Update From The Query Trenches: Like a Deer in Freaking Headlights

Tell me peeps, did any of you find yourself completely paralyzed by your sophomore attempt at querying?

Because that's where I'm at with queries right now. This weekend, I fully intended to do a mass query unleashing a la my lovely CP Leigh Ann. But when it came right down to it, you know how many I sent?

Four. Bringing my grand query total up to 9.

I know. Someone reign me in, right?

I'd like to say I don't know what happened, but I do. I'm scared crapless this time around. With my last novel, I could blame the rejections on my inexperience or my just-okay query letter. But this time I'm querying a project I really believe in, and the rejections (yes, 4 out of 9 have already form R'd me) feel so much more personal, and so much more devastating.

Especially when 2 out of the 4 R's came from agents who'd requested material on my last novel, and the other two came from agents claiming to specifically want a story like the one I've written.

So of course, the idea of sending out more has me frozen in fear. Nightmarish images of a 0% request rate dance in my head, and whenever I try to query, I wind up blinking at the computer screen like a deer in freaking headlights.

Is it just a sophomore slump, or am I crazy?

The Things We Do For Love (Of Writing)

As many of us here in the blogosphere are unpublished and/or unagented writers, I know you often feel the way I do: like we have to beg, steal, cheat, and borrow time just to get any writing done.

For example, I spent almost my whole Sunday cooking. Not because I love to cook - in fact, I freaking hate it. But the only thing worse than spending one day of my weekend turning out chicken and pizza is coming home at night from my full time job and having to do it then - five days a week.

Having a full time job is a huge time-suck in itself. I readily admit that I'll critique or write in my downtime at work, but lately that downtime has been scarce. So, by turbo-cooking this weekend, I hoped to make up for those lost minutes when I get home instead.

I've also been known:

To let my furniture go un-dusted and my family room go un-vacuumed for weeks at a time so I can squeeze in writing-related things on the weekend

To completely tune out my husband to the point where he accuses me of not loving him (yeah, he's dramatic) when I'm really into writing a scene or reading something amazing my CP's have sent me

To stop everything, whatever it is I'm doing, to tweet on of my CP's about a song that reminded me of one of their ms's

To avoid hanging out with real people in order to spend time with the ones in my head and on my computer. Yes, I'm serious

And why do I do all this? Because until I figure out a way to get paid for doing what I love, this is the way it has to be - or I'll be miserable.

What about you, peeps? What crazy things do you do for your love of writing?

What You Get When Writing is on My S**t List

I'm just gonna say it: I'm hating on my WiP in a major way right now.

So I've decided I'm going to spotlight some of my OTHER favorite things, namely ones that never make me miserable. And some of which look damn good shirtless. Here goes:

1) Hotties




Have I mentioned my massive crush
on Tom Welling? A few hundred times?
'Kay, just checking



Oh, heeeey James Marsden, heeeey

Let's see some fancy swordwork, Prince Charming.

2) Fudge Brownie Sundaes

3) Chocolate Chip Cookies

4) The Beach

5) Newport, Rhode Island

6) My Ipod

And lastly, my CP's and their stories. I basically have the best crit group ever, and I am so lucky to know them and to get to read their beautiful writing. So much that I can still wave my pom poms for them, even when I want to take my own ms and flush it down the toilet.

So peeps, do you have have days when you hate on your writing? What are the other things that keep you going?

Love Triangle? Only in my Books...

Hey Peeps,

In my last post I talked about my panic over querying my newest finished manuscript. Well, I bit the bullet and entered in Cupid's Literary Connection Love Triangle Contest.

My entry is posted here, and though it hasn't received any agent love yet (WAH!) feel free to stop by and offer your opinion.

While you're there, show some love for my CP Leigh Ann Kopans and her entry!

And this awesome one by Jamie Grey!

Happy Wednesday :)

Update from the (Pre) Query Trenches

So I've been getting some great feedback on WiP #2 from my beta readers. I've been making changes as they suggest them. So far, I haven't felt like anyone's asked for anything unreasonable or overly daunting. I'm actually really happy with the improvements I've made because of them.

Why, then, am I scared you-know-whatless to query this puppy?

I'll tell you why. This time, unlike my first project, I'm not writing about an iffy age group. This WiP is straight up YA. It's also a contemporary romance, not another been-there-done-that paranormal romance that every agent seems to be sick of.

And the worst part? I honestly believe I've done a good job on this. I'm no longer the green rookie I was with my first novel.

So when the rejections come rolling in on number 2, I'll have none of those things as consolation. The only thing I'll be able to tell myself is Gina. You suck.

It might not be true, but I'll think it is.

So, peeps. Any tips on how to kick the querying boogie man's butt when you really just want to hide in the closet, hug your ms to your chest and rock back and forth? (Kidding. Sort of.)

Open Mouth, Insert Foot

First, I want to apologize for not being able to hop around and return your lovely comments this week - my internet was all sorts of wonky and it refused to allow it.

Having said that, I want to talk about douchebags. Again. Because some of you may remember my Take The Anti-Douchebag Challenge post, where I ranted and raved about the epidemic of douchebag male mc's in YA literature. And after all that, do you know what I did in my own YA novel?

Yup. I went and wrote a douchebag.

I didn't do it on purpose. Apparently, I have this bad habit of being biased toward The Boy Who Gets The Girl in my stories. And The Other Boy? Gets totally crapped on as a result.

I feel like I need to make the reader side with me, side with my choice of Happy Ending. But then I wind up... not giving them one. Oops.

As much as I love my poor Other Boy, he's received three votes of douchebag from my Betas so far (even after the CH 3 revisions Leigh Ann - hold me). So back I go to my revision cave in attempt to make him as lovable (but flawed) as I originally intended.

Has this ever happened to you, peeps? Have you ever written the very thing you claim to hate?

It's About Freaking Time

I'm back! How is everybody?

I honestly had no intention of not blogging for this long, but things got a bit crazy around here and the blog is what suffered. (Well, the blog and ME. Damn stress.)

The good news is, I used the time I wasn't blogging to finish WiP # 2!! Woo hoo!!



It was such a high to finish.

I edited like a machine all weekend last week so I could get it off to my Round One CP's.

And then the high promptly crashed. Beta readers = more revisions = more time I'll have to find in between scrubbing toilets and cooking dinner and my full time job. I might have even cried about it.

Then I realized, this is the beauty of not being agented: Deadlines don't exist for me. I can take all the time I need to tackle those revisions, and no one will care. I can stew over them for as long as I like until I'm happy with what I invent. But I'm my own worst nightmare, and I want my novel as perfect as possible as SOON as possible.

If only I had the freaking time.

So what's new and exciting with you, peeps? How are all your projects going?