I've been taking a little break from writing to research agents while I'm waiting to hear back from an editor on some revisions she suggested on a novel I sent her. (Fingers crossed that she loves the changes enough to offer me a contract!) Anyway, I've been writing everyday for almost 11 years now and it's a little strange not writing. I feel sort of lost, but it feels good to take a little breather for a month or so while I let some stories and ideas percolate.
In the mean time I'm still reading and critiquing my writing groups' novels and having them read and critique chapters of my novels. So, I'm not just twiddling my thumbs. Even though I'm chomping at the bit to send my novel out to agents, I'm holding off on it for now because I want to make sure it's the best it can be and feel like I need some more feedback on it.
Last time I sent a novel out to agents I got a lot of interest. Half the agents I sent it to requested pages, and although they had positive things to say about it, they said it wasn't quite right for them. I think it just wasn't quite ready. I've done another rewrite on it after having it critiqued by an author who gave me great feed back and said it was almost there but not quite. She was able to pinpoint the problems for me and hopefully I fixed them.
If I sell my novel, I'll be busy with edits for a while. If not, I'll concentrate on finding an agent for my other novel and maybe start a new project. I'm just not ready for that yet, because everything is so up in the air at this point in time. I feel suspended. Things could take off here pretty soon or I could come crashing down real quickly and have to recalculate and head in another direction. Patience and flexibility in this industry is a must.
Where are you at in your writing? Are you editing, writing a new story, or submitting, or doing all those things at once? Good luck with whatever step you're on.
Editing Spirit, writing Let It Go, not submitting anything at the moment.
ReplyDeleteLauren
That's great. I've learned the hard way to to submit until my story is as polished as possible and been through several rounds of edits and critiques.
ReplyDeleteI think it's so amazing that you have written so much, that really motivates me to write more. I'm so impressed with how many novels you've completed. You know you're a great writer, and I'm sure it feels good to get a lot of interest from your query letters. I know how it feels to be suspended and not know where to go. Life is full of that, but somehow it always works out, doesn't it? Thanks for motivating me!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Heather. It's fun to see your progress as an author and all you are doing to promote you books. If I ever get to that point I will rely on you for advice!
ReplyDelete