right of refusal for six months. Ugh. I can't imagine how that conversation would go.
On the other hand everyone likes a little self-gratification. Even though I know the competition favors mainstream vs. genre, it would have been nice to feel like someone thought it was good. Even if it was three judges I know absolutely nothing about.
Oh well. Now I am free to pursue the agents, which is what I wanted in the first place. I am hoping to meet with a few in April at the RT convention.
On the other hand everyone likes a little self-gratification. Even though I know the competition favors mainstream vs. genre, it would have been nice to feel like someone thought it was good. Even if it was three judges I know absolutely nothing about.
Oh well. Now I am free to pursue the agents, which is what I wanted in the first place. I am hoping to meet with a few in April at the RT convention.
Keeping Your Writing Spirit Alive
Many of you know that I recently entered Love Sex Magick into the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition sponsored by (you guessed it) Amazon and their subsidiary CreateSpace. I was super excited about participating as this was a low investment, low risk opportunity that allowed me to feel like I was doing something with my novel. For those of you who are not writers, this business is all about the waiting. It takes months, sometimes years) to get a manuscript ready for primetime, especially when you are a new writer and still developing your craft. I wanted to feel like I wasn’t just waiting for a response from an editor or agent. I wanted to know that I was taking advantage of all opportunities to get this baby published.
Today is the first deadline for the competition. Over the last two or three days I have been reading through the forums, and let me just tell you, it is completely depressing. Some folks have entered this contest year after year. They spent months before the submission period even opened, working on their submission and fretting over how quickly the 5,000 slots would fill up. I have heard a lot of bad things about the competition: that it is disorganized, that it is a complete crap shoot, that your odds of winning are like winning the lottery!
Everyone is entitled to their opinion and there may be some truth to the disorganization and lack of structure of the competition (at least in year’s past). What worries me is how much weight folks are putting on this single opportunity for publishing. You probably have a stronger chance of getting published by submitting your manuscript to an agent or editor the traditional way than entering a competition with 10,000 other contestants vying for two spots. Knowing this, why would you define the success of your writing career on whether or not you win this competition? My goal was never to win. If I do, well that would just be a high power at work. My goal was to make it to the online voting. I wanted to have my excerpt on the site. I wanted to generate a little bit of traffic to my blog. I wanted people excited and interested about my novel and eagerly awaiting my next move. And maybe there was a little bit of self-indulgence here. I just wanted some validation for the quality of my work. As an aspiring author, we don’t get that opportunity very often.
Unfortunately, not having realistic expectations can really mess with your mind and your confidence as a writer. So can hanging around too many aspiring authors that are caught in that negative cycle of, “this is a complete waste of time,” “no one ever gets published,” “I’m the world’s most amazing writer and the industry is screwing me over.” Seriously, get a grip. I believe one should have confidence in themselves and their work. I also believe that sometimes writers are overconfident and can’t see the flaws in their own work because they are simply way too close to the project. It’s like thinking someone else’s kids are spoiled rotten brats and not realizing your children act the same way. Parents are often blind to the flaws of their children and in some cases for good reason. Writers tend to do this too, simply because they have invested so much (time, money, blood, sweat and tears!) into their manuscript. But to be successful in this business we need to know how to take criticism of our work and use it to make our writing better.
One man made a post and said he had been rejected by nearly 100 editors. My first thought was, did you learn anything from any of those rejections? For me, after the first twenty five I might have signed up for some consultation sessions at a conference with an agent or editor or submitted it to one of my writing groups with the specific intention of trying to figure out what is not working.
Call me crazy, but I believe that if you are a strong writer and put together a strong novel, it will get published. Someone will eventually buy it or agree to represent you. The bottom line is publishing is a business and if they think your book will sell and make money, they are not going to turn you away. The man I referenced above, after reading more of his posts I realized he knew very little about the business of writing. The methods in which he was using to get in front of a publisher and try and convince them to buy his work was probably contributing to his lack of success in that endeavor. Bottom line….if you really want to be a published author: (1) write a good story, and (2) learn the proper etiquette of the business.
Today is the first deadline for the competition. Over the last two or three days I have been reading through the forums, and let me just tell you, it is completely depressing. Some folks have entered this contest year after year. They spent months before the submission period even opened, working on their submission and fretting over how quickly the 5,000 slots would fill up. I have heard a lot of bad things about the competition: that it is disorganized, that it is a complete crap shoot, that your odds of winning are like winning the lottery!
Everyone is entitled to their opinion and there may be some truth to the disorganization and lack of structure of the competition (at least in year’s past). What worries me is how much weight folks are putting on this single opportunity for publishing. You probably have a stronger chance of getting published by submitting your manuscript to an agent or editor the traditional way than entering a competition with 10,000 other contestants vying for two spots. Knowing this, why would you define the success of your writing career on whether or not you win this competition? My goal was never to win. If I do, well that would just be a high power at work. My goal was to make it to the online voting. I wanted to have my excerpt on the site. I wanted to generate a little bit of traffic to my blog. I wanted people excited and interested about my novel and eagerly awaiting my next move. And maybe there was a little bit of self-indulgence here. I just wanted some validation for the quality of my work. As an aspiring author, we don’t get that opportunity very often.
Unfortunately, not having realistic expectations can really mess with your mind and your confidence as a writer. So can hanging around too many aspiring authors that are caught in that negative cycle of, “this is a complete waste of time,” “no one ever gets published,” “I’m the world’s most amazing writer and the industry is screwing me over.” Seriously, get a grip. I believe one should have confidence in themselves and their work. I also believe that sometimes writers are overconfident and can’t see the flaws in their own work because they are simply way too close to the project. It’s like thinking someone else’s kids are spoiled rotten brats and not realizing your children act the same way. Parents are often blind to the flaws of their children and in some cases for good reason. Writers tend to do this too, simply because they have invested so much (time, money, blood, sweat and tears!) into their manuscript. But to be successful in this business we need to know how to take criticism of our work and use it to make our writing better.
One man made a post and said he had been rejected by nearly 100 editors. My first thought was, did you learn anything from any of those rejections? For me, after the first twenty five I might have signed up for some consultation sessions at a conference with an agent or editor or submitted it to one of my writing groups with the specific intention of trying to figure out what is not working.
Call me crazy, but I believe that if you are a strong writer and put together a strong novel, it will get published. Someone will eventually buy it or agree to represent you. The bottom line is publishing is a business and if they think your book will sell and make money, they are not going to turn you away. The man I referenced above, after reading more of his posts I realized he knew very little about the business of writing. The methods in which he was using to get in front of a publisher and try and convince them to buy his work was probably contributing to his lack of success in that endeavor. Bottom line….if you really want to be a published author: (1) write a good story, and (2) learn the proper etiquette of the business.
Love Sex Magick Update
Big stuff happening over here in Missy Lynn Land. Today I submitted my first official e-query to an agent at the top of my dream agent list. I have had the query written for about a month but was still making tweaks to the first chapter. Then I submitted the novel into the Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest and the timing just didn't seem right. Now I am attending the RT Booklover's convention and planning on meeting with Agents and Editors there too. Anyway, to make a long story short, I decided it was time to take the plunge. Hitting send was the hardest thing I've done thus far. And to make it worse this particular agent doesn't send rejections...so I have to wait a month or so and if I don't get a bite that means they are not interested.
Wish me luck. Lots of opportunity to make it pro this year. I have book two started and a YA in my back pocket.
Wish me luck. Lots of opportunity to make it pro this year. I have book two started and a YA in my back pocket.
It's Official! Love Sex Magick Out!
I know it has been a while since I posted but I'll have you know I was actually working hard on my latest project. Last night all that hard work paid off and Love Sex Magick has made its first public appearance with a submission to the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition. You can read more about the competition at the link above. If your an aspiring writer and have a book lying around submissions close tomorrow at midnight.. If anyone has competed in past years, what did you think of the opportunity? I am hoping to make it to the actual reader voting stage. If I do, you better believe I will be promoting the heck out of it online and asking for your help in driving votes to Amazon.
Thanks to all who provided feedback prior to submission and the girls of OWN who are reviewing as I prepare to land an agent. Me thinks this is going to be an interesting year. Of course, because there is no rest for the weary, I am off to go write the first chapter of book two!
Thanks to all who provided feedback prior to submission and the girls of OWN who are reviewing as I prepare to land an agent. Me thinks this is going to be an interesting year. Of course, because there is no rest for the weary, I am off to go write the first chapter of book two!
Novel Update: Finished: well, sort of.
Hi All.
I know I've been MIA for a while. I hope you've enjoyed the video clips I've been posting. I wanted to give folks a quick update on my newest WIP (work in progress). I have officially finished the first draft of Love Sex Magic. I am super excited as it was a ton of fun to write and I did about 40k in the last month to finish it. I'm getting crits on the first three chapters from two different writing groups and getting a lot of positive feedback(which is always a good thing). I think the readers are falling for the characters as quickly as I did. (LOL).
So, "what's next?", you ask. I am cleaning up the first three chapters and putting together a synopsis for a novel package review from the editor of Juno Books. Yea! If you've ever met Paula, she's super nice and has a great eye for talent. :) I mean she bought books from three off my writing group buddies.
That said, since I didn't formally submit my first novel (it has yet to come together in the manner that I'd like and truly meet my vision), I am really excited about getting to shop Love Sex Magic around. I hope to get it all polished up this month (August) and be ready to send out to agents early fall. If I could get some quick traction on this baby this year, I'd be a very happy girl.
I may be looking for 1 or 2 beta readers soon, so if you have any interest please let me know!! I try to return the favor as much as possible, because I believe it is such an important part of the process.
I know I've been MIA for a while. I hope you've enjoyed the video clips I've been posting. I wanted to give folks a quick update on my newest WIP (work in progress). I have officially finished the first draft of Love Sex Magic. I am super excited as it was a ton of fun to write and I did about 40k in the last month to finish it. I'm getting crits on the first three chapters from two different writing groups and getting a lot of positive feedback(which is always a good thing). I think the readers are falling for the characters as quickly as I did. (LOL).
So, "what's next?", you ask. I am cleaning up the first three chapters and putting together a synopsis for a novel package review from the editor of Juno Books. Yea! If you've ever met Paula, she's super nice and has a great eye for talent. :) I mean she bought books from three off my writing group buddies.
That said, since I didn't formally submit my first novel (it has yet to come together in the manner that I'd like and truly meet my vision), I am really excited about getting to shop Love Sex Magic around. I hope to get it all polished up this month (August) and be ready to send out to agents early fall. If I could get some quick traction on this baby this year, I'd be a very happy girl.
I may be looking for 1 or 2 beta readers soon, so if you have any interest please let me know!! I try to return the favor as much as possible, because I believe it is such an important part of the process.
Hello....Is there anybody out there?
Where oh where has my little writer gone? I know that's what you've been asking yourself in my absence. Could I have been trapped in a basement re-reading Breaking Dawn over and over again until every word was ingrained in the back of my mind? Not likely. BD, not my fav. I did however just finish rereading all of the Harry Potter books. I forgot how long the last four books were. It took a little while but was fun as I forgot a lot of the stuff that wasn't in the movies.
So other than reading what am I doing? Am I writing...Where's my book? Why isn't on shelves beside my second favorite author?
All legitimate questions.
Yes, I am still writing. In September I met with Editor Paula Guran and who reviewed my submission packet. They, like im' guessing many other publishers, are being very cautius about buying giving the economy and the borders deathwatch (I kid you not on the Borders thing, check out their stock, it's been less than a dollar a share for the last two months). She gave me some good feedback and simultaneously gave me permission to work on a new project (though that might not have been her intention). So now I am about a third of the way into another novel, which is so drastically different from the first, and I love it. It's not as dark, not as monolithic, not as likely to be banned by 80 percent of the south (though I still love my OK peeps). The characters sort of came to me as a whole unit, this disfunctional cluster (youknowwhat) that cracks me up with their paranoias, OCDs and of course their otherworldy drama. I'm still wrapping my head around some of the magic and how it works, but I have the full plot mapped out in my head and just need to find time to put it down on paper.
Oh and one of the ladies in my writing group sold two novels...(at least I think it was two). The first one will be out in the next few months. I will send a reminder so that you all can go out and buy it!
Oh and for the totally random thought of the day...have you seen Joaquin Phoenix lately? He was on letterman a few weeks ago and they replayed the episode tonight...and hmmm...I thought Ben Stillers impersonation was exagerated but whoa.... bizarre to the ninth degree.
So other than reading what am I doing? Am I writing...Where's my book? Why isn't on shelves beside my second favorite author?
All legitimate questions.
Yes, I am still writing. In September I met with Editor Paula Guran and who reviewed my submission packet. They, like im' guessing many other publishers, are being very cautius about buying giving the economy and the borders deathwatch (I kid you not on the Borders thing, check out their stock, it's been less than a dollar a share for the last two months). She gave me some good feedback and simultaneously gave me permission to work on a new project (though that might not have been her intention). So now I am about a third of the way into another novel, which is so drastically different from the first, and I love it. It's not as dark, not as monolithic, not as likely to be banned by 80 percent of the south (though I still love my OK peeps). The characters sort of came to me as a whole unit, this disfunctional cluster (youknowwhat) that cracks me up with their paranoias, OCDs and of course their otherworldy drama. I'm still wrapping my head around some of the magic and how it works, but I have the full plot mapped out in my head and just need to find time to put it down on paper.
Oh and one of the ladies in my writing group sold two novels...(at least I think it was two). The first one will be out in the next few months. I will send a reminder so that you all can go out and buy it!
Oh and for the totally random thought of the day...have you seen Joaquin Phoenix lately? He was on letterman a few weeks ago and they replayed the episode tonight...and hmmm...I thought Ben Stillers impersonation was exagerated but whoa.... bizarre to the ninth degree.
Is it spring yet?
Hi Everyone. It's been a while since I have posted anything. Just over a month to be exact. Is that a coincidence--I think not. I hate February. It's crappy and gray and cold and lonely. When I haven't been traveling I've been holed up in my apartment reading 2 or 3 books a week. Normally I wouldn't have the time for this, but with the writer's strike there is nothing on TV...well there is not much to do in Ohio on the weekends.
So, you would think I made significant progress on my writing, since I didn't leave mi casa. Wrong again. My progress consisted of printing out two chapters (that I actually had forgotten I had written!) and tweaking a left over scene from draft zero. What is draft zero? Well when I finished the first draft of my novel the beginning and ending didn't align. I had to rewrite several chapters to get everything in sync. Ultimately, what happened was that I ended up with two different beginnings that I had to merge cohesively together to fit the rest of the book. I don't think I like this phase. It's not as creative as the writing part, or the plotting part. It's not as business focused like the marketing and publicity. It's just the painstaking revision part.
So I am in a bookstore, that is pretending to be a campus books store but is really a Barnes and Noble ( I can tell by the branding). I'm in Philly. Last Week it was San Fran. Two weeks before, NY. How can I hate February in Ohio when I spent most of it in other states? I don't know--I just do. The only thing the travel did was make me forget it was February, so that for a few moments, I thought I was just plain old loosing my mind. I couldn't figure out why I was being such a loner. Was it some weird depression? Did I have an anxiety issue? Nope. Just that time of year.
Now that it is March, I don't know if I am going to abandon my reading who-ha. I've still got a ton of books to get through. But I am excited to get back on the writing. I have a pitch set up with an editor in the Fall. I'd like to be ready by then. World Con is coming to Columbus in 2010. I'd like to have a book out by then to sign LOL.
Well see.
So, you would think I made significant progress on my writing, since I didn't leave mi casa. Wrong again. My progress consisted of printing out two chapters (that I actually had forgotten I had written!) and tweaking a left over scene from draft zero. What is draft zero? Well when I finished the first draft of my novel the beginning and ending didn't align. I had to rewrite several chapters to get everything in sync. Ultimately, what happened was that I ended up with two different beginnings that I had to merge cohesively together to fit the rest of the book. I don't think I like this phase. It's not as creative as the writing part, or the plotting part. It's not as business focused like the marketing and publicity. It's just the painstaking revision part.
So I am in a bookstore, that is pretending to be a campus books store but is really a Barnes and Noble ( I can tell by the branding). I'm in Philly. Last Week it was San Fran. Two weeks before, NY. How can I hate February in Ohio when I spent most of it in other states? I don't know--I just do. The only thing the travel did was make me forget it was February, so that for a few moments, I thought I was just plain old loosing my mind. I couldn't figure out why I was being such a loner. Was it some weird depression? Did I have an anxiety issue? Nope. Just that time of year.
Now that it is March, I don't know if I am going to abandon my reading who-ha. I've still got a ton of books to get through. But I am excited to get back on the writing. I have a pitch set up with an editor in the Fall. I'd like to be ready by then. World Con is coming to Columbus in 2010. I'd like to have a book out by then to sign LOL.
Well see.
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