Monday, May 11, 2009

Sorry, I can't....

That's what I said yesterday to an invitation to a Mother's Day cook-out, a surf and turf on the grill, no less.

It was Sunday and I was technically "off" from my day job. But I had to work on revisions to the novella accepted by The Wild Rose Press. I'd scheduled Saturday and Sunday as days to at least begin them. I don't have a specific deadline, but make my own - I work better that way.

I'm hoping that this is not my last published manuscript. So I know there will be more times when I have to make a choice.

And there will be many times when I say, "Sorry, I can't...I'm working."
Writing "work" will probably come first.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Revising the Revisions

Okay.
I'm in the middle of doing the editor suggested revisions for Teasing the Muse and I take a break. In the middle of said break, my laptop goes into hibernation. It seems that I've lost about five pages of the last revisions during that hibernation.
Oh, I did all the usual huffing and puffing. I went on the "Help" line. I did all the recovery stuff one is supposed to do but nada, zilch, zip, nutin'.....
So I poured myself a Cosmo (because that's what my heroine is drinking in the first scene) and went right back to it again.
I have my editor's suggestions and a fairly adequate memory, as long as I limit the Cosmos to one or two.
I'm just not going to get myself upset.
It gives me more time to think about extending the conflict (besides the ten years between hero and heroine - her being older). And I've come up with a second black moment...
So...all in all....
Not all that bad.

The Change in Publishing

Now that I'm an official Rose in The Wild Rose Press Garden, I've been thinking more about how publishing has changed and continues to change.

First I have to say that I am impressed with the professionalism of this publisher and the fact that the editors go out of their way to assist their writers. I don't feel like a small cog in a large wheel. I've been made to feel welcomed and important.

That's one of the differences I've personally noted. I was told by my TWRP editor that if I hadn't heard anything from her in 2 months, to email her. I hadn't heard, so I emailed her and with a few days, they had accepted my novella. What a difference from the Berkley editor who requested my paranormal mystery manuscript and forgot about me and it, even ignoring two emails after a year.

Now I'm wondering if the "new" publishing houses: TWRP, Ellora's Cave, etc - the ones that start with pdf versions of a book and then go to print - are the wave of the future. Small, independent publishers that don't have to worry about immediate distribution, returns from bookstores, etc. These publishers seem to concentrate on Romance; however, that is the largest market.

If this is the beginning of a New Era in Publishing, I'm thrilled to be a part of it.
I've tried the "New York House" too many times and have heard nothing from editors who I met at conferences and who requested a partial or even a full manuscript. That's not only rude but poor business practices. Would I still want Elizabeth Peacock and the Body on Abby Road to be a Berkley book? Oh, course. Do I think that will ever happen? Doubful.

In the meantime, I will write for and submit to TWRP and EC.
My time is valuable and I can't wait years for an editor's rejection - or acceptance.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

A Blog Just for Writing

This blog is about my joys and struggles as I move forward to my goal of being published in novel-length fiction.

Works in Progress at this time:

Moonstone Magic - an Arthurian time travel
The Night of the White Wolf - shapeshifter in the months before 12-21-12
The Change - three menopausal woman develop supernatural powers
The Touch - a woman has the curse of psychokinesis

Another novella for the Cougar series at The Wild Rose Press.

I know that's a lot of WIPs - but I love to write - and that's what this blog is all about.