Juggling Books: Act Two

It's hard to believe I started writing books eight years ago. Well, I've always been a writer, but I dabbled in poetry, wrote fan fiction before there was such a thing as fan fiction, dreamt about stories, made up stories, but in the end I never really sat down to write books until I was an adult.

My stats aren't necessarily reflected in My Books page in this blog spot. I have a couple of under the bed books, or "drawer books" that shall remain in the drawer. However, I'm just as proud of them as I am of the ones that I think have real potential to fly. Why? They taught me I could FINISH a book. Do you know how many people say they are going to write a book? Lots. Do you know how many people start those books? Not many. Do you know how many people finish the books they start? Even less.

Do you know how many people keep writing more books after their first "epic novels" are rejected once? A few brave souls.

So if you've finished a novel PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK. Well done. If you've picked yourself up off the floor after your first rejection and continued writing more books BREAK OUT THE BUBBLY. You're a winner in my eyes.

Now comes the tough part. Continuing to write and revise and LEARN YOUR CRAFT while you get ready for your big opportunity and get published. Oh, that leads me to continue to QUERY and SUBMIT. Yes. Query a lot. Submit wherever you can that makes sense for your genre and your career.

Most of all HAVE  PLAN. One cannot operate without a clear, flexible plan in place. I have one. Every year I sit down and make a list of attainable goals (okay getting a New York agent and/or editor to love my work is not completely in my hands, but I can take care of the writing and submitting part, then let it go).

Every quarter of the year, I review my plan. I revise my plan. I reset my goals. As I approach the end of this quarter year, I know I have to be very careful with my time and use it with clear focus. A lot of the places I want to submit to have different requirements than in the past.

I have nine fully written books. I have fleshed out three different continuing series book outlines and have pursued the writing of them during breaks from revising for requests and so on.  I have two new shiny stories to write with interesting characters and premises to flesh out. Seven of my books have pretty strong partials ready to whip out the door (a partial is the first three chapters along with a synopsis--though the synopsis requirement isn't always in the guidelines for submission). I have two strong full manuscripts to send out to the world. They are strong in that my most recent writing eyes, the eyes that have learned a lot of new things, are looking for deeper elements when I read through them. The rest are in the "polish to the best of my ability" stage.

Therein lies the caveat: polish to the best of my ability now. Because I've grown as a writer. What I thought was my "best" a year or two ago isn't my best of my ability now. All this leads to my current juggling act. I've got editors on the hook. I've got interest in my writing. I'm close. Oh. So. Close. Now I'm working on getting my missiles ready to launch by using the abilities I have strengthened within me as a writer and polishing, revising, and polishing again.

The goal? Four books ready to launch. I'm lining them up like rockets on a pad. Lighting the fire. Counting down the minutes until they lift off one-by-one toward the stars I've aligned them to shoot toward. But oh my, is it ever daunting. My head has been spinning with the various books I want to get ready. And I have those two shiny new stories that I want to write. I'm desperate to write them. I want to get to know these new characters, but I must hold back. I have to get my rockets ready to fly.

Yesterday, after polishing all day, I sat down and printed out my calendars for April and May. I also did weekly calendars. Then I marked off the days I know I will be unable to write at all. After that, I made a power plan for which books to work on and when I needed them to be at various stages of revision.

April is a weird month. May is even stranger. Life is happening. Lot's going on: travel, medical stuff for me and the College Kid, and a major contest to coordinate for my Southern Magic writing chapter. But no matter what I've volunteered to do, my writing will always come first. So my schedule has to change to reflect that maxim as well. My blogging has become more sporadic as of late due to the focus on the books, but I still love to pop in and blog because it frees my creative soul. Plus, I love celebrating my debut author friends when they release their first books. Who doesn't love a party?

But in the meantime, just making a plan released me from juggling anxiety. I know I can do this if I remain focused. I know that I may have to readjust my plan should an event pop up that I have no control over (like tornadoes, illness, etc.). But I know that this year the hard work will pay off. I will take charge and make something happen. But I will do it smart. I will do it with clear intention. And I will continue to make something of my writing career because my focus is and always will be writing and revising books to the best of my ability.

What's on your writing docket?

Global Writing & Princesses on Parade

It's been a busy time over at Casa del Glover. First I hosted a mini writing retreat. My critique partners drove from Atlanta to write, laugh, and write some more. They stayed over for two nights from Wednesday through Friday last week. Another writing friend came over on Thursday to write all afternoon, then we broke out the libations, ate dinner, and chatted until late in the evening. It was hard to say goodbye to my CPs--who are friends that I cherish as well--but I'm grateful for the time I had with them.

After they left, I continued working on the current manuscript's revisions until I reached THE END yet again on Monday afternoon. I am standing pat at 35,000 words and need another 13,000 to reach my elusive word count. I am the Queen of Cutting Words. So I cut 7,000 words and crafted a few new ones. This story is still very much in its infancy, but it's beginning to grow. I am afraid I may not hit the mark with it because it's the first time I've attempted such a global category series book, but I hope that I can take what I'm learning and improve as I go along. I should have a decent full draft by the end of the month, then it's time to make the first three chapters shine. Super shine if I want to get a request for a FULL manuscript from the editor who has expressed interest in my writing.

So now I'm at the stage where my writing promisingly high standard, but the story must hit the mark. Easier said then done, but I will do my best to attain that elusive goal.

Now that I've been liberated from writing strictly American stories, I've been brainstorming ideas for the next book. I always like to stay "one book ahead" of the game. I believe I shall tackle a royal book with royal characters in a fictional land (no one can ding me on setting details if I do that!). So there is a Princess story in my future. And why not? I cut my teeth on fairy tales and myths. It's time to relish the development of a fantasy set in modern times.

I'm in a good place. I'm enjoying the process of story development. I can't wait to write the next one about a Princess who is misunderstood and the perfect antidote to my hero's stoicism. Who was  your favorite princess, fairy tale or real, when you were growing up?

Disneyland & California Adventures--Vacation Fun

Yesterday was the first day of our vacation. We all needed it as it has been a busy year for my family. The Physicist's work and travel schedule is tripling. The Teen officially graduated from High School which mean seriously busy days leading up to that moment. And I've been busy revising my book--more like noodling the changes and moving a bit slowly as I try to meet this editor's expectations.

So between real life and my fictional one, we haven't had much together time. With the Teen leaving for Auburn University in August, this is our way to spend quality time with her before she begins her big adventure.

We're spending the first part of our vacation at Disneyland and California Adventure. In a way this is a surreal visit for us because we're use to the Disney World complex and staying on property at the resorts. This is much different, yet eerily the same.

Yesterday we traveled via plane to Anaheim, CA. Flying used to be fun. Now I consider any flight that goes up and stays in the air and successfully lands a great flight. There are minor annoyances like no water, later first flight officers, weather issues, baggage carousels getting jammed--but those are just gnats.

We have arrived!

We checked into our hotel -- the Doubletree Hilton in Anaheim which is about a mile from the parks. Once we were settled in our mini suite, we walked over to the theme parks with lots of other princesses and pirates and monsters. First up? Disneyland. We had no specific plans, just meandered and hit the rides we'd never heard of and revisited It's A Small World which was fun. The biggest difference between that ride and the Magic Kingdom's ride was the movie characters were in every country as well. This enchanted us and we enjoyed watching the little girl riding in the boat in the seat in front of ours because she was thrilled.

Sleeping Beauty's castle is smaller than Cinderella's, but it is also charming because you can tour inside it's walls and see the story played out in various dioramas. And best of all, we got to see someone propose to his girlfriend in front of the castle. Very cool and we'd welcome that lad into our Disney loving family in a heartbeat.

We rode Mr. Toad's wild ride and bummed around New Orleans Quarter--which made the Physicist and the Teen salivate, but my shellfish allergy makes it difficult to eat in places where jambalaya and gumbo and crab are served. So we exited Disneyland and went to Downtown Disney to eat at Catala: a Spanish tapas style restaurant which was divine. Afterward, we wondered into California Adventure park and got a lay of the land. We rode Ariel's Grotto ride and the attention to detail was amazing. The Physicist and the Teen rode the swings (I can't--major vertigo from going round and round and round). But I found a little wine cellar place with different style restaurants and picnics so I was happy to sit while they explored.

Today we'll be more targeted. We're going to California Adventure and riding the rides we've never experienced. We may hit The Matterhorn at Disneyland if it is open. And tonight we're watching Fantasmic. Sometime in between we'll rest up, maybe hit the pool at the hotel for a dip and a nap.

Meanwhile, despite the holiday, I am still brainstorming and noodling my story and what has to be done to give it deeper emotion and a more global voice.

Stay tuned! The Glover Family Vacation Adventure is just beginning!

Color Coded Madness Interrupted

I'm revising my current WIP. I've highlighted it in various colors based on the fabulous Margie Lawson EDITS system and her EMPOWERING CHARACTERS' EMOTIONS. I've used DABS and scored through the manuscript.

I am ready. Ready to begin this new challenge of powering up my writing.

But the world is pressing in on all sides (wait that's a plot thing, right?) and I'm unable to smoothly, quickly, efficiently move through my revision. I'm lucky if I get a passage revised, let alone a scene or a chapter. Why? Why is the world making me want to throw my sharpie highlighters against the wall and scream?

Easy answer: teenager at home under my feet. She sleeps till noonish so I have a bit of time in the morning to shape up my manuscript. But as soon as she emerges from her cave, sleepy-eyed and hair a wild tangled mess, I switch off my revisions and I let the house be noisy, crazy, loud. I let the days be lazy, busy, crowded.

I can turn on my writing time again in the morning, in the still of the pre-dawn hours, but I can't recapture the valuable time I have with my teenager. I know watching silly shows like Toddlers & Tiaras or Top Model aren't always considered quality events, but it's not the quality per say, it's the meeting her where she is that counts.

She'll remember that I just hung out with her in her world, with her friends, reading her favorite books, laughing together at funny Tumblr posts, shopping, being silly. And long after I'm gone, I hope she will cherish the fact that no matter what, no matter where, no matter when she needed me, I was there for her.

Working & Thinking

I managed to work through my sound homework for the SEX BETWEEN THE PAGES workshop. Good lesson. Big AHA moment. Must pay more attention to the sounds in my life--but I am a visual and kinetic learner. Oh boy--and there's a shock jock in my story!

Met a writing friend and walked today--talked about the pain of revising. It's tough, but worth it and after a bit I do get into the process. It's just the first pass through that is painful. Breaking bones and resetting them into a new "person." But the 3rd and 4th pass will make it worthwhile.

Starting to get excited about the MAGGIES and seeing my CP/dear dear friend.

I am itching to work on the 5th and 2nd book. First the 5th must go into first draft. Then the 2nd must be AACK revised. Fun. Good times ahead.

Writing is Easy--Selling is Hard

I spend the weekend doing fun activities with the girls, but working while they slept in. They sleep a lot Praise the Lord! Any rate, I zipped the full MS up to autocrit twice--am disregarding some of the info as it is, well, automatic, but it is useful for misspellings and basic grammar, echoes etc. I reworked my synopsis to reflect the changed ending. I obsessed over what to send first and how to approach it.

Do I send both the partial and the full out? Or do I hedge my bets that the agent is the one and send the full to her? I asked my trusted CPs what to do and a few other writers I just met. My gut and my CPs said to send the full out to the agent, but to tell her that an editor has requested a partial and another editor has expressed interest. As she is the agent, knows the publishing house better, I'd like her to read it and rep it if possible.

If I don't hear back in a month, then I'll send a small nudge. Best of all, I will see her in October, so I can pitch the next book to her and then find out where she's at with the 3rd book.

But it's daunting. I mean, now I give it a few more polishes before I send it out, but the truth is, at a certain point, I have to let it go. It'll never be perfect, but I want it as perfect as I can get it for me without changing the story globally.

And once it is out there, I must refocus my energy and write the next book. I need to revise it! That's what I want to do. All this other stuff is important, but not my main emphasis. With the third book, I'm trying not to worry too much about grammar and perfection as much as I am trying to get the emotional elements of the story down. With the fourth book, I need to do research and get the syntax down.

At least I know what the editors at BLAZE are looking for now. It's a start.

But writing is easy. Selling it is work. And it is hard work.

I am going to the Moonlight and Magnolia's conference this October. I'm building on the momentum of my national conference. I need to work on that side of my writing. It's an expense, but one worth taking if I am serious about my SELLING my writing.

For some, it might be about the social aspect. And certainly that is true. It's wonderful to be surrounded by other people who get the writing life. But it's also about networking. I've just begun. I plan to go further.

I have a busy week ahead. The last days of my DD's BFF visit are drawing to a close. We're taking her to the airport in Birmingham on Tuesday. On Wednesday, clean clean clean. On Thursday, schedule pick up (dreading it) and drive to Asheville. We stay in Asheville till Sunday. Then it's home again. I start major polishing on the following Monday.

Who knows? Maybe this will be a hit. Doubtful. But I can dream.

Staging a Room, Staging a Life

I woke up this morning and dressed quickly. I had builder reps coming to check out the insulation levels in the attic and restore them to peak level at 8AM. 

They arrived on time. I was dressed, ready and already reading my fourth MS first draft. Whew.

The new insulation was installed. Darling Daughter awakened, hung about in jammies, and I continued reading draft 1 of 4th MS.

Then off to my friend's house to help her reorganize a room in her house. I had a great time moving around her bits and pieces and telling her get rid of this, or asking "why is THIS here?" Oh, fun! We took a cluttered room and restructured it into a nice, habitable space.

Isn't that amazing? She was so happy with the results. Sometimes it takes a fresh eye to see what needs to be done with the crap we have in our houses.

Then off I drove... home to work on the reading and note taking for the revision of my 4th book. And it hit me. Sometimes it takes a fresh eye to see how to fix the crap in our stories. 

I am so glad I waited so long to fix this mess. I am so glad I have a fresh eye. I already have a better idea about where I am going to take this MS. And I am excited about it. It'll take cutting out unnecessary words, repositioning the other words, and refining the details with bits of description and prose. 

Oh my!

My friend's husband arrived home from work, looked at the room, and said to her, "Christine's hired."

I hope one day an editor reads my pages and says the same thing.

Back in the Saddle

Well smiles and waves to all the Golden Heart Finalists!! I am so proud of all of you and I know how hard you worked. And kudos to all who entered, including myself, because we set a goal and we accomplished it and how many people say they will write a book and never do? We did. And we can all be happy for each other. The National Conference will be more exciting for me because I know two of my Southern Magic Chapter members are in the finalist circle and that is AWESOME. I have someone to cheer on and root for at this event. Wow!

And now I am back in the saddle. I've printed out the MS, and I've got my old character profiles dusted off for my workshop lessons about characters, and I've got my critique buddy's comments and judged contest comments to pour through. I'll work on the lessons today and I will read through the contest comments quickly before I read through the MS again tomorrow. Then it's TIME TO POLISH IT UP.

I'm giving myself two weeks to polish it and ready it for querying. Then I am querying it and putting it aside until I hear yeahs or nahs. And I am very excited about the fourth book and can't wait to start digging into it and revising it for contests.

Oh, and speaking of contests, I am entering the revised 3rd MS into the Maggies and the GH again this year as well as TOM, LHAoE to see if I can get a better result. And I am going to the Moonlight and Magnolias Retreat in GA as well. Why not? I think it will be a smash.

Back in the saddle and back to work I go.