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Okay, so I have this story written, now what? I’ve accomplished what I set out to do—write a book. But having 210,000 words about Eri’s life merely sitting inside the hard drive of my computer isn’t enough. I want her world in my hands, with a cover and pages and acknowledgements and a dedication. How do I do that?
Many hours on the internet and reading countless books on the craft of writing led me to realize that this writing stuff has sooo much more to it than just simply (ha ha) writing your story. That is merely the first monumental hurdle. Ugh! I am not a quitter, so…
Step one: figuring out what genre my story fits into and what else is already out there, and, big gulp, is my writing even worthy?
Step two: realizing that my book is actually three books with dump truck loads of revising and editing ahead of me—the unending tweaking process. Ok, now I have this manuscript and it's getting better every time I change a word, cut a paragraph, add a scene, and spice up the dialogue. Must continue tweaking, never stop tweaking, can’t stop tweaking.
Step three: researching agents who might be interested in my manuscript and reading books in my same genre (total bonus—I’ve enjoyed a ton of books and found new series and authors to follow). To submit to an agent, you write a query letter to entice them into reading part or all of my manuscript (but first I need a pitch, a hook, a logline, an outline, a synopsis—short and/or long, I’m sure there’s more). I am writing more about my story than I ever could have imagined (and I need the practice).
This is where I sit today, almost to the point of submitting my manuscript to agents. While still nipping and tucking My Protector: The Calling (book one) with the help of Phil-the-extraordinaire, Kelli-online-writing-partner-already-published-author, and Cassie-critiquing-partner-fellow-YA/MG-writer.
It’s a rollercoaster of a learning experience to say the least…
But it's so much fun isn't it? :)
ReplyDeleteIt is a lot to take in. I'm still trying to land an agent, but my advice to you would be to start going to conferences--there is a crap ton of information at them, and you get to meet and greet with editors and agents. It helps, a lot.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the follow on the blog :)
Persistence and editing will carry you through some of the darker moments. Conferences are nice if you can afford them in time and money. But read, read, read the masters on how they wrote, what they wrote -- learn from them. Hang in there, Roland
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear I'm not the only one going crazy! I don't think anyone outside the "writing world" understands how difficult it is to write a book and then try to get it published. AHH! Great post!
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