writing a novel – Page 2

October 26, 2016

I <3 My #PitchWars Ladies

I can hardly believe how fast the last two months have gone by. We are one week away from the #PitchWars agent showcase and I could not be more proud of our mentees!

As they say in Texas, my buttons are poppin’!

They have both done some MAJOR re-writing of their manuscripts. They’ve gone through several rounds of revisions, cutting/combining characters, setting changes, deepening their characters, clarifying motivations, plot changes—SO many plot changes—Meghan even implemented an entirely new magical system. These ladies have worked their butts off in such a short amount of time, and I know it’s going to be worth it in the end.

We participated in some fun mini-interviews on Brenda’s blog:

COURT OF GLITTERING CRIMSON is Meghan Jashinsky’s YA Fantasy and is a dark twist on the PRINCESS AND THE PAUPER tale meets THE YOUNG ELITES that I’m co-mentoring with Lynnette Labelle. You can read our interview HERE.

THEN BEGGARS WOULD RIDE is Tracie Martin’s YA Literary Thriller and is reminiscent of THE WALLS AROUND US and THE DEVIL AND THE BLUEBIRD told as a prison confessional. You can read our interview HERE.

I know, right? Those sound amazing and they ARE!

The YA part of the showcase is on November 5th where these ladies get to present their manuscripts to literary agents and hopefully get a leg up on gaining representation for their work!

I’m so psyched for them and privileged I got to play a part in their writing journeys.

August 11, 2016August 12, 2016

Failing Forward

Processing no’s and setbacks are part of a writer’s life.

I don’t know of any writer, no matter how successful, that hasn’t had to process no’s.

I don’t know of any writer, even NYT Bestsellers, who even after achieving success hasn’t had to process no’s.

The life of a creative means a life of accepting subjectivity and not allowing it to pierce your resolve.

I was talking to my husband about this very thing (though not about writing) and was sharing that it’s hard to not let no’s feel like mini-failures. That each time I miss the mark, it feels like I just failed terribly and in conclusion, am a failure.

But he said something tonight that struck a chord. He said, “Then you just fail forward.”

Failing forward… I like that.

Because isn’t that what failures do? They mold us and shape us. We learn from them what not to do and what to do better. Failures thicken our spine and deepen our resolve.

Each failure. Each no. Each closing of the door is an alignment.

“Failure is so important. We speak about success all the time but it is the ability to resist failure or use failure that often leads to greater success. I’ve met people who don’t want to try for fear of failing. […] It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.” – J.K. Rowling

Failure is inevitable, but as you feel yourself falling towards that failure, shift forward.

That way when you hit the ground, you do so in a roll where you can pop back up and continue sprinting toward your goal.

July 18, 2016

The Writing Journey

If you’re a writer, I’m assuming you have a goal.

Whether that goal be finishing your first draft… finishing your revision… getting agent representation… the ever elusive book deal… the NEXT book deal… getting starred reviews… hitting the “lists”… being translated…

The moment you achieve one goal in this writing journey, another hundred swim into view and the constant reaching for “the next” can become exhausting.

But there is something happening beneath the surface whether you realize it or not. You are becoming refined and the way you react to each success or failure is creating in you the strength and determination to make it through the next success or failure.

Goals are wonderful. I LOVE goals, but the journey of who you become while going after those goals is what’s the most important.

How do you react when you deal with a failure?

Do you break… or are you going to be the person that stands in the face of a storm and shouts back that you will not move?

How do you react when you encounter success?

Do you immediately assume this is the new normal and forget the path through the storm… or do you use your platform to connect and uplift those behind you on the journey?

I want to be the second version of each and I think that’s what we all want to be.

But it’s the journey we’re on RIGHT NOW that determines your reaction, not the moment of success or failure.

So pay it forward NOW. Refuse to give up NOW. Be a support NOW.

Let the journey toward your goal refine your character and strengthen your core.

June 30, 2016June 29, 2016

The 5 Stages of Edit Letter Grief

It’s an exciting time in a writer’s life! You’ve taken your book as far as you can get it by yourself and you send it off to your CP/Agent/Editor and they turn around and give you an edit letter detailing the good, the bad, and the ugly about your manuscript and lots of notes on what needs work.

It’s like standing at basecamp on an enormous mountain, looking out on the beauty around and marveling at how high up you are… You take a deep breath and while you’re filling your lungs with all that delicious oxygen, your guide sneaks around and gut punches you then points to the top of the mountain and yells, KEEP CLIMBING!

Getting an edit letter—be it your first or one thousandth—you’re bound to go through at least a few of the stages below.

Denial. My editor has NO idea who my characters are, has no concept of the heart of the story and is ABSOLUTELY wrong! These are NOT the changes that need to happen in this story!
Anger. Well crap, my editor is right. The book really does need these changes, BUT THEY ARE IMPOSSIBLE! How in the world can she even ask me to do them? Her notes were too vague. She’s basically setting me up to fail!
Bargaining. Okay, I can see how to do a few of the notes, but the others? No idea! What about I change these few things, then I bet it won’t be necessary to do the rest of your suggestions… okay? Not enough? What can I give you to just lie and say it’s ready?
Depression. I’m finally vibing with all these suggested edits, my editor was totally right. Why didn’t I think of these changes in the first place? It’s because I’m a TERRIBLE writer with no imagination! My editor should just finish this manuscript because she obviously knows better than I do. I suck. I suck. I suck.
Acceptance. I just fell in love with my manuscript all over again after finishing these edits. I love writing! I love my editor! I love edit letters!

Any of this sound familiar? Oh it sure does to me because I’ve been there… many times!

A tip for working through these stages as quickly as possible? When you get your letter, let the notes sit for awhile before you start trying to make it work. If you sit down and try to start implementing before they’ve had time to marinate a bit, you’re going to get stuck in one of the first four stages and it will take you longer to move on to stage 5…

If you’re wondering how I tackle edit letters, check out these blog posts.

June 23, 2016June 22, 2016

Does #PitchWars Increase Your Chances of Signing with an Agent?

If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you know I’m a huge fan of Brenda Drake’s #PitchWars!

I was in #PitchWars in 2014, received about 7 agent requests for my manuscript, and one of those requests later turned into an offer of representation!

The majority of the #PitchWars2014 class are still in contact thanks to a not-so SUPER-SECRET Facebook page, and although I can’t attest to the entire #PitchWars class (there were over a 100), I do have stats for the 85 mentees who participate in our group.

So, does being in #PitchWars increase your chances of getting an agent offer? I would say, YES! Out of the 85 mentees who participate in the Facebook group, 50 are agented and of those, 18 have book deals.

BONUS FOR INQUIRING MINDS: I would say the majority of those offers happened between January and July of 2015, but mostly toward the beginning of the year. For example, I was the 18th one in the group to receive an agent offer and I received my first offer at the beginning of February.

But HOW #PitchWars helps you get an agent may not be the way you think.

I did a poll of the 2014 mentees and 49 people responded…

Out of the 36 people who responded that are now agented, only 5 of those offers happened because the agent requested via the #PitchWars agent showcase.

So, the numbers don’t lie. It is VERY clear that #PitchWars does indeed help you get an agent, but not necessarily because agents are going to see your work at the showcase. #PitchWars helps you get an agent because it’s one of the only contests that focuses on craft over connections.

In #PitchWars, you’re working with mentors who have been around the writing block a time or two and are committed to seeing your manuscript become the very best it can be. They are committed to helping you fill in the plot holes, tighten up your dialogue, and make your manuscript and query so polished that when you start querying (which you will RIGHT away, trust me), you’ll start getting requests. Then when other agents read, they get all grabby hands with your book.

Not only that, but working with a mentor also teaches you how to edit with an edit letter, hone your query, develop a pitch, and also exposes you to other writers. And finding your writing community is the only thing that’s going to get you through this crazy journey.

If you’re a writer of any genre who is looking for that extra edge before they start querying, give #PitchWars a try! You can find out all the info HERE.

And I’m so excited to be a #PitchWars mentor this year with Lynnette Labelle for you YA authors out there!