Gold

In my last post I talked about #sunvssnow but that didn't turn out the way I thought it would.  The 200 available slots filled up in six minutes.  Six minutes!  I simply didn't get my entry in fast enough.  And, it doesn't help that we were having a storm that day and the internet was working very slowly.  To watch  the indicator spinning 'round and 'round for twenty minutes after I clicked "send" was quite infuriating.

But, the wind from a door closing blows open a window and I was able to enter #agentmatch.  This event was a little different in that you sent in your query and hook which were posted on a blog that went live on 2/10.  For two days agents would come to the blog and read the queries and request any that interested them.  I came out of the event with several requests and many, many new followers.  So, between that and today's #adpit it's been a very good week for my query.  Hopefully I'll be hearing more good news regarding those soon.

Some have recently tried to rain on parade - trying to tell me agents don't want what I have.  That I'll never get an agent or be published.  I can't have that kind of talk - I won't have it either.  I believe it my work and my recent success shows I'm not the only one.  I believe with my entire being that this is going to happen for me.  Somebody out there will want to know what I have to say.  And, then more will follow.

For right now I'm a little preoccupied with the weather.  I received an alert on my phone from the national weather service about the high winds we're expecting this weekend.  There could be gusts up to 60 MPH which could knock out power which isn't good when they're forecasting temperatures of 2 degrees.  Since getting home from work I've been running around getting the laundry done and making sure there are enough extra blankets to go around.  Later, I'll be going to the grocery store to pick up some food that doesn't need to be cooked - peanut butter and the like.  I hate the thought of being without power when it's this cold out - especially since snow is expected as well - but I'm going to be ready for it.  And if nothing  happens I haven't really lost anything.  The laundry will be done as well as the grocery shopping.   Clean sheets will be on the beds and things are tidied. 

There's a jar candle in every bedroom as well as a lantern.  The tablets, ereaders, cellphones, iPods, etc are plugged in and there's plenty of fresh batteries in the fridge.  I have the matches and I'll be ready to launch into action the moment the darkness engulfs us all.  Everybody's well taken care of and that's my responsibility.  Always has been and always will be. 

Until then we'll all go on as we would otherwise.  Reading, writing, and living. 

A Lot of Livin' to Do

Look at that – first post of the new year!  Happy 2015, everybody!  I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday season.  My sister and I spent New Year’s Eve watching Live at Lincoln Center and Michael Feinstein New Year's Eve at the Rainbow Room on PBS.  I took the very first song Michael sang as the title of this blog for numerous reasons.

Bye,Bye, Birdie was the first professional production I ever saw and it helped mold me into the crazy Broadway fan I am today.  I was twelve and my grandmother took me to see the show at the ForrestTheatre in Philadelphia.  The show starred Tommy Tune, Susan Egan, and a number of other great names.  In fact, twenty-something years later Tommy Tune sat across the aisle from me at a show and it was one of the few times I’ve truly been tongue-tied in front of celebrity.

Also, it was a great song to start off the new year.  We have lots of livin’ to do with so many new beginnings and possibilities.  I have such great hope for 2015 and I’m so excited to see what’s going to come next.  I will get an agent this year – I will!  And I will keep saying that until I do.  No doubts, no questions.

The details about a new query contest were announced today.  Michelle Hauck and Amy Trueblood are hosting Sun vs Snow and I’m already gearing up to enter in a few weeks.  I’m very hopeful about getting chosen this time around but I know I’ll still get something out of it if I don’t.  I have gotten positive things out of every contest I’ve taken part in – followers, friends, and feedback.  I even have a whole new opening to my manuscript thanks to slush reader feedback from Nightmare on Query Street.  I was close last night so maybe this time there will actually be a cigar.

I was reading an article about the Hollywood sign and the residents of BeachwoodCanyon today.  This upscale Los Angeles neighborhood is where Suzy, my main character, makes her home and I have been wondering where she would fall in the debate as a resident.  She has a great love for the sign and often blows it kisses from her bedroom window for luck and would hate for people not to have access to it.  But, she wouldn’t care for the drunken tourists messing up her beloved aunt’s home.  It’s a tense situation and sadly there will always been rude and stupid tourists. They’re not all bad but enough are that things get ruined for everyone.  Even though I have visited Hollywood on several occasions I have never made a trek to the sign.  It’s a bucket list item for me.

Enough of that for now – there’s such much work and livin’ to do.  Let’s get to it!

Magic To Do

My goodness - can the holiday season be almost over?  It feels like we were just putting up the tree yesterday.  So much work to get ready and it's all over in a flash.  Almost all the presents have been delivered.  My mailed a package to my friend who lives in the UK on December 14 and she still hasn't received it.  Since USPS doesn't track to UK there's nothing they can do about it being missing.  Other than that all other packages were delivered without a hitch.

Once the new year comes I'll be doing some organizing and after that it'll be full speed ahead on the querying front.  I had made the decision to step back for the holidays for a few reasons.  First, because many agents on my list were closing to queries until after the new year.  And, I decided I wanted to concentrate on enjoying the season instead of being stressed about waiting for replies.  Also, I wanted to try and poke at my manuscript a bit.  I'm hyper aware of my overuse of the word "that" so I did make an honest effort to find ways around using it.  And, I was under the impression I had already done a search for it and "just".  When you've gone over a manuscript time and time again it's easy for things to blend together to an extent.  So, I must have dreamed doing that search because I was up until six am Sunday deleting over a thousand of those two extra words.  Yes, a thousand.  Since my character is telling a story I can get away with some use of the word "that" but not that much.

I've also been paying some attention to Query Tracker to work on my list.  Who changed their genres, who's closed, who's branching out on their own, etc.  This is something I always try to keep up on whether I'm in querying mode or not.

This week I'm going to be working on finding my desk.  I seem to have misplaced it during the holiday season thanks to all the packages, Christmas cards, and catelogs.  Just like Spock it will be found.  This I swear.

This is the Moment

I wrote the very last word of my first draft in early May.  It was very late - definitely after midnight.  When I was done I had to run out for a bit - for gas I think.  I don't usually take my iPod in the car with me on quick trips but this time I grabbed it.  And This is the Moment from James Barbour's album Bring Me Giants was the very first song to come over the speakers.

And it was that moment realization came over me.  This was the moment - the first of many more to come.  Finishing that first draft was so amazing and if I hadn't done that the rest of the journey could not have started. 

Since music is such a large part of my manuscript and because this song played an important part in the story I wanted to highlight the whole album.  In fact, the very last song, I Can't Recall, is mentioned in the book.  The CD's not available on Amazon or iTunes anymore but maybe it'll show up again.  Every song is from a musical based on a literary classic.  Some you may recognized but others may surprise you.

Who Will Love this Child - The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Longer I Live - Dracula
I Will Be There - The Count of Monte Cristo
Loving You Keeps Me Alive - Dracula
If Ever I Would Leave You - Camelot
Music of the Night - The Phantom of the Opera
Bring Him Home - Les Miserables
This is the Moment - Jekyll & Hyde (see below)
Impossible Dream - Man of La Mancha
Bring Me Giants - Cyrano de Bergerac 
I Can't Recall - Tale of Two Cities

Bright Brand New Day

I'm going to keep this brief this time around and only concentrate on the good.  The bad is always trying to pull me down but that's being laid aside for now.

Christmas season is upon us and the new year is approaching.  With it I have bright hopes for more good things waiting in the wings.  I hope they hear their cues soon so entrances can be made.

This past Thursday was #pitmad and it's always a fun time (even though I have to work through most of it).  Lots of retweets and new followers - I haven't had the chance to follow back yet but I certainly will very soon.  The event was good for me with a few favorites.  Now it's time to wait and see if they turn into anything.. 

I missed the last few hours of #pitmad because I had tickets to a Christmas concert at a local high school.  I live in a smallish town in NJ that doesn't get much in the way of "big" acts.  For that I'd have to travel to New York City, Philadelphia, Atlantic City, or even New Brunswick.  We don't have any big concert halls and couldn't support them due to our proximity to the larger cities.

So,  hearing Phil Coulter would be playing at a high school down the street from my office was pretty exciting.  And, the concert was the perfect end to a great day.  I've been on Phils's Tranquility Cruise twice so I'd heard all of the songs Phil played before except for one - Bright, Brand New Day.

Even though the song is about the Irish city of Derry coming alive after The Troubles  I sat up straighter in my seat as I listened to it.  I was so close to my own bright, brand new day.  I felt like I was ready to head down a new road.  To stand up and say "I'm ready".

And I am.  I'm ready for my bright, brand new day.

Heart

Well, Nightmare on Query Street is over – for me at least.  It was a fun few days but ultimately the judges didn’t find what they were looking for in my manuscript.  I won’t lie and say there weren’t tears or there wasn’t a brief moment of “why do I bother”.  I’ve been asked to not stray too far away from the twitter feed even though I am no longer in the running (and maybe never really was).  Apparently, my contributions to the feed have been worthwhile but I’m still undecided on that.  I don’t want to come off as sour grapes but the stab of rejection is a little too fresh for me to wade back in to watch the celebrating.

Now it’s back to the query trenches with the hope that someone, somewhere will see something in my little manuscript that could.  I still believe in the piece even if I’m having trouble finding people who feel the same way.  And, it’s not just because I’m the author and I think everything I write is amazing.  Is it a perfect manuscript?  Probably not but wasn’t it Picasso who said art is never finished but rather abandoned?  I’m sure some tweaks need to be made but as a whole I think I have something good and people who have actually read it agree.

I want to thank the good folks who were chatting with me last night and talked me off my proverbial ledge.  Those first few moments after the announcement was made weren’t pretty ones for me.  It’s always my endeavor to never come off as whiny or anything and if I ever came close to it last night I apologize.

I didn't write this because I wanted anyone to feel sorry for me or that I feel sorry for myself.  My goal with this blog is to chronicle the ups and downs of this process.  It's easy to say "don't take it personal" or "don't let it get you down".  But, we're all humans with emotions and not having feelings just isn't in the cards.  Having those moments of reflection, sadness, and even doubt are okay.  They're even healthy.  But, the goal is not to dwell on those moments.  To take stock and move forward carrying something better than what you had before.

I would also like to thank the hard working folks behind #NoQS.  All of you have jobs, families, and your own books but you still made the time to try to help people reach their ultimate goals and find an agent/publisher.  This road doesn’t end here for you guys and it stretches on for you and the writers you saw potential in.  May you all find success in your future endeavors.

Finally, congratulations to the winners – may you all come out of this adventure with agents, books deals, and gads of fans.

Shades of Gray

And the rejections came pouring in from every side.  While I do try to stay positive and not let the naysayers pull me down I'm also not going to put a fake whitewash on things.  Getting rejections just plain old sucks - even really nice, non-form rejections have some level of suckage.  We all question ourselves from time to time.  Are we wasting our time?  Are we wasting everyone else's time?  What if we're not good enough? 

Those questions are perfectly acceptable but the important thing is to not get trapped in those moments.  If someone comes along and says you're not supposed to feel down about the query process you have my permission to kick them in the shin.  You have every right to feel down about things but it's important to move on.  Reflection is okay but don't peruse them. 

There are a lot of cooks in my kitchen and I have trouble sorting out what advice to take and what is best left to the side.  Everyone means well but with so many opposing views coming at me I end up feeling as if I'm on an out of control merry-go-round.  The up and down and round and round can give anybody a headache.  I'm sure anyone else out in Agent Land can understand those feelings - many of you have probably had them.

I've been prepping for Nightmare on Query Street lately and I feel like I'm just about where I want to be.  I just need to tighten up my query just a bit more before the deadline.  A lot of these contests have the same judges/mentors/agents as other contests and sometimes I have to wonder if they're tired of seeing my name and title go scrolling by.  "Her again?"  But, perseverance pays off and this is more of a "keeping at it" game than anything else.  If we all gave up after thirty-two rejections there wouldn't be a publishing business to speak of.  No new books would ever get published.

So, we'll all keep plugging away until that shining moment when someone wants to read more that becomes an offer of rep.  Remember, many authors got hundreds of rejections and only one yes.