Huzzah! It works!

This poor little blog and me haven't been able to meet up for a couple of months. What can I say? I am a technical amoeba who should not be given such lovely things like websites and blogs...

So, lots to update!

Writing, since this is what the blog is about!

Inish is finished, is doing the rounds and doing really well, loads of interest. It's now rewritten as YA and is better for it, I think. Abendau's Child had a rewrite, too, and is much, much stronger with a good lvel of interest in it. It's stunning how much better we get at writing if we stick at it!

Galaxy of Flowers is pretty well ready for a last review but this one was so ambitious, for me, there is still some thinking to do. Mainly about pov and focus.

My latest baby - Waters and the Wild - is the story of a girl who is either mad or sees fairies... And the fall out on those around her. I'm forty thousand words in and beta feedback has been good. I am loving it, but as ever wish I knew what happened at the end! Soon, soon, I will. :)

And I won a competition! Wow! Here it is.

Www.sffchronicles.co.uk/2013/05/25/300-word-writing-challenge-9-april-2013


And then I did a guest blog! Wheeee. For my lovely writing mate Anna Dickinson. And here it is:

http://annawrites.net/celtic-connections-invoking-ulster/




Reading,then. I was blown away by Dark Eden, shuddered at Sherrilyn Kenyon (not in a good way) and then met Miles Vorkosigan. Here's a review I did for the SFF Chrons


http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/2013/06/23/review-the-vorkosigan-books-by-lois-mcmasterbujold/

Models of working

It has been interesting, learning how publishing happens from the sharp end. Previously, I have worked as a bookshop manager, so knew it from the getting it on the shelf angle. Now, as a wannabe author, I am looking at it from the getting it to the shelf angle.

I had a rejection tonight which was based on a 200 word query, which is absolutely fine: that is what the agent wanted, stated up front. It wasn't the worst query in the world and far from the best.

But, did it really tell the agent anything other than if I could write a soundbite? A novel is more than that, it is an immersive experience; a different writing skill.

Now, I am a pragmatist and fully accept methods of managing huge amounts of submissions must be found. The business model currently presented does, however, make me wonder on a number of levels:

1. Quality: if a submission is judged on a query only without reference to the work does this reflect the core meaning of quality as being fit for purpose, or does it limit the market to snappy works and snappy writers?

2. Innovation: is the market being limited by the need for a quick hook, and a snappy query? Are we pushing writers into niches that limit the market.

Considering the number of publishers who have opened direct to submissions, and the continued rise of the e-book market, is the agent model still valid? Or are the readers going to become the gatekeepers to the market and if so, should we be writing for that future market and not to a formula to catch attention early, even if the story doesn't merit that approach?

Submission

Scary stuff.... Inish had an edit a couple of weeks ago and has had what was really a bit of polishing since, especially around point of view selection.

Now, it is off, querying, and we will see. I try to keep my mind off it when they're off and am trying to get into Galaxy of Flowers instead.

I am at that awkward stage where I know the broad outline and the characters, but I haven't fully immersed in it. I will, I am sure. I remember really struggling with Inish at the start, too.

Anyway, whee! Fly, little Inish, fly. It woud be lovely to get a readthrough.

Oh, and still waiting for Harper Voyager with AC, the suspense is killing!

Query hell

The fabulous people at Absolute Write and the writing group at Sffchronicles have been helping me whip Inish's query into some sort of shape, and it has been hellish to do. But, I can see it taking shape, I have had some really thoughtful comments about the plot, names, use of clauses, and can see the improvement.

I have a fabulous developmental editor lined up for the end of the month and hope that by mid to late feb it will be away to agents. Since the only industry professional to see it, an editor at one of the big publishing houses, felt it showed enough promise to pass to a sff editor, I am hoping it will get some sort of interest.

Meanwhile, plugging away at the first Abendau story, the prequel to Abendau's Child, and musing on A Galay of Flowers.

Busy, busy.

Readthrough panic!

Had a really useful beta read of the opening of Abendau's Child, which brings back some age old problems around character motivation. So have been playing with where to start the story and hoping I might have cracked it. Let's hope so. Lots of editing of inish to do before the end of dec. need to crack on!

Inspiration

Getting ready to start thinking out a new idea, and I am wanting to make the wonder of space accessible to non lovers. It is what I am thinking more and more about, that in sci fi we are so focused on the tech and the worlds, that we don't consider the people a lot. Anyway 1500 down today, and we will see what occurs tomorrow!

Family matters

I have two gorgeous girls and a husband, and one thing I didn't anticipate (one of many, really) was that writing the book I dreamed of would take more than twelve weeks - i know, planet earth, hellooo...- and that, having written it, I would have no option to keep writing, that it was the thing I must do.

That in writing, for the first time, with my messy house, and crazy juggling act, it was self- actualization for the first time. Nothing else came close to fulfilling me; that all the fads over the years were the search for this discipline, this miracle when a story unfolded....

And that is where my kids come in. They know when they get home I will be writing. I can be distracted, that is cool, I have hugs on tap, but I am writing. 

And do you know what? They are proud of it, they want to write themselves, they can see a blessing is given and a happy, busy mum is worth celebrating. Aren't they great?