Novel Update

I received my first rejection today from an agent I queried for my first novel. I had expected to be really crushed by that, but it wasn’t bad at all — a minor disappointment rather than a knife to the heart. It probably helps that I’m focused on another project right now so I don’t need to obsess over that one.

I made more progress with the editing re-read on my second novel. I’m pretty happy that I’m still not running into any major issues. I want to rework the “magic system” in the setting, but so far the only impact that will have will be localized changes to descriptions of magic stuff happening.

Re-read: 32.3% done

Low: 0
Medium: 50
Priority: 5
Showstopper: 0

Added 1 Priority and 19 Medium issues.

Current wordcount: 74788

Novel Update

I made more progress with my editing pass. I’m still working up to accomplishing as much per day as I want to, but at least I’m making progress.

Re-read: 16.5% done

Low: 0
Medium: 31
Priority: 4
Showstopper: 0

Added 11 Medium issues.

Current wordcount: 74788

Novel Update

I started reading the novel today, looking for issues that I’ll need to fix. I didn’t get a lot done, but I did actually get started which was more than I thought would happen when I got up this morning.

Re-read: 5.6% done

Low: 0
Medium: 20
Priority: 4
Showstopper: 0

Added 7 Medium and 2 Priority issues.

Current wordcount: 74788

Novel Update: Started Editing Second Novel

Today I did a spellcheck on the novel I wrote last year, created an issue-tracking spreadsheet, and printed it out so I can do an editing pass, which I plan to start tomorrow. I think this one has fewer structural problems than the last one so I hope that editing will be less painful this time around.

Low: 0
Medium: 13
Priority: 2
Showstopper: 0

Current wordcount: 74788

Novel Update: Sent My First Query Letter

Despite temptations to postpone things again, I finished a synopsis I’m reasonably happy with. I also created a document of my novel in “standard manuscript format”, which was far more frustrating and time consuming than it should have been. I submitted my first e-mail query letter to an agent today, too. I may send out a few more today, but I need to take some time to calm down after the anxiety buildup over pressing the “send” button on the first one…

Novel Update

I’ve spent a lot of time procrastinating. I think it’s because the prospect of sending my work out is pretty scary (what if they don’t like it?!?!?), and that anxiety has been manifesting as behaviors that keep me from getting to the stage where I’ll have to face rejection. Trying to walk that tightrope is tough — on the one hand I need to be realistic enough that I won’t be devastated by the first rejection but I also need to be confident enough in the work that I actually put it out there. I think I’ve been letting my anxieties push me past “realistic” and into defensive inactivity. I’m trying to turn that around and get moving again.

I’ve got a first draft of my synopsis. It’s currently 6 pages, single-spaced, which I think I need to trim down by about 50%. My plan is to tighten that up over the weekend and be ready to start submitting by Monday.

Novel Update

I made all of the fixes that I mentioned yesterday. The text of the draft is ready to be submitted. The current wordcount is 93171. The next step will be to write the synopsis and then figure out all of the different hoops I need to jump through to meet the various submission requirements.

Novel Update

Last Tuesday I did a final spellcheck on my draft, and I’ve been rereading the novel since then to see if I introduced any errors on the last editing pass. I noticed a few minor issues that I’ll need to fix with line edits but nothing major or structural. Hopefully it will be less than a day of work to fix them. I’ll also need to create a synopsis of the novel since most submission guidelines require one. Once I’ve got that I’ll start submitting to literary agents.

Novel Update: Finished Draft!

Today I broke through my procrastination on the “the plan worked perfectly” scene. That was the last Priority issue. The other four issues were all related to a single chapter, and were mostly a question of tone and whether I needed to do some more “show, don’t tell” stuff. I decided that a rewrite wasn’t necessary, and I’ll keep that chapter the way it is. That resolves all the current issues!

I’m going to let the novel sit for a week and then reread it to make sure that everything still hangs together. I’m hoping that it will be ready to start shopping it around to agents and/or publishers and not need another draft. I’m going to start researching the submission guidelines for various places so that I’ll know what I need to do once I’m ready.

Low: 0
Medium: 0
Priority: 0
Showstopper: 0

Resolved 4 Medium and 1 Priority issues.

Current wordcount: 92867

Novel Update

I made some progress today, but probably not as much as the stats below would indicate. I resolved several issues by saying “I’m going to ignore the feedback my first readers gave me on this and stick with what I wrote originally.” There’s a danger that I’m letting frustration and weariness with the project influence those decisions, but I also need to get this thing wrapped up so I can move on with other projects. I’m embracing the idea that not being motivated to make the changes is my subconscious telling me that the changes aren’t necessary. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I need to do something to move forward. Odds are that these issues wouldn’t be the difference between selling the novel and not selling it, anyway, and if they’re really problems than I can work them out with an editor once I’ve got a contract…

Low: 0
Medium: 4
Priority: 1
Showstopper: 0

Resolved 2 Medium and 3 Priority issues.

Current wordcount: 92465