Yesterday was my self-imposed deadline forgetting To Call Home (Charlotte) written. And I did it! I'm typing up the last two chapters as we speak. Yes, even though I haven't finished typing, it's still done to me. Since I still write the old fashioned way, with pen and paper, the typing part is really more of a revision process. I'm pretty happy with the way I ended it, and I'm ecstatic that I can start querying soon, and start focusing on my other writing projects!
My query letter has seriously shaped up from my first pathetic attempt, and I think I can send this one out and not be embarrassed at it haha. I have to get my agent list together and prioritize it, personalize my queries whenever possible, etc. I'm going on vacation in a few weeks, so I might wait until I get back to send my first query letter. I'd hate to get a response on, say, the first day of my vacation, and not know about it for a week! I also don't want to be obsessing over it too much when I'm supposed to be having fun.
But anyway..... done done done done done! I'm doing a little dance in my head right now. I'm so excited!
Showing posts with label Editing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Editing. Show all posts
16 September 2008
08 April 2008
Battling the Demons
So I've been workshopping chapters from my manuscript with a critique group on the Agent Query site. I've gotten tons of feedback, some positive, some negative. A big negative being the "immaturity" of the MC and the overall voice. Not to mention some plausibility snags related to that. Ouch, right?
Right. But I'm afraid I've let it all go to my head a little too much. I keep dwelling on the negative critiques, despite the positive ones. I'm beating myself up. Trying to change too much. Over analyzing every word. I've almost convinced myself that the whole manuscript - all 76,000 words of it - should be tossed in the garbage can. Not that I'd ever do that, though, because I'm a bit of a hoarder when it comes to my writing, haha.
So instead, I'm going to take a short break from the AQ site and just get back to the story, really get in the mindset I need to be in to make it shine. I need to find my confidence again, my critical eye, my love of Charlotte (the MC in the book) and her story. I just need to get that back and stop telling myself I'm not good enough.
A little tangent (that is definitely helping with my confidence some): I've networked with another writer on AQ and he wants me to be his editor! He's got a great manuscript, from what he's already posted on the site, and I was flattered and thrilled when he asked me, of all people, to be his editor. Even though I've never edited anything (professionally, that is) in my life. But he saw something in my critiques that made him think we'd be a good author-editor fit. And I think he's right. This is probably the most exciting thing to happen to me in quite a while. Getting paid to read? How much better does it get?
And I think I'll end this depressing blog on that happy note. Yay for me!
Right. But I'm afraid I've let it all go to my head a little too much. I keep dwelling on the negative critiques, despite the positive ones. I'm beating myself up. Trying to change too much. Over analyzing every word. I've almost convinced myself that the whole manuscript - all 76,000 words of it - should be tossed in the garbage can. Not that I'd ever do that, though, because I'm a bit of a hoarder when it comes to my writing, haha.
So instead, I'm going to take a short break from the AQ site and just get back to the story, really get in the mindset I need to be in to make it shine. I need to find my confidence again, my critical eye, my love of Charlotte (the MC in the book) and her story. I just need to get that back and stop telling myself I'm not good enough.
A little tangent (that is definitely helping with my confidence some): I've networked with another writer on AQ and he wants me to be his editor! He's got a great manuscript, from what he's already posted on the site, and I was flattered and thrilled when he asked me, of all people, to be his editor. Even though I've never edited anything (professionally, that is) in my life. But he saw something in my critiques that made him think we'd be a good author-editor fit. And I think he's right. This is probably the most exciting thing to happen to me in quite a while. Getting paid to read? How much better does it get?
And I think I'll end this depressing blog on that happy note. Yay for me!
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