Tired and Disillusioned

It's time for the May segment of the ISWG. For more information regarding this wonderful group, hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh click on his name.

Hello all,

I certainly hope you're having a good month. As for me, well, I received two rejections and it's only six days in. The first came from the agent who suggested I make changes to my chapters. Although she liked my MC and the premise of the story, she felt it needed to be streamlined. Also, she said the pacing might be too fast now. I can't win. She did invite me to send my pages to her again once I completed the revisions.

The second rejection came from a small publishing house. The editor added a personal note, stating that he was close on my novel. He felt that some stories should be told and mine was one of them. I must say that was one of the best rejections I've ever received. Still a rejection, but a nice one.

A copy editor has my novel right now. I hope she can help me get it in tip top shape. Then, I'll submit to publishers who accept unsolicited MS. If they don't like the story, I'll self publish. At this point, I'm just tired. I'm also insecure that if I don't move on from my current WIP, I'll be writing and rewriting the same story for the rest of my days, with nothing more than a "Maybe" waiting down the road..

I've already begun the research for my next book, a YA time travel piece. I love to write and well, sometimes that has to be enough. I can't help but feel if I continue to write stories, someday I'll be published. Don't get me wrong, I don't write because I want to be published. Quite the opposite. I want to be published because I write. Nothing would give me greater joy than to make a living doing the one thing I love. Hope runs eternal... Until next time, happy writing.

Comments

Sometimes Life Just Gets In The Way

It's time for another installment of the Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh . If you're feeling down about your writing and need a supportive ear to bend, this is the group to join. For more information, click on Alex's name to be directed to the enrollment link. Lately, life has gotten in the way of my writing. How you ask? Well, I'm in grad school full time. Although I love learning, and academic writing gives me that opportunity, it doesn't hold a candle to the way I feel when I'm working on a fictional story. There's something exhilarating about transporting my characters into another world where anything is possible, and the rules are dictated by my imagination. It's definitely a wonderful escape from my responsibilities. As I'm sure you've discerned, I really, really love writing fiction. Now that most of my major assignments are out of the way, I've eked out some time to work on my novel, an...

You Never Fail Until You Stop Trying

Back in December, I learned about an unpublished novel contest that assessed the following criteria: characterization, setting, plot, dialogue, voice and writing skill. In addition to all this, the MS would receive feedback from the judges. Not a bad deal, right? Although my draft was far from complete, I decided to enter it anyway, reasoning that the critique would identify areas of weakness in my writing. Well, needless to say, I finally heard back last week. The first forty pages of my draft were returned with the following letter attached: The judges had mixed reactions to this particular manuscript, with some feeling it was well- paced and another saying there was not enough plot movement! One questioned whether the dialogue fit the time/ year/culture, while others felt it did. They all agreed on liking the expository details and descriptions, but wondered where the story was going. Consider beginnin...

ISWG Are Online Whisper Groups Bullying YA Authors Out of Publication? What's an Author to Do?

t's time for another installment of the Insecure Writer's Group hosted by the illustrious Alex J. Cavanaugh . To learn more about this supportive group click on the host's name. I feel very strongly about what happened to this author, and I fear it could happen to the rest of us if we don't stick together. Recenty, SCMP reported that after signing a seven figure book deal for the Fantasy, BLOOD HEIR, Chinese author Amelie Wen Zhao was forced to pull it from publication due to allegations of racism. The premise of the highly anticipated Fantasy trilogy was a retelling of Anastasia, except Zhao's adaptation used blood magic. Critics felt the story had racist undertones because of the cover blurb's description of a "World where oppression is blind to skin color and good and evil exist in shades of gray." Many criticisms came from a whispers online group, which, from my understanding are sort of the gate-keepers to approving YA novels. I...

Aspiring Novelists

Search This Blog