Monday, October 19, 2009

My Autumn Status

Let's see. Where am I when I'm not running or eating pumpkin pie? I am about 80% done with my novel, Sapphire Reign. I really need to be working faster and get it done. It doesn't help that I'm an edit-as-I-go kind of writer. Having my book finished by the end of the year is my goal.

I don't think I'll have time for Nano this year, even though it was so much fun last year. Although, I don't think I paid enough attention to my husband last November. All my characters in my Nano project ended up super horny. I didn't even realize it until I went back to reread it. Good luck to all those entering.

I am using Twitter more now, not a lot, but more than once a month heehee, because SO many agents are using it AND communicating with one another, so I want to be kinda-sorta likewise savvy. If you haven't already and don't mind being bored to tears, you can find me here: http://twitter.com/cvwriter

I am now seeking representation. I've been sending out queries all summer, slowly, about 4-6 agents a month. I don't like just going by what genres they represent and zipping off queries. I like to get a feel for personality, to see if it's worth my time. So, reading blogs and Twitter pages to see if there's potential compatibility takes time. If an agent is not online, I don't disregard them entirely, but it makes me wonder about their connections, so I put them at the bottom of my list. Plus, I think it's really wonderful when agents reach out and take time out of their busy schedules to post articles to help writers do their best.

Another reason why I'm going slowly is because I don't want to get overwhelmed if I get several requests at once. [Please let that happen to me!!! Come on.] Doing mass submissions by the 50's or more is just not my style. I do need to pick up the pace I think, but I will still keep it under 12 a month. That's reasonable and doable.

I am also working on a collaborative blog, which will be launching in a couple of weeks, with writers who are at various stages in their writing careers. Be sure to look for my announcement on that. This blog with all the zany regular writers and guest bloggers should be a lot of fun.

And that's about it. What have you been up to?

~ Signing off and sending out cyber hugs.

6 comments:

  1. Nothin'. Absolutely nothin'. Wish I could tell ya I've got my novel 80% done, but nnnoooOOOOooo ... I'm not even DOING it right now. *Sigh* I'm going to overcome my procrastination, probably next week. ;)

    I did finish a short story, which I now must edit, and I'll be submitting that to an online publication for consideration. We'll see how that goes.

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  2. Haha. You always make me laugh. Good for you on finishing the story. If I could think of a good one about cake, I could potential win $200, but my creative juices are otherwise occupied.

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  3. Courtney, I think the slow and steady approach is a good way to go. I believe in providence. If it's meant to happen it will. I also believe that sound judgement and good management will get you there.
    It's spring downunder, so a very busy time for many. Lots of work to be done around the house before the heat hits and lays us low for three months. To be honest I've been doing more networking than writing, joining various sites and looking for clubs.
    Good luck with your submissions.

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  4. Yeah. It seems I've been doing more networking too...and NFL blog reading. Well, with the Red Sox being bumped out of the post season, that gives me more time to write and query agents. The agent research takes a while and reworking my query letter for each one, since they all want different info.

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  5. Preparing for NaNo! I'm a co-ML this year for our area (just found this out last week) so I've been helping to set up write-ins and what not. Next year, there's a good chance I'll be the main ML along with one other person since our current one is moving to L.A. in a few months.

    So I have to admit I did sorta start on my novel, 'cause I couldn't wait :P Obviously I won't count it towards word count for the month but the story just wanted to be written. I've only gotten about 12 pages but it's closer to the goal of getting the first draft completed by the end of the year--perhaps even by the end of November.

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  6. Sounds great. Sometimes the story does have to be written when you get the urge to write. That's when it comes out best. Good luck doing NaNo. Is this the historical romance book you were talking about or the Snow lady one?

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