Can ANYONE But Me Get A Publishing Gig?

Ok, while I know that is not entirely true, I nearly threw up my lunch today reading a little tidbit on Wonderwall (an admission I loathe to make, but hey, I was bored and I brought my lunch from home today.  What-ev.) 

So, there I was, with my nectarine and plum, happily dripping juice down my chin (there is no lady-like way to eat fruit, trust me on this) and reading my daily dose of entertainment noise when there it was.  Snooki has a friggin' book deal!  With Simon and Schuster, no less!  I actually gagged.

Apparently she intends to write a beach tome entitled "A Shore Thing".  Oh, sorry.  That sound you heard was me throwing up a little in my mouth.  

I guess this literary masterpiece will be about a plucky, yet determined gal happily working her way down every rod on the shoreline in her singleminded dream to be the biggest slut on reality tv this side of the Mason-Dixon line.  No?  Oh, that's already being done?  Oh, I have heard of the Real Housewives of Atlanta.  Sorry.  Oh, they have a book deal too?  Of course they do.  How silly of me.  **Sigh**  And that sound you heard was me realizing that even as I hate her I am about as jealous of her as I can be.  She figured out a way in.  Good for her.

Maybe there's a book in this somewhere....hmmm?

Back From the Writer's Conference

I have completed my first writer's conference and I can't believe how much I learned from it.  It was truly worth every penny I scrimped and saved to attend and the "total immersion" aspect is no joke.  I spent every minute from Friday afternoon at 1pm to Sunday afternoon at 2pm breathing, eating and living the craft of writing.

I attended some excellent workshops and several read and critiques.  The tips and suggestions I received on the two manuscripts I shared are priceless.  I was thrilled to get great feedback on both.  Gives me fantastic validation that I was not wrong, I am a good writer!

Some notable people I met this past weekend: Taylor Martindale was sweet and kind; Monte Schulz was intelligent and generous with his time and inspiring suggestions and comments; Gail Carline was funny and fun and also inspiring.  I was over the moon to meet and receive a business card from an agent on my wish list, Bree Ogden.  She is right up in my kitchen, a Middle Grade agent, lover of novels and projects she has a new word for I adore, "boy-centric" and she loves loves loves horror: totally my kind of girl!  And the best speaker:  hands down it was Greg Hurwitz!  So entertaining and what an interesting life he is leading.  Something again to aspire to.

The agent panel was a true revelation.  Learned so many new things about agents.  Bree and others opened up and told all of us things in a genuine way about what to expect from them about time frames and submissions and the like.  Really enlightening.

And new friends!  I have a few new friends with whom to correspond who are navigating the same "Find An Agent, Get Discovered" mine fields as I and it is nice to find kindred spirits in like circumstances.

So, new missions:  tighten up The Ghost and The Guys and The Detention Demon for submission to uberagent Bree Ogden because I liked her and she and I seemed to have a moment.  I hope it wasn't one-sided.  That would be weird.

Get rid of adverbs, adjectives and use more descriptive verbs.  Show, don't tell, unless you have to show.  Don't bury the lead.  And grab the reader (agent) from the first paragraph, or you won't get a second.  AND WRITE GREAT QUERIES!

Easy, right?  Right.  I'll check back and let you know how it goes.  And I'm already saving for the conference in Feb '11!  Write on SCWC!

Preparing for the Writer's Conference!

Okay, I've printed all my manuscripts, worked on my query letters, I've even laid out the outfit I plan to wear.  Why am I so excited?  Duh!  The Southern California Writer's Conference is finally here; first day is tomorrow.  I have the day off from work (with my boss's blessing) I'll get the kids to school and take off for the big event.

I don't have my head in the clouds, either.  Pragmatism and realistic expectations are the catch words for the day.  I DON'T expect to meet the agent of my dreams and have him or her drop dead at my feet over my projects.  I also DON"T expect to have my writing career unfold before my eyes with just an attendance at a conference.  I think I'm being totally realistic with the following take-aways I want to have:

• I hope to meet other writers in the same circumstance as me, writing,    looking for an agent, not yet published, but ever hopeful.

• I hope at least to make the acquaintance of some agents and additionally hope to leave them with a remembrance of me, having made a great first impression.

• I hope to learn more about the craft of writing than I thought imaginable.

See?  Completely realistic.

Another exciting thing today: Chuck Sambuchino has announced a new contest on his I-Can't-Live-Without-It blog: www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog called the Sixth Annual "Dear Lucky Agent Contest" and the genre is soooo in my kitchen: paranormal romance and urban fantasy:  Hello!  That is my middle name.  I am going to submit right away, and you should too!

My next posts will be about the conference.  And even though I am remaining so maturely realistic and all, it won't kill me if you cross your fingers or light a candle or say a prayer for me.  I'll do the same for you.  Here we go!

New Query is Out In The World!

As of today I have sent out six new queries for my third novel, The Ghost and the Guys.  I'm not sure about the title but I am sure that this novel is written so much differently from my first.  It's shorter and therefore I feel that it is tighter.  I know 35k words might seem lacking in some respects, but I read a query letter to Kristin Nelson with less words.  The tightness and general flow of my story led me to a logical conclusion.  If I stuffed more words in there for the sake only of the word count, I wouldn't be true to the story.

I chose my first six agents very carefully.  For one thing, I have something in common with all of them; a love of a certain band or artist, where they have lived or were educated, something that made them special to me.  I read on Nicholas Spark's site he did the same thing.  He chose agents based on personal reasons.  I made sure they represent my genre, however, the Young Adult and Middle Grade market.  Further, they all respond in a super reasonable period of time.  Some in less than a week.  That would be good since the conference is looming and I want to stump for The Ghost and the Guys while I'm there.  I'll take Spellbound, since it is like my firstborn, but "Ghost" is where I hope to get my break.

So, I'll sign off and hope to hear from the agents soon.  I'm perfectly ready to send off six fulls if requested! (cue dream sequence). 

I Hate Writing Query Letters!

Okay, I realize the query letter is an integral part of the publishing process, blah, blah, blah.  I hate them!  And since this is my blog, I can bitch about them all I want.  I just hope I finally get one right.

I have finished my third novel, The Ghost and the Guys.  I am working on the query now.  I had bites for the first and the 2nd is being reworked due to some fabulous notes from an agent who actually took the time to write a complete critique.  I love her.  So, now the third one is done and I have to assume I'm not a good query-writer.  It's really hard, much harder than actually writing the novel.  I read those tantalizing ads on the web from companies who will write one for you, and I am SOOOO tempted, but I'm not there yet.

Here's the real reason I am so freaked out......I am attending my first Writer's Conference this weekend!  Yikes!  I'll be surrounded by authors and publishers and agents, oh my!  I am trying not to feel like a Christian in the lion's den, but I admit, it is a little intimidating.  The agent who was so amazing to me will not be there (insert sad face here) but I am hoping to meet others.  Or at least have others talk to me at all. (insert begging face here).

If anyone out there has attended a conference and can tell me what to expect, feel free to drop me a line.  I'll be here, working away, writing my millionth version of a query letter.  Okay, let's see:  Dear Most Revered Agent......*sigh*.
I think its back to the drawing board. 

Recovering From a Gut-Punch

I had every intention of blogging yesterday and then I was gut-punched.  I work full-time during the day (until my literary brilliance is first discovered and then shared with the world) and my day job did lay-offs.  Now, lay-offs are a normal thing in my industry following Labor Day but this particular season, in this particular economy, looked more like a bloodbath.  We laid off 9 people, including my dear, sweet, funny, elegant, classy, West African assistant.  I still can hardly even see the words in print without tearing up.  I hate this world that could do this to her, the most deserving person of good things that I know.

When the idocy of my industry had me in a stranglehold, the calming, dulcet tones of her lyrical accent never failed to center and balance me.  I will miss her radiant face more than she will ever know.  I went home and cried.  Today, when I went in and she wasn't there for the first time, for forever, my heart nearly broke in two.

When I got home today, I received my first copy of Wirter's Digest and fortuitively, there was an article from a brilliant writer about what to do with your writing to get revenge.  He suggested that when you have a bad day or a traumatic event, write out your rage, your frustration at a broken system, your hatred for some thing or some person.  And Mary Higgins Clark suggested to take your revenge out on someone who has done you wrong by making them a victim in your next story.  I LOVE that idea.  So much so that I have a notebook page dedicated to a whole bunch of people who will figure prominently in a bestseller coming to a bookstore to you soon!  I share now with you, a few of those new "characters":

To the person who made the decision to cut my beloved Bineta from my life - he/she becomes the victim in a Bernard Madoff-style pyramid.

To the person who blithely cut me off in traffic today - they become the parent of twin teenage girls who are addicted to texting AND driving the family car on a daily basis.

To the bank manager who will not let me have access to my funds on the same day I deposited them - they become the victim of identity theft and their name is used to open scores of credit cards in their name.

And finally, fittingly, to the agents who have passed on my manuscript - well, you know what happens here.  They are clearly missing out on what my cherished First Reader calls "quite something here."  I rest my case.

I hope you share with me who in your life will become a victim in your next story.  Remember, don't get mad, get writing!

A New School Year!

I may or may not be alone here, but I welcomed the new school year beginning this morning almost too happily.  To be brutally honest, I was almost as excited as my seven year old that it was finally here.  We live in California and we feel here that we have been robbed of our summer.  It never really got blazingly warm and because of this, the vacation seemed too cool, and too long, almost.  I'm sure my son would never admit this out loud, but I would be quick to remind him of the bazillion times I responded to "Mom, I'm bored."

With the new school year comes a new bedtime, a whole 1/2 hour earlier, which translates to more time for me to write.  Since nights are my prime writing time, an extra hour is like manna from the Gods. I hope to make excellent use of the gift.  I actually wrote a short story, almost in the flash fiction category I often read about in the contest promotions.  A first!

I wonder about entering contests.  I might start trying my hand at a few of them.  Some of the entry fees aren't that bad, some are even free, and even making honorable mention would be a nice cred to tout in a letter to an agent.  I'll let you know here if I decide to make a go of it. 

Gotta go soon.  Monday night is a GREAT night on t.v.  Shows I am lovin' right now:  Weeds followed by The Big C on Showtime.  Laura Linney is effervescent!  Make sure you try and catch it.  Later!

Three things I Love Today

Three things I love today all happen to be electronic.  So sue me.  I do come absolutely unglued when the power goes out.  My husband calmly prowls the house gathering candles and I run around like a maniac trying to find as many hair toys as I can and wondering how many people will recognize me when I have my hair up because I can't use the blow dryer.  Anyway, on to today's list.

1) My hair straightener (no surprise here) because it gives me the hair God was supposed to give me when he (she?) was not overly busy with the Grand Canyon and platypuses (really, God?)

2) My Blackberry, because every time it beeps that I have an incoming email it means someone was thinking of me and I feel it's love.

3) My GPS, because after a lifetime of panicked wrong turns I have a soothing, unflustered voice to count on who will dependably guide me to my destination.  I can blithely drive down the dead end street knowing she will patiently guide me out with her silky, sinewy toned voice:  When possible, make a u-turn.  And obediently, I will.  I love her.

If you're following, tell me the three things you love today.

Making New Friends In the Paranormal World

I am happy to report today that this newbie blogger/writer/traipser through this crazy world called Trying-To-Get-My-Novels-Published is finding friends in like circumstances.  Not that I didn't think I would.  Just that I didn't think I would this fast.  And they are in the paranormal world like me!  Woo-hoo!  And better still, we are all just as done with vampires as the other.  Best news I've heard all day.

I was listening to the radio the other day and I heard that there is going to be YET ANOTHER INSTALLMENT of the beat-it-to-death Twilight saga.  Now they aim to expand the role of the Bree Tanner character.  And apparently they are looking for an actress with more 'star power' than the one who already had the role in "Eclipse".  So that one gets assed out I guess.  All I could think is how bad that must suck for the actress who already played the role.  And one millisecond later I awas thinking how sick to death of the whole saga I really am.  Seriously, Stephenie?  Can you write anything else?  Please?  Just asking.

Ok, more exciting news is I got a new computer.  I am writing on my brand new Toshiba laptop.  Not a netbook.  Went to check those out and damn!  Are they tiny or what?  Felt like I had gigantic hands.  Made me feel like a Seinfeld character with man hands.  Would. Not. Do.  So I got the big sister version, not a 10 inch screen, a 14 inch one.  She is so cute I could scream.  I just know an amazing manuscript is embedded in these keys, just like the broadband is.
So, stay tuned.  And soon, when anyone else is actually reading this, tell me about yours.  Good night.

Discussion Groups are Starting to Sound Like Jr. High Lunch Hours

I've recently been joining groups on my LinkedIn account in an effort to meet other like-minded writers and one astonishing fact is jumping out at me...there are a LOT of paranormal writers out there!  A lot of paranormal YA writers out there.  I mean, WOW!

When I add that into the discouraging facts I keep reading that less than 2% of all aspiring writers actually make it to a traditional publishing house, it can be a depressing thought.

Some of the discussion groups I have been following don't want to talk about anything except the difference between self-publishing and traditional publishing.  Or complain about it.  I have actually considered leaving groups because of one sarcastic, snarky poster who keeps showing up in group after group, self-aggrandizing his opinion in the most rude manner.  Each time he shows up the tone of the postings gets nastier and nastier until someone finally steps in and has to remind everyone to keep it on a mature level.  That's about the time I leave.

I join groups to get an experienced viewpoint on the publishing biz, not some fourth grade-level rant about how the industry did someone wrong.  I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels this way.

Well, on to better news.  And I do have some. I finished my third novel, tentatively titled The Ghost and the Guys.  I did one edit and will begin working on a query letter soon.  But today, some drama.  Surgery for the husband.  Nothing serious, a little outpatient thing.  A weekend of rest and then back at it next week.  And one agent wants to see Spellbound.  So, we'll see where that goes.  Wish me luck!

Introduction

As this is my first post, I'll start with an introduction.  I am (currently, at least) an unpublished, but enthusiastically hopeful writer who is, at the moment, shopping both a YA paranormal thriller and a middle grade horror title.  The YA has the potential to be one of a two-book series, and the MG I envision as the first of a chapter book series.

This blog, then, is to be my chronicle of trying to A) get an agent and B) get published.  C) is also not to kill myself trying to accomplish A and B.

So far, the rejections have been kind, instructional, form-letters, after-thoughts or hardly worth mentioning.  My YA has been requested twice, once as a partial and once as a full.  Both passed.  My MG has been requested once as a partial.  Also a pass.  But with the most generous, most informational actual CRITIQUE that I almost couldn't believe my luck.  This has placed that particular agent at the TOP OF MY LIST of agents.  Plus, she asked to see my YA novel as well.  Which I am now lustily reworking to meet her standards before I submit.  She is now my DREAM AGENT.

I've read about a million blogs and posts regarding GETTING AN AGENT and I know it can be almost as difficult as writing the great american novel.  I think it should.  If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.  I also know tons of people have gone the self-publishing route and I think if it works for them, then great.  I still want an agent.  The same reason me choosing a restaurant over cooking at home isn't always about the food is the reason why I want one.  I want someone to bring the food to me and clean it up after.  And when its not right, or too hot or too cold, or I just don't like it, I want someone to fix it.  I want my agent to know when the food (read: contract) isn't just right and adjust the temperature, or send it back when it needs less spice, or more gravy or just deal with the cook (read: publisher) when I don't want to.  And I will tip them well for their trouble.

So, stay tuned, if you care to, and I will post with gusto (I hope) of the continuing saga of this girl with a dream.  Because no matter what else she does, Samantha Combs writes!