Right of Passage

On every agent/editor blog or website I see lately, they post a disclaimer that if you don't hear from them, consider yourself rejected. Whatever happened to the rejection letters sent in the mail?

I remember going to a presentation by author Shannon Hale a few years ago where she talked to teachers in Jordan School District. She showed off her rejection letters, yards and yards of letters that she'd laminated together into one long row of papers.

Stephen King, in his book On Writing, talks about how he used to post his rejections on his wall until he ran out of room and had to find something larger to hold them all.

Am I going to miss out on this particular right of passage? I'm pragmatic enough that I expect rejection. But I was really looking forward to celebrating my first rejection letter. Am I out of luck? I guess I'll have to find another reason to celebrate.

March Marathon

Whew! I did it. I accomplished the goal I set for the three-day March Marathon (a writing marathon engineered by Ann Dee Ellis and Carol Lynch Williams on the Throwing Up Words blog).

My goal was to write 5,000 words in my new novel. Two days ago, my novel had 329 words and I wasn't sure where I was going to go with it. Today, I have 5,341 (!) words and a better understanding of the novel's plot.

I'm starting to realize that I work really well with competition, especially when the competition is with myself (like where I've set a goal that I will be really disappointed in myself for not meeting). Normally, I procrastinate far too much and let life get in the way of my writing. Maybe I'll have to set up more writing marathons for myself in the future.

Now, it's time for me to reward myself!

Constructive Criticism

Accepting criticism is hard, no matter who you. As a writer, it's been difficult for me to put my "baby" out there for others to see. Lately, I've had to learn to suck in my pride and accept help from others. It hasn't been easy, but it's been worth it.

My crit group, Writers in Paradise, has been supportive and helpful throughout my first draft. But I knew I needed additional help. A couple of months ago, I stumbled across Miss Snark's First Victim, a blog that has random contests where writers can anonymously place parts of their writing for others to view and comment. Excited for a new opportunity, I submitted an excerpt of of my manuscript in the Talkin' Heads contest.

Then the comments began. Fourteen people wrote essentially the same criticism over and over again: my characters sounded stiff and unnatural. Although I was frustrated, I didn't give up. I went back to my manuscript and started reworking all of the dialogue to make it sound more authentic (more like teenagers were speaking).

I decided to try again. This time I entered the blog's Secret Agent contest that examines the first 250 words of a manuscript to see if it "hooks" the reader. When I entered the contest, I knew that my beginning needed work. And I was right. Some liked it, but others thought it was "unremarkable." So I went back to my manuscript -- again -- and reworked the beginning. In fact, I changed my beginning so much that now it's in the present tense instead of the past tense.

The biggest lesson I've learned is that I need to stay humble and be willing to accept criticism. Revision is a long and challenging process, but it's necessary. After each new revision, I feel like my manuscript is stronger and better than before. I can't wait until I learn more at the two workshops I'm attending in April/May and June. After those workshops, I hope to be one step closer to sending my manuscript off to an agent.

In the meantime, I've started my second manuscript. It's a long, hard road as a writer, but I'm loving it!

March Contests

I don't know about you, but I love contests. Starting today, I will post contests that I've heard about. Here are two writing contests for March:

March Marathon at Throwing Up Words. The best part of this contest? You get to set your own goals and prizes! Be sure to sign up soon because it begins on March 18. Oh, and mention my name as a referral.

"Dear Lucky Agent" contest at Guide to Literary Agents. Submit the first 150-200 words of your novel-length manuscript. It must be an urban fantasy or a paranormal romance. Hurry and submit because this contest ends on March 14.

Good luck!

My Future

The past two weeks have forced me to second guess my future plans. I've been an educator for seven years, and it never occurred to me that I would abandon teaching. Until two weeks ago. Now I'm not sure if I will survive as a career teacher. It's disheartening to see how people in my state do not value education and how easy it is for them to take away funding, increase class sizes (we're already at 40+!), and lower teacher morale.

While reading Scribbler of Dreams by Mary E. Pearson this weekend, I found this quote: "I am through writing about regret and what might have been. I cannot change the past--only the future. And the only thing I can really change about the future is me. I have me, and I have my writing, two gifts ... and that is a lot to built a future with. Enough" (215).

What perfect advice for me! I've recently been regretting my decision to be a teacher instead of a lawyer, a choice I made over ten years ago. But regret doesn't get me anywhere. Moving ahead does. And I want to build my future, particularly my writing future, which is why I applied this week for Vermont College's Master of Writing for Children and Young Adults. When I told my parents about my decision to apply, their first question was, "Will this help you earn more money in your job?" No! And why should it? This is something that I'm doing entirely for ME. The degree is great, but it's what I will learn along the way that is more valuable to me.

Now I just have to wait the 4-6 weeks to see if I'm accepted. If I don't get in, I may need chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate.

Change of Priorities

Isn't it amazing how three short weeks can change someone's perspective? Last month, I was all about getting published: who to talk to about my novel, where to send my manuscript, and how to make it happen.

This month, I've accepted reality: my manuscript is far from being ready for publication. Truthfully, there were some days when I wanted to chuck my manuscript into the garbage and abandon my dream of writing. It's taken some time, but I've realized that I need to change my priorities.

Anne Lamott in Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life sums this idea up quite well: "I just try to warn people who hope to get published that publication is not all that it is cracked up to be. But writing is. Writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises. That thing you had to force yourself to do--the actual act of writing--turns out to be the best part ... The act of writing turns out to be its own reward."

It's time for me to take a step backwards and start working on becoming a better writing. To do this, I am going to apply to the low residency MFA program at Vermont College, an idea that terrifies me completely. Not only do I have to battle my self-doubt about whether or not I'll even get accepted, but the two-year commitment of 25 hours a week is overwhelming. But as my good friend Andria reminded me, I was able to write 50,000 words in one month during NaNoWriMo. If I found the time to do that, I certainly can devote the necessary time in the MFA program, especially because I really do want to become a better writer.

In the meantime, I'm going to do the one activity that truly makes someone a better writer: WRITE!

Patience is a Virtue ...

We all remember the Heinz ketchup commercials: "Good things come to those who wait." Did I ever really expect that slogan from my childhood to apply to myself as a writer? Absolutely not. But, I'm slowly discovering that patience and writing are not mutually exclusive. I'm trying really hard to develop more patience in these areas:

The patience to put my novel aside. Stephen King, in his book On Writing recommends putting your novel in a drawer for an entire month, giving yourself some distance before you start revision. That sounds easy, right? Not for me! I wrote the damn thing, so don't I deserve to read it? Well, here's the problem. I sent my novel to a few close friends who are daring enough to give my rough version a first read. Of course, not wanting to come across as a totally incompetent writer, I did a complete run-through of my manuscript, looking for typos and errors. Despite my hard work, I received my novel back from my sister, Heather, this weekend, and lo-and-behold, she found so many typos that I completely missed! Thank you, Stephen. I have now learned my lesson, and with a resounding thud, I'm throwing my novel back in its "drawer."

The patience to postpone sending out query letters until my revision is complete. I am so excited to start the process of finding an agent that I've already done my research and found one that I feel good about. However, as clearly evidenced above, my manuscript is FAR from perfect. Now, I'm dealing with this inner struggle: when do I send a query to an agent? Finding an agent could be a long, drawn-out process of potential rejection after rejection. (I mean, come on. Even Stephenie Meyer was rejected by several agents. I'm just being realistic.) So, do I send in my first ten pages, like most agents require, and spend the two-month waiting period working on revising the rest of my novel? Or do I polish my novel first, just to make sure my novel is even agent-worthy?

The patience to wait ... and wait ... and wait. Writing is not a career full of instant gratification. It takes time to write a novel, time to complete the revision process, time to find an agent who deems you worthy of representation, time to woo a publisher, and time to get the manuscript turned into a book sitting on the shelves at Barnes and Noble. In my agent and publisher research, a common wait time is two to three months. That's two to three months waiting to see if they even want to read more than just the first ten pages. And most only want you to send a query to one agent or publisher at a time. Added up, all that time could equal years and years of patience.

So if you have any ideas on how to develop more patience, I'm waiting ... (just not very patiently).