Ramblings of an aspiring writer

Since I started on my journey as an author, one of the things I promised myself was that I wouldn’t be an asshat or a whiner. I mean, really, what’s the point? Being a jerk won’t ease the publication process for anyone. In return, I’ve had the good fortune of having others in the industry treat me accordingly.

Yet in the past week, I’ve heard tell of others who just don’t seem to get it.

In one case, an editor of an online magazine went off on an author when she expected him to stick to the contract she’d signed. The editor went so far as to call her not only an ingrate, but a bitch as well.

Seriously? That’s unacceptable from anyone, much less a person in a position of power. I, for one, will never sub to any magazine I know is affiliated with him. This particular editor wins the asshat of the week award.

The other case was an author with one publication credit to her name getting all up in arms because her next submission to the same publisher wasn’t snatched up right away. She was asked to make some basic level revisions, you know, the kind of thing that would get most people a form rejection. And she whined about it.

Now I don’t know, maybe that actually works for some people. Maybe some fledgling authors can bitch and whine about revisions and the work they’re expected to do and get away with it. Maybe they sell like hotcakes and publishers will put up with them because they are cash cows. But that just isn’t reality for 99% of authors. You wanted this career. Out of everything you could be doing with your life, you chose this. If you’re too good for the work, get out and make room for someone who would love to be in your shoes.

Having said all that, I know most people in the business aren’t jerks. Just this week I received amazing feedback from an editor who could have much more easily sent me a form rejection. I’ve received invaluable information from editors and agents that had nothing to do with anything I’ve subbed. Other authors bend over backwards for each other. I see this every day. Those are the people who make being the business worth it. They’re the ones who make it fun.

As solitary as writing is, this business is still a lot about people, and when you’re dealing with others, your attitude really is everything. Check your baggage at the door and show up to work with a smile on your face. Remember, you’re supposed to be here because you love it.

When I was a kid, my favorite cartoon was Scooby Doo (not all that different from a lot of other kids). Even as a kid, I knew the show was goofy and kind of stupid, but I loved it anyway. There is a certain security in the formula of a Scooby Doo mystery as well as the very stereotyped characters. Everyone had their role to play and they never deviated from it.

Looking at that as an adult, it’s a horrible message. This is your place in life, don’t even try to better yourself. (Very Animal Farm.) Having said that, a lot of television shows for kids have that sort of pecking order. Good, bad, or indifferent, it’s there.

But…

Scooby Doo has changed. I’m not sure if it happened in the wake of the live action movies or if the changes were in place before hand, but it isn’t the same show people of my generation grew up with. It’s almost as if people looked at the show and picked and chose which parts could stay. I can almost understand abandoning the “guy in a costume trying to scare people away” in favor of actual monsters. After all, it’s a new generation, and quite frankly the real life monsters kids have to worry about now are a hell of a lot scarier than vampires and ghosts. So I get that. What I don’t understand is the changes they made to the characters. Freddy and Velma aren’t so very different from how they used to be. Freddy is still the rather arrogant leader, and Velma is still the smart & nerdy one.

Then there’s Daphne. She’s supposed to be the beautiful damsel in distress, but somewhere along the way, she stopped being the one that always screwed up and got caught. Because apparently it’s still okay to be smart and nerdy, but not okay to be beautiful and clumsy or stupid.

And what the hell happened to Shaggy and Scooby? This isn’t a big thing, but … vegetarians? WTF? If they were always vegetarians, what the hell was the stuff that looked like meat that they grabbed out of random refrigerators and piled on their sandwiches? And if it’s a change, um, why? It doesn’t make them funnier.

Someone please fill me in. Why the changes? And do you think they really make the messages in the show any better?

It’s kind of silly to do an update this week since I’ve been gone on a long girls’ weekend for most of it, but I’ll do my best. Sorry about no post on Friday, but I was having a little too much fun.

• Fitness — I’ve done a ton of walking here in Toronto (as my poor feet can attest), but I haven’t even tried to stick to my diet. Kind of dreading getting on the scale once I’m home.
• The Devil You Know — Got some rather detailed feedback and I’m strongly considering a re-write. It’ll have to wait until after I’m done with the draft of the current project though.
• Badlands — Since my editor and I will both be back from our trips today, odds are I’ll hear back about the revisions I did within the next couple of weeks, so everything is on track there.
• When Angels Fall — (aka Dani’s story) Happily marinating on the shelf.
• New project —  I knew 30k was a little too optimistic considering everything that’s been going on. I’m at 24k and after I finish the beta I’m doing on the flight home, I should be free and clear to get back to work on it.
• The house/yard (non-writing obviously) — Um, I really hope my darling husband has kept this up as much as possible in my absence. I know he at least did the yard, so I don’t have to worry about that.
• Keep a positive attitude — Toronto was awesome — exactly what the doctor called for I think. Just hoping I can shift back into normal mode at home without too much trouble. To all the friends I got to see here this weekend: thanks for being wonderful. I love you and miss you already.

So, looking back, the summer wasn’t quite as productive as I hoped, but a lot still got done and I’m pretty happy about where I’m at. Next week starts a new feature on Mondays, and I might toss in a monthly update on the last Monday of the month.

Fall TV shows are right around the corner which means it’s almost time for Glee! I’m finding conflicting dates for the premiere, but everything says September, so it’s SOON!

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For those of you not in the know, Glee follows the story of a high school show choir and its members through the ups and downs of high school, including being social outcasts because of  their glee club status. The only group seemingly more reviled than the glee clubbers is the marching band.

*blink*

Now, don’t get me wrong, the cheerleaders still had their pick of guys at my high school, but cliques at my school weren’t quite so cut and dry. We had football players in show choir — and not because they were tricked into it. We had really smart guys on the football team. I was in both marching band and choir and I often hung out with cheerleaders. In fact, the cheerleaders at my school were some of our marching band’s biggest supporters (though that might have been because our football team was hit or miss in the best seasons). But one of the biggest things that pulls me out of my Glee love is that it’s so far removed from the reality that I knew in high school as well as from the reality I saw when teaching and what I hear my nieces and nephews talk about now.

Don’t get me wrong, cliques with dividing lines that dare not be crossed make for some great teen dramedy, but how real is it? And more than that, how real should it be? It isn’t present in most of the YA I read, but the majority of those stories don’t center around the mundane aspects of high school life (I read mostly paranormal, so school and extracurriculars take a back seat to vampires, werewolves and demons). It just seems like every time I see a film or TV show about such things, they rely on the cliche of very well-defined cliques.

Okay, now I’ve said for years that the high school I attended was pretty special, but considering how big this show is, I have to wonder if maybe it wasn’t more unique than I gave it credit for. What was your experience like in high school as far as this sort of thing?

So the wonderful Angela Addams decided to do a “What I Learned Last Year” post last week and tagged me in it. I kind of like these blog chains, but everyone I’ve done before came with an award of some sort, and this one didn’t which made me sad. So, I decided to make one because I’m just silly like that.

No, it isn’t fabulous, but it’ll do because we had nothing before.

Now onto the important stuff. I’m supposed to tell you five things I learned this past year.

1)    Do not fear failure. It’s taken a long time for rejections to stop stinging every time I get one, but it finally started happening this year. I’ve learned (for the most part) to get a rejection, shake it off and send more. I will say when I receive constructive feedback, I will apply it before sending more, but I still send more. If I don’t keep sending, I’ll never succeed. Giving up is the only sure road to failure.

2)    Write something new. I don’t mean this in the standard way of don’t sit on your hands while you’re querying/submitting. Twice in the past year, I’ve started follow-ups to the novel I had on submission, and both times getting words was way too akin to pulling teeth. So, at least for myself, I need to make sure I start something completely new. Words flow soooooo much better that way.

3)    Good beta readers are worth their weight in diamonds. Seriously, my betas are amazing. They know when to kick my ass and when to make me laugh and when I need someone to just say, “Keep going, you’re going to get there.” Hell, even now that I have a story out there for the world, one of my betas seems like she’s making it her mission to tell everyone she knows to buy Max’s story. <3

4)    Sometimes the story that didn’t work just needs to work a different way. For NaNo last year, I tried to write this space western. Loved the concept behind it, but it just didn’t work at all, so the first week of December I shelved it. Around March I pulled it back out and re-worked it as something else. The core story stayed the same, but I got rid of the whole other worlds thing in favor of something a bit more familiar. It ended up being the first thing I sold.

5)    The path you succeed on might not be the one you expected. My first completed novel was a fantasy romance (or fantasy with strong romantic elements depending on who you ask), but I didn’t think I had it in me to write romance, so I shifted to young adult. Someone pointed out that every story I wrote had a lot of romance in it. It drove me back to trying my hand at romance again to take a break while I was revising and subbing the YA. Both of my sales this summer were in romance. I’m not giving up on YA, but I’ve decided to embrace the romance. Maybe I did have it in me after all.

So there you have it. Those are the five things I learned this year. Now I get to tag three more people who have to do this. So, I want to send this on to PJ Schnyder, Janelle Alexander, and Ken McDaniel. You three are up. Spill it! What did you learn last year?

So, here I am sitting on my couch, desperately trying to come up with a post for today. I’ve honestly been thinking about it for a couple days now (WBW is proving harder than I thought it would be), and was about to post on Twitter that I needed help because I had nothing. Then it hit me, when I was a kid, no one said that.

Honestly, in the 80s a lot of slang was what we referred to as “Valley Girl Speak”. One of my personal favorites is still “to the max”, more specifically “grody to the max”. As far as I know, people don’t generally use Valley Girl Speak, or at the very least, it’s no longer accompanied by the requisite alterations in vocal pitch.

This is a good thing.

On the other hand, come slang that originated in the 80s doesn’t seem to have disappeared from use. I’m pretty sure Bart Simpson still says “Eat my shorts” and “Don’t have a cow, man.” While I don’t hear the first in everyday usage very often, the second is still pretty common.

Others have evolved, which I love. Chill from the 80s has morphed into chillax.

So what slang words or phrases can you think of that are thankfully dead (to most people at least), still around in their same form, or have morphed into something new and fantabulous?

We’re taking a break from my weekly updates (thank goodness) so I can introduce you to a friend of mine. I had the pleasure of meeting Jamie Ungaro at the Romantic Times convention this year where he ended up winning the title of Mr. Romance 2010. Jamie is one of the sweetest guys I have met in my entire life, very soft-spoken and genuine. I really believe everything he says comes from his heart, and that, my dear readers, is a rare gift indeed.

Right now, Jamie is in the running for a walk-on role on the TV show MAD MEN and could use some help. I’m hoping once you get to know him a little, you’ll be voting every day like I’ve been. Without further ado, I give you Mr. Romance 2010, Jamie Ungaro.

Image provided by Jamie Ungaro

Most of my readers probably weren’t at RT this year and didn’t get the opportunity to talk to you. Tell them a little about yourself.

Well, I’m 26 years old, I have blonde hair blue eyes, lol!  I grew up in Coshocton OH, and still live here for now. I’m a really positive person and when I see someone that is having it rough I try to rub some of that on to them until I see a smile come through the sadness, and I currently an aspiring model and actor.  I really want to be an actor more so!

The time at RT was a whirlwind, especially for you guys in the competition. You were always busy. Name the top three things you took away from the Mr. Romance competition.

First thing is friends. I met a lot cool people, oh and two very sweet ladies Julie and Pj.  I know sucking up, right?  Ha! ha! ha! Second thing, a PhD in the romance novel world, lol!  I learned a lot in that one week, lol! Third thing was the Mr. Romance title!

Hey, I love a good suck up With all the chatting we did, we never really talked about your work. What is it like having a career as an actor/model?

For someone that doesn’t have the instant hook ups. I would just say that you have to have patience and the will to keep at it even when you have been shooting for the stars for years and people tell me to basically give up, and why do you chase something that is about impossible to get. I look at those people like they’re crazy! Nothing is impossible until you think it is.   I look at it this way, if I had nothing to motivate me I would probably be pretty depressed and I can’t be depressed.  In my life, I want to be a positive light for others no matter how hard my trials and tribulations are, I still want to be that light of hope for others and even more so that I have been saved and reborn again with a new spirit.  I want to reflect the light and love of our Lord and savoir Jesus.  I use to be my own master, walking around with a hardened heart and there’s no way that I could have been the positive person for others if I would have stayed that way.  I’m very blessed that I choose to let Christ come into my heart and soften it and to feel the love and joy the holy spirit brings by reflecting the light and the love of Jesus through me. One last thing, we all have a soul and there’s nothing we can do in the physical to fix any scars left behind from our past.  You can look at Buddha’s happy smiling face and think of happy thoughts, and try to forget your issues and pain through multiple different ways, but the pain is still going to creep up on you with scared memories. My little testimony is that when I called upon Jesus there’s was no denying him. My heart had no more pain from some of my personal scars on my heart.  Even now I can look back and remember, but have no pain and that my friends is a major blessing! Sorry for the preaching, I just felt it come over me.  I guess someone reading really need to hear this =)  It’s not my opinion, it’s Gods work.  As a father shows his son what to do; as I do what me farther shows me.

I hope the person who needed the message hears it loud and clear. As part of your prize, you’re going to be on a Dorchester cover. Have you done the shoot yet?

Nope! As of 8/15/2010 still waiting, lol! I’ll be sure to inform everyone though when I do.

Image provided by Jamie Ungaro

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Bummer. Definitely keep me posted! You recently did a cover shoot and book trailer, what can you tell us about that project?

It was just a book trailer.  It was a lot fun and it was my first time acting for a film. The name of the book I shot for is “An Eye for Glory”.  It was about a soldier shooting his enemy and coming to find out the he was a brother in Christ.  It’s really good.  You can check it out at www.jamieungaro.com in my recent blog.

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The Mad Men competition, what can you tell us about it?

It’s just a contest I stumbled upon and I hope to get the spot on the show.  I think it would be a great start to my acting career. If you would like to vote for me click on this link:

http://madmencastingcall.amctv.com/browse/detail/LE6QKM

Thanks!

To get him to the semi-finals where the executive producer of MAD MEN makes the decision, he needs our votes. I really hope all of you will help him out!

If you are chosen, what would your dream character on the show be like?

Probably that guy that tries to keep the peace, lol!

Image provided by Jamie Ungaro

Speed Round

Sports car or truck?

Car

As a gift for your girlfriend: Roses or chocolate?

Roses

Dog or cat?

Dog

Friends or acquaintances?

Friends

Religion or spirituality?

Jesus Christ =)

Is there anything else you’d like to tell people?

That there’s always cracks in the pavement even if you can’t see them. In other words there’s always hope to get through something even if you can’t see it just yet.

Thanks Julie!

You are most welcome, Jamie! Best of luck in the competition, you know I’m rooting for you!

As most of you know, I have mad love for literary agents. They do a job I could never in a million years do. I like talking to them on Twitter, and most of them are funny, approachable people. Even when they send me rejections, I appreciate them.

If you’re crying bullshit, hear me out. Responses to query letters tell me things. They tell me if the query isn’t quite nailing it or if it is (best determined by requests from queries with no pages). They tell me if the opening pages are tantalizing enough (how many requests for more). And finally, they tell me when I’m not nailing it. Yes, it stings. Yes, there are days it makes me want to cry into my cornflakes. But I appreciate agents who take the time to send rejection letters, because not all of them do anymore.

No response means no has become fairly common in the industry. I’ve made no bones about the fact that I don’t like this. Ultimately, I think it will make everyone’s jobs more stressful. You see, a large number of the agencies with the no response policy don’t have autoresponders in place to let writers know their query was received. Normally, I’m of the opinion if I don’t hear from an agent, I assume they are a non-responder and aren’t interested. Earlier this summer, that attitude almost bit me in the butt. Thank goodness for Twitter. The agent in question mentioned that she’d responded to all her queries. So I asked if she was a no response means no agent. She said she was a no response means your query got caught in the spam filter agent. I re-sent and she ended up asking for more. I don’t know how this will play out, but she was in the first group of agents I queried initially. I would love to work with her.

What this experience taught me is that if I don’t know an agent got my query, I’m going to re-send it. This means more work for everyone. Agents will get frustrated by the extra queries they didn’t want the first time, writers will get irritated because they have no way of knowing if the spam-gods hate them.

On the other side of things, I’d written off an agent I queried last year with Pretty Souls as a non-responder. To be honest, I’d forgotten I still had “live” queries on that manuscript out there. I sent the e-query in May of 2009. Two days ago, I received a rejection letter. *blink* I have to assume mine got lost in her email somehow, but really an autoresponder would have helped in that case too.

I still adore agents, even the one who waited over a year to reject a story I’d shelved. I just wish we could all, writers and agents, work together to make everyone’s lives easier. Of course, I’m glad I took a chance and re-queried that one fabulous agent. *crosses fingers and toes*

So do you have any stories from the query trenches?

Advance warning: this isn’t going to be a normal WBW post.

When I was little, I got to see my favorite cousin, Tracy, only a few times a year. And most of those visits were short (at least in my mind). I looked forward to seeing her more than almost anything I can remember from being a kid. She was my eternal bff as my other friends shifted around as they usually do at that age.

Then, my mom and my aunt had a blow out fight. They cut all ties and have probably only been in a room together a handful of times since then. (Mind you, this happened when I was a kid and I’m 37 now.) It broke my heart. Not because they were fighting. (Though that hurt too, especially considering my mother telling me over and over again how I was supposed to love all my sisters.) No, it killed me because it meant I didn’t get to see my best friend. At the time, I was naive enough to think the two of them would work it out. They were family after all. I could tough it out for a couple months, maybe a year if I needed to.

Here we are, twenty-odd years later, and they still aren’t talking. Fortunately, Tracy and I can exchange holiday cards and have connected on facebook, but the friendship we had as kids isn’t there anymore. We didn’t get to nurture it, so it withered. Not that we aren’t friends, it’s just not the same. It can’t be.

Fast-forward to today, and my dearest friends all live far away. We get to see each other a couple times a year if we’re lucky. One of those friends I get to see for exactly one weekend a year. We plan for it and count down days, and generally act giddy and more like teenage girls than either of us probably do any other time. Fifteen days from now, we’re supposed to meet at the airport. Hell, I scheduled a flight at a god-awful cow-milking hour so we could have the entire day together before our other friends started arriving.

Then life happened.

There has been a tragic death in her husband’s family, and she doesn’t know if she’ll be able to make the trip now. I know she didn’t plan this and is probably stressed about that on top of dealing with everything else. And she and her family have been in my thoughts ever since I found out. I can’t imagine what they’re going through.

But I’d be lying if I didn’t say part of my sadness comes from knowing I might not see her this year. It feels too much like I’m that little girl again, sitting on my bed and thinking, “I can tough it out. It’s only a year.”

Of course, that just makes me feel like a heartless bitch.

Forgive me the lack of entertainment value here while I try to straighten out my split personality so I can be the friend she needs rather than the crazy person she’s stuck with.