Getting there

Well kids, I think I'm finally at the point where I'm be ready to start the submission process! It's been a long time coming, that's for damn sure. Remember when I thought I would be ready to start at the end of February?? And see now how it's already mid-April??

The synopsis killed my deadline. How I thought I'd be able to write that in a day or two, I'm really not sure. Once I started it, I had to take several breaks and step away from it so I wouldn't go mental. YOU try condensing 80,000 words down to around 1000- less if possible. Oh, and keep it in the same voice and tone as the novel itself. Right. Thanks to the help of my "editors" and two revising pow-wow sessions, plus another, oh 5 hours revising it myself, I've gotten it down to a reasonable word count (right around 1100) and cut out pretty much all the backstory I could. I'm left with a skeleton of the story, but I guess that's the point. As with the query and story itself...we shall see.

I've been getting asked lately if I plan on self-publishing. The answer to that is, well, I don't know. I definitely want to try to go the traditional route first, which means landing an agent who will work with me and the publishers. I really like that idea, seeing as how I am not schooled in the world of publishing. At all. Different agents have different opinions on self-publishing, too. Some view it as the kiss of death- like, don't even mention it if and when you write another book and try to land an agent for that one. Other agents believe the industry itself is evolving, and there's no shame in wanting to get your book out there by any means possible. I think I view it more as a last resort-type of option. I mean, if there aren't ANY agents out there who think my book is good enough to sell, does it matter that I think it will? Am I kidding myself? Shouldn't I just scrap it and start over with a different story?? I don't know. Clearly, I go back and forth on this a lot.

It all goes back to this: I won't know unless I try.

I'm going to start ending my blogs with something that makes me happy. The more positive vibes I throw out there, the better, right? So today, the thing that makes me happy is:

Meeting my Gramma for lunch every Wednesday. Since I've started my job out here, I meet her and my aunt almost every Wednesday, weather and meetings permitting. I cherish these weekly visits, and I'm so happy to have a Gramma who's still so active and fun at 84 years old. And the sliders at Bams are delicious. ;o)