Tag Archives: queries

Critique Groups

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After many query rejections and some positive feedback, I’ve just finished my latest revision of the story I ‘finished’ (ha, ha, ha) in August. There’s no doubt I’ve revised this thing at least ten times, and have edited it to death, edited in fact from 113,000 words down to 72,000. I can do no more, and I think it is finally time for a critique partner, or group.

Do all of you have them? I fear commitments like this, which is why I haven’t sought anyone out before. But I think I need it, and I don’t want to ask hubby to read it again, even though he is brutally honest.

Anyway, if you have a second, please let me know how you went about this process, and whether you and your critique partners do a line-by-line edit, or a global, big picture view.  Also, do you all write the same genre? Any feedback would be awesome!  Thanks!

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Numb Butts, Chocolate and Rejection

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As far as New Year’s Resolutions go, I haven’t started yet. I haven’t posted on LJ, or exercised, and I’m sure I didn’t put ‘eat more chocolate’ on my list, but that’s exactly what I’ve done.

However, I am going blind each day, and my butt is numb from my nights, hunched over this here machine. I cherish the time after work, when the house is empty, and the nights, after the kids get to bed and hubby falls asleep in front of the TV.

I’ve found new ways to fix my story, before I send out more queries. I’m now into the 70,000 range for word count! This is very exciting–my first draft was over 110,000 words.

My daughter just experienced her first creative rejection–she auditioned for a musical at a community theatre, but didn’t get a part. She sang part of a song from Mamma Mia the Musical, read from a script, and had to play/banter with the director. All in front of about 30 people, and judges sitting at a table “American Idol” style. I was so in awe of her. She performed really well. I could never, ever, in a zillion years do anything like that, and I felt so proud of her, it made me cry 😦

Feeling that rejection with her stung more than any of the agent rejections I’ve recieved.

She got over it quick. Tears for five minutes, and the off to play the Wii.

She’s 9. 🙂

Monday

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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!

Still waiting and unmotivated

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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.

When do you start the next story?

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When do you start your next story?  Part of me is itching to start the next one, yet trying to find an agent for the first one.  I feel like I’m abandoning the first one, like the sack of junk I left at the Goodwill last week.  My heart wants to stay with those characters, while the brain is yelling at me to stop ignoring new ideas.  How long did any of you wait before you started? Also, I am in week four of querying, with 7 rejections, one partial (still waiting), and the rest I haven’t heard.  Okay, so that’s two questions: how long did you wait before starting the next story, and how long did it take get an agent?  Thanks, and happy Sunday!

querying

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I am happy no one told me querying was a full-time job, otherwise I may never have finished my story.  Holy crow!  I can’t believe how many hours I’ve spent on this process!  Now I have 3 full-time jobs-teaching, mothering, and querying!  Oh, and somewhere in there, maybe I can write some new stuff!
As of today, I’ve queried 22 agents, and spent at least 22 hours querying those 22 agents-I’m quite sure.  So far, three rejections (new one today, Tara), and one partial request-which I’m waiting to hear on.  This last rejection to my email query was so kind and personalized that I was compelled to send a tiny snail mail thank you note-I appreciate kind rejection-definitely tosses a pillow under your butt on the fall down.
On an unrelated note, I am depressed to say I found one more thing I cannot eat anymore-Mentos-one of my favorites.  Dang things have wheat in them.