Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Teaser Tuesday- Sequel

So after many days thinking things over and brainstorming with my partner in crime, I have finally choose which idea I would write about. And I picked the sequel to my novel, Promise Me. The sequel will be named Find Me and will be told by the main character's girlfriend. So as a quick teaser here is a sneak peek...


I leaned against the wall, pressing my hands to my sides like I was trapped inside a invisible box, bound with rope and left for dead. He watched me with growing concern but I couldn't care less about his feelings. Dad cleared his throat and said "You shouldn't be focusing on what was. You need to start living in the now." He sighed, rubbing at his forehead the way he did when he was stressed. I was growing wary of his words. "I don't even know who you are anymore, Raelene."

"Some times I don't even know who I am. But all that matters is him." Each word felt heavy as I spoke them. I wanted nothing more to turn around and walk through the wall, escaping him. I wasn't one of his nut job patients. I was his daughter. I glanced up at him and frowned. "I get to choice what I do with my time. If I want to search the world for him until I grow old and gray, then so be it. It's my life. And I won't sit back and play pretend like everyone else."

Thursday, December 22, 2011

New Project

So I came up with a fun little short story that I'll be posting on this site. As well as a preview of each chapter on my DeviantArt account ---->VictorianMess. So since I missed last Short Story Sunday, where I will be posting these chapter from now on, I'll go ahead and post the first chapter right now. Hopefully this gets some more readers to check out my blog.


So further ado, here is my new multi-chapter short story or novella,




Speculum

Alice in Wonderland Avatar 1 Pictures, Images and Photos


Chapter one: A sacrifice

I was born from the slums, unknown and unwanted. It had been a cold night and I was sure to die. But they found me and took me home, raising me as her noble daughter, Innocent and perfect with clear blue eyes and hair as golden as the sun. With fair skin, flawless and as white as snow. I was what they dreamed of. But I was lie, a scam. And everyone noticed it.

The city was horrid. The sky was drizzled gray, smokey from the factories. The air was hard to breath and reeked of ash. I hated it. But it was summer and that meant parties and balls. All of which young ladies of high class must attend if they wish to join society. I did not but my dear parents left me no choice.

I sat in the bay window that overlooked the dirty city streets, which were filled to the brim with people of all sorts. Lady Edna, mama's sister stood behind me, carefully fixing my hair. For she was the only one besides mama who I allowed to touch me. She was soft and kind with long blonde hair that was always tied up. Her gray eyes sparkled every time she spoke. She was only a two years younger than mama but much more Innocent, a true lady. Today was her wedding. Yet she would not get ready until she had the chance to get me all dolled up.

"There, there my dear Ailis. Do stand so I can see your pretty new dress."

The dress was lovely. It was full and lacy and was my favorite color, blue. Just like my eyes. The cap sleeves were trimmed with cream lace. I stood, careful not to stumble over my new dress. I slipped my white socked feet into my black shoes.

Edna clapped her hands. She wore a white dressing gown and looked so very pretty. "You look so lovely! Perfect my dear. Now go find your mother for me. I am ready to get dressed." I nodded, walking past her and went into the hallway. My parents' townhouse was rather large and showed that they were rather wealthy, but it was also dusty and unused. I disliked it greatly. For there was no wooden floors or wide windows that framed the blue sky. No meadows of emerald grass and no sheep wondering about.

I carefully and very lady-like walked downstairs. The guests were roaming the first floor, waiting for the event to start. When I stepped into the room all eyes shot right to me. The daughter who was rarely seen and never heard. The girl who was spoiled but never asked for a thing. A noble daughter born in the slums. A fraud. For my blood was dirty, stained by my poor breeding and yet they all whispered "Isn't she lovely?" I did not understand.

Mama stood near Papa, wearing a blue gown as well but one suited for a a married woman, not a girl who was yet sixteen. "Oh Harvey! Look at our child. Isn't she perfect?" Mama loved to coo over me even though she was nothing like Edna, her voice was not as soft nor as kind. But she meant well. It was Papa who I did not like. His eyes narrowed down at me and I frowned. He was tall with warm honey colored hair and hazel eyes that never sparkled. "Indeed." Was all he said. I grabbed onto Mama's lacy white gloved hand. "She is ready." I whispered. She nodded, patting my shoulder and wondered upstairs, suddenly very happy.

I did not wish to stand around like the others and be gawked at. So I slipped away out into the courtyard in the back. Being invisible was much too easy. Out back the court yard overlooked the forest that led to my beloved country side. I longed for the trees, the fresh pine needled scent, the rabbits who wondered freely. The quiet.

I sat on a stone bench, looking at the side, towards the forest. Something small and white caught my eye. I stood and walked out towards it. But it was fast, hopping like a rabbit. But rabbits didn't live in the city I knew that. I had searched. As I entered the forest it became easier to breath the toxic air.

I reached out, touches the rough bark of a tree as I passed. The light grew dim and darkness slowly engulfed me. But it was not worrisome, instead it felt as if someone I had known my whole life had gathered me in their arms. It felt right, leaving behind that awful city. All those catty people.

I stepped forward, spotting the white rabbit near a thin stream. I reached out when the ground under me fell inwards. I screamed as I fell down the dark hole. I rolled into a ball, hoping it would help me from smacking into the sides. Just as it was starting to feel like I was going to fall forever I fell onto a stack of wet hay. I sat up, pulling my black ribbon from my hair. It came undone from the braided mess and untangled. I ran my fingers through my hair and tied the ribbon back in.

"Where am I?"

It was so dark I was afraid this was what death was like. I did not enjoy it but was not afraid. I reached out my hand and felt around until I found what felt like a small door. I ran my fingers up and down until I found a door knob. It was hard and cold and made me feel alive, awake. I tugged it open and crawled inside.

The world had opened up to me. I stood in a massive forest where the ground was covered with flowers of all color and size. It smelled sweet like honeycomb. I stepped forward into the land and started into the forest. It was unlike anything I had ever seen yet so very familiar. A loud screech over head stopped me in my tracks. It did not cross my mind that beasts could be lurking in the dark gaps in between trees.

"Hello? Can someone please tell me where I am?"

When no one replied I started forward. The bushes off to my left moved. I stopped, pressing my back against the nearest tree. "Is this not London?" The sky was purple and blue, speckled with pink and white. I could not see a sun so perhaps it was night. I bent down, holding my dress to my legs.

"Hello."

I looked around, reaching out to move the bush."Oh do come out. I won't bite. Are you that rabbit. The white one who should not have been in the city? Are you lost...?" Suddenly a boy jumped up out of the bush. Startled I fell on to my rear. "It is not nice scaring a lady like that." The boy was odd, very pale with white fluffy hair that covered one eye. His eyes were awful, red and wide like rubies. He wore a white tunic with a red belt that matched his eyes. Two silver letters, R and B were stitched onto the belt.

He moved out of the bush. His pants were also white with black boots that reached up to his knees. His gloves had been torn so his fingers were bare. His nails were long, clawed. He held out his hand. "You aren't supposed to be here. You gotta leave little miss." He called me little as if I were younger than him. Yet he looked as if he were the one who was younger.

"I cannot leave if I do not know where I am. Do tell me."

When he opened his mouth I noticed his two front teeth were bucked like a rabbit. Had this boy been the one I had seen? Perhaps I had a fever. "Are you telling me, you do not know where you are? Yet you are here?" I nodded. "Yes indeed. Hence why I asked you to tell me. Please boy. I am going to be late."

"Late...Oh I'm going to be late."

"It's rude to copy me."

He panicked, bending down to look through the bush he had popped out of. "What are you searching for boy?" He glanced up at me over his shoulder. "My watch! I am going to be late!" He shook his head, growling in frustration. I moved next to him and stuck my hand into the bush. My fingers touched something cold, metal. I pulled it up. It was a golden pocket watch but was larger than one I had ever seen before.

He snatched it out of my hand. "Late!!! No time to deal with you. I am late! There goes my head! Late, late, late." He ran, much faster than I could, down the pathway. I glanced back at the doorway and decided to follow him. There was no way out in the way I came. I would have to find another to help me back to London. For where ever I was, it was not home.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Teaser Tuesday

Here is quick sneak peek at my latest project, The Invisible Prince.



I stepped into the grand ballroom and felt as if I were standing alone. Hundreds of nobles moved about me, all wearing black. Here I stood wearing a gown of red, as fiery as my hair. Was this some or sort of joke? As I made my way to pay my respects to the Queen, a hand reached out and grabbed onto my arm. I had seen the woman once before. She stood tall and heavy with child, with dark brown hair and blue eyes. Her gown was black with rose colored trim.

"Follow me."

If I was correct this woman was the eldest child of the queen. I did hope I was wrong. She brought into a room and led me inside, where the Queen herself sat, surrounded by her children. There next to her sat a boy my age, frail and pale. I knew at once this man was the prince I was to murder. So close, yet so far.

Quote

Dreams are illustrations from the book your soul is writing about you. -- Marsha Norman

Monday, December 19, 2011

Waiting game

So as I wait for responses, I'll be keeping a updated list on here of all the agents that I send to and those who say no. I'll put a simple NO next to the agents that say no. Easy right? As one person says no I'll send my query to another agent. I want to keep my number at three. So I don't get too carried away.


1.The GreenHouse- NO
2. Faye Bender
3.Andrea Brown
4.Knight agency

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Short Story Sunday

I'm going to have to put it on hold until January. Was too busy today now I feel worn out and slightly ill.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

First queries

So I sent out three query letters today. After the first one I noticed I made a HUGE mistake. I forgot my contact info. I felt so stupid. I really hope it doesn't matter too much. After I finished my query last night and edited it this morning, I finally got the nerve to send it. I wanted to send more than three but I was getting stressed.

I hate the holiday season....


Any who...

I sent my query letter to

1.The GreenHouse
2. Faye Bender
3.Andrea Brown

Two of which I hope will sign my novel. Right now I'm testing the waters. Seeing how agents respond to my query letter. There is one agent I BADLY want to be signed with so I'm saving him for last. I still have to write my synopsis anyway.

So we'll see how it goes. Agents can reply in one day to months. It's really up to how many letters they have to read and how much time is free. So It's a waiting game. I'm not going to send out any more query letters until I hear back or get rejected. I'll wait until the middle of January before sending out more. In less one or more says no quickly.

I'm stressed, bored and really wishing I had someone to talk to right now. But alas, my hubby is at work. I suppose I'm down in the dumps. I hate not having a job during the holiday season. Maybe my dream will come true and an agent will sign me. That would be nice.


So that's it today. Tomorrow will be Short Story Sunday.

Inspiration

Gets you to finish things your too lazy, or afraid to finish. I finally finished my query letter. Now I'll wake up tomorrow, maybe early and fine tune it, making sure there are no mistakes and that it's ready to be shipped off to agents of my choice. I'm nervous but also very excited because this time around, after the huge rewrite and edit, I feel my novel is finally ready.

And now I have a query letter to back it up. I'm so excited I finally finished I can't stop shaking. It's a bit hard to type, it's cold too. I'm not sure why I suddenly got inspired to finish my query letter, but whatever the reason, I'm glad and won't question it. Whether it's the work of the gods or maybe just my passed loved ones, giving me an early X-mas gift, who knows.

Like my character I believe in fate.

And I feel it's finally my time to break into the literary world I have loved since I was a child. Hopefully I will hook at least one agent. I'm nervous but excited. And very ready. When I was young I suffered from a lot of learning disorders and writing and spelling was very hard for me. I'm pleased with how far I've come. Now able to spell and write properly.

This novel is my first step. I can do it.

Anyway...I should go and "try" to calm down. Even though I want to start digging into my Writer's market book right now for agents. I think I'll wait for tomorrow. A fresh day, a new start. Maybe next year will be a year of joy. And I'll finally be able to start my life.

That's it for now...

I'll post again either tomorrow or Sunday for my first Short Story Sunday. Holiday blessings and lots of joy. Blessed be those like me. Maybe for Yule I'll get my wish.

~ Jessica

Friday, December 16, 2011

Fav Friday- The Replacement

The Replacement Pictures, Images and Photos



Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement, left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.

Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.

Edward Scissorhands meets The Catcher in the Rye in this wildly imaginative and frighteningly beautiful horror novel about an unusual boy and his search for a place to belong.

(From Amazon)




The replacement by Brenna Yovanoff is my recent favorite. I cannot put this novel down, although I've read it at least five times now. Every time I pick it up I am captured by this wonderful novel. When this first came out I had seen it a few times and didn't think much of it. I've always been interested in the darker side of fairies and after I found out this novel was about fairies I just had to have it. Then one day I finally got it. As soon as I opened the book I was hooked. I love novels that take their time, to tell you the little details. I adore how Brenna wrote this.

Online I read a sad review saying this novel was flat. I disagree. As a writer myself I normally can foresee how the plot twists and turns but this one I couldn't. The characters are awesome, easy to relate to and unlike anyone else that I've read about.

I was sad when this novel ended. There is so many details, I can image this as a movie, in fact I would love to see it on the big screen.

My favorite part-The whole thing
Rating- 10/10
Times read-Five
Worst part- There isn't a sequel, I'm left wanting more.


This is defiantly a new author to keep a watch on. I have yet to read her second novel but I'm looking forward to reading that as well.

Where to buy-
http://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Brenna-Yovanoff/dp/1595143378





Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Teaser Tuesday

It’s always the same. I’m standing in a dark, damp forest, surrounded by tall dense trees that loom far above me. The air is wet like it had recently rained. Below my bare feet the ground is soft and muddy, covered in moss and fallen branches. No one is around, it’s way too quiet. My body feels cold, numb, and sticky with sweat. It’s slightly foggy and it’s starting to mist. But the dreadful silence is what is bothering me the most.


So there is my first teaser. The first paragraph from my novel Promise Me. The main character Luke was based off of a generic role play character I used to use as a young teenie bobber. Anyway as time went on Luke changed from a vampire to a werewolf. Red eyes to blue. Dark and mysterious to kind and soft spoken.


So that's it for today. I kind of posted late but oh well. I had a lot going on. The best thing is I'm getting the best x-mas gift ever tomorrow.


A KINDLE FIRE!!!!


Ta-ta for now.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Edit, Edit, Edit.

I'm a bit upset so I decided instead of ranting and creating a fuss, I would post a blog about editing and why it's important to do after you have finished your novel.

When your so focused on finishing your novel you can easily over look small mistakes that most word docs won't correct. As many wise teachers have told me....

DO NOT RELY ON SPELL CHECK

Computers may be smart but they aren't smart enough to find small mistakes. I know my word doc likes to confuse WHERE and WERE. It doesn't like the word WERE and always tries to get me to change it to WHERE, even though I know better.

Where
Example: He didn't know where the dog had gone.

Were
Example: They were always around.

It's easy to mix those two up. But don't let your computer makes mistakes for you when you have it correct already. So always take a moment and really look at what the spell checker is telling you. Because half the time it's wrong.

I write very proper. ( I am. Not I'm) so I often confuse the crud out of my spell checker. But it is good for some things. Such as switching letters around, which I do because of my dyslexia when I start typing too fast. So I leave the spell checker on in case I make such a mistake.


Anyway.

It's always important if you are going to be showing your novel to a agent that before you do so you edit, edit, edit. Because like in a job interview you want to show the person just how good your best really is. Even the big names in the literary world makes mistakes when typing, who doesn't? Seriously if an author said to me they never made one mistake while typing I wouldn't believe them and most likely stop buying their novels.

So don't get upset if you find some mistakes while editing.

Since I'm on the subject I'll tell you one of my (very funny) mistakes I've made.

There were cows in the yard. <---- Was supposed to say crows.

My hubby and I still get a good laugh from that one. It's now an inside joke when ever we talk about birds or...front yards.

Anyway make a game out of it. Laugh at yourself and you'll find your stress will wash away. One thing I always HAVE to have when I'm editing is music. I'll sing along (when alone) and bob my head. It helps make editing fun. I'll turn off the TV (even if Law and Order SVU is on...) and focus on listening to music and editing. It really works me focus on what I'm reading.

You'll be surprised how quickly you'll get your editing done while having fun listening to music. It takes out all the stress.


Here are a few songs that really help me pay attention and are fun to sing along to.

1.In Search Of (by Miike Snow)
2.Filthy Halls (Apple Horse)
3.Riverside (Agnes Obel)
4. No light, No light (Florence + the machine)
5.Mountaineer (White Sea)

That's it for now. Tomorrow will be Teaser Tuesday.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Let's brighten this place up

Some new features I'll be adding starting this coming week.



Teaser Tuesday
*Sneak peeks of my projects.


Fav Friday
*Reviews and ramblings about some of my favorite novels.


Short Story Sunday
*Every Sunday I'll post a short story or poem.

Hope you enjoy.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Research

I enjoy making mistakes. Mainly because it gives me a chance to go back and makes things better. I'm not a fan of reading teen dramas but after reading something on a friend's wall on FB I found out another YA novel series has the same name as the town in my novel.

Since I want my novel to stand out and be as unique as possible. So I'm changing the name of the town, which is the main setting in my story.

Since RoseWood is out....
Link
I've been trying to think up new names. So far I've found a great little site that generates random names. This site http://nine.frenchboys.net/housing.php is a good way to start getting ideas.

A good way to start coming up with names for towns are using these terms.

Wood
Vile
Groves
Heights
Shore
Bay
Point
Bridge
Meadows
Square

Are just some ideas to get you started. Anyway make sure you do your research. It might not matter that my town has the same name as a teen drama because mine is a paranormal YA. But to stand out more, I'm changing it. Not looking forward to going into my 100k+ novel and changing the names....but it'll be worth it in the end.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Rejection is a huge part of the literary world. Even big name authors such as J.K ROWLING was faced with tons of rejection letters. But did that stop her from being a best selling author, who had her books made into popular series of movies? No. She kept trying until the right agent for her, said yes.

Rejection can be good.

How? Are you crazy? It's rejection!!!

Easy. For me after I get a rejection from an agent I look over my query letter and think "What could I do for this to make more sense? To make agents want to know more?" How can you make your letter stand out better? Take in the rejection and change the bad feeling in your gut to inspiration to do better.

If you keep changing and rewriting, maybe you'll catch that agent's eye and make them wanting more. For me I was super thrilled to get my first rejection letter, I saw it as a prize. Proof I was in fact ready to take on the literary world. But I never got a yes.

Why?

My novel wasn't ready. The plot was all over, the characters weren't built yet. It was a mess. But it was my first novel and thanks to it, I got extra credit for high school and because of that I was able to graduate. So this book is dear to me. It saved me. But I don't think of it as perfect, although I had edited it twice. But there is enough room for change and that's what sells. Something the author is willing to change and go through with the agent and editor.

So remember, when your feeling down about all those rejections, think about them as a chance to change. Focus on the good, take the insight and change your query. If you still don't get a yes, start rethinking the novel. Does it need changed? It's normal.


Contests

Are a great way of breaking out into the literary world. They can get your name out there and we all know it'll be much easier to get an agent if you have some good credentials to share with them in your query letter. But not everyone knows where to look for contests. For me I always look for two things when I'm looking for a contest.

1. Does it have a fee?
I don't know about you, but I'm broke. When I'm not writing I'm looking for a job. So I don't like fees. In less it's around five dollars. So I make sure I only enter contests that are free to enter. Not that contests WITH fees are bad. Some are great! It just depends on your budget.

2. What is the deadline and when do they announce the winner?
Some contests are sort, lasting only a few weeks. But some can last months. So if you are feeling impatient, try to find a contest that's shorter. Although the prizes may not be as grand as the longer ones such as.... http://www.amazon.com/Breakthrough-Novel-Award-Books/b?ie=UTF8&node=332264011

Always do your research about the contest. I entered the Breakthrough contest and sadly the person judging my novel was what they call a "troll" but that's not going to stop me from entering again. This time I'm only doing it for fun. So who knows.

Make it fun, get your relatives to cheer you on. The best thing about contests is meeting new authors,friends. Let the contest motivate you in your future project, write down what the judges' didn't like and use that to help you improve. As an author it's about improving.


Thursday, December 1, 2011

Aftermath and Genres

I took a few days off to relax and goof around. I have that "just finished a novel now what?" feeling. But now I'm ready to jump right back into the hard work of finishing my query letter. And find a list of agents that might be interested.


Since I don't have much to write about juuuuust yet. I'll explain what I know about novel genres. Since you need to know what yours falls under. In your query letter you'll need to write down which type your novel is.

Fiction genres


I took a few days off to relax and goof around. I have that "just finished a novel now what?" feeling. But now I'm ready to jump right back into the hard work of finishing my query letter. And find a list of agents that might be interested.


Since I don't have much to write about juuuuust yet. I'll explain what I know about novel genres. Since you need to know what yours falls under. In your query letter you'll need to write down which type your novel is.

Fiction genres

Young Adult/juvenile
Aimed towards young and older teens. 12-19 age group. Can have any the genres below.

Children's
Books aimed towards younger children the age group can range as young as a few years to 10.

Action-Adventure
Lots of action and sometimes killing. Normally set in places such as jungles, deserts, mountains-extreme places with bad weather conditions.

Detective
Also known as a mystery. Normally there is some sort of crime/murders and the protagonist is in charge of finding the person in charge of the crime/murder. Think Law and Order.

Fantasy
Unrealistic, can be set in imaginary worlds. Normally has some sort of creature (werewolves, elfs, dragons,griffins,ect.) Anything can happen in these.

Mystery
Normals involving a detective/crime/murders these can also be about other topics, such as a child missing or a house burnt down along with the protagonist's family. This has a newer sub-section called "cozy" mysteries.

Romance
The largest novel genre. This genre can be mixed together with fantasy, mystery, ect. Normally about a man and woman, who fall in love and have a happy ending.

Science Fiction
Usually set on different plants with aliens and space men. Also has many sub-sections, such as alternate history,comedy,action-adventure, ect. Sometimes these novels include magical realism.

Western
Set in the American West, around the time era of 19th century. With lots of cowboys and guns. Can be romantic. Normally has lots of action.


For my novel I suppose this is how I would label it.

Paranormal romance Young Adult.

Or just

Paranormal YA

Paranormal is a newer sub-genre. It's not hard to figure out what it's about. Normally has some sort of werewolf or vampire involved.






Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genre_fiction

Saturday, November 26, 2011

The books

So right now I have two novels that are about getting an agent.

The writer's guide to queries,pitches and proposals. By Moira Allen.

And

How to get a literary agent. By Michael Larsen, AAR.

Both books are very detailed and well written. To my surprise they are even helpful! I've found some books about this subject before and they didn't help at all but these two are very informative. And who knows maybe they'll be the books that help me find an agent.


Right now I'm reading the first book I mentioned because I'm set on writing my query letter first. Last time I sent out queries for this novel I was very bad at writing them and the story wasn't very good. Now that I did a major change to it and rewrote it, I have to rewrite the query letter. (Oh joy) This week and next week is all about writing a query.


I personally believe you should sit down and focus on the query only. Since it's such a important piece of getting your book out in stores. I can just sit and stare at my computer screen until something comes to mind. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif


I'll list some good sites for learning the basics of writing a query letter below.

http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
This site is very good for people brave enough to let others read over their novel and query letter. It's very helpful with kind people, willing to give you help.

This site is the first place you want to check out. Not only to learn a bit about queries but this site is easy to use for searching for agents. On the left hand side they have a drop down menu of nonfiction and fiction novels. Pick your type and click search. You'll see what I mean.
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
http://www.charlottedillon.com/query.html If you are like me, you need to see examples. This is the place to go. They have tons to view and offer you some good ideas of how to start your query.

Has some great information about what not to do when writing a query letter. If your writing one it's important to know what not to write, so take a peek at this site.


If these didn't help you can always check agents' blogs. At lot of times they have information about writing query letters and finding an agent. That's all the links I can post today.

Change

So Yesterday on Black Friday I finished up my huge rewrite of my first novel, Promise Me. Instead of 79,088 words and 247 page P.M is now a whooping 106,969 words and 372 pages. This novel was written in third person when I first wrote it and did the first two rewrites. Now it's first person, which changed the feeling and caught the emotions I wanted the reader to feel. I'm very pleased with how it went. I'm a bit worried about the word count but of course, as any agent knows that can easily be changed, nothing is set in stone just yet. I'm very willing to change, because as an author you have to be. The agent/editor knows what will make the novel sell, so it's always good to be ready to change your novel.


Since I'm finished and I'm getting ready for the battle which is finding an agent I decided to write about my progress and share tips about finding your own agent and writing a full length YA novel. Since I have a lot of spare time I'll start this blog right up. Today I'll be rereading and editing the MS (manuscript) just in case I missed some mistakes. Because-- I'm sure you've heard before-- word docs do not catch all mistakes.

I'll be writing this blog like a journal. If you happen to follow it and chime in, please feel free to do so. If I can help and inspire one person that would make my day. So feel free to comment and share how your search is going. You'll find I'm not as scary as I can seem.

Any way. Here is a little list of how I normally do things when it comes to the aftermath of writing a full length novel.

1.Reread, find mistakes.
2.Add/delete unneeded sentences.
3.While doing the two above, start working on query letter.
4.Start researching the latest agencies
5.Make a list of agents that might be interested in my novel
6.Let two other people read my query letter
7.Start on writing a synposis
8.Start sending out query letters
9. Embrace rejection, turn it into something good
10. Find an agent? <--- Haven't gotten this far yet


I'll be posting everyday as I get ready to start sending queries, feel free to ask questions. I love answering them. I'll also be posting quotes that are inspiring as well as songs that help me calm down and write. Just for fun.


Ta-Ta for now