I'm so dead.
Jan. 10th, 2007 09:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jpskewedthroneSo I finished off the initial revisions to Vacant Throne today, printed it, and shipped it off to my editor. It's done. Killed. Off my desk. (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
comixboy: I still want to do some heavy talking about the book, even though I've sent it in; this is only the first draft; I'll have heavy revisions later on, I'm sure.) But remember that little note that I was supposed to be cutting words from the novel? Ha, ha! You'll get a kick out of this! Really, you will! I added another 5,000.
Which is why I'm dead. My editor will kill me. I was contracted for 100,000. The final count comes in at 117,225. And I tried! I did cut words! Whole paragraphs even! I just added entire scenes as well. Page-long scenes. *sigh*
I keep reminding myself that this is DAW for crying out loud. My book is SMALL compared to most of the books they release. I'll keep repeating that to myself. In the meantime, I need to do some serious thinking about things in the novel I can cut, just in case my editor goes ballistic on me and asks me to do some heavy trimming.
In other news, I have a new agent. I had to end it with Amy Stout because I didn't feel that she could push my career as much as I wanted now that she's working at the agent thing only part-time. This has been hanging over both of us for a while, and we both hoped that things would work out and she'd be able to go back to full-time before the final contract was complete, but it hasn't improved. So we talked and agreed to part ways.
My new agent is Jenny Rappaport, also from L Perkins Agency. I met her at World Fantasy in November and I think we click. After some heavy discussions about where I wanted my career to go, what books I was looking to sell next, and a bunch of other options (movies? computer games? audio?), I realized I liked all of her answers, that we seemed to be thinking on the same wavelength, and that she was truly excited about my writing. So when she offered to represent me, I said yes.
So it's been a busy week. New agent, finishing the revisions, printing was a nightmare (I ran through 2 ink cartridges . . . or rather finished off one, blitzed through the replacement, and started a third; plus I ran out of paper and had to do a run for that), baked cookies for my editor (chocolate always makes the manuscript read better in my opinion), and took my car in so they could figure out what was making the popping/crunching sound in the back. A good, busy week.
Oh, and as for the revisions . . . I have no idea if the book sucks or not. I know that I got excited as I was reading the last few chapters. I also cried while reading the epilogue. There were things in there I didn't remember writing but that made me laugh, and others that made me gasp that I'd written such a thing. I'm not sure if the crying was because the scene was so touching or heartbreaking (I think it is but . . .) or because I was finished and don't intend to return to Amenkor for awhile (at least 3 books, maybe more). I do intend to return, and if you read the second and third book carefully, I've set up 2 possible branches on where I intend to go with these characters. One is obvious (basically, I hit you upside the head with a brick), and the other is more subtle. My new agent picked up on the one instantly, without even seeing the third book. But I hope to do both options eventually.
This assumes that the books continue to sell of course. *grin*
So that's the update for now. I'll be in Arisia this weekend, so updates on that might be sparse. And school starts up after that, so brace yourself for biting criticism of students and their habits . . . otherwise known as bitching on my part. I'll keep you posted on the next project. I expect that I'll be asked to do revisions on Fever (the supernatural horror novel I've finished already), then my editor's revisions on Vacant Throne, and then . . . whatever the new project is. I hope DAW buys one of the 2 proposed trilogies I've presented them.
But as I said, I'll keep you all posted.
comixboy: I still want to do some heavy talking about the book, even though I've sent it in; this is only the first draft; I'll have heavy revisions later on, I'm sure.) But remember that little note that I was supposed to be cutting words from the novel? Ha, ha! You'll get a kick out of this! Really, you will! I added another 5,000.Which is why I'm dead. My editor will kill me. I was contracted for 100,000. The final count comes in at 117,225. And I tried! I did cut words! Whole paragraphs even! I just added entire scenes as well. Page-long scenes. *sigh*
I keep reminding myself that this is DAW for crying out loud. My book is SMALL compared to most of the books they release. I'll keep repeating that to myself. In the meantime, I need to do some serious thinking about things in the novel I can cut, just in case my editor goes ballistic on me and asks me to do some heavy trimming.
In other news, I have a new agent. I had to end it with Amy Stout because I didn't feel that she could push my career as much as I wanted now that she's working at the agent thing only part-time. This has been hanging over both of us for a while, and we both hoped that things would work out and she'd be able to go back to full-time before the final contract was complete, but it hasn't improved. So we talked and agreed to part ways.
My new agent is Jenny Rappaport, also from L Perkins Agency. I met her at World Fantasy in November and I think we click. After some heavy discussions about where I wanted my career to go, what books I was looking to sell next, and a bunch of other options (movies? computer games? audio?), I realized I liked all of her answers, that we seemed to be thinking on the same wavelength, and that she was truly excited about my writing. So when she offered to represent me, I said yes.
So it's been a busy week. New agent, finishing the revisions, printing was a nightmare (I ran through 2 ink cartridges . . . or rather finished off one, blitzed through the replacement, and started a third; plus I ran out of paper and had to do a run for that), baked cookies for my editor (chocolate always makes the manuscript read better in my opinion), and took my car in so they could figure out what was making the popping/crunching sound in the back. A good, busy week.
Oh, and as for the revisions . . . I have no idea if the book sucks or not. I know that I got excited as I was reading the last few chapters. I also cried while reading the epilogue. There were things in there I didn't remember writing but that made me laugh, and others that made me gasp that I'd written such a thing. I'm not sure if the crying was because the scene was so touching or heartbreaking (I think it is but . . .) or because I was finished and don't intend to return to Amenkor for awhile (at least 3 books, maybe more). I do intend to return, and if you read the second and third book carefully, I've set up 2 possible branches on where I intend to go with these characters. One is obvious (basically, I hit you upside the head with a brick), and the other is more subtle. My new agent picked up on the one instantly, without even seeing the third book. But I hope to do both options eventually.
This assumes that the books continue to sell of course. *grin*
So that's the update for now. I'll be in Arisia this weekend, so updates on that might be sparse. And school starts up after that, so brace yourself for biting criticism of students and their habits . . . otherwise known as bitching on my part. I'll keep you posted on the next project. I expect that I'll be asked to do revisions on Fever (the supernatural horror novel I've finished already), then my editor's revisions on Vacant Throne, and then . . . whatever the new project is. I hope DAW buys one of the 2 proposed trilogies I've presented them.
But as I said, I'll keep you all posted.
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no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 03:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 03:23 am (UTC)Any preferences? Any allergies I should know about? I tend to bake lots of things involving chocolate and peanut butter.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 05:41 am (UTC)And no, you didn't mention cookies; I bake too! It's just so bad for me, eating all of the cookies that I send them out to various people. Usually. If I haven't eaten a lot of the cookie dough... which happens sometimes.. =) But cookies are always welcome presents!
Remind me to give you a copy of my chocolate sables recipe, one day. They're about as close to heaven as you can get in a chocolate cookie.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 07:27 pm (UTC)And cookie dough is EVIL! Half the time I mix a full recipe, but only end up baking half, since the other half gets eaten before it can make it to the oven.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 03:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 03:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 01:35 pm (UTC)Congrats on finishing the draft! I hope things go well with the new agent!
no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 01:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 01:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 02:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 02:05 pm (UTC)I meant to send Christmas stuff, but I blew it this year.
I know! I shall mail her a gallon of milk, to go with your cookies!
no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 03:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 03:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 01:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 01:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 02:09 pm (UTC)And I wish I had your problem. My novels always seem to come out 10-20K shorter than I aim for. When I compare to "peer" novels, I have the same amount of plot/scenes, but I'm not very verbose. I need to add more plot I guess. Tight and fast paced. That's what I go for.
Anyway...great news!
no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 07:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 07:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 06:51 pm (UTC)If I can give you one piece of advice it's go buy a laser printer already. You can get them cheap and they're a ton easier for firing off manuscripts. After printing manuscripts on the laser I never want to go back to inkjet.
I'm holding off picking up Cracked Throne 'til Norwescon so I haven't read it yet.
As to the stretch, I know I had a novel targeted at 100 that ended up at 113 after the revisions, so you're not alone. The one I'm working on started at 97 and is at 84 now so I'm really getting concerned about where the revisions are going ;)
Good luck
no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 07:31 pm (UTC)And I'll be at Norwescon. Got tickets, a hotel room. I'm good to go and look forward to it. I had fun last year.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 07:39 pm (UTC)It's well worth it-- I'm about to put my fourth cartridge in (after 2 years) and I can print multiple manuscripts per cartridge.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-12 10:22 pm (UTC)All excellent news. I'm very excited for you!
no subject
Date: 2007-01-23 01:48 pm (UTC)Best,
Shannon