How a Splinter is Not Like a Book

I had a splinter in my thumb this morning. A yucky one, a thick black chunk of wood. It hurt when I touched anything.

As I was the only adult in the house, I had to take it out myself or the stupid thing would be in there all day. Tweezers didn't work--couldn't grab it--so I sat on the bathroom floor, grabbed a needle, and dug.

I do not like doing this. I had to stop a few times to make faces and whine that it hurt, but no one was listening. So I kept poking and prodding my poor skin until I could grab it, and it was gone. I was triumphant. I had vanquished the splinter and I was FREEEEEE!!!

And then I actually sat there, tweezers in my hand, and thought, "Wow, this could be a metaphor for writing! I could blog about it: you have to dig and dig through the pain and the trouble, and then in the end it's out of you and you're done!" Since I just "finished" Salvaged again yesterday, it seemed apt. (I'm always thinking of you guys, you know!)

Except I realized two seconds later that it isn't a good metaphor at all. A splinter isn't like a book. It's just something that gets in your way. It's useless. And prying the thing out gives no joy at all. There's nothing to show at the end but a lack of pain.

Writing can be like a sickness, yes. The past week or so I have been pounding away on the book every minute I could, thinking of it constantly, trying to pry all those words out of my brain in the right order. But I loved it. I've been on such a high for the past few days, living in my book. Writing scenes that I loved, shaping the story so it made sense, so I could finally see that it was getting close to what I wanted it to be.

And in the end, I've got an actual book, a story that hopefully will take life and touch other people.

Nothing like a splinter at all. (Sorry, Potential Metaphor. You lose. Book, You Win.)

WHEW!!!!

Yay.

I finished this major edit, and sent SALVAGED off to my beta-readers!

This means other people will be reading it!!

Wow.

This is a pretty cool feeling--I really do love this book!*









*now what am I supposed to do with myself again until I get edits back?? :)

*gasp*

Almost there! 50 pages left!!*


*the hardest 50 pages, but who's counting THAT? :)

Onward! *waves*

Dear lovelies

Dear lovely, lovely blog readers & friends:

I am still here!! I am so sorry for abandoning you.

However, I have promised the Fabulous Agent Shark that I will get SALVAGED to beta-readers by May 1.

*looks at calendar*

I will likely continue to abandon you in favor of Annie, Zilla, Xander, and Ben for another while or so. Rock on!

Love,

Susan

It's Here! Sparkle Against Cancer!!

I'm wearing my tiara today in honor of Lauri (who passed away yesterday, after fighting the battle for YEARS), Carol, Phyllis, OMC II, and many others I won't share, but who still hold a particular place in my life or the lives of my friends.

Cancer is nasty. Let's combat the thing with some positive energy, at least.

Happy Tiara Day.

Announcement: Friday is Sparkle Against Cancer Tiara Day

Hey all.

I don't know about you, but I'm getting pretty tired of cancer beating around people I love.

• My aunt Susan died of cancer long before I was born, when she was 19.
• My grandfather died of cancer.
• My beloved mother-in-law died of cancer when I was pregnant with my daughter--she felt Child kick, but never got to meet her.
• My mother has cancer, non-Hodgkins B-Cell Lymphoma. We're very lucky and they've been able to keep her in remission for many years with regular treatments, but it's still there. It doesn't go away.

In the past few weeks I keep hearing about more and more people--friends, parents, fellow writers--who are facing this terrifying beast.

Did I ever tell you how Tiara Day really started? What its purpose was?

(No, I didn't.)

Tiara Day started as a way to support and cheer up a specific young girl who was fighting hard against cancer. We thought maybe, just maybe, all the positive energy we created with silliness, with enthusiasm, would spill over to her. We tried to focus all that energy on her, timing Tiara Days for when she was having rough times. And then it got bigger, and we had them for other reasons too. Almost always to either support someone who needed some good mojo or to celebrate good news.

I'd like to make this Friday Sparke Against Cancer Tiara Day. All you've got to do is put a tiara on your avatar or yourself to join in (there's a #tiaraday hashtag on Twitter). I'd love it if everyone who plays this time holds at least one person who's facing cancer, who's suffered from cancer, or who've they've lost to cancer in their hearts (everyone knows at least one) and dedicates this Tiara Day to them. You do NOT have to say who you're doing it for, but you can.

It may not do anything tangible in fighting against cancer, but I dunno. Energy never hurts. Sparkle Against Cancer.

Wanna play?

Hi all!

*waves*

I've had an eventful couple of weeks. Last week at this time we were hanging out in the airport at Salt Lake City for 8 hours, hoping we'd get a flight back home after Delta conveniently (a) canceled our original flight the night before after keeping us on the tarmac for 3 hours, (b) "automatically" canceled the alternate flight we booked, in the middle of the night, and booked us on a flight at 8:15 in the morning, (c) didn't tell us about that flight and gave away our other seats, so we arrived at the airport at 11 am rather surprised.

BUT it all worked out in the end, and it was the conclusion to a really glorious 11-day vacation that included 3 days of Disneyland (and an earthquake, among other things, but I'll talk about that in another post!). So overall, life is pretty sweet.

I haven't posted since I got back mostly because I launched directly back into work and editing SALVAGED. I took a few days to read through and mark up the hardcopy, which is always satisfying. Today I'm making a plot board so I can check flow and pacing (and...um...PLOT). Then I get to dive into the words again--I can't wait for that. It's taking up at least 60% of my brain right now.

Which leaves me very little for blog posts. Sorry to be hermity, but I'm assuming in the end you'd rather read SALVAGED than blather. At least I hope!!

Back to it for now. I promise I'll post about Disneyland and earthquakes later, and I'm hoping to talk about bullying too.

*waves*

Pay It Forward: Catherine Karp

The final interview of the Pay It Forward series!! Don't forget everyone else who's playing:

Click here for more inspiration: Lisa and Laura Roecker, Beth Revis, Leah Clifford, Victoria Schwab, Kirsten Hubbard, Elana Johnson, Dawn Metcalf, Kim Harrington, Carrie Harris, Amy Holder, Kathy McCullough, Suzette Saxton and Bethany Wiggins, and Tiffany Schmidt.

*****
Catherine Karp & I have known each other for years. We worked together at Academic Press in San Diego, as editors of various types along the chain, on the same "team" even. She was my Mommy-mentor, pregnant a year or two before me. I went to her for advice and bags of hand-me-downs from her daughter to mine. (We *just* ran out of these, by the way!) We were both writing then, she more seriously than me at the time. We kind of lost touch when she moved to Oregon and we moved to Montana, but oddly enough we're both writing YA now. And her agent, the slithery Barbara Poelle, is great friends with mine, the sharkly Janet Reid.

As a certain Disney ride told me yesterday, "It's a Small World After All..."

Here's Cathy's interview. Enjoy!!

1. Tell us about your current book.
I'm working on a young adult historical ghost story/mystery that's tentatively titled Blackbirds.

 
2. Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publication (finding an agent)?
I've been lucky enough to have landed an agent twice, although I'm still struggling to reach that elusive publishing contract stage.  I worked with the first agent back in 1998 and 1999, when I was writing historical fiction for an adult audience.  It took me four years of writing, rewriting, and querying, but eventually I received a heart-racing email from an agent who said she was excited about my work.  Unfortunately, the historical fiction market was dead back then, and she couldn't sell my manuscript, despite glowing rejection letters.  We parted ways, amicably, and after co-founding a historical fiction publishing company, I came up with the idea for a modern-day comic novel about marriage, the suburbs, and a vampire.  That querying process was a swifter one, and I started working with Barbara Poelle of the Irene Goodman Literary Agency after she suggested some revisions.

Barbara is fabulous and worked diligently to sell my manuscript for about two years, and we came, as she put it, as close as you can get to having a contract without actually having a contract.  Last fall she and I started discussing going in the direction of young adult fiction.  We met in New York this past January and chatted about my new project, so here I am today, working on Blackbirds, hoping the third time's the charm.  

3. Was there ever a time you felt like giving up? Why didn't you?
There have certainly been moments along the way where I've questioned if I'm on the right path in life.  But I've always received so much support and encouragement, plus I can't even fathom giving up writing.  Deep down a voice inside me always tells me to keep plugging away.

4. How have your goals/dreams changed since you started the process?
At this point, after fifteen years of attempting to break into the business, I'd be thrilled to get even one book in print through a traditional publishing house.  But I'd want it to be a memorable book.  I've always admired Harper Lee's ability to produce a whopper of a novel and then gracefully give a bow.  
5. What's the piece of advice you wished you knew when you started?
I actually received some wonderful advice from a screenwriter when I was in high school: Never give up.  It's the most common words of wisdom given to writers, but it's so true.  As long as writing makes you happy, keep on working away.  If you're willing to constantly go back to the drawing board...and if you READ, READ, READ authors who challenge you to set the bar higher...you'll eventually get there.

Catherine Karp
http://www.catherinekarp.com
http://suburbanvampire.blogspot.com 

Pay It Forward: Kari Lynn Dell

Sometimes this writing business--especially the writing for publication part--is rough and bumpy. We all go through the ditches, and feel we're alone. It's easy to look at other writers and think it was easy for them, or that they have some kind of luck or talent we don't have.

This week, a whole big bunch of us are turning the spotlight on those who are almost there, writers who are agented but haven't quite got the deal yet, or writers who have sold but their books aren't quite out. Join us this week for 70 (yes 70!) success stories!

Each day this week I'm going to post an interview with one of these writers, to hopefully inspire you, provide hope along your way, and prove that you CAN succeed in this crazy business. You guys--you're going to LOVE these interviews. They were so inspirational to me!! They're doing it. You can too.

Click here for more inspiration: Lisa and Laura Roecker, Beth Revis, Leah Clifford, Victoria Schwab, Kirsten Hubbard, Elana Johnson, Dawn Metcalf, Kim Harrington, Carrie Harris, Amy Holder, Kathy McCullough, Suzette Saxton and Bethany Wiggins, and Tiffany Schmidt.

*****
Kari is my agent-sister as well as my state-sister. I love that we have both writing AND Montana quirks in common, that we can trade anecdotes about weather and towns we know. That said, her experience on a real live ranch in northern Montana and mine sitting at my desk in southwest Montana are pretty distinctly different. I love to hear Kari's Montana for Real stories just as much as the New Yorkers, so I was so pleased when she agreed to be interviewed!

1. Tell us about your current book.
 
My current, as yet untitled book is the story of a woman who was rodeo’s version of a child prodigy, flamed out at age twenty, and is now confronting her past and attempting to make some kind of peace. It’s set on the pro rodeo circuit, so there’s a lot of action in and out of the arena. Emotionally, it’s the most complex thing I’ve ever written, with relationships—both human and animal—that stretch back over years and encompass both the best and worst of her life.
It’s also turning out to be the sexiest thing I’ve ever written, and a whole lot of fun.

2. Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publication (finding an agent and editor)?

I haven’t made it to publication in novel form…yet. I write a bi-weekly column for several newspapers. I do have an agent, Janet Reid of Fine Print Literary Management. She signed me after tolerating my very clumsy pitch at a conference, requesting a full and, in her words, “falling in love with your unique voice”.

Plus, she likes horses. ;)

3. Was there ever a time you felt like giving up? Why didn't you?

I did stop writing almost entirely for the two years before and after my son was born. He was eleven weeks premature and even though he came through it like a champ and has no ongoing health issues, it took a lot out of us. Then we moved from Oregon to Montana and things settled down and the writing bug bit me all over again.

As for giving up entirely, yes, I think every writer who doesn’t have instant success hits that wall. In my case, I looked at my husband and said, “Do you really think I should keep doing this?” And he said, “Well, as long as you like writing it, I sure like reading it. And it doesn’t cost much.” So I kept writing.

4. How have your writing goals/dreams changed since you started the process?

I started writing on a whim, with absolutely no clue about publishing, or even writing for that matter. My only goal was to entertain myself. By the time I finished that first novel I was hooked, and went shopping for books on writing to help me figure out how it was supposed to be done. It wasn’t until the fourth book that I considered going to a conference and pitching. That was the one Janet read.

Obviously my goals have changed, but I try to retain the attitude I had when I started. Publishing is such a crap shoot, the only thing I can do is write a story I love, enjoy the process, and hope for the best.

5. These interviews will hopefully inspire those who are just beginning the writing process. What's the one piece of advice you wished you knew when you started?

Start sooner.

Just kidding. But I do wish I’d considered writing earlier in life. Still, the experiences I’ve had in my various professions definitely feed my stories, so nothing wasted.

I can’t say there’s one piece of advice that would have changed my path as a writer, or made it easier. In pretty much every part of my life I’ve been a slow starter. It took me seven years and two changes of my major to get through college. I started competing in rodeo at age eight, but didn’t get really competitive as a barrel racer until I was in my last couple years of high school. Then I switched to roping and took ten years to master that event. And let’s not even get into how long and how many false starts it took me to get ‘find a good man’ down pat.

Suffice to say, if history holds true, I’m getting to the point where I should just about have this writing thing figured out. 

Thanks, Kari!! Hopefully I'm getting there too. *Montana writer high-five*

Pay It Forward: Daisy Whitney

Sometimes this writing business--especially the writing for publication part--is rough and bumpy. We all go through the ditches, and feel we're alone. It's easy to look at other writers and think it was easy for them, or that they have some kind of luck or talent we don't have.

This week, a whole big bunch of us are turning the spotlight on those who are almost there, writers who are agented but haven't quite got the deal yet, or writers who have sold but their books aren't quite out. Join us this week for 70 (yes 70!) success stories!

Each day this week I'm going to post an interview with one of these writers, to hopefully inspire you, provide hope along your way, and prove that you CAN succeed in this crazy business. You guys--you're going to LOVE these interviews. They were so inspirational to me!! They're doing it. You can too.

Click here for more inspiration: Lisa and Laura Roecker, Beth Revis, Leah Clifford, Victoria Schwab, Kirsten Hubbard, Elana Johnson, Dawn Metcalf, Kim Harrington, Carrie Harris, Amy Holder, Kathy McCullough, Suzette Saxton and Bethany Wiggins, and Tiffany Schmidt.

*****
Daisy Whitney is a superstar.
Oh, you think I'm kidding, or exaggerating. I'm not. On her own website, she describes herself as: "a producer, on-air correspondent, podcaster and raconteur in the new media business." She hosts the popular New Media Minute. AND she happens to write fiction, and has a book coming out with Little, Brown in Fall 2010. I was thrilled when Daisy agreed to be interviewed for the Pay It Forward series. Enjoy!

1. Tell us about The Mockingbirds!

The Mockingbirds is about an underground, student-run justice system at a prestigious boarding school that operates as the judge, jury and prosecution -- of the students, by the students. They take their name from "To Kill a Mockingbird" and their mission is to be the honor code the school doesn't have. The main character decides to turn to the Mockingbirds for help after she is dated raped her junior year. Ultimately it's a story about justice, honor and speaking up and fans
of romance will be happy to know there is some good forbidden romance in the story too!

[Don't you guys want to read this RIGHT NOW?]

2. Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publication (finding an agent and editor)?

Ah, it was a long and winding road with many many twists and turns. In fact, there are so very many that Courtney Summers has assured me she will travel in a small backpack on any book tour I might do and pop out from time to time to remark on my journey! She's been with me for
many steps along the way. I suppose I can best sum it up in numbers: four novels, three agents, more than two years on submission, more than 45 editor rejections for various projects, many more agent rejections, two rewrites while on submission. AND THEN I GOT A TWO-BOOK DEAL FROM AN AMAZING PUBLISHING HOUSE!! The point being, it's not easy. It's not supposed to be easy. If it were easy everyone would do it.

3. Was there ever a time you felt like giving up? Why didn't you?

I never felt like giving up because that is not in my nature. I once did a bike ride called The Death Ride. It's a one-day, 129-mile ride over 5 mountain passes with 16,000 feet of climbing involved. I am not athletic, I am not fast, and I am actually a complete dork. I did not even train well for the ride. But I was determined to finish and I did -- I was one of the last riders to cross the finish line and now I can say "I finished the Death Ride!" But more so, I just made a decision when it came to writing to keep at it, to keep writing, to keep learning, to keep growing, to keep going. Plus, I held onto my favorite quote from Randy Pausch when I was being rejected six ways to Sunday: "Brick walls are there for a reason. To let us prove how badly we want something."

4. How have your writing goals/dreams changed since you started the process?

At first you focus on each step of the process - finishing a chapter, then a book, then landing an agent, then an editor, etc. Now, I'm eagerly awaiting my novel's release in November and my goals are more specific. I want the book to matter. I want it to matter to teens. I want it to matter to readers. And I want to hear from them  if it does matter!

5. These interviews will hopefully inspire those who are just beginning the writing process. What's the one piece of advice you wished you knew when you started?

This might be a downer, but getting an agent doesn't mean you'll get a book deal. So keep writing! If the first one doesn't sell, maybe the second one will. If the second one doesn't, maybe the third one will. If the third one doesn't maybe the fourth one will. Yes, I was agented
for FOUR projects and it was the fourth one that sold. Which really means my advice is "Hold onto that dream and fight for it. Fight for it by putting your butt in the chair every day and writing."

Thanks so much, Daisy! I loved this.

Pay It Forward Interview: Sean Ferrell

Sometimes this writing business--especially the writing for publication part--is rough and bumpy. We all go through the ditches, and feel we're alone. It's easy to look at other writers and think it was easy for them, or that they have some kind of luck or talent we don't have.

This week, a whole big bunch of us are turning the spotlight on those who are almost there, writers who are agented but haven't quite got the deal yet, or writers who have sold but their books aren't quite out. Join us this week for 70 (yes 70!) success stories!

Each day this week I'm going to post an interview with one of these writers, to hopefully inspire you, provide hope along your way, and prove that you CAN succeed in this crazy business. You guys--you're going to LOVE these interviews. They were so inspirational to me!! They're doing it. You can too.

Click here for more inspiration: Lisa and Laura Roecker, Beth Revis, Leah Clifford, Victoria Schwab, Kirsten Hubbard, Elana Johnson, Dawn Metcalf, Kim Harrington, Carrie Harris, Amy Holder, Kathy McCullough, Suzette Saxton and Bethany Wiggins, and Tiffany Schmidt.

*****
Sean Ferrell is awesome.

Not enough for you? Okay: he's my client-brother, and in many ways feels like a real big brother. He's wicked funny, a dad, and a dedicated and fabulous writer. I say this even though I haven't had the chance to read his book yet. I KNOW IT anyway. And this interview? Inspired my socks off. Read on, my friends.

1. Tell us about NUMB!!

What's Numb? Oh, right. My book. Numb is the story of a man who wanders into a circus without memories or the ability to feel pain. He follows what few clues he has from the circus to New York City, makes money exploiting his talent for nailing himself to bars, and ends up meeting more than a few people interested in taking advantage of him. In short, I am not very nice to the poor fellow.

2. Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publication (finding an agent and editor)?

It was easy. I clicked my heels together and there they were. And you were there, and you, and... Hold on, that's not right.

My pursuit of publication was just like so many other writers' paths. I call it the shampoo theory of publishing: lather, rinse, repeat. You work on something, you submit, you get rejected, you rework, submit elsewhere, etcetera etcetera. I was lucky enough to have Janet Reid want to read my book. Then she offered to rep it. Then the shampoo theory reactivated only this time she was the one in a lather. I tried to let her do her job without troubling her for too many updates. What good would it be to have me calling and asking "well, well, well?" Instead, I worked on another book. And another, and then another. Not only did she find an editor who liked Numb, she found an editor who saw the same book I do, and I am lucky on every conceivable front: I have a great agent, an amazing editor whom I like and respect and trust, and I look good in a suit.

3. Was there ever a time you felt like giving up? Why didn't you?

I think it depends on how you define "giving up." I know most people want to hear "ME? QUIT? NEVER! CAP LOCK!" The reality was that in some ways I did feel like giving up. I found excuses to not work. I found things to distract me from the work. I planned great writing sessions, if only the dishes were cleaned first I better do them and oh the rugs need to be vacuumed and I could really iron the napkins even though they are used and paper. For a time I thought about going back to school to pursue a degree in animation. It wasn't until my wife was pregnant with our son that I had a "What the #&@% are you doing?" moment. I was sitting in my living room in the dark, staring at a blank computer screen, and I heard a voice ask me, "When your son asks you what you do, what do you want to tell him?" The next morning I started getting up at 5AM to write. I did that for several months, even after he was born. Then we moved to a place in Brooklyn where my commute to midtown Manhattan was ninety minutes both ways. I wrote on the train, by hand, in leather-bound journals. Eventually I got a small netbook. I still get a majority of my writing done on the train, even though my commute is shorter now and my son older. Pregnant women and the elderly hate me. "No, you can't have this seat. Because I'm an artist, that's why." Through it all the reason I kept at it was "What will you tell your son what you are?" Did I follow my passion? Did I do what I HAD to do. At first, no. But eventually, yes. And I know now that it has stuck. I won't be stopping anytime soon. 

4. How have your writing goals/dreams changed since you started the process?

At first it was very goal oriented. "I want to have a book published." Then you think you've become a "serious" writer when you no longer want the publication but instead just want an agent. That's bullshit. It's as much of a distracting goal as publication. The moment--and I am serious when I say "moment"--that I knew in my heart that I only cared about getting the words in the right order good things started to happen. Do I want my books to sell? Of course. But when I sit down at the keyboard I am completely absorbed by the issues my characters are facing and how to make the sentences clear, the plot work, the descriptions true. I have brilliant moments of self-doubt, beautiful certainty that I suck at this. I think of these moments as brilliant and beautiful because they remind me of what's important: the writing writing writing. Thank God I have those moments of doubt. The second I stop having them is when I'll be going through the motions and writing work that will most certainly be crap. Doubt is a sign of passion. Embrace it.

5. These interviews will hopefully inspire those who are just beginning the writing process. What's the one piece of advice you wished you knew when you started?

I'm a bit of contrarian. Sometimes for humorous effect, sometimes just because, and sometimes because by law I'm forced to utilize my Philosophy degree in SOME way. However, when it comes to writing, I really go the opposite direction from a lot of "how to"s. Some of the things I do wouldn't work for everyone. Some people are outliners; I'm not. Some people say "write in the morning" or "never listen to music, eavesdrop to learn dialog" or "Revise the day after/week later/month after you finish." I would never be so arrogant to recommend that others should write the way I write. What makes my way so special?

But there is one piece of advice I would question: "Know your audience." Why? Am I going to drive them to the bookstore to pick up the book? I always assume that my audience are people who like the things I like. If I fill a book with things I think are cool, people who might be like me will probably find some (I hope most) of it cool too. However, I enjoy lots of different things, and my tastes can change based on mood, weather, time of year. If MY interests and tastes can develop and shift how am I going to meet the interests and tastes of some anonymous "audience?" I spent a lot of time trying to write for a specific audience in grad school. The effect: I wrote very little, and what I did write was like someone else's work. 

Thanks, Sean!! Go see Sean's blog for more general amusement AND advice, or follow him on Twitter @byseanferrell!

Pay It Forward Interview: Jodi Meadows

Sometimes this writing business--especially the writing for publication part--is rough and bumpy. We all go through the ditches, and feel we're alone. It's easy to look at other writers and think it was easy for them, or that they have some kind of luck or talent we don't have.

This week, a whole big bunch of us are turning the spotlight on those who are almost there, writers who are agented but haven't quite got the deal yet, or writers who have sold but their books aren't quite out. Join us this week for 70 (yes 70!) success stories!

Each day this week I'm going to post an interview with one of these writers, to hopefully inspire you, provide hope along your way, and prove that you CAN succeed in this crazy business. You guys--you're going to LOVE these interviews. They were so inspirational to me!! They're doing it. You can too.

Click here for more inspiration: Lisa and Laura Roecker, Beth Revis, Leah Clifford, Victoria Schwab, Kirsten Hubbard, Elana Johnson, Dawn Metcalf, Kim Harrington, Carrie Harris, Amy Holder, Kathy McCullough, Suzette Saxton and Bethany Wiggins, and Tiffany Schmidt.

My own interview will be featured on Tiffany Schmidt's blog this Tuesday. Please go check out all the posts this week, because you never know who's going to say exactly what you need to hear to keep moving forward.
*****
Jodi Meadows likes books so much she decided to write them, and recently found representation with Lauren MacLeod of the Strothman Agency. Before that, she spent a year and a half reading submissions and evaluating requested materials for another well-known agent. She's a smart cookie. LISTEN TO HER. And I don't know about you, but *I* want to read her book!

1. Tell us about your current book.

My current project is called THE NEWSOUL TRILOGY. The first in the series is ERIN INCARNATE, and I'm working on the draft of ERIN ASUNDER.

The idea behind the series is one I've been cooking for a few years now, but didn't have the guts to try until recently. It's pretty simple, I think, but there were a ton of places it could go, and consequences from just the worldbuilding...  It was intimidating!

Since the beginning of recorded time, people are reincarnated over and over. They remember all their past lives, develop their society, and so things go for about five thousand years. Then someone new is born.

The story is about Erin, the newsoul, and her journey to finding out who she is, why she was born, and learning whether there are more like her. There's a lot of science, magic, and romance.  Also a lot of death and mayhem. My favorite things!

2. Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publication (finding an agent and editor)?

Let me 'splain.

No, there is too much. Let me sum up.

Once upon a time, I had another agent. We parted ways on good terms and I thought to myself, "Okay, I've had one agent. How hard can it be to get another?"

Famous. Last. Words.

Fast forward roughly two years of slaving over a hot keyboard, writerly angst, and several announcements -- mostly just in my head -- that I was going to quit the goal of publication and just write for my own darn self.
Well, obviously it didn't end up like that. I stink at avoiding my goals, so I kept writing new stories, kept querying, and got a job working as a slush reader for my former agent, which was really educational and gave me a lot of insight into what agents do and how writers interact with them on a submission level. I did note in my query letter that I worked for an agent, but aside from possibly garnering a couple more requests or personal responses than I'd normally get, it didn't really affect my submission process -- except once. It, ah, ended up a rejection.

Okay, so there was a *lot* of drama involved with finding a new agent. Two years of angst, ect.

At some point, I joined Twitter and met a bunch of cool people. There was this one chick who called herself @bostonbookgirl and her profile said she was an agent, though I hadn't seen her on AgentQuery before. After I'd gotten to know Lauren -- as much as you can get to know anyone through Twitter -- I sent her a query for the dark adult urban fantasy I had recently applied a new coat of polish to. And she requested the full! Hurrah!

Then she rejected it. She liked my writing and all that, but something about it didn't work for her. So I said okay and after I thought she had enough time to recover, I sent her a secondworld fantasy YA.

Well Lauren rejected that one too, saying she loved it...but... But she didn't know the right people to send it to. Honestly, I'd already known that secondworld fantasy was a hard sell, but a girl's gotta try.

After that, I was determined to write something Lauren a) loved, and b) could sell. I happened to be working on ERIN INCARNATE then, and of *course* she was the first one I queried when the project was ready. (I also queried a bunch of other people. I'm no fool. Well, not a fool like that anyway.)

No one will believe that's the sum-up version.

3. Was there ever a time you felt like giving up? Why didn't you?

Goodness, yes. As I said, these were mostly announcements in my head to see how it worked out. Never very well.

I never actually intended on quitting writing -- I knew that was impossible -- so I just tried to give up the goal of getting published. But as it turns out, I really like that goal. It drives me to do better and work harder, even when it hurts (really bad) sometimes.

I want to share my stories with other people, and the best way to do that is to get an agent and publisher. So I guess *really* wanting to do that is what kept me from quitting for real.

4. How have your writing goals/dreams changed since you started the process?

I was just about to say they haven't changed, but that's not true. I've learned a lot about the industry and I think the biggest thing has actually been very simple: people run it.

How did that change my goals? Easy. I went from thinking any agent/editor would do to realizing I want someone who's as passionate and committed to their jobs as I am to writing, and someone whose working style matches mine.

It's definitely harder to find the right person, but it's worth it. Perhaps any agent/editor can help me succeed, but the *right* agent/editor can help me succeed better. (And with 10x more fun.)

5. These interviews will hopefully inspire those who are just beginning the writing process. What's the one piece of advice you wished you knew when you started?

I ate one of those little pudding cups (vanilla with caramel on top, if you must know) for inspiration on this question, because I didn't want something generic like, "Don't give up!" or "Write better, yo!" but those aren't bad. (The pudding was sugar-free, which might have something to do with the lack of inspiration here.)

Okay, how about this?

Agents and editors aren't our enemies. They aren't trying to keep writers from getting published. They are, in fact, cheering us on and waiting for us to send them The Project. The one they a) love, and b) can sell.

We just need to give it to them.
***

Thanks, Jodi!! You can You can also find Jodi's blog here, or follow her @jodimeadows!

Mornings

There are two favorite times in my day, every day.

One is none of your business. :) Two is my wake-up time with Child.

Every school morning I get up at 0-dark, stumble around and get myself ready. Then I open the curtains, turn on lights if it's November-March, and pad to Child's room.

"Good morning," I say, softly.

She's a much better morning person than I am. She whispers "Good morning." I warn her, and then turn on her light.


I sit on the end of her bed, in the little space next to her feet. When she's ready she pulls the blankets off her head, sits up, rubs her eyes, and climbs right into my lap.

I know this probably won't last much longer. She's 8. She's a big girl, and getting more independent by the day. But I treasure these moments. She's warm and sleepy, bright hair rumpled, and she clings to me, buries her face in my neck. We don't say anything for a while. Just hug. Sometimes I rub her back, feel her knobby spine. Every once in a while she'll rub mine, or comment on how soft my shirt is, or that I smell good, "Mommy-smell."

It is the moment I feel most complete, most brimming with love.

After a few minutes she pulls back, and we talk a little about how she slept, what's going on today. We laugh. We say "I love you." And "I love you more." And then she gets up to get dressed, and I head off to make lunches, make breakfast, get everything going.

That moment--that lasts me all day.

P, P, and P

I'm going on vacation on Friday!! Yeehaw!

Therefore, the next few days are all crammed full of planning/preparation/packing (the three Ps) and getting work done.

HOWEVER, next week will be exciting! Even though I'm gone, I'm going to be participating in something really, really cool, with posts every day...

Now you're just going to have to wait in suspense to see what it is!

*out for the 3 Ps*

Happy St. Pat's!

I don't actually celebrate St. Pat's. Three reasons, really:

• I have not a DROP of Irish in me.
• It's HUGE HUGE HUGE here, because we have a massive Irish population, and I'm such a curmudgeon sometimes I don't want to participate just because everyone else does enough participating for all of us. Plus uptown is taken over by drunks from about 10 AM on.
• I'm still just a touch resentful of all those pinches from grammar school. I'm just saying. 

But I did wear green today, to please Child. She's all into it, and who am I to deny her an extra holiday?


The weather has been absolutely thrillingly gorgeous here since Sunday, with full sun and 50-60 degree temperatures. We've taken full advantage. Sunday we swam outside, took an hour long walk/bike ride on the walking trail (Child on her bike), and played tennis. Monday hubby and I walked at lunch and while Child was in dance class. We tried to play tennis again, but the darn high school kids apparently take over the courts in the afternoon/evenings. Hubby jokingly said, "Get inside, kids! Go play video games!" But no. Yesterday we tried again, and ended up shooting hoops for an hour instead.

I love it. It's a whopping spoonful of summer when we should still be mired in snow. Mind, it's supposed to snow again tomorrow, but I will not complain!!

Blogiversary Re-post #1: How Publishing is just like America's Next Top Model

LAST Blogiversary post!!!
Hope you enjoyed the look-back. It was fun for me!
From October 2, 2009:

*****


I watch America's Next Top Model. I've admitted it before. (I actually get an absurd number of hits from that one mention of ANTM and bikinis, and now I expect I'll get more!)

You might think it odd that I'm obsessed with this show. I'm 5'3". I'm not model age, nor remotely model-like--I've never for an instant wanted to be a model. I'm not even girly! The show is kinda wacked, and the shoots they get up to are pretty...kooky.

Not situations I--or, um, anyone I know--is going to be getting into in everyday life. So why the fascination?


I finally figured it out: because I have empathy with these girls. Because America's Next Top Model is Just Like Publishing.

I'm serious.

Let's break it down, and you'll stop mocking and see what I mean.


1. The first step for wanna-be models in ANTM is to be good-looking. Not in a typical "pretty" way, but some original take on beauty: an unusual mouth, odd-shaped eyes, the ability to walk on a runway with a "trademark walk" and pose well for the camera. This is equivalent to WRITING A BOOK. Your book also must be more than what's already on the shelves, something still "pretty" (entertaining) but different. Something that will make readers ooooh. Sure, it's a little more labor-intensive than...being born...but the similarity is THERE.


2. ANTM hopefuls make videos of themselves, trying to convince Tyra that they are not only beautiful but interesting, have a life story that will inspire others, and can handle themselves. This is THE QUERY LETTER. I don't even think I need to explain this one.


3. Hopefuls are then culled to a small group that will compete for the final prize. These girls are just like writers REPRESENTED BY AN AGENT. These select few get special advice and training from experts (revision), and then they have to put that advice into practice in photo shoots. In photo shoots they may have makeup and wardrobe and helpers, but in the end it's all up to the individual to perform, to show the best side of themselves. This is still revision, taking all the advice given to you and finding a way to weave it into the manuscript to make it the best possible work you can achieve. 


4. After the photo shoot we head to the judging panel, where each model's fate is decided. This, of course, is SUBMISSION. Fortunately, we don't have to stand there in person while the judges critique not only our photos (our books) but the outfits we're wearing to panel, our hair, and that unfortunate scarf. Our agents handle both the submission and the possibly-brutal feedback. But we do have to remember that when we're putting ourselves all over the internet, blogging and tweeting and facebooking, we're still kind of standing there in panel. That unfortunate comment we made about a book that editor happened to love is just as bad--or worse--than an unfortunate scarf. I've seen girls get eliminated because of what they wore to panel being consistently bad week after week, when they didn't listen to judge's suggestions. Listen to your agent. Pay attention to how you appear. Don't be an ass.


Actually the judging criteria parallel submission and acquisition even more closely. Here are some qualities that are important both in ANTM models and wanna-be authors, if they want to seriously compete:

• You have one chance to make an impression. The most important factor to the judges is that week's photo. Even if you rocked last week (last book), it doesn't really matter. What's in front of them right now, the book you're submitting, is what matters.
• Presentation and personality do count when there is a decision to be made. ANTM judges will often favor the girl with a more positive, engaging personality. If you were an editor, would you choose the author who was easy to work with, upbeat, and willing to compromise, or the one who is always whining and complaining?
• I said this above, but don't be an ass. Difficult, mean people never make it far.
• Persistence matters. Attention matters. Judges look for improvement, for girls who listen to the advice of their experts. Who are willing to revise and revise and keep trying and striving, who put themselves into their effort wholeheartedly.

Now thank God, it's not *all* like ANTM. Authors on submission don't all have to live in the same house, on camera, and bicker at each other. We don't have to be naked on a horse (usually) or roll around in weeds or dirt or wear big poofy clown wigs. Usually. That stuff's just fun to watch.


But I'm in that critical SUBMISSION phase, standing there in front of the judges day after day. And every time I get a positive email from my agent, or even news that we're still out there, still under consideration, this goes through my head, in Tyra's voice. And I smile (smize), because I'm still IN there.

You're still in the running towards becoming America's Next Published Author.

Blogiversary Re-post #2: My 3 Life Lessons

From January 23, 2009. Because they're still true, and I still need to learn them.

*****
I've slowly come to the realization that there are 3 major lessons I keep re-learning, over and over and over. Each time they dawn on me as Truth, as Revelation, even though I'm well aware I've learned them before. It's just so easy to forget. If I believed in reincarnation or karma, I'd say these are the lessons I'm working on in this life.

So I'm going to put them in writing this time, hoping that will help me keep them in mind. Y'all feel free to remind me, too.

1. Give without expectation. If you give love freely, or do things for others freely, without expecting anything in return (this is the hard part for me), the love will come back to you. People will choose to do things for you. CHOOSE, instead of being expected to, which is different and vastly better.
2. Do the work first, and inspiration will follow. This is really just a different version of butt-in-chair, but it is SO easy to get frustrated when writing or life isn't going the way you want it to, and want to give up because it isn't coming. I realized this one again yesterday when (whew) I had a big plot revelation for SSP...after banging my head against a wall for 11,000 words. Yes, I start with ideas, but the story doesn't coalesce until I put the hard work in. Often I struggle to scrape the words together for my daily goal, only to find that at the end of the session words come, I get into the flow, and I go over my word count. You have to go through the hard part.
3. Things happen for a reason. I know. This is an old saw, and can seem pretty flat when the world is falling apart around you. But it's true.

Example: I had some pretty miserable school experiences. I mean bad. At one point in 5th grade there was an "I hate Susan club", and many of my classmates were members. Yeah. Because I went through all that a little part of my psyche is still there, still dealing with social struggles and rejection.

Unforeseen Result: Now I write YA. I couldn't, if I hadn't suffered then. I understand what that place is like.

Example: Both my husband and I were laid off within 3 months of each other. We had a 6-month-old child, we had no income besides Social Security, and the economy was tight in our industries, so we had trouble finding jobs (sound familiar?).

Unforeseen Result: Instead of having our child in daycare, I was able to stay home with her for a year. Then I got a really good job in Montana, in a small town, and my husband stayed home with her for another year, until she was ready to start at a fabulous preschool that she loves. My mom moved here a year later (from somewhere else), and now Child is able to have a close relationship with her grandparents that she would not have otherwise had. It worked out in a way I never would have guessed 6 years ago.

I am NOT saying change is easy, or work is easy, or giving of yourself is easy. None of it is. It's freaking hard, and that's why I keep forgetting these lessons. (over and over and...) But I welcome the moments when I realize them again, and feel that surge of YES.

Blogiversary Re-post #3: Be Afraid

This is my most popular post by far. Mostly just because Janet linked to it, which spread it far and wide from there. :)

*****

What is your biggest fear?

Rejection? Death? The unknown? Loss? Is your main character facing down that fear?

Why not?

I don't know where I read or heard this first: Robert McKee, maybe, or quite possibly Donald Maass, in his Surrey master classes. The advice: Find your fear, and dump it on the page. Make your character deal with it in just the way you've always dreaded. 

It's hard. I've done it, stared at the screen thinking "No, I can't talk about that. Even thinking about that scares me silly. How can I possibly live every day with that ache, that trickle of fear, for months?" You can. You should. It brings a vividness to your book that will otherwise be missing, that will become the vague, undefined lack earning you "I just didn't love this" comments by the bucketful.

However, if you truthfully portray your fear, and your characters react to it honestly, your book will resonate with readers. See, the trick is you're not the only one with that particular fear. If it's cathartic for you to deal with it on the page and come through the other side, it's cathartic for readers as well. They'll recognize the truth, connect with the powerful emotions. Rip through the pages to see if your MC will overcome it. Cheer for her when she does.

Like everybody, I've got several fears that underlie everything, that can rise to the surface with one word. One is rejection.

I'm not talking about book rejection—that's just a step in the process, in my opinion. I'm talking about when your best friend for years starts going cold. Stops calling you. Tells you one day, in front of all the people you most want to impress, that she can't believe she was ever friends with you in the first place, you're such a loser.

Yes, that happened to me.

Or when your boyfriend, or husband, starts spending long hours away from you. Turns away when you try to kiss him, or worse, pretends. But you can tell. It's different. It's over, you just haven't admitted it yet.

Or when you're a kid, and one of your parents leaves, for reasons that are perfectly valid from a grown-up's perspective, but to a kid just means they've failed somehow.

Jenna dealt with that fear. Natalie's facing it too, in a different way from a different source. But I think it's a common anxiety, and important. And very, very real to me. 

Another one I didn't even realize until I wrote Jenna was the fear of losing control. I hadn't realized the true terror of that moment when—because of medical reasons, or because you're just a kid—decisions about your life are taken out of your hands, and you no longer have a choice. I did that to Jenna. Of course she took control back, but she had to lose it first. I had to, to understand it.

Don't hold back. Don't sugar-coat issues, to make them safe. Face your fears. Make your characters go through those particular layers of hell. 

And then, at the end, let them win.

Blogiversary Re-post #4: News (yes, finally!)

This is a re-post of another of my seminal moments in writing life so far, signing with the wonderful, sharkly Janet Reid.

When I posted this, I think I rather thought the rough bits of my writing journey were over completely, but not quite yet. Still hanging in, but so glad to have Janet on my team!

*****
I am absolutely THRILLED to announce that as of this morning I have signed with Janet Reid, of FinePrint Literary Management!!!!!

I first ran across Janet at Surrey, as part of the panel of the dreaded SIWC Idol workshop. As in previous years, I submitted my 2 pages, this time of JENNA, to be read aloud and critiqued. Kristin Nelson stopped the reading, but Janet stood up for it, and said she loved the beginning and would have kept reading.

I didn't really consider submitting to her, though, because I knew she didn't take YAs. However, I ran into her again at the banquet, and reminded her that she'd liked my book...and she asked for pages right there. Sadly, I didn't have them hiding in my cocktail dress, but I slipped the first chapter to her the next day. She said she'd get in touch with me.

Fast forward to November. I hadn't heard from her, but I'd been submitting to other agents, and I still had her on my list as a long shot (no YAs, remember?). So I sent her a follow-up email with the first chapter again. Didn't hear right away, but that's standard. Kept submitting. In the meantime a few other agents asked for the full.

On December 18th, I got a wonderful email from Janet saying she couldn't believe she hadn't asked for the full right away, and could I please send it?

She read the whole thing IN ONE DAY and called to offer representation that night. She loved it. (okay, I feel like Sally Fields now; I will refrain)

We had to wait until the other agents considering the full had a chance to respond, which is why the long radio silence between then and now. But from the moment I talked to her that night, I wanted to sign with her. She's wonderful, and she LOVED THE BOOK. Just as it is. (yes, I did watch Bridget Jones last night, why do you ask?)

As to not repping YAs? I asked Janet that. She said "Well, we're just going to change that right now, aren't we?" :)

So there you have it. I have an agent.

Thanks to all of you for your support through everything!!

Blogiversary Re-post #5: Oh, it was a good one

From December 26th, 2007:

****
Usually, Child wakes me up with a gentle tapping on my back. Sometimes it incorporates into my dream, like the alarm buzzer, but she just keeps up the tapping, tap tap tap, until I respond.

Yesterday it was more of a thump thump thump.

"HE CAME!" she said, in a barely restrained whisper. I rolled over immediately, to find two big eyes, right there. "He CAME and you'd never believe it I've never seen so many presents IN MY LIFE!"

She bounced up and down, clutching her teddy bear, beaming.

"Really?" I whispered back, snapping out of grogginess pretty quick. "Did he eat the cookies?"

"YES! I looked, and there were only CRUMBS LEFT! And he drank all the milk except for THIS MUCH!" She scrunched her fingers together in a fist, showing me a teeny gap, and grinned. Bounce, bounce, bounce. "And I've never seen so many presents, and you have to come look, and there's a present on top that's shaped like a TURKEY! Come ON!"

There was no "okay in five minutes" yesterday. There was only a smile between me and hubby, and a quick throwing on of socks and such, and an even quicker push of the coffeemaker button.

And then it was Christmas.

The rest of the day was wonderful, filled with surprises and playing and phone calls and a lovely time with grandma and grandpa. But that...that was my favorite moment. That lasts me all year.

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas.