Ramblings

The last couple of weeks have been hectic and busy with parties, edits, non-writing work stuff, and life in general. Today I have nothing...that's right, nothing I have to do. It feels glorious and a little uncomfortable.

Our canoe race party was a great success...lots of good food, good people, fun and laughter. But it was also a lot of work and I'm glad it's over with...at least for now.

Last night I saw the new Terminator movie. I'm a big fan of the series and enjoyed the latest entry for the most part. However I hated the ending. I'm all about redemption...I love the concept and think it has wonderful, emotional story potential. But this ending took it too far, beyond the scope of believability in my opinion. And that undermined everything that came before. I was bummed.

I finished the final read-through and edits on Scared Stiff a couple of days ago and sent it to my agent for a first critical read. As always happens when I finish a project, I'm happy, proud, and scared. Happy it's done, proud that it doesn't suck (at least in my opinion) and scared that others will think it does suck.

And that leaves me pondering the next book in the series. It's an equally scary prospect, but also an exciting one. It's like planning a road trip with no set destination in mind. What roads should I travel? What detours should I take? Where do I want to end up? And what adventures will I have along the way? There are so many potential journeys to choose from. What if I pick the wrong one? How can I know which way to go?

For me the process is one of exploration. I'll try different roads, take many a detour, and backtrack now and again. Eventually my gut will help me map it all out. Not that logic and business sense don't help...they do and are always a part of the mix. I'm constantly studying publishing industry trends and changes, but I've always operated and created on gut instinct. Most of the time it works, but not always. It's those rare failures that keep things interesting (and keep my hard disks and closets filled with writing mishaps). And while failure is not the goal, I embrace it. It keeps me going. It gives me an edginess. It makes me try harder. It forces me to take risks. And, hopefully, it will lead me down the right path.

Potpourri

It's been a productive couple of weeks since I last posted. To start with, the second book in the Mattie Winston series, SCARED STIFF, is finally done ... well, it's written, printed, and sitting on a shelf. Though it's technically a first draft, it's pretty close to a final draft because I always edit as I write. I start every writing session by reading and editing whatever I wrote during the last couple of sessions before producing anything new. I also do a complete beginning to where-I'm-at-now edit when I'm around halfway to two-thirds of the way through the manuscript. So my first drafts are pretty polished. But I do like to let them sit and ripen for a week or so once they are done, after which time I'll reread, cut away any smelly parts that developed during the ripening process, and then send it on its way.

The whole thing weighs in at just under 100,000 words. It felt good to write that final chapter and in the past I've always celebrated this accomplishment by taking a week off and doing absolutely nothing except fun stuff, like movie marathons, drinking, bike rides, drinking, reading, and drinking. Alas, I can't do any of those things this time because I have other jobs that are making some serious demands on my time. Plus I have our annual canoe race party to plan, and there is a lot of weed whacking, cobweb killing, menu planning, and dust bunny slaughter that needs to be done. I live with two golden retrievers and two cats, so I also have hair balls the size of tumbleweeds that roll through my house this time of year, thanks to all the shedding going on. I think the little hair balls mate with the dust bunnies and the result is a horrifying genetic mishap that, if I let my guard down for a second, will someday take over the entire house.

Annelise Ryan now has her own Facebook page. And maybe, just maybe, she might have some news to post there soon. Keep your fingers crossed and in the meantime, hop on over, become a fan, and bookmark the page for future news and events.

Is It Let's Attack An Agent Week?

Holy moley! The vitriol is spewing forth lately and literary agents are the target. Check out these posts here and here and see what you think.

Apparently there are a lot of angry, frustrated writers out there.

Weekly Roundup

Lots of stuff since my last post here. Today I finished the final page proofs for WORKING STIFF, finding errors on nine different pages. Considering how many times I've gone over those 100,000 words, finding nine more errors at this stage is scary. It makes me wonder how many I continued to miss. I'm sure there will be some alert readers out there who will point them out to me.

I'm in the final stretch on the manuscript for SCARED STIFF, with a chapter or so left to write (just wrapping things up) and then a major edit.

On other fronts, agent Nathan Bransford is conducting an interesting "Be An Agent For A Day" contest on his blog site. Take a gander at the 50 queries posted there and see which ones you'd pick (three of the fifty are published books.)

The latest viral video is this one. I'm always a sucker for these sorts of things.

My Oh My!

I've been following the online battles and discussions centered around the controversial #queryfail that was born on Twitter. Now comes #agentfail, where the courageous (foolish?)ladies of Bookends, LLC gave writers a chance to fire back. Holey Moley! I still haven't read all 300 comments (I had to take a break at 220-something and I doubt I'll go back) but it's clear there are a lot of very frustrated writers out there. (Check out Nathan Bransford's blog for some other links and agent commentary on this.)

As a veteran of rejection and someone who has had three agents so far in my career, I have to say that I do agree with some of the comments. I find the whole "no-response-means-no" thing irritating. It strikes me as a power-lauding, unprofessional thing to do. Reject me as succinctly, quickly, and rudely as you want, but at least do me the courtesy of some response.

With that said, my agent relationships and agent correspondences have been very good, almost always amiable and professional (I don't query the no-response agents). I have a pretty bulky rejection file and in there I do have one hand-written note that was scribbled on my query letter and sent back to me telling me not to quit my day job. But to be honest, I LOVE that rejection because it was for the novel that got me my first agent. And that agent sold the novel in a matter of weeks as part of a two-book deal. So that rejection reinforces two beliefs for me: 1) it's important to believe in myself and 2) rejection shouldn't be taken personally.

I find myself agreeing with Writer Beware's Victoria Strauss who made this comment: "For some writers, unable to snag an agent's interest, outrage becomes a substitute form of validation."

More and more I see writers who can't get an agent and/or who can't get published blaming everything but the quality of their writing for this state of affairs. I went on a rant this weekend about this very topic here on Absolute Write and fully expect to get blasted for it. But that's okay. I have my bulletproof undies on so fire away.

Tough Skin

Several things I've read lately on various writing sites, critique sites, and agent sites and blogs (such as the the recent #queryfail run on Twitter, which is coming again April 17th) remind me how important it is to have a tough skin as a novelist. The classic stereotype that describes an artist as "sensitive" or "moody" really has no place here. For one thing, there are so many ways one can, and will be, criticized. There are writing group crits, agent rejections, and editorial suggestions, demands, and rejections. And if you are lucky enough to make it to publication, there are reviewers who will hate your work, readers who think you're insane/a hack/a moron, and your own inner critic, who will suddenly discover every teeny, tiny piece of crap writing you couldn't see before the minute your book hits the shelves.

The criticism can fly from many directions at once and be scathingly harsh. And if you want to succeed as a novelist, I truly believe you need to learn how to take it as objectively and unemotionally as possible, because it's an inevitable fact of life. Deal with it. Some people are going to hate your writing. Maybe you are a talentless hack. But if you truly love to write, none of that will matter too much. You'll keep at it regardless of what the critics say. If you write because you want fame, glory, and money, you're sadly disillusioned and the critics will, eventually, get to you. Unless you're a total egomaniac.

Criticism can also be an extremely valuable tool. Harsh as it may be (and sometimes it's downright cruel!), it's important to listen to every tidbit of criticism (both the good and the bad) and weigh it as objectively as you can. Easier said than done, at times. Partly because objectivity is often blinded by emotion, and partly because not all criticism is useful or even valid. Learning to decipher the various comments and feedback, and figuring out what's worth considering and what should be ignored is a difficult lesson. Setting aside your emotions long enough to take the valid criticisms to heart can be even harder. But if you can master it, you will improve as a writer. You will benefit from your mistakes. You will strengthen your prose and your character development. You will learn to trust your inner voice more, and better understand how to interpret those gut feelings about your work. It will become easier to acknowledge and deal with your weaknesses, and to identify and enhance your strengths.

And maybe, just maybe, those critiques will begin to shift from primarily negative to primarily positive. Harsh judgments will be replaced with accolades. The rejections will become fewer and less frequent. And your love of the craft of writing will grow stronger.

Blurb Heaven

I'm tickled pink today over a cover blurb for WORKING STIFF that came from Tess Gerritsen, one of my favorite authors: "WORKING STIFF has it all: suspense, laughter, a spicy dash of romance -- and a heroine who's guaranteed to walk off with your heart. Mattie Winston is an unforgettable character who has me begging for a sequel. Annelise Ryan, are you listening?"

For those of you (if there are any) who don't know Tess, I highly recommend her books. This New York Times bestselling author (and physician) is a master (mistress? - that just sounds tawdry!) of entertaining, edge-of-your-seat suspense. Her newest book, THE KEEPSAKE, can be found on Amazon here.

Thanks a million, Tess!