Where I stand in the World of Georgia

As of late, I joined twitter (my handle is AEWrites, btw). I started doing the tweeting/following/followed thing. It was something that I fought for a while. I have a tendency to fight trends... it took me quite a while to make the switch from Myspace to Facebook, and from Notes to Bloggerdom. But, alas, I've done it. I've been tweeting away merrily and getting to know some very passionate people. (I must admit that I feel a bit like a stalker.)

 Today, I'll share my experiences with one lady in particular: Georgia.

First and foremost, she's a writer. Secondly, she's the one who started the whole #YAlitchat. She also offers editing services. And of course, as writers, we've been warned to take heed of these people, but at her reasonable "fire-starter" package price, I figured it couldn't hurt.  So I dove in, crossed my fingers, and threw caution to the wind.
Here's what I've got to say about what she said. . .

Pain. Suffering. Disappointment. But not in her... but in me. Don't worry, my ego had a quick recovery (:
Georgia cut me to the quick, well, she cut my work to the quick. She said things my test-readers either would not have known to mention or were too nice to say. Yes, it surely stung when she said things like "you lost me here" and "I'm confused about...". This is true.

 But, let's be honest here, while I'd like to throw a pity party for myself and wallow in what Libba Bray calls the "Perpetual Night of the I Suck Abyss"... I won't. I can't.

Q: How would any of that actually help my book be published?

A: It won't!

Instead, it's better that I let someone like Georgia McBride cut it down. And my storyline will flow a lot better. She asked me questions that set me on track and will keep me heading in the right direction. And believe you me, I was convinced that my intro was fairly solid... but she set me straight.

When I wrote her a thank-you for her work, telling her that I was disappointed, but that her work was invaluable, she responded. It was her response that made the most sense to me: better she make these comments than get a rejection from an agent or publisher. Amen, Georgia, amen!

There's this girl...

There's this girl...

Many a great writer has used that as intro to a dialogue set. And seeing as I can't find another way to start this blog, I'm gonna have to use that line. There's this girl, well technically adult, if you go by government terms, that I got to meet today. She did this local short movie called The Saving.

She organized, raised funds, planned, wrote, directed (oh, you get the idea) the whole thing. She's already got tons more stuff in the works. She also managed to find and incorporate some local talent that happen to be friends of mine. This is where I first learned about MJ Slide. I heard her name passed around coffee table conversation, her ideas, her accomplishments... Then I see this film.

And I asked to meet with her because I wanted to know how she did this... How did she make me so utterly intrigued? If I want a good writer's chat I have two options: 1)Beg the one writer I know to find time in his crazybusy schedule for me or 2) go on a long drive out of state. I might have just found an option number 3.


So I sent her a message, (she's very accessible) and asked if I could pick her brain. No questions, she says yes. And we chat. I don't know why I'm so surprised by this, but I'm pretty sure in talking to her, I may have found the cure for any-person's-in-the-entire-world's artist's block. Seriously. She should probably charge. But she doesn't. My mind is blown. All this to say, I have a FB now, a twitter, and a new email account. I am venturing out into the world, and random-new-friend opened the door. Mind. Blown. Cheers.

Update, Rant, and Valuable links

I think it was last week, but it may have been the week before, I realized a completely insane and legal drug... It's called (drumroll please) not sleeping.

As it turns out, when I am (in no uncertain terms) delirious from not sleeping, the logic and oh-I've-got-to-get-all-these-random-errands-taken-care-of part of my brain turns off and all that is left operating is my imagination. Last week, or maybe the week before, I got a total of 9 hours of sleep in those seven days. Right now, I average about 35 hours a week, give or take a few hours. There are a few upsides to this: I write and edit much more productively. However, my spelling and typing abilities take a nose dive. I get more done, not because I have more time, but because I manage to focus. If I'm losing sleep it better be for somewhat justifiable reasons, right?

I say all this to preface how I've gotten so much done. I have finished editing my book, did I tell you I have a book? Well, I do. I started writing it about two years ago before I decided to go back to school. I finished writing it last summer and finished editing it this summer. So now I'm down to the synopsis... which is a 3-5 page summary of my book. Yuck. (I have already completed the query, thankyouverymuch.)

This synopsis is killing me. Why? Because, last summer after I'd completed my book, I started querying. I got a request for a partial... and a synopsis. I STILL haven't sent it in. I really want to shoot myself in the foot right now for not realizing how much school would get in the way of getting this submission in. Feel free to harrass me for my moronic error. Here's some good advice, don't query till you've got a synopsis. And, when the advice columns tell you to leave your writing alone so that you'll have fresh eyes to evaluate it, they are TELLING THE TRUTH! (I cringe to think what would have happen had I not done that!)

Even though this is just a plain old rant and update. I do also want to share some great blogs that I wish more people would read because that would keep a lot of people from pissing off agents that I'm querying.

http://slushpilehell.tumblr.com/
Hilarious. Also makes me kind of sad for agents.



http://queryshark.blogspot.com/
Doesn't try and be nice. Straightforward. Listen to it.



http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/
I just happen to really like this blog, it's a mixture of good advice, blogger interaction, life-as-an-agent-type entries. And, it is updated regularly!