Well, careful what you wish for. Yesterday I just wished for some news. Today i got it-two more rejections. Grrr. Time to send out more queries.
I feel left out, not participating in NaNoWriMo. I just can’t commit so I decided to do my own version, and I am calling it ShanNoWriMo. I’ll post the word count on my new WIP each time I post.
Good luck to everyone doing it!
Waiting. So hard. I don’t know what to do with myself. I have gone a week now with no rejections or news of any sort.
Since it is Halloween week I expect my inbox, and my mailbox to be full of treats. I hope everyone else’s is as well!
I am happy to go into the weekend without anymore stinky rejections in my inbox! Thank you to whomever it was that recommended ‘Hooked’ by Les Edgerton! I started reading it yesterday, and it explains so well the importance of the beginning of your story. I think, based on his advice, that mine is on the right track, (of course I could edit more but ask me if I really want to) but my new WIP definitely is not. I’m only 4 pages in so its okay.
I recommended Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater to the lady on the radio today. She is obsessed with Twilight and was sad about finishing the 4th book. I emailed her, suggesting this book since it is story about forbidden love and werewolves. I never thought I’d get a reply, but she did, very excited over going to look for Shiver over the weekend. Made me smile. This DJ has sons in college and her favorite book is YA. I love it.
Bummer, I got a big rejection today, the worst yet. It was only on a partial, but this agent had actually called me, I’m sure to reject me. When I told her I had rewritten what I sent, then she asked to see it. Came back in the mail today with a "not working for me…I know you’ll make the right connection" (to another agent?).
On the upside, one of my little students (I teach kindergarten) brought me an apple the size of a newborn’s head! She picked it this weekend in an orchard, in a town about 200 miles away from me. The funny thing is that this town is the setting for my next story, which I FINALLY started writing today (Hey I have two pages!)
I like stuff like that. Yes, I read a lot into things, but maybe that is optimism, I hope.
Hi! There is a query contest on kidlit.com, from agent Mary Kole at Andrea Brown. Click below for details, it runs until October 31. If you can’t click on the link below then it is because I am a tech-idiot and did it wrong! If that is the case go to kidlit.com. Good luck!
<a href=”http://kidlit.com/kidlit-contest” target”_blank”>Kidlit Contest</a>
I am thankful to head into the weekend, and to have had no query rejections waiting in my inbox today! Life is great!
My last story was laid out quite well, in my mind, and I didn’t spend a lot of time organizing my writing. It worked fine, I think, and I did use an index card system, and a notebook to write down random ideas to put in the beginning, middle, and end areas. So how do you plan out your stories? On the computer? In notebooks? Plotted on big paper? Do you use graphic organizers or story maps of some sort? This next story needs more time spent on planning before I write, so I’d love to hear how you do it. I’d like to have a great system, so I’m not ripping out my hair wondering where the heck I stuck that Post It note that had the great idea on it!
Hello, I haven’t posted anything for awhile because I’ve been reading all of your postings. I do get a lot of entertainment from them, so thank you, but I also waste a lot of time!
OK, it has been almost two months since I started querying. As of today I have done 40 queries and have gotten 3 partial requests (2 of which earned me another punch on my Loserville card) and 21 rejections. I am waiting on a response on a partial request, and waiting on 18 agents to respond. Each day I get all excited to get home from work and use my precious two hours of quiet, kidless, husbandless house to work on my new story. Then I find another reject in my Inbox and head straight to the couch to watch Days of Our Lives. Today I actually made popcorn for lunch while I watched! How can a person get motivated after daily deflation?
Other than that, I am happy for fall and Halloween and the blustery weather we have, which makes me want to bake, and eat it of course. My baking is lazy now that I can’t have wheat/gluten anymore-I bought those pre-molded, pre-cut, jack oLantern stamped cookies for my kids to ‘make’ today. They don’t taste good, but heck, they have sugar in them so of course I ate two (even though I am not supposed to have gluten).
My sugar rush did motivate me to send out 3 more queries though, and make compile my different list of agents to check out, in one spot. Holy cow, there are at least 70 more. Have a happy week everyone.
shannon grogan, young adult author 