To all my fellow novice freelance writers out there.....Uggghhh!
What a week. I've been posting bids for jobs all week long with no response. Has anyone ever landed a job on Craig's List??
Also, my middle grade novel has hit a snag. Nice beginning, good ending, but the middle leaves much to be desired. It's just sort of laying there. I'm seriously considering changing the whole plot. It just needs to be different and exciting. I won't have to do anymore research, but this is seriously crunching my goal of being finished by Thanksgiving.
And finally...
You may remember that my last post included the query letter I'd sent to an agent. Well, after it was posted, my best friend in the whole wide world (HI, E!) was kind enough to point out that I had a spelling error in the very first sentence....yep, I misspelled the title of my own book.
UUuuuuggggh! Is that agent even going to read it? Probably not. Now what?? Do I send her another query? Do I wait 6 weeks to make sure she isn't going to respond? Or do I try another agent without waiting for her response? Anyone know the protocol here??
I'd get drunk, but I'm completely incapable of writing with a buzz!
Oh well. I think Viggo M.'s motto applies here:
Adapt And Overcome!
8.29.2008
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My previous post mentioned a list of agents who are looking for new writers and unpublished manuscripts.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!!
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!!
8.25.2008
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!
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!
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