Lesser Awesome Book Giveaway!

The first-ever book giveaway on YA for the Wise took place today-- it's a lesser awesome because God alone stands in the place of Awesome. :)

Congratulations to Sabrina F. for being the randomly selected winner of a copy of Ida B. by Katherine Hannigan!

See the contest guidelines to be entered for the next book giveaway at:
http://yaforthewise.blogspot.com

Lamentable Loss and a Kind Let-Down

Last night I dreamed I received my first rejection on my manuscript-- which I have not sent out yet, mind you. But I wasn't even disappointed because I almost expected it. And it was so complimentary a rejection that it was easy to take. The publisher had praised my work while telling me that it just wasn't a right fit for them.
No biggie.
So when it comes in real life I hope I handle it as gracefully as I did in dreamland.

The last week and a half I have been looking for one of my rewritten chapters but cannot find the file anywhere. I fear that I might have lost it when my laptop died on me, but usually Word recovers documents that were not yet saved when that happens.
Alas, I reworked the chapter last night and typed it up today so that now I can press on and have no excuses for any further lack of forward momentum.
And it is a clear reminder to save, save often, and save on multiple drives.
Indeed.

First Page Revision (excerpts)

I have read and re-read The First Five Pages- A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile by Noah Lukeman and it is a constant resource for me. I thought I would give a glimpse into how I revised bits of my first chapter after reading his first five pages. Okay, not literally. His Introduction doesn't start until page eleven. But the second chapter on Adjectives and Adverbs was especially helpful in tightening my prose.

Here is a picture of the old page marked up:

(click for a bigger view)

And here is the same passage after revisions (it is preceded by another section now which is not shown here)

(click for a bigger view)

This is by no means a final draft of the "first page", but it's a lot closer. Getting rid of extraneous words and replacing weak words with stronger ones (like extraneous! Nice.) makes for a much tighter manuscript.

Book Opener

Here is my current first paragraph from my manuscript:



A winged figure perched on the roof of a convenience store. He set his eyes on a door at the far end of the dusty town square. When laughter erupted from a swarm of kids just under the eaves, his gaze remained steadfast.



AS A READER: Does this make you want to read further? What story questions does it bring up?

TRY YOUR HAND AT WRITING: With this as a starting point, how would you have continued? (Share your hypothetical paragraph in a comment for others to see.)

Why the Internet is a Writer's Friend

I received a mailer today for the SDSU Writer's Conference in January 2010 so naturally I checked out the website. Unfortunately the faculty information was not updated and detailed 2009's editors and agents instead. I figure, what the hey, I can still see who was there last year and who works with young adult authors...
Ten minutes later, I'd compiled a short list of agents to research through their respective agency's websites. The woman at the top of my list? Not even listed with Writers House agency anymore.
Phew!
That's one embarrassment avoided had I pursued sending a query to her without checking.

WRITERS REMEMBER: triple check your information, in your manuscript as well as regarding who you approach with your work!

Merry writing!

I'm a Dreamer

So it turns out I'm a "dreamer".

Imagine that.
And my INFP career matches include editor and writer. Wow. Gotta say though, some of those questions were difficult since I felt I was somewhere in the middle. But, hey, looks like it nailed me anyway.

FlairButtons.com

SDCWG Fall Conference

On September 25^th and 26^th I had the pleasure of attending my second San Diego Christian Writer's Guild Fall Conference. At the Friday night Round Table I witnessed the Awards Ceremony for 2009's best fiction, non-fiction, poetry, etc. of the Guild members.

Congratulations to~

Susan Meissner, for The Shape of Mercy (fiction), and

Bob Hamer, for The Last Undercover (Non-fiction)

[Both books are on my To-Be-Read bookshelf]

I also received good information on the Christian book market from the panel of speakers.

I woke early on Saturday morning and rechecked my book proposal then took time to pray with my husband, T.Michael, before I set out. Sign-ups for the faculty consultations started at 7:45 and my number was 34 out of who knows how many. I have a slight tendency to run late, so I usually have my car's clock set seven minutes fast. Call me crazy but it works (sometimes). Except that on my way I realized I'd reset it the day before because I was picking up my in-laws at the airport and I didn't want them to think I was late. Oops.

So, while I thought I had seven extra minutes before sign-ups began, I was actually officially running late. By the time I got there they were past the numbered order of signing up and it was a free-for-all. The agent and the editor that I was hoping to sit with were all filled up. Oh bother.

But alas, they were not a perfect fit anyway. The editor only dealt with non-fiction, and the agent didn't usually represent Young Adult fiction nor did she generally sign new authors. So, it was not a total loss. Instead, I sat with two authors: Jack Cavanaugh and Susan Meissner. I asked them questions and they looked over my proposal: a one-page write-up about me and my book. Why I'm qualified to write it, a brief summary of the book (think jacket blurb), and target audience. Also, my one-page synopsis that succinctly outlined the entire book, followed by two sample chapters.

Both authors were hugely encouraging and gave helpful feedback on my writing. I was encouraged to take the next step of finding an agent.

And so I will. And you'll get to follow me as I do so, through the highs and the lows, as I pray all the while for wisdom and discernment in the decisions to be made.