Brain Dead....zzzzzz

Ok, folks! I'll explain the "brain dead" title in a minute. But first...an update.
You may have noticed that since the first of August I've been relentlessly sending Princess Minny anywhere that accepts unsolicited children's book manuscripts.

My previous post mentioned a list of agents who are looking for new writers and unpublished manuscripts. So, I sent a query letter to one of the agents on the list; Lindsay Davis at Writers House.

The guidelines stated that Ms. Davis reviews manuscripts "exclusively". I think that means I should refrain from sending The Perfect Princess to any more publishers until she's had a chance to look at the story. If I've misundertood the meaning of "exclusive review", please correct me.

I confess, it took me 3 hours to compose and polish the 3 paragraph query letter. I confess, it was hasty of me to send it off that day, instead of leaving it for 24 hours and then reviewing it. That is why I haven't looked at it since Tuesday. So here, for your inspection, is my query letter:

Dear Ms. Davis,
I'm seeking representation for my 1,000 word children's picture book, The Perfect Princess, where perfect Princess Minny finds that being perfect all the time isn't a whole lot of fun. On a trip to the royal zoo, something very unexpected happens and Princess Minny must make a difficult decision. Can she be a good princess if she can't be perfect?

I'd like to send you the manuscript, and am interested in your evaluation of it's commercial potential and any recommendations you have on how to make it a better book. You're the first agent I have queried.

I have submitted The Perfect Princess to several publishers on my own and have received a positive response from one small publishing house in Wisconsin. But I want this to be a hardback book and this publisher doesn't offer that.

I'm a freelance author and this is my first attempt at writing a children's book. I'm planning a second adventure for Princess Minny. I'm also writing a middle grade western adventure novel which should be finished by November.

I hope to hear from you at your convenience.
Sincerely,
Lisa Clark

*** A note to all my readers: This blog, Swivet, posted a "Query Letter Dissection" that was soooo helpful. Go check it out!
http://theswivet.blogspot.com/2008/08/query-dissection-kelly-gays-better-part.html ***

Now... about being brain dead...
I haven't been able to write anything all day! No. Wait. I take that back. I wrote my "thank you" page, acknowledging everyone who helped me write this book...that isn't even finished yet. (Feel free to snicker.)

Here's what happened: I stayed up too late last night, so I'm sleepy. I read the political news first thing this morning, so I'm frazzled. My friend got some terrible news, so I'm emotional. A conversation with my mother-in-luv (not a typo) centered around a troubled relative, questions about God's provision, and the end of the world, so I'm bummed out. By 11am, my ability to write was shot.

However, I would like to thank my fellow writers who have posted recently. Today, you have inspired me to try again. I'm going to take a walk, meet some friends, eat, drink and be merry and by tonight, hopefully, I will march back into the writing trenches with renewed enthusiasm.

Have a safe and awesome Labor Day Weekend!

Subscribe to Write On The Edge today!!

Publishers! Agents! Novels! Updates!

Princess Minny asked me to post her exciting news. One of the publishers who read The Perfect Princess is interested in publishing it. I'm not sure if we're gonna go for this one or not. We have a lot of manuscripts floating around out there.

Pages Of Wonder is a unique type of publisher. I was actually able to email a submission and query letter. They have what is called an 'author co-op'. New, unpublished authors with promising manuscripts are offered a publishing contract and asked to help pay for part of the publishing costs. This is different from self-publishing in that Pages Of Wonder actually helps with the marketing of your book once it's out there.

Check out their website and tell me what you think!
http://www.pagesofwonder.com/

The other bit of news is that I came across a list of agents looking for new authors. I wanted to get that info out to all my fellow writers. Here is the link to "28 Agents Who Want Your Work": http://www.writersdigest.com/article/28-agents-who-want-your-work

Finally, today was the first day of school for my daughter. That means it was my first full day to be at home...just writing. I finished a big chunk of research for "Deep In The Heart". Made notes for miscellaneous and closing scenes. It's starting to come together.

Tomorrow....more research.

Good Night! I'm off to bid on more writing jobs. Good luck to all my writer friends!
Subscribe to Write On The Edge!

Job Posting

I was thinking last night about how nice it would be to have someone to talk to about all this writing and publishing stuff. There isn't a writer's group in my area. I'm hoping to start one. Still, it would be nice to have one friend who's sort of "been-there-done-that". We could discuss rejection letters over coffee and critique manuscripts. I've heard that writing can be a lonely profession. Where do you go to find an author/mentor/friend? Perhaps I'll take out an ad on "CraigsList". It might read something like this:

Wanted - One Mentor

Fragile, burgeoning author seeks older, wiser, published author with a "never say die" attitude to act as a guide through the harsh wilderness known as"Becoming A Published Author".

Applicant must have enough publishing credits to make her worthy of my respect and admiration, but be down to earth enough for frequent & meaningful communications.

Must be able to "give-it-to-me-straight" when necessary. A Master's Degree in Encouragement 101 is required.

Applicants possessing secrets of the pro's will receive special consideration.

This position is open to experienced kindred spirits only. Fair weathered friends and social climbers need not apply.

This is a full time, life long position. Salary is $000,000 per year. Benefits are marginal.

Please send your resume, 5 references, your bio including photos, and a sample of your work relevant to this position.

If you can't get all that together, just start blogging here. X

Don't miss a thing. Subscribe to "Write On The Edge".

Wild West Photo

I've had a terrible time finding photos from anywhere near 1837. I need some reference photos for my book Deep In The Heart. While searching today, I found a great site for old photos, some of them really old. I ran across a fascinating (and slightly grotesque) photo. The story that went with the photo of Robert McGee was incredible. I just had to pass it along.

http://old-photos.blogspot.com/2008/04/robert-mcgee.html

Happy Viewing!

Don't miss a single bit of info! Subscribe to "Write On The Edge".

Miranda's Last Stand: A book review

I read this book today as research for the mid-grade novel I'm writing. Miranda's Last Stand is about a little girl and her mother who join Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Miranda's father was killed in the Battle of Little Big Horn and, as a result, her mother can't stand Indians. However, there are Indians traveling with Wild Bill's show and Miranda and her mother must come to terms with that.

I read through it in about 3 hours and thoroughly enjoyed it. The author, Gloria Whelan, did a great job of depicting grief from a child's point of view. Gloria writes awesome word pictures without getting bogged down. The main story themes focus on forgiveness and seeing things from another persons perspective.

This book is set in 1876. The story I'm writing is set around 1837. I'm having trouble finding enough info about that time period. Will I have to change the date? That would screw with a couple of my subplot lines. We'll see.

Free Book Writing Software

I've been researching writing software to help me keep track of everything I'm writing with my books. Well folks, I just test ran a free writing software program that you must look into! yWriter4 is free and it's very cool. Go to http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter4.html to download it.

Take a look at the screen shots. It's very user-friendly. You can point and click your way to any screen you want. It separates your book by chapter and by scene. You can work on one scene at a time if you want. Add characters and delete characters at will. Want to move scenes around? Just point to the scene and drag it to the right spot.

I'm still playing around with it. But, so far, I'm real happy with it's performance. My only gripe is that I can't get the font any bigger than 10 when I print something. I've got an email in to the creator about that. It may be 'operator error'. That's easily fixed.

Do you use yWrite4? Let me know how it's working for you!

Don't miss a single post! Click on "Subscribe Today" and always be ... Write On The Edge.

Short Essay

School's starting in a couple of weeks. My daughter will be in second grade. More time to write - less time with her. It seems like an unfair exchange. Here's what came out of that musing.

When my daughter was very young, just learning how to speak clearly, I decided it was time to train our Shepard-mix some basic commands and tricks. I'd heard about this method called "Clicker Training" and thought we'd give it a try. I bought a clicker and we went to work.

It was really easy. Almost no work at all. I was proud of myself. Now, of course, I realize that my dog, Daisy, was eager to please. Lots of dogs aren't. We worked in short training segments several times a day. All under the watchful eye of my curious toddler. "Sit. Stay. God Dog!" over and over again.

One night I was folding laundry in the den, when I heard a little voice in the dining room. "Si- Tay- Dood Dog!" I peeked around the corner and saw Daisy patiently sitting by the refrigerator. My daughter was "training" her; perfectly imitating every move I would have made. She'd take a few steps back and say "Si- Tay- Dood Dog!" Then she'd walk up to Daisy - who hadn't budged an inch - and praise and pet her gently.

It was a comical scene since Daisy was twice our daughter's size. But I was extremely flattered.

That was the beginning of my love affair with dog training, and my daughter's lifelong obsession with dogs of every shape and size. Years later I studied and received my Dog Trainers Certification.

My daughter still seeks out dogs wherever we go. She's even included the title of dog trainer in her long list of "what-I-want-to-be-when-I-grow-up".

Subscribe to Write On The Edge by clicking the "Subscribe Today" button.

New Children's Book In The Making

I've just begun working on a new book. It's a western/frontier novel for middle grade children. The title right now is Deep In The Heart. My first draft should be completed by Thanksgiving. Don't miss an update. Subscribe to Write On The Edge by clicking the "Don't Miss Out" button.

Princess Minny's Next Adventure!

Our own perfect little Princess Minny set off on a new adventure today. She's heard about Dragonfly Publishing, Inc. Children's Picture Book Contest.
http://www.dragonflypubs.com/
Minny thinks her story is very entertaining. She has entered the contest. Hooray!
But she has to wait a long, long time before she can tell us if she's won. Dragonfly Publishing will announce the winners November 1st.
Princess Minny asks that everyone in the kingdom keep their fingers crossed!

I'm Making Money Writing Online

I just have to brag about my new favorite website.
http://www.elance.com
It's like having your own office online. You set up a provider profile, bid on jobs, have a virtual workroom where you can monitor your projects and track your work time.
I bid on and landed my first job just a few weeks ago. I should wrap it up by Friday.
Later!

Introducing Perfect Princess Minny

I would like to introduce you to Princess Minny. She is the one who started this whole freelance author adventure for me.

One night a while back,after Gwyni had gone to bed, I was lounging on the couch while my husband played video games. "Bored." I thought. I didn't want to watch tv. I had nothing interesting to read. As I sat there daydreaming, I began to visualize our visit to the zoo the day before. Gwyni had love the Arangutans.

Slowly at first, an idea for a children's story took shape. Soon, it had a plot and a flow to the story. So I put pen to paper and within 2 hours I'd written my first children's story.

Perfect Princess Minny is a about a little princess who is perfect at everything she does. One day she goes to the royal zoo, and sees the monkeys having a great time swinging and playing. She joins them for a day of rowdy swinging and rolling. And discovers that being perfect all the time isn't very fun. In the end, she gets to be a rowdy little kid for a while each day.

So today I made primped and polished Perfect Princess Minny, typed her a nice letter of introduction, and sent her out into the world to meet a couple of publishers.

Stay tuned for further updates on the trials and travels of Perfect Princess Minny!

Ta Ta!

Paying gig

Hooray! I finished and submitted my 5 articles today. I'm really love freelancing. Gwyni spent the day with Nana and Pawpaw so that I could do the final editting and proofreading. It was all done before 2pm. Just 5 more articles next week and I'll officially be a paid freelance author!