FINISHED!!!

That's it, I'm done. Not even ten minutes ago, I just finished all my edits in Khaladin! The story went from thirty chapters and 39,000 words to thirty-three chapters and 42,000 words. It sounds so much better now and I am very proud of it! :)

Well, with the query and story done, it is now time to rewrite the dreaded synopsis. Writing a synopsis, so far, is the only thing I have found I hate in writing. It's hard to condense a 42K story to five to eight pages.

I am going to try to write my synopsis in five pages. I have found that's about the average and that will give me a good model to go by should an agent want a synopsis that is longer or shorter.

Hopefully I can complete my synopsis soon. If I'm lucky, it might even get done tonight. Once it is finished, then the queries can go out again. Hopefully this story will generate more interest. Do you know how pumped I'd be if an agent wanted to look at sample pages or read the entire manuscript? Forget a contract, just one reading my work would make me feel so awesome. And if that contract did happen to come my way, then it's a good thing you don't live at my house, cause I'd be screaming. :)

TTYL, guys! :D

An Editing Update

So, I have been editing Khaladin the past couple days and have edited nearly half the book. I'm very close to where the revamp is going to be taking place in the story, so I'm trying to plan everything out. I've got a few ideas, but not quite sure how to make it all work yet.

In the meantime, I got my query letter for Khaladin probably as close to perfect as I can. I ran it a LOT on AW and it got to where fewer and fewer people would edit it and then it got to where the edits were nit picky. Once you get to nit picky edits, it's my opinion that you take those hints that you want and leave the rest and lean back, hoping you have the right query letter.

And this one really didn't turn out bad! In fact, I'm rather proud of it. It's the best query letter I've ever written, but I want to share it with you to get your thoughts as well. So, here it is:

Dear Agent:

I am seeking representation for my middle grade fantasy novel, KHALADIN, which is complete at 39,000 words. (word count subject to change with edit *wink*)

Thirteen-year-old Judy never imagined her aunt’s horse would give birth to anything but a normal foal, until she saw the colt’s tiny horn. She’s thrilled to have a baby unicorn to take care of, but she soon learns it’s not easy keeping Khaladin’s existence a secret. When a greedy casino owner discovers him and steals him away to auction him off to the highest bidder, Judy knows she has to save him.

The road to rescue isn’t easy. Judy and her aunt follow the casino owner to his ranch in Arizona where Khaladin is being held. Judy knows that if she can’t rescue Khaladin, he’ll become nothing more than a status symbol- but if she succeeds, she’ll be condemning him to the same imprisonment he faced before. Judy wants Khaladin to be free to choose what life he wants. She just hopes his choice won’t break her heart.

Thank you very much for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,

me

So, feel free to tell me what you think. :)

Just When I Thought I Had It Figured

So, you do know that stories speak, right? Some of them say, "Write me!" which is good. The best will say, "I'm ready, send me off!" Others will say, "I need more work before you query me." But I absolutely hate it when a story says this:

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought I was ready to be queried off I wasn't. I'm actually in need of a major rewrite. I know you've already submitted me to the agents you want most, but I really need this rewrite before you send me off again."

That is exactly what Khaladin did to me today.

The rewrite will make it a better story. It's all for the best. But I thought I was done with this one and now it's like, think again. Oh well. I will begin the revamp process and probably try to sell Help! My Parents Are From Outer Space! And if that one calls out for a rewrite, I will send out The Heart and the Horn. And if that one calls for a rewrite again, I might just throw in the towel on writing.

Believe me? Yeah, didn't think so. You all know I love writing too much to ever quit. :)

Why The Revamp?

I just recently read a book that said if you don't condense your book in your revision, then you are doing something wrong.

So why am I doing a revamp of The Ultimate Evil that's clearly making the story much longer?

Simple: It needs it.

The Ultimate Evil, I believe, has the potential to be a great story. It was good in the old version but the reason I'm revamping is to flesh out the story and edit those iffy parts that every story has, whether it's to keep or chuck them.

With this new version of my fantasy, I also have to re-work the query. Heck, I had to do that anyway because my query, which I thought was good, turned out to be crap. And with new plot twists, I have to focus on different things than I used to. But I have to say, writing a query for this story is hard. Khaladin and Help! My Parents Are From Outer Space!'s queries were easier. I guess it's because they don't have as many twists and turns as The Ultimate Evil does.

Another thing. I normally keep you all updated on my word count progress, whether it increases or shortens. Well, I'm now going to hold you in suspense. I will not post The Ultimate Evil's word count again until it is finished.

Happy writing! :D

Literary Updates

OK, I'm going to update you all on all of my stories and their statuses so far:

The Ultimate Evil: Submitted to 17 agents and rejected by 11. Do not believe query will hook remaining agents. Once I have heard back (or not) from all of them, this story is going to be put on hold for revamping. It's missing something, but I can't pinpoint it yet.

Khaladin: Submitted to 26 agents and has been rejected 10 times. This story I will query till I have exhausted all options. May re-write my query before querying more agents, though. It might not be reading as well as I thought. Plan on submitting to all e-mail query friendly agents first before going to snail mail agents (I am in the process of moving, so that's why I have it this way).

Help! My Parents Are From Outer Space!: Never rejected! OK, so that's because it's never been submitted. But the query letter is done, should I ever need it. This story is still in editing, but not in need of a major overhaul that I can see at this point.

The Unicorn Queen: All 13 adventures have been planned and all major characters formulated. The first five chapters of book one are complete. I plan to write all the adventures and then go back and edit them. I will not pitch this series till every book is complete, which I don't think will take too long. I'm hoping each story will be around 15K-20K.

So, that's it. I'll update again when I have something new to report. Till then, happy writing! :D

Another Rejection

Yesterday I recieved a very nice (if form) same-day rejection letter. One more down....I don't know how many more to go. :)

I have been working super hard in Khaladin these past two days and I have written several thousand more words. My word count is now up to 38K! I'm so excited! The story is sounding SO much better and it's very fun to work on. :D

I Love It When....

....people read my work and give me great comments as my Beta for Khaladin did. She helped me SOOOOO much and I am very grateful. She pointed out several places where I could tighten up my writing, which is great because I don't easily spot that on my own. Guess I need to work on getting better at that, huh?

February is fast approaching and that means 10 more query letters will be going out for The Ultimate Evil soon. If I get rejected by these ten, I don't know if I will continue to query this story, or put it on the back burner for a while as I try with another. It will depend on how complete Khaladin and Help! My Parents Are From Outer Space! are. Both are finished, it's just editing now.

The query letters for these other ten agents are already written out. All I have to do is e-mail them. As of right now, I am working on query letters for Khaladin and Help! My Parents Are From Outer Space! just in case The Ultimate Evil doesn't sell.

The Edits Never Seem To End!

More edits have been started in both Khaladin and Help! My Parents Are From Outer Space! My Beta for Khaladin finished and sent me her comments, but my stupid computer wouldn't open them. Hopefully we can get that straightened out soon. I want to read her comments! I hope there are some harsh ones! :)

My Beta for Help! My Parents Are From Outer Space! hasn't had time to read the story, which is understandable when you're juggling a college schedule. I told him there's no rush. It's strictly on a "read it when you're ready" basis.

A lot of writers I have met hate edits. LOATHE them! Me? I LOVE editing! It's wonderful to see your story morph and change into something better than it was before. I don't mind the editing process, though there is a part of me that wishes it wasn't so long. :D

Rejected....Again

So, yesterday after I a rejection letter from Ms. Nelson, I sent a query on a complete whim to Nathan Bransford. About twenty minutes later he sent me a (personalized!) rejection letter. Getting him would have been really tough, anyway, considering the fact that he doesn't normally represent fantasy.

But though I am still receiving rejection letters, I am still optimistic. I kjow that if it is God's Will, I'll find the perfect agent with the perfect story one day. :D

I have also been editing Khaladin and the edits are coming along nicely. I've been able to get rid of some of my wordiness and passive voice. For some reason, that story got loaded with passive voice. Agh! Not good! At least it's fixable. :)

Poll results:

Khaladin: 2

Help! My Parents Are From Outer Space!: 2

Yeah, I have a tie. I have to ask more people. If you're reading my blog and haven't voted yet, please do. Help me choose! :)

First Round Of Edits Complete!

Yes, I did it. In four days (wow, only four days?) I have read Khaladin from beginning to end and edited everything that I found. I didn't find a lot that needed changing.

I'm worried.

Honestly, you'd think that since there wasn't a lot to change I'd be happy. I'm not. Why? Because, truthfully, I thought there was more wrong with the story. Maybe there is, but I just haven't put it away long enough to see them yet.

Yeah, that's probably the answer right there.

In my edits, I only added about 1,000 words, so the word count for this middle grade fantasy is now 31K. I'm surprised I was able to add that many words. This story is TOTALLY and COMPLETELY different than The Ultimate Evil. It's told in a completely different voice and I really like it.

Do I like it better than The Ultimate Evil?

At this point.....no.

The Ultimate Evil is currently my fav of the two. I've talked to many writers and authors who say that they can't chose which of their stories they like the best because that's like choosing between your children. Honestly, I don't see my stories as my children, even though I have called them 'my baby' before. I truly feel like my stories are pieces of art. Some are going to turn out better than others. That's just natural.

Anyway, Khaladin is already off with it's first Beta reader. This is the first time I have let someone read my very first draft of something.....I sent the story to him before I started my other edits. I'm glad he has the very first version. A lot of it is just bone and joints. Maybe he can help me add the meat. :)

I Finished!!!!

Yep, you read right. New Year's Resolution #1 is now complete. Last night, at about 1:30 AM, I finally completed the first draft of Khaladin!

I am SUPER excited right now! I finally connected the middle with the end (I had already written the last three chapters). It's done at 30K, which isn't bad, considering that most MG books are 20K-40K. I was hoping for 60K (don't know why) but I really doubt I'll have that much more to add.

Really, the first draft is all about putting down the basic feelings, creating a basic landscape, then moving on. There's plenty of time for details later, since you know you will spend a LOT of time editing.

Right now, Khaladin is complete with twenty-eight chapters. The original title for this story was "Judy and the Unicorn Herd" but that title didn't work when I revamped the story, so that title is now being used in chapter twenty-five or twenty-six.

I think.

Anyway, I have now begun the first round of edits. Khaladin is really naked in some areas with not enough detail, so I have to fix that. And the grammar. Then I have to chop things out and add some more......wait, most of you are writers. You already know all this.

55K!!!!!!

Well, I did it. Are you surprised?

Frankly, now, I really wonder how much more I can add to The Ultimate Evil. Making existing scenes longer and more interesting is one thing, but adding new ones is another. I added I think one new section, but it only has about 200 or so words in it. Everything else is just extended.

My friend who gave me the advice said that The Ultimate Evil, in a way, reminds him of Lord of the Rings. I'm not sure how to take that. Of course, they are some of the best stories ever told, but I never wanted to draw a lot of inspiration from that trilogy. But considering that my friend used to be a huge Lord of the Rings buff, I'll take it as a compliment from him. :)

One thing he did say was that my writing style is unique. For the past year I have seen a definite writing style emerge from my jumble of letters and it's nice to hear that from someone. Gives me hope. :)

54K!!!!!!

Who'd have thought that I (with all my struggling) would get The Ultimate Evil's word count higher? Not me. Nope, definately, not me.

But guess what? I did! As you can tell from the title of this post, the story is up to 54,000 words! My friend's suggestions were great (haven't fully completed them yet) and there's a chance that I will be able to get The Ultimate Evil up to at least 55K. Wow, I can remember when it was only 48K. That was a long time ago.

It's been a week since I first submitted to Firebrand but I haven't heard back yet. Not surprising, but I will continue to keep you updated.

I'm Happy!

Why? Hmm, glad you asked that question. One of my friends finished reading The Ultimate Evil. He's the first person besides me to have read it from beginning to end. And what did he have to say about it?

Very, very impressive.

Seriously, I'm not lying, those were his exact words. He also called it awesome and cool. Well, he actually typed 'kewl', but you get my drift.

Do you know how happy that made me? SUPER happy! He's going to talk to me about it and hopefully he can help me make it even better.

I know I'm not published yet, but him loving the story was a dream come true. Why? I wrote a story that someone enjoyed. That's what I've wanted to do ever since I wrote my first story at the tender age of 6....for people to like what I do and enjoy it. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Imagine what will happen when I get that publishing deal! :D