I received this email the other day from my boss, who is the most recent person to read my manuscript. It made me gleeful so i had to post it:
I’m on page 7. I can’t wait to read the rest...that’s the highest accolade I can give a book. There are books that grab you from the beginning and this is one of them. Who is this mysterious stranger?! There are others that don’t grab you until considerably later. I’d hate to think how many of those I’ve missed over the years because I just couldn’t force myself back into it...this one won’t be a problem. Uh oh. I can see myself bleary eyed and lying there frozen stiff at 1:00 am again, so’s not to disturb the sleeping grizzly by any tell-tale Ah HAH!’s or shifting to get more comfortable...it’ll be all your fault, you know.
Since I'm tooting my own horn, I might as well include some others. Re-reading them gives me motivation to keep writing!
Ok, so I finished your book this morning :) I totally enjoyed it a lot. I don't think I've read a book so quickly before or spent so much time just sitting and reading (well maybe besides Harry Potter lol). I really like how you wrote so that there was such a vivid picture in my mind of what was going on. You alluded to many places that I knew of and so this helped a lot (ie. French beach, inner harbour, the blue bridge etc). Anyways, loved it a lot and can't wait for the sequel. I'll see you in a lil over a week! Love you lots, Shar
And from my mom:
Hi Shawna- Your book was wonderful, I just finished reading it! And it's definitely set the stage for a few more adventures for the happy couple. I really enjoyed it and am so honoured that I got to read it (first, i think) I love you very much and am so proud of you.
Aren't moms great? She definitely was the reason i finished the first book so quickly. She kept pushing me for more chapters.
I'm still working on the untitled sequel. Just wrapping up a few loose bits, and it's driving me bananas!!
Mmm... bananas....
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Word Count
Learned something new today:
When calculating word count for something that will be published, you shouldn't use the word count tool found in your word processing software.
Why?
Well, agents and publishers are more interested in how much space your manuscript will take up, rather than the precise word count. Dialogue, for example, often has few words, but will take up more space due to paragraph breaks.
So, instead of using the word count tool, you should use this formula:
For a double-spaced, 12-point Courier document, with 1" margins, calculate approximately 250 words per page.
Force is approximately 71,000 words when calculated using word count. But, by using the above formula, it is 91,500 words in terms of the publishing world.
Wow, that makes me feel like i wrote way more than i did! I'll take it!
When calculating word count for something that will be published, you shouldn't use the word count tool found in your word processing software.
Why?
Well, agents and publishers are more interested in how much space your manuscript will take up, rather than the precise word count. Dialogue, for example, often has few words, but will take up more space due to paragraph breaks.
So, instead of using the word count tool, you should use this formula:
For a double-spaced, 12-point Courier document, with 1" margins, calculate approximately 250 words per page.
Force is approximately 71,000 words when calculated using word count. But, by using the above formula, it is 91,500 words in terms of the publishing world.
Wow, that makes me feel like i wrote way more than i did! I'll take it!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Getting an Agent
Something I've learned about trying to get published: You can't just write to publishers and hope they will want to read your manuscript. There are a few publishers that accept letters like this, but for the most part, you have to go through agent.
It is not easy to get an agent.
I did some research on how to go about getting one, and it is quite the process. First you need to write a Query Letter. The letter essentially the equivalent of a cover letter on a resume. You need to talk about who you are, what you've written/published in the past, your experiences and also give a summary, including word count, of your story.
For me, it was really difficult to toot my own horn. Furthermore, I hadn't ever tried to summarize my story in a paragraph. Sure, I can tell you all about it in a long drawn out description, but summarizing was difficult. When i finally got my letter written, I did some more research.
Apparently, a previously unpublished author, such as myself, can expect to send out hundreds of query letters, and if you're lucky, you will get a positive response from ten or so. About a 5% return. Yikes.
I jumped the gun and started sending out letters soon after I had finished the first round of edits of my manuscript. Most agents just ask for the letter, but a few ask for the first couple chapters as well. I figured that by the time i started getting responses I would have fine tuned Force enough by then that it would be ready to be sent out in full.
You can expect wait two weeks or so for a response from an emailed query letter (up to six weeks for snail mail). I had only sent off about a dozen letters before i heard back from the first agent. I reprinting it here because he was the only agent so far to send me back a response that wasn't a form letter (agent's name is deleted):
I wasn't upset when i read his response. I had known my first chapter needed work. It was 30 pages long, whereas the rest of the book averaged about 10 pages per chapter. But, I also had already started book two, and the ideas were spilling out of me so fast i didn't want to revisit Force. I decided to hold off sending out more query letters until i could properly revist the first chapter.
In the meantime, the rejections kept coming in. I had four come in that week, all in a form letter format. I never heard from the other six (that means no). I did finally hear from one agent who requested my manuscript. Yay!! But i hadn't fully retooled my manuscript. Still, I was too excited to wait. I sent if off immediatly, but was determined not to get too optimistic.
It's been just about six weeks (you can expect to wait 4-6 weeks for a response from a manuscript request), and i still haven't heard anything. I wrote the agent a follow up email, but haven't heard back from that either.
It's okay though. The lack of response reminded me i needed to go back and fix up those first thirty pages. I rewrote them last night. Chapter 1 is now four chapters, and instead of being told in the past tense, i told it in the present tense, giving more weight to why Alex ends up working for Mobius in the first place.
I'm happy now, despite having placed the agent hunting on hold. I think i might try again in a couple weeks.
It is not easy to get an agent.
I did some research on how to go about getting one, and it is quite the process. First you need to write a Query Letter. The letter essentially the equivalent of a cover letter on a resume. You need to talk about who you are, what you've written/published in the past, your experiences and also give a summary, including word count, of your story.
For me, it was really difficult to toot my own horn. Furthermore, I hadn't ever tried to summarize my story in a paragraph. Sure, I can tell you all about it in a long drawn out description, but summarizing was difficult. When i finally got my letter written, I did some more research.
Apparently, a previously unpublished author, such as myself, can expect to send out hundreds of query letters, and if you're lucky, you will get a positive response from ten or so. About a 5% return. Yikes.
I jumped the gun and started sending out letters soon after I had finished the first round of edits of my manuscript. Most agents just ask for the letter, but a few ask for the first couple chapters as well. I figured that by the time i started getting responses I would have fine tuned Force enough by then that it would be ready to be sent out in full.
You can expect wait two weeks or so for a response from an emailed query letter (up to six weeks for snail mail). I had only sent off about a dozen letters before i heard back from the first agent. I reprinting it here because he was the only agent so far to send me back a response that wasn't a form letter (agent's name is deleted):
Dear Shawna:
Thank you for your recent query letter. I appreciate your patience while I’ve considered your project.
Unfortunately, I'm afraid I must pass on Force. The prologue got off to a great start, giving Alexis a strong and likable voice and a strong hint of intriguing things to come. The chapter, however, I felt got bogged down in backstory. You clearly know a lot about the characters and world you created, but I feel the story might be too caught up in the details rather than focusing on the plot.
Thanks again for thinking of me. Please accept my best wishes for your project’s success.
I wasn't upset when i read his response. I had known my first chapter needed work. It was 30 pages long, whereas the rest of the book averaged about 10 pages per chapter. But, I also had already started book two, and the ideas were spilling out of me so fast i didn't want to revisit Force. I decided to hold off sending out more query letters until i could properly revist the first chapter.
In the meantime, the rejections kept coming in. I had four come in that week, all in a form letter format. I never heard from the other six (that means no). I did finally hear from one agent who requested my manuscript. Yay!! But i hadn't fully retooled my manuscript. Still, I was too excited to wait. I sent if off immediatly, but was determined not to get too optimistic.
It's been just about six weeks (you can expect to wait 4-6 weeks for a response from a manuscript request), and i still haven't heard anything. I wrote the agent a follow up email, but haven't heard back from that either.
It's okay though. The lack of response reminded me i needed to go back and fix up those first thirty pages. I rewrote them last night. Chapter 1 is now four chapters, and instead of being told in the past tense, i told it in the present tense, giving more weight to why Alex ends up working for Mobius in the first place.
I'm happy now, despite having placed the agent hunting on hold. I think i might try again in a couple weeks.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Late Night Musings
I'm not going to write too much tonight; I just wanted to talk about a problem I am having with my writing.
One of the things you don't expect when you write is that the story takes over your thoughts. I think about plot and characters at work, when I'm driving, and mostly, when I am trying to go to sleep (such as right now).
This is how Force first came to be, mind you. I had an idea and couldn't sleep, so I wrote it down.
Tonight, as has been the case for most nights this past week, I find myself sleepless and anxious. I am coming up to the conclusion of book two, and I'm stuck. I have three paths I can take, but none are quite what I want in order to open up for the final story in the trilogy. At first, I wanted to wait it out until an idea hit me, but then I thought I might go back and re-read the whole thing (something I haven't done yet, but was going to wait until it was finished).
I had just decided to re-read, when I got an email from a friend who is currently reading Force. I asked him to be critical of it, and he offered some great advice. I haven't gone back to Force for about a month (since I started book two), and could probably use the refresher. Plus, I've been wanting to make up character profiles as well.
So tonight, instead of re-reading as I had planned, I decided to go back to book one and re-examine it. I know i need to re-tool chapter one, and possibly add some depth to a few spots, so i figured this would be a good place to start.
Except then I got distracted, and by the time I got back to my computer, it was too late to give my reading the proper attention. So, being the smart person I am, I decided to go to bed.
It's now 12:30am, I'm still awake, and I've spent the past hour and a half writing the third novel in my head, while simultaneously re-writing chapter one of Force.
These characters are becoming such a part of me, that I can't get them out of my head! I'm not complaining, but I wouldn't mind some sleep.
One of the things you don't expect when you write is that the story takes over your thoughts. I think about plot and characters at work, when I'm driving, and mostly, when I am trying to go to sleep (such as right now).
This is how Force first came to be, mind you. I had an idea and couldn't sleep, so I wrote it down.
Tonight, as has been the case for most nights this past week, I find myself sleepless and anxious. I am coming up to the conclusion of book two, and I'm stuck. I have three paths I can take, but none are quite what I want in order to open up for the final story in the trilogy. At first, I wanted to wait it out until an idea hit me, but then I thought I might go back and re-read the whole thing (something I haven't done yet, but was going to wait until it was finished).
I had just decided to re-read, when I got an email from a friend who is currently reading Force. I asked him to be critical of it, and he offered some great advice. I haven't gone back to Force for about a month (since I started book two), and could probably use the refresher. Plus, I've been wanting to make up character profiles as well.
So tonight, instead of re-reading as I had planned, I decided to go back to book one and re-examine it. I know i need to re-tool chapter one, and possibly add some depth to a few spots, so i figured this would be a good place to start.
Except then I got distracted, and by the time I got back to my computer, it was too late to give my reading the proper attention. So, being the smart person I am, I decided to go to bed.
It's now 12:30am, I'm still awake, and I've spent the past hour and a half writing the third novel in my head, while simultaneously re-writing chapter one of Force.
These characters are becoming such a part of me, that I can't get them out of my head! I'm not complaining, but I wouldn't mind some sleep.
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