Shhhh do not disturb.....

I got up way too early and I am trying to write...

wish me luck!

Another chapter down

Another little chapter bites the dust!

Polished off (see that says polished off not polished) chapter ten. I am not sure I liked the way it ended. Did not end with a bang nor even a crackle. More like a fizzle. But that is okay. I will fix it later, it was just important that I finished it. At this point I am wishing all I had to do was the novel. I would focus and finish that this week, but alas, tiz not to be (Forgive me, I was chanelling some dead writer) And you can't finish much by averaging 600 words a day. Snort. A chapter a week maybe which is about what I've been doing.

How many words do you average a day?

Didn't finish the flu article yesterday so must finish that up. Sort of ironic to be writing about colds and flues when I have one. Hee.

I keep thinking I should get a job. A writing job of some sort. I know, it's seems like I have enough on my plate and I do, but I need more money. The NWW doesn't pay a lot yet, the writing pays well, but frankly, I need something steadier. Hard to tell dh that I may or may not get a check this week. Or I may or may not get one next week either. Of course, if I sell a couple of fiction books it would be different. The old DH would know that every quarter I will get a bit of something.

I should sell another one to WD. One of the three I have sold to them, has been used three different times. I get money every time they use it. Nice, eh?

Okay, must run and get something done. Boy volunteers at zoo today.

The cold is...

sure taking its time in coming. My joints ache and my throat hurts, and my nose is slightly stuffy. But I know it gets worse cause my kids are hacking up a storm and have heads full of the yukky stuff. I feel like it is taking forever to come and I want it to get here and get gone, so I freaking feel better instead of this general under the weather kind of feeling.


I didn't get any new stuff written yesterday on the novel, but I did a lot of editing and revising. Posted chapter nine for my crit group to tear apart. I had to edit and send one article and write another, but I got them done too. I have another one due tomorrow and another due at the end of the week. Lots of writing this week. But at least the money will be coming in next month... always a good thing.

Still waiting for agents and the editor to get back to me. And I just keep eating while I wait. What's up with that?

Too bloody early

So just what am I doing up at 6:45 am? Good question. Got up to get a drink, dh was up and I just stayed up talking. He worked four twelve hour shifts this week and we barely got to see each other except to pass to do lists and instructions. I need money for this, you need to drop this off, you have to pick up boy at this time and take him there... that sort of thing. So when he went to bed I thought I would hop up and get some work done.

I did kick some serious literary butt so far this weekend... finished chapter nine and am halfway through chapter ten. Am concerned though... so much has to come together. I finished up some very key scenes and I htink they are pretty good... we will see. Now I just have to keep the momentum going. Keep the pace up to a, hopefully, smashing finish. I am almost scared. I only alloted 45,000 to 50,000 words for the book and I am hoping that I make it in that frame. I also hope it's good.

Anyone else ever feel that way as they come to the end of the book?

Sort of weird and nervous.

Right now I am working on an article on food allergies.

I am also coming down with that bloody cold. Sniff. Just what I needed.

But if I get three articles done today, I only need to do one article next week and I will have invoiced enough to make it next month and be able to concentrate on my novel next week. Of course, if am sick, I may not be all that creative.

I better go finish that first article.

A week in review

Not too bad... out of the 16 things I had on my list I finished 12 of them. I put off on article onto next week and took one from next week to finish this week. I haven't finished chapter nine yet, but plan on doing that once I am done blogging.

I feel pretty good about what I'm accomplishing. I'm averaging a chapter a week and that doesn't include edits. I would really like to move a little faster, but you've seen my to do list. I need to cut myself some slack.

I have already gone to the rink this morning and have to take her back and rop her off this evening. She wants to skate club and then public with her friends. Ethan on the other hand is helping with the Junior high youth group air soft war this evening so he has to be at the church just before the girl has to be at the rink. Then I have to pick everyone up. One nice thing though... I am not sick yet and I do get some quiet time to work on novel:)

This weekend I have to work on the house and write up a couple of articles. Sunday is church then a meeting with the youth pastor to see what is happening with the kids this year.

Sounds like more driving to me.

I know it's coming...

My daughter is sick and considering how much time we spend in the car together I know it's gonna get me too. Just what I need with a list like this weeks!

I am actually doing pretty good on that list. Got a bunch of stuff crossed off. Though I have to wonder how I am going to get through the next few days. I have to do about three articles and send My YA proposal to that agent who requested it. My son starts volunteering at the zoo today. Two days a week. How does that cut into my writing time, eh? But I run his sister all over creation, why not him? Still, with the price of gas... I am really pushing him hard to start using public transportation. He is almost 16 and the fact that he is over 6 feet and almost 200 pounds makes me feel pretty secure. Get thee to a bus, child!

Yesterday was pretty good on the novel... I wrote over a thousand words and took it up above the 30,000 mark. I got some fab input from a great editor. She confirmed some of the stuff that I had suspected and also reassured me that it is a very strong peice of work and will find a home. She used to be a professional editor for Harlequin so I feel much better for her input. I would love to get chapter 9 done today or tomorrow and start in on edits, but I have those 3 articles that are also crying for attention. Perhaps someday I will do only fiction and make sort of a living. I don't have to make a working living, just a helping living, if you know what I mean:)

Got up to early. Sick girl woke me up at 4:30 am. I couldn't go back to sleep. She managed to though.

To Do List Monday

Remember I only make out my to do list on Monday. I have all week to do it!That said this week is going to be a killer. Once again, I have been focusing too much attention on my fiction. Bad me.


Chop book club article and send
Finish Scared stiff and send
Send partial to agent who requested it over the weekend. (YEAH!)
Send out questions for high risk dads
Send out questions for Food Allergies
Send out questions for breastfeeding generations
Write breastfeeding generations and send
Find sources for breast changes
Write and send in breast changes
Get sources for kids and the flu
Find sources for getting in the mood
Write chapter nine
Make out RSVP list for the tiara club
Do tiara club
Let author know her book was selected for the club
Let other authors their book wasn't

Home to do

Take daughter to the rink eight times
Take son to the rink twice
Show son how to ride public transit to zoo by doing it with him (First time:)
Take son to zoo one time. (He volunteers twice a week and I told him I would take him once and he would have to ride public transit once.)
Help with school work probably a dozen times. (Both my teens are homeschooled and though they are online students I still have to help)
Help husband get started on closet project that he said he would do 4 months ago and we took all of our stuff out and tore it down.
Check and see who has dentist appointments cause I forgot to put them on calendar
Take son to Youth Council meeting at highschool
Get blood test taken
Pay coach
Mop new floors because they are getting disgusting


Now I am totally overwhelmed and just want to go to bed. It's a wonder I get any fiction writing done at all, eh?

People are so nice...

Thanks everyone for your recent kindness to my angst. You should have all just slapped me upside the head and told me to get on with it! I am a professional. I get rejections quite often and some are far more hurtful. But being a writer I have a big imagination and I had envisioned agents courting me and fighting for my book. (Well, if you're gonna dream might as well dream big)

Speaking of dreaming, I want to talk a minute about agent blogs. You know, those agents who are so fun, on the ball and approachable that they have their own blogs and mingle with the worthy and the unworthy alike. I lurve these agents and most of us would just about die to obtain their Goddess like agent services. I haunt their sites like some sort of stalker. I love knowing what they're doing. (But then I think, what they aren't doing is reading my proposal that is sitting on their desk.) It's almost like I expect them to write in their blog

I just finished reading the next YA sensation by a writer called Teri Brown and I am so in awe of her that I don't dare talk to her myself . So Teri, if you are reading this please, please allow me to represent you!

Okay, I am approaching the abyss of insanity here, but you know what I mean!

Speaking of the utterly boring name of Teri Brown, I am thinking of using a pen name for my YA. I want to keep some form of my name for my adult romances because Teri or TJ Brown will put me next to Sandra Brown on the shelf:)

My maiden name is Foreman... which might be interesting. My middle name is Jean. Or should I go completely different? Any ideas? Alesia Holliday already has Jax Abbot which I think is totally cool. Think about it. Let me know:)

They're just not that into me...

Got my first rejection in the posty today.

I feel like this is just the beginning. You know the feeling.

When no matter how many pep talks you give yourself you just feel like...

You're just not that good.

Everything the little voice whispered in your darkest moments are all confirmed.

blogmania

I don't know why I called my blog that.... I just couldn't think of anything else.

I wasn't able to write anything else yesterday on the work in progress because I took the wrong floppy to the rink. Instead I wrote the synopsis to my new book and I can't even tell you how excited I am about this one! I wish I could work on it right now, but I am not allowing myself till I finish RInk Rats.

I just had a CP call me on the lack of sparkle in my writing. I love CP's. I so needed that. Sometimes I just skim across the story instead of getting into it and drawing the reader with me. My old nonfiction voice coming out. Report it, don't experience it. Now I know there are those non-fiction writers who can take you into a world with them, but that isn't the type of stuff I do. I write magazine fluff. Read it quickly and hopefully have some take away value. But that is totally different from novel writing.

Wow. I should query WD about that. Trading Voices... oh, that would so sell! Okay... I am going to put that on my to do list for this week!

In fact. I am going to go start that now. Or when I get back from the freaking rink. The rink time is my novel writing time.

Loving the business....

What a great day!

Okay. Since I had to get up at 5:30 am I'm not sure how it can be a great day already, but hey... it just is. I already put out feelers for experts on three articles I need to finish up. I read and answered email. I was sent a website that states the average advance and earn out on books with many publishers. Loved going over that. The woman puts it together from info she gets from authors and she lists how many books the average is taken from. Then a list I'm on is talking about how long to negotiate the contract to actual pay out. Yeah. Keep your day job:)

But I love talking about the business... knowledge is power, baby.

Plus one of my online friends just spilled the news that she just sold a series of books to Berkly. (Who I am hoping to hear from soon!)

I am trying not to think about the six agents and editors (Okay, editor, but plural sounds better, eh?) who have my proposal on their desk.

Other than the waiting this is a fun business, right? Oh, and the rejections. Don't like them much either.

I did get another 600 words yesterday. That makes 1200 for the week, but I plan on getting some done this morning as well.

The bus, the bus

I don't know where it is but I know it's been here cause it damn near flattened me.

I am getting 7 1/2 hours of sleep a night but it might as well be 5 for all I'm feeling it. I was going to go workout tomorrow, but the dh wouldn't wait for me so I didn't. Yeah, I know... always someone else's fault. Yada, yada, yada.
But in the words of a famous Southern Belle, "Today is another day." Or was it tomorrow is another day? I like that one. Put everything off until tomorrow.

I finished 600 words last night. Was going for a thousand, but family stuff took priority. My son was in the mood to talk and at 15, you take them up on it. So 600 lousy words. But could be worse, I might have not finished any. I did cross a bunch of other stuff off my list yesterday and was, in fact, quite productive. But not on the novel. Oh to be able to do nothing but work on it, day after day...to have that be my regular job...

And here I thought I was awake.

Am still layering, but am wondering if it is consistant enough. Will no doubt have to read the whole thing over and over to find out. And hopefully editors will see any holes I have left. Of course, someone has to give me that shot.

I wrote out the timeline that agents/editor received my book. I have a long ways to go before I hear anything. I really wanted the book to be nearly completed in that time, but that may not happen. Depends on how quickly I can get everything else done. Snort. I know, I should make time just for the book. Consistant time. Read a good article yesterday about being consistant and having a writing schedule and I am afraid that really isn't going to happen in my life right now. But maybe I can fill the first three days of the week up with my nonfiction work, get it out of the way, if possible, to free myself up for my fiction. Of course...that means doing without it for three days and I am not sure I wanna do that!

speaking of which...I'm outie.

Another Monday...

To do list day.

• Write chapter eight (I finished chapter seven, (yay me!)
• Edit Breastfeeding and PPD and send
• Write Bend article and send
• Read encouraging notes from agents over and over
• Find sources for Breastfeeding Generations
• Find sources for Scared Stiff
• Finish Scared Stiff and send
• Make reservations for Tiara Club
• Send out invites for Tiara Club
• Secure date for Holiday Fest and send to main office
• Pick Dec/Jan book club book
• Send out note to all those whose books were not picked
• Send out book club article
• Do Ookum Bookum dance over requested partial and send
• Send 1 query
• Write and ask for October assignments.
• Catch up on crits for CP partners

Just your average, ordinary week. Oh, and add edit chapter seven as the crits from my CPs come in. I distanced too much again. I have a tendency to do that. My CPs call me on it.

I am really happy to be starting a new chapter. Hopefully this won't be as difficult to work out. I am hoping for some good flow. I deserve it don't I? Heck, I might finish the silly thing before any of the agents get back to me. I have one agent that wants to see it when finished so if they don't get back to me I will just send to her! HA!

Have I ever mentioned that I hate to wait? Even as busy as I am it just kills me. Say yes, or say no..just don't NOT say anything!

Clarification... Today is to do list day. Which means I make out the to do list for the next week! No, I do not do this in a day! LOL

On Procrastination

I should be writing.

I wanted to get that right out front. Considering that Gena Showalter finished the first draft of her new YA novel in a week, I feel like a slacker taking several months with On the Edge. And I should be writing on it as we speak.

I did want to tell of my great fun day though. It was the meeting for my local RWA chapter, Rose City Writers. So much talent! Good speaker. But the most fun was talking to Delilah Ahrendt, who turns out to be one of the clients who went with Nadia Cornier to her new agency. How exciting. She adores Nadia. Verra interesting stuff. I love talking about the business.

But I should be writing. I'm having trouble with this chapter. Thought I'd be done with it now, but for some reason there's no flow. I think being busy has something to do with it. I haven't been able to get any long periods of time in which to work. I did go back and layer in a separation for one of the main character's parents. That's something, right?

I got another request for a partial. Wish me luck with that. Found out that I may not hear from that editor for two or three months. TWO OR THREE MONTHS! I thought I would write her after a month. Harumph.

My sad to do list...

Out of my 14 item to do list I have only accomplished eight things. Too sad. Perhaps I will cross off a couple more things today. I have a skate club board meeting tonight and have to run a computer back to the shop...but still maybe if I work hard I will be able to finish my nonfiction articles and chapter seven.

Oh, that probably means I shouldn't be blogging. Sigh.

600 Words

That's all I was able to write in my book yesterday. And that was only in spurts. No creativitiy. No flow. Just me wanting to make some sort of progress. I did finish up a restaurant review. did some research. Write a bunch of emails to sources. I also did a bunch of running around.

But I hate not having made any progress on the novel. I need to finish that sucker so I can go back in and layer in my plot ideas and some characterization stuff. One of the girls parents is now getting a divorce. Poor thing had no idea. But I have to go back and layer some stuff in to make it happen cause it will affect how she is behaving. But I feel like I don't want to do it until the book is done. Which is stupid. I should just go back and do it now. Progress. I just want to make some progress.

Can you tell I am a bit frustrated? I didn't finish the whopping cough article yesterday and must do it today. My daughter has a lesson at the rink and I have to rush home and get my son to the dentist. Then I have to get him to the Rink cause he has to work today. Somehow or another I have to write my nonfiction article and still work on the novel. Oh, I also have to take one of the laptops back because it isn't working right. I think the screen is going out. I am not sure how much writing on the novel I will be able to do with all that going on.

Oh, hey, in a way I did add some to the book. Pages! I changed the format so it has one inch borders all around it. Added 12 pages:)

So Tired

My mind is just numb.

I was up till midnight last night "talking" with my husband. All is good now, but sometimes you just have to hash things out. I wish he would feel like hashing at a decent hour I can tell you. I was up at 5:25 am yesterday, did a ton of running around and just felt like crap about nine. By twelve I was incoherent.

Now I have to write about whooping cough. And PPD and breastfeeding.

Not to mention chapter seven.

My new characters are clamoring for their voice too. Colorless dances around in my brain and I am coming up with new scenes and new ideas all the time. I'm not sure if I should be writing them down or what. Maybe I should just let them dance. I really don't want to take time away from the first draft of Rink Rats.

How many of you write more than one book at a time?

On Long Weekends

I hate long weekends.

Yeah, I know it's practically unamerican (Is that capitalized? Looks weird.) I should love them. Weekends hearlding the beginning of summer or the beginning of the new school year. Weekends kicking off the holiday season, or giving us a break during the long, cold winter.

But I don't.

When you love what you do and half the time what you do involves either waiting for a response from someone or trying to get in touch with someone, long weekends simply increase your waiting hell. Because people don't just take the weekend off. They take the whole freaking week. Editors don't seem to think I take any time off cause they give me deadlines right in the middle of the bloody weekend.

I got a short email from an agent last night. Yeah, late Sunday night. I wanted to hug her. Or at the very least tell her how much we have in common because she obviously doesn't like long weekends either! I didn't though. Don't want her to think I am stalking her.

One more day. Then hopefully the wheels of the publishing business will start churning again.

me and Penny

My news

okay will spill some.

Networking is amazing. Was on a new list and introduced myself. Told about my WIP. One very nice, multipublished author said that if I really knew my stuff I should try her editor because the editor is a huge skate fan. I said I knew my stuff, she talked to her editor and the editor requested the proposal immediately. Major editor. Major house.

This all happened in a flurry of emails in one day. One morning actually.

Most of me understands that I will no doubt get a rejection.

But there is that part...

Of course, that's the part that will be crushed when I get the rejection. LOL

In the meantime, I have a gazillion things to do and I don't want to do any of it. I should:

Write article on special needs finances
Finish restauraunt review and turn it in
Finish book club interview and turn it in.
Write feature on Bend Oregon and turn it in
Finish editing chapter six and send to crit group
Balance checkbook
pick up moms computer from the shop
take daughter to the mall to get hair cut
take son to sears to pick up amazing deals on games

Yeah. Can I go back to bed?

Defining moment?

Who knows in this business. I may be just getting set up for super let down.

Or it could be exciting. And stupendous.

But you never know, so keep everything you have crossed for me, k?

Pretty please?