Tag: literary agent

It’s Great to Be Writing BUT…

by atozmom, posted in Writing

I’ve spent the last few days concentrating on editing my novel.  Today was especially good because I finished reviewing the whole text again for the sixth or seventh time.

But, now I’m finding my excitement waning as I know the hard part is still ahead.

I got a critique back on my previous novel, basically ripping me for numerous things including character characterization contradictions, passive tense, telling not showing, and much more.

So, now I have to review my novel with these things in mind, looking for each specific problem–one at a time.  Which is fine but I’d rather be writing instead of editing.  This is where the real tediousness begins…

But I’m determined not to rush this one and make it as good as I can.

So, I’m going to have to take my list of edits from the top and work my way down (cringing the whole way). But until I am Stephenie Meyers and can pay someone to do this for me this is what will get me an agent and a publishing deal.

So as much as I hate it, I’m gonna suck it up and get to work.  What are my other options?  This is my passion, my purpose.  No one said it would be easy.

Dreams

by atozmom, posted in Writing

I usually don’t have vivid dreams, but I woke up this morning with one.  As a writer, all of my novel ideas have been from my dreams (ultimately from God in my opinion) and this one was intriguing.  I immediately wrote it down because the conversation was so alive and breathing.  I don’t see how it will fit into a story but maybe one day.

As I’ve been researching literary agents to submit to, I’m discovering ones I’ve never discovered before.  This is because I’ve wrote a young adult (YA) novel instead of one for adults.  I didn’t realize how many agents out there focus exclusively on kids works.  I find this fact great.  I love helping my kids pick out books at the bookstore and now I know why there are so many fabulous ones on the shelves.  Thanks to all the agents out there who recognize talent and work so feverishly to bring it to the world.

Now if only one of these esteemed literary agents would bring my talent to the world!

Writing

by atozmom, posted in Writing

As I mention in my About page, I’m a writer.  I’ve written a non-fiction book on parenting and pregnancy that I used to sell on my own website.  However, no one was buying it so the cost began to outweigh the financial gains so I took the site down.  Furthermore, my passion moved elsewhere.

Then, at the beginning of this year, I finished my first novel about football.  I tried for months to garner the attention of a literary agent so I scratched that idea and it sits on the back burner.

Currently, I’m writing a young adult novel.  This one is different than the other two.  First, I’m almost done with it.  I feel that my passion for this work is infinitely more than my previous two.  This means I’ve written the book in about a month.  I spend every waking spare moment on it and I feel it only gets better and better.  Second, this is the hardest book for me to write as it deals with issues from my past that I don’t think I have thoroughly dealt with.

Finally, I believe this one is the One God has intended for my life in order to help the most people.  The first one was just to prove I could do it.  The second one was to prove to myself that I could indeed create vivid worlds and live in them.  Thus, this one has the most meaning, the most depth, the most provocative, and the most potential helpful of all three so far.

I am so ready–so ready to see my countless hours come to fruition in the written word–hopefully something that will make meaningful impacts in people’s lives.

I once read where Stephenie Meyer, author of the insanely-successful Twilight series (which I would highly recommend) once said that she wrote these books for herself.  This truly resonated with me as I feel my planned series will be for me as well.  This book (and future ones in the series) is what makes my heart sing.  I can only pray that God guides me as I write so the words I choose impacts the most people.

I’d love to hear from other authors and their journeys through novel-writing land.