Author: Nicole Bross Page 9 of 19

First, Probably Not The Last

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On January 24, 2013

In The Road to Publication, The Waiting Game

I got my first form rejection today. Last autumn I submitted my book to Harper Voyager’s open call for unpublished works, a month after I’d finished the first draft.

I was surprised at how not-upset I was. I’m notoriously thin-skinned, after all. I take very nearly everything personally.

I fully expected rejection. Thousands upon thousands of people were submitting, and I rushed through editing my first draft in order to get it in on time. I also wrote my first query letter with absolutely no research beforehand. “Still,” I thought, “I’ll be sad when that rejection comes.”

I totally wasn’t. It was a very nice form rejection, actually. It didn’t say my book sucks. It didn’t say I’m a terrible writer. It didn’t suggest a career change. And so I feel emboldened, ready to try again somewhere else, with something that’s changed so much from what I enclosed in October.

I may be singing a different tune when I have a hundred form rejections under my belt (although let’s be optimistic and assume I’ll never amass that many), but for now, I’m actually weirdly proud of that rejection letter. It means I submitted my book in the first place. That’s kind of a really big deal for me.

The Last Six

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On January 23, 2013

In Just Keep Writing

I just learned that Six Sentence Sunday is holding its last list of contributors this Sunday the 27th. I’m sad, for it was a lot of fun to choose my favourite six of the week when I was writing The Unravelling and the kind feedback from my posts helped me to be more confident in sharing my work.

I’ll be posting six sentences from The Unseeing this Sunday, and may keep up with the tradition even though the official list isn’t being managed anymore. I’m grateful I was able to participate as much as I did!

Tonight’s Beverage of Choice

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On January 22, 2013

In Beyond Writing, Things That Are Awesome

My thing these days is tea. I drink it every day, usually with a bit of honey. I actually blame one of my characters for my tea obsession. Funny how that goes.

Before tea though, my thing used to be lattes, and I would drink one of those every day. Creamy goodness.

I give you now, THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS.

  • 1.5 c whole milk (not skim or 1% or 2%. WHOLE MILK WITH THE FAT. Yes it’s going to be a thousand calories but yes it’s going to be worth it)
  • 2 T hot chocolate powder (Cocoa Camino or similar quality. Keep your filthy Nesquik away from me)
  • 2 T coconut milk (the solid type from a can, not liquid)
  • 1 chai teabag

Put the teabag in the bottom of your oversize mug. Drop the dollop of coconut milk on top of it so it stays at the bottom. Add the hot chocolate powder and then fill the mug with steamed milk. DO NOT STIR. Walk away for five minutes and let it find its own path to oneness. When you return, the coconut milk should have melted into the rest of the liquid. Now you can give it a bit of a stir if it needs it. Leave the tea bag in the drink.

Experience Nirvana.

You’re welcome.

Sequel Sorrows

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On January 19, 2013

In Just Keep Writing, My Failings As A Proper Novelist, Research

I got myself all set up to start writing the next book in my series today, and already I find myself stymied. How much explanation do I have to give of the previous book’s events at the beginning of this one? Do I assume that readers have read the first installation and skip all the details, or do I have to give a blow-by-blow recounting of everything in The Unravelling? I mean, people don’t just jump straight to the second book in a series, do they? And writing in the first person complicates it further, for me anyway. I don’t want it to feel like Callie’s saying, “now sit down, little reader, and let me tell you about everything that just happened. We’ll get to the exciting new parts in a bit.”

I suppose the best thing to do is to go back and have a look at the first chapters of books beyond the first in some of my favourite series, and see how they handle it. I have a bit of reading to do. And I was all psyched up to start writing today too!

WAIT WAIT WAIT

By

On January 18, 2013

In Beyond Writing, Things That Are Awesome

There’s a Temple Run 2 out now?

Forget all that shit I said about productivity and goals. I have monkeys to evade.

And Away She Goes

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On January 18, 2013

In Big Ideas, Just Keep Writing, Planning for the Future, The Next Step

I sent off my first query last night, after the eleventy-first revision. I think I like it. Just to be 110% sure, though, I sent it to the Query Shark. Hopefully I’ll be chosen for evisceration. I’ve also decided this fulfills my goal to send out my first letter by the end of January and my new plan, after some helpful advice I read on another blog (Query Quagmire I think?) is to wait until March-ish to start querying in earnest, since apparently many, many people who are either post-NaNo or fulfilling New Year’s resolutions are also querying right now. I’d rather wait until things settle down a bit and there aren’t so many fish in the water.

In the meantime, I was rudely awoken at an ungodly hour this morning (okay, 7:00, but I’m a special little princess who likes her beauty sleep) with a bit of an idea to add to The Unseeing. In adding it to my outline, I gave the rest of it a quick skim and got excited all over again to begin writing. There’s so much going on! I can definitely see myself starting writing for real this weekend, if not tonight.

I’ve also decided I deserve to have my own writing space. Right now, my “office” is the couch in the basement rec room, a few feet away from our only TV, and the majority of the kids’ toys. So if I want to work, I have to ensure that the kids aren’t around (really, only when they’re sleeping) and that my extremely understanding husband doesn’t want to watch TV. It’s also cold as hell down there and kind of dark because there aren’t any windows. At first I wanted to build a nice loft office above the garage, but that doesn’t look feasible based on the way the garage was constructed. So now I think I want one of these: minus the kitchen and trailer, but definitely with the loft. There’s a nice corner in my backyard where I think it would fit perfectly, and I bet I could build one on the cheap with salvaged materials. It would make a nice spring project, because I don’t have enough on my plate already…

It’s nice to have things to look forward to.

The Query, The Quandary

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On January 11, 2013

In Learning, The Next Step, Things That Make You Weep For Your Sanity, Writer's Low

And I thought editing was hard. Writing a query letter, specifically the part of the query that describes the story, is enough to make me smash my head against the screen. I did that last night, actually. Twice. Thankfully my MacBook’s a sturdy machine.

There’s a lot of great resources out there to help writers along the way, but a lot of it’s conflicting. Loglines! No loglines! Reveal the ending! Don’t reveal the ending! Include a bio! Don’t include a bio!

And then there are helpful suggestions like my dad’s for a letter: “Yo bro’….what’s up with THIS??”

Love you, dad, but just no.

Slowly, I’m getting there, but it’s agonizing. I’ve re-written the damn thing ten times and probably have another ten ahead of me before I’ll be satisfied with it. The biggest problem right now, I think, is that I’m never going to know which one is best. And a lot rides on that letter, you know?

Back to head smashing.

Validation

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On January 8, 2013

In Revision, Things That Are Awesome, Writer's High

I had my fifteen-page critique today. My city is fortunate to have a writer in residence, who will kindly review samples by writers in the community. I was really nervous going into it (so much so that I got off the train at the wrong station and had to get on the next one!) but it was a really rewarding, valuable experience. I feel great about my chances at publication now. Of course there were some issues and fixes we talked about, but overall the feedback was very, very positive. I couldn’t be happier! High-fives all around.

When I told my mom on chat, she said, “BELIEVE IT!! We have always known that you had a gift for writing but you didn’t believe it. Now I think you are starting to!” and that’s totally the truth. And when those rejections start rolling in, as I have no doubt they will, I can go back and read that, as well as the letter Deborah included with my critique, for a little ‘atta girl, chin up’ when I need it.

FACT:

By

On January 6, 2013

In Things That Are Awesome

This is actually what my life looks like.

By Dirk Verschure. http://dirksbigbunnyblog.blogspot.ca

It’s why I’m always stubbing my toes on the sidewalk.

It’s why I’ve blacked my eye walking into a cupboard.

It’s why I can walk right past someone I’ve known for years without so much as a hello.

It’s why I can take hours to fall asleep, but don’t mind a bit.

IT NEVER STOPS.

The Up-and-Coming

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On January 3, 2013

In Big Ideas, Organizing, Planning for the Future

Well, the arbitrary date we’ve assigned to indicate the beginning of another pass around the sun has come. I’m all for any opportunity to think about goals and aspirations for the future, as well as doing some planning. It’s like outlining, but for your life.

That was deep, hey? Anways.

I’m finished the third draft of The Unravelling. Other than the possibility of a few more minor tweaks, I feel like what I have now is what I’m comfortable querying on. I have a critique scheduled for my first 15 pages early next week, and based on how that goes, I may do a bit more work on the first two chapters, then start figuring out who I’d like to send it off to. I started researching literary agents this week and plan to spend a good amount of time in the next few days working on a framework for my query letters.

  • Goal: Send out my first query letter by the end of January. Try to send one a week after that.
  • Goal: Be organized about this shit. Keep track of everything in a spreadsheet (I do loves me a good spreadsheet).

I’m on the fence about using a professional editing service. Before, I felt like it was something I definitely wanted to do, but now I’m wavering. I might send out a few rounds of queries first, and if there are no bites, then go with a paid edit.

  • Goal: Curb my chai latte habit (slightly) so I can save for an editor if needed.
  • Goal: In the meantime, find a few people who don’t know me at all to read the thing.

I’m also looking ahead to starting in on The Unseeing in earnest sometime soon. I think my outline is pretty much complete, and things are starting to build themselves up in my head around the few scenes I’ve already jotted down. I’m not at the bursting point yet where I won’t have any choice but to start writing, but I feel like it’s soon. I miss sitting down here on my writing couch in my writing room and just letting my thoughts carry me away every night. It’s been so long!

  • Goal: Start my first draft no later than March.
  • Goal: Finish my first draft no later than the end of 2013 but hopefully sooner.

Can’t forget the most important one:

  • Goal: Be awesome.

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