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Sunday, 02 August 2009

I am so sorry. I did not mean to go so long without blogging.

I got back the second half of my book from my editor. She said some very good things, but also informed me that the book doesn't fit in any genre ~ none. It seems I managed to write a novel that just skims over at least three of them without fitting into any of the brackets. The problem is that rewriting to fit into two of them would really call for writing a whole new book - and fitting into the 3rd would mean writing seriously out there sci-fi, which I don't want to do. They tell you to be careful to write books in the same vein so that you build readers instead of alienating them. I don't want to write sci-fi. I planned a nice, little romance...

In any case, it looks like my only two options are to shelve it or to self-publish. My husband really wants me to self publish, especially since a lot of the editor's comments were good. At one point she didn't make any comments for a while and then apologized and said she got caught up in the story and forgot to write anything!

I am working on a cover - and revising... and not sleeping...

Some good news is that I lost another pound or two. That makes 22 pounds in total!

I also had a winner for my first drawing and I have a new review and drawing up on my website.

Have a gorgeous Sunday!

Sunday, 19 July 2009

I am enamored with my pets, especially my cats. I think they are the most interesting creatures. We adopted all our animals in one fashion or another. My mom gave me one of our cats... it was a sort of rescue. She was a young mother, kept in a small kennel with her kittens. They were just old enough to be weaned and she would put her paws through the kennel doors and meow pitifully at me. Since I was round with my youngest child, I had empathy for her. lol
The rest of them were all in shelters or rescue organizations. Thomas is the one I wanted to talk about today. The momma Siamese used to be my cuddle partner all the time, Thomas has taken over. Now she cuddles with my sons. Thomas is four times her weight and either a Maine Coone or a German Forest Cat. He is gorgeous and the most laid back cat I have ever met. Here he is:
You can see his bushy tail and the tuffs in his back paws -- maybe you can just barely see it in his front paws as they curl around the chair. You can't tell that the hair around his neck is thicker, almost like a little mane, or that the hair along his back and sides is longer than that of a normal cat -- but not like a Persian or anything like that.
What's really cool about him is the way he acts. He loves to "hold hands." On the way back from the shelter he was afraid in the car and wouldn't stop meowing unless I held his paw. Then he wads quiet and still. Now he'll lie on the arm of the sofa next to me and extend his paw until it touches my foot or hand. He doesn't like it to be squeezed, but touching or lying on top of mine... that's perfect.
He rubs his whole body and tail against you when he's in an affectionate mood. Not so strange, right? He does it to our dogs too. He'll even lick their faces and ears. You should see the dogs when he does this. lol (Faith does the licking of the dogs as well)
He likes to sit under the fridge and sniff the fan from the freezer.
We feed all out animals dry food. It's good food, but it is all dry. Now once in a while we will eat tuna fish for lunch and give small hunks of the leftovers to them as treats. It doesn't happen often, but that cat has a good memory and has put the sound of the can opener together with the idea of tuna. Every time he hears it, he comes bounding into the kitchen and begs. My youngest son also learns pretty fast and now just pushes on the can opener to watch the cat come running. Not nice.
The funniest part of that whole thing isn't that he comes running, but here is this huge cat, (who looks bigger than he is because of all that fur), and when he opens his mouth to meow ~ out comes.... this teeny mew. It's like there is a kitten holding a cat puppet. His "voice" doesn't fit his body at all.
We call him all sorts of nicknames. Teddy Bear, Sir Fluffs A Lot, Fluffy... He's a great cat with a unique personality and I'm greatful to have him.

Friday, 17 July 2009

She did it! Right on time my editor delivered her comments on the first half of my manuscript. For the most part I am encouraged by what she said. I was really kind of afraid to tell the truth. It's my first book, it is just a romance... with mystery and some other aspects mixed in. She is still thinking about genre and publishers for me. She hasn't finished the book, so she can't say for sure.
We are doing the edit in stages. Since I am so new to the writing process this is sort of the overview stage. She tells me any large things that need re-working, points out areas where my writing is weak and any plot holes that need fixing. Then I revise and send it back to her for the polish work that comes before sending it out to publishers. At least that is the grand plan. I will also use my critique partner to help me tweak the changes I was told to make before I send it back to her.
The good news is that she likes my characters and finds them believable and that they have a touching romance. She said she liked the way their feelings gradually grew stronger for one another - and you could feel that happening. I was beaming. She also liked the suspense in the story and said I had her curious to find out what was going to happen next, although some things she was able to guess at (that didn't bother me -- some things I wanted the reader to guess and wonder at while the characters themselves don't know... sort of like when you watch a movie and you are yelling at the screen for them to not go there because you know the bad guy is in the room - but they don't).
I needed to add a bit more dialogue in the beginning -- and get rid of some telling and instead show... I wasn't surprised. I changed up the beginning scene and it is a whole lot stronger coming from a different point of view. I guess that's why she gets paid, huh? lol
So - I am busy working away and trying to see if it may be ready for a contest the beginning of Sept.
In the meantime I got a little discouraged all over again. I read a quote in one of my writing books that talked about how a freelance writer tested the theory that new unpublished authors couldn't get their work fairly appraised at most publishing houses. He took the first 21 pages of a book that had just won a major literary award and submitted it according to their guidelines with a bio under a false name with your typical newbie profile. Every publisher rejected it. He waited two years and submitted again. This time he had the entire manuscript in some cases. He even submitted it to the same house that had published the book originally. In all, 13 agents/editors rejected the book and 14 publishers, all with unhelpful comments ~ the house that originally published the book sent a form letter. None of them recognized the book as already published or worthy of a major literary award.
What does that say about how we are supposed to get our work viewed and published? I couldn't write a thing the day I read that quote. My writing is nothing major or "literary" and I doubt it will ever win any awards. I just think something must be wrong with the system if this kind of thing is happening.
On an up note, I am revising and writing again ~ and determined not to let this stop me. Whatever the dreams of your heart are, pursue them. It may be hard, and it will probably stretch you and make you uncomfortable sometimes... but the rewards are so sweet. I believe God plants those seeds in us and we can bless others with them, even if it is in small ways we do not know. Just telling my story has allowed me to come into contact with more people and encourage them... even if my books never are printed.
God bless you all ~

Monday, 13 July 2009

I got word back from my editor. She said she hopes to get me her comments on the first half of my manuscript by Weds. Having said that, I am now in the hot seat. I don't know how much I've said about my story in the past, but it is... complex. I wrote it before I understood what publishing guidelines were, or what classified certain genres. I was blissfully ignorant. All I knew was that I had an idea and I ran with it.
Now... well, now I am reaping the consequences of that ignorance. My story doesn't fit inside any of the boxes the publishers would like. So such and such house won't accept it because it has too much of "x" and the house for "x" won't accept it because it is really mostly "y" and they just don't do "y" ~ and most of the publishers won't touch me at all because I haven't been published, didn't go to college, don't have an agent (who won't look at you because you're not published) and so on. Oh but if you had a big endorsement by a celebrity or a multi-published author from the same publishing house they might consider you... What? Am I supposed to run into them at WalMart in the middle of my small town?
So, I am actually considering self-publishing. The whole thought terrifies me. I will still need to edit and revise, but not to the extent of killing my story to try and please a publisher who will probably not even look at my manuscript anyway because I have been told the first thing they read is the bio of the author. That pretty much rules me out. The thing is, I don't know the book will sell at all if I do that either. My family will probably buy it, but I don't know who else would. I can pay for marketing - but it would essentially tell the plot of the book and my bio (which stinks) so that might hurt my chances. It doesn't cost me anything else, though. I need to pray about which decision to make, because it will effect how I edit the book. If you have any thoughts, I would appreciate it, and I would love prayers as well.

Tuesday, 07 July 2009

I know I have skipped a few days. At first it was because there really wasn't a whole lot to say. How many ways can you say "still not sleeping," "still editing," "still tired," "still....." I just didn't want to bore you to death.
I am on new cholesterol medication. So far it doesn't seem to be upsetting my stomach or causing any other troubles. My new sleep medicine is... not overly effective. It makes me tired, but not enough to stay asleep. I get a little sleepy, but I wake very easily and can't get back to sleep. I'm still working on that. It seems to work slightly better now than when I first starting taking it ~ maybe with a little more time? I lost another couple pounds too. I hope that trend continues, though it does seem to have slowed down the last couple weeks.
I have updated the website with a new contest for a historical that has more of a broader appeal. A review of the series is on the website as well. Also there is a place where you can sign up to be on a mailing list for updates. No spam - just news about when I update my site, my book sells - that kind of thing. I won't ever sell or give away anyone's e-mail. I hate spam myself so I would never do it to anyone else.
My younger son's football strength camp starts today. So, no more lazy summer days. The busy schedule starts now. Once football starts, our schedule kicks into overdrive. I can't say I'm happy for that, but he loves football so I am happy for him.
I hope you all are having wonderful days ~ stay cool!