November Goals

As promised here's what I want to accomplish writing-wise for November.

1) This is the biggie. I have to finish polishing and proofreading Erin's Rebel for the Golden Heart contest. The full manuscript plus partial copies have to be in by December 3rd, so this is a goal with a real deadline. So far, I have the partials ready to send, I just have to polish the last quarter of the full manuscript.

2) I want to start researching possible publishers for Katie Rose. I've finished the first draft and had the opening chapters critiqued and have revised them, so if I come up with a list of publishers, I can start sending out partials to see if any of them are interested in this story.

3) Research contests for Katie Rose. I want to find a few contests where I can enter the synopsis or opening chapters to see if I can gain editor interest.

So, these are the areas I want to focus on for the month of November. I'll let you all know how I did at the end of the month.

Revisiting Goals

I just realized we're coming to the end of October--Halloween's just around the corner--so I thought I should revisit my goals for this month.

My big goal was to work at getting my time travel romance manuscript polished up for the Golden Heart contest.

As of this date, I have my synopsis and first five chapters that will be judged in the preliminary round, polished and proofed and have printed up the six copies that I have to send.

As for the full, I'm about two-thirds of the way through with the polishing--I'm also proofreading as I complete each chapter--and I still have a month to go. I'm sending the full on floppy disk and have already converted my file to Word.

As for the futuristic that's still in outline stage, I've looked it over, but haven't really worked on it. I thought for now I'd just put that aside, until I can come back and give it my full attention.

My next post will be my goals for the month of November, as soon as I figure out what they are.

Coming Out Of the Closet

I've been writing since I was in grade school, but had always been embarrassed to admit that I wrote and would never dare to call myself a writer. I had notebooks full of stories stuffed away in drawers that never saw the light of day.

Years later, after my boys started school and I started writing and submitting stories, I wouldn't tell my relatives for fear that they'd discourage or--even worse--laugh at me.

After I had a few short pieces published, I told my close relatives and proudly showed off my work. Then I finally had my first novel published. I think my family thought that was my big break, but the book didn't turn out to be a bestseller and I'm still trying to get my first romance novel published, but so far, no takers.

But, I'm no longer ashamed or afraid to tell people that I write. I even told my dentist that I write romance novels. He was actually impressed. In fact, most of the people I've told have reacted that way.

I realized that even though I only make a minimum amount of money off my writing, the fact that I spend at least eight solid hours a week--often more--in writing related projects, makes me a writer.

And that's something to be proud of.

Post on Victorian Children's Clothing

I just posted a new blog on clothing styles for Victorian children on my group site: Slip Into Something Victorian.

http://www.slipintosomethingvictorian.com

The Waiting Is the Hardest Part

As a freelance writer, my life is full of waiting. I wait for editors and agents to get back to me on submissions. I wait for the results from contests I've entered and for that ever elusive royalty check.

It doesn't help that my day job--typing manuscripts for other writers--involves waiting for payment to come in after a job is completed.

My strategy is to continue working on other projects and keep the things I'm waiting for in the back of my mind, but they always seem to surface and interrupt my creative flow.

How do all of you deal with the endless waiting?

Latest Goal

Haven't posted my goals for awhile, but now I've got a big one. I just entered Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart Contest for my time travel romance, Erin's Rebel.

So, my primary writing goal for the next two months is to get this manuscript polished, reprinted and proofread to meet the December 3 mailing deadline.

Besides this, I'm also going to continue to send chapters of this manuscript to my critique group and revise as many chapters as I can before the deadline.

Time permitting, I also want to get back to working on the outline for my futuristic. I had started on that project, but it's been languishing for awhile as I was trying to finish the first draft of my historical romance. But, since that work is completed and I want that story to sit and cool for awhile, I should have time to focus on these two tasks.

New Interview

I've just been interviewed for the second time, this time by Shirley Kiger Connelly on her author site.

Here's the link: http://shirleykoinonia.tripod.com

What's the Deal With Word Counts?

As I shop my time travel romance around to publishers, I have to wonder why they can't all get togther and come up with a uniform word count for romance novels.

Case in point: When I completed the first draft of my time travel, I found it was too short to submit to the first publisher I wanted to target. So, during revision I added words and whole scenes, even chapters to get up to the minimum word count accepted.

I queried first, then got a request for a partial, but the partial was rejected. So, on to the second publisher on my list.

But this publisher didn't go by estimated word count based on number of pages. They wanted an exact computer word count. And, I came up short again. Now, I had to add more words, scenes and chapters to make the minimum number of words.

I submited the partial, got the request for the full. But, the manuscript was rejected.

Now, I'm moving on to the next publisher on my list and finding that the novel is too long.

Meaning, if I want to query them, I have to do some serious cutting. And I mean serious cutting.

Well, what's a writer to do? It would just make things a whole lot easier for us, if the publishers could get together.

Don't you all agree?

Goals Revisited

I've just gone over my goal sheets and realized I've really slacked off over the summer. Part of it is the extra work coming in from my home business. I can't keep the clients waiting, but I also realized that I have to keep my own writing at the forefront, even if I can't accomplish as much as I want.

So, I've revised my goal sheets and here's what I hope to accomplish this month.

1) I've just joined the Historical Hearts Writers Challenge and have posted my goal of writing at least 15 new pages on my Civil War romance, Katie Rose. I'm at about the halfway point of the first draft.

2) I want to enter the first chapter of Katie in an upcoming contest.

3) I want to edit at least the first half of my time travel romance that has just been rejected. I want to give it at least one going over before approaching another publisher, but I do already have one in mind.

4) I'm signed up for an online workshop on writing romance for teenagers that starts on the 6th. I plan to keep up with the work and participate as much as I can.

So, I think I can keep up with these goals. I'll let you know how I do at the end of the month.

Acck! My Family Is Driving Me Crazy

Just had to stop work and post this blog.

I'm currently writing one novel, have revisions to do on the newly rejected one, and belong to a critique group, so have critiques to do as well.

I also type for other writers, and currently have two large jobs I'm working on simultaneously, plus have another client I have to make print-outs for.

Although I love working at home--it gives me more time to devote to my writing--here's my complaint.

Because I'm home, I'm expected to take care of all household things. This includes cleaning, laundry, dishes--no we don't have a dishwasher--keep the cupboard and fridge stocked and provide meals at dinner time, as well as paying bills, doing the banking and--it seems--everything else for everybody.

Currently, I have a husband and three adult sons living at home. The youngest is starting college in September, but will be staying home and commuting. The other two are in their early twenties. They both have jobs, but can't afford to move out just yet.

Because I'm home during the day and they're not, I wake up to notes like--Mom, Can you call my doctor so he can call in my prescription refill? I then get a frantic call from my husband--My filling fell out, find the dentist's phone number.

My youngest son, who was supposed to RSVP about a college orientation on Wednesday, told me to call the number again because he forgot to give them the date on which day he was going. When I told him to just call again, I got--My ride's picking me up. I got to go.

I can't count how many times I have to stop what I'm doing to help these men I live with.

Makes me wonder what they'd do without me.

Rejected Again

Just got the manuscript of my time travel romance, Erin's Rebel, back in the mail. The worst part, after a five month wait, was getting the standard rejection letter. "This project is not right for us at this time." Oh, well.

After giving myself time to get over the disappointment, my plan is to go over the manuscript again, make a few changes, send a few chapters to my critique group, then find another publisher and try again.

After looking over my submission sheet, I realized this manuscript has been making the rounds for the past four years. After the last rejection, I did an extensive revision, then started sending chapters to my new critique group. I stopped sending those chapters when I got a request for the full. But I'll resume where I left off, while I research other publishers where my book can find a home.

It helps having a critique group who thinks your story is great. And it also helps that I just got a request from another publisher for a short story I recently revised. Having more than one project out there, makes it so much easier when rejection rears its ugly head.

No matter what you do, never give up.

What To Blog About

So, while trying to make regular contributions for this blog, I've run into the problem of what to blog about when you feel there's nothing to blog about.

Freelance writing entails a whole lot of waiting around. I have to wait to hear back from editors on a book I submitted. I have to wait for my critique partners to go over my short story, so I can revise and submit the query for that.

I'm trying to move forward on my historical romance, but I'm in the middle and sometimes I just don't feel like writing that next scene. It just seems so overwhelming when you've still got nearly 200 pages left to write.

So, I guess this will be my complaint blog. Maybe what I need right now is permission to give myself a break.

Re-thinking Contests

Although I've given up on contests for my time travel Civil War romance, Erin's Rebel, I'm thinking of entering my new Civil War romance, Katie Rose, into a few contests.

I'm still writing the first draft, but since getting a request for the full of Erin's Rebel, I'd withdrawn that story from my critique group chapter submissions and substituted the opening chapters of Katie Rose.

Since those opening chapters are now all polished up, I thought a contest or two for first chapter or first 25 or 30 pages would work well. I even have a synopsis already written for this story if one is required.

Maybe this book, a straight historical, will do better than the time travel. Although I won a few contests with it, I found that as time went on, I was almost winning, almost a finalist. But I can't put 'almost' on my website or use that as publicity, so once the full manuscript was requested by a publisher, I stopped entering it in contests.

With this new story, I may fare better because it is a straight historical. The problem with the time travel was, if I entered it in the historical category, I always got one judge who had an issue with the modern day opening and the time travel element. If I entered it as a paranormal, I'd get at least one judge who hated the Civil War period for a romance setting.

So, as a straight historical, I might not run into these issues. Of course, I can always get a judge who just hates my story. But, I think I'll give it a try for at least one contest and see how it does.

Writing As Therapy

My husband and I recently had a medical scare concerning the health of our 22 year-old son. While waiting to hear back from the doctor, the last thing I felt like doing was working on my book.

I decided to type the last few pages I'd written the day before into my file. That got me back into the story and I sat down and wrote three new pages, my daily quota.

Afterward, I felt much better and optimistic, like a weight had lifted off me.

Turns out, the medical scare wasn't as bad as we'd thought. Although he does have a health problem, it isn't all that bad.

Relieved, I again didn't feel like writing. So, what did I do?

I wrote anyway and felt wonderful afterward. Seems writing is the best therapy in the world.

Getting Back Into Katie Rose

I finally wrote 2 new pages for my Civil War romance Katie Rose.

I didn't stop because I was stuck in the middle, it was because I just had too many others constraints on my time to work on it, although I have been revising earlier chapters for my critique group.

But these were the first brand new pages I'd written for this book in about a month's time. The main reason it took so long was because I was away from the story for awhile and had forgotten where I'd left off. I needed to go back over the earlier chapters to get my enthusiasm for the characters back.

I started by revising chapter 6, the last chapter my critique partners had gone over. Then I revised chapters 7 & 8 to get them ready for critiquing. I won't subject my critique partners to first draft material.

I then went through the remaining chapters, two per day, revising as I went. Yesterday, I finally made it to the last chapter I'd been writing. After revising those last pages, I wrote two brand new ones.

Now, I'm ready to forge ahead. It feels really good.

Expanding My Writing Horizons

While I'm still actively working on my newest Civil War romance, Katie Rose, I've decided to try revising a short story I wrote about four years ago and stuck in a drawer.

This was a vampire tale set during the Civil War that I originally wrote for Dreams of Decadence magazine. The magazine accepts all types of vampire fiction. The only thing they ask for is originality. What could be more original than a vampire in a Civil War camp?

So, I wrote the story, polished it up, sent it to them and got it back unread. Seemed the magazine was overstocked and they weren't reading any more material. Since I'd geared the story for that particular magazine, I wasn't sure what to do with it. I decided to try a few more magazines, but none of them were interested in vampire fiction. So, into the drawer it went.

I actually forgot about it, until I recently took an online workshop with Dawn Thompson, one of my favorite romance authors. The workshop was on writing paranormal romance. I took the course because I was polishing up my time travel romance and wanted to see if Dawn thought it was on track. I had just recently read her latest, which was a time travel and it was great.

The beginning of the workshop focused on paranormal creatures, though. And there weren't any of those in my time travel. I love to participate in homework assignments, but what could I send for that portion of the workshop?

I immediately remembered my vampire story and fished it out. It needed a lot of revision. After all, it had been four years since I'd written it. I revised a couple of scenes and sent them in as homework. Dawn loved my characters and encouraged me to submit the story somewhere.

I wasn't sure where to send it, though. Maybe when I finished Katie Rose, I could expand it into a novel.

In the meantime, I put it back in the drawer.

But I've been investigating the Wild Rose Press. They accept short stories and have a line called Black Rose for vampire romances. So, now I'm revising the short story and maybe I'll submit it to them. Who knows, it's worth a shot.

Better than having my story languish in my drawer.

Easing My Way Back In

I finally got caught up with my outside work and had time to work on my own book. I started by revising the last chapter my critique group went over, then self-revised the next two chapters and got them ready for my critique group to read.

I'm going to try to spend at least an hour each day on my book to get me back into the story, so I can start to move forward on it again.

I've been away from the story so long, I forget what happens in the succeeding first draft chapters. My plan for this month is to reaquaint myself with my story and characters and write as many new pages as I can.

Getting Back Into the Swing

The big holiday is over, I'm nearly caught up with my manuscript typing obligations--just some proofreading to do--and I plan to dive back into my writing.

It won't be easy getting back into the swing of things. Habit has a lot to do with my writing and blogging schedule. I first have to evaluate what I did accomplish with my writing last month and what I still have left to do.

I want to start by revising the latest chapter my critique group went over. We're taking this month off from critiquing, so this will give me more time to work on my own manuscript.

Progress report upcoming.

Getting Sidetracked

I've been neglecting my blogging as well as my writing lately.

It started with my youngest son's high school graduation. I had a lot of extra meetings, chauffeuring and party preparations to attend to.

After that, work piled up for my day job. I type manuscripts, as well as other documents and correspondence for other writers from my home computer. Work comes in in spurts and it really spurted this month. But I need the money, since I haven't yet heard from the publisher about my time travel romance, and income from the manuscript typing funds my writing expenses, so that work has to come first.

I also belong to a critique group and every two weeks, I have at least four or more chapters to critique.

I have managed to squeeze in a little work on my own books in between other obligations, but I know I'm falling short of my June goals.

Oh well, I'll look forward to catching up in July. I'm starting to miss the characters in my Civil War romance, as well as the new ones I'm creating for my futuristic romance.

June Goals

I'm a little late posting my June goals. Sometimes life just gets in the way.

Anyway, here they are:

1) Continue draft of my Civil War romance, Katie Rose. I hope to write at least another 60 pages this month, which will take me up to 260 completed pages.

2) Complete outline for my first futurisic romance.

There you have it. These are both big projects, so I'm hoping I can complete them by the close of June. I'll let you know how I did.