Great Agent Hunt – Getting to Yes (part 2) November 23, 2009

So, if you’re just joining us, last week I announced my signing with my agent, posted how I researched, organized and sorted agents during the search process, and discussed what I learned from the first half of the query process. At the end of the last post, I promised to discuss more of what I learned since I am (apparently) becoming blogwinded.

 

Fast forward to the first offer. I got the first off on a Friday (all of my friends have gotten Friday calls to. We’re really curious why this is.)

 

I was out and about and missed her email. When I emailed her back she asked if she could call…in ten minutes. Honestly, I loved this as it cut down the panic time! The downside was that my computer was in the shop and had the list of “What to ask potential agents” on it. So I felt like I was flying blind. Agent 1 was amazingly nice about this and actually suggested questions I may have forgotten to ask because I didn’t have my list. She was friendly, professional, excited and kind. I loved her and would highly recommend her to anyone. I did wonder about some of the suggestions we discussed and she was kind enough to send me written notes. I spent a lot of time looking at these and thinking over how I could attack them. A few I knew I couldn’t do. I knew I could go back and discuss them with her, she’d been very open with me and that wasn’t a fear.

 

After a stressed out call with poor Gwen Hayes (because I’m a worrier, and worrying always comes first) I realized that (unlike last time) no matter what, I would have an agent at the end of this process. it was an amazing feeling.

 

So, when we got off the phone, I looked at my list of who had partials and fulls out. I had sent out queries to my top 20 agent’s on my Top Match list and had more requests than I expected. Looking at the list, I sent an email to each agent I knew I’d be super interested in (which since that was my top 20 was all of them. Yeah, not much for cutting the list down that way) saying that I’d been offered a contract and wanted to know if they would like the opportunity to read the full and potentially discuss my manuscript.

 

 

Everyone said yes.

 

Some passed for various reasons: Not as intrigued as they expected, Already had someone with a similar voice, Didn’t know what to do with it.

 

Some waited until the last minute to email me back because they were busy. I understand, but one thing I definitely did was include a deadline (making it very clear) and stick to it. This is a business and you don’t want to mess with the people you’re already working with.

 

Two asked to read it and then got back to me a week after the deadline asking to offer. I let them know it was no longer on the table. One apologized. One was annoyed.

 

But several wanted to offer for it. And so the phone calls began. . . Oh, and one really great get together.

 

 

 

I can say that speaking with Kim was easy, straightforward, fun and informative. But, it was that for most of the people I spoke with. I felt very much like we were on the same page. That the things she mentioned were either a “doh!” moment or a “yeah, I can see how that would be better. Now I just have to figure out how the heck to do it.”  There was a lot to the phone call that made my decision clear.

 

 

But it was still a difficult decision because I could see that there was no *wrong* decision. Everyone I talked to was great. It was amazingly encouraging to discuss my work and publishing with such an intelligent, driven yet nice group of women. It reinforced to me that I was being blessed by the whole process!

 

After making my decision and hoping she hadn’t realized she’d read and loved someone else’s book (I mentioned I worry, right?) I spoke with Kim again, solidified revision thoughts, discussed the contract and we were a go! Then the second worst part happened (beyond the worrying) — letting people I really respected know I was passing on their generous offers. It was hard. It felt personal after talking with them and it so wasn’t. I think every author who has to send those emails gets a small taste of what agents who meet and do some preliminary work with writers, and then in the long run pass, feel. Yuck.

 

Next step: Send quick notes to the 7 people who still had the query only letting them know that I had accepted an offer. Make sure you put something that lets them know you’re pulling your submission in the subject line so you don’t waste their time. Also, 2 of those agents thanked me for stating the date they would have received my query so they could find it quickly — they said that was a time-saver.

 

Two of those agents responded with the fact that they were disappointed because they were just about to request. Seriously, I could not believe this process.

 

So, what did I learn beyond the process?

 

I learned that my blog was a big help. Everything I’m about to say was mentioned by at least 2 agents:

• My free read and it’s ability to showcase my voice and writing in a different setting….also the mention of not being a one trick pony
• My fantasy – some of the agents were aware that I was actively writing fantasy as well and also had a fair idea what it was about
• Excerpt Monday – I was asked the reasons I started this and got to have a great discussion about the pre-business of being pre-published
• Bio – It’s a little less formal than the one on my query letter and gives more of a feel of what a nerdy dork I am – they should be prepared, right?

 

So there it is. The process as seen by a crazed YA writer. Right after this happened (like the next day) I got in the car to move across the country. It didn’t go as smoothly as I’d hoped and diving into the revision notes was a slower process than normal for me. But, I’m there — in my revisions — now and excited about the whole darn thing.

 

I love hearing your stories! To everyone who has commented or emailed, keep them coming – the support has been amazing.

Great Agent Hunt – Getting to Yes (part 1) November 20, 2009

You may have seen last week when I announced that I had signed an agency contract with Kim Lionetti at Bookends. Well, I promised to post some thoughts about the process, so here they are.

 

Finding an agent is, as we all know, not an easy path. Here’s my story and what I learned.

 

I started querying 16 months ago with my first book. I made the standard newbie mistake of sending it out when I thought it was ready. Of course, I didn’t realize I was making the mistake. I’d revised and edited it. I’d worked with a CP and beta readers. I’d grown and pushed my story. But it wasn’t enough. I blew through about 50 agents who my sorting process had said were a good match before I realized this. A couple agents gave me amazing notes on how to better my book. Another 4 months of work and I realized I had a YA Fantasy novel I loved. No longer that first love like when you’re young and think this MUST be it, but a mature love of someone who had seen young love and learned from it.

 

And I was also out of agents to query who would fit in the Great Match category.

 

Last November I took a much needed break from the intense world of my fantasy and decided to try Nano. Only, it went a little too well. I wrote Secret Girlfriend (a Rom Com’y type story) in 11 days and surprised myself by loving every minute of it. Secret Girlfriend is the exact opposite of Markbearer. It’s lighter, fewer story lines, fewer themes, only one world, fewer characters and funny (good lord, I hope it’s funny). Every thought in my head was to just call it a palate cleansing exercise and get back to my fantasy world.

 

Flash Forward to this summer. The fantasy was done-done and I did an ROI on writing book two of such a huge undertaking without being able to query it since it wouldn’t be a standalone. (I did take into consideration the threats from the people who had read book 1…but, alas, they lost). On a whim, I opened Secret Girlfriend and ran through it. Wow. How surprised was I to see it was pretty darn clean? I started sending my weekly chapters to my CP and was surprised to find out she thought it was clean too.

 

The beta readers read through it quickly too and then Gwen Hayes forced me into querying. Not only that, but her husband got in on it: If you send five queries today, I’ll bake you a pie. (I’d just like to say, I blame him 100% for the weight I gained during this process.)

 

This is where I stop the story to discuss the actual query process.

 

I’d learned a lot querying my first book. I learned when to listen to what They say and when not to. For example. I made a list of 20 agents I would love love love to have. TWENTY??? Yes. Twenty. The process the first time taught me that the idea of a “dream agent” is not only wrong, but it’s not healthy. What do you do when that person rejects you off a query without even looking at your work? They may not be interested in you for several reasons. They may not actually be your dream agent. But how would you know that? You typically haven’t met them, spoken with them or seen anything other than their online presence. The last round I found that two of my “dream agents” were actually people who would be a horrible match for me (and so visa versa).  Also, waiting for a small number puts your entire career on hold. Would you only send your resume out to one employer at a time if you were jobless?

 

If you didn’t see my post on how I researched, organized and sorted agents, check it out HERE. It explains that part of the process very clearly.

 

So, I removed some agents and added others then started the process for book 2. After Mr. Hayes bribed me with pie, I sent out a minimum of 2 queries a day on business days. I logged them all on querytracker.net (Go get it now if you don’t have it) and then I put it aside. I wasn’t going to think about them for 2 months.

 

The plan was to look at the remaining agents on my list at that time and sort them into groups of five to send out as rejections came in. Only, that’s not how book 2 went. Book 2 went something like this:

• Mr. Gwen bribes me to send out queries
• Queries get surprising number of requests surprisingly quickly
• Partial requests turn into fast (again surprising) full requests
• Full request turns into an offer
• One offer turns into several
• About a month has gone by since Mr. Gwen’s bribes put a disgusting amount of fat in my body (when I say disgusting, I mean the best tasting stuff on the planet)

 

I think we can all admit, this is not the normal time frame…and hopefully not the normal amount of weight put on in a month…

 

Obviously, a lot went on during the week where I got the offers. But another thing I think we can all agree on is how long this post is! So, I’ll be posting later about what I actually learned during that week.

Starting & Organizing Your Agent Search November 17, 2009

When I started the querying process with my first book, I was part of a group blog called The Purple Hearts. While there I did the following post on how I found, researched and sorted agents. I thought I’d already transplanted that post, but here it is. Of course I’ve done a little updating

 

I’m very visual – I need a logical way to look at information or it might as well be street graffiti. At first everyone laughed at me, but now they’ve started asking for the Bria Agent Search Spreadsheets for themselves (maybe I should start charging!)

 

I won’t lie. It is time consuming in the front-end. But later, when the querying begins, it will keep you on track and organized. Another plus à it will stop your focus from drifting to time wasting (and embarrassing) querying of agents who don’t rep what you write.

 

So, breaking this down in very easy steps, here we go:

 

Step 1 – Decide what you write.

My main passion and focus is YA Fantasy, but I also have ideas for a RomCom and a historical (which may be YA, Women’s Lit, or Romance – depending on who you ask) so my focus groups are: Fantasy, YA, Romance, and ChickLit. You’ll have your own, but we’ll stick with mine for these examples.

 

Step 2 – Create an Excel Spreadsheet

This is very easy if you’ve never done it before. Open it up and then save it as “Agent Search.”

Across the top create a column for each of the following: Agent Name, Agency, Solicit?, Email, YA, Fantasy, Rom, ChLit, RWA, P&E, Exp, TOTAL, Authors, Notes

 

Step 3 – Link to: http://www.agentquery.com/search_advanced.aspx

In place of my genres, put all your writing genres

 

Step 4 – List Creation: This is the longest part. Cut and paste each page into your spreadsheet and then line up the information with columns. Put an “1″ under each genre the agent reps. You may want to consider weighting one genre heavier than others – for example, my future agent MUST rep YA, so that column gets a “2″ instead of a “1.”

 

Step 5 – The remaining columns are weighted columns

So you may have notice that you still have RWA, P&E, Exp, and TOTAL, left.

RWA (Romance Writers of America) is a very reputable group. Whether you write romance or not, you should consider joining. The group is highly focused on Craft and many agents have said they can often tell a person is an RWA member from their clean manuscript and professional queries.

If the agency/agent is RWA certified, add another “1″

 

P&E (Predators and Editors) as another amazing resource. They list everyone in the industry they’re aware of. If they give an agency/agent a “highly recommends” add a “2″ – a “recommends” add a “1″ —— they’ll also let you know if they “highly don’t recommend (“-2″), “don’t recommend” (“-1″), or if they are listed on “Writer Beware” (“-3″)

 

Exp stands for “Experience.” The longer you are in the publishing circle as an unpublished person, the more opportunities you’ll get to interact at conferences and workshops with agents. You’ll also meet some wonderful people who are already represented or have met agents (note: make sure these people are 100% reliable in your book and not just out to bash or praise to feel “in the know”).

 

Personally, I looked at blogs, talk to other writers, read articles, followed people on twitter. One of my top 10 agents (for book 1) was bumped off my list completely because of her attitude toward her clients and potential clients on her blog. You want to know this ahead of time. Use the same rating system as P&E.

 

TOTAL – create a sum total column for each row and then sort by the TOTAL column.

 

The last two columns are just as important. You should always be familiar with the authors an agent already reps. It lets you know what they like and where they succeed. Also, it allows you to ‘sell’ yourself better

 

The Notes column should be for things like industry updates, reminders about appearances (online and in person) you’d like to attend, site updates (agents sometimes stop taking queries for a short time), contests they’re judging, etc.

 

Then, on QueryTracker.net sort the agents into folders. I did them as Top 20, 1.5, 2.5, etc Sent, Rejected, Requested.

 

All this information comes together on one page to let you judge and weigh the agents to see if they’re a potential fit and if you’re a good fit for them. Don’t forget, this is a business decision…not just for them, but for you as well!

 

Starting this organized with this much info up front is a great step in running your writing career as just that – a CAREER.

The Big Announcement November 15, 2009

If you follow me somewhere else (like Twitter or RD) you’ll have already heard the news, but I thought I’d shout it out from the top of my own personal blog roof top now that the paperwork is signed and in the mail.

I’m now represented by Kim Lionetti at BookEnds.

Can I get a WOOT?

I’m amazingly excited about this — OK, understatement — and everything that comes along with it.

Why the delay in posting this? I’ve been on the move. I’ve moved to New Mexico for the winter and am trying to get settled now. I can’t wait to settle in so I can dive deep into the revision suggestions.

Later I’ll be posting a little bit about the process and my thoughts. Now, back to work.

Interview with Jenna Drake November 11, 2009

Hi everyone and welcome to my Luv YA blog. This week we’re lucky enough to have Jenna Drake visiting to discuss her Cami series.

 

Hi Jenna. Thanks for stopping by.

My pleasure. It’s always fun to meet other people who love books.

 

Tell us a little about the Cami books.

Sure. I’m working on the twelfth book right now. If you’ve been with me since the beginning, you’ve watch Cami grow up from an awkward middle schooler to an (let’s admit it) awkward high school junior. She’s watched her friends date, but never found a guy she’d be willing to take a chance on. She kind of figured why bother. Her life was full with sports and friends and vice president of her class.

 

But, I hear there’s some changes coming for Cami. What can you share with us?

Well, there comes a time in every girl’s life when she falls so hard that she doesn’t even feel the risk she’s taking when she looks at that special guy. Cami’s going to find that guy.

 

That’s a lot different than what we’ve read so far. I know a lot of your fans have been playing guessing games about who the lucky guy will be. Any hints?

Let’s just say, you’ll all get to meet him in a short I’m putting out in December for the holidays.

 

Ohhh. A new hottie to love.

Absolutely. There just wasn’t anyone we already knew who could make Cami’s heart race.

 

So, tell us a little about what makes your heart race.

Oh man. Well, it’s been a long time since my heart really jogged, let alone raced.

 

Really? I’ve heard reports that you’ve been seen out with an absurdly good-looking guy. Actually two of them.

Oh, you must mean Ben and Dane. It isn’t actually me they’ve been out with.

 

So, you were just out near them or something?

Well, no. I mean, I was with them. But not with them-with them.

 

You just happened to be in the same bowling alley at the same time? That’s quite a coincidence.

No. We went there with them. But only because Ben stole my notebook when we were at the bar.

 

So you went to a bar with him?

No. He was at the bar and we met him there.

 

So you picked him up at a bar?

Absolutely not! He stole my notebook then used it to bribe me to meet my firend and then dragged us and his friend to the bowling alley.

 

Well, my sources say that he’s spending more time with you than your friend.

He takes perverse joy in harassing me. It isn’t my fault he likes to mock me with the name Sunshine and force me to make a fool of myself in public. It’s all part of his grand plan to get to my friend.

 

So to get to your friend he’s spending all this time out with you and focusing all this attention on you.

He can’t help himself. He’s a bully.

 

Really?

Yes. Everything he does is cruel.

 

Such as?

Making me sing in public.

 

But you’re always singing. You probably were singing all night and he just gave you a mic.

And those socks. Their bright yellow.

 

You mean those adorable pom-pom socks he bought you so you don’t have to put your feet in bowling shoe rentals.

Well, he bought Lisbeth socks with little hearts on them.

 

Ahhhh.

What is that supposed to mean?

 

Oh, well. I hadn’t realized you were jealous. 

I am not jealous. He can have her. They’d be perfect for each other.

 

Really? Don’t you think she’s a bit…you know… mean for him?

He’s –

 

Come on Jenna. He may tease you, but he’s never been mean.

Ok, he isn’t mean.

 

And he seems pretty smart.

So?

 

Well, it just seems like a smart, not-mean guy wouldn’t go for Lisbeth.

And?

 

I was just wondering why he’d want to take you guys to the bowling alley if he’s not into Lisbeth.

I told you, he lives to harass me. It’s probably some sick enjoyment he gets.

 

From spending time with you.

You aren’t going to listen are you?

 

Nope. I think you really just need to get back to your bowling night and let me know how that goes.

I don’t suppose you’re going to plug my Holiday story coming out at ExcerptMonday on December 21^st, are you?

 

You just did. Everyone, watch for Cami and the guy she meets for the holidays…and maybe Santa will bring Jenna a little box of wake-up-and-smell-the-coffee. If you’re really curious about the ridiculousness Jenna’s been up to, check out the Free Read at the top of the page.

 Jenna will be sticking around this evening if anyone has any questions, or houses they could drop on her head.

Cami’s First Kiss, P8 – Excerpt Monday November 9, 2009

Once a month, a bunch of authors get together and post excerpts from published books, contracted work or works in progress, and link to each other. You don’t have to be published to participate–just an writer with an excerpt you’d like to share. For more info on how to participate, head over to the Excerpt Monday site! or click on the banner above.

This is the 8th installment of Cami’s First Kiss. For the first 7 excerpts, click Cami’s Page OR Free Reads above.

“I am not named after a porn star.”

Honestly, you’d think people would get tired of asking that. Ok, so the same people didn’t keep asking it, but everyone did.

“Not that I’m a porn expert or anything,” Ben said. “But I believe Jenna Jameson is not only a porn star, but the most famous one ever. I mean, even my mom’s probably heard of her.”

I must have given him a look, because he rushed on before I could point out just how weird that was.

“You know what I mean. You know who Heidi Fliess is too, but that doesn’t make you a prostitute.”

And I’d thought the conversation couldn’t get weirder. Next to me, Dane cleared his throat, his brows raised over the hand covering his mouth. Apparently I wasn’t the only one wondering what was going on with Mocking Guy – who was quickly becoming Weirdo Guy. Before things could veer more, I jumped in.

“And, anyway, it’s Jenna Drake. Jameson is my middle name.” I rushed on when Ben started to turn to Lisbeth for verification. “It was my mom’s maiden name.”

Ben nodded. Dane nodded. Ben looked at Lisbeth who began nodding. Yeah, this was an exciting night out alrighty.

“So, are we going to bowl, or what?” I almost added that the sooner we got this over with, the sooner I could have my notebook back and escape. But that seemed rude even for someone as desperate to leave and socially manipulated into staying as me.

“Of course.” Lisbeth stepped into the center of our small circle. “Why else would we be here?”

She slid a sly grin toward Ben. Yeah, we all knew why we were really here: So she could add another guy to her Ken Doll Collection. Did anyone remember my notebook?

I glanced at my watch. How could it possibly only be 11:09?

“So,” Lisbeth continued, stepping up on the edge of the alley. “I’m not much of a bowler. I take it there’s some type of form you need to do things right?”

She ran her hand over the ultra-pink ball she’d chosen before hefting it. Turning sideways, she glanced toward us, that grin teasing more than just her lips.

“Are they all this heavy?” she asked as she set it back down and checked her manicure. “That seems a little unfair for the girls.”

Dane spun the balls, looking at the numbers carved into them. “Try this one. It should be a little lighter. Sorry it’s not pink.”

Good Lord he was gorgeous. When he was being his normal charming self he was charming, but when he focused that smile on a girl he was absolutely stunning. My heart stopped from collateral shivers. No wonder Lisbeth was working so hard to keep both guys in the game.

“Why don’t you guys give me some pointers before we get started?” she asked, and just like that, Lisbeth was back where she liked to be: in the center of attention.

She did a replay of that shoulder roll thing that had her sack-dress dropping elegantly off one shoulder. Then, tossing her hair over her shoulder, Lisbeth gracefully eased her hand back and swung it forward is if to throw an imaginary ball down the alley that was – of course – no where near her since she had strategically turned sideways for the greatest viewing angle.

One guy’s eyes went right, one left. Well, I guess we now knew who liked legs in the group.

Lisbeth held her pose for a moment before straightening and flipping her hair over one shoulder.

Oh for crying out loud. First the guys ask me if I’m named after a porn star and now Lisbeth is acting like a stripper.

“Actually,” Ben said, making me wonder what he was replying to. “A stripper takes her clothes off while she makes a spectacle of herself.”

I cannot believe I was having a ‘Did I say that out loud’ moment.

I turned to face him, not even considering letting him off the hook. “Same difference, right? She had your full and undivided attention in a manner that isn’t what someone might consider modest. It must be hard be so easily lead astray.”

I peeked in her direction to see what she was up to now. At the head of the alley, Lisbeth grasped the bowling ball between her two tiny hands, Dane rearranging her stance. But, he wasn’t who had her attention. Ben was.

I’ll give Ben this – He was one smart cookie. He’d gotten her game from the beginning and now he gave her just enough attention to keep her working the flirt instead of looking at him like he wasn’t good enough to polish her rented shoes. He hovered at my elbow, that cocky grin and lifted eyebrow mocking me…a state of affairs I was depressingly used to in only two hours.

“You know,” Ben continued as if he was going to say something I might be interested in. “You don’t have to let her grab all the attention like this. I brought Dane to make the numbers nice and even.”

Seriously? He brought the most gorgeous man on Earth for me so he could flirt with my friend?

“You know what you need?”

It was never a good thing when someone asks you that. For years I’d been trying to come up with a way to stop that sentence in its tracks, but I never seemed to find one. Instead of looking lame, I just cocked a brow at him.

“You just need some lessons in flirting.” He grinned and I wanted to kick in his perfectly straight, white teeth. “Sunshine, the endof the night you’re going to need that notebook back for all those kissing notes if you listen to me.”

This Wednesday I’ll be interviewing Jenna Drake about her writing. Hopefully we can get some straight answers about her personal escapades as well!

“Links to other Excerpt Monday writers N ote: I have not personally screened these excerpts. Please heed the ratings and be aware that the links may contain material that is not typical of my site.

 

Yes to Jenna November 7, 2009

Yes, Jenna’s story, Cami’s First Kiss, will continue this month even while I’m on my blogging sabbatical – and then later next week you’ll see some more “what’s going on with me” posts.

So, hope you’re ready for this month’s Excerpt Monday – Jenna can’t seem to get herself out of this ridiculous night yet!

Where Am I? October 22, 2009

I’m always surprised when I take a blog break and people DM or email me. As if I have something ultra-important to say or something

 

Well, I’m in the middle of querying (it’s going so well I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop), editing the next Secret book (it’s going well, no shoe to drop yet), writing Cami/Jenna stuff (the shoe dropped) and putting together a workshop proposal. October is a busy, busy month.

So, for sanity and business focus, I won’t be blogging for the rest of the month EXCEPT:

1. Monday October 26th, Jenna Drake will be posting a free short story about Cami’s Halloween. Please come back and check it out – that doesn’t mean there won’t be more Jenna and her adventures in November. That’s coming also!

2. If something amazing happens: I get an agent. I get married. I get abducted by aliens. etc.

Cami’s First Kiss, P7 – Excerpt Monday October 12, 2009

Once a month, a bunch of authors get together and post excerpts from published books, contracted work or works in progress, and link to each other. You don’t have to be published to participate–just a writer with an excerpt you’d like to share. For more info on how to participate, head over to the Excerpt Monday site! or click on the banner above.

 

This is the 7th installment of Cami’s First Kiss. For the first 6 excerpts, click Cami’s Page OR Free Reads above.

As the music ended and the light dimmed, I headed toward our group. Before I made it more than two steps, the singer’s hand wrapped around my upper arm and tugged me back into the lane and the center of attention.

“Not so fast miss.” He raised the mic and spoke to the crowd. “I may look like a flashback to a kinder, gentler time, but I believe women should be as giving with their gifts as men. And so, I’m going to hand the microphone over to my lovely partner for the next song.”

With a thud, the mic ended up in my hand, the cord twisting between my feet as he gave me a gentle shove toward the center of the spotlight. My gaze rose, shooting though the light and into the darkness beyond to lock onto Ben, the forever Mocking Guy. His lips curled in a slight grin, a challenge issued with the mere cocking of his eyebrow.

Beside him, Lisbeth laid a hand on his arm and leaned in to whisper who knows what in his ear. His light grin grew, his brow dropping as he turned toward her and said nothing. Probably stunned anew by her shabby-chic beauty. Without replying he settled back on his plastic chair-bench seat and crossed his arms over his chest.

He was really looking forward to watching me fail.

My gaze slid back toward Lis, looking for support, looking for my friend. Only I looked too soon. Well, too soon for what I wanted to see.

You know those moments in life when you’re walking down the street and you glance up and see someone you haven’t run into in ages and their expression before their polite-person mask falls into place is not so welcoming? Well, that’s what I got. I got that moment. And I saw the ugly side of friendship.

I saw dislike and a hope that I’d fail.

There I was, dragged out of my nice little apartment to pretend to hit on men I had no interest in for her sad version of “research” and now at this warehouse of a bowling alley in a horrible neighborhood that smelled of over boiled hot dogs and stale beer. Trapped in this place because of yet another guy who wanted her and would do stupid things to have her. And because not only would she let him, but she’d love every minute of it. And there was no way she’d share the spotlight in a good way… no way unless it was to watch me fail.

I don’t think so.

We all have a past, things we’ve put away. And not all of those things are bad. Some are wonderful, wonderful things that just aren’t the core that moves our heart as strongly as something else.

But that doesn’t mean they aren’t part of you any more.

College had robbed me of something. It had robbed me of part of myself. Okay, that isn’t fair. I had given part of myself away to be the girl my high-school-slash-college sweetheart wanted me to be.

As he pledged his fraternity and became one of the Big-Man-On-Campus-In-Trainings, the idea of me being the nerdy girl I’d been in high school was unacceptable. He never said I was unacceptable, but I was more acceptable not being in choir. Or drama club. Or Latin debate. Yeah, I debated in Latin, you have a problem with that?

And so, those things got put away for the boy who eventually threw me away. But that doesn’t mean my heart didn’t remember them, didn’t long for them, didn’t long to sing.

My gaze slid back to Ben, looking to see that smirk of his so I could watch it fall from his face when the words slid from my lips in a clear, perfectly pitched melody. The music started –a perky oldies tune – and that’s when my confidence slid away instead. Ok, it landslided away, but who’s really counting. All I could thing was, It figured.

I didn’t know the song.

It was vaguely familiar in the way that kid who moved away in kindergarten is when you run into him as an adult. But, tune? Not really. Words? Not at all.

 I must have shown the panic on my face, because Lisbeth’s hand came up to hide what I could only presume was a smirk and Ben leaned forward for what I could only presume was a better view of my humiliation.

The singer must have also seen my panic, because he stepped back into the sphere of shame – I mean the spotlight – and gently turned me toward the place where the scores were typically projected. Now, the words were there in all their glorious 50’s-ness. Throwing an arm around me, he whispered in my ear.

“Almost there. 3…2…1…”

And then it all came together. It was like getting halfway through a book and realizing you’d read it before.

The words and the tune were so simple, so easy to grasp, that I was belting it out before I knew what I was saying. What the words were saying. There was no way he could have done this to me, but the coincidence was too great to discount him being in league with Lucifer. I didn’t even see it coming until the moment before the chorus flashed on the screen. By then, my memory had caught up with the words. The very ironic words.

“If you want to know

If he loves you so

It’s in his kiss.”

At this rate, I was going to have a justifiable reason to kill him. Even his mother wouldn’t be able to blame me for this very public mocking.

There was no way after making me sing about kisses that he was going to keep me from writing about them. As soon as the crowd stopped clapping – ok, they were cheering. So I hammed it up a bit – I was going to demand my notebook back and storm out of this bowling alley like a modern day Scarlett O’Hara. Never to be mocked again.

Handing the mic back to the guy, I stepped off the brightly lacquered wood. As my eyes adjusted, I saw Lisbeth had put her happy face back on, clapping along with the rest of the group. Smiling as if there hadn’t been that moment where she wanted me to fail. I couldn’t help but wonder if it had been more than a moment.

Ben stepped forward, his grin a little wider than before, but he was brushed aside as Lisbeth rushed toward me.

“That was awesome,” she gushed. “I didn’t know you could sing. Why didn’t you ever tell me. You… you… hidden talents girl. I never know what you’re going to come out with next, JJ.”

The last word, the initials, were said in that sly way someone says something when they want people to ask about it. When they know the answer and can’t wait to share it. When they have bad news or gossip.

“Nice job.” Dane reached past Ben to high five me. “What’s the JJ stand for?”

I knew it was coming, knew I couldn’t escape it, so I figured I might as well just get it over with. The smaller the production made of something, the smaller the deal people thought it was. Usually. I kept my gaze on Dane, not wanting to see the mocking attack coming when I spit it out.

“Jenna Jameson.”

Dane’s eyes rounded, but he had the good grace not to say anything. My gaze slid toward Lisbeth and there it was again. That pre-mask look of triumph.

But it was Ben who couldn’t keep his mouth shout.

“You’re named after a porn star?”

 And check back on Monday, October 26th for a special Halloween short story by Jenna about her character Cami!

 

Links to other Excerpt Monday writers

Note: I have not personally screened these excerpts. Please heed the ratings and be aware that the links may contain material that is not typical of my site.

Query Tracker October 9, 2009

Since we’re talking about queries, I thought I’d tell you about one of the God-sends of this process: Query Tracker.

 

Query Tracker was one of the things I actually put aside money for this year. My premier membership keeps my queries straight and me informed. They have a section for comments, tracking your queries, personal statistics, agent specific statistics, and a track of the dates of response. It’s always nice to be able to see where you stand in the list of who has heard and who hasn’t.

 

On top of that, you can search agents by name or agency. Each agent has a page that lists the links that will search them, how to contact them, their twitter address. It allows you to search by genre and then there’s the “agent’s with similar tastes” link.

 

If you want to get organized and informed for your agent search, check out Query Tracker.

Secret Girlfriend Query Letter October 7, 2009

If you follow me on Twitter, you know I’ve started querying my top 20 agents this month. For me, it’s an ongoing process. I can’t sit at my laptop for long enough to put together and send 20 queries …and not write… it’s just too much So, to those followers who have been watching my requests come in, you also know the initial response has been really amazing. I’m so excited about the number of fulls and partials already circulating!

Several people have asked me to post it, and –after checking with Someone In The Know– I decided to go with that. I’ve never posted an active query letter before, so it’s a little nerve racking. Please don’t ask me why it’s working. I have theories, but honestly I’m not and agent or slush reader so I couldn’t tell you what they see in it. I do know that I’ve gotten a handful of rejections and two of them liked the premise but didn’t rep the more specific YA genre. One broke my heart with that But, I love this book and the heroine…heck, by the end I even love the bad guy. So, without further ado…The query letter for Secret Girlfriend:

 

Ridge View High is a place teeming with secrets. Amy Whalen should know, she’s living one.

Shy. Introverted. Wallflower. Dreaded words, but not strong enough to describe Amy. She knows she’s nothing short of invisible since her mom died. Invisible at home. Invisible at school. Sometimes, if she looks in the mirror long enough, she’s invisible to herself too. Until Chris Kent – the only person she ever wanted to see her – needs her to be his girlfriend. His secret girlfriend. That’s fine with her – mostly. She can stay out of the spotlight while he implements “The Plan” for getting into college: He needs to win Homecoming King and soccer team captain with the help of his very public-image girlfriend…who just happens to be the head cheer-dealer… ah, cheerleader.

The Plan is coming along just great thank you very much, until Luke Parker shows up for tryouts and sees through all Amy’s defenses. To him, she isn’t invisible, she’s amazing and he can’t figure out why she lets people ignore her and walk all over her. When Luke decides he wants Chris’s spot on the team and wouldn’t sneeze at the captain’s jersey either, their rivalry spins out of control. It doesn’t help any that he also wants the girl Chris kept hidden all summer: Amy.

Now she’s trapped between the guy she’s always wanted and the guy who saw her when no one else did. But who can trust guys when there’s so much at stake? Now Amy’s got her own plan now. She’s stepping into the spotlight and choosing her king. Senior year was not supposed to be this complicated.

Secret Girlfriend is complete at 54,000 words.

With a BA in English and a Creative Writing minor and years of experience in the workforce, I’ve returned to my first love, writing. I’m the former Vice President of the New England RWA chapter and the Workshop Chair for the 2008 Conference. 

Thank you for your time and looking at my work. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Bria Quinlan
phone #
Briaquinlan.com

End of Secret Girlfriend Wordle October 5, 2009

So, SECRET GIRLFRIEND is done and already being read as partials and fulls and been rejected a few times. And to finish the lovely journey, here’s my SG Wordle:

Unslackerness October 2, 2009

I had  an interesting conversation with a friend a while ago that she circled back to recently.

 

A few years ago this friend turned to me after a long car ride and said, “You know, people love or hate you. The people who love you, love you because you’re so passionate about whatever you get involved in. The people who hate you, hate you because you’re so passionate about whatever you get involved in.”

 

Honestly, I didn’t have a problem with this. I think you should do everything you’re involved with 111%. There are too many things in this world to experience without spending large chunks of your time involved in things you have no passion for. Now, I’m not talking about obligations you feel you need to do or work. Sometimes it’s hard to work up a passion for everything on the to-do list, but whenever possible, why not.

 

Recently, she brought up this and added “There’s not an ounce of slacker in you when it comes to writing.”

 

OK, I tried not to have a problem with this statement either, but finally I had to ask. “Um, what do you mean about the slacker thing?”

 

We all have a friend who doesn’t realize she should or shouldn’t say something, or that maybe that wasn’t the best way to put it. That would be this friend.

Without thought she answered. “Remember in high school when our Adv Chem teacher told you if you’d just focus you’d be scary? Or the Latin teacher who nagged for 4 years that you weren’t living up to your potential. Well, you’re finally focused and working to your potential. Thank god.” And then she turned back to her ice cream leaving me to ponder her words…Oh, she also stopped a moment to tell me, “This is the bag I like to carry things in.”  She’s an oracle I tell you.

 

But, it did get me thinking. It’s true I’m 100% or not. I’m focused….or not. I’m driven….or not. And it feels good – really good – to have circled back to the thing that’s always driven me: Storytelling.

 

Her words also did one other thing for me…one really great thing. They shushed my critics. Everyone who writes probably remembers a time when friends (writers and non-writers) told you to relax. To put it aside. To take a break. To let it go.

 

It’s hard enough when this comes from your non-writing friends, but I’ve been amazed at writing friends who say it. This is something that I not only WANT, but that I enjoy and feel passionate about. It feeds me, and honestly, isn’t that a good enough reason to feel passionate about something? But, beyond that, I’m not sure how to stop and I’m not looking for a Writers Anonymous anytime soon.

Where Things Stand September 30, 2009

I’m at that weird place….that weird writer place.

 

The first book of The Secrets is being queried and I’ve already sent out several partials. The second book is ready to start editing after my brain recovers from finishing book 1 last week…..And I’m buying my website template.

 

I’ll admit it, it makes me nervous. It feels like a huge commitment. Of course, this is from the girl who had a rough time signing her first 2-year cell phone contract.

 

So, there it is….sitting there waiting for me to hit “Buy Now”. It isn’t that I don’t like it. I love it, it’s really cute. It’s perfect for the books I’m currently writing. The colors are warm. The set up is different enough to not look like every other writer site out there. I’m just concerned about what I can do with it.

 

Beside me is “Head First HTML with CSS &XHTML” by Brain-Friendly Guide brand books because the sad truth is, this unemployment thing is cramping my style. Now it’s cramping my website style. I fear it won’t work. I fear it won’t look great. I fear that I don’t have the attention span after writing all day to try to create a website. I fear the people I’ll call for help will think I’m an idiot because of that lack of attention span.

 

But, most of all, I fear that there’s absolutely no reason to create a website.

 

Isn’t that something we all wonder about? I mean, usually nothing makes that cross my mind. I’ll be the one. I’ll be the one who gets an agent and then an editor and then publication. But, at times like this when it’s a cash investment of money I don’t really have to build my career side of my writing career, I get a little flip in my stomach that slows that “Buy Now” button down.

 

Faith has to play a part here. I have faith in my books. I have faith in my drive to keep writing those books. And now I have to have faith that this is the time to focus on the career side. And so, I’m off to hit “Buy Now” – wish me luck!

Dinner With Michael Hague September 28, 2009

There are times in your professional life when you stop and say, “Huh, this is a bit surreal.” A good example: Getting on  a roller coaster at the Mall of America with Michael Hague…but not the one that does loops because he didn’t want to throw up on us.

 

So, how does a girl end up in such a situation? Easy…kind of. Ok, I’m just amazingly lucky.

 

My CP is a member of the Midwest Fiction Writers who had invited Michael out to speak this past weekend. After his all day workshop, he offered to do some consulting gigs the next day. My CP was lucky enough to grab his last slot in the evening. I went along for the ride for two reasons: 1. so we could discuss whatever he told her on the way home and, 2. because I’m really allergic to her cats and any time out of the house cuts down on the migraine.

 

At the end of their meeting, my CP waves me over as Michael walks away and tells me he wants to see the Mall of America…um, okay. It had been on my list too because it’s part of the Minneapolis deal, but still it seemed weird. We get there and wow, these Minneapolis people love their malls, huh? In the middle of the mall is this amusement park with games, rides of kids, a flume and three roller coasters. I was shocked. Michael was excited. CP was just giving the tour

 

The next thing you know, Michael has us at a ticket gate. We clarify which one does what because, even before dinner, no one wants anyone else getting sick on them….this would be a completely different blog then. We even have the picture they take — all three of us in one shot — kismet I tell you.

 

But I’m sure, if you’re reading this post, this isn’t what you want to hear. You want to hear about the nugget of genius that Michael Hague passed on to each of us over cheap mugs of black coffee in some hip little joint.

 

Sorry, no can do.

 

We went to a lovely Greek restaurant where (I think) they almost had to throw us out…you know how writers are once they start talking.

 

Personally, I managed to horrify him with my choice of favorite movies and (maybe) convince him to go watch two he hasn’t seen. We got to hear about some of his VFC (otherwise known as Very Famous Clients) and what consulting on scripts is like. The differences between working with open-minded and not-so-open-minded writers. What his early workshops were like…the travel, the groups, the being told he could walk back to the hotel in Boston (some how, as the Bostonian at the table, I think I somehow got blamed for this, but gosh darn it, Boston proper is only 3 miles across).

 

One of my favorite parts of the evening was when he brought up Jenny Crusie and asked if we had met her. We got to tell him about being mentored by her at the LCMC and how much we learned. When he found out we weren’t in touch with her any more, he turned around in the car to look at me and tell me, “Call her tomorrow. Tell her I told you to. Let her know how you’re doing and tell her thank you again.” I had to point out we’re not all Michael Hague. My “Famous People On Speed Dial” list is relatively short. So instead, the command became: email her. (I did. We’ll see if she even remembers me )

 

But honestly, hanging out with Michael is just an experience in story. For so many reasons. When he isn’t talking ABOUT story, he’s telling a story. Everything comes back to the story. People, places, movies, books, work, craft, travel, dinner…it all comes back to the story…to the Identity and digging into the Essence. It boils down and you have to watch for it, because everything he tells you wraps back to something else and if you blink, you’ll miss it.