The Book Process: Rejections From Publishing Houses

What does rejection feel like while on submission?

It's completing a 5k in record time and then realizing that you've only just begun The Great Wall of China.

It's rock climbing and making it to the top of the hill; when, alas, you stand and fall instantly into quicksand.

It's the feeling of falling from the Eiffel Tower and never stopping.

It's yelling into oblivion, but the words never escape your chest. 

It's the absolute worst and somehow bittersweet.

I've made it this far, but there are still so many hurdles to jump over; there are acres of unmarked territory. The unknown is terrifying.

My literary agent is hopeful and determined, and the editors who have read my manuscript have had many positive comments--which is kinda weird to me (weird in that I forget that editors are actually people sometimes).

Though their comments have been laced in sweetness, none have requested an R&R (revise and resubmit), and none have requested an offer of representation. They love the writing, they love the main character, but it's still not the "right" fit.

I find myself reading their comments over and over again, trying to find some hope.
But, ya'll, it is hard.

It's just one of those really nice rejections.

So all in all I have less than 10 rejections, which really isn't all that bad, but again, this waiting game can be horrific. 

That's all for this one.

Till next time, blog world.

What Happens After The Agent?

What happens after an agent has offered you representation?
Complete bliss, of course.

I'm kidding.
Sort of . . .

You see, one thing I haven't read a whole lot about is the process one goes through after an agent has offered them representation.

For forever, it feels like, I've been so caught up in just getting an agent. So when I was offered representation, I didn't know what to do.

I smiled, sure, but what were the protocols?

Here's what I learned:

Step One (this is actually version two of step one because the first obvious step is to celebrate):

After an agent has offered you representation, it is courtesy to give other agents you have queried time to consider you. I received awesome advice from a friend who had recently been picked up from an agent as well. She found this link, and it was helpful for me as I dug through my sent emails to let other agents know what was going on. Giving agents one/two weeks to respond is average.

I also used this format from the website above:

"Subject: OFFER OF REPRESENTATION (Title) (Category) (Genre)

Dear (Agent’s name),

I am writing to let you know that I have received an offer of representation for my (Category), (Title), which I submitted to you in (month). I am reattaching the full manuscript for your convenience below. Do this, it’s easier on everyone

I am looking to close out all pending submissions by the end of business on (date). If you are interested in the manuscript, please let me know before then. I’d be thrilled to discuss it with you. If you need more time, please do let me know.

I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you again for your consideration."

Step Two:

In this step, for me, I asked a lot of questions. It's so important to know who you're working with and what you should expect in this journey.

Definitely take time to write down questions that are important to you. Even if you forget, hopefully your agent is the kind of person that takes questions year round.

Step Three: 

At this point, I did more contemplating. I did more research on agents, and I gave other agents time to respond. I asked more experienced writers what I should expect, moving forward. I took time to get my head together.

I felt good about my choice of agent.
I also felt confident in the mission Rossano had planned out for me.

Step Four:

After receiving the contract, I read it over a few times. It became one of my best friends. I also had my grandmother look over it for her wisdom, and I handed it over to my boyfriend to look at since he's a paralegal and deals with many more contracts than I do.

And when I felt confident, I signed it.
Then, along with other members of the TZLA family, I was added to the author's list.

And the list continues . . .

Step Five (the step that constantly repeats itself): 

Edits!

This is probably my favorite part of the agent process. It's great and all to receive feedback on your book from your friends and beta readers, but receiving feedback from an agent is all the more insightful! You get the good and the gritty. You get to know why the agent was compelled to choose your MS, and you get to learn what you need to work on to make your MS all the more appealing to publishers.

To wrap it up, I hope my experience has helped all of you as you journey to find agents, choose agents, and begin the editing process.

This is my personal experience, and of course, everyone has a different story. Heck, my story isn't even finished yet. :)

However, I do love hearing from all of you.
Feel free to share your agent stories below!

Till next time!

#PitMad What?!?!

So, it appears I've started looking for agents again . . . 

This time, I had luck!

Friends, did you just hear that?! Seven years of queries and finally . . . FINALLY.

Okay--so here's the story: It's no surprise I've been sitting on a completed manuscript for a little over a year now. After the first round of queries and rejections, one could say I lost my confidence. I mean, this is my THIRD book, numerous rejections, and all I can think is, "I need a break."

After months of my boyfriend persuading me to get back out there, I began querying again--small publishing houses and agencies this time. I conveniently hop back on Twitter five days before #PitMad, and . . .

This is where the freaking out begins.

It's been years since I've participated in #PitMad. Thankfully, a lot of the writers I follow on twitter, kept mentioning #DVpit and #PreDv (go to this link here to learn more about it), and #PreDv gave me the chance to practice my one-liner before #PitMad. I acquired some pretty great help from @JenniferZeynab, @KatCho and @JL_Dugan. Then, the next day, just a couple of hours before my West Coast Swing class, I get a like from an Agent.

*Insert internal screams here*

After a few more moments of freaking out, I put on my focus goggles and start researching this guy like crazy.

I like what I find, so I send over my query, and I'm so nervous that I forget to mention word count and genre.

The next day at work, I accidentally open my email and find this:









More freaking out:

At some point I decide to get my crap together and send over the requested MS.
And now, here I am, waiting.

I'm so, so nervous. I'm nervous and excited. I've got all my fingers and toes crossed and God is probably tired of hearing my prayers.

Even if he decides to eventually pass, I'm just happy I've gotten this far.

So here I am, writing friends, I've entered another realm of waiting.

Wish me luck.

The Year of Beauty and Chaos

 Somewhere between beauty and chaos there is existence. 

The seasons change rapidly, the sun runs to meet the moon, and the stars chase the hills as the earth rotates.

In the midst of that, there's me
Little ol' me.
The rambunctious me, the sad me, the overly-excited me, the constantly changing me.

There's the me that wants to write until the flowers crumble and the snow comes, and then there's that side of me that can't do anything but watch a Netflix series I've seen three times.

There's the me that wants to write this blog, and then there's the me that wants to be the best dancer in the world.

There's the me that sings in the bathroom with an acoustic to my chest, and there's the me that wants to crawl into my bed and sleep all day.

There are so many sides to me, so many different talents, so many dreams--and somehow all of that has lead me back here, to the start of my writing phenomenon, to the beginning of my beginning, to my writing daze.

Here, I welcome you all back into my life as I try, again, to enter the writing world.
I will warn you, writing friends, it is tough.
I've sent more queries out, I've tackled a synopsis, and I've even checked out more writing venues.
I have failed and failed and failed in hopes to help writers--like us--who won't give up.

I hope that you all follow me on this new journey.

If any of you are interested in my recent novel (I'll post a query soon), I've posted a few chapters on Wattpad.
If any of you are interested in being a beta/critique reader contact me through email or in a comment below.

To all of you going through seasons of writing, I'm pouring my luck out to you.

Until next time, writing friends.

The First Rejection

So, I received my first rejection today..........


My initial reaction was to freak out, but since I was on my way to a class, I had to suffer in silence.


Don't get me wrong, I'm familiar with rejection: boys, books, friends, families, random strangers on the street. But, regardless of how many times it happens to me, it still hurts.
There's a sharp pain that I can't ignore.

As some of you may already know, this is the second book I've queried. The first book I queried (Manuscript 1) was a mess--and by mess I mean, that entire book was falling apart. So with this book, naturally, I was hoping for a better reaction.
First off, I don't want to bash the agent I queried because she is a very sweet woman, and the agency she works for is splendid. Heck, she responded in two days--that's a record.
I just get so annoyed with the standard, "Thanks for the opportunity to review your project. Unfortunately this isn't the right fit for us...." 
I was hoping for something else.


However, I will not give up yet.
There are still soo many agents out there.
And I know that Unbroken will be published.
I just have to have hope, and be patient.

I mean, seriously, I'm just thankful I could make it this far.

Does anyone have any crazy rejection letters they want to share? Feel free to comment below!

Happy Query Days!

The Waiting Game: Day 2

It's been two days since I sent out my queries.

TWO!

I get that, obviously, that's nothing. I mean, two days doesn't compare to two months.

But I'm still freaking out. I really want my baby to get agented. And then, hopefully--may God grant it true--I'll get it published.

Happy Waiting Games to all those in the same boat as me.
And may the odds, ever, be in your favor!

Connecting and Developing Your Book Characters

Oh, how I wish I could say I had some sort of super power that allowed me to create such amazing, page-turning, stories.

But I don't.

I'm just a plain old human.

With my first book, (I'll call it Manuscript 1,) The characters didn't come to me as naturally as I wanted. I'd read other blogs where people said stuff like, "Yeah, sometimes I turn into my main character for a day." Or, "I could probably have full-blown conversations with my book characters forever." And I'm just like:

"What am I doing wrong here?!?"

I couldn't connect with my characters like I wanted to in M1. I could write down my ideas about them, but I never really felt them. With my new book, Unbroken, the writing process was totally different. I had just finished M1, and, already, I could hear the whispers of a different character. 

I heard her voice. It was magical. 

She was telling me her life story, and I was writing it down. We worked together, like a team, and I truly believe that it's an awesome storyline.

You might be asking, "What did you do differently?"

To be honest, I don't know if I can pin-point the exact reason of change, but I'll share a few tips with you anyway.

-1.) I didn't force my second manuscript to happen--it just kind of did. With M1, I was writing for myself, but with M2, I was writing for my characters. It was a gradual thing.

-2.) I tried my absolute best to capture every emotion of my main character. To me, she's real, and she really wanted me to tell her story in the same way that she would. This, in turn, added a strong voice to my novel. 

-3.) This next tip is weird--be warned--but, whenever I had major writer's block, I'd ask my character, "What would you do in this situation?" And if I got no reply, I'd ask again. I'd keep asking until I knew what  that next paragraph would be about. 

These three things, together, is how I finished my second novel. I didn't want to give up on my characters. I believed in them, and I wanted their stories to be heard. 

I'd love to hear your feedback. So, if you're a writer, tell me, how do you connect with your characters? Everyone's story is different! 

The Query Process

This has got to be the scariest part of finding an agent.

Seriously.

With the help of Google, this is the definition of a query letter:

"A query letter is a formal letter sent to magazine editors, literary agents and sometimes publishing houses or companies. Writers write query letters to propose writing ideas."

What's scary about writing a query is summarizing your 100,000 word novel into 400 words or less. That means, every word used in your query better be a good one! Agents don't play. Queries are a serious matter for your novel, and if an agent doesn't like it, you are sent the letter of doom--also known as a rejection letter. And when your inbox begins to pile up with them, you find yourself in an alternate universe filled with anger, hurt, and confusion (refer to the GIF with Jennifer Lawrence.)

Every query has three paragraphs to it: The hook, The mini-synopsis (don't get me started on a full-synopsis,) and the writer's bio.

However, when I write a query, instead of a long writer's bio--because who am I kidding, I don't even have a bio--I add a closing hook.

The first sentence and the last sentence of a query letter is extremely important when it comes to writing a query. Not only is it the first and last thing they see, but it's what draws in their attention.

My advice for those writing queries:

-Steer far from long sentences. If there are more than twenty words in your sentence, rewrite it. Agents want short, enticing sentences that don't ruin the flow of your story. So please, don't drown your query with words.

-Don't give your entire plot away. Whenever I read queries, I notice that the writer over-tells the story, or they give away every plot twist. Please, give the reader some space to imagine.

-Do mention who you are and give thanks in your query. I've forgotten to do that once. I was so worried about everything else that I didn't include my name, or best regards. Just imagine how I felt. (Refer to the Jennifer Lawrence GIF if needed.)

-Do allow other people to help you with your query. Unfortunately, your pair of ogles will only get you so far. By having a few people look over it, they'll catch errors that you can't.

Welp, that's all folks!

Got any questions? Leave a comment below.

The Book Life

Hello, blog world,

Today, my friends, is a BIG day for me.

But before I get into that, let me share a little bit about myself.


My name is Britney.

I am a city girl, born and raised in the good ol' Kansas City, KS. (However, I've always dreamed of being a country girl . . .)

I like music....like alot! And I sing in the shower.

I prefer cold tea over coffee.

I am twenty years old, and I am an active student in college who has changed her major more times than I can count.

I am a writer.

I love writing more than I love sleeping--not kidding.

And I could probably watch movies all day.

But, moving on. The reason this day is such a big deal is that I've sent out four queries!

Now, if you're unfamiliar with a query, a query is basically a blurb of your book (you usually find this on the inside jacket or the back cover of a novel.)
If you've ever experienced the querying process, then you know how nerve-racking it can be.
This is the second book I've queried, and right now, I'm trying my absolute best not to poop my pants.
I hate waiting.
And these agents probably won't get back to me for weeks.
So how do I kill the time?
I create another blog. (Yes, I said another one.)
Again, I love to write!

That's all for today's post!
I will be updating soon!