So, I have some pretty big news...
Following my submission to their agency, I've joined one of the Tibor Jones Studio projects.
You can find out a bit more about the project, and about my trip down to London to meet with Tibor Jones, below...
Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts
Thursday, 1 October 2015
Saturday, 15 August 2015
Rejection #11 (Or: The Rejection That Wasn't Quite a Rejection)
Date Submitted: 8th July 2015
Date Rejected: 7th August 2015
Response Time: 1 month
Response Type: Full MS request. Offer to resubmit.
Date Rejected: 7th August 2015
Response Time: 1 month
Response Type: Full MS request. Offer to resubmit.
***
In my last post, I said that I had just sent out my first submission in a long, long time.
Then, about a hour later, I heard back.
The agent was actually recommend to me by Martine Bailey, who I met at a book signing here in York. I think that mentioning this recommendation in the opening of my submission email probably encouraged the agent to come back to me to request my full manuscript(!!!).
After hopping around the flat in a complete frazzle for several minutes, I dutifully emailed back my MS (thankfully newly polished after a recent re-edit), then proceeded to stare madly at my empty inbox for a whole month.
When the response did come it was not The Legendary Call, but an email including a heart sinking "I'm afraid...". But she also wrote that, "We both really liked your writing, and your ideas..." and finished with, "I'd be happy to look at it again if you reworked it, or to look at whatever you might write in the future."
Oh goodness gracious and oh my, but that is good to hear!
It is, by far and away, the best response I've had to date. It still isn't an acceptance and the disappointment of being unsuccessful was all the worse for having handed over my whole manuscript, but the excitement of having an agent be really, truly interested in my writing is incredible. I discussed some ideas briefly with her and thanked her for her time, and her offer to come back.
It would be easy to be defensive and to argue that, just because one person thinks my book should change doesn't mean everyone would. But I honestly do understand her perspective and (more importantly) want Grey Sister to be as good as it possibly can be.
So, I'll try to improve my novel. And I will resubmit. And maybe next time, she'll Call...
Wednesday, 8 July 2015
Long Time No See...
Hello...
So, it's been a long time. Months, in fact. Almost half a year, possibly...
As you might remember, I got a new job. and as expected, it has taken over just a smidge. Other priorities have been sidelined during the transition, including, though I had hoped it wouldn't, writing.
Don't get me wrong, I have still been writing everyday and I have still been editing. But I've not sent out any submissions since I started and that has put something of a dampener on my blog posting.
To be perfectly honest, part of me was a little knocked back by the rejections. It's always going to be hard to hear 'No' over and over and not be at least a little affected by it. One thing I began to worry about was how well edited the opening of 'Grey Sister' was. Which then made me question the editing of the whole book. Which lead to me re-printing and re-editing the whole book all over again. Which, lets be honest, was a bit of a procrastination exercise...
Nevertheless, I do think rereading 'Grey Sister' was a good idea. There have been some changes to the opening, primarily in the sequencing of the opening scenes. I've also corrected some continuity errors that I've known for a long time were a problem (one character in particular originally had a large introduction, which was lost in the initial editing process. In the end, she wound up with almost no background at all, despite her being a major part of Thea's story.Poor Vilette.)
I feel better for having taking the time to go back through the book from start to finish. Even though only the opening chapters are likely to be seen any time soon, knowing that I'm happier with the flow of the whole book gives me some confidence to start sending it out again.
Which I've finally done! My first submission since September 2014 (Urgh, the embarrassment! The disgust! The disappointment!) went out today. The agent I submitted to was actually recommended to me by Martine Bailey, author of 'An Appetite for Violets' and 'The Penny Heart', who I was lucky enough to meet at her book signing in York. Martine was kind enough to talk to me for a good quarter of an hour while I grilled her on creative writing and the Big Bad World of Publishing and even gave me the details of an agent she thought could help. I left with such a big smile on my face. Even if the agent isn't interested in my work, getting the chance to talk to a published author is so inspiring and such a pleasure.
So, now I'm officially Back on The Horse, I'm hopefully going to be sending out submissions much more frequently. Keep swimming, and all that...
In the meanwhile, I want to start a new project separate from Thea's story. I've missed the planning stages and the excitement of the first draft so much! While I want to keep pressing on with the sequel to 'Grey Sister' (which I will of course be continuing as well), I think it will be good for me to try my hand at a new concept. After all, your first novel isn't always the one that reaches publication.
But for now, here we go again! Anyone else need a pep talk...?
As you might remember, I got a new job. and as expected, it has taken over just a smidge. Other priorities have been sidelined during the transition, including, though I had hoped it wouldn't, writing.
Don't get me wrong, I have still been writing everyday and I have still been editing. But I've not sent out any submissions since I started and that has put something of a dampener on my blog posting.
To be perfectly honest, part of me was a little knocked back by the rejections. It's always going to be hard to hear 'No' over and over and not be at least a little affected by it. One thing I began to worry about was how well edited the opening of 'Grey Sister' was. Which then made me question the editing of the whole book. Which lead to me re-printing and re-editing the whole book all over again. Which, lets be honest, was a bit of a procrastination exercise...
Nevertheless, I do think rereading 'Grey Sister' was a good idea. There have been some changes to the opening, primarily in the sequencing of the opening scenes. I've also corrected some continuity errors that I've known for a long time were a problem (one character in particular originally had a large introduction, which was lost in the initial editing process. In the end, she wound up with almost no background at all, despite her being a major part of Thea's story.
I feel better for having taking the time to go back through the book from start to finish. Even though only the opening chapters are likely to be seen any time soon, knowing that I'm happier with the flow of the whole book gives me some confidence to start sending it out again.
So, now I'm officially Back on The Horse, I'm hopefully going to be sending out submissions much more frequently. Keep swimming, and all that...
In the meanwhile, I want to start a new project separate from Thea's story. I've missed the planning stages and the excitement of the first draft so much! While I want to keep pressing on with the sequel to 'Grey Sister' (which I will of course be continuing as well), I think it will be good for me to try my hand at a new concept. After all, your first novel isn't always the one that reaches publication.
But for now, here we go again! Anyone else need a pep talk...?
Saturday, 4 July 2015
Rejection #10
Date Submitted: 11th June 2014
Date Rejected: 3rd July 2015
Response Time: Over 1 year
Response Type: Form, no further request.
Date Rejected: 3rd July 2015
Response Time: Over 1 year
Response Type: Form, no further request.
***
A whole year! Congratulations, Rejection 10, you win the latest response award.
It's been a long (long, LONG) time since I last sent out a submission, so it was a surprise to find this in my post box. Clearly my opening chapters have been sat in one heck of a big slush pile.
Meanwhile, I have been horribly absent since I started my new job in February. As expected, I've been very busy with the transition. I've not stopped writing though, and I'm currently preparing myself for a new round of submissions. I'll hopefully write a post about this soon...
Saturday, 31 January 2015
End of January Update...
January is finally over! Phew. What a terribly long month it had been.
I somehow managed to completely avoid my December Update (whoops), but this month I have plenty to talk about so I shan't shirk my duties this time.
The BIG NEWS is that (dun dun duuuun), I have a new job!
In a strange twist of fate, after months of applications and interviews and heart-beating frustration, I was approached by an agency looking for a graduate to enter an Insurance Broking firm. Somehow, in spite of never having even thought of such an avenue before, after two interviews, a half-hour written test (word meanings and spot-the-mistake a cake walk, spelling and maths more a treacle skid) and a grilling by the Managing Director, I somehow walked away with a job offer. So from the middle of February I'll be an Accounts Handler in the firm's charities and non-profits department. Mad, mad, mad. I shall be a Monday to Friday office girl! With pencil skirts and deadlines and meetings! How terribly, awfully grown-up.
And rather terrifying. Oh dear.
I keep reminding myself that there was a reason they hired me and that they know what they're going and that I. Will. Be. Fine. But little waves of worry keep washing over me and I have tiny, half hour panics about such a huge career change. It's a very big, very sudden step that a month ago I didn't even imagine making. I want to do well, though and I really hope it will be fine (IT WILL). I'll try my best.
Right, deep breath and Big Girl Pants back on.
Writing wise, I've been pretty productive. My third New Years Resolution, to write every day, has been going well. There is one, little gap in the chain, but in my defence it was the day I got The Job, so I'm letting myself off the hook.
(In case you're interested, I've been using the 'Don't Break the Chain' 2015 calender designed by Karen Kavett.)
Mostly I've been cracking on with The Sequel, writing little chunks to keep the plot moving. I've also done a few little writing exercises on the days I couldn't get to my previous writing or couldn't think of where to go with the story: describing characters in detail, creating scenery or, today, writing a blog post instead. Lots of little things to keep those writing muscles exercised.
I've also, for what I think is now the eighth time, been reorganising the opening to Grey Sister. I mean really: what is wrong with me?! I just can't leave it alone! Ha ha. I'm wanting to get the new edits finished this week ready for new submissions before I start The New Job.
New Job is going to take up a lot of time in the coming weeks (months, even). My greatest worry is that my writing and my ambitions for Grey Sister will fall by the wayside with all these new pressures. Progress may become very slow, but I desperately hope it won't grind to a complete halt.
I've worked too hard to give up just because the real world gets in my way.
Wednesday, 31 December 2014
New Year's Resolutions 2015...
My New Year's Resolutions for 2015!
- Get a new job (blah blah, very boring and pretty obvious)
- Read a book every week (52 before the end of 2015)
- Keep submitting Grey Sister (don't give up!)
- Write something every day (because every writer should)
I hope you have a lovely New Year and a completely wonderful 2015.
Alys x
Tuesday, 2 December 2014
End of November Update...
Don't look at the date of the post! I'm on time, honest! (Lies.)
November was pretty poor, writing wise. I didn't send off any submissions and I probably did less than 1000 words of The Sequel. It's been a mixture of laziness and busyness in the past few weeks. Plenty of nights I had time but just sat down in front of the telly or with a book and just didn't move. But I was applying for jobs and I also had an interview which consumed most of a Saturday, so it wasn't all bad. With Christmas up next, I've been doing lots of shop hunting for presents too.
Naughtily, I've been doing a lot of sewing this past month, which has consumed a lot of time. Though these Advent Calenders I made for the Small People in our lives were gifts, so I feel that's allowed.
So, yeah. Bad month for writing. I knew Christmas was going to be a bother this year! I really don't know how much I'll manage to do in December either. Blurgh.
November was pretty poor, writing wise. I didn't send off any submissions and I probably did less than 1000 words of The Sequel. It's been a mixture of laziness and busyness in the past few weeks. Plenty of nights I had time but just sat down in front of the telly or with a book and just didn't move. But I was applying for jobs and I also had an interview which consumed most of a Saturday, so it wasn't all bad. With Christmas up next, I've been doing lots of shop hunting for presents too.
Naughtily, I've been doing a lot of sewing this past month, which has consumed a lot of time. Though these Advent Calenders I made for the Small People in our lives were gifts, so I feel that's allowed.
The patchwork quilt I started making for myself was a little bit more of a time-waster though... but look how pretty! Here it's just loose, but it's all patched together now and I've started on (the incredibly tricky and time consuming) quilting stage.
So, yeah. Bad month for writing. I knew Christmas was going to be a bother this year! I really don't know how much I'll manage to do in December either. Blurgh.
Monday, 3 November 2014
End of October Update...
Dang it. Dang it. DANG IT! I miss this post every month. Gyah.
October was another submission heavy month, with lots of responses (OK, rejections) coming back from agents. It was good to hear back from some of the submissions I sent a few months ago and get those cleared off the list. Any progress is good progress!
Writing wise, I'm finally starting to get into Grey Sister's sequel. So far I've got 15k+ words, which is slower progress than I'm used to, but I have a better idea of where I'm going next which it good.
I decided not to go in for NaNoWriMo again this year. I have so many other things I need to be concentrating on (cough, real world job, cough) that I just can't dedicate that much time to writing at the moment. And anyway: who put NaNo so close to Christmas?! When would I have time to start my seasonal crafting?
I'm hoping to send out plenty more submissions in November and try and get some more headway on The Sequel.
October was another submission heavy month, with lots of responses (OK, rejections) coming back from agents. It was good to hear back from some of the submissions I sent a few months ago and get those cleared off the list. Any progress is good progress!
Writing wise, I'm finally starting to get into Grey Sister's sequel. So far I've got 15k+ words, which is slower progress than I'm used to, but I have a better idea of where I'm going next which it good.
I decided not to go in for NaNoWriMo again this year. I have so many other things I need to be concentrating on (cough, real world job, cough) that I just can't dedicate that much time to writing at the moment. And anyway: who put NaNo so close to Christmas?! When would I have time to start my seasonal crafting?
I'm hoping to send out plenty more submissions in November and try and get some more headway on The Sequel.
Wednesday, 29 October 2014
Rejection #9
Date Submitted: 28th September 2014
Date Rejected: 28th October 2014
Response Time: 1 month
Response Type: Form, no further request.
Date Rejected: 28th October 2014
Response Time: 1 month
Response Type: Form, no further request.
***
"Many thanks for sending us the material for GREY SISTER but I'm afraid that we are going to pass."
Is it just me, or is that kind of a harsh way to say no?
Friday, 17 October 2014
Rejection #8
Date Submitted: 1st July 2014
Date Rejected: 14th October 2014
Response Time: 14 weeks (approx 3 1/2 months)
Form for Response: Form letter, no further request.
Another pre-recent edits rejection. Not a big surprise, especially as this was a big name agency. They did apologise for the late reply, which was very considerate.
Date Rejected: 14th October 2014
Response Time: 14 weeks (approx 3 1/2 months)
Form for Response: Form letter, no further request.
***
Another pre-recent edits rejection. Not a big surprise, especially as this was a big name agency. They did apologise for the late reply, which was very considerate.
Tuesday, 7 October 2014
Rejection #7
Date Submitted: 29th September 2014
Date Rejected: 7th October 2014
Response Time: 5 working days
Form for Response: Form letter, no further request.
Given that this was a snail-mail submission and that the response came back in less than a week, I have the sneaking suspicion that I did something wrong in my submission... poop.
Nevertheless, the fact that the person who emailed me forgot change the name of the novel when she copied and pasted the form letter, suggests perhaps its not too much of a loss.
To whoever wrote 'Lloyd's Book of Humour': I'm sorry they didn't like your book either. Perhaps we could form a support group?
Date Rejected: 7th October 2014
Response Time: 5 working days
Form for Response: Form letter, no further request.
***
Nevertheless, the fact that the person who emailed me forgot change the name of the novel when she copied and pasted the form letter, suggests perhaps its not too much of a loss.
To whoever wrote 'Lloyd's Book of Humour': I'm sorry they didn't like your book either. Perhaps we could form a support group?
Rejection #6
Date Submitted: 14th May 2014
Date Rejected: 7th August 2014
Response Time: 12 weeks (approx. 3 months)
Form for Response: Brief email (form possibly)
Argh! How did I forget to blog this one? Much grovelling and many apologies.
Possibly it has to do with my actually really wanting this agency to like me...
Anyway, I received a brief email from this (very small) agency quite some time after submitting. Although it seemed pre-composed, it did include statements like, "You're clearly very talented", and that the work had "an intriguing premise". I'd like to flatter myself that not every submission hears that! Ha ha. Such a big head I have!
Date Rejected: 7th August 2014
Response Time: 12 weeks (approx. 3 months)
Form for Response: Brief email (form possibly)
***
Argh! How did I forget to blog this one? Much grovelling and many apologies.
Anyway, I received a brief email from this (very small) agency quite some time after submitting. Although it seemed pre-composed, it did include statements like, "You're clearly very talented", and that the work had "an intriguing premise". I'd like to flatter myself that not every submission hears that! Ha ha. Such a big head I have!
Sunday, 5 October 2014
Saturday, 6 September 2014
Tuesday, 2 September 2014
End of August Update...
Ooops! How is it already the 2nd of September? Completely missed the end of last month: sorry!
August has been a not-very-nice month. As I mentioned last month, I'm trying to find a new day job. If you follow me on tumblr, you'll have seen how well that's been going. Oh dear.
I've also decided, following the feedback I received from an agent recently, to completely restructure my opening chapters. Huzzah and hurray! More editing! The actual feedback I received didn't say anything about being so dramatic, though she did suggest I look at the pacing in the opening. But it's something I've been thinking about for a while. I'll try and write a bigger post about it all soon, but the short answer is I've been unsure about the opening for a while. To be honest, I ignored a lot of the big writing no-nos (no flashbacks, no long and meandering growing-up scenes, etc, etc...) and I've been trying to justify why I've kept them for a long time.
Now I've actually started, the restructuring isn't so scary as I thought. I'm trying to keep all the information the same, but change the way its told. So it's more a matter of rearranging than rewriting, which makes things a little less daunting.
I'm STILL not writing much (Ok, any) new stuff. It's frustrating, but I feel like I've been working towards too many other things this month to feel too guilty about it. Hopefully I can get this work done on the opening of 'Grey Sister' soon and then I can get back to submitting to agents and maybe even working on The Sequel...
(P.S Did anyone see my recent Youtube debut? Eeek!)
August has been a not-very-nice month. As I mentioned last month, I'm trying to find a new day job. If you follow me on tumblr, you'll have seen how well that's been going. Oh dear.
I've also decided, following the feedback I received from an agent recently, to completely restructure my opening chapters. Huzzah and hurray! More editing! The actual feedback I received didn't say anything about being so dramatic, though she did suggest I look at the pacing in the opening. But it's something I've been thinking about for a while. I'll try and write a bigger post about it all soon, but the short answer is I've been unsure about the opening for a while. To be honest, I ignored a lot of the big writing no-nos (no flashbacks, no long and meandering growing-up scenes, etc, etc...) and I've been trying to justify why I've kept them for a long time.
Now I've actually started, the restructuring isn't so scary as I thought. I'm trying to keep all the information the same, but change the way its told. So it's more a matter of rearranging than rewriting, which makes things a little less daunting.
I'm STILL not writing much (Ok, any) new stuff. It's frustrating, but I feel like I've been working towards too many other things this month to feel too guilty about it. Hopefully I can get this work done on the opening of 'Grey Sister' soon and then I can get back to submitting to agents and maybe even working on The Sequel...
(P.S Did anyone see my recent Youtube debut? Eeek!)
Saturday, 23 August 2014
Hello Youtube...
Something I've been toying with for a long time now is the idea of joining Youtube. I've been following various vloggers for years, both book-based and not, and I've seen how much impact video can have. It also looks like a lot of fin. So, a few weeks ago, I bit the bullet and bought myself a nice camera, set up a make-do tripod out of books and got filming.
My hope is that joining youtube will help me expand my online-i-ness a little and hopefully allow me to find some other people in my shoes.
So... "Ta-Da", I suppose...?
My hope is that joining youtube will help me expand my online-i-ness a little and hopefully allow me to find some other people in my shoes.
So... "Ta-Da", I suppose...?
Thursday, 31 July 2014
End of July Update...
It's been a really slow month all things considered.
Until today, I'd received no word from any agents and I still have 3 submissions out that I'm waiting to hear back from. As well as the radio silence from agencies, I've barely done any actual writing. After all the all-out run to get 'Grey Sister' finished, writing a second book feels like crawling and I'm finding it hard to get into a rhythm again. I feel like I've lost all momentum. I'm submitting what I have and waiting for replies, while at the same time trying hard to find a better day job. Writing itself has become a second (third, fourth...) place concern.
As time goes on, even 'Grey Sister' starts to feel a little distant. As if all the work I put into it and all the submissions I've sent have made it fuzzy and far away. I worry that the more time that passes, the more distant it feels and the more chance there is that I might not keep pressing forward.
I still love 'Grey Sister' and the plot of the 'Ellorah' series. I'm still proud of what I've written. And I still want (want want want!) to get it published. I'm not going to give up any time soon. I believe 'Grey Sister' has the potential to reach publication. I'm just not sure what else I should be doing to make that happen.
So much of where I am now is waiting and hoping and willing my work to find its way into the hands of the right person. Combined with my real-world responsibilities and my hunt for a new job, it makes progress feel incredibly slow.
I want to try and write more in the next month, to try and get back into the habit of getting those words out of my head. I just need to keep going...
Until today, I'd received no word from any agents and I still have 3 submissions out that I'm waiting to hear back from. As well as the radio silence from agencies, I've barely done any actual writing. After all the all-out run to get 'Grey Sister' finished, writing a second book feels like crawling and I'm finding it hard to get into a rhythm again. I feel like I've lost all momentum. I'm submitting what I have and waiting for replies, while at the same time trying hard to find a better day job. Writing itself has become a second (third, fourth...) place concern.
As time goes on, even 'Grey Sister' starts to feel a little distant. As if all the work I put into it and all the submissions I've sent have made it fuzzy and far away. I worry that the more time that passes, the more distant it feels and the more chance there is that I might not keep pressing forward.
I still love 'Grey Sister' and the plot of the 'Ellorah' series. I'm still proud of what I've written. And I still want (want want want!) to get it published. I'm not going to give up any time soon. I believe 'Grey Sister' has the potential to reach publication. I'm just not sure what else I should be doing to make that happen.
So much of where I am now is waiting and hoping and willing my work to find its way into the hands of the right person. Combined with my real-world responsibilities and my hunt for a new job, it makes progress feel incredibly slow.
I want to try and write more in the next month, to try and get back into the habit of getting those words out of my head. I just need to keep going...
Rejection #5
Date Submitted: 1st July (/17th July?) 2014
Date Rejected: 31st July 2014
Response Time: 1 month (/2 weeks)
Form for Response: Personally written by agent, no further request.
I initially got in touch with this agent over twitter in order to find out which of their agents would be best suited to receiving my submission (pro tip: ALWAYS identify a single agent in submissions. It shows awareness of the agency and consideration in your submission). They replied quickly, with a nice, friendly response and I duly sent off my submission by snail mail, as requested on their submission page.
Then, on the 17th I received a tweet, not from the agency as a whole, but from the specific agent who'd been pointed out to me to begin with, asking if I'd sent my submission. I told her I had and 'hoped it hadn't gotten lost in the post'. She then told me to send it again via email just in case. So off submission version 1.2 went and she immediately replied to say she'd received it.
The rejection I got today was, while obvious a disappointing one, still the most positive one I've had so far. The agent emailed to say,
Date Rejected: 31st July 2014
Response Time: 1 month (/2 weeks)
Form for Response: Personally written by agent, no further request.
***
As the submission dates suggest, this was a pretty unusual submission.
I initially got in touch with this agent over twitter in order to find out which of their agents would be best suited to receiving my submission (pro tip: ALWAYS identify a single agent in submissions. It shows awareness of the agency and consideration in your submission). They replied quickly, with a nice, friendly response and I duly sent off my submission by snail mail, as requested on their submission page.
Then, on the 17th I received a tweet, not from the agency as a whole, but from the specific agent who'd been pointed out to me to begin with, asking if I'd sent my submission. I told her I had and 'hoped it hadn't gotten lost in the post'. She then told me to send it again via email just in case. So off submission version 1.2 went and she immediately replied to say she'd received it.
The rejection I got today was, while obvious a disappointing one, still the most positive one I've had so far. The agent emailed to say,
"I wanted to like this - and I almost really, really do - [but] it did not grab me by the throat..."It feels like a step in the right direction to at least get a personally written reply. This agency has a strong background in fantasy, though they're not as grand nor as established as many of the more well known agencies. I wish I could have at least made it as far as a full request. I've asked for some feedback, so maybe that will give me something to work from...
Tuesday, 1 July 2014
End of June Update...
Another month and not much more to tell.
Rejections arrive, new submissions are sent and rejections arrive. The cycle repeats itself, on and on we go. Its just the road you have to travel if you're looking to get published. It can't much be helped.
I was watching a documentary recently about the upcoming Monty Python Live Show, when John Cleese (who I love and think is fabulous, by-the-by) made a comment about the modern era not being "a terribly intelligent or terrible creative one" (57 mins in). Which, for anyone in a position like mine, is both pretty insulting and quite misinformed.
From where I sit, our world and our generation is an incredibly inventive one. Even beyond technical advances, everywhere I look I see people making things, thinking new things, trying to bring something new to the world. The internet is full of authors trying to get published and artists trying to find an audience. There is SO much creativity in our era. And that is precisely why it is so hard to make it today; because competition is at a premium.
It feels sometimes like everyone in the world has written a book (or is making music, or acting, or drawing comics, or making jewellery, or designing clothes, or, or or...). But, as my boyfriend keeps reminding me, just because others are, doesn't mean your work means nothing. Creativity has value in itself. Trying to succeed in making a dream come true is never a mistake. Failure happens. But it doesn't define our attempts. We just have to keep trying.
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