Some news

Sorry about being gone for so long. This is supposed to be a definite no-no for bloggers who are trying to build a following. All I can say is that I needed this time off to enjoy the holidays with my family, concentrate on finish editing my new book, and take care of a sick dog. We enjoyed the holidays, my book is finished, and the dog is still languishing with lung cancer. We're doing the best we can to make him comfortable.

After I finished my book, I started querying last week, and I've got some good news. An agent has requested my full manuscript. So, since last week, I've been busy getting that package ready. What she requested are a synopsis and the full manuscript. Now, my manuscript is ready to go, but my synopsis isn't.

I hate writing a synopsis. I hate it so much that in 2004, I've only queried the agents who didn't list synopsis as a part of the submission requirement. I thought I was doing that again this year when an agent who requested the full manuscript asked for a synopsis when it hadn't been listed on her website. Yikes!

Well, I've moaned and groaned but got down to writing a synopsis. My first one sucked. After my husband read it, and frame my effort to write the synopsis with what's at stake, I've thrown away the 1st effort and then started anew. My second one was much better, and I'm currently working on my 3rd effort. I'm hoping to make this one a keeper.

I'm not alone in hating synopsis'. I mean think about it. Trying to squeeze the "essence" of the book (my happens to be 460+ pages) on 1, 3, or 5 page synopsis seems like an awesome task, but I've done it in 7, trying to cut it down to 5.

In my desperation to do a better job after my 1st attempt missed the mark so spectacularly, I went online to check out some examples out there. The best advice I got was the one that said to write a synopsis IMMEDIATELY after finishing a book and BEFORE querying agents. Also, incorporate some of your material from the novel in the body of the synopsis. I wish I had read this article before I queried this time around, too. The only consolation I have is that the agent who asked for the full manuscript is probably too busy to keep tabs on how long it's taking me to send it to her.

So, please, write you synopsis before rather than later.

About querying agents, I like to shoot for the stars. If I fail, I'll fail spectacularly, but if I succeed, I'll succeed beyond my wildest dreams. So, I chose the best of what I could find for my genre. Do the same for yours. Why not?

I was initially going to write about lessons learned about agents this year, but I think I'm going to blog about my real time experience of trying to find an agent for my new book. In the next blog, I'll start with writing a query.

A very tough loss

On 11/11/10, I've blogged about a young woman who suffered an aneurysm and died. She left twin girls age of two and a grieving husband. On the same day, my long time friend, a fellow book club member, and a book lover, Don Eric Mitchell, died. He was 48 years old, and he was biking his way back home from work ~5:30 pm at night in Napa. His death stunned me, and I'm not sure I'm quite over the shock, yet.

The only thing I have to say about Don is that he lived his life the way he wanted to live it. He traveled widely. He was an avid outdoors man who enjoyed life, along with whole lot of books. His death taught me even more strongly to pursue my dream of making a living as a writer. I want to die doing what I love. The consolation I have is that he died bicycling, something he loved little less than reading (I could be wrong here). May he rest in peace.

Since I made the decision to return to work, I haven't been very active in trying to schedule book signings, book talks, etc. It's not the most comfortable thing to do, standing in middle of the bookstore prominently chatting up to people you've just met. I also have a fear of scheduling a book talk and no one showing up. Yes. It did happen to me in my hometown library. Besides, I'm not a natural self-promoter. I'm an engineer/writer at heart (both of which don't bode very well for self-promotion). There are moms at my children's school whom I talk to all the time, but know nothing about my book or the fact that I'm an author. I've learned that unless you're a tireless self-promoter, self-publishing probably isn't really for you. I'm not planning to self-publish any other books anytime soon. I need to digest and analyze all the lessons learned data. BUT Don's death has made me even more determined to put the time I need to put in to see my next book succeed in the traditional publisher setting.

So, in memory of Don, I'm going to blog about Lessons Learned: Agents in the upcoming blogs. One of my life's goal is not to make same mistake twice. You'd be amazed at how many different mistakes I can make....

An important digression

I heard from a good friend today that a 29 year old woman who is a mother of 2 year old twin girls is pretty much brain dead from an aneurysm. It made my heart sick to hear something like this.

Does any one of us live each day as if it could be our last? I certainly don't. I'm not sure how many of us really do. The saddest thing about this is that the last words she exchanged with her husband were words of anger because he had come home a little late and she was running late to her professional choral group rehearsal. Now, they'll never have a chance to change that.

Have you told your husband/boyfriend/girlfriend you loved him/her today? Have you told your children how precious they are to you? How they make you happy just by existing in this world? That they make everything better in your life?

This beautiful, talented woman was a loving mother to her gorgeous twin girls, a wonderful wife to a loving husband, and a precious daughter to parents who loved her dearly. Now, her husband is left to raise their twin daughters and the daughters will grow up having no real memory, that they can recall, of their mother. It makes me feel so sorry for this family. I hope the family finds the strength, in God, in friends, in extended family, in whatever they have, to get through these terrible days.

So, I'm going to hug my children, tell my husband how much I love and appreciate him, and try to live as if every minute really matters.

What a difference a few words make....

I have another book giveaway going on Goodreads.com and I've decided to check on it yesterday. I was surprised to find a new text review posted on my book. I think it was by one of the previous winners.

fantastic novel. i have really enjoyed it. Can't wait to read future readings by this author

These few words have made my day. That's the life of a self-published author who is still trying to figure out how to get the word out and sometimes, not often, but still often enough, lose hope in seeing this work widely read, even with a measure of good feedback I get from various channels.

I truly appreciate this feedback because book reviews are incredibly difficult to come by, even by your good friends. Maybe because they don't want to feel bad about writing an unflattering one, but I'm not looking for a falsely good review. I'm looking for an honest review. I want my book to stand on it's two feet. I, for one, get a little suspicious if a self-published book is just loaded with 5 star reviews with no real substantive details in the review. This makes me wonder if this reviewer has read the book at all. Having said that, of course, I appreciate a good review. It makes my day and keeps my hope alive for awhile longer.

My next book update:

It's highly unlikely that a mother would find her own child ugly, even if the truth is staring at her face. Well, I'm going through some thorough editing on my 1st draft and I still find my own book fascinating, which makes me wonder if I'm only seeing what I want to see.... Two of my good friends have read the first two sections and they tell me this book is very interesting. So, I'm hoping that they are good enough friends to tell me honestly, before I send out query letters and partial scripts to agents, if something sucks or doesn't work.

A couple of months ago, I've editing first 20 pages for a friend of mine and I was very honest, with a lot of comments, because I knew that's what I'd want from someone reading my manuscript. I think she appreciated my efforts.

I want my friends to tell me if my book child is ugly. I'm not sure I'd appreciate such comments about my human children. Did I tell you I find them fascinating to talk to? Sometimes I wonder if that's how small my world has gotten since I started staying home with them. Yikes!

Marketing your book

Waiting for Appa:

I am stuck. I can't seemed to find my way out of being stuck in marketing my book in a traditional way. Book signings at the bookstores. Books talks at libraries, etc.

I'm trying to find a different market for my book which could also be considered coming of age or inspirational book. I finished a draft of a letter I'm going to email to ESL classes in the surrounding community colleges and adult schools. I'm going to ask if I can send a review copy for their perusal and requesting that they consider me for a book talk in class or using Waiting for Appa for classroom material/required reading material.

People always say - think outside the box, but thinking outside the box is much easier said than done. Now, I'm looking to approach local high schools. It was a dismal failure with my alma mater in Newark, but hey, what do I have to lose? I'll try again.

I'm also thinking about approaching churches because my book is inspiration and spiritual, to some degree without being overtly religious. I'm just brainstorming here. Someone even suggested for using it to overcome grief and begin the healing process. I'll buy that there's a strong element of getting on with your life, but how would I market overcoming grief? I guess I just need to try to figure that out.

The NEXT book:

My two week hiatus is up. I have to get back to editing it seriously, with my eye toward sending it out for query process at the beginning of next year. Yikes!

This is what I learned after self-publishing Waiting for Appa. If you're going to seriously edit, then use a ruler and go down line by line, looking for errors and corrections. I know. It's going to drive you crazy. Mind you, I've read my book more than there are days in a year, I'm pretty sure. But in order to make my dreams come true, I must do it this way. There is no other way to catch everything, at least for me.

So, a ruler, a red pen, and a 2/3 stack of a manuscript await me (my two lovely ladies are reading the last 1/3 for input). They get to see how terrible it is before I start cleaning it up and I'm so grateful for their patience and generosity. Now, going back to editing...I know. I need to clean the house (which sat messy for a week, now), load the dishwasher, do laundry for kids clothes, clean bathrooms (which I hate), and the list goes on, especially when I have to edit. But this is the sad truth. I can run, but I can't hide forever.

So, here I go. A ruler and a red pen in my hands and a comfortable pillow behind my back with the manuscript on my lap. I think I'll take a nap. Did I tell you stayed up until 2:30 am writing last night?

Writing 101

In the two weeks I'm taking off from looking at my current book, I've started to write Gorgoyian Chronicles #3 for my son (a young adult book). Whenever I come back to write a book for my son, I remember how much fun I had writing it the last time. I wrote books for his birthdays and Christmas. I try to keep up with that, but it's really challenging. I've discovered that although I could have a stack of books on my night stand and try to read all of them (I'm actually quite successful at jumping between books. I'm sure most of you are, too, especially one or several of them are turning out to be surprising bores), I can't seem to write two vastly different books simultaneously (it was a dismal failure last time). But just because I failed last time, that doesn't mean I'll fail this time. So, I'm going to start editing my current book and write book #3 for my son.

Going back to writing.... What's important is that you write. Period. Although I complain, sometimes quite bitterly, about editing, I think it is easier than writing fresh stuff, especially if you're experiencing a writer's block. With my son's book, I'm trying to keep a chapter relatively short (5 pages) and if I push myself to write a chapter everyday (this is pushing it), then I could possibly have a good length book (1st draft. All the books I write for him are 1st drafts. They're probably not fit for anyone else's eyes except for my son's and mine) for him on Christmas.

So, start today. Write your pages for today (you decide the length that's most comfortable and encouraging for you) and keep on writing them until you have a book. I truly believe that all of us have stories to tell.

Need of an inspiration

I got whammied yesterday. I entered a self-published book contest and found out that I didn't place anywhere, which is quite discouraging, even if I knew in my heart that this was a long shot. There is a big difference between knowing and having it shoved in your face. So, I've got to get over that.

The other thing is...I've been pretty laxed about scheduling book talks or book signings because I've been looking for a job. I don't mind talking in front of people, but I find it very difficult to stand in a bookstore chatting with people (easier) or standing alone wishing for someone to come up to me and talk to me (I don't even have to sell a book. I just don't want to stand alone). But I need to schedule more events, especially since I've already paid $300 to have my book stay "returnable" for another year.

The thing is...I've sold between four to fourteen books at a single book signing event. I've got to do a lot of these to make any kind of progress. I need to figure out a way to create demand online. If I ever figure this thing out, I'll be sure to share it. I keep thinking, I'm sure I can figure this thing out....

My next book update -

I've finished it, but I need to fix the ending and shorten the length of the book. for a first time author, the target page length is 350 pages. My current book is at ~450+. I've taken out a lot of material, but I've also had to put in a lot of historical material to "anchor" the book in the period.

This editing process looms before me and I feel quite intimidated by it. Yikes. wish me luck.

I really do wish I could have something more or better to write about on my blogs, but at this point, it's only this. Sorry.