I'm having a little trouble figuring out the new format on Blogger. As the person doing the blog -- not just writing it online -- I'm not sure where things are on my blog, and not how i go about finding them. It's somewhat easier today but it's still strange and new, not two words I am always comfortable with.
On other news, a friend from my critique group who made the quarterfinals in this year's Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest unfortunately failed to make the semifinals this week. I saw her yesterday at our critique group meeting and she seems to be taking it as well as can be expected. By the time you reach the quarterfinals, you begin to seriously think of making it to the end. But then, when you dreams are dashed (as mind were at this point last year in ABNA), it still stings a little. I feel sorry for her but I tried to be supporter. After all, I know what you is going through.
Also in other news, I started a blog draft last week about Amazon and the publishing industry. I should post it soon. It should be interesting, so be on the look out.
Lastly, not only did I break my single month record for pageviews, I doubled the previous record -- and the month isn't finished yet. We have another four days to go. And more and more pageviews are of recent posts. So I must be getting more readers. I hope so.
That's it for now. I gave my critique group a new short story yesterday. Will hear their comments in two weeks. Sending out query letters for The Last Tontine Survivor. Haven't heard anything yet. My short story for the next Sisters in Crime anthology isn't panning out, so I will try something else.
Thanks for reading and don't stop writing.
Showing posts with label blogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogs. Show all posts
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Monday, April 2, 2012
Oh, so close . . .
March was a good month for viewership for my blog. I had the second highest views since I started nearly four and a half years ago. In fact, I only fell only three views short of my record, set in October 2009.
Oh, so close . . .
It helped that my viewership is up considerably for recent posts -- those in the last two months. I am getting more hits on posts soon after I write them. However, the most views I get are for posts several years old. I don't what that means. Whether the same people keep viewing the same posts over and over again -- for heaven knows what reason -- or whether I am getting new views on the same posts. It's a mystery to me.
Regardless of the reason for things, I will keep posting on the journey this writer is on to becoming a published novelist. Talk to you again soon.
Thanks for reading and keep writing.
Oh, so close . . .
It helped that my viewership is up considerably for recent posts -- those in the last two months. I am getting more hits on posts soon after I write them. However, the most views I get are for posts several years old. I don't what that means. Whether the same people keep viewing the same posts over and over again -- for heaven knows what reason -- or whether I am getting new views on the same posts. It's a mystery to me.
Regardless of the reason for things, I will keep posting on the journey this writer is on to becoming a published novelist. Talk to you again soon.
Thanks for reading and keep writing.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Who's lookin'?
Fellow blogger Anne Gallagher pointed out something to me last week and I have been fascinated by it ever since. On blogspot, there is a category on your dashboard called "stats". By clicking on it, you can view general statistics on who is looking at your blog and from where.
I was a little depressed at the numbers at first but got over it once I realized this feature apparently only goes back as far as May or June. (I think June.) But there is some interesting information, although I have no idea what it all means.
I am an aspiring author in the American Midwest blogging, well, about myself, mostly. I wouldn't expect to have much appeal to someone outside the country, and certainly not outside of English-speaking countries. I only write in English. (Don't get me started on how hard it is for me to learn another language.)
But only 67.6 percent of my pageview hits are from the United States. I have hits from five of the seven continents of the world. Apparently, no one in Africa or Antarctica has read me.
After the United States, some 4.6 percent of my pageviews come from The Netherlands, followed closely by 4.3 percent from Canada (which doesn't completely surprise me) and -- get this -- 4.1 percent from Bolivia. Who in the world in Bolivia is reading me?
I also have 13 page hits from China and 10 from Russia. What in the world am I saying that would interest someone in those countries? Is it the Secret Police? I don't know. They aren't leaving me any comments.
Some 28 percent of all my pageviews have come in the last month. But that doesn't mean my September posts are what people are looking at.
Two posts make up one quarter of all my pageviews -- and they are both from 2008, more than two years ago. My No. 1 most popular post (at 12.7 percent of all pageviews) is Querying Agents, from June 18, 2008, followed closely by What's in a Name, Part II, from Jan. 4, 2008 (12.3 percent of all pageviews).
They also have the most pageviews in the last month. But at No. 3 in pageviews this month is Finding an Agent? WTF does it take?, from last week. I was clearly frustrated when I wrote that one. But in terms of overall hits, that post from Sept. 13, is only tied for eighth in overall pageviews.
Now, what does any of this mean? I really don't know. But I hope to figure out why people are reading certain things and hopefully address those concerns more often. But it would be helpful if some of you people in Israel, Brazil, Italy, Denmark and Japan would leave me a comment from time to time.
I am glad, however, that people are reading. I hope you keep doing it.
Thank for reading everyone out there. Now get back to writing.
I was a little depressed at the numbers at first but got over it once I realized this feature apparently only goes back as far as May or June. (I think June.) But there is some interesting information, although I have no idea what it all means.
I am an aspiring author in the American Midwest blogging, well, about myself, mostly. I wouldn't expect to have much appeal to someone outside the country, and certainly not outside of English-speaking countries. I only write in English. (Don't get me started on how hard it is for me to learn another language.)
But only 67.6 percent of my pageview hits are from the United States. I have hits from five of the seven continents of the world. Apparently, no one in Africa or Antarctica has read me.
After the United States, some 4.6 percent of my pageviews come from The Netherlands, followed closely by 4.3 percent from Canada (which doesn't completely surprise me) and -- get this -- 4.1 percent from Bolivia. Who in the world in Bolivia is reading me?
I also have 13 page hits from China and 10 from Russia. What in the world am I saying that would interest someone in those countries? Is it the Secret Police? I don't know. They aren't leaving me any comments.
Some 28 percent of all my pageviews have come in the last month. But that doesn't mean my September posts are what people are looking at.
Two posts make up one quarter of all my pageviews -- and they are both from 2008, more than two years ago. My No. 1 most popular post (at 12.7 percent of all pageviews) is Querying Agents, from June 18, 2008, followed closely by What's in a Name, Part II, from Jan. 4, 2008 (12.3 percent of all pageviews).
They also have the most pageviews in the last month. But at No. 3 in pageviews this month is Finding an Agent? WTF does it take?, from last week. I was clearly frustrated when I wrote that one. But in terms of overall hits, that post from Sept. 13, is only tied for eighth in overall pageviews.
Now, what does any of this mean? I really don't know. But I hope to figure out why people are reading certain things and hopefully address those concerns more often. But it would be helpful if some of you people in Israel, Brazil, Italy, Denmark and Japan would leave me a comment from time to time.
I am glad, however, that people are reading. I hope you keep doing it.
Thank for reading everyone out there. Now get back to writing.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Query Shark
I had been thinking about it for a while and decided last week to jump into the deep water and swim with the sharks. Well, in this case, just one shark -- Query Shark, the blog by agent Janet Reid of FinePrint Literary Management.
Like many agents, Reid has a regular blog but in Query Shark, she provides a service most agents don't -- critical analysis. Examining a query letter, she points out what works and, most importantly, what doesn't work. And she offers the chance to improve.
I don't always agree with her. There was one letter that broke all her rules in terms of content. Plus I thought it was boring. But she loved it and requested the manuscript. For whatever reason, it appealed to her, which she says is the only point of any query letter -- to get the agent to request more material.
Query Shark isn't for the faint-hearted. But neither is the publishing industry. Reid's comments can be harsh, particularly for mistakes she has repeatedly commented on earlier. To avoid such criticism, she STRONGLY encourages writers to read the Query Shark archives before submitting to the blog. She wants to see new mistakes, not the same old mistakes.
I read the blogs of several agents whom I won't mention in today's post. (They get enough online promotion already.) They are valuable in offering suggestions and in pointing out general mistakes they see regularly in the scores of queries they get each week. Query Shark does that, too.
But what I like about Reid's blog -- and where I think is its greatest strength -- is that she points out specific problems in specific queries. The names of the innocents are redacted, of course, as is any identifying information, except the title of their work. But if you read through the blog archives -- again, strongly suggested, though for the uninitiated, it will take days to read through them all -- and take notes, you can improve your query letter whether you decide to submit it or not.
That is what I did. I tried to apply everything I learned on the blog in my letter. At 250 words, it was short. I got right to the action. While I did mention more than one character, the main character was the only one mentioned by name. I presented the problem the character faced and who sought to foil the character's plans. The writing reflected the tone of the novel. It was in present tense. And on and on.
I sent the query to the blog and got a form letter e-mail reply the next day acknowledging my letter's arrival.
In the e-mail reply, Reid pointed out, "The chance your query will be posted are low." She reads some 200 manuscripts a year but posts less than 160 query letters on Query Shark. There are about 100 pending queries for each query letter that makes it online. No writer's query appears without their permission and the writer can at any time request that their letter be removed.
I am of two minds in this adventure. I tried to send the best letter I could and I'd like it to appear on the blog. If it's too good, she won't use it. Letters in Query Shark are used as a learning tool for others. There needs to be problems. But if it's too bad she may not use it, either. In fact, she may not use it for any number of reasons that I will never be aware of. It's still a crap shoot.
I did send the same basic letter to a number of agents late in the week, including on Saturday to an agent in the South. (I won't mention her name but she is mentioned in the current issue of "Writer's Digest" as one of "27 agents looking for new writers.") I got a form letter rejection in less than 24 hours, even though it was a holiday weekend. Obviously, the query letter didn't impress her. No idea why. I will never know. No matter. She only made my C list of agents to query.
But perhaps I will have better luck with the Query Shark. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
And in the meantime, I am pouring over AN UNTIDY AFFAIR word-for-word, and working on an outline for my next novel. Life goes on. So does writing.
Thanks for reading. Enjoy the holiday.
Like many agents, Reid has a regular blog but in Query Shark, she provides a service most agents don't -- critical analysis. Examining a query letter, she points out what works and, most importantly, what doesn't work. And she offers the chance to improve.
I don't always agree with her. There was one letter that broke all her rules in terms of content. Plus I thought it was boring. But she loved it and requested the manuscript. For whatever reason, it appealed to her, which she says is the only point of any query letter -- to get the agent to request more material.
Query Shark isn't for the faint-hearted. But neither is the publishing industry. Reid's comments can be harsh, particularly for mistakes she has repeatedly commented on earlier. To avoid such criticism, she STRONGLY encourages writers to read the Query Shark archives before submitting to the blog. She wants to see new mistakes, not the same old mistakes.
I read the blogs of several agents whom I won't mention in today's post. (They get enough online promotion already.) They are valuable in offering suggestions and in pointing out general mistakes they see regularly in the scores of queries they get each week. Query Shark does that, too.
But what I like about Reid's blog -- and where I think is its greatest strength -- is that she points out specific problems in specific queries. The names of the innocents are redacted, of course, as is any identifying information, except the title of their work. But if you read through the blog archives -- again, strongly suggested, though for the uninitiated, it will take days to read through them all -- and take notes, you can improve your query letter whether you decide to submit it or not.
That is what I did. I tried to apply everything I learned on the blog in my letter. At 250 words, it was short. I got right to the action. While I did mention more than one character, the main character was the only one mentioned by name. I presented the problem the character faced and who sought to foil the character's plans. The writing reflected the tone of the novel. It was in present tense. And on and on.
I sent the query to the blog and got a form letter e-mail reply the next day acknowledging my letter's arrival.
In the e-mail reply, Reid pointed out, "The chance your query will be posted are low." She reads some 200 manuscripts a year but posts less than 160 query letters on Query Shark. There are about 100 pending queries for each query letter that makes it online. No writer's query appears without their permission and the writer can at any time request that their letter be removed.
I am of two minds in this adventure. I tried to send the best letter I could and I'd like it to appear on the blog. If it's too good, she won't use it. Letters in Query Shark are used as a learning tool for others. There needs to be problems. But if it's too bad she may not use it, either. In fact, she may not use it for any number of reasons that I will never be aware of. It's still a crap shoot.
I did send the same basic letter to a number of agents late in the week, including on Saturday to an agent in the South. (I won't mention her name but she is mentioned in the current issue of "Writer's Digest" as one of "27 agents looking for new writers.") I got a form letter rejection in less than 24 hours, even though it was a holiday weekend. Obviously, the query letter didn't impress her. No idea why. I will never know. No matter. She only made my C list of agents to query.
But perhaps I will have better luck with the Query Shark. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
And in the meantime, I am pouring over AN UNTIDY AFFAIR word-for-word, and working on an outline for my next novel. Life goes on. So does writing.
Thanks for reading. Enjoy the holiday.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Writing style, and an embarrassment
I was reading my Writer's Digest today and I learned something, which, of course, is a good thing. There is something called "The Chicago Manual of Style."
As I have mentioned before, I am a member of a critique group in my local chapter of Sisters in Crime and have been reading material from the other members for the last 10 months. Also, since entering the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest, I have been reading excerpts written by other entrants. And I have been amazed at the style other people use. In many cases, it is very different from what I am used to, particularly when it comes to numbers and when to write them out and when to use numerals.
I am used to AP style. As a journalist, wire service style is the standard in the newspaper industry. Yes, it can vary a little from paper to paper. For example, at The Philadelphia Tribune, which is a Black newspaper, the word black is always capitalized when it refers to African Americans. But the basic style remains the same.
Since I had never heard of the Chicago Manual style, I haven't used it, although apparently it is used in the book industry. So I will have to investigate what it is, how to get a copy of what the style is and perhaps get a copy of the style book. Apparently, according to the article in WD, editors and publishers also recognize AP style but it must not be the first style used.
The most important thing mentioned in WD is that whatever style is used, it should be consistent. And that I agree with.
And on to another subject, when I logged in today, I noticed I got a comment from my last posting. It wasn't one of my best because I was angry and frustrated at the time I wrote it. But what does it matter? Only me (or is it I?) and a couple of my friends ever read this blog.
But I was totally bowed over to see it was from writer Chris Roerden. How in the world did she ever hear of this blog? And why in the world did she have to read that one? I felt so embarrassed. She must think I am a hack. (She wouldn't be the first.)
And I would go back and edit that posting but I may not. Mostly I want to remember what I was thinking and how I was thinking when I look back on my postings. The way it is is probably the best indication of that. But if other people start reading it . . .
Thanks for tuning in Chris. I look forward to meeting you at the convention in October.
Thanks to everyone else for reading and don't give up on writing.
As I have mentioned before, I am a member of a critique group in my local chapter of Sisters in Crime and have been reading material from the other members for the last 10 months. Also, since entering the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest, I have been reading excerpts written by other entrants. And I have been amazed at the style other people use. In many cases, it is very different from what I am used to, particularly when it comes to numbers and when to write them out and when to use numerals.
I am used to AP style. As a journalist, wire service style is the standard in the newspaper industry. Yes, it can vary a little from paper to paper. For example, at The Philadelphia Tribune, which is a Black newspaper, the word black is always capitalized when it refers to African Americans. But the basic style remains the same.
Since I had never heard of the Chicago Manual style, I haven't used it, although apparently it is used in the book industry. So I will have to investigate what it is, how to get a copy of what the style is and perhaps get a copy of the style book. Apparently, according to the article in WD, editors and publishers also recognize AP style but it must not be the first style used.
The most important thing mentioned in WD is that whatever style is used, it should be consistent. And that I agree with.
And on to another subject, when I logged in today, I noticed I got a comment from my last posting. It wasn't one of my best because I was angry and frustrated at the time I wrote it. But what does it matter? Only me (or is it I?) and a couple of my friends ever read this blog.
But I was totally bowed over to see it was from writer Chris Roerden. How in the world did she ever hear of this blog? And why in the world did she have to read that one? I felt so embarrassed. She must think I am a hack. (She wouldn't be the first.)
And I would go back and edit that posting but I may not. Mostly I want to remember what I was thinking and how I was thinking when I look back on my postings. The way it is is probably the best indication of that. But if other people start reading it . . .
Thanks for tuning in Chris. I look forward to meeting you at the convention in October.
Thanks to everyone else for reading and don't give up on writing.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
A new friend . . . and ABNA
I have a new friend. She is an author, I think on the West Coast, and we have communicated several times in the last day and a half. I won't mention her name here because I haven't asked her about it yet. But she has been quite helpful with my pitch for ABNA.
Being insecure about my pitch, I sent it to her and she offered a couple of very useful suggestions which I used. They greatly improved my pitch and made it shsorter at the same time. it was great.
Today there has been a lot of discussion on the merits of taking part in ABNA. When I last looked more than an hour ago, there were nearly 120 comments today on Nathan Bransford's blog on ABNA. Nathan opened up the discussion but said he wouldn't comment directly in the contest.
Any comments he'd have would be suspect because he, as an agent, has a vested interest in contests such as ABNAs failing. The winner gets a publishing contract without input from an agent, and some of the quarter- semi- and top-10 finalists could decide to self-publish using CreateSpace (an ABNA sponsor) or some other platform, again cutting out agents.
But what amazes me -- and my new friend, by the way -- is all the non-sensical arguments some writers used to justify their reasons for not entering. Who cares? Enter or not. You don't need to justify.
Plus there is little down side to entering. The requirements for entering are things you have to do to query an agent. You have slightly better odds with ABNA but not much. It's all still a subjective crap shoot.
Anyway, as I told my new author friend, I am in the contest and happy with my decision. I may or may not get much out of it but regardless of the result I don't lose anything. I'm still an aspiring author without an agent or a publishing contract. The contest just give me another path to success.
Finally, I did some outlining and writing for "The Death of Art." I think it will be my best work to date. And if I work hard and write a lot, I could have the first draft finished by my birthday. That's ambigious but it's doable. I at least want to have more than half of it completed by the time I have my appointment with the acquisition editor next month. That way I can show her I have a completed novel and considerable progress on a sequel. I hope that will give me a leg up.
Thanks for reading and don't ever give up on writing.
Being insecure about my pitch, I sent it to her and she offered a couple of very useful suggestions which I used. They greatly improved my pitch and made it shsorter at the same time. it was great.
Today there has been a lot of discussion on the merits of taking part in ABNA. When I last looked more than an hour ago, there were nearly 120 comments today on Nathan Bransford's blog on ABNA. Nathan opened up the discussion but said he wouldn't comment directly in the contest.
Any comments he'd have would be suspect because he, as an agent, has a vested interest in contests such as ABNAs failing. The winner gets a publishing contract without input from an agent, and some of the quarter- semi- and top-10 finalists could decide to self-publish using CreateSpace (an ABNA sponsor) or some other platform, again cutting out agents.
But what amazes me -- and my new friend, by the way -- is all the non-sensical arguments some writers used to justify their reasons for not entering. Who cares? Enter or not. You don't need to justify.
Plus there is little down side to entering. The requirements for entering are things you have to do to query an agent. You have slightly better odds with ABNA but not much. It's all still a subjective crap shoot.
Anyway, as I told my new author friend, I am in the contest and happy with my decision. I may or may not get much out of it but regardless of the result I don't lose anything. I'm still an aspiring author without an agent or a publishing contract. The contest just give me another path to success.
Finally, I did some outlining and writing for "The Death of Art." I think it will be my best work to date. And if I work hard and write a lot, I could have the first draft finished by my birthday. That's ambigious but it's doable. I at least want to have more than half of it completed by the time I have my appointment with the acquisition editor next month. That way I can show her I have a completed novel and considerable progress on a sequel. I hope that will give me a leg up.
Thanks for reading and don't ever give up on writing.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Poor old 2008
This is my 96th -- and last -- blog entry of 2008. Not a bad output but less than I should have done. Overall, however, it has been a good year for my fiction writing. I still don't have an agent but finding an agent was only one objective this year.
The first and foremost objective was to become a better writer. And I think I aced that. As I look back at my fiction before this year and compare it to what I have done this year, there is little comparison. I like "Fighting Chaos" and it will always be special to me but this year's writing is much better.
In my first blog entry in 2008, which was on Wednesday, Jan. 2, a was still planning a murder mystery novel. I said I probably wouldn't start for several weeks and had not yet decided on how the victim would killed. I was thinking it would be poison. (Most of the blog, however, dealt finding names for characters, which is a problem I still wrestle with.)
Well, I started the novel about a week later, finished the first draft in May and the victim, George Wilson, is hit in the head and killed. (I thank Mariska Bogle for that idea. She suggested both the victim and the method.) And while I thought I had finished the final and seventh draft more than a month ago, I am pouring through it once more, preparing it for a writing competition at the beginning of February.
But that's not all.
I joined the Speed City chapter of Sisters in Crime and joined a critique group. Along with study and practice, the critique group is one of the reasons I have improved so much this year.
In addition to the finishing the novel (which is currently named "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal"), I wrote a 7,000 word short story for the racing anthology our chapter is putting together. I am also writing some of the factoids that will go between stories.
And I went to Philadelphia to begin research for my next novel, which is called, "The Death of Art," and have written two chapters. And while constantly re-writing Jungle-bunny has kept me from having completed more of DOA, I still plan on completing it over the winter.
And then the search for an agent will be renewed.
In 2009, I plan to increase my blog output, attend at least two writers conferences other than NABJ, find an agent, finish DOA, and plan and start whatever I will write after DOA.
So, it will be a busy year. I look forward to it.
Thanks again for reading, have a happy New Year and keep writing.
The first and foremost objective was to become a better writer. And I think I aced that. As I look back at my fiction before this year and compare it to what I have done this year, there is little comparison. I like "Fighting Chaos" and it will always be special to me but this year's writing is much better.
In my first blog entry in 2008, which was on Wednesday, Jan. 2, a was still planning a murder mystery novel. I said I probably wouldn't start for several weeks and had not yet decided on how the victim would killed. I was thinking it would be poison. (Most of the blog, however, dealt finding names for characters, which is a problem I still wrestle with.)
Well, I started the novel about a week later, finished the first draft in May and the victim, George Wilson, is hit in the head and killed. (I thank Mariska Bogle for that idea. She suggested both the victim and the method.) And while I thought I had finished the final and seventh draft more than a month ago, I am pouring through it once more, preparing it for a writing competition at the beginning of February.
But that's not all.
I joined the Speed City chapter of Sisters in Crime and joined a critique group. Along with study and practice, the critique group is one of the reasons I have improved so much this year.
In addition to the finishing the novel (which is currently named "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal"), I wrote a 7,000 word short story for the racing anthology our chapter is putting together. I am also writing some of the factoids that will go between stories.
And I went to Philadelphia to begin research for my next novel, which is called, "The Death of Art," and have written two chapters. And while constantly re-writing Jungle-bunny has kept me from having completed more of DOA, I still plan on completing it over the winter.
And then the search for an agent will be renewed.
In 2009, I plan to increase my blog output, attend at least two writers conferences other than NABJ, find an agent, finish DOA, and plan and start whatever I will write after DOA.
So, it will be a busy year. I look forward to it.
Thanks again for reading, have a happy New Year and keep writing.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Marketing
One of the hardest things for me is marketing myself, although good marketing and promotions will determine whether I am a successful novelist. I am not comfortable at it and not good at it. And when it comes to promoting a book, I'm sure it will be expensive, exhausting, difficult and time-consuming.
But it will still need to be done.
To help in my comfort level, I am going to a session with fellow mystery writers tomorrow on using the Internet for promotion. Websites, Podcast, blogs and all manner of technical things I don't comprehend will come up.
Hopefully, I will make a final decision on a website and more forwars with that. At the very least, I will have more information for making an informed judgment.
I will have to tell you later how that goes. But for now, thanks for reading and keep writing.
To help in my comfort level, I am going to a session with fellow mystery writers tomorrow on using the Internet for promotion. Websites, Podcast, blogs and all manner of technical things I don't comprehend will come up.
Hopefully, I will make a final decision on a website and more forwars with that. At the very least, I will have more information for making an informed judgment.
I will have to tell you later how that goes. But for now, thanks for reading and keep writing.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
When it's time to give up on something you've written
I was reading a blog I recently discovered and one of the topics it covered in the last couple of days was when is it time to give up on something you have written. That particularly comes to mind for me because my first book, "Fighting Chaos," is just sitting on the proverbial shelf.
In the end, the blogger said it's a difficult question and it's hard to know. However, he offered some insight.
Since I finished Chaos last December, I have grown a lot as a writer and my craft has significantly developed. Now as I look back at the novel, I have a better understanding of why it will never sell in its current form. The story is still good, I think, but the pacing is all off, there is too much backstory in too great of detail, some of the characters are wooden and stiff, and the plot doesn't propel the reader forward.
In the end, it reads like it was written by a novice, which, as it turns out, was the case.
But I am still very attached to the story. It is quite personal to me. Should I give up the ghost and drop it forever? I don't think so. I have chalked up the experience and moved on but there is still something interesting to tell in the story.
So, what do I do? Well, for now, I leave it where it is. In time, and when I have the time, I hope to get back to it. When I am stronger in my creaft, have a better understanding of the market and insight into upcoming trends, I hope to get back to the story. That, unfortunately, could -- and probably will -- take years. But the novel is on the shelf and isn't going anywhere, so why worry.
The blogger quoted (although didn't name) a famous writer, who said, "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."
That's not the case with Chaos. It no longer is just inside me. I would like for it to be read but, for the moment, that isn't going to be the case. But it is not an 'untold story.'
Now, on to the next . . .
Thanks for reading and don't give up on writing.
In the end, the blogger said it's a difficult question and it's hard to know. However, he offered some insight.
Since I finished Chaos last December, I have grown a lot as a writer and my craft has significantly developed. Now as I look back at the novel, I have a better understanding of why it will never sell in its current form. The story is still good, I think, but the pacing is all off, there is too much backstory in too great of detail, some of the characters are wooden and stiff, and the plot doesn't propel the reader forward.
In the end, it reads like it was written by a novice, which, as it turns out, was the case.
But I am still very attached to the story. It is quite personal to me. Should I give up the ghost and drop it forever? I don't think so. I have chalked up the experience and moved on but there is still something interesting to tell in the story.
So, what do I do? Well, for now, I leave it where it is. In time, and when I have the time, I hope to get back to it. When I am stronger in my creaft, have a better understanding of the market and insight into upcoming trends, I hope to get back to the story. That, unfortunately, could -- and probably will -- take years. But the novel is on the shelf and isn't going anywhere, so why worry.
The blogger quoted (although didn't name) a famous writer, who said, "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."
That's not the case with Chaos. It no longer is just inside me. I would like for it to be read but, for the moment, that isn't going to be the case. But it is not an 'untold story.'
Now, on to the next . . .
Thanks for reading and don't give up on writing.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
I should be working
I have a freelance article due this afternoon and I should be working on that but I have time to finish it and, in addition to listening to someone cutting down a tree in my front yard, I have been reading agent blogs today.
I amazes me how an agent, who must be extremely busy reading hundreds of queries, reading published and unpublished books, keeping up with the industry and putting together pitches for clients, ever has the time to write anything, let alone a daily blog.
I have read the blogs of three agents today and one of a magazine editor. And it wasn't just today's entries. I went back days for each, writing responses twice.
My blog frequency dropped off several months ago and I haven't been able to increase it. But will use the agent blogs as inspiration.
More to say about writing later. For now, I have to go pay the lumbermen in my front yard and finish my freelance work. After that, there will be more queries to send.
Thanks for reading and keep writing.
I amazes me how an agent, who must be extremely busy reading hundreds of queries, reading published and unpublished books, keeping up with the industry and putting together pitches for clients, ever has the time to write anything, let alone a daily blog.
I have read the blogs of three agents today and one of a magazine editor. And it wasn't just today's entries. I went back days for each, writing responses twice.
My blog frequency dropped off several months ago and I haven't been able to increase it. But will use the agent blogs as inspiration.
More to say about writing later. For now, I have to go pay the lumbermen in my front yard and finish my freelance work. After that, there will be more queries to send.
Thanks for reading and keep writing.
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