I’ve been reading about how bad the market is and how hard it is to get published right now.
I don’t particularly care.
If the market or my writing style or a smudge the mailman left on my query envelope keeps me raking in the rejections….
Fine.
I’m working on the prequel to the series, and I can try my hand querying it when the economy’s better.
But just because the economy is bad, it doesn’t mean I’m going to use that as an excuse to give up. I’m not going to stop querying and deathgrip my agent list in the hope that the recession will end.
Suck it up, people, and get back to your keyboards. These stories aren’t going to write themselves.
I just finished A Stranger to Command and am in the middle of Crown Duel, and these books make me feel like an incompetent hack with a computer full of childish scribbles.
It’s not that they’re so similar to my work, it’s just that they make me feel so strongly, and I love them so much, I can’t help but think I’m not good enough when I read them.
I am in the midst of a bit of writer’s block. I can’t start anything new without hating every word. I’ve been working off and on toward completing a third book in the super hero series, but I’m also still shopping around for an agent for Frostbite (now titled Cold Snap) and trying to flesh out that world in general — I’ve created five new characters to use as background noise in another story, one that actually predates Frostbite/Cold Snap in the general chronology of the series.
I figure if I can’t get F/CS up and running, I can just work on the prequel until it’s ready to shop. It’s a little darker, and a lot of the agents I’ve looked at seem to want dark and edgy.
I’m about as edgy as bunny slippers, but I’ll see what I can whip up.
Sent a query with an SASE that, guess what, doesn’t have proper postage on it.
/slitwrists
Have to completely resend it and now that agent will think I’m a moron.
In fact, all my pre-prepared envelopes don’t have enough postage because I prepared them THREE YEARS AGO. Idiot idiot idiot!
So I can’t do anything with snail mail until we get some 3 cent stamps.
Alex said “It’s just one,” but it’s really not. It’s one out of a very limited number with a very low chance of success. In querying, you must query every agent perfectly or they’ll just throw your materials out. They will THROW YOU OUT. I’m not even joking. It’s a very very tough scene.
I’m going to go cry now.
Finished the synopsis. It was 4 pages single-spaced and I had to cut it to 2 double-spaced, so I printed it, sighed at it, flipped it over, and wrote the new version on the back without even looking at my first version.
Turned out really well. It’s not even 2 pages and still incorporated all the major plot points. (Alex said the first two paragraphs in particular were brilliant, which makes me happy.)
Now to finish my bio by Sunday and I’ll be set to pop queries into the mail (snail and e) on Monday. I already marked all YA agents in the 2010 guide, so that’s also settled.
I’m a lot less nervous now that my synopsis is in good shape. It was making me tense.
Also, I went with “Cold Snap” for the title replacement, since “Frostbite” has been used recently within my age group and genre. (*cry*) Ah well, I’m sure it’ll work out.
Cross your fingers for me! I’ve done my part to the best of my ability and the rest is in whether or not an agent takes a shine to my work. So pray that someone will actually like my idea. Not just in general but enough to champion it.
*nerves*
