have a novel published

At least it was a nice one, but it’s just a hiccup in the road to getting published. Looking for the next agent and will start working on the next story – if I can only decide which one is next! Then, in November it’s NaNoWriMo 2007! This could get interesting.

Yesterday, I sent a cover letter, 2-page synopsis and the first five pages of my 400 page manuscript to a literary agency. I picked an agency that seemed very professional and up-front. They represent about 100 published authors, have no fees for reading or representation (often a sign of a scam agency), and say they will respond in 2-3 weeks. For now I’ll continue to edit and polish. It’s likely I’ll end up collecting rejection letters for a bit, but I’m hopeful. Am I anxious? You bet!

The next step is to polish the first five chapters of ‘Rico’ and create a cover letter and synopsis. Then I can submit the story to both an editor and an agent. Right after I find an agent I trust.

but now the NANO project is done and I really want to finish the novel. I feel very good about it. It’s not Shakespeare, but I feel really good about it. So, I will continue writing until I get the first draft done. And then? And then? And then? And then? And then?

AND THEN I REVISE IT AND LOOK FOR AN AGENT AND PREP FOR THE WRITER’S CONFERENCE IN MARCH OF NEXT YEAR! Sorry for shouting, but I’m excited! And sugared up on M&Ms! Wee! It’s 3 17 AM and I should be getting in bed, but I don’t think I’ll be sleeping any time soon.

I write. I write a fair amount. I have even finished 1st drafts of novels. But I let myself get so distracted by all the other interests that I never seem to actually FINISH anything. That’s not completely true – I have FINISHED a handful of short stories and about 30 poems, even had some of those published. But I want to publish at least one novel and there are three that I think have promise. With the NANOWRIMO project coming up in a few weeks, I will be bearing down again, trying to hammer out a manuscript worthy of revision. We shall see. I still have some hope left. Maybe this year I won’t just finish; maybe this year I’ll finish something and feel good about it.

Finished a first draft (51K words) for the 2005 NANOWRIMO project on November 30, 2005.