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.

Eavesdropping on Freshman Girls September 26, 2009

That’s exactly what I’m doing. As in, RIGHT NOW.

 

Not that this is new for me. Usually I’m right in the middle of those conversations with the girls I mentor, but it’s sometimes interesting to listen to girls you don’t know…and who don’t know you’re listening. And I’m learning so much. Let’s get some perspective. These girls are pretty-jocks. They’re meeting for slushie-mochas at the coffee shop in their school sweats and braids that are working loose from running.

 

Here’s what I’m hearing. Girl’s are competitive…no big surprise there. These are girls I might have hung out with in high school. The idea that putting on makeup to leave the house was unthinking able. Especially when you’re just going to sweat thru it, but to leave without cute flip flops and your adorable sports-friendly hairclips is equally unthinkable.

 

Most of their sentences around their game start with “I don’t mean to brag, but….” OR “No offence, but…” Which, oddly enough seems like a step in the right direction. When I was 15, the idea of bragging about your game was rude. I’m excited to hear these girls able to talk about their successes, even if they have disclaimers.

 

There always seems to be one girl the others rally around not liking…Poor Grace. She didn’t have a chance in this conversation. One girl would say Grace was the only one worth having on the team who was an 8th grader and another would jump in that Grace didn’t even have to try out. Grace has made the mistake of being good, but not good enough. Cool, but not cool enough. Pretty, but she knows it…although sometimes she’s not pretty.

 

Clothes were a by-word. Something discussed quickly and disregarded.

 

One thing I didn’t hear mentioned once…was boys. Oh, wait…strike that. But, it was only because the boys came to watch their game and cheered. Um, how much am I loving THAT role-reversal. And then they were off again, the boys a minor footnote in their discussion about their game, homecoming, Halloween, tryouts, and classes.

 

These are independent women and they can’t even drive yet.

 

So, they’ve taken off…planning next week’s day off to shop, see a move and maybe play some volleyball – And suddenly, it’s way too quiet in here.

Hate Her…But How? September 23, 2009

Okay, “hate” is a strong word. No one yet has said they hate my heroine. And, to be completely upfront, most people have really liked her and identified with her immediately.

 

But….don’t you love that word…..this isn’t true of everyone.

 

It took me several passes of the people who didn’t like her (or the ‘other guy’ in the book) to figure out what they thought and what they thought collectively and what I thought. And it was an interesting study. And a lot of valid things to think about.

 

I’m finding this: People don’t want their heroines to be stupid or allow people to treat them badly. Ever. If it happened, it needs to have happened before the book starts and off the page. If one of the guys in the book seems like he might be bad…if he treats her badly…well, he might be the bad guy. Especially if there’s a great guy trying to win her over to, then he might be the good guy.

 

So, backing up to my heroine. She’s hurt, she’s lonely, she’s lost. We see this little by little and (I believe) understanding grows through the beginning as her motivations to let someone she worships treat her badly becomes more clear. To me, her on the page growth not only past it (as in, if it were something that happened BEFORE that she’s getting over) but THROUGH it is what makes Amy such a fascinating character. To see her grow through infatuation into her own self-worth to a young woman willing to risk everything because she wants (and deserves) something better is amazing to me.

 

And the hardest part is, no one agrees with where they don’t like her. This, I love. Honestly. I think it’s wonderful that someone wants to make her bad relationship “okay” but giving some evidence he’s not as bad as he is. Or that someone wants more of her past to make it “okay” that she allows the bad behavior. Or someone wants her to “grow a spine sooner”. But, that’s not Amy. And let’s be honest. It’s not us either.

 

Every woman (I’d love to speak for men here, but my time as a man equals zero) has mad a bad decision about a guy at some point. Some have even made a horrible one. Some have even made the same horrible decision more than once. So, to say that Amy needs to learn faster — or not make the mistake at all — it’s not her story. Her story is about finding yourself in that horrible situation and overcoming it. To me, this is a story I want more people to tell…especially to young girls. You NEVER have to stay weak. You NEVER have to stay with someone who is bad for you. You NEVER have to accept anything less than the best. And, if that takes you a week (it’s a week in the book) to figure out…you’re doing pretty darn good. Strength doesn’t come from never being weak. It comes from finding your weakness and overcoming it.

 

And that’s why I wrote this blog, to think that all out more clearly….why I love Amy and why her naive stupidity in the beginning sets her up for such amazing growth in the end. In the end, she’s a girl I would have loved to have as a friend in high school. I’m betting most people would look at what she overcomes “in real life” and feel the same way.

 

So that makes me wonder: Have we created so many amazingly strong heroines who have that single “flaw” that a normal teen can’t catch a break? Do the girls in our story have to be kick-ass or, on the flip side, so tweaked out that most of us don’t even know a girl like her for the reader to accept her?

 

Is Amy strong is a great question. My answer: Yes. Her family and background story come out and she really does have a pretty even keel for what she’s been through. But her past and insecurities do give the bad boy an in for how to take advantage of her. But her strength and intelligence give her the out, she just needs to find them for herself to become the girl some people want her to be in the beginning.

 

This is where the hard stuff starts for a writer. I can see the points these people are making. Yup, their suggestions would make Amy stronger – which would make people more willing to want to know/be her –because who really wants to be friends with a girl who is so blinded by love that she lets the guy use her.

 

But (see, it’s my turn to ‘but’ now) there comes a time when as a writer you have to say, “That isn’t my character. Yes, she is weaker in the beginning and I hope you ride to the end with her and see her growth and forgive her for where she starts.” Because that, to me, is a real story. It’s a real woman. It’s Amy’s story and I love her for the huge-gully-sized-flaws she has in the beginning.

 

I hope she wins over those people by the end too.

Monday Morning Dare September 21, 2009

This weeks MMDare: Take a day to organize your writing work space….online and off.

 

Well, this one, 1/2 of it actually, is pretty darn easy since I’m on the road and my only offline space is the laptop on my lap.

 

The online has been a bit trickier. I’ve organized my blogs and sites I read to daily folders. Every morning I get up and just run through that folder. Easy. Clean. Saves time surfing and getting distracted. Then I created “Archive”, “Research”, “Inspiration” and book specific folders. My favorites are nice and clean.

 

Now the hard drive folders are getting the same treatment with the hard questions: Do I need this? Is this duplicated somewhere else? Do I have an updated version? Is this in the correct folder? Is it on the correct drive even?

 

Tomorrow is org’ing day – I’m really looking forward to have a nice clean hard drive. Like I took 401 to it

 

How are all the other ACer’s organizing going?

Cami’s First Kiss, P6 – Excerpt Monday September 14, 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 6th installment of Cami’s First Kiss. For the first 4 excerpts, click Cami’s Page OR Free Reads above.

 

So, yeah. Bowling.

 

I stood there, not really sure what to do with my super-Lysoled patchwork shoes as Ben slid another pair toward Lisbeth. I’ve never seen anyone accept rented footwear like they were some overpriced designer I wouldn’t own. I guess there really is a first time for everything.

 

“Lane eleven, ladies.” Ben cocked his head toward the alleys and gave me a little shove. As I turned to go, his size twelves swatted my bottom with a dull thud. “That’s the lightest part of the butt kicking I’m going to give you tonight.”

 

I really didn’t like him. I mean, good-looking and cocky go together so frequently it’s basically a cliché, but he brought it to a whole new level.

 

At lane eleven – which just happened to be my lucky number so I was feeling hopeful – I dropped onto the bench-seat thing next to Lisbeth. She was already pulling that little metal clasp thing off her socks.

 

“He isn’t subtle, is he?” Lisbeth purred…yeah, she purrs. “Little hearts. Very cute in a junior high-check-yes-or-no kind of way, don’t you think?”

 

I would have answered her, I probably would have even told her what she wanted to hear, but my socks weren’t as easily parted. They were fastened together with one of those plastic things that looks like a question mark. Ripping them apart didn’t work, so I’d resorted to gnawing through the plastic stem.

 

“But,” she continued, smirking at the fuzzy yellow socks hanging from my lips, their ankle pompoms bouncing about my chin. “What’s up with the bright yellow? Is he colorblind or something?”

 

The stem snapped and my teeth slammed together with an inner-ear shattering clank. He had literally driven me to gnashing my teeth. What did this say about him? Nothing good. He’d probably be the perfect match for Lisbeth.

 

I glanced over my shoulder, wondering what had happened to Ben and Dane. They were still at the counter talking to a guy in a white t-shirt with greased back hair. I had a little John Travolta flash but then the music hit me. Okay, actually the hem of the poodle skirt of the girl who was roller skating by hit me. Either way, I glanced around suddenly afraid that we had been sucked into a fate even worse than Disco Bowling.

 

50’s Themed Disco Bowling.

 

Which, let’s stop and just consider the oddity of anything that has “50’s” and “Disco” in the same phrase…

 

Not needing any more mocking than strictly necessary, I covered my new yellow socks with those foot-slut shoes.

 

As the guys joined us, the music ended with a staticy click and the gates at the end of all the lanes dropped. Before I could look for the red emergency exit lights, Elvis’s I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You filled the silence and a spot light lit the end of our alley. The greased-back hair guy stood there, multi-color poodle skirt girls surrounding him with a swish of over starched crinoline.

 

Bowling Theater. Who would have guessed.

 

As I sat back to enjoy the show, Greaser Guy raised the mic and belted out the first bars of the song, little 50’s girls swooning about him until he strolled down the alley in our direction. There was no way this could go well for me. With a spotlight and a mic heading my way, I figured I’d probably accidentally maim someone or bring the building down around us.

 

When the group got to the end of the lane, Greaser Guy gave each girl a good looking over before brushing them off one-by-one. Then, with frightening precision, he turned our way, his grin widening as he studied our group.

 

Lisbeth perked up, doing that shoulder roll thing again to drop her dress down one arm before flipping her hair back in a move I swear she was considering patenting. I tried to slide my feet under the bench, praying I wouldn’t trip him as he threw himself at Lisbeth’s feet.

 

Greaser guy slid around the little score-keeping desk and moved our way, the song still flowing as every eye in the house followed him into our safely-out-of-the-spotlight area.

 

And then, everything happened in slow motion.

 

Greaser guy passed the mic to his other hand and reached our way. Lisbeth, her glossy lips slipping into a pouty smile, lifted her own to allow him to take it…or kiss it…or something. Only, he reached right past her. To me.

 

He swept my hand from my lap and, with a gentle tug, pulled me to my feet and toward the spotlight. With an over-dramatized sigh, he collapsed to his knees, singing for my eternal love, if not my eternal mortification.  And then, as he crooned the last promise of love, the lights went dead.

 

 

“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.

2 Days Till Excerpt Monday September 12, 2009

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about when I’ll be posting the next segment of Cami’s First Kiss…and the answer: MONDAY! YAY!

 

The posts go up each month on Excerpt Monday. If you’d like to catch up with my free read, click on the page above. Curious about Excerpt Monday as a writer who wants to participate or a reader who wants some good stuff for nothing? Click the link to the right.

 

See ya Monday.

Monday Morning Dare September 11, 2009

I’m part of a secret group. You don’t know about it…that’s why it’s a secret. But I’m telling you about it now… ACers.

 

Okay, I guess you may know about it. If you follow any of us, you might see the Twitter #ACGoals. The hashtag is for encouragement, updates and butt kicking. We focus on writing, goal setting and time management. These are all near and dear to my heart. As the person who started ACers, I’m proud of our mission: To write daily while maintaining a work-life balance.

 

But there’s a new surprise for them…and I’m pretty darn excited about it.

 

Starting Monday, we’re going to have Monday Morning Dares — #MMDares — So, there it is. I DARE you to join us.

If you’re a writer and want to play along, we’d love to have you. Join us on Twitter (I’m @briaquinlan). Plus, I’ll be blogging about the dares each Monday. Check it out and dive in.

Final Stretches September 9, 2009

I’m in that Push-Through spot. The place we’re you’re so close to done, you wish you could call it good…but you won’t. I’m getting my reader comments back. Some I’m like “oh yeah, wow!  good call” — some I’m like “um, no.” but either way, they’re all worth looking at.

 

Sometimes, you reach a point where you’re just ready for the next project. That’s where I am. But I’m also that person that doesn’t leave things undone. It’s a horrible tug-of-war inside my little mind. New Project! Perfect The Old Project! New Project! Perfect The Old Project!
 New Project! Perfect The Old Project!

The old needs to win, it pushes to win. It does win.

 

Otherwise, I’m not a writer. I’m a person who likes to write. But I know me. I’m not like other people. If I called project 1 done and moved on, I’d want it to be done. Oh, I’m not talking those edits or revisions later, I’m talking the not getting it done to begin with slacking. I know tons of people that can work on more than one project at once….I’m getting more like that…but, I need to have a done line. It’s like a little competition — and I like to win.

 

So, I’m off to find some time to try to win!

Forks…2 YA Writers…And the Great Adventure September 6, 2009

I’ve given my opinion of the Twilight series before…the good, the bad and the ugly. So, we’ll skip that. But, as a YA writer, I felt that being in Port Angeles for the week meant I HAD to zoom over to Forks and see the madness. Plus, it’s between me and the rainforest (which is a @gwenhayes & @briaquinlan #2words1 if you twitter).

 

So, Gwen Hayes plus her daughter H and friend P jumped in Hunny and headed out.

 

The girls kept us entertained on the way there. We heard tons of great stories about H’s uncle-cousins-son’s kids. Which it took me a while to decipher the family. What I learned: just nod and smile, she knows who she’s related to and I don’t need to.

 

All the way to Forks, the girls kept telling us how “NOT Twilighters” (the local term for Twilight fans) they are. No. No. No. No. NO! They were just going to DIE of embarrassment if ANYONE saw them. You can tell, they had a reallllly rough time getting into the whole Twilight Tour immediately:

 

 

Yeah, you can see we’re torturing them to get them to pose. We got the Thumbs-Up and the Vanna White

 

So, then we drove through town, with the 2 stoplights, that took roughly 1.75 mins. On the far side of town across from the airport (dear Lord, please never force me to land at the Forks airport. Amen.) Outside is a truck painted to match Bella’s. Of course, we had to get a picture of that too!

 

While they were all looking at the truck, I got another picture. If you follow me on twitter, you know that I’ve been kind of mocking the area…Not because of Twilight stuff, but because it’s been sunny and 79′ for 2 weeks. Not a cloud in the sky. I’m convinced northern Washington is lying to the rest of the country about their weather so no one moves there and overpopulates their little corner of the world. I think this is a lie:

  Almost 6 feet? Yeah, not while I was there.

 

After lunch we headed out to the rain forest (or rainforest if you’re playing #2words1) — gorgeous. I mean, stunning. The greens were so thick and lush. It was amazing to be away from a city. I loved the dessert while I was out there, but this was a completely different experience. The girls told me they were “used to it” — wow, I guess I’m just that person. I never get used to things. Every time I go to the ocean (near my house) or the mountains (not far either) or the lakes (just over there) I’m still amazed. Sunsets, yup. Sunrises…um, if I’m up. So, part of the tour has to be the rainforest

Came around the corner and had to double back to get a picture of this tree. It’s hard to tell, but the greens are so deep that it felt like you were in the middle of a…well, a rainforest. The parts that look white and silver actually looked more pale green and silver. The girls called it God’s Tinsel. Christmas year round

Then we saw an amazing gully. The cliff is two stores high. It’s hard to tell it’s that big with how tall and skinny the trees are!

   

 

The 12 mile drive out to the state park was so amazing, and our day was running down (don’t even ask how long it took to get a slice of pizza) that we headed back to town. The girls (the ones who insisted they weren’t Twilighters) had a list of things they needed to see. NEEDED TO SEE.

First, we drove a little further out first so we could see Kalaloch Beach. It was this amazing cove with a whole bunch of HUGE trees washed up from storms.

There’s the lovely P & H at Kalaloch Beach.

Don’t believe me about all the trees, check this out:

And then, back to town…not that there was anything we NEEDED to see….Except the convenience store. And the hospital. And the TWO “Dazzled by Twilight”. And…and…and..

This is one of the Dazzled By Twilight stores.  It’s literally like walking thru a forest. It’s dark and enclosed. You have to weave and duck between trees. This is NOT a store mainly for kids. I was amazed how many of the gifts were more adult themed. But, we won’t go into that here. It really was a great shop to suck people into.  Brilliant marketing and tons of stuff hidden in nooks and corners.

Not to mention Edward was there!

 

So, which do you think was their real reaction? Kissing or puking?

Two more stores and then we had to find Edwards house. Which must be over by the hospital where Carlisle worked. Wait, there’s Bella’s house. There’s the hospital. What do you mean we have to go home? We’ll CALL someone. Hold on. Directions achieved to the other side of town. But we NEEDED to see Edward’s house so we zipped across town. And there it was. Locked. Oh well.

But, before we go, P signed the guest book. Yeah, I’m sure her boyfriend Brady (who just happens to LIVE in Forks) is going to love this.

 

The ride home was not uneventful.

 

I learned that whatever is actually spelled: “W.O.T. Ever” — good to know.

That all the boys are amazing in Forks, just like Edward with great manners.

Fergie’s song Glamorous is actually “C.A.N.D.Y…wait…there’s more letters, right?”

If you want to call someone bitchy, you’re allowed to spell it…especially if you spell it: b.i.t.c.h.E.

H is obsessed with rafts and wants to be a marine biologist….except for that fish smell and all.

 

So, if you’re a writer…or anyone looking for a laugh…put two teenage girls in the back seat and go to an overpriced tourist trap in the middle of no where. Fun, had by all!

In Defense of Agents, by An Unpublished Writer September 4, 2009

I’ll be upfront. I hate non-responding policies. I want to know an agent doesn’t want me so I can emotionally move on. Non-responding is the equivalent of the high school “go away to camp and come back with a new girlfriend” guy. But, I feel like there is just some absurdity coming from writers about the responding agents that I really don’t understand. Here is what I’ve learned ….not from being a writer, but from being an HR person.

 

A little background: When I first started in HR I started at the bottom of an international service industries corporate HR ladder: Staffing. (Dear staffing people, I know for a lot of people this is a career. It wasn’t here. Please don’t be offended.) Not only did I not stay there, but I had the highest success rate. How did they measure that? The managers I hired stayed longer, had more successful units, trained up more success managers from within. They also stole less and had fewer complaints brought against them. Basically, I’m decent at reading people’s abilities and integrity.

 

And it all starts with the world’s equivalent of a query letter –> a resume.

 

I feel bad for agents sometimes. It’s a double edged sword. You take “too long” with the query and you’re not working hard enough (don’t twitter like the rest of the world, or you’re slacking). “Too fast” with the query meant you either didn’t even see it OR you didn’t bother to read it. Oh, and the same people that hate non-responders, hate form letters. I say, “Bring on the form letters and thanks for letting me know!”

 

So, what, you might ask, does this have to do with resumes? A lot.

 

Just from the resume, I can tell several things. What they value. What’s important in a job. How much they know about the industry and that company specifically. You start to have a sixth sense about what might be lies or exaggerations. Stability. Not just job stability, but personal stability. The excuses that are softly folded into resumes can be amazing. And, just like publishing, the industry I was in was a big-small-world. I could pick up the phone, call a colleague and find out if my hunch was correct before you could find yourself an alibi. And don’t forget: Personality. Oh, don’t believe me about that one? Think of the most pompous person you know. Think of their vocabulary and how they use it. I know one guy who uses his like a weapon to slash everyone down before they even have a chance. Trust me, you can see that in a resume. Do you want that guy to be your boss?

 

And then there’s just a point that you can’t know: I know what my team needs. I know what I like working with. I know where the promotions (holes) are going to be. I know where somethings going to be hot because of a company move. I know a ton that you can’t know, not because you’re uneducated or unaware ….but because you aren’t in my position and my position is to keep those things to myself and do what’s best for my employees and company.

 

Finally, I can often tell if I’m going to like you. And let’s be honest, that’s important. Because no one…and I’m betting this is true for agents no matter how much they like a book…wants to work with someone long term they can’t stand to be around or don’t respect.

 

And I can do this all under 3 mins. I know what I’m looking for. I know what I’m not looking for. And, honestly, it’s 1 page. How long does that take someone who doesn’t know? 6 mins? 8?

 

So, yeah, when I get a fast rejection I get that “arg. why don’t you love my book?” feeling. But angry? No. Oh yeah, except for the one agent who responded in 47 SECONDS and misquoted my query letter. Him, I wonder about.

 

Trust agents. They want to find great books. You may have a great book but a lousy query letter. Thank goodness for the agent who told me I had a “trite looking synopsis” — it changed the entire game for me. Hopefully soon as I start the process with a new book, someone will see my query and ask for pages…and then more pages…and then more books…and then and the and then we’ll have the beginning of a beautiful partnership.

Dream Mentor Wanted September 2, 2009

Monday Nancy Mercado (@editorgurl) twittered that she had joined Girls Write Now – “New York’s premier creative writing and mentoring organization for high school girls” — and I thought, “Wow, wouldn’t it be great if I could sign up to get a mentor and a group of brilliant women would match me up with a brilliant woman who will help me moving into the brilliant women category.”

 

So, I got to thinking: What would a great mentor look like for me today?

 

KNOWLEDGE

She (I’m just going with “she”, “he” would be great too) would have the knowledge of experience that I lack.  She’d write YA, but would understand the ideals of other genres as an overview. The ability to see my work and explain why it doesn’t work and the kindness to also tell me why it works. Knowledge to me also is wrapped up with wisdom. The wisdom to see to the heart of the matter, explain it constructively and clearly.

HONEST

Let’s be honest if a mentor is honest with you, what can you truly learn. I know we all have varying degrees of skin-thickness, but the truth is what we need. I don’t want someone to tell me I’m fabulous — although those moments of fabulosity I hit would be great to hear about — I want to hear it all. But tactfully.Which just happens to be the next category.

TACTFUL

Have you ever had someone tell you the absolute truth, but you didn’t hear it because of their words or tone or attitude? I think that’s a lot of what tact is, knowing how to best say the message. Leaving out words like “Well, it sucked but….” Telling the HARD truth in a way I can hear it…ie, leaving off personal attacks.

SENSE OF HUMOR

I have a sense of humor. There. It’s out. Don’t tell anyone. I know, I know, I’d better have some type of sense of humor if I want to write funnier than paint. But honestly, there comes a time when things are so bad or taking so long or are so hurtful that you need to laugh. One of my closest friends does not get this. We were learning to salsa dance and he bapped me in the face on an outside turn. I laughed. He yelled I wasn’t taking it “seriously enough”. I pointed out HE hit ME. We no longer dance together — I need to be able to laugh at things before I fix them.

PATIENT

Yeah, because yelling is bad….see “Sense of Humor”.

PLUGGED IN

I understand this industry is very slow moving and then very fast. There’s a lot to know, not just people but STUFF. I don’t mean she’d know everyone and everything and open those doors for me…that’s just asking too much. But, she’d know enough to steer me and stop me from making career mistakes or missing opportunities.

LOYAL

I’m a very loyal person. Win me and I’m won type of girl. I’d hope we’d be able to build a relationship based on loyalty that would grow as I became (with her guidance) more and more of a peer and less of a teachable burden (yeah, I had a professor who called us all that. He meant it with love so it was all good.)

KIND-HEARTED

Because they’d have to be to take me on…a writer who feels constantly “almost there”

 

Am I asking a lot? Absolutely. But if you don’t ask for a lot in dreams, where can you ask for it? My other dream? That one day I’ll be big enough, good enough to be someone’s dream mentor….until then, a girl can hope!