I finally did it -- I spelled an editor's name wrong in a cover letter. I always, always copy-and-paste names, but I was con-lagged and brain-fried and this time, I didn't. And this is *why* I always copy-and-paste. Here's hoping she's the forgiving sort.
And then I realized I'd sent the story in the wrong file format, too. *headdesk* Which gave me a chance to send another email with the name spelled correctly, but jeez. And then I backed carefully away from the keyboard for the rest of the day.
And now commenceth the epic catch-up post.
Belle_91 - Glad to hear the date went well. Hope it's a trend that continues!
RLGreenleaf - That is a heckuva last line! Maybe you can tuck it away for later use.
"Content editing"? WTF? Reminds me of the time a critiquer told me to "rewrite this twice". Um, rewrite it how? Mirror writing? In crayon, perhaps? Type it out twice more with entirely fresh pixels, because these pixels are stale? Feedback that vague doesn't really count as feedback at all, IMO.
R cookies for Cobalt Jade, lianna, s_nov, Harlequin, utesfanami, and anyone else who needs 'em. And special leftover holiday R cookies for NotForUsThanks.
Belle_91 - "Especially interested" in one thing doesn't mean uninterested in any others. I'd go ahead and query that agent unless she says she hates everything else you do. You can always bring up the 1830s book if things go well; I've always figured other projects are part of The Call, when you + agent are trying to figure out if you're as good a fit for each other as you both hope. IOW, what Jeneral said.
Hiya, Carleree!
NotForUsThanks - Bummer on the competition. As for the rest, I'm not a fan of putting things on hold in case something else comes through. All too often, it leads to a lot of time that could have been put to better use. If you're really set on this mentorship, maybe set yourself a deadline and if you don't have a solid yes by then, get back to querying?
utesfanami - Cheers on all the activity! Even if some of it's Rs. As for the voice thing, if you love it the way it is, that pretty much answers the question. You just need to find someone who connects to that sort of thing. (And who knows -- "couldn't connect" is so vague, maybe what you'd need to do is ramp it up, not tone it down! No sense trying to revise without a lot more detail on what might not be working.)
RLGreenleaf - I'd say, include the strongest stories that you can, within the guidelines' limits. And yeah, do look into sending them to short story markets. The odds are probably better for that than for an anthology these days, and there's always the option of publishing a collection later if they do well individually.
Everybody -