Mar
2

Revisions

Posted in craft, editing | 15 Comments
I got my first set of revisions yesterday. Or more to the point, I got the revision letter emailed to me. The hard copy of the manuscript in all its full red-pen glory should be waiting for me on my doorstep when I get home today. I’ll admit I was a tad knocked for a loop when I first read it, but then, I’m not really sure what I was expecting. Okay, there’s a small part of me that was hoping I’d have a few easy edits and then I’d sail right on through. Naive, eh? Although @SmoulderingSea put it best when I chatted with him about it. “Welcome to being published, honey.” I detect a touch of sarcasm in there, but I could be wrong. (Poor dude has become so busy lately…) And it’s an eye-opener for sure. As an aspiring author, you hear so much about polishing up… Read more
Feb
16

Membership Has Its Privileges

Posted in craft, rwa, swfa, writing | 2 Comments
I joined the SFWA (Science Fiction& Fantasy Writers of America) on Friday, something I’ve wanted to do since I started down this path of becoming a writer. However, like many organizations out there, sometimes you can’t just sign up simply because you want to. In this case, you have to be a published author in order to join. Since I’ve officially sold, I qualify and they were very happy to take me in. (And now I can rub shoulders with George R. R. Martin. Well, not really, but I can pretend, anyway.) It’s an interesting problem, especially for aspiring authors. You want to join professional writing groups to prove that you’re taking this venture seriously…but you can’t, because you haven’t proved yourself yet. (Just like finding a job, eh?) And hey, even getting pubbed isn’t always enough – for example, I can’t join Novelists Inc yet, because I actually have… Read more
Feb
5

Sequels and Success

Posted in craft, writing | 5 Comments
Yesterday I started reading another sequel by an author that I used to love. And by the second chapter I was ready to claw my eyes out. The writing was wretched, but more than that, there just seemed to be this attitude of…smugness, I guess. A self-serving sort of feel to it that just grated on my nerves. Now, this particular author has a lot of books out, and a blog that I read sometimes. And she is on Twitter and Facebook too. And I’d be inclined to think that may be part of the source of my disdain for the book – maybe she’s revealed a little too much of herself, and I’ve come to dislike what I’ve seen. (Although I’m hardly one to talk, given the cupping post from yesterday. Not like I *had* to take a picture of my back, now is it?) On the other hand,… Read more
Jan
28

It’s Called Fiction For a Reason

Posted in craft, writing, wtf | 8 Comments
An interesting topic came up the other day when I was talking to my aunt. I had sent her my ms a few weeks ago, just to get a feel for what she thought of it – we read a lot of the same sorts of books, after all.I’d love for her to love it, but if she doesn’t, that’s okay too.  And at the same time, there’s a *lot* of me in this book – the average person might not see it, but knowing me as well as she does, she’s already been able to pick out quite a bit. I feel a little more exposed than I thought I would and that makes me leery about having other family members read it. Which of course, they can do as they like. I’m just not sure I want to *know* what they think. (But then, I’ve always been a… Read more
Jan
23

Slumming for Ideas

Posted in craft, writing | 11 Comments
So, part of what is going on with the book thing is that my agent is trying to sell me as a two-book deal. (And it’s probably going to go that way, if everything lines up the way it should). And this is a Good Thing. After all, I had already started writing the sequel a few months ago, and once it becomes official, I’ll start focusing most of my writing time on finishing it. (And I would have had more of it done already, but being that I wasn’t sure if Book 1 would sell, I wanted to work on a different project as well. You know. Just in case I sucked.) However, things won’t be stopping here, as during the last conversation with my agent she asked what else I was working on. (The theory here is that she’d like me to be writing two series at the… Read more