So, does anyone want to know how my life has been like lately? Well, let me give you an update.
Now that I have all my revisions done and cried over my query letter (too many times), I can now begin to tentatively send it out to get widely rejected (I even got one already . . . a rejection . . . the day before Thanksgiving - glad I didn’t celebrate the holiday or this would have completely depressed me.) Oy! I am a little tense right now. Maybe I am suffering from writers’ burnout, and there is only one cure for this.
Write some more.
This weekend, I opened my word processor program. I pulled up the file that has all the titles I have thought up and tried to decide which one to start on next.
Which one . . . which one . . . which one . . . which one . . .
Hmm, I did leave my homicidal rock star story sitting on the back burner. I have two rough chapters finished.
Or I could work on the fiction story that is loosely based on true life events.
Or I could work on the stalker story that I have been leaving tidbits of on this blog without telling my readers these might be tidbits to a full-length manuscript which I didn’t realize I could make into a full manuscript although I’m still iffy if I can.
Or I can choose one of the other six titles and just start typing without a clue on what the story is going to be about (won’t be the first time.)
Or I could go back over my query letter for the umpteenth time and cry some more. Then I could just say, “the heck with it,” and post the entire story for everyone to read for free.
I have so many decisions to make. No wonder I feel so scattered brained right now, but I guess you already figured that out from this post. To make things easier for everyone, including me, let us have an open discussion today. That’s right. Q & A bash-fest. Ask me anything. Let out anything that is in your wondering mind and I will answer it to the best of my ability in Tuesday’s post. Learn who I am. Believe me; I won’t give you another chance at this. Or share a funny story with me. Or give me a link to one of your favorite posts. Don't let the opportunity pass you by!
Oh, querying letters...it'll do that whole crazy thing to you. So. Stressful. Good luck, and welcome to the trenches. I recommend the east bunker—it doesn't smell as bad...yet.
ReplyDeleteAs for questions:
If you could only eat three things for the rest of your life, what would they be?
What inspires you?
Ask you anything? Anything at all?
ReplyDeleteOkay, how many people critiqued that query letter before you sent it? How many critiqued the manuscript before you wrote the query letter?
Hmmm. Questions? Just one pops into my (admittedly small) mind... How DO you maintain your focus with so many works-in-progress? Are you one of those folks with six or more books on your nightstand, all in progress, as well?
ReplyDeleteOooh ... we can ask anything? I don't want to blow this opportunity ... don't want to mess up my one chance to ask the perfect question. Oh my ... such pressure! :)
ReplyDeleteOK ... kidding aside ... I was reading Stephen Parrish's comments and I wondered if you've ever taken your work to a critique workshop ... and if so ... what did you think of it?
Good luck with sending out your work ... just remember ... you may receive a bazillion rejections but ... it only takes one acceptance.
Small Footprints
http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com
no Qs, wuffs just sit n watch ;) lol
ReplyDeleteok, ok... what writing software are you using and/or recommending?
Wow, you are brave, to offer us to this opportunity.:)
ReplyDeleteOk, here are my questions:
I know writing is your passion, but what else after writing rocks your world?
And what is your best and your worst character trait, according to yourself.:)
I hope we can still be friends.:)
Gutsy lady, you are!
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to mention a website forum that I know (from Frank - where he's a moderator) to be a treasure trove of information and advice on all aspects of writing - including critique groups as mentioned by a couple of the above comments.
And to wish you luck, of course. :)
The forum is at Absolute Write.
Maybe start free writing longhand? Sometimes that leads to interesting places.
ReplyDeleteA question twofer: When did you start writing, and are there other writers in the family?
Yikes! I opened Pandora's box wide, didn't I? Lots of good questions for me to work on for Tuesday's post.
ReplyDeleteHilary: Thank you for the link! I had Absolute Write in my "Writers resources" blogroll awhile back, but the link was broken and I took it out. Then I forgot to put it back in.
Frank is a moderator. I did not know that, until now. :)
*ahhh! Critique questions? Does my writing need so much work?*
Don't sweat the rejections, Michelle, that's just part of a writer's life. Just keep on keeping on.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
It was good of Hilary to post the link. I really should have one on my blog too I suppose.
ReplyDeleteThe AW forums are an excellent resource for any writer. Among the 25,000 members we have multi-published authors with major houses, starry-eyed high-schoolers and everything in between. By all means, come visit. If you have any trouble navigating the site, let me know. I post over there as "aka eraser."
The site's growth is amazing. When I joined, we had fewer than a couple of hundred members.
I hope you'll check it out. :)
Frank: I always stopped there before, especially in the Bewares and Backgrounds section. But when the link broke, I got out of the habit of going. My fault entirely for not following up on things there. And I did stop by yesterday trolling around for critiques, but I could not get into anything. Do I have to sign in to see the forums?
ReplyDeleteNo, you shouldn't have to sign in to see most of the forums. Some are password-protected, such as the Share Your Work forum where the critiquing is done. But the password (vista) is noted on the main directory page.
ReplyDeleteIf you can't access any of the forums, I'm not sure what the problem might be. Drop me a line at frank(at)frankbaron(dot)com if you continue to have problems and I'll ask some of our tech folks.