Catch Up, Part 2

So in the last catch up post, I casually mentioned that there was more to tell regarding my writing. Today I finally get to share...

I HAVE AN AGENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D

It happened, you guys! It really happened!

I am officially represented by Marlene Stringer of Stringer Lit.

Ahem. Let me just repeat that since it's still sinking in for me. I have an agent!!!

Seriously, I keep grinning at odd moments throughout the day. I'm so so thrilled. Marlene is wonderful, and I'm really happy to join the Stringer Lit family.

So how did it happen? Well, recently I swapped query lists with my awesome CP Ico. Marlene was on Ico's list, so I decided to check her out. I liked everything I saw about her, so a few weeks ago, on a Thursday, I filled out her online query submission form. Within an hour or two she emailed me, asking for the whole manuscript of The Never Silent. That Sunday morning I woke up to a request for The Call, and let me tell you, I have never in my life been so happy to get an email! (Also, I was super impressed with her response time!)

We talked a couple days later on Tuesday. It was a lovely conversation--everything I had been hoping for, including the offer of rep at the end. I wanted to jump up and down and say yes right away, but I composed myself, took a few days to consider and then said yes to her that Thursday!

Now, my writing friends probably all know what having an agent means, but I know a lot of my other friends don't, so here's a little more on why this is a big deal:

In the "traditional publishing" model (often contrasted these days with the "self publishing" model, which for various reasons I didn't feel was right for me), many publishers require an author to approach them through an agent instead of submitting directly to their editors. The process of finding an agent can be long and difficult. It usually means sending agents a brief letter (called a query) telling them what your book is about in just a few paragraphs. Sometimes agents also ask for the first few pages (occasionally even the first few chapters) when considering whether they would like to read the whole book. And then often they will read the book but still say no to representing the author.

It's tough, but that's the business. Now I have an agent, though, and I get to move on to the next part of the process--a brief round of revisions and then submission to publishing houses.

So, in simple terms, having an agent does not mean:
-automatically having my book published
-automatically working with any particular publishing house

But it does mean:
-moving one step closer to publishing my book
-having someone who knows the business to approach editors on my behalf

So yes, it's a pretty huge thing for me!

And so my writing journey continues. Thank you to all of you who have been part of it so far. Now I'm so excited to discover what happens next!

All the News

Surprise! I have not actually disappeared from the face of the planet. And, having been gone so long, I do have rather a lot of news.

So sometimes really great and unexpected things happen. Sometimes, because you've been wanting them a while, finally getting them is a bit of a shock, and you're afraid that any mention of them happening might jinx them.

So you wait, and you see how things will go. Time passes. You reach the point where you should probably say something, but by then not saying anything is habit. But you don't want to post anything nonchalant, because inside all you can think is "Big news! Big news! Big news!" And then life gets really really crazy and all thought of blogging goes right out the window.

Well, here's me finally making my big announcement:

I'm pregnant!

Over seven months pregnant, in fact. I'm so very excited, and I've been meaning to share this news for a while now. But then I couldn't figure out quite how I wanted to say it, and by the time I decided I'd just say it, the other big thing was happening.

And so, for announcement number two:

My husband and I have moved into a lovely new house!

This was rather a necessary step in order to accommodate the impending child. It also meant a lot of work, first with packing, and then with moving, and then with unpacking and painting and getting new appliances and repairing the broken fridge, and now, most recently, taking care of a pest problem.

So, if you have happened to wonder where I've been the last several months, well, to recap:

1. pregnant!

2. new house!

It's a good life.

Writing Update

Some not-totally-huge-but-not-insignificant things have happened over the last few months with my writing, so I figured I'd do a short update today on what I'm working on.

With regards to Olympus Gate: I've gotten some really helpful feedback from a couple of agents on the manuscript. I really appreciated what they had to say and agreed with the comments, so I'm going to go through another pass at editing the book and then try sending it out again.

With regards to Unmade: To be honest, I'm struggling with this book. It's been a bigger challenge than I ever expected. The biggest surprise was that writing a story set in the real world in the present day is more complicated than I thought, especially when it comes to pacing. My frustrations with the book and the way it keeps changing scope on me have led to difficulty making progress. So I think I need to put the story away for a while, and when I decide to come back to it I'll change my approach.

With regards to the yet-unnamed book: I'm really looking forward to working on it. I still have to find the voice, which is going to be tricky, but I've already started playing around with the first chapter and I'm absolutely loving it so far. After I finish my Olympus Gate edits I'll probably dive in and get to work on it.

And that's pretty much everything there is to tell. What's going on with you?