Sun, Nov. 1st, 2009, 08:38 pm
Another Week!
Sunday again! Another week gone by. Where does the time go?
A fairly busy life since I last posted. At work, the construction and remodel is complete for the most part. We are now operating in the refurbished areas and that's taking a bit of "getting used to." I don't think I left work on time any day of last week. Ended up with a lot of overtime from the five minutes extra here and there, so should have a nice pay check on the next pay day. Now I need to finish this post, get a shower and some sleep so I can tackle it all for another week.
I got fairly ambitious as far as sending out query letters and/or query packets last week. Wanted to get one or two out over the week end, but I was busy enough with other stuff that I didn't get a chance to. I've been trying to write out an outline for a presentation I volunteered to give at the next SASP (Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers) (www.spokaneauthors.org) meeting on Thursday. Besides that, the rest of the Board of Directors and I have come up with a couple ideas for future activites, and we have all been busy e-mailing back and forth, trying to build a proposal package for the membership. We wanted to get it done in time to send it out with the e-mail we send a few days ahead of the meeting. Said e-mail is basically a reminder to SASP members that meeting time is once again approaching. Besides finishing up the presentation outline, I also need to develop an agenda sheet for the meeting, and it is once again time to start work on the next issue of the REAR ENGINE REVIEW. Looks like it will be a busy week. If I'm lucky, I'll get time to work on Chapter Five of DARNAHSIAN PIRATES some more. (I did finish the scene that I'd started on when I got back into the story a few days ago.)
It's probably time for me to end this and get on my way to some sleep. Sorry to be so rambling.
Dave
PS: Nearly finished reading James Rollins' THE LAST ORACLE. One of those books that seems to get better and better as you read through it!
Sun, Oct. 25th, 2009, 10:06 am
Progress Update
Last week I mentioned that I had actually made some progress on DARNAHSIAN PIRATES. That continued on for another couple of days, and I've now added a little over three pages to chapter five. My plan is to do a bit more on it later today, once I've caught up on all the computer stuff I want to get to.
Didn't do much at the keyboard yesterday. It was fairly nice (a bit cool) out and I tried to do some outside stuff. Got the lawn mowed for what is probably the final time this fall, trimmed a couple of shrubs, and attempted to reinstall the five section wide angle mirror in my truck. Maybe I should have let the adhesive for the mounting button (on the windshield) set longer. It ended up pulling off again. Then I noticed that the right hand one was broken as well. I mounted the original mirror, which screws into the metal above the windshield and will use that for the next few days.
Today is a bit cooler, lots of white frost all over everything this morning, and it's getting foggy as well. A good day to stay inside and work on writing and other indoor type stuff. And as the SEAHAWKS have a bye, there is no football game that I'm sufficiently interested in to take me away from my computer endeavors. There is, however, game six of the ALCS (unless it's not rained out again), but it is not until late in the afternoon, and I'll be done with my efforts by then.
I'm still pressing forward with my querying efforts, and earlier today discovered an agent/agency that might be a good fit while looking at the Publishers Marketplace web-site. They want e-mail queries only, so I'll wait until the middle of the week to send it off. (I've heard that queries received over the weekend and cluttering up an agent's assistant's desk or computer screen tend to be more subject to rejection than those received in the middle of the week. Something about trying to get the stack or the file down to a managable level.) I did receive one rejection letter this week, but in a way it was good to receive it. It was a result of a query to an agent that I had great difficulty in tracking down any sort of contact information. Basically she said she was not accepting any new clients, but I feel relieved to know that she did get my query.
And before I forget, I received my free copy of the Fall Issue of SPOKE WRITE this week. All those who have their work published in it get a free copy. If I haven't mentioned it before, my essay, TENNIS BALLS AND BROADSIDES was scheduled to be published in it, and it was! In fact it is the very first piece in the collection. If you are curious about this particular writing effort, you can view it at www.annemini.com/?p=5092 If you are interested in what other folks in the Spokane Area are writing, you can go to www.graydogpress.com and order a copy of SPOKE WRITE. As a final reminder, you can also check out ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) jpsorrowwho is posting the first six chapters of his first book, THE SKEWED THRONE. I think that as of Wednesday he had four chapters posted.
And now, I suppose it's on to bigger and better things. Hope you all have a great week!
Dave
I don't know that the title/subject I've selected will actually have that much to do with this post. Still, I have this thing, this rule in my mind that I need to have something in that spot. And as I have no particular subject to rant or rave about today, such a subject line is probably as good as any.
To begin with, one of these days I shall be re-drawing and replacing the user-pic depicted at the top of this post. HMS Theadora is the ship Edward Pierce is serving on at the beginning of BEYOND THE OCEAN'S EDGE. I thought the representation of it, as shown above came out rather well. But I suppose I do the same with drawings as with my writing, and that is that after time I begin to see those things that could have been done a bit differently. Lately I've decided that both the fore and main masts need to be shifted slightly forward. And in reading through the very first chapter, I've discovered a technical discrepancy between the drawing and the text. The story mentions four carronades per side on the quarterdeck, and the drawing only shows two. So whether I change/redo the drawing or alter the story, I want the two to agree. I tend to think that the story is more true to what would have existed at that time. Thus it will be the pictorial representation of the frigate that gets redone.
Before I get around to doing that, I want to update and revise the drawing(s) of HMS Island Expedition as well. In fact, I've started several times and never seem to progress beyond a certain stage. What I have now (see user pics) just doesn't convey what I feel this vessel looks like. There are some peculiarities in its design that I am having trouble rendering in a convincing and authentic fashion.
Yes, to me creating these visual representations of the ships involved in The Stone Island Sea Stories is a form of research for writing them. I want the written and the visual depictions to match as much as possible. When a certain action takes place at a certain location on deck, I want to be able to visualize it in concrete terms. Thinking ahead, it might be that readers will someday also want to be able to see the ships and vessels in pictorial form.
Writing wise, I haven't accomplished a lot as of late. I do have some ideas for another leg of the overall story, one that has come about while engaged in my latest read. I suppose a year or so ago I developed an overall plot line while reading another book by this same author. I began weaving it into the tale as I neared the end of SAILING DANGEROUS SEAS. The one just conceived, however, will mean the eventual start of an entirely different story, but one that will eventually tie in with the current one. In other words, it will be a different series, a different tale, one that is set in the same location, but related events that happened hundreds or even thousands of years earlier.
My first idea for an overall, somewhat hidden plot line came while I was reading James Rollins' THE BLACK ORDER. My latest idea has come while reading his THE LAST ORACLE. Funny that work of an entirely different nature from what I write can influence me that way. Perhaps it is what he tends to imply in so many of his stories that intrigues me. So, unless it confuses anyone, I am currently reading THE LAST ORACLE. I'm probably a quarter of the way into it and enjoying it tremendously.
Over the past few weeks I've managed to send out a goodly number of queries. One has come back as a reject, but I've still not heard from the others. I had it in mind to query an agent who seems to deal with the type of books that mine seem to be, but it appears he is not accepting queries from new writers at the time. It's my goal to get as many as possible sent out before the industry takes a break over the Thanksgiving and the Holidays. Depending upon the results achieved, I may then attempt to submit to a local small press.
Right now I'm waiting for the fall edition of SPOKE WRITE: The Spokane / Coeur d'Alene Journal of Art and Writing to come out. My TENNIS BALLS AND BROADSIDES essay that I wrote for Anne Mini's AUTHOR! AUTHOR! First Periodic Awards for Expressive Excellence is supposed to be in it. By the way, you can see the effort at www.annemini.com/?p=5092
If you would be interested in seeing what others in the Spokane and Coeur d'Alene area are writing, copies of SPOKE WRITE can be ordered from Gray Dog Press. www.graydogpress.com
While I'm thinking of it, fellow LiveJournal user jpsorrow has gained permission from his publisher to post the first six chapters of his first book, THE SKEWED THRONE. You can go directly to his journal or to my friends page and scroll down to the appropriate entry.
I should end now. I still have some things to update on the Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers web-site www.spokaneauthors.org There's a football game this afternoon, and if possible I want to get the oil changed in the '98 Sidekick.
In many ways, the past week was busy, and one of accomplishments both large and small.
At work, the facilities reopened on Tuesday. We are still under construction in some areas, so a lot of things are temporary and relocated. I did notice that the repositioning of certain areas changes my routine. What had become nearly automatic now takes some planning to accomplish. I probably notice this most when I first get there, as at 4:00 am, I'm usually operating on memory.
One of the things they did while we were closed was to resurface the tennis courts. Now they are very much like sandpaper and the fuzz comes off the balls with the slightest provocation. (See www.annemini.com/?p=5092) That means my task of cleaning the courts is even more vital. And of course the powers to be seem to be paying more attention to the courts and worrying about every little ball mark and shoe scrape. The sweeper will get the fuzz, the dust ground off of the players' shoes, and the dirt that naturally filters in, but it won't immediately remove marks that are imbedded in the surface. Even if I "crank" the brush down so that it makes more contact, all it really does is wear the brush out faster. And if I lower it too much, pushing it becomes harder, almost as if it had brakes that were on.
Besides renewing the court surfaces, they also have repainted the walls and ceiling of the court areas, and have put up new curtains, divider nets, and court nets. They also revised the numbering system as to which court is which. I contributed a little at this point, designing the numbers and then taping them off so our "engineer" or maintenance person could paint them. I have to say that they came out looking good! (Whether it was my efforts at taping, or his skill in painting them, I don't know.)
On Thursday, Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers (SASP, www.spokaneauthors.org) met for the first gathering of the official "season," which runs from September through May. (For the past two years we have met in the summer months, simply because people have wanted to stay in contact.) Our program was a presentation by one of our members who talked about his trials and efforts in geting his book published. We did learn, however that our Treasurer is quite ill and may not be able to keep up with her duties. For the time being, I and the other officers will be able to fill in. I'm also listed on the account and have a key to the post office box. But we might need a new or at least an interim Treasurer for a while. More importantly though, we all wish Elizabeth a successful treatment and a speedy recovery.
We had a grand selection of door prizes to give away. One was a copy of Joshua Palmatier's
(jpsorrow)THE SKEWED THRONE. You may remember that I won it in a contest he ran a month or so ago on his LJ page. Since I already have a copy, I donated this one as a door prize. Another SASP member brought a couple copies of advance reading copies of books that she had acquired in her editing work. She donated them as well. And we should be set for at least one good door prize next month. A few months ago, a writer in New Mexico contact SASP regarding his book, REVISING FICTION: MAKING SENSE OF THE MADNESS. He had sent along some excerpts allowing us to post them on the SASP web-site, and promising to send us a copy of the book when it was released. Well, I checked SASP mail yesterday, and the book is here. Having glanced through it, it seems to be a very thorough guide and should do wonders for whoever should happen to end up with it.
As to my progess, I'm planning to fire up the query engine later this week. If I get those queries I plan to send in the mail sometime close to next weekend, they should arrive at the respective agencies after enough time has elapsed that the agency screeners or agents have had a chance to wade through the glut that has accumulated during August vacations and over the Labor Day weekend. One agent/agency that will be receiving a query is one that I've been interested in for a very long time. However, I've never been able to find any contact information for her. A few weeks ago, a friend sent me an e-mail address, but it appears that I mistakenly deleted the e-mail the information was in. Hoping against hope, I "googled" the agent, hoping to find her e-address. Lo and behold, I actually found a mailing address! You can bet that she will be one of the first that my next round of query letters will be going out to.
Lastly I finished up the September issue of the REAR ENGINE REVIEW yesterday. It's been e-mailed, and once I finish this, I'll get to work on printing out the hard copies. I can mail them Tuesday when the Post Office is open again.
I hope that everyone is having a great Labor Day Weekend!
Dave
Last Sunday's Corvair Club Picnic went well, even if it was somewhat sparsely attended. Jessica and I were the first to arrive, and we got there about ten minutes before the announced start time. Of course at events like that, precision arrival times are not important. The first hour or so was spent in general conversation as additional members arrived, most in their Corvairs, and then we ate. Our host member (and the club) provided hotdogs, hamburgers, buns, and condiments, while everything else was brought by those attending. I had hoped that Eva would have been able to make pancit, adobo, fried rice, or perhaps even lumpia for us to bring. Unfortunately she has a lot going on and wasn't able to. Therefore we simply brought a small tub of pre-made potato salad. It seems like a lot of those attending also didn't have the time to make anything from scratch, as we had about four different kinds of salad. The one dish that was homemade was a crockpot full of the best baked beans I've had in a long time.
Of course one of the things I wanted to determine from the drive to and from the picnic was the mileage that "Tim" would get. Since I got "him" running again in June, gas mileage has been pretty dismal. I'd definitely notice a hole in my budget if I had to drive "him" every day. Once every third or fourth work day I can manage. I topped off the tank the day before the picnic, and the day after returning I gassed up again. I didn't want even a single trip to work to mess up the mileage calculations for the trip. And yes, the mileage experienced over the ninety or so mile round trip was much better than what I'd been getting around town. In rough figures I showed about a 50% improvement. Still, what I got on the picnic trip is closer to what I should be getting overall and around town. We also noticed a distinct lack of power while going up a long, fairly steep grade just before we turned off the main road to our destination. We were probably doing a good 60 mph at the bottom of the hill. With my foot all the way to the floor, we nevertheless slowed down as we climbed the hill. We gained the top doing about 30 mph. Although I'd never driven this particular hill with this particular vehicle, I have driven up others that are similar and know "he" should have done better. Perhaps I will need to take "him" to the club's next "TECH-N-TUNE" and have one of the club experts adjust the carbs, etc. Or it just might be that there are other problems with the engine that prevent it from running at full strength and with the efficiency it should.
This coming week should be interesting as far as work is concerned. The Spokane Club, Valley Facility is closed until September 1st for renovation. While many of the administrative types will be off, those of us in the maintenance end of things will still be working. Hopefully we will be able to get to some of those areas we never get a chance at when the club is in operation. And because no members will be showing up to play tennis, I won't have to go in so darned early to clean the tennis courts before they arrive. Rather than starting work at 4 AM, I'll be starting at 6. The fact that I will be able to sleep an extra couple of hours in the morning will seem almost like a vacation to me. And I'll still be home around 3 or so, and since this will be closer to a "normal" day shift schedule, perhaps I'll have a bit more ambition once I am home.
The little writing group I'm in met earlier today. I passed along a hand-out I'd picked up from the PNWA Conference about "starting a writing group" and we all agreed that we were pretty much doing it by the "book." Basically we decided to keep going as we have been as the way we've been doing it seems to work for the group. Hopefully the one point that the hand-out emphasized will get us all on the ball to have something ready for review when we are the one scheduled. If no one else has anything we usually review the next chapter in my work. While I appreciate the consistency of having my stuff reviewed, it gives me an uncomfortable feeling of selfishness and using the group to my advantage. But as the others don't seem to mind, and as we did need something to review and critique, we went over Chapter 14, DESTINATION FOUND, of BEYOND THE OCEAN'S EDGE. To me, this is one of the milestone chapters in the story, as it is where the fantasy aspect of the story becomes readily apparent. Members of the group felt that in this respect the chapter worked well. They also pointed out a few fairly minor problem areas, such as word repetition, things that I'll be able to fix without much trouble.
So, where am I at with regards to finding an agent? I think I've mentioned that my scheduled pitch at the PNWA Conference (www.pnwa.org) did not go as well as it could have. The particular agent and I simply did not match up. I speak briefly to another agent who is familiar with stories/series that tend to cross between genres as I believe mine do. With her verbal permission, I've queried the agency and have been invited to submit a more "formal" query. That is, the query letter plus pages. Also as a result of some detective work by a friend of mine who is more deeply entrenched in the writing and publishing world, I have an e-mail address for an agent who has been handling a series of stories that also seem not to fit neatly into any one genre or category. But as this same friend reminds people every year, many agents and their staffs tend to be on vacation about now. Therefore I'll probably wait until September is well underway before I do any more querying or submitting. As it has been explained to me, one does not want his or her material to be in the stack of queries and submissions that accumulates while the agent/agency screener is gone. Nor does one want to send material so that it arrives while said agent/agency screener is still trying to whittle that pile down to a more managable size. So around the second week of September, I'll dig out my basic query letter and update it to match the agent(s) that I'll be querying. I might also work up one and send it along to our local Gray Dog Press.
Lest I forget, for anyone who is in or will be in the Spokane area next Saturday, 29 August, give great consideration to stopping by the Hastings at the corner of Ash and Wellesley. The store manager is setting up a mass book signing with as many local authors as she can gather. (At last mention, I believe she had around 15 authors scheduled.) The event runs from 2PM through 5PM. While I don't have anything published yet, I plan to go up for a while. As many of those planning to participate are members of SASP, I feel can help support them simply by being there. In addition, I'm sure to find a few books that I like and will no doubt buy a few. After all, I need stuff to read on my lunch breaks at work.
As for what I am reading, I finished SHOOT/DON'T SHOOT by J. A. Jance on Wednesday. As I still had a few minutes left on my lunch break, I started in on SEA CHANGE by Robert B. Parker.
More next time,
Dave
Vacation and my annual trip to the PNWA Conference (www.pnwa.org) are now history. I've been back to work for three days, and already it has started to feel as if I was never gone. Still, the effects of being on vacation and to an exciting event linger. The three days I worked this past week seemed to have lasted forever. By the time Friday rolled around, I was more than ready for the weekend.
Thursday was the lastest SASP (www.spokaneauthors.org) meeting. We didn't have a formal presentation, but rather simply had members read from their works for five minutes or so at a time. In most cases, what our fellow members had written and presented to us was informative and entertaining. We have a speaker lined up for next month's meeting, but it is evident that the group's officers will need to meet and firm up a speaker schedule for the coming year.
In another random note, I actually won something a few days ago. Joshua Palmatier,jpsorrow , has been giving away hard copy covers of his first book, THE SKEWED THRONE on his live journal. He's celebrating the completion of revisions to his newest story, WELL of SORROWS, and the release of the German version of THE SKEWED THRONE, known there as DIE ASSASSINE. His contest was(and is) quite easy. All I had to do was comment on his LJ entry/post for the day. I've sent him my mailing address, and he assures me the book is in the mail. I already have (and have read) the story in its paperback form. I'll probably just keep that and will perhaps donate the hardcover version as a door prize at a future SASP meeting. By the way, he's running the contest for another day or so, so if you want to take a chance at winning an autographed copy of a book by an up and coming fantasy writer, head on over to his LiveJournal.
With regards to my own writing efforts, yesterday I finished some revision to Chapter 14 of my first book, BEYOND THE OCEAN'S EDGE. Some was minor typo correction and that sort of thing, the stuff that I figure I've already taken care of... until I look at it again after a significant amount of time away. However, a judge's comment from a contest a year or so ago pointed out a possible "gotcha" in the plot structure. Basically I had the characters looking back on the course they had sailed, supposedly in the Indian Ocean area, only to discover they had unknowingly crossed over and had sailed over dry land. The comment simply was, "wouldn't they have seen that they would be doing so, by looking at the locations they were supposed to journey to?" So I had to revise the situation a bit, and have them do a series of "jumps" every time they passed through one of the special sets of coordinates. Then when they compute their position the next time, they find they are not where they should be, and often they are sailing where their charts show dry land should exist. I ended up taking out slightly less than one page of material, but adding in over three pages. The chapter itself grew from fourteen pages to nearly seventeen. That of course adds to the length of the entire book, and if no other remaining chapters are modified enough to change their length, the whole story is now at 399 pages.
While I was at the Conference a week or so ago, I also did some "editing" work on the third book, DARNAHSIAN PIRATES. So far I have four completed chapters in that story, and I got into the fourth with suggested edits and revisions. Haven't made any of the changes yet, but hope to in the near future. I also hope to get back to actually working on the story and progressing with the fifth chapter and beyond. I also want to resume the querying efforts for the first, although at this time of year it might be a matter of common sense to hold off until after the end of summer and allow prospective agents to return from summer holiday trips, etc. Then I want to make a final push at querying and finding an agent. If I don't land one in the fairly near future, I'm thinking about going with a small press. Honestly, I think what I'm writing is good enough to end up with a big-time publisher, but I also see that because of it's unique genre-bending situation, traditional agents and publishers might find difficulty in placing it. That is a situation that I hopefully touched on in TENNIS BALLS AND BROADSIDES, as presented at www.annemini.com/?p=5092 My thought is that if traditional publishers can't figure out how or where to place it, then perhaps a small press can. In today's world of internet communications, I think I would still have a chance to get word of the product out ot a significant amount of people, and hopefully a significant amount of them would find the work interesting enough to purchase it. As a writer, there is always that inner conflict of wanting to sell my work and make MONEY, while at the same time simply wanting to have my work in print in a professional format.
I did hear at the recent SASP meeting that the local small press publisher I'm thinking of dealing with has become inundated with hopeful authors and that those hopeful authors now must pitch or query their work. Which, I guess is as it should be. For the mean time, I'll continue on with the traditional querying route, and perhaps as the days shorten and the air grows colder, I'll approach that small press publisher. (I have also by means that I won't reveal, come up with contract information for an agent who handles a series of books that I find very similar in their cross-genre flavor to my own. Whether this particular agent is looking for new material or not, it certainly would not hurt to revise and update my query letter until it is the best it can be, and then query with all the politeness that I can muster. After all, all that can happen is to receive another rejection slip, and as an author with considerable querying experience, I have a rather large collection of those.)
Dave
Sun, Mar. 15th, 2009, 10:01 am
Progress
It seems that time marches on, whether I get anything done or not. And thus another week has passed, and as usual I did not clear off my "to do" list. But that gives me a head start on a list for this week!
Winter made one last (I hope) appearance for the year. Earlier in the week we had a few inches of snow and then some very cold temperatures. A couple of mornings we hovered right around the 0 degree F. mark. I and a lot of folks had to dig out the winter clothing again. By this weekend, however, things are more normal for this time of year. We are into the thirties and forties during the day, while the nights still drop below freezing. Most of the snow, both that that fell a few days ago, and the little that remains from December, is gone. Even the mountains of it that are piled up in the store parking lots is slowly disappearing.
On the writing side of things, I'll be preparing another couple of query letters today. I think my latest fling at querying has gone very well. I've sent out about eight queries since resuming in late January. Of those, two have resulted in requests for more pages. One request is from an agent who is nearly always at the top of the list of top agents on the Publishers Marketplace web-site. I've also decided to widen my "search parameters" a little as well. For a long time I'd only send to those agents who specifically wanted both action/adventure and fantasy or science fiction and fantasy. Now, I'll query agencies who look for any of the above. If an agency merely says, "fiction," and doesn't say it will not accept any of those more specific genres, I might query there as well. I figure that one can narrow the search too much. And what's the worst that can happen? A rejection? Heck, that can happen when querying the agent/agency that seems to be the perfect match for one's work.
Yesterday I attended a writers conference put on by the Inland Empire Chapter of Romance Writers of America. While I don't write Romance, the conference was open to all who write fiction. It was a worthwhile event, and as it usually happens, I learned a few things. If I have one complaint about the conference, it was that there wasn't enough variety in what the attending agents and editors were looking for. Most of them it seemed were focused on Romance or Women's Fiction. I had a pitch appointment with one of the agents, but after she announced that she was now primarily interested in Women's Fiction, I gave the appointment to another writer who was trying to gain an appointment with her. I talked briefly with the agent later on, and it seems she had misspoken, and that her interests were a little wider than she had indicated. I may attempt to query her in the next couple of weeks, unless information on the agency's web-site should indicate that it would not be in my best interests. Providing she would be interested in my work, I think it would interesting and convenient to gain representation by this particular agent. Why? Well I think it would be neat to be represented by someone in the local area, rather than one merely in the region, or completely across the country.
As I spent nearly all of yesterday at the conference, I didn't get a chance to do much of anything else. Today will then have to be the day in which I get caught up with stuff. Once I finish this posting, I need to update some stuff on the SASP (www.spokaneauthors.org) web-site, as well as do some work on the next issue of the REAR ENGINE REVIEW. My original plan was to have it out by now, but I was asked to wait on some material from some of the club officers. I'll start my part of it, and hopefully the material will arrive soon so that I might incorporate it.
Well, on to bigger and better things!
Dave
Which may not be a subject or title that will appropriately match what I end up with at the end of this post. I just have an aversion to posting something with no title or subject line. A few times I've decided to wait and fill that in when I'm done, but invariably I forget to do so. Strange, isn't it, the little rules we impose upon ourselves in nearly every aspect of our lives?
I sent out to more queries by "snail mail" last weekend. Also sent one via e-mail. That one came back, rejected, the next day. But I still have several out there that I'm waiting to have a reply from, and I hope to send a couple more in the next day or so. Rejections certainly do not make one jump for joy, but the only way to eliminate them is to not query at all. And if one wants to find an agent, he/she needs to run the risk, accept rejections as a fact of life, and keep querying until a connection occurs with that agent who sees true value in one's work.
Still, and as I may have mentioned, I'm leaning towards going with a small press in the future. My reasoning is that my work might not fit neatly into the predetermined categories set up for fiction, making it harder for agents to place it. At the same time I've determined to get back to a heavier pace of sending out those queries for the next several months. So, when I finish this post, it might be time to get one or two, perhaps even three queries ready to send out.
The little writers group that I'm in met yesterday with three out of the four in attendance. For once, one of the other members had something for us to review, so I was not in the "hot seat." As we are a group with various interests and writing skills, we went over some short poems that one of the other individuals had written. Poetry is not my forte, but I do know what I like. And quite honestly, I liked most of what she had written.
A couple of days ago Jessica (my daughter) and I went by the local Barnes and Noble. We were actually enroute to another store, but I had a 15% off sticker that was about ready to expire, and had a couple of books in mind that I wanted to buy. She also had a reading list from school and wanted to see if she could find any of them. She did, and I found one that I had been wanting. Specifically the 2009 edition of the Writer's Digest's GUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS. I'll probably take my 2008 copy to the SASP (www.spokaneauthors.org) meeting this coming Thursday and offer it as a door prize. Still a lot of good information in it. I was also hoping to find a paperback copy of jpsorrow 's VACANT THRONE. I already have it in hardback, but I want to donate that to a local school library. I had suggested the school to Joshua late last year when he first decided to send hardcopy copies of his first two books to various libraries.
Alas, there were no copies of any of Joshua's books, whether in paperback or hardback in the store. I did, however, find one copy of one of pbray 's books on the shelf. Bought that, along with the Agent's Guide and a couple that Jessica had found. I ended up with THE FINAL SACRIFICE. I believe it is the third of a trilogy, but I will probably read it anyway, hoping that Ms. Bray has written these stories in such a way that one isn't all that lost if one reads them out of order. (Of course, if she or anyone who has read her work realizes that this is a false assumption on my part, I would not be adverse to a little reminder...ie. warning!)
I do have a heads up for any that like to discuss various aspects of the writing craft. If you have any deep thoughts regarding naming of characters in your stories, I believe Anne Mini will soon be posting a "Let's Talk About This" segment on her Author! Author! blog. (www.annemini.com). It is certainly a topic that I could address and get well carried away with. No doubt I'll have something to say in response to her request, and if I have the gumption to do so, might post something of a more expanded nature here. I certainly won't do that today, as I think this is getting long enough as it is.
Well, it's about time to end for today. Have those queries to get out, as well as getting a start on the next REAR ENGINE REVIEW. Also need to work on a little survey for SASP members, and maybe even do a little work on story #3.
Dave
Sat, Feb. 21st, 2009, 12:38 pm
A Busy Week!
I actually got entries sent in in two different literary contests. The first was fairly easy to do as I had everything that was required already completed. It was just a matter of sending it electronically and then sending the entry form and fee via traditional methods.
The second contest works in a more old fashioned mode so everything went via "snail" mail. As I wanted to enter a different story in this one, I found that I had some extra work to do to prepare my entry. In the first place, Anne Mini (www.annemini.com )had recently posted a series about why agents, editors, contest judges, and other professional readers often reject a submission on the very first page. I felt that the first page of my second story might have had one or two of those characteristics, so I wanted to try and eliminate them. I found that a rather simple task. I added an opening paragraph and included character name a little sooner than I had originally done. The biggest challenge was in writing the required synopsis. (I want to blame the computer meltdown we had a few weeks ago, especially as I lost nearly a week of computer time.) Under normal circumstances, and even when somewhat pressed on deadlines, I should have had the thing ready to go a week ago. As it was I got it to the post office and in the mail yesterday, the final date upon which entries could be post marked.
I can't say that I hate writing synopses, but I do find them a challenge. The time and effort spend in condensing a 400 page manuscript into five pages well could have been used to write 20 or 30 pages in the current WIP. And now with the five page synopsis for book #2 complete, I suppose that one of these days I'll need to come up with a few even shorter variations. I have a "one page" and a "two page" synopsis for the first, because some places require a shorter one. That I did was good, as the other contest I entered wanted a two page synopsis to accompany the first chapter or so of the book.
Now I get to sit back and wait for these two contests to be finalized. Suppose it's best to not thing much about them in the mean time as it will be quite a while to hear anything. Probably time that I got back into querying. I started again, late last month, sent two out and had a request for pages as a result. Still haven't had a reply to the second. My intention was to send one or two every week, but other stuff got in the way. So, I've sent those two and that's been it. Definitely time for some more!
If it warms up enough this afternoon, I might try to wash my car. To exaggerate a little, it's DIRTY, largely the result of slush and other wintery stuff on the roads the past several weeks. Maybe if I can get it clean I can see what color it really is!
Dave
Sun, Feb. 8th, 2009, 07:49 am
Always Onward!
At least until we invent a time machine, that shall forever be so! From our usual perspective, time just keeps marching forward. We may see it moving a different speeds, but it rumbles onward, regardless. And as many of us have discovered, as we grow older it seems to accelerate. (Isn't there a quip that compares life to a roll of toilet paper...it goes faster as you near the end!)
It is sure nice to have an operable computer this weekend. Hopefully I'll get some of the stuff done that I had planned to do last week end. Of course, having computer ability will probably keep me from working on the project that I started last time as an alternative. I spent the majority of the day sorting and filing stuff that had piled up over the past few months. I got a good start, but it still needs a finishing flourish. But I can almost see the top of the desk, so I suppose I did make progress.
Yesterday I put most of the February REAR ENGINE REVIEW together. Today I'll review it and hopefully eliminate any really noticeable typos and get a start at printing it. I want to get as much done as possible today, because once the week sets in I've other stuff that I need to do. And as I work during the week, I have less time in which to do it. I've got a "first fifty pages" submission to get ready and send. And I thought it was neat that while asking for fifty pages, this particular literary agent basically said, "give or take a few pages should the story break more cleanly elsewhere." I think there is a chapter end at right around that point, so that's what she'll get. Otherwise, I'd send exactly fifty, even if it were to end in mid-sentence.
I also have two different literary contests that I want to try and enter. One, I've been aware of and have entered for the past few years. This year I'll try my second book instead of the first. I've also just heard about a second one that I might try as well. I'll probably enter the first book in that.
Finished reading FAST SHIPS, BLACK SAILS, early last week. I found it to be a very readable collection of pirate oriented fantasy or even science fiction. I found that my reactions varied from story to story. Some were supurb, and stayed with me after I had finished. Others were amusing, and a few did nothing at all for me. Those were the ones that upon finishing, I simply said, "huh?"
Hopefully the Sunday paper is here now. If it is, I'll take some time away from the key board to read it. The Pro Bowl is on today as well, so perhaps while it's on, I'll get the newsletter printed.
Dave
If anyone was looking for a post from me this past weekend, I had some computer (virus) problems that prevented me from doing so. Finally had to call in a tech, and it was so infected that the only solution was to have it "rebuilt." Got it back yesterday afternoon and it's working fine. My plan now is to call him once a year or so and have any viruses removed that may have gotten by the security systems. We had gone over 4 and a half years without having that done. And as I'm sure you are all aware, the best anti-virus software in the world still only works against the stuff that is known. Newly developed mal-ware can quite easily find it's way on to any computer.
Enough of that. Last post I mentioned sending out a couple of query letters. Had the computer been working this past weekend, I would have sent a couple more. But I do have a response from one of the two I did send... a request for the first fifty pages! As soon as I get a few things caught up, that will be going out to the obviously discerning agent who definitely has taste in her reading and potential project mentality!
While I'm posting, I'd like to tell you about a contest in which you could win a free book. Actually, I'll just provide a link to the author's web-site. Barbara was president of Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers ( www.spokaneauthors.org )before me. She wrote and self-published the book as a tribute to her mom and is very active in marketing it. Her web-site is at www.barbaracagle.com . Go to her blog for the post on One World, One Heart. Details about the book giveaway are there. (I've commented there to enter, and if I don't win, I just may buy it some day. It's not the rousing Naval Adventure or Fantasy that I would normally read, but it does sound like a fascinating story!)
Now it's time for a little wine and some salted peanuts. Odd combination I know, but others have described me as following my own path, so... Then JEOPARDY comes on, and after that my eyelids will tend to close. One more day of getting up EARLY this week! Hooray for Friday!!
Dave
That is to say, I've finally broken out of hibernation mode and sent out a couple query letters yesterday. My plan now is to send at least one a week until my source suggest that I stop because agents in general are out of the office due to conferences, Holidays, and vacations. This same source has also informed me that I am smart to wait until now to begin querying again. I don't have to fight complete with all those other writers and their New Year's resolutions. It might give my queries a better chance of being looked at and seriously considered. My source (Anne Mini's Author! Author! blog at www.annemini.com ) has also mentioned that for those queries one sends via e-mail, that one does not want them to arrive after noon on Friday or before noon on Monday. She seems to believe queries that do arrive over the weekend stand a better chance of being summarily rejected. With that in mind, if I come across any agents/agencies that request e-queries, I'll try to send them during the week.
Besides a resumption of querying, my big push over the next few weeks will be to get entries ready for the upcoming PNWA (www.pnwa.org) literary contest. I'm thinking of entering my second book in that, although I believe the first chapter, and in particular the first few pages need a bit more polish. I also have to write a synopsis for it. And I have a couple of shorter pieces that I'd like to try and smooth out as well. One could possibly go into the short story category, and the other in the short non-fiction category.
I'm a little over half done reading BLACK SAILS FAST SHIPS, the anthology of pirate tales by a collection of today's best science fiction and fantasy authors. (I got my copy for Christmas!) I first heard about it on naominovik 's LiveJournal, as she is one of the contributing authors. While her story is near the end of the book, I did a quick read of it before taking the volume to work as my "lunchtime" read. I'm not far enough along to have read it a second, and more in depth time. Quite honestly, I'm enjoying all the stories, although some appeal to me more than others. I think the two I've enjoyed the most are: (I'm sorry if I don't remember the full and exact title of the first one.) An Elegy of the Patron Saint of....., and Nymph's Child. I don't have the copy here as I write this, so I may not be completely accurate on either title. To be honest, some of the stories end and leave me asking, "Huh?" Others mention things from the nautical world that cause me to question how much research the writer did. Lower topsalls set on a ship sailing in the early years of the nineteenth century? I didn't think the use of upper and lower topsails came about until the 1850s or so. The other one that gave me pause was mention of being on the bridge, when possibly it would have been better to have said "quarterdeck" or "poop deck." Again, at the time the story was taking place, ships/vessels did not have bridges, as far as I know.
From a writer's stand point, it is interesting to read such a wide selection of authors in a relatively short span of time, and to see the various techniques and methods used to convey these imaginative tales. I suppose that as I get more into writing, I read, not only for my own entertainment, but also to glean a bit of knowledge and insight into the craft. And sometimes it not seeing a certain style and thinking that I should do it that way. At times, it's seeing what a particular writer has done and reminding myself that I would never even dream of doing it that way.
Dave
Good Morning!
I'm up early today, having gone to sleep quite early last night. Already I've cleared out a bunch of old e-mails, read the paper, and gone through my list of favorite web-sites and blogs. As we here in Spokane are experiencing our first real snow fall of the year, it seems it will be a good day to do computer type things. The weather "experts" are predicting very frigid temperatures over the next few days, so I hope we don't end up with the kind of mess they are experiencing in the Northeast. (See jpsorrow 's lastest post for a little on that.) We had a similar Ice Storm here a dozen years or so ago, and it wasn't nice at all.
Last week's post was a bit of a ramble through my mind. (And for those who imagine that there is a lot of space to ramble within the confines of my mind, I heartily agree.) I did mention that if I was more focused, that perhaps I'd write a little about traditional vs. self-publishing. And so I shall.
Like every aspiring writer, it is, and has been my goal to be published by the traditional publishing industry. Achieving that landmark is certainly a sign of success, and an announcement to the world (and one's ego) that one has arrived as a writer. Being published in this fashion occurs without the author reaching into his pockets to finance even a penny of the process. (Of course, that does not include what a writer spends on ink, paper, postage, and other shipping materials. Nor does it include what might be spent attending conferences and other writing orientated events.) Traditional publishing finances the printing, a lot of the publicity, and the distribution of one's book.
On the other hand, because "they" control the purse strings, publishing companies exert a tremendous amount of influence over what they publish. Quite naturally they want to publish only what will pay for itself in sales as well as generating enough surplus to pay the author his/her royalties and allow the company a bit of profit as well. Thus to realize publication by the traditional industry, a writer finds that he/she must jump through a series of proverbial "hoops." There is of course the first step of signing with an agent, because many publishing companies will not deal directly with a writer. This first step can be a daunting task, as it now takes an average of 150 queries before one hooks up with an agent. [As mentioned by Anne Mini (www.annemini.com) in her presentation to Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers (SASP at www.spokaneauthors.org) on the 4th of December.]
Once a writer has an agent, he/she can expect that agent to request changes to the work in order to make it more marketable. After all, the agent needs a product that can be successfully pitched to the acquisition editors. They in turn may request more changes and revisions before taking it to their company's editorial board. It's well to remember that when a writer's work reaches this point, it is simply "product" and that those in the industry dealing with it see it as such. Quite naturally, having reached this point, the work has to have had some saleable qualities, but the drive now is to make it more so. Normally it is the publisher's choice as to what the title of the book will be, as well as cover image, font, and overall layout. While an established author might exert some influence in these areas, it is nearly impossible for a first time writer to do so.
Traditional publishing entails traveling a long and sometimes winding road, one with hairpin turns and precipitious drop-offs. The writer who successfully reaches the destination and sees his/her work in print via one of the traditional publishing companies can rest assured that that work is amongst the very few that make it. The traditional process tends to weed out the material that is not marketable on a large scale, as well as the writer who tends not to play by the rules of the publishing world.
* * * * * I suppose the "traditional" view of self-publishing is of an author who could not get anyone in the industry to take interest in his/her work. A common misconception is that the work just wasn't good enough. This individual then spends his/her own money to have several hundred copies printed up, and now sells them from the trunk of his/her car at fairs, flea-markets, swap meets, and family reunions. Some might even see the self-published writer as a loser.
In truth, there are many reasons why one might choose to self-publish. Perhaps the work will appeal to only a small audience and would thus simply be too small of a project for a traditional publisher to consider. It might be that the work doesn't fit into any of the established categories that the industry deals with, which in turn means that it is not marketable as far as the industry is concerned.
Years ago, one of the drawbacks of self-publishing was having to print a fairly sizable number of books to get the cost per book down to a reasonable level. Even today, depending upon what printing company one deals with, there is often a point at which the cost per book drops off sharply. If a self-publisher required fewer books to flood his/her potential market, he/she was faced with the prospect of paying more per copy and thus establishing a higher sale price to cover it. If he/she opted to have more copies printed at a lower price, then there was the daunting prospect of trying to sell the extras. And in the days of actual typesetting, unexpected success in sales and the demand for additional copies could lead to a repeat of the entire printing process. In those days gone by, self-published authors suffered from a lack of advertising and publicity. It was all up to them, usually by their actual presence while actually attempting to sell their book.
That doesn't really paint a very good picture of self-publishing, does it? However, modern day technology has come to the rescue. Print on demand has become popular and practical. Because all the layout work is done with the computer, and the resulting "book" is stored in computer memory, theoretically one book can be printed just as cheaply as if it were one of a thousand. There is no need to print hundreds or even thousands of copies in order to bring the cost per book down. Today, a self-published author can have a certain number of books printed in advance so that he/she can have them available for personal sales efforts. Additional copies can be printed and shipped as orders are received.
The real advantage today's self-publisher has is the internet. Any writer can establish a website that can reach millions of people. He/she can establish book ordering provisions on his/her own site or reference to one of the larger marketing sites so that folks can buy his/her book. There are also "vanity presses" which will publish one's work for a fee and then distribute copies to select outlets as well as having it listed for sale on their own websites.
Having read several self-published books over the past few years, I've come to realize a few things. One, the basic quality of the writing is often as good as that published by the traditional industry. The most noticeable trait is that the self-published book seems to exhibit a higher rate of typos and other preventable mistakes. Perhaps this is because fewer eyes scan the material before it is printed. I would beseech anyone considering self-publishing to be aware of that, and to have the material edited thoroughly before it is printed.
A big advantage of self-publishing is the amount of control the writer has over the finished product. After all, the writer is the publisher, and as such can dictate all facets of the books production. Self-publishing ensures the writer that his/her book will appear with the title they select, the cover art they desire, and depending upon the printer, the font, layout, and over all design as well.
Currently my plan and my dream is to be published in the traditional manner. A rough count of the queries I've sent shows that I'm roughly a third of the way to the average required to gain an agent these days, so I surely can keep trying. And I will. Nevertheless, certain aspects of self-publishing appeal to me more and more. It may be that when I've exhausted the lists of potential agents to query that I will give more consideration to going that route. In addition there is a small group of writers in the Spokane-North Idaho area that are establishing what might be called a self-publishing cooperative. Currently they plan to be ready to start considering taking on other writers in the fall of 2009. Depending upon my querying progress and agent search success at that time, I may investigate dealing with them. If indeed they will consider working with me.
Until next time,
Dave
Sun, Nov. 23rd, 2008, 12:37 pm
Progress
Indeed, I've made a little progress on all fronts over the past week. Thursday I finished reading THE LAST SPYMASTER by Gayle Lynds. It was an entertaining and intriguing story, and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future. Friday I started on jpsorrow 's THE VACANT THRONE. Finished the first chapter, but the rest of the book will leave me something to look forward to on my next several lunch breaks. As I may have noted upon starting to read the previous stories in the trilogy (THE CRACKED THRONE), I find it very easy to pick up on the story and get fully entwined in it. I really believe a reader could pick up any of the three books, read and understand them, even if they are not fortunate enough to have read the earlier volumes. To me, that is a standard that all writers of multi volume stories should strive to achieve. Yes, the tales make more sense if read in order, but that isn't always possible. Each story should be written so that a reader doesn't feel totally lost if s/he happens to begin with one of the later ones.
In that regard, some series are not even written or released in the actual order of the overlying story. Here I speak of C. S. Forester and the Horatio Hornblower series of books. As I understand it, Mr. Forester wrote BEAT TO QUARTERS, SHIP OF THE LINE, and FLYING COLOURS first. As it works out, these are the 6th through 8th books in the series. HORNBLOWER DURING THE CRISIS, the unfinished story that was being written at the time of Mr. Forester's death fits into the number 4 spot if the stories are arranged chronalogically to match Hornblower's life and career. I believe the author "bounced around a little in writing the complete series, and over the years I read them the same way. It was often a matter of what was available on the library shelf. I do remember that the first one I read was COMMODORE HORNBLOWER. I found it in the High School Library during my freshman year. The name "Hornblower" caught my eye as a few years earlier the "weekly reader" that all student's then received featured a character who wrote a little column and had a cat named "Admiral Hornblower." It wasn't until I began reading again just a few years ago that I read the stories in order of the character's life.
I mentioned a few posts ago that my agent search had revealed an agent that I thought might be interested in my stories, and that I had sent off a query. I also said that I hoped to get a few more sent before the industry basically shuts down for the Holidays. With everything else that I seem to have going on these days, it looked like I was not going to get even one more sent out. But today I did manage to come across an agent listing that might prove advantagous. Have the letter written and printed, along with the mailing envelope and the prerequisite SASP ready to go. I just have to sign it, include the stamps, seal it, and place it to go out to be mailed tomorrow. Then as I've been told, I might as well wait until Martin Luther King's Birthday or so before I bother to send out any more. If you are curious as to why I (and any querying writer) should wait, you might want to check out AUTHOR! AUTHOR! at www.annemini.com . In a nut shell, it's because the publishing industry slows to a crawl from Thanksgiving through the end of the year. She suggests that one wait until the middle of January or so to allow agencies to catch up from the piles of submissions and queries that are sent by those unaware of the slowdown or those who query right after New Years Day as a result of News Year's Resolutions.
With regards to querying and becoming published in the traditional manner, I'm still working at that. I still think that is the best route to go, although I am starting to consider some alternate methods of publishing. Come October of next year, I may give closer consideration to some of those different means. I give myself the year, as that is, to the best of my knowledge, that a group of local individuals who are attempting to establish what could be called a "publishing cooperative" will be ready to consider work from other writers. In this day of print on demand, an author having a web presence, and the ability to order via Amazon and other shopping websites, self-publishing just might be a viable alternative. In addition, by the time I have the opportunity to really decide, I just might be finished with DARNAHSIAN PIRATES. It would be advantagous, I would think, to have three stories ready for print and sale all at the same time. Likewise, as I pass through the coming year, the idea of having more than one story set to go should be of interest to agents that I query.
I think I've mentioned several times that I've been trying to draw up a "dragon transport" as mentioned several times in the TEMERAIRE series by Naomi Novik. I've had a fairly large drawing of one completed since I was off work this summer recovering from hernia surgery. Recently I redrew it at half the size and included the sail plan. I've added it to my user pics, and it is placed at the top of this particular post. It may not be what Ms. Novik had/has in mind for these types of ships, but I believe it is one of, if not the only practical means of constructing such a ship. To better envision it, picture a standard two decker ship of the line from the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century. Divide the ship in two along the keel, and then quarter it by dividing it from front to back. Lengthen it so it is twice the normal length and widen it to twice the normal width. Construct a full lengh "dragon deck" along the full length, and for a sizable portion of that length, let the "dragon deck" and its lower gallery deck extend considerably beyond the sides of the hull itself. As to the sail plan, allow the forward portion of the transport to have the fore and main masts of the original vessel. Aft, allow it to use the mizzen and an additional "main" mast, positioned as would be normal when figuring from the stern.
By the way, I added what is supposed to be a dragon as I was finishing the drawing. I'm not sure it even looks like one, especially in the small version of the picture seen here. And I certainly make no claim that it is any specific dragon or even a particular breed of dragon from Ms. Novik's stories.
That should do it for this time. Time to go watch a little Sunday NFL football. The WSU Cougars won the Apple Cup yesterday, so perhaps the Seahawks can pull one off today as well. Anyway it'll give me an excuse to shut the computer down and get away from it for a while.
Dave
I was up fairly early today. Early that is for a Saturday, but certainly not in the wee hours of the morning that finds me stumbling out of bed on a work day. (I'll have a story about that a little bit later in this post... if I remember to include it.) Anyway, I was up to take Jessica up to school so that she and the rest of the Shadle Park Marching Band could go to the annual band competition. Arriving back at the house I quickly got into my typical Saturday routine. That means I drank copious quantities of coffee, read the paper, and then went on the computer. After checking e-mails and forwarding many of those that I had saved up over the week, and checking out those particular websites that I visit on a regular basis, I got around to putting a query letter/package together.
One of the websites that I check quite frequently is that of Publishers' Market Place. I usually look at the lists of the most visited pages on the site, and in particular I check out the top twenty literary agents. As I've been doing this for quite a while, I am often quite familiar with the names on the list and don't bother to link to many agent pages on a regular basis. Most of the agents on the "top twenty" list are ones I've either already queried, or who have stated their need to receive queries in categories outside of what I write. If I do go beyond the list and to the Publishers' Market Place page for that agent, the information on that page is usually sufficient to decide if I want to query that particular agent or not. A few days ago a particular agent happened to be listed, and almost in a "sh__s for grins" attitude I decided to check it out. I not only checked the page, but followed the link to the agent/agency's own web site. While browsing through the information on the various agents that work with this agency I was amazed to see one of them state that they were looking for science fiction and fantasy that would not necessarily be characterized as such, nor displayed and sold from the book store's science fiction/fantasy shelves. That intrigued me, as I thought it very accurately describes what I write. (I consider my stories to be naval adventures with a noticable fantasy content to them.)
Reasoning that this particular agent might find an interest in my work, I set about putting together a query package. Besides the query letter, I was to send a one or two page synopsis and the first fifty pages of the manuscript. I reworked the query letter, both to reflect how I had come to my decision to query this particular agent/agency, and to the fact that I was enclosing those items that she/they wanted to accompany the query. I also re did some of the basic query letter, redoing a lot of what I had changed since I posted it here a few entries ago. And when it seemed that I had it just the way I wanted it, I printed it out, only to find that I wanted to change it just a bit more. Took me three print outs before I had what I wanted. As I print two copies, one to send and one to keep as a file, I ended up printing six copies in all. Put a signed copy of the final version with a title page, the two page synopsis, and the first fifty pages of the story. Luckily I still had some 9" X 12" mailers, so I included a SASP and sent the thing off a couple of hours ago. Now it's simply a matter of waiting the four to six weeks that this particular agency says is their response time, crossing my fingers and hoping that they take an interest in my work. (That does not mean that I will not send any other queries out in the mean time. If it takes six weeks for a response, I should have an additional four or five queries sent out when I get a reply with regards to this one.)
Oh yes, the story about getting up early for work. It is simply that yesterday, Friday morning, I didn't! I remember the alarm going off, and vaguely remember shutting it off. The next thing I remember is waking up, looking at the clock and noticing that it said "4:12." By rights I should have already been at work for at least twelve minutes, and in a more practical sense for fifteen or twenty. Based on the time I have my alarm set for, I had slept an extra hour and twenty-two minutes. I probably needed it, although I had actually gone to bed a half hour or so earlier than usual the night before.
No, I didn't get into any trouble for it, as the janitorial supervisor is quite understanding with regards to such early hours. My big concern was in being thrown off schedule and not having a chance to do all of the tennis courts that morning. Luckily the lessens that usually require me to be done at a particular time were not scheduled yesterday and I was able to get those courts done before anyone wanted to use them.
It seems that I've been on the computer nearly all day. And I have, except for the time I spent in running my latest query to the post office and seeing Jessica off as she goes out enroute to the school's homecoming dance. That being the case, I think I'll end for now, get a bite to eat and watch a little of the baseball play offs. If I feel creative later on, I might do some more work on the HMS Theadora drawing that I started a few days ago.
Dave
After a stretch of nice days that fortunately arrived in sync with my vacation, we are now face to face with the typical Pacific Northwest fall day. It's dark. It's cloudy. And some of the time it's raining. Some folks might consider it depressing, but it doesn't really bother me in that way. In fact it allows me to ease any guilt I might feel about sitting at the computer for a significant part of the day.
Even though it is Saturday, I got up fairly early this morning. In fact I think I got up earlier than I have all week. Jessica is taking the SAT today, and as it is at a school across town, I got up in order to take her over there. She may need for me to come get her as well, depending upon whether or not she hooks up with a friend who is also taking it.
Since it is damp and dank enough outside, I'll refrain from doing much of anything in that enviornment. In case you are wondering, I did spend a couple of afternoons in the garage, and in my own mind at least, made some headway on getting it organized and cleaned up. I did get all of my tools picked up and back on the peg-boards, as well as the majority of the hardware (nuts, bolts, screws, washers, etc) off the bench and into some jars and containers. The next step will be to sort them by size, but I suppose that can wait until next time. To me, the main thing is that I've gotten a start at it, and I'm starting to feel the urge to do stuff in the garage and on the Corvairs.
Just checked out a writer friend's blog. Auburn (www.dancingbirds.com/) posted, mentioning that today marks the second anniversary of her having started her blog. I did some checking on my Live Journal page, and it's been a little over a year since I've started posting here. My first was on 26 September 2007. If you follow the archives back to that first post, you will see that I originally opened this page, simply so I could comment on another page that doesn't allow anonymous comments. I had never seriously considered having an LJ page or any sort of a blog before that. Nor did I ever figure that I would post nearly as much as I have over the past year. I guess I've sort of become used to it.
Yesterday I put together my part of the next REAR ENGINE REVIEW and sent it off to the club president. Hopefully he'll get it back to me with his stuff added, so that I can print it out and get it sent before next week end is out. I've also got to write the PRESIDENT'S PAGE as a result of the last SASP (www.spokaneauthors.org) meeting and get it posted to the web-site. Aside from that, it looks like my computer time might be free enough that I can get back to working on DARNAHSIAN PIRATES again. I'd like to have it finished by the time next year's PNWA Conference rolls around. I may be wrong (I am now and again), but I have always understood that it is to one's advantage to be able to pitch one book and mention that there are one or two more waiting in the wings as well. Depending upon all sorts of things, I may end up pitching one of the later books and then mentioning that there is a "pre-quel." But now I just need to get back to the third and see what sort of progress I can make.
I suppose that from everything I've mentioned over the course of the past year, I've given the impression that my goal is to be published in the traditional manner. You know, find and sign with an agent who then interests an acquisition editor in my work. Then said editor convinces his/her company to take a chance on my book(s), they pay me a huge advance, the book(s) make all the Best Seller Lists, etc. Seriously though, I think the real goal is to see it in print and available to those who would want to read it. While I am a member of Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers, I've never given all that much thought to self publishing. I suppose because I can't see myself doing all of the marketing...carting around boxes of books and spending all of my off time selling it from the trunk of my car.
But as I progress in my understanding of the publishing industry, I find that there are different levels or degrees of self-publishing. And as I progress, I'm starting to find that certain levels of it are looking more attractive all the time. At the SASP meeting Thursday, we had a presentation from a group that has started their own little publishing company. While any one publishing with them would jump through many of the same hoops that a true self publisher would, by purchasing the company's imprint, a writer would technically be published by a third party, independent publisher. They see it as a cooperative, with links between their website (or hub) and the various authors working with them. Hopefully that, and the fact that authors in the group doing signings would take other writers' works along, would help spread the word about a particular scribe's work. That, I believe is the down side of self-publishing, the lack of publicity and marketing opportunity. Of course these days, the web and various online markets negate that to an extent. Still I think the typical self publisher is limited when compared to one published by a national or international traditional publisher. While I still hope to go the regular route, I'm now giving some consideration to an alternative. Right now I plan to keep up with the querying and pitching at conferences and see what I can come up with. But I'll also continue to investigate the other angles as well. In a year or so, if the group mentioned is ready to start accepting manuscripts, I just may approach them and see if they would be interested in taking on my work.
Speaking of the "traditional" route, I think I've mentioned that I've gotten back on the querying trail. I've sent out two so far, and have had both of them come back as rejections. Fortunately I've not made any errors in the greeting or salutation, so I presume the rejection was because the agencies simply were not interested in my work, and not because I mistakenly insulted them by addressing them by the wrong name. Depending upon how I do at staying at the computer today, I might get another one set to go and get it in the mail Monday.
Oh, wish I hadn't mentioned MONDAY! I'll be going back to work then. But that will also give me a chance to get back to reading, and with today and tomorrow remaining, I suppose I should start thinking about what I'm going to take with me and read. Right now I'm thinking of the second book in Joshua Palmatier's (jpsorrow ) THRONE series. I read the first a couple of months ago and it is probably time to resume the story.
If anyone has happened to check out my web site (www.stoneislandseastories.com) and have read the excerpt from BEYOND THE OCEAN'S EDGE, you know that Edward Pierce is serving aboard HMS Theadora when the story starts. For the last couple of evenings I've been working on drawing the plans of that particular vessel. Eventually I'll get it posted on the website, and may include it here in my userpics. I think I've got one spot left that needs to be filled up. My ultimate goal is to have the drawings of the various ships from the story(s) on the "research" page of the web-site. Like I've mentioned before, I like to have the drawings to give me a sense or where the characters are at as I write the tales. I feel it is to the readers' advantage as well to have a more concrete picture of the vessels as well.
I think I've been rambling enough today. With me going back to work in a couple of days, I would imagine that I'll be back on a once a week basis when it comes to posting here. In that case, I suppose I will "see" you next week end.
Dave
Sun, Sep. 14th, 2008, 07:42 pm
Query Letter
A few days ago, fellow Live Journal user jpsorrow posted and hosted a sharing of query letters that he and his fellow published writers have used to gain literary representation or publishing contracts. While I am still in the search for representation, my letter has been well enough received that I have on occasion been asked to send partial submissions, and in one instance the entire manuscript. I do not presume to include myself in that group of represented and published writers, but I'll post my letter anyway. It may be of help to some who are not as far along as I am in the search for representation, and if any that are farther along wish to comment upon, or critique it, I will not object. Besides, it gives me something to post for this week.
Some quick notes before I copy and paste it into the post. Quite naturally the date, the agent's name, agency, and address are ficticious. The first paragraph varies, depending upon exactly where and how I found and decided to query this particular agent. The closing paragraph varies as well, basically stating that I have sent exactly what, if anything, the agent wants to accompany the query. I should also point out that in the actual letter, the date and my signature go to the right of center, as that is how I was taught to format a query letter. In addition, I've been told that it should adhere to all the rules of standard format...indented paragraphs with no line skipped between, etc., other than being single, rather than double spaced.
Have a look!
Dave
18 May 1803 Ima Agent World Famous Literary Agency LLC 123 Main St. The Big Apple, NY 00000-0000 Dear Ms. Agent: In my search for literary representation, I found your agency in the ________ ______ Guide to Literary Agents and believe you may be interested in my work. At 99,000 words, BEYOND THE OCEAN’S EDGE begins a series of Naval Adventures having a strong Fantasy element. If you sail halfway around the world, cross known areas of dry land without seeing it, and yet discover a large substantial island where none should be; could you have gone beyond the ocean’s edge? Have you traveled to a different world? 1802 finds Royal Navy Lieutenant Edward Pierce ashore and on half pay (unemployed) because of the Peace of Amiens. Restless, he gains command of a vessel sailing in search of a lost, legendary island. When found, Pierce and his shipmates discover that the island exists (and they are) in a different but similar world. Exploring the seas around “Stone Island,” Pierce and HMS Island Expedition sail headlong into an arena of mistaken identities, violent naval battles, strange truces, dangerous liaisons, international intrigue, superstition, and ancient prophecies. Detained by that world’s equivalent of his own Great Britain, Pierce struggles to free his ship and crew. He battles depression and despair, learns to trust new-found friends, and begins to understand his and his companions’ prophesized role in the future of that other world. I have always been fascinated with the era encompassing the American Revolution and the War of 1812. This obsession is further heightened by reading authors such as C. S. Forester, Dudley Pope, Dewey Lambdin, and Patrick O’Brian. Recently I discovered Naomi Novik’s historical fantasy series about the dragon TEMERAIRE. I have been fortunate to have toured both USS Constitution and HMS Victory. Time at sea during a twenty-two year US Navy career gives me a unique perspective on that life. Conditions faced today are not what they were two centuries ago, but there is a commonality that transcends time and nationality. Currently I write, edit, print and distribute the REAR ENGINE REVIEW, the Inland Northwest Corvair Club’s monthly newsletter. SAILING DANGEROUS WATERS, in which Edward Pierce’s saga continues, is now complete, and work has begun on DARNAHSIAN PIRATES. I am a member of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association (PNWA), the current president of Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers (SASP), and part of a small, unnamed, and ever evolving writers group in Spokane. Thank you so much for your time and consideration. I have enclosed a self addressed and stamped envelope for your convenience, and I look forward to hearing from you. Most sincerely, David A. McChesney
Tue, Aug. 26th, 2008, 05:00 pm
To the Point!!!
A couple of days (posts) ago, I mentioned a very insightful rejection letter that I had received from a particular agent. It was one of those that while deciding not to offer representation, basically had nice things to say about my submitted work.
Yesterday I received one that was bare bones basic in its means of rejection. I quote: "Dear Author, Thank you for your submission, but we are not interested. Peace, (and the agent's signature.) Coincidentally, this agent was the recipient of the query letter in which I had neglected to change the salutation from that of the previous letter. I'm just so glad that his response didn't indicate any sort of identity crisis because of my gaff. Coincidentally as well, the other, more personalized letter was from the agent whose name I accidently addressed the other by.
Dave
Sat, Aug. 16th, 2008, 01:38 pm
I guess you learn something everyday...sometimes the hard way! I was quite a ways into this post, or what I thought was this post, when I realized I needed some other information. I thought I could open another page over this, get the info I needed and use the "back" arrow to bring me back to here. When I got back, it had all disappeared! Like many of us who grew up in the pre-computer world, I stumble now and then. But as it is supposed to be near 100 degrees to day, I won't mind sitting in the fairly cool house and redoing it. Tomorrow, "they" predict it will be over 100. I have to work a half day or so, and I'm really glad that I work in the early morning. I should be back home before the temperature starts to peak.
I think it was Tuesday when I last posted and mentioned that my new web-site, www.stoneislandseastories.com was up. In that, I also mentioned that I needed to print out the current issue of the REAR ENGINE REVIEW, the Inland Northwest Corvair Club's newsletter and get it in the mail. I didn't get to it then, and on Wednesday I spent my afternoon (computer time) helping the SASP (www.spokaneauthors.org) secretary and web-master update the site. We got a lot done, but as usual in that sort of endeavor, there is a lot more to do. Thursday I became too engrossed in internet stuff that I again did not get the newsletter printed. I did however get the e-mail version of it sent out, and finally printed the RER last night. I mailed it this morning.
Yesterday I received back one of the copies of the manuscript for SAILING DANGEROUS WATERS, my second book. Helen, the "first reader" who had had it, had this to say about it. "Did I enjoy reading your book? YES! I also was fascinated by the sailing terminology and the maneuvering of the ships. To me, the book was CLEVERLY done, with many interesting events occurring that kept me interested through-out. I felt as though I was with Pierce and his crew every moment.
"I have only one area where I was hoping to 'hurry up and bet Pierce back to England.' Pages 317 - 329 could be shortened in that confrontation of ships.
"The ending was excellent with Evangeline, and left me wondering how that was going to work out with Pierce's sea personality in the long run."
I consider Helen to be an ideal first reader. Not because she has such nice things to say about my work, but because we have never met. She is an acquaintance of the assistant general manager at work, and hence we "know" each other through him. She is also highly educated, majoring in English and teaching school for several years.
Speaking of having nice things said about one's work, I received another rejection letter a few days ago. While it was a rejection, it was not a form letter, but one addressed, right there on the page, to me. And in part is said: "...I want you to know that your work was carefully reviews and considered.
You are a very talented writer; however, my agency just does not have the resources to represent all of the good manuscripts that come across my desk. I encourage..."
While the rejection part is certainly disappointing, the praise of my writing abilities tends to ease the pain. The letter as a whole indicates that the entire submission, three chapters, synopsis, and author bio, was read and evaluated. Had it been a form rejection letter, I could never have been sure that the agent didn't just glance at it and say, "Next!"
Other than sending along the material requested by the agent I pitched to at the Pacific Northwest Writers Association's Conference (www.pnwa.org) last month, I've not done any querying as of late. I understand from Anne Mini and the AUTHOR! AUTHOR! blog (www.annemini.com) that during this time of year, a good portion of the publishing industry, including literary agents, goes on vacation. According to Anne, one should wait until after Labor Day to resume querying or sending submissions. I'd even say that one should wait an additional week or so, and give the industry folks a chance to wade through all the queries and submissions that have piled up during their absence. So, I'll wait and perhaps take advantage of the time interval to revamp and revise my query letter a little.
Additionally, if any are considering the self-publishing route, Anne's most recent post features guest blogger Janiece Hopper, who took that road with her book.
I can also announce that I've finally finished reading VICTORY OF EAGLES by naominovik. Like other followers of the TEMERAIRE series, I'm now awaiting the next story. I've started reading a book that I bought at the conference, written by a fellow PNWA member. For the life of me, I do not remember his name, but the book is entitled EVERGREEN IS MOVING. I'm not that far long in reading it, but I'm enjoying it tremendously.
Now, I think I'll spend the rest of the afternoon working on stuff to eventually add to the web site. Again, if you happen to "drop by" to see it, and would care to offer your opinion of it, feel free to leave a comment here.
Dave
Sat, Aug. 2nd, 2008, 11:55 am
I'll try to get a little something posted today, as I might not find time tomorrow. There's a picnic for the Inland Northwest Corvair Club that I'll be going to in the afternoon, and so I might not spend much time at the computer tomorrow.
As far as the writing progress is concerned, I've not had a chance to do much with the third book as of late. I think my last attempts at it were near the end of my surgery recuperation. Just seems that so much other stuff has been going on. I think I mentioned a few days ago that I had printed out the material that I've been requested to send as a result of my pitch appointment at the PNWA's recent Conference. (www.pnwa.org) I found that I couldn't effectively go over it here at home, so I took it to work for two or three days last week and reviewed it there. It was difficult to do there too, as I had to put aside naominovik 's VICTORY OF EAGLES for my "lunch" time reading sessions. Oh, I thoroughly enjoy reading my own work, but I do know what's going to happen, having written and read the thing... over and over and... I hope you get the picture. And it think it also points out why I suggest that a writer set his/her work aside for a while if possible. When you do come back to it, it won't be so sickingly familiar. You will be better able to spot areas that need changing, as well as common typos and the like.
Anyway, I did finish going through the first three chapters and the synopsis. Perhaps later today I'll get the corrections made on the computer. My next step before sending them out will be to combine them all into a single document. The agent requesting them wants them via an e-mail attachment, and currently, each chapter, the synopsis, and even the title page are separate documents. But to prevent her the necessity of opening a total of five different attachments, I'll combine them into one.
OK, a little advice for queriers, submitters, and the like. It always pays to check an agent's "submission guidelines." If an agency asks for pages with an initial query letter, and if they accept e-queries, make sure you understand how they want you to include those pages. Most agents/agencies won't open attachments from people they don't know, fearing invasion of their computer(s) by various viruses, spyware, adware, etc. Instead they will most often suggest that you include your pages in the body of the actual e-mail. At this point, I want to add that what I'm about to say next is strictly my own opinion on the matter. We've (hopefully) all worked very hard to ensure that our work is in proper STANDARD MANUSCRIPT FORMAT, and when we paste it into the body of the e-mail query letter, that standard format becomes very very non-standard. I seem to think (here's where it's my opinion, now) that agencies and agents who request pages sent in this manner understand this situation and do not hold it against the submitter.
However, if you have queried or pitched, and the agent has asked you directly for pages, and if they want it sent electronically, they may very well ask that you submit them as an attachment. That way the hard work of ensuring your manuscript is in STANDARD FORMAT will be preserved. Speaking of STANDARD FORMAT, Anne Mini is again posting on the subject at www.annemini.com I think it would benefit anyone who is even a little unsure about STANDARD FORMAT to read her posts as soon as possible. (And yes, I'm the "beloved Dave" that she refers to as always posting a certain comment when she's on this particular subject.)
Well what do I usually comment about? I hope we all know and understand that a manuscript is to be printed on only one side of the page. But I comment and allow that that is for submission and when dealing with professional readers, ie. agents, editors, and others in the publishing industry. What we do with copies of the manuscript destined for our own use is strictly our choice. Personally, I print on both sides of the page and keep the thing in a three ring binder. That makes it easy to take with me, say to work so I can work on it at lunch, or I can take it along if taking my daughter to an appointment of some kind. (It gives me something to do while she's getting her hair done.) Likewise it makes a nice package to give to someone who is acting as one or your "first readers." Supposing a 400 page/ 100,000 word manuscript, I'd rather lug a notebook containing 200 sheets of paper about than a box with 400 loose sheets in it. BUT I WOULD NEVER TRY TO SEND DOUBLE SIDED, THREE HOLE PUNCHED, BINDER BOUND PAGES TO AN AGENT, EDITOR OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL READER. NOR AM I SUGGESTING THAT YOU EVER DO THAT EITHER!
Perhaps some are wondering why I print out a copy for myself when I'm working/writing on the computer. Simple! We read differently on screen than we do from actual physical copy. It's easier to find errors and spot things that need to be changed when reading from hard copy. Anne will also insist that it be read aloud, although one might not be able to do that sitting in the doctor's waiting room. Additionally, having the story in hard copy allows one to take it along, to work, to a writer's group meeting, etc. While they are nice, not all of us have lap top computers, and the desk top set ups most of us have are not conducive to portability. As I progress through a story, I'll print it, read it, make corrections and print the revised version. Then I'll read it again (hard copy) and mark anything else that needs fixing. I'll make these corrections, and...
It does turn out to be a sort of never ending process. I've been over the entire story of BEYOND THE OCEAN'S EDGE several times. Chapter one and the synopsis have both been professionally edited. Still, as I went over them recently, prior to submitting them as requested by the agent I pitched to, I found a few areas that could be "tweaked" slightly. I'm probably at the point where I really need to watch it and not make changes simply to be doing so. Now, on the other hand, when I get to the point that an agent or editor is asking for changes, it'll be time to do so once again.
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busy
creative
chipper
satisfied
exhausted
mellow
hopeful