Writer Writing, Avoiding Nothing

If I do nothing, the most predictable thing will happen.

Nothing.

I can write in my journals, at my computer, create stories and novels all day long. But only when I send them out into the world will anything happen with them. Otherwise, they are just for me. It makes me happy to write, and maybe that is enough. I don't have to have validation through other people to be satisfied about my writing.

However, my goal has always been to write books that other people can read. I've got a start. I have two short stories published in FWA collections. I have my first paid short story publication coming out in March 2013. I have two completed novels, and lots of completed short stories. I realize that I have been letting the rejections come in without sending the stories back out as quickly. It's hitting me how behind I am in the submitting process.

I believe it takes hard work to be a published writer. Technically, I am a published writer now, but I want to publish novels. To some, it might not make sense that I don't go ahead and do it without an agent or a publisher. The ability to self-publish an e-book in a matter of hours gives everyone the chance to be a published author.

I believe receiving an acceptance on a short story or a novel from an agent/publisher/magazine means that at least one other person enjoyed the story. One other person found it worth putting in print. And that person probably knows more about the industry than I do.

If I keep my stories in my computer, in my journals and notebooks, nothing will happen to them. My conviction helps me recognize that a desire for publication, though not a necessity of life, requires something of me. So I'm doing my best to avoid doing nothing.

Yes and No

"Above all, my beloved, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any oath, but let your "Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation." James 5:12 NRSV

In the submitting process, I think of yes as acceptance and no as rejection. Perhaps this verse doesn't exactly apply to that.

I was thinking about the idea that each time I submit a piece, all I need is a yes. Yet that's not true. I need rejections as much as I need my one fabulous acceptance. The yes I received is the perfect example. In the last post, I detailed how the initial rejection turned into the acceptance. If the editor had said "Yes" the first time around, the piece would not have been as tight and strong as it became after I made edits from his suggestions. His "No" not only gave me incentive to try again, but it made me realize that the story needed more editing. I find it a blessing that he told me specifics, because he was right.

I have now received rejections on both Livinity and Sprinter from the agent I met at the FWA Conference. Once she rejected Livinity, I had a feeling she would reject Sprinter as well. She did have nice things to say about both. She likes my writing. For Sprinter, she did not believe she could sell it at this time, though she felt it was a good story. I appreciate her candor very much. And maybe that's why the verse came to mind. Editors, agents and publishers have little luxury or time to say anything but the truth to submitting writers: yes or no.

A member of my critique group, Lee, has read the prologue of Livinity, and she had quite a few things to say. I'm very glad that Lee has no problem letting her yes be yes and no be no. She actually apologized later for being so blunt, and I said, "No! I need blunt! How else will it get better?" She had some great suggestions for how I can improve my fantasy novel, and it may be sometime before I'm ready to submit it again.

Sprinter, on the other hand, is going out again soon. I've got a list of places to send it, both agents and publishers, and I'm ready for some more rejections. Maybe I'll even get one of those amazing emails that tells me why they are rejecting it. Because then I can try to make it better.

No is not a terrible word. Rejection is not a terrible thing. At least, I'll try to keep telling myself that.

Acceptance

I'm happy to report an acceptance from a paying market!

"A Black Gaping Hole" will appear in Aoife's Kiss, a science fiction and fantasy magazine, in March 2013. The science fiction story follows Lt. Erin Waite and her team into the depths of an alien-made cave where they encounter something unexpected.

I want to share what happened in the process of receiving this acceptance as it might encourage others. I have received so many rejections before this that I kept wondering if or when I would get an acceptance. As a writer pursuing publication, I know it can take a long time. Persistence is key.

When I first submitted a story to Aoife's Kiss, I received a rejection from the editor with the reasons why (!) and an encouraging word about how the writing was "verrry good." What a boost, even in the midst of rejection. I was determined to try again with that magazine because of the candor and kindness of the editor. As many writers know, it's not often that you receive anything but a generic letter and no feedback of any kind.

When I finished "The AA of 2332," the original name of the sci-fi piece, I immediately sent it to Aoife's Kiss and waited. A few months later, I received a rejection. However, the editor told me why yet again, and offered me the chance to resubmit if I made the changes. This was a first, and I took the next two days to do nothing but rewrite that story, which included changing the name to "A Black Gaping Hole." I sent it back with the suggested revisions. About a week later, the editor replied that he liked the story, but a few issues remained. I sought the advice of fellow writers and made the last few revisions in two days. I submitted again and waited. Three weeks passed. I wondered if I should query, but John Rehg, the St. Pete leader of FWA, recommended I wait at least a month before querying. I followed that advice, and received a reply from the editor who had not forgotten me, but would get to my piece soon.

On March 5, 2012, I received another email from the editor which began, "I'll take it!"

Excited, encouraged, relieved, overjoyed...these were some of my feelings in that moment. I realized that I'm finally getting somewhere as an acceptance to a paying market is a big step for authors. Now, I can submit to other places and mention an upcoming publication.

There are some rejections I've received before and after this acceptance that I'll mention in another post soon.

For now, I just want to celebrate and Praise Jesus for my first paid publication.

While Waiting, Writing

"Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return..." Luke 12: 35-36

So much about the publication process (rather, attempting to get into the publication process) is about waiting. Even while waiting, I want to be persistent. If I simply wait for answers from the agent on my novel (or a literary magazine on a short story) before moving forward with either the same story (sequel, for example) or other stories, I could make myself go crazy.

Why haven't they replied to my email? Did they even get the manuscript? How long should I wait before querying to make sure they haven't forgotten me or misplaced my email?

Instead of focusing on those thoughts, and they can plague me at times, I am working on other stories. Yes, I work full time and have animals at home to take care of and books to read and plenty of other things to keep me distracted. But writing other pieces and submitting other places can help not only stave off the questions, but can also soften the rejections that come in. Getting one rejection on the one story I sent out can be more devastating than getting one rejection out of the ten stories I'm waiting to hear back about. Not that rejections are fun, but they don't have to lay me out like a punch to the face.

The Bible talks about making oneself ready even while waiting for something, and I think that can apply to my writing. When the rejections come in, and they will, I can be ready to send out again.

Are Some Goals Unattainable?

I'm wondering if I've given myself an unattainable goal for the month of December. I had the bright idea that because I didn't do NaNoWriMo, that I should try writing 50,000 words a month later just to see if I could. November was a really busy month for me, as it is for most people. Why I thought it would be easier to do in December is a mystery to me now.

This past weekend I didn't write a word...Not a word! I went to Orlando to spend time with family, watched Christmas movies, painted ornaments, went to see the Spectacle of Dancing Lights at MGM (I refuse to call it Hollywood Studios), and didn't get home until midnight last night. An entire weekend, and I didn't write. And yet I had so much fun getting into the spirit of the season.

There's the rub: to write or not to write? There wasn't a reason not to write, per se, but when I purposefully go somewhere to spend time with family, it's really hard for me to isolate myself to get some writing in.

Maybe that's the lesson I need to learn: am I serious about writing? Then I need to write even when it's hard. I don't think 50,000 words is unattainable. It is a sacrifice, and that is true about most of the writing I do.

Guest Blog For FWA: Leading a Critique Group

Blogmaster Chris Hamilton of the FWA blog asked me to contribute an article about leading a critique group. I was more than happy to provide my thoughts. I've had almost two years experience with leading a critique group, and I have a lot to say!

Check out the November 14th post here

If you are interested in joining a critique group or leading a critique group, I recommend you go for it and I hope you'll take a look at my advice. For people who want to get more serious about their writing and improve their craft, having an audience (not your Mom) can be extremely helpful.

FWA Conference Part III

Part III  The RPLA Banquet

The Royal Palm Literary Awards Banquet took place Saturday night. I had it in my mind to not think about winning, but to be grateful that I was a finalist. I could query agents and publishers with the line, "This manuscript was a finalist in the Royal Palm Literary Awards," and that would be great even if I didn't win.

I had no way of knowing how many entries were in my Unpublished Fantasy Novel category. Nor did I know how many others were finalists like me. The chances of winning were completely unknown to me, and still are, in fact.

I had the privilege of meeting Nicole Resciniti, an agent with the The Seymour Agency, just outside the banquet hall before the doors were opened. She and I had chatted about Sprinter at breakfast that morning, and she was willing to take a look at the manuscript. I planned to email her after the conference was over.

When I spotted her waiting to get into the banquet, I realized I hadn't even mentioned Livinity, let alone the fact that it was an RPLA finalist. So I tapped her shoulder and told her. She asked about the story, I gave the elevator pitch, and she wanted to see that manuscript, too. She asked me to follow her inside when the doors opened so we could talk more about it.

At our table, she saved spots for Mary Sue Seymour, the head agent (is that the right term?) for the The Seymour Agency, and for Shelley Shepard Gray, the best-selling author I mentioned from Part I. I spent a great deal of dinner chatting with Shelley. She was extremely sweet and encouraging.

All three of those sweet women encouraged me and rooted for me as the dinner progressed since they knew I was a finalist for the RPLA. By the time the awards began, my stomach started to knot. I was more nervous thinking about possibly not placing at all with these amazing agents and the author right next to me cheering me on.

There were about 2,000 categories...no, not really. Maybe 50 or so. But it took a while to get to mine. The president, Chrissy Jackson, who read the results, explained that the stories were judged with a rubric with a possible 200-point total. Any finalist was required to get something like 160 points (I forget now) to even place 1st, 2nd or 3rd. That meant some of the categories only had a 1st place or a 1st and 2nd. Some had 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

Chrissy announced my category and said, "First Place."

I sunk low in my chair, my heart shrinking to the size of a pea. No Second or Third Place? It's definitely not going to be me. So I practically tuned her out. Then I realized what she was saying:

"The life of a king hangs in the balance, and a fairie..."

Wait a minute. I know that plot!

Nicole, the agent, had started pointing at me and said, "That's you! That's you!" because I had just pitched the line to her.

It was me. I won First Place!

I was out of my chair, and I didn't hear another word of what Chrissy said. I was in the back of the room, which was filled with about 500 people, so it took me a minute to get to the stage. I practically bounded the entire way there to accept the award and get my picture taken.

One side note: I drove back and forth from my aunt and uncle's house to the conference each morning and night to save money (no hotel bill). Saturday morning, I had planned to bring a nicer outfit to the RPLA Banquet. However, my alarm did not go off. Turned out to be my fault, but I got ready in about 5 minutes and got to the hotel as quickly as I could. I was stuck with the super casual jeans and shirt (which was a cute one) that I was wearing from 8am to11pm that night. The banquet had no dress code, but a lot of people dressed like it was the prom. I had wanted to look a little nicer, but the funny thing about winning that award is that I could have cared less if I was in a burlap sack when I ran up to get it.

When all is said and done, the award is more like a really, really nice pat on the back. I received my critiques in the mail from the judges, which were very helpful. I also emailed the agent and eagerly await her response. If it's a no, that's okay. I can keep trying. And this time I'll get to say in my query, "This manuscript won First Place in the RPLA..."

FWA Conference Part II

Part II The sessions

Before I get into the results of the RPLA banquet, I want to mention more of the amazing sessions I attended. Each and every one was so helpful with fantastic and knowledgeable speakers.

My first session was on e-books led by Robert and Sharene Martin-Brown, publishers. I've had the privilege of hearing them speak at past conferences, and they continue to impress me with their insight. I learned a lot about how the e-book industry is in a frequent state of change and improvement, and that reaching a broader audience can be capable with e-books, especially when the author utilizes online marketing tools such as social networks and blogs. The Browns shared their insights into publishing contracts with e-books, variety in the technology available and specific ways one can self-publish their e-books if desired, and they provided information about royalty pay-outs to authors, which is often higher than print books. All in all, really good info to know.

A session led by Lynn Price, publisher, absolutely blew my socks off. She detailed the proper ways to effectively use backstory, and warned against the ways backstory has been abused. I took excessive notes in her session because my novel, Sprinter, relies heavily on backstory (specifically flashback), and I'm eager to take a fresh look using her advice. Lynn was also the keynote speaker on the last day of the conference.

An agent named Marisa Corvisiero led a session about Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Paranormal fiction. Right up my alley with Livinity! I took away a lot of good info from the agent's perspective and especially the proper way to query an agent. I've heard some of the info before, but I like to hear confirmation from multiple sources on how the "typical agent" would like to receive queries.

Though I would love to detail every session I went to, I'll simply mention one more: Eugene Orlando, publisher, led a session called "Reverse Editing." Man, oh, man did I need that session! Eugene pointed out tips for a type of editing that had never occurred to me before: start from the end and read backwards! He meant read each sentence forward, but start with the last sentence and work your way back, and he guarantees you'll find the mistakes that you may never have seen reading forward. Especially helpful when you're ready to send to an agent or publisher. Also, he showed ways to make changes to Word documents that I didn't even know were possible. Overall, extremely helpful, and one of the handouts that I know I will be keeping forever.

  

FWA Conference Part I

October 21-23, Orlando Marriott

I’ve decided to talk about the Florida Writers Association Conference in a series of blogs rather than overload a single post with 2,000 words, or whatever it will end up being.

As a writer who wants to be a published novelist someday, I’ve learned so much from the conference, and I would recommend it to anyone who is serious about their writing.

This is my fourth year in a row attending, and the quality continues to impress me, along with the variety of session topics and “wow!” value of speakers, such as NY Times Bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray.

In a joint session with her agent, Mary Sue Seymour, Shelley talked about her writing journey and how the hard work never ends for authors. Even an author with several published books still faces rejection. There was a period for Shelley where three years passed while her agent attempted to place a Christian historical romance novel, and Shelley began doubting herself, even struggled with depression. Since then, she has been listed as a Bestseller in the NY Times, and continues to write prolifically and successfully. Hearing an agent’s perspective from Mary Sue also opened my eyes to the reality of the publication process.

I should mention that I entered a contest called the Royal Palm Literary Award, which is integrated into the FWA Conference. I entered Sprinter in the Unpublished Women’s Fiction category, and I entered Livinity in the Unpublished Fantasy Novel category. The awards would be presented Saturday night at the RPLA Banquet. No one except the judges (82 professionals in the writing world) and the co-chairs of the awards knew the winners until they were announced at the banquet.

In July, I was notified via email that Livinity was a finalist in the RPLA, and I was absolutely thrilled just to make it that far. During the Friday and Saturday sessions, I anxiously awaited the banquet and the final word on whether my novel would place (possibly 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd).

More to come….Part II is next…..

My New Running Blog

I created a blog the other day specifically for running. I talk to so many people about running, and I have so much to say about it, that I decided to devote an entire blog to it.

The Anti-Running Runner is surprisingly pro-running when you really take a look. At least, I hope it will come out that I really, passionately love running, even when I hate it.

I hope you'll check it out, and feel free to comment. I love talking about running, and I love to hear people's stories about how they got started or how they plan to do an ultra marathon someday (my cousin) or how they just turned 60 and plan to qualify for the Boston Marathon this year (my dad) or how they did their first marathon a week before their wedding (me).