Write the Caption

I love my family and friends dearly, but there is a reason why I don't usually advertise the fact that I'm a writer trying to become published (at least in non-internet places). At certain times when the going is very tough, when you've gotten another rejection letter, when you're completely stumped over a plot snarl in the middle section of your book--innocent, well-meaning comments feel like a slap to the face.

What's one of the most frustrating things you get told as a writer/hopeful querier/trying-to-become-published person?

Leave your caption to the picture in the comments!

Open In Case of Agent

If you're anything like me, then sometimes you probably find it hard to keep going amid all the waiting and rejection. Follow Your Dreams No Matter What! can be a lovely sentiment, but when you're staring a the latest rejection letter, wishing your dreams included a little more instant gratification and a little less heartbreak, you might need something to pick you up now and then.

No, I don't have an iphone :-(

I'm feeling a tiny bit of that today, so I thought I'd compile a folder for if when I get The Call. It's nice to think about, but more than that, I think it's a good thing to consider ahead of time.

Basically, I figure that should an agent ever call out of the blue with great news for me, I will probably be too flustered and hysterical to think of everything I need to ask. With that in mind, I'm going to compile a list of questions and considerations ahead of time so I can just pop over to my laptop, open the file, and ask away without having to wrack my brain.

Of course, I don't know everything I need to ask anyway, even if I'm not flustered with the news of my dream come true. To that I say, hello, interwebs!

I turned to Google and found this great list on Rachelle Gardner's blog:

Questions to Ask a Potential Agent

And she actually included another link in that article, to this handy blog post about some other considerations you need to make before signing with an agent:

Before You Hire a Literary Agent

So think about it. If you are still waiting on your good news, maybe this is a good time to get prepared for what you'll say when it happens.

Happy writing, everyone!

Submitting Stories

For me, story submissions of any kind feels like getting in line for one of those theme park free-fall rides where you sit on the little bicycle seat, get strapped in like a baby in a carseat and then get dropped seven stories. You're a little excited, you're pretty scared, and you know it's going to probably hurt.

A lot.

Yeeeaah, at a time like this I always just want somebody to hold my hand and ride with me :-(

Seriously, rejection sucks. There's a part of me that would almost rather just not know that my writing is no good and nobody is interested. I'd almost rather just blissfully think I've got a shot at this whole writing business.

Almost. Fortunately, the desire to actually succeed is stronger than that head-in-the-sand mentality.

On a slightly different note, does anybody else feel that disorienting mental split when they read their own stuff? Half of me is like THIS IS GENIUS! and the other half is like Nobody in their right mind will want this stuff. It's AWFUL.

Hopefully, the reality is somewhere in the middle between those two. Or, hey, I'd settle for the former... :-)

Killer Openings (not in a good way!)

I love reading Kristin's blog, Pub Rants, and this brief entry was so good that I wanted to share! Check it out.

I know for sure I've done at least 2 of these things in the past. * cringe * And both of them in a manuscript submitted to her agency! *head desk * I'm pretty good about not opening with #1 back story (I always hated that in books, even as a kid) and with #2 (well hopefully so!!), but embarrassingly, I've definitely been guilty of #3 and #4.

I'm especially bad about prologues that have no immediate connection to the following chapter (probably because I've read real books that do this and I thought it would be okay/preferable). I think my rationale was that I could write something really cool and interesting to grab the agent's interest before I got into the main story. Oops! Looks like my strategy had the opposite effect ... glad I eventually ditched it.

It's good to know that prologues (at least certain kinds of prologues) are no-nos. For future reference.

Which mistakes on the list have you made in the past?