Jessica Burkhart's (Old) Blog

Books read in 2009

2011-01-02T17:31:00.001-05:00

January '09 book list

Bird by Bird

Rapunzel's Revenge

Secret Identity (Nancy Drew)

Wicked (Pretty Little Liars)

Parties & Potions

2010 Book list

2011-01-02T17:28:00.001-05:00

January '10 book list

It's Raining Cupcakes (ARC--out 3/10)

Scandal (ARC--out 3/10)

2008 author visitor archive

2008-12-24T10:33:00.000-05:00

2008 Author Visitor Archive

2008 book list

2008-12-24T10:19:00.001-05:00

2008 book list!

January 2008 Books Read

Books Read in 2007

2008-01-22T18:25:00.000-05:00

Feb 07 Books Read

Gossip Girl: You Know You Love Me (YA)
Me Talk Pretty One Day
North and South
Olaudah Equiano
The Case for Hillary Clinton
The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers
The History of Sir George Ellison

You've reach the Wannabe Writer

2007-02-22T14:49:00.000-05:00

You've found the former home of the Wannabe Writer. She has moved and no longer exists. She thought of herself as a Wannabe Writer and now she considers herself a Writer. She finally recognizes herself as a writer and is moving on to a new blog, new experiences and new writing projects. Follow her to the new blog!

NaNoEdMo

2007-02-21T17:09:00.000-05:00

March 1st will start another crazy competition from the founders of National Novel Writing Month. March has been dubbed NaNoEdMo and I'm encouraging EVERYONE to sign up and make a pact to spend 50 hours in March editing your writing. Got a NaNoNovel from 2006 that needs work? Now is the time! How about a couple of magazine articles that need tweaks? Do it in March!

I'm already signed up and am waiting to add you all to my "buddy list." (I think EdMo has buddies...)

Go here now... :)

Writing Contests

2007-02-20T14:42:00.000-05:00

My article and essay writing instructor mentions writing contests frequently in class. She encourages the students to enter numerous writing contests and thinks that the often $10 and up entry fees are worth it. Me? I'm not so sure. I'm on the fence about shooting work off to writing contests unless I feel strongly that I have a good piece. Many contests require the entries come via snail mail, which feels outdated but I don't mind that too much. Reading the microscopic and lengthy rules, however, can really take time. I usually only enter 1-2 contests per year and try to do ones that are without entry fees- like many writing contests for students.

What's your take on writing contests?

Check out this blog

2007-02-19T12:54:00.000-05:00

My M&M...so much fun...

Here's a great blog and what a nice surprise to be mentioned in a fellow writer's post. Thanks Jess for the support and I'm willing good wishes back your way! :)

http://jessyferguson.blogspot.com/2007/02/from-one-jess-to-another.html

Personal Pieces

2007-02-18T10:47:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I did my first nonfiction workshop at school. Weeks before, while trying to decide my topic, I debated with myself about how personal to go. I wanted to go beyond the "I love pink" personal and delve into something deeper and more private. I was bold when I sat alone at home and wrote the piece, but when it got to handing out my papers to 25 people, I began to regret workshopping something that everyone would know about my life. It was too late and no time to revise. I handed out the papers and went with it. I was so, so nervous before the workshop and was taken aback by the support and constructiveness of the comments I received. My second and final workshop is in the middle of March and after workshopping something personal the first round, I've decided to go with that theme again.

How much personal writing are you willing to share with others? Do you have insecurities about publishing details about your life? Or, do you write what you feel and let it go?

Revisions

2007-02-17T12:16:00.000-05:00

So, as you may notice on my sidebar it reads "revisions!" and that's not a joke. :) I estimate that I spent 75% of my writing time working on new material and a good 25% revising or reshifting the focus of a piece. For example, I had a query letter that I targeted for a teen mag for girls. Great, got that out and I'm supposed to wait for 3 months for a reply. Now what? The query is timely, it's an excellent story and I've found at least 10 additional markets for the query. What's a girl to do, you ask? Refocus the query. The initial query I pitched shifted the focus from a teen story to a regional piece for local mags in the girl's state. Then, keep branching out from there are there are no overlapping queries. I have yet to send those queries but you get the idea.

When not working on mag queries, I've shifted my focus to my YA manuscript. Revising that baby is one-thousand percent different than doing a mag article. Obviously it's much longer but there are other things to consider that have nothing to do with journalism. Is the piece original? Fun? Creative? Do I call one character Bill at the begining and 75 pages later call him Ted? That's where the character sheets come in handy. I found some on a great Website and spend way too much time filling in the blanks. I wonder what my character sheet would like like? :)

Quick Announcement

2007-02-16T13:38:00.000-05:00

One week from today, my blog address will no longer be http://lifeofawannabewriter.blogspot.com as I will be switching to http://jessicaburkhart.blogspot.com Please adjust your bookmarks accordingly, thank you! :)

Good and bad reactions

2007-02-16T08:44:00.000-05:00

What an insane week! I have barely had time to sleep as I've been juggling writing for magazines, working on my novel draft, writing papers for school and preparing for midterms. I see people my age partying until 3am and I'm lucky if I can stay awake long enough to see Letterman. :)

So, I've been doing a lot of talking/e-mailing about my recent big news. The reactions I've been getting when I exclaim "I got an agent!" have been quite varied. One of the first people I called was my grandma. She encouraged my writing from the start and is always in my corner. She cried and then laughed uncontrollably with happiness. (Hey, she's 84, what can you expect?) :)

I sent a couple of e-mails to friends I haven't talked to in a few months and I got a "shut up!" and a "no way! OMG!"

Then, I made a phone call to someone (a relative) who will not be identified and that person had no excitement, interest or desire to hear about the amazing opportunity I had been given. The first questions I got were "Are you sure the agent is legit? Are you giving this "agent" money?" There wasn't an "aw, I'm proud of you" or a "you've worked hard and I'm glad you're doing well." That never came. I was cut off and told that person was busy and would call later. We're going on 2 weeks now and the call still hasn't come. Life's funny that way, isn't it?

College Major

2007-02-14T07:35:00.000-05:00

There seems to always be an ongoing discussion in writing forums, classrooms and writing groups about the "best" major to have in college to be a writer. I've heard people swear that only creative writing majors ever succeed as writers and I've heard others say that doing the opposite major (math or science) kept them from getting burned out with writing. I started out as a creative writing major and soon switched to literature. My reasoning? If I wanted to write a great novel, I desperately needed to read and study great novels.

So, what was/is your college major? Do you think it had/has any impact on your writing?

Icicles!

2007-02-12T08:48:00.000-05:00

Brrr!!! I'm cold when it's 65 degrees and it looks well below that in these amazing photos. I've never seen anything like this, even in my many Illinois winters. Icicles are simply gorgeous though I'm sure I wouldn't be thrilled if that were my car in the photo.

first draft or revision

2007-02-11T12:47:00.000-05:00

I've read more articles than I can count on the battle among writers who toss around the question that a first draft is easier or harder than a revision. Personally, first drafts aren't my thing. Getting the first draft down can be physically painful at times and I long for the draft to be finished so I can go back and revise. Anyone else feel the same or different?

In other news, I got a nice, pink letter in the mail from Sweet 16 yesterday confirming that the mag bought my quiz and that its publication date is undetermined. I immediately queried them again, so we'll see what happens.

What are you reading?

2007-02-10T09:06:00.000-05:00

In between furious writing sessions and school work, I'm trying to do more personal reading. Usually, my books consist of textbooks and classics for my literature classes but I've tried to make time to read for fun. The question of the day: what are you reading now and do you like it?

1000th Viewer

2007-02-09T09:08:00.000-05:00

The thousandth viewer of my blog is....someone from Honduras! I wish I had a prize...sorry! :) More blogging to come!

Update:

I'm short on blogging time but I want to ask a question: What's the last thing you wrote? A letter? An e-mail? Academic paper? I'll start: the last thing I wrote was an e-mail to my professor. Next?

A Big Thanks

2007-02-08T16:10:00.000-05:00

The support I've received from my blogging and writing friends has been nothing short of amazing. You all are wonderful and thank you for sharing my joy over finding an agent who fits me and my vision. I truly, deeply appreciate the congratulations and I'm much happier now to have shared my news with everyone!

I'm going to be spending a lot of time writing over the next several weeks but I will still be updating my blog frequently.

Taking a note from Diana Peterfreund's blog, do any of you have good news to share since that seems to be a theme this week?

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

2007-02-07T10:03:00.000-05:00

So, here's the deal.

I have been biting my tongue for a couple of weeks now because I've been bursting to tell everyone who reads my blog some big news. As many of you know, I started looking for an agent in January for my YA manuscript. Well, after 3 query letters, I'm beyond pleased to report that I have signed with a brilliant, lovely NYC agent!! At this time, I cannot release the agency's name or the name of my agent, but I assure you that it's an amazing place and I can't wait to reveal the name at a later date.

I'm going to be working harder than ever and will keep everyone updated on my manuscript's progress. It has been SO hard not to share this with my blogging and writing friends, but I finally felt ready to do so.

The moral of the story- if you want something, you CAN make it happen!

an author in mourning

2007-02-06T16:23:00.000-05:00

How very sad...Rowling mourns, celebrates Potter's end

July 21, however, cannot come fast enough for me in a bittersweet way!

Picture Dilemma

2007-02-05T09:41:00.000-05:00

A while ago, I read in a writing book that writers who put his/her picture on his/her Website greatly increased traffic, business and developed a more personal relationship with the writer. So, I went with it and after debating about putting my face on my Website, I did so. A couple of days ago, I read an article online that said writers should be wary about putting a photo online. So, what to do? I struck a compromise and played with a photo until it was clear but not as easy to pick me out of a crowd. Once again, I've noticed that there is an abundance of conflicting advice given to writers about promotion and self-marketing.

Anyone else have thoughts about the safety of putting a clear photo on a personal Website or blog?

A Productive Pen

2007-02-04T08:47:00.000-05:00

I Googled myself and just found a nice blog entry about me. How weird is that? Check it out here and enjoy the blog, "A Productive Pen." :)

Score!

2007-02-01T16:11:00.000-05:00

This is my second post for today since I couldn't wait until tomorrow...I just learned that a quiz I submitted on spec was purchased by Guideposts Sweet 16! I've been trying to crack this market for over a year and it is my best credit to date. :) Woo hoo! When I find out the publication date, I'll let you know.

New article online

2007-02-01T06:45:00.000-05:00

Good morning!

I'm off to class but here's the link for my article in Kid Magazine Writers! Hope you enjoy it!

Kid Mag Writers

2007-01-31T09:58:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow, Kid Magazine Writers is running a piece I wrote to encourage young writers to keep writing and never be discouraged. I'll post the link when the piece appears and hope that the tween and teens who have e-mailed me with questions will get something positive out of my article.

I'm off to make phone calls for quotes to finish my alcohol factual. Have a good day everyone!

Workshops to Reprints

2007-01-30T18:59:00.000-05:00

Today was my workshop for the article and essay class I'm taking. I'm pleased to say that it went better than expected. The workshop started off with about 15 minutes of criticism and suggestions for change, which can be hard to sit through without being allowed to speak. I took pages of notes and breathed a sigh of relief when that part was over. The workshop then opened for questions and any needed clarification was given. I think the class liked that I took a risk with my subject topic and it was something different. I won't be workshopping again for eight weeks or so. Whew!

Also, I received the new issue of Positive Teens with a reprint of one of my articles previously written for PT, about my ordeal with scoliosis and spinal surgery. That was my first reprint, so I was proud. :) I do a lot of counseling with young girls who are going through spinal surgeries, so it meant a lot to me that PT chose my scoliosis article to reprint.

Birthdays on Jan 29

2007-01-28T10:26:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is the big 2-0. :) I found an amusing list of famous birthdays falling on the 29th. I like that I share a b-day with Lady O. Any bloggers with a 1/29 birthday?

January 29

1737
Thomas Paine, Revolutionary War leader and author (Thetford, England; died 1809)
1843
William McKinley, 25th president of the United States (Niles, OH; died 1901)
1860
Anton Chekhov, playwright and short-story writer (Tapanrog, Ukraine; died 1904)
1880
W. C. Fields, comedian/actor (Philadelphia, PA; died 1946)
1916
Victor Mature, actor (Louisville, KY; died 1999)
1918
John Forsythe, actor (Penns Grove, NJ)
1923
Paddy Chayefsky, playwright/screenwriter (New York, NY; died 1981)
1939
Germaine Greer, feminist writer (Melbourne, Australia)
1945
Tom Selleck, actor (Detroit, MI)
1950
Ann Jillian, actress (Cambridge, MA)
1954
Oprah Winfrey, TV personality (Kosciusko, MS)
1960
Greg Louganis, Olympic champion diver (San Diego, CA)
1968
Edward Burns, actor/director (New York, NY)
1970
Heather Graham, actress (Milwaukee, WI)
1975
Sara Gilbert, actress (Santa Monica, CA)

Thanks!

2007-01-27T13:45:00.000-05:00

I'm giving a big thanks to Steph for her help with my alcohol article. She found a great link for a video about the dangers of binge drinking and it tremendously helped me. :) Thanks, Steph!

My Listen article is almost complete and I just finished another revision with Sweet 16. I'm crossing my fingers that two revisions for a quiz are a good sign and that I'll finally break into that magazine!

Scary stats

2007-01-26T12:21:00.000-05:00

Like most people, I love Fridays! I don't go back to school until Tuesday and I'm free to write, read and study. I've been researching my alcohol factual for Listen and the facts I've read are sobering and scary. The media says underage drinking is down, but wow, if it's down now it must have REALLY been out of control before.

I've got to do follow ups on my queries (a few I sent over the summer and still don't have a response) and do a bit of editing for a client. Some days, the writing business seems all paperwork! I'll post my current stats for 2007's queries tomorrow.

There will be no blogging on Monday- it's my birthday and I'm taking the day off! :)

Shout out for responses for Listen Magazine article

2007-01-24T13:03:00.000-05:00

Hi guys,

I've been contacted by Listen Magazine to write a factual on alcohol. I'm in need of 1-2 stories from teens and young adults (13-21 years old) who have experiences with alcohol that would help convince other teens not to drink. If you're interested in being quoted for my article (we can change your name, if need be) hit me with an e-mail. I need all quotes by Feb. 8. Thanks so much! :)

Romance Writers Report

2007-01-23T17:35:00.000-05:00

I heard on a query I sent to Romance Writers Report last week. My first query was rejected because the magazine recently did the pitch I suggested and I was invited to query again. I did and my idea was accepted! I should have my first romance/trade credit appearing next fall in RWR. I'm excited! The piece isn't due until July 5 so I'll have plenty of time to thoroughly research it and make sure it's exactly what RWR wants.

My article and essay class workshopped our first two pieces today. Both were vastly different- one was about race and how it feels to receive a minority scholarship and the other was about a night at a club. My piece isn't about either of those things and I deliever it into students' hands on Thursday. Today's workshoppers were reamed (some with harsh comments) but they seemed to take it well and were determined to revise their pieces.

Cross your fingers for me! ;)

One Week...

2007-01-22T12:39:00.000-05:00

In exactly 7 days, I'll no longer been a teen! :) Yep, the 20th birthday is fast approaching. On that day, I'll be in my article and essay writing class workshopping my first piece of the course. It came out to 7 pages and I feel confident about workshopping it with twenty-four other people. There's always a fear about workshopping as I'm the third in the class to go but I'm ready. I've done fiction workshopping before but this is the first nonfiction class I've workshopped. I'm looking forward to it and we'll see how it goes. :)

Anyone done any college workshopping before?

New! Clips available online

2007-01-20T15:59:00.000-05:00

Through the lovely Picasa, I uploaded 3 clips of my writing for your reading pleasure. :)

You can find them through this link or through my Website. Check them out and see what you think.

Happy weekend!

Listen publication

2007-01-19T16:08:00.000-05:00

If you see a copy of Listen Magazine, check out my "Are You Sabotaging Your Studying?" quiz. :) Next month's Listen will contain a factual piece with an interview I did with a former meth addict. That was a completely different piece for me to write but I'm glad I did.

I also heard from The Writer's managing editor that they're printing a letter to the editor that I wrote. No, it's not a "publication" in The Writer but I'm trying to get there! :)

Also, here's a great piece to check out by Anna Quindlen: Write for Your Life.

The Waiting Game

2007-01-18T12:55:00.000-05:00

Right now, I'm engaged in the waiting game. I decided to only submit my work to two agents whom I carefully, precisely hand-picked because both matched exactly what I'm looking for in an agent. Luckily, both requested fulls and I'm now into the second week of waiting. I've become a serial e-mail checker. I leave the computer on for too many hours when I'm rooms away and wait to hear my adorable Incredimail notifier meow, bark, sing, chirp or moo that I have an e-mail. So far, I've been innundated with requests from a Nigerian bank to send money to my long-lost cousin, notes from other young writers, questions from clients and e-mails from my university. Those are all wonderful but I'm waiting for the agent responses. If they reject my work, I'll then be back to rifling through Jeff Herman's agent guide. If they like my work, you'll hear my partying from whatever state you inhabit. :) Anyone else waiting on agent queries or fulls?

New Features

2007-01-17T17:21:00.000-05:00

Wow, I've recently gotten a large response from young writers who are sending e-mails and are asking great questions about writing. Please keep 'em coming if you've got questions for me or about writing. If you like, check out my new FAQs page and see if your question is answered there. Also, I added a new feature to my blog that allows readers to subscribe to receive an e-mail whenever I update this blog. Subscribe away! :)

Writing for Dollars article link & Script Frenzy

2007-01-16T14:46:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,

Check out my new article at http://www.writingfordollars.com/2007/vol11num2.html

More blogging to come! Homework is calling!

Update:

Anyone heard about Script Frenzy? I just learned about it today from Chris Baty's e-mail updates and am DEFINITELY on board for June's contest. It's like NaNoWriMo but instead participants write a screenplay in a month. So, that's the time I'll write a draft of the General Hospital script I've been talking about writing for months. I'm so excited! I'll be out of school and will be able to devote the month to getting a script on paper. So, if you're game, check out Script Frenzy's site (still under construction) and sign up for the updates.

National De-Lurking Week

2007-01-14T15:15:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is the final day of "National De-Lurking Week." I didn't hear of it until now. So, if you're a lurker and you haven't introduced yourself, please do so. I'd love to hear from you! :)

Happy weekend!

top 7%- yay!

2007-01-13T12:42:00.000-05:00

Woo hoo! Just found out that I'm currently in the top 7% of the College of Arts and Sciences out of over 9100 students. That's nice! I'm trying to get that up to 5% when I graduate. I got a couple of B's over the summer and they destroyed my 4.0. Arg.

I just finished editing a poem for a client and she was pleased with my work. She's sending a second poem and editing poetry has sparked a renewed interest in poetry for me. I wrote many poems years ago and stopped when I took up magazine writing. I may try my hand at it again.

I'm trying to finish reading Emma and start Oroonoko. I have a couple of new YA writer Websites that I've been checking on and the more I read, the more my interest in this varied field grows. There is an incredible amount of room to be creative with YA fiction and by reading a handful of YA books in the past few weeks, I've gained more ideas for my next manuscript. :)

Happy weekend!

U.S. contest seeks to be "American Idol' of books By Christine Kearney

2007-01-12T14:34:00.000-05:00

Found this on Yahoo! and thought this might be of interest! :)

U.S. contest seeks to be "American Idol' of books
By Christine KearneyThu Jan 11, 6:32 PM ET

A major U.S. book publisher is hoping its new Web-based writing contest can tap into the popularity of interactive competitions like hit television show "American Idol."
As part of the "First Chapters" contest, aspiring first-time authors and members of www.gather.com can post manuscripts on that social-networking Web site, organizers from publisher Touchstone Fireside and gather.com said on Thursday.
Touchstone Fireside is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Inc., a division of Viacom.
If online readers like the manuscript's first chapter, the author is voted through to the next round. Two more chapters are posted and the public narrows the field in the same fashion.
After three rounds of judging, a winning manuscript will be picked from among five finalists in May. The winner will be chosen by representatives from Simon & Schuster, Borders bookstores and gather.com, Touchstone Fireside Vice President Mark Gompertz said.
The winner will receive $5,000, a book contract with Touchstone Fireside and distribution by Borders.
In an industry struggling to sell fiction books, this is the latest effort to find a top-selling author. It follows other competitions including The Sobol Award, a literary competition launched in September that folded this week.
"We keep laughing about it, but this is the 'American Idol' of book publishing," Gompertz said. "We hope that we will find a talented writer who might not in the traditional way get themselves noticed."
Would-be authors without an agent have traditionally submitted manuscripts to a publishing house hoping to be picked out of a "slush pile," Gompertz said.
"This is an experiment on a sort of needle-in-the-haystack approach," said Gompertz, noting the voting public could outdo publishers who have picked "a lot of great stuff and a lot of dreck."

Writing homework

2007-01-11T17:06:00.000-05:00

Today's writing homework from my article and essay class was interesting: pick two of your personal habits and write two short stories, eavesdrop and record three conversations and write about a present day phobia. I signed up for a workshop date and am due to present my essay for the class' critique on Jan. 30. The desks will be arranged in a circle, students will tell me why my piece is awful and in need of revision and I will not be allowed to speak but only allowed to write notes and try not to sob. Yes, workships are tough-love. Some students can be intentionally cruel but most really try to help you improve your writing. I have a cool, liberal instuctor and am enjoying the class so far.

I've got to get halfway through Emma and read Oroonoko. I read it over the summer and it was not my favorite book, by far.

I also have a poetry critique due to a client by Saturday so I better get to it.

School Daze

2007-01-10T11:12:00.000-05:00

I finally got my classes swapped and ended up with two great literature classes "19th Century British Novel" and "Senior Seminar in Literature: Anglo and Caribbean Literature." I've read very little Caribbean lit so this will be a new genre for me.

For my article and essay workshop, we read In Translation by Julianna Baggott. Baggott is a professor at my school and is someone who also "does" along with teaching. She has several books in publication as well as numerous articles. I had read profiles of her but had not read her work until last night. I'm hooked! She has a distinct clarity, strength and original voice that I want to study more of her writing. I wish now that I had applied to take a writing workshop with her. Her writing is amazing.

I won't be doing any of my own writing on Wednesdays since I go to class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Wednesdays are now homework days. Thursdays will now be like Fridays and I'll have Friday-Monday to write.

Back to Emma!

Sale!

2007-01-09T17:34:00.000-05:00

Today's classes were a interesting. I'm doing some swapping with my schedule and am trying to move around a few of my English classes. My first class wasn't as engaging as I'd hoped (the reading material was dreadful) and I'm hoping a new class opens. This is the first time I've switched classes. Normally, I stick with whatever I first register for but it's my last semester and I'm trying to get the classes I want.

Last night, I sold an article on spec to Writing for Dollars. It's my first "trade" publication and I was thrilled. The article is 500 words on "5 Ways to Increase Your Website Traffic." I also got an e-mail from Brio and the editor asked to see a quiz I pitched on spec. I've got to get that off soon. It killed me today to be in class for 4 hours and not have my computer. I got used to working on it 24/7 over break.

I'm up to my ears in textbooks and I need to get back to work. :) The joys of university life!

January Week 2 Stats

2007-01-08T11:12:00.000-05:00

Each Monday, I want to try to blog about my current "stats." I saw this on another blog and it seems to be a good way to track current progress. It feels like an incentive to keep queries flowing since one is presenting his/her stats to fellow blog readers.

Here we go:

Current queries to magazines: 23
Current contest entries: 1
Current agent queries: 3
Current articles submitted on spec: 2
January's current rejection total: 0
January's current "yes" total: (By yes, I mean agreement to publish a magazine article) 0

I'll post stats again next Monday and we'll see if anything changed. I'm off to class for "Cultural Imperialism."

Manuscript Progress

2007-01-07T17:10:00.000-05:00

On Friday, I received a request from an agent for my full manuscript of Freshman 15. Luckily, the agent requested it via e-mail and I was able to send it off within hours of receiving the request. I had to sign a release form and that will be on it's way to NYC tomorrow. It was incredibly exciting to have another request for a full. Hopefully, I'm not the only one who thinks my manuscript is good. :) In the short time that I've been querying agents, I've learned a good deal of info. I've spent days researching agencies, what's "hot" in publishing, why not to follow what's hot in publishing, scary stats of how many authors publish his/her first book and bios of editors and agents. Before I query any agent, I try to get all of the necessary stats (college attended, hobbies, clients) and always attempt to tie something of that sort into my query. Does it help? Who knows.

The Writer on blogs

2007-01-06T22:33:00.000-05:00

My February issue of The Writer arrived today and there was a wonderful article by Sharon McDonnell called "From blogs to books." The article said that dozens of new writers were being signed by agents because of the writer's "hot" blog. A newer generation of writers are being signed because agents can see the writer's style (thousands of words on the blog) and a built in fan base. Apparently, a blog turned "blook" is becoming more and more popular. The article listed several blogs turned books and I'm going to check those out. If a blog is the new, best way to showcase work, then I'm all for it. That means that each post has to be good and it's exciting to think of the people who can read one's blog.

Anyway, I browsed Books a Million today and found a few possible magazines to query. Then, I headed to campus and finished buying books for the semester. The books for my article and essay workshop class look great. One of the books is Me Talk Pretty One Day by Dave Sedaris and it's hilarious.

I sent out a query to a writing e-zine and received a prompt reply for a request for the manuscript on spec. Normally, I wouldn't do that but I had a bit of time today and wanted to break into a new magazine, so I wrote the 500-word article and sent it off. Now, the wait.

I also found a new writer's forum at Brady Magazine. It's a quiet site but full of information. I've become a lurker of writer forums and take any opportunity I can to introduce myself and invite people to visit my blog or Web site.

Speaking of the Web site, I made a new addition (gasp!) of a guest book and a comments page. Yes, I spent 3 hours coding HTML last night because I couldn't drag and drop the comments page. Not fun.

On a final note, check out February's The Writer for a great interview with Sara Gruen. I was lucky enough to interview her a couple of years ago and I've been following her blossoming career ever since.

It's back to school on Tuesday so the blog may be quiet for a few days.

Happy writing!

Boy mags

2007-01-05T16:31:00.000-05:00

Florida has been dealing with severe weather all day, so I've been limited to (gasp!) a pen and paper while my computer sat inactive for most of the afternoon. Yes, it was happy to have a break.

I have several new queries that are begging to be written and I am going to start on those immediately. Well...after watching a Gilmore Girls rerun. :)

I'm heading back to Books a Million tomorrow to loiter for way too long and read the mastheads of new magazines. I am maxed out on queries to "girl" magazines. I have queries sitting in the inboxes of every teen girl magazine possible (except for CosmoGIRL- I am not yet worthy) and I need a new outlet. So, I'm heading for boy magazines. I'm sad to say I haven't read Boys' Life or any of the other magazines geared for little guys. I'll be doing that tomorrow and I have a spectacular profile/interview subject for the 8-12 boy group.

TGIF!

What's wrong with soap operas?

2007-01-04T13:45:00.000-05:00

I was poking around Facebook and joined a group to help Alex, an actor studying at USC, to get a principal role on General Hospital. I've written a couple of commentaries (published in Teen Voices Magazine) about the bad raps that soaps often get. I've been a GH fan for about 4 years and used to be embarrassed that I watched a soap. I've done a little research into the business and the majority of soap watchers are not housewives as many think. Viewers are college educated men (yes, men!) and women. Soaps aren't full of sex and questionable morals (as many probably think they are). Soaps such as GH and All My Children have led the way in introducing viewers to hot-button issues such as HIV (Robin Scorpio, GH), lesbianism (Bianca Montgomery, AMC) and rape (Elizabeth Webber, GH). I plan to write a spec script for GH and a soap is a completely different medium than primetime. A soap is a never-ending movie with endless possibilities for creative thinking.

A slew of big actors starred on soaps. Courtney Cox-Arquette, Lindsay Lohan, John Stamos, Eva Longoria and Josh Dumal all broke into TV through soaps. The now cancelled The O.C. is a primetime soap as is Desperate Housewives.

I know that I get those looks when I say I want to write a soap. I used to care but now I smile and say "yes, that's right." I've even converted my dad to show a little interest in this new avenue for my writing career. :)

Tween Mags

2007-01-03T12:37:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm back to classes on the 9th and am trying to use the rest of my break to read (Freedom Writers), catch up on phone calls (great to talk to you, EW and KH!) and keep updating my Web site. Since I put up my editing and proofreading services, I've been incredibly pleased with the response. I'm in talks to edit a few poems, a magazine article and a few resumes. I spent some time in Books-a-Million this morning looking at the new magazines and I found several that I haven't heard of before. The tween section of BAM is really booming and several new mags are sprouting up. Magazines such as Six78 and Logan are new and hopefully ripe for queries. I sent my first query to Cat Fancy today and hope I hear back from them in a few weeks.

I looked at my blog's stats today and there have been over 300 unique viewers and 670 total views since I started the counter in late November. Someone even found my blog by searching for "Hungarian ice sculptures." :) Very interesting.

Mastheads.org

2007-01-02T10:11:00.000-05:00

Anyone ever been on http://www.mastheads.org? It seems like an interesting site that allows users (for a fee, of course) to access thousands of magazine mastheads from their site. That seems pretty cool for those who can't get that information off a magazine's Web site or from the local bookstore. I often waste way too much time searching for a query editor's name if I don't have access to the magazine.

Happy New Year

2007-01-01T18:18:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

In exactly 9 days, I put my baby (my manuscript) in the mail to agent S.S. I keep staring at the box those 165 pages rest inside and my mind churns over the plot (does it suck?), the characters (are they flat) the setting (is Virginia too boring?) and other little things like that.

December was a personal best for query total. I sent 14 queries in December and have 25 queries circulating now. I have already started working on papers for next semester and want to be sure I have enough time to write, continue my editing business and get a 4.0 my final school semester.

Plus, I found a great writing conference is offering 2 scholarships to students interested in attending the NYC 3 day conference. The applications are due in the spring and I'm writing my essay and preparing my submission. Attending a conference would be amazing!

Hope everyone had a great New Year's day. :)

Ring in 2007

2006-12-31T16:10:00.000-05:00

What a weekend! I'm doing what I hate- working with numbers and am filling out my FAFSA that I'm filing at 1am. So, I'll be throwing confetti in the air and filling out government forms at the same time. Lovely! :)

I think I'm going to get another bachelor's degree before heading to grad school. USC is my dream grad school- I love their MPW program and want to strengthen my application as much as possible. So, I'm thinking of going to UCF and majoring in creative writing, minoring in technical writing and minoring in magazine writing. I'm majoring in literature for my first BA and I desperately wanted/needed more writing classes that weren't offered at my current school.

My writing services have really taken off this week. I've had several requests for help with queries, writing articles, etc. and am going to be working with many new people over the next few weeks.

On a personal note, I had the chance to exchange e-mails with fellow teen writer Dallas Woodburn and I highly recommend that you check out her site. I think 2007 is going to be a great year for young writers. Woo hoo! :)

Follow ups

2006-12-29T18:21:00.000-05:00

In June, I submitted a quiz (on spec) to a great teen mag and have been patiently waiting for response. Finally, unable to stand it any longer, I sent a follow up today and promptly received a reply back that my quiz was supposed to be sent to the appropriate editor but that it may have been lost. I immediately resent it and am mad at myself because I should have sent a follow up earlier. My Power Tracker has been beeping at me for months that a "FOLLOW UP IS DUE" and I ignored it, thinking that the editor would surely get back to me soon. So, in short, I wasted 7 months of potential querying to a great magazine. Sigh. Yes, all follow ups that were due for other magazines were sent today.

2 new queries

2006-12-28T17:52:00.000-05:00

Today was quite productive. I managed to write 2 queries for 2 new magazines (I've never queried them previously, but they are well-established). One magazine only accepts queries from Jan-May so I'll be e-mailing that one soon. With each query I write, I think they get stronger. When I first started, I made SO many mistakes with queries that I cringe when I see them now. I have a thick file of rejection letters that I received when I first started freelancing at 15. Boy, the editors were nice and didn't slam me for writing an awful letter.

I'm looking forward to putting 2006 behind me and let's get on with 2007! :)

Romance Galleria by 3D Expo

2006-12-27T14:53:00.000-05:00

Anyone else see the ad in a past issue of Romance Writers Report that points readers to the Romance Galleria download from 3D Expo? I downloaded it a few weeks ago and was incredibly impressed. Soon, the Galleria will host VIRTUAL romance writer's contests and pitch sessions. It resembles "The Sims" game and you move around a male or female character and visit different booths of the expo. I highly recommend that you check it out. I can't find the link for it at the moment, but if I do- I'll add it.

I finally finished proofing my manuscript and it now rests in a box to be mailed to NYC on 1/12. It's scary to put your manuscript in a box and hope that it reaches the right person. I have visions of the box tearing open and my pages scattering through a mail truck. Let's hope not!

Website update

2006-12-24T22:35:00.000-05:00

I spent some time this evening (Christmas Eve, I know!) updating my Website and if anyone has feedback on how to improve it, please let me know. I consider it my trial Website until I purchase my own domain name. Hit me with your comments, suggestions and spots you find utterly pathetic. :)

Happy Holidays!

2006-12-24T10:25:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays to all! I can't believe it's December 24 already! I'm still eating Halloween candy. :) Florida is going to have a soggy Christmas with 1-2 inches of rain and temps in the low 70s. Not Christmas weather but I shouldn't complain after seeing the blizzard conditions in Denver.

I'll be spending today with my family. We're going to watch a few movies (The Da Vinci Code, Lassie, Miracle on 34th Street) and just relax.

My manuscript is actually looking good. I'm proud of how well it has shaped up. I finally got all of the pages set to the correct standards, finished the final proofreading and am now checking that the chapter numbers are in correct order. For some reason, half way through the book I skipped from chapter 17 to chapter 35. What's that about??

Again, Happy Holidays and be safe!

still proofing

2006-12-21T17:24:00.000-05:00

I'm almost finished proof reading (for the tenth time!) my manuscript and hope to have it in the mail to NYC next week. Whew! That will be a relief to get that out. I sent a new magazine query yesterday and have been patiently (not!) waiting for a response from Guideposts Sweet 16. I revised my quiz, per their request, and hope it's a sale. I'm starting to think of New Year's resolutions and wondered if anyone else has defined goals for next year.

Prepping a submission package

2006-12-20T13:21:00.000-05:00

I've been spending all of my time readying my requested submission package to an agent. So far, I have: the resume, coverletter, publishing credits and 3 writing samples. (Why request writing samples when you're getting my complete manuscript?? Interesting.) My manuscript is almost ready to go into the box. Talk about scary! One query I sent to an agent was rejected within a couple of hours and on the same day I had a request for a full. I've only queried 2 agents and I plan to submit this package exclusively to the agent who requested the full.

I'm trying to finish up the submission and get it in the mail so I can have a bit of a break before school starts again. I found a couple of new magazines I want to query and have been listening to way too much holiday music. I think I hear "Jingle Bells" in my sleep.

Happy Holidays to all!

Top 5 Holiday Movies

2006-12-17T11:19:00.000-05:00

The Burkhart Family Christmas Tree! :)

I'm furiously proofing my M.S. and am baking holiday cookies. Taking a cue from Diana Peterfreund's blog, I'm going to use today's post to list my top 5 holiday movies.

5. The Santa Clause

4. Home Alone

3. Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman (tie for third)

2. A Charlie Brown Christmas

1. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas (animated)

So, yes, I'm a sucker for good animation or a silly holiday movie. Cookies are burning!

Good Things!

2006-12-16T16:45:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a great day to be a writer. First, I e-queried a N.Y.C. agent and she emailed me back and said she'd be "pleased" to read my entire manuscript after Jan. 15. Shock, surprise and excitement! Yes, I realize she'll most likely turn it down but to have her request a full M.S. seems like a good thing. At least I got past a query. So, I'm re-reading my M.S., touching up my resume and am preparing the package that she requested.

And then..

I got an email from Guideposts Sweet 16 and the editor asks me to revise 2 questions on the spec quiz I sent in Sept. It appears that they will probably publish it next year! Elation!

The blog may be neglected until Jan. since I must focus my attention on my M.S. and get that thing to New York. Cross your fingers!

Snow Envy

2006-12-15T10:23:00.000-05:00

Yes, I have snow envy. The holiday season is in full swing and it's 76 degrees here today!! Not cool since I'm jogging around the neighborhood looking at lovely Christmas decorations as I pant from the heat.

Last night, I took a chance and posted my query letter to the Writer's Digest "query critique" forum. Within a few hours, I had two very helpful responses and I realized my query was all wrong. Format- great. Bio-great. Intro-you get the trend, great. But, the paragraph about the book morphed into an ugly 3-paragraph synopsis. Needless to say, I'll be revising that query this weekend.

I've been on break for only a couple of days and I'm ready to go back to school. Sad, I know. I'm already working on a paper and am buying the hundreds of dollars worth of textbooks that a I need. Luckily, most are paperbacks for my lit. classes and I'm happy to add those to my bookshelf.

TGIF!

Book Doctors: Yay or Nay?

2006-12-13T19:34:00.000-05:00

(I'm blogging twice today since I'm taking tomorrow off!) :)

Ok, so I'm editing my W.I.P and trying to decide if a "book doctor" is necessary. Do I get a critique of my M.S. and/or line-editing? Is that really necessary before querying agents or can I just do the best I can and go with it? Has anyone used a book doctor or editing service before? If so, were you pleased with the results?

on break!

2006-12-13T10:30:00.000-05:00

I'm officially on break! Not seeing another textbook until Jan. 9 sounds pretty amazing right now. Though, I always say I'll take a break over the actual holiday break but I end up reading texts for next semester and getting a head start on any major assignments. Yep, I like to be prepared.

I finally got back to my W.I.P. today. I'm hovering around page 36 and am making the sweep through only for grammar and punctuation. Next, I'll go through it again and check facts, style and content. Editing and re-drafting is not nearly as much fun as writing, that's for sure!

Lastly, this is the final week of Harper and I'll post the round six results later.

end of the year totals

2006-12-11T20:18:00.000-05:00

I'm enjoying my time off before school starts again in January. Five classes always keep me busy and I'm glad for a break before that starts all over again. Soon, I'll be in the process of tallying up my earnings, query totals, publications in new magazines and rejections for 2006. I'm working on compiling a set of goals for 2007 and will post those shortly before the new year. Currently, I have 20 queries out circulating and that's my highest total for queries out at once.

Seventeen Mag

2006-12-09T16:59:00.000-05:00

I was on Seventeen's Web site today and came across their annual fiction contest. I forgot all about it!! I'm tossing around ideas for a submission and will get that in the mail by the deadline of 12/31. I'm reading all of the past winners and runners up and I'll try to mirror their writing.

I also really want to query CosmoGIRL and can't find their guidelines. I think I'll send an email and ask for them.

I entered my final piece into Harper and we'll see what happens.

11th Place in Harper Round 5

2006-12-08T13:21:00.000-05:00

(These are Hungarian ice sculptures, by the way! How amazing!)

Oooh, what a killer! One spot off the top ten! I tipped my chair when I saw that. Now, that's frustrating! Argh! But, there is ONE chance left to win so I'm going to write my butt off.

I've been sending e-queries out like a crazy person. I have 19 magazine queries currently circulating and I'm working on #20. I figured I should plant the query seeds so they can sit in an editor's inbox over the holiday and be ready for reading when the new year rolls around. I've queried about 5-6 new magazines so it will be interesting to see what responses I get.

Back to querying! Happy writing!

Online Writing Classes

2006-12-07T11:01:00.000-05:00

I've been contemplating what to do in between the time I get into grad school and finish my B.A. at F.S.U.

I think a couple of online writing classes sound like a good idea. But, what school to pick? I pulled a list of reputable online writing schools from Writer's Digest and the list looks like this:

* UCLA Extension School (courses can sometimes be used for graduate credit)
* Gotham Writers' Workshop
* Writer's Online Workshops (presented by WD)
* Institute of Children's Literature (I took classes from them a few years ago)

Anyone taken a course from any of these schools? How about another writing school?

The classes are expensive and it's hard to know what the classes are truly like until it's too late and you're already enrolled. UCLA is holding a free cyber open house for their courses in March, so I'll definitely check into that.

Agents and Queries

2006-12-06T11:09:00.000-05:00

My novel draft is really shaping up today! I've divided 45,000 words into 35 chapters. At first, I wasn't sure how to decide where to divide the chapters and I finally decided to separate wherever it felt natural.

I dove into my 100+ issues of The Writer and Writer's Digest and marked every article I found on writing YA fiction and writing letters to agents. I used AgentQuery.com and found a great listing of agents that represent YA fiction. I wanted to start selecting agents so when my final draft is complete, I'm ready to start emailing. I wrote the query I want to send to agents and I'll just personlize it before sending it. The query was difficult to write but with the help of magazines, books and Web sites, I think my query is strong.

On another note....Harper round 5 finalists are announced today! Best of luck to the nearly 400 entrants! :)

Justine Query

2006-12-03T09:52:00.000-05:00

Argh....in early August I sent a resume, clip and query to an editor at Justine Magazine. I've waited patiently for a response and finally decided to send a follow up last night. I headed over to browse Justine's Web site and it appears that the editor I queried is no longer there. Months of waiting and I should have sent a follow up earlier!! Ack! So, I resubmitted my query and I *hope* I get a response now.

Justine's new issue did a great spread on 3 young writers including Dallas Nicole Woodburn, a 19 year old author. I read her article "Idol Advice" in a writing magazine (Writer's Digest or The Writer, I forget) and have checked to see what else she has done. It's always good to keep an eye on the competition! :) Nah, I'm even thinking about contacting her to see if I can query a few magazines regarding her profile.

Today I'll be submitting my 5th entry in the Harper contest. This is the latest I've ever submitted. Normally, I submit Friday night but last night on a whim I decided to go to the Winter Festival downtown. There was a great parade, tree lighting ceremony and all-around holiday spirit. My favorite news anchors walked right by me and I babbled about that for hours. Yes, I love my news!

9th Place

2006-12-02T12:19:00.000-05:00

Harper results are in...out of 480 submissions I placed 9th. Disappointing? Of course! Elated to be in the top 10? Oh, yes! There are still 2 more chances to try and win. A great entry won this week and the prompt will be fun to follow.

In other related news...I found a new teen magazine Six78th to query. It's for girls in grades 6-8 and hopefully they'll respond to my query.

One more week of school left and then it's writing time! I can't wait! Happy December, everyone!

Better than Eighth?

2006-11-30T16:13:00.000-05:00

In under 24 hours, the winner of Harper round 4 will be announced. I know I'm not going to make it this round but there are still rounds 5 and 6! I'm starting to get nervous because there are only 2 chances left. In the first couple of rounds, I wrote 2-3 entries but lately, I decided it's better to concentrate on 1 entry. We'll see if that pays off or not. The last time I finaled, I came in 8th so I'm anxious to see if I do better than that! :)

One more note...Made Harper finals!

2006-11-29T15:02:00.000-05:00

Harper round 4 finalists were announced and I'm surprised and honored to find my entry "Mission: Spell Book Swipe" in the top ten. :) If you're under 21, head over to Harper and VOTE! All of the top 10 entries are equally excellent and deserving of a win.

Check it out here...HarperTeen Fanlit.

Plans for Break

2006-11-29T11:18:00.000-05:00

There is not going to be much writing this week aside from the Harper contest. Finals seem to get in the way and I'm looking forward to one month off before school starts again. My plans for break are shaping up:

Holiday Break Plans:

* Watch Pirates of the Caribbean 2 (I NEVER saw it over the summer! How embarrassing!) and the Devil Wears Prada (Oscar for Meryl Streep, perhaps?)

* E-query at least 10 editors (I've wanted to query Highlights since I started writing but never figured out the best query. Hmmm...) And, does anyone really send out paper queries anymore? I don't.

* Write an outline for a Harlequin American Romance. I've noticed that e-Harlequin offers free help on writing a Harlequin book and even offers a critique service for a fee. Has anyone used their services?

* Read at least ten books on my list that never grows any shorter

* Watch a few episodes of "Gilmore Girls" on DVD

and finally...

* Crack open my young adult novel that I wrote during NaNo and see if it's worth editing.

Semester's End

2006-11-28T12:04:00.000-05:00

I am able to see the finish line of this semester. Whew! Two more weeks of school left and then...drum roll, please...I start my final semester! I did college quite unconventionally and it worked out better than I thought. I started college at 15 and went full time. (My college advisor was shocked and actually upset that I did it. He kept giving me the "you must not have a social life because all you do is school" speech. Imagine that, someone telling you NOT to do so much school!) I took about 4 months off and then started at a 4 year school. I crammed (and I mean crammed) two years of classes into one year and saved money and time by graduating early. I've met a couple of people who are trying to do this and it seems to really be catching on with certain students. On the other hand, I ran into a girl at school last semester who was in her sixth year of college. She said she was staying for one more semester because she loved the college's football games so much. I kid you not. I can appreciate college football (sort of!) but to stay in school for football seems kind of crazy. Maybe it's me.

I got my schedule set for spring. Classes look like: Article and Essay Workshop, Senior Seminar in Lit, a humanities elective, Modern British Novel and a communication elective.

Today's project: study for finals and find a teen counselor to give me quotes for an article.

Tomorrow: Harper finalists are announced! Cross your fingers!

Summer Scam

2006-11-27T13:01:00.000-05:00

I was reading Ella's blog and her post got me thinking about an awful editor I had an experience with over the summer. I won't name any names but I definitely got burned. A few months ago, I replied to an ad for a magazine in my old town that was looking for freelance writers. I got an immediate response by email. The editor said he would like to meet me in person or do a phone interview to discuss my writing. I phoned him and he said he was impressed with my writing samples. He said the magazine was in dire need of writers and that he had 5 pieces he needed done immediately. I said I would do 3 just to be sure he liked my work. I said I would do them for free (to prove my writing was decent) and then he would pay me for future assignments. He sent me phone numbers and email addresses for the people he wanted me to interview. I spent HOURS upon hours on the phone and computer writing and interviewing for the articles. I submitted them early and he said he was thrilled. He asked if I would help copy-edit the magazine in addition to writing articles. I said yes and he said he would send me another assignment. Two weeks went by and I got worried. I sent an email- no response from the once quick to respond editor. A few more weeks passed and nothing. He never sent copies of the magazine (as he promised) and never returned my calls or emails. He got 3 articles written for nothing and now he's MIA. Yep, writing can be brutal and unfair. Sigh...

Winner!

2006-11-26T10:15:00.000-05:00

So, I got up early and typed like a fiend. I trotted over to the NaNo "official" word counter and pressed "submit." Oh, yay for 50,000 words!! Woo hoo! Last year's NaNo total was a very pathetic 8,000. I got the hang of it this year and managed to get that insane 50k. My wrists hurt, fingers are cramped and I'm sick of staring at my computer screen. I'm off to watch a movie and relax. The next project for my NaNo draft, you ask? March 2007's National Editing Month or "NaNoEdMo." 50 hours of editing on the NaNo novel. Bring it on!

Interest to Romance Writers

2006-11-25T12:12:00.000-05:00

Found two interesting things in the romance field yesterday. One is the Great American Romance Contest. Anyone participate or plan to participate? I don't have a finished romance novel and I think the book has to be completed but I'm not sure.

The second item of interest is that the Romance Writers Report is looking for new writers. How cool is that?! I sent the editor a query and asked if she'd consider me for a spot. That would be quite different and it would be fun to write something else.

Still chewing my nails off waiting for a response from Sweet 16. Yes or no, I just want to know! :)

My family put up our Christmas tree today so the holiday season has officially begun. I'm *so* ready!

Black Friday and Harper Results

2006-11-24T13:52:00.000-05:00

The HarperTeen FanLit results for round 3 are posted. A VERY big congratulations to Mary for winning! You go girl! I'm so excited for her and she definitely deserved to win. Round 4 starts today at 3 and I'm ready to write and see what happens.

So, my chapter landed in 16th place out of 596 submissions. Not too shabby, I guess. :)

I'll be busy today trying to get my NaNo word count up. I'm at 42,000 and counting.

Happy Black Friday!

Happy Turkey Day!

2006-11-23T17:28:00.000-05:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

NaNoWriMo Day 22 and Harper Finalists Announced!

2006-11-22T16:25:00.000-05:00

Got that comic from NaNoWriMo's daily comic spot. It TOTALLY applies to my daily life when I'm trying to work and my cat will not leave me alone. You try typing 60 wpm with a 9 pound feline on your hands. Not easy, folks!

So, Harper's round 3 finalists were announced. I was disappointed not to make the finals but am proud of the top 10. There is stiff competition this week, more so than any other week. I have rounds 4-6 to keep trying, so we'll see what happens.

I started conducting interviews for my Florida Trend's NEXT Magazine article and haven't had luck reaching anyone yet. I think the holidays have drawn people out of their offices. No big deal, I'll try again next week.

I finished reading a YA book Frozen Rodeo (funny!) and Confessions of a Teen Nanny 2, which was also YA. I've never read YA fiction until the past few months. I think I went from kid-lit to adult-lit and I'm enjoying the YA genre, since that's what my novel is focused on. This week's read Secret Society Girl. I can't wait to crack that one open. It has been taunting me to read it all day but I had to get my NaNo word count up. It's now hovering at 40,781. Yay!!

NaNoWriMo Day 21

2006-11-21T21:54:00.000-05:00

And so, the 21st day of NaNoWriMo comes to a close. How sad and yet exciting at the same time! My word count is lower than what I'd like but 38,000 words is getting closer and closer to that 50k marker. I hope to get a few hundred more words in tonight. The next project, you ask? Writing a Harlequin romance. Fun!

The top ten finalists for round 3 of the Harper contest are announced tomorrow at noon. I'm very, very nervous and hope that I final again! There are some great entries again and there were almost 600 entries this round.

I sent a query to Winner magazine today. I've had great luck with their sister publication, Listen, and will have 3 pieces appearing early next year. I'm hoping Winner will be just as open to my style but I'm not sure since the age group is 4-6 graders and I've never written for that age group before. We'll see.

I have 13 queries circulating now and I hope I get a few responses before the holidays start to draw editors out of their offices.

NaNoWriMo Day 20

2006-11-20T11:56:00.000-05:00

Wow, only 10 days left until the end of National Novel Writing Month! At times it was painful, depressing and scary but most of all- it was EXCITING! Rarely do we get up the drive to force ourselves to write 50,000 words of fiction in 30 days. Yes, 30 days people. It's an insane contest but sooo worth it! Instead of reading books about writing, scouring the writer's market and reading other writer blogs, I wrote. Plain and simple.

Today's stats shape up like this:

Word Count: 34,620
Today's caffeine intake: 2 coffees and 1 green tea
Character's goals: Make the advanced riding team, hook the boy she's lusting after and outsmart the evil girl who is making her life miserable

New Writing Gig

2006-11-18T10:12:00.000-05:00

November is getting to be a crazy month for writing. I got an email yesterday from Florida Trend's NEXT Magazine. They asked me to join their freelance staff and I was assigned an article on conflict resolution for teens. I have to find 2 highschoolers to interview. Still looking...if anyone is interested!

I submitted my entry for the HarperTeen FanLit round three. I can't wait to see how this submission does.

NaNoWriMo stats are coming later. My poor novel has been shoved to the back burner as I try to keep up with Harper and a few other writing engagements.

Happy Weekend, Everyone!

Harper Teen Round Two Ends

2006-11-17T13:15:00.000-05:00

A big congratulations to "filbertmm" who won round two of the Harper contest! I sincerely thank all of the voters who put me in the final ten and I appreciate your votes! :)

I feel very honored to have been given one of the "Player's Picks" by "EllaEnchanted" and an "Author's Pick." The well-known author Jodi Lynn Anderson endorsed my piece and I am so grateful, thank you!

Also, the wonderful author Rachel Vail gave my piece these comments:

"The dialogue is terrific -- it sounds real and moves the action along. I wanted more! How does she answer Max when he asks her out? What does Dave say to her after?"

I start creating the round 3 entry later today. I'll cross my fingers and hope to do well again.

NaNo stats are coming later....and...here are some of my favorite comments on my round two entry from other teen participants:

Plot: Excellent - the last lines were really gripping, however, the rest of the story didn't really feel as tense or ominous as it should have been (3.5/5) Style: Awesome (4.5/5) Diction: Quite good (3.5/5) Characters: Definitely solid (4.5/5) Overall: (4/5)

---
How did THIS get into the Top 10???

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I liked it. It was well written as far as I'm concerned and I really enjoyed reading it. You deserved the author pick that you got. Congrats!

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It's ok... sort of makes Dave sound like a naive pervert though... I don't think he's supposed to be like that.

NaNoWriMo Day 16

2006-11-16T17:55:00.000-05:00

The NaNo stats look like this:

Word count: 31,626
Plot holes: 0! Yay!

I'm a few days ahead of schedule which is great since I have lots of other projects for the weekend.

Oh, check out my article published in Next Step Magazine here.

Comment from Harper Judge

2006-11-16T08:25:00.000-05:00

Harper Teen draws to a close for round two in 25 hours! I just received this great comment from Namoi Rothwell, one of the judges from HarperCollins, who has assisted on projects by Meg Cabot.

She wrote: "You create a very funny moment when Jane grabs Dave and drags him into the girls' bathroom. I think that's one of the best situational comedy moments I've read here. Dave was a little prickly in this one, which actually made him more complicated (and more like a best friend). Nicely done!"

NaNoWriMo stats coming later today....

Edit: (10:33am)

Just received this wonderful comment from author of Peaches Jodi Lynn Anderson.

"I loved this chapter because it gave me such a strong sense of the characters. I love that Dave can't help staring at the tampon machine, and the comment about the boobs landing on the floor. I also like where we leave off -- you've given us a sense that something big is going on but you've left a lot of room for whatever that *is* to unfold. Great job!"

Ooh! Just got this response from Meg Cabot:

"Fantastic dialogue. Love the pop culture references. Would have liked it if the author had spent a bit more time on the scene with Max asking her out. We never even get to hear her response! Although we assume she said yes, I would have liked to SEE her say yes!"

Finalist in Harper Teen Round 2!

2006-11-15T15:20:00.000-05:00

Yahoo!!! Out of 668 submissions, for the Harper contest round 2, I made the top ten! I just found out about five minutes ago and I am estatic! YAY! The contest now goes into a 48 hour voting round and the winner will be announced on Friday at 3pm. Keep your fingers crossed! I'm really, really surprised and quite happy to have made the cut.

If you're 21 or under, head over to Harper and register! Check out and rate my entry "Tissue Issue Number 2."

NaNoWriMo Day 14

2006-11-14T09:41:00.000-05:00

Well, Harper voting closes in 26 hours! This time, there were only 668 submissions in the pool compared to over 2100 submissions last time. I entered 3 pieces and am keeping my fingers crossed. :)

Noting from Sweet 16 just yet. I think I'm too anxious and need to enjoy the fact that I FINALLY was asked to produce a spec MS.

I haven't started on NaNo yet today. I'm trying to get through enough school work so I can take it easy over Thanksgiving.

I officially decided to take this month off from querying and will focus on fiction for once. I've spent the past 3-4 years solely writing non-fiction and I think I was due to try something else.

I checked out numerous books from the library on editing and proofing so I'm prepared to begin editing my draft in December. I'm struggling a little with that the word count *should* be. One YA publishing company wants 45,000 words, others say up to 70,000. Hmmm...gotta do more research on the average YA book length.

NaNoWriMo Day 13

2006-11-13T12:18:00.000-05:00

NaNo Stats:

Word Count: 28,102
Character Count: 14ish (minors and majors)
At this rate I'll be finished on: November 21.

Yesterday really picked up. I typed late into the night and managed to type about 2500 words. I'm swamped with schoolwork today, so I won't get to NaNo until later. I'm finished with my entries for Harper and have to wait until Wednesday to find out it I made the finals. My chapters weren't as good as they should have been, so I'm not too hopeful for round 2. I hope to work more on my entries for round 3 and I'll need to be more creative with plot twists and such.

I'll probably be checking my email every 5 minutes today to see if I hear from an editor at Sweet 16. I'm hoping it doesn't take too long to get a yes or no!

NaNoWriMo Day 12

2006-11-12T18:29:00.000-05:00

So, Sunday is here again. Last weekend, my NaNo word count was huge but this weekend wasn't so great for NaNo. I spent most of my time furiously typing my MS for Sweet 16 and *hoping* that they decide to take it after all. The rest of the time was spent composing 3 entries for the Harper contest and trying to rally for votes. The contest is harder than I anticipated. The writing is fairly simple but keeping strangers from hitting your submission with random zeros isn't easy.

The NaNo word count looks like this:

Word Count: 26,479

I'm not off track. In fact, if I get back to typing as I was before, I should finish on or ahead of schedule.

Quick Update

2006-11-11T11:55:00.000-05:00

So, this is unrelated to NaNoWriMo for now. I'll add an update with my stats later. First, the Harper contest round two began yesterday! I submitted my first entry and am working on two more entries. It's time consuming and it's easy to be sucked in to rating, voting and submitting, but it's worth it. I never thought I'd write paranormal (ever!) and I've done that now.

Second, this is BIG. It's not a done deal but a wonderful editor at Sweet 16 asked to see a quiz on spec! I've been querying this editor for over two years and have always received nice rejection letters. This time was different. I opened the email, expecting another rejection and was beyond shocked to see a request for my quiz. I'm trying not to get my hopes up but this would be a HUGE for me to land this.

So, this weekend's writing goals:

* Up the NaNo word count
* Enter 2 entries in Harper contest
* Send quiz to Sweet 16

NaNoWriMo Day 10

2006-11-10T10:44:00.000-05:00

(That's the English building at my university. About 1500 other English majors are milling around in there either reading Conrad or writing a paper on feminist lit.)

Today's NaNoWriMo Stats:

Word count: 25,266
Sanity level: 97.6%
Character deaths: 0

Ah! I hit the coveted half-way point at last! Yay! That made reaching 50,000 words seem possible. I'm ready to spend the weekend writing and hopefully get that word count up over the weekend.

So, I've been browsing the Internet for resources to help me with my YA novel draft. I've checked out dozens of books from the library on agents, writing a query, writing a synopsis, etc. Then, around midnight last night I found a great contest. The Delacorte Press Contest for First YA Novel. The contest requires the submission of a YA manuscript with the deadline being December 31, 2006. Now- do I furiously edit for a month and submit my MS or do I take my time and edit it for a year and submit in 2007? I would try to submit this year but once a MS is submitted, it cannot be submitted the next year. Hmm. Decisons, decisions.

I'm also participating in the Harper Teen FanLit contest and round two begins today! I didn't make the cut this week but I'll be trying my best over the next few weeks of competition. Check out the contest at http://www.harperteenfanlit.com/home.htm

NaNoWriMo Day 9

2006-11-09T11:00:00.000-05:00

Word Count: 23,265
Plot Holes: 1 MAJOR hole!
Fits thrown: 1 (mine-not my character's)

Yep, I have this feline staring at me when I'm typing furiously and trying to write. I get a cold nose shoved against my hand, a paw on my keyboard and the occasional lick on my hand.

As you can tell, I'm one of those cliched writers who loves cats. No, I don't plan to be sixty, live alone and mutter to myself while living with 10 cats.

Infact, it was a wonderful book series about Siamese cats that got me interested in writing and desiring my own Siamese cat. Ever hear of the Cat Who series by Lilian Jackson Bruan? Yep, her famous felines KoKo and Yum Yum made me want to write. And I did. Dozens and dozens of awful cat stories. Oh well, everyone has to start somewhere!

Before cats, I found horses but that's another day. Wait 'till you hear about the hundreds of horse stories I complied. Oh, yeah, I'll have to share some of the plot lines. You'll laugh, that's for sure! :)

NaNoWriMo Day 8

2006-11-08T12:21:00.000-05:00

Today's word count: 20,891 (almost halfway!!)
Coffees: absolutely none
Background noise: Election coverage (go blue!)

Well, I'm not as productive today. I'm trying to write an essay for my Gender and Society in Ancient Greece class and the topic is a bit difficult to work around. But, I'm making progress. I was up half of the night biting my nails and cheering for change in the House and Senate. Looks like I may get my wish! :)

Still plowing through my novel and it's getting tougher as the days go on. I'm waiting for the book Secret Society Girl by Diana Peterfreund to arrive. I met her on a NaNo forum and I think I'm going to love her book. Can't wait to start reading that one! She has been offering me great advice and I'm dying to read her work.

I need to get back to typing and stop wasting time. I should be doing follow ups on a few magazine queries. I sent one follow up to an editor and haven't heard anything for 2 months. Do you follow up on a follow up?!

Ooh...I just heard an interview with Sara Gruen (I mentioned her in a previous post) on WriMoRadio. Chris Baty, NaNo's founder, mentioned that Sara struck a two book deal that is rumored to be worth....$5 million. I couldn't believe it! When I interviewed Sara over a year ago, she was still somewhat new in the book business and I don't think she was making anything near $5 million for a two book deal. That is such exciting news and I'm so proud to have spoken to her. There is hope for the rest of us!

NaNoWriMo Day 7

2006-11-07T11:13:00.000-05:00

A week into NaNo and I'm still going strong!

Word Count: 17,234
Sanity: 98.5%
Diet Sodas: 2
Current writing location: Living room floor with cat on lap

The plot is moving along at a nice clip. I tried the BIC method "book on an index card" and plotted heavily last night. That helps tremendously! After a week, I was starting to get a bit lost in my plot as to where I was in the month. I really like the book Novelist's Boot Camp and started to use that to help my draft. I struggle with turning off that inner editor!

I've learned a LOT from NaNo forums in the past day or so. People searching for agents aren't limiting themselves to following the "rules" that writing books tell them. I've learned of some unconventional ways to query an agent and I think I'm going to try them.

So, today's goal, you ask? At least 2000 words, hopefully I'll hit 3000.

I'm also working on a holiday short story for a newspaper contest and the deadline is November 15, so I better get going. :)

Reading this week: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I loved her two previous books and had to give this one a shot. I was lucky to interview her last year and highly recommend her novels.

NaNoWriMo Day 5

2006-11-05T17:22:00.000-05:00

So, NaNoWriMo day 5 is coming to a close. The progress:

Word Count: 13,102
Coffee: 0
Miles walked: 1.5
Treats given to cat: 3

Once again, I've been incredibly happy with the people I've met on NaNo forums, particurarly the YA writing forum. Learning about the agent search from others who are going through the process or have had success is INCREDIBLY helpful.

I've been moving through my first draft at a good clip and I fully anticipate to make 50,000 words. I'm studying agent listings and trying to get a feel for what agents are looking for and see if I can incorporate any of that into my draft.

Okay, well, still typing and trying to watch ice skating. Happy Sunday!

NaNoWriMo Day 4

2006-11-04T11:14:00.000-05:00

On this fourth day of competition:

Word count: 8611
Plot holes: 1
Author meltdowns: 0
Property damage estimate: $0
Genre: Still YA fiction
Kisses character has received: 1

It's moving along quite well! Phew! Stay tuned for a status update later in the day...

On another note, sold a book review to a small e-zine. My first experience with e-zines so I'm excited. :)

Waiting to hear back on a query I sent about a celebrity interview that I'll be conducting soon. Crossing fingers!

NaNoWriMo Day 3

2006-11-03T12:28:00.000-05:00

Words: 6061 by noon today
Sanity level: 95%
Coffee intake: 2
Swear words used: 5

Those are the stats! Lookin' good so far. I've met more people of interest this year in NaNo and the Harper Teen FanLit contest than I met last year. I was surprised to find successful authors on NaNo willing to help someone like me with the agent and publishing process. I figured authors with books on actual store shelves wouldn't give time to the little people but I was wrong! Kudos to those who have offered me encouragement....it goes a long way. :)

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