The Next Circle of Hell

Funny how that happens isn't it, Drachen? I think these plots have a mind of their own.

Drachen Jager said:

My experience is similar to Hillary's. I had a few get really angry at me for pointing out problems, a few where things were okay, but not great, and two that I plan to go back to with future work.

I find that now I prefer the high-level stuff. Too much of what comes out from line edits tends to be personal preference and I end up ignoring half the notes.

I'll look at a few chapters if you want if you'll have a boo at mine. What genre do you write? My latest was intended as a Steampunk adventure, but it's coming out more serious and literary than I expected. I hope that doesn't kill it for genre audiences.

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Ooh, Drachen, that sounds awesome!! My WIP is, well, I've been calling it YA urban fantasy but I'm starting to think it's YA paranormal romance. (Does that scare you off?? hehe) It's funny because there's still a part of me that thinks of "Romance" as what I saw as a kid--books with Fabio on the cover and the word "manhood" used 800 times--and my book is sooo not that. SoOooOoo not that. It's more of a: "Faerie comes to the human world to capture a human and ends up falling for him and leading a high school revolution" type of thing. Yeah, that's a type. Right?

I'll PM you.

hillaryjacques said:

It's a lot of blind-dating, but when you click with someone, it's fantastic.

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Ha! So true!!! Thanks for the responses everyone

moonfairee said:

It's more of a: "Faerie comes to the human world to capture a human and ends up falling for him and leading a high school revolution" type of thing. Yeah, that's a type. Right?

I'll PM you.

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Funny, mine's about a revolution as well, but of an entirely different sort.

JBuck, like Lisa I probably shouldn't be here anymore either, but it's such a great bunch of people that I hate to leave. Plus, I ain't going anywhere until Miss Plum gets a deal!

I'd been on sub for almost two weeks when we heard that an offer was on the way. It was around Thanksgiving last year, so it took a while to get everyone together to make the official call. All in, I think the official offer came about four or five weeks after first going on sub, but we already knew it was coming. I consider myself lucky.

eta: as with others, I have a trail of dead and buried manuscripts behind me, am on my second agent, and have all in spent about 14 years getting to this point. I like to think of it as a long apprenticeship

Welcome JBuck!

My story isn't all that encouraging, but I'll share it anyway...I'm still hoping it'll have a happy ending!

I got my agent (actually, three offers of rep) very quickly for my first completed ms. And...then it didn't sell. We did three rounds with pubs (each lasting about two months) and no luck. It seemed more a trend/timing thing and rather than do a lot of revision or continue to sub we decided to retire it because I'd started writing a second book. Three or four months after ms 1 was retired, we went out on sub with ms 2. And...it didn't sell. Two rounds on that one, but again, by the time it wasn't looking good I was already well into writing ms 3, which I was IN LOVE WITH. It felt like it had all the pieces I needed - commercial premise, interesting characters, series potential, fun world-building...AND it took something I was struggling with at the time - my husband's deployment - and turned it into a fun YA adventure (with some war drama thrown in). And I realized THIS was the book I wanted to commit to. I revised/rewrote it over the course of 9 months (longer by far than I spent on the other two) and then we did a small "practice" sub round. Got a lot of feedback (though not the kind I had been hoping for) and all no's. My agent suggested working with a professional editor (my agent isn't editorial). Which I did. (And it was GREAT.) And now we're on sub again. And I try every single day not to completely freak out. :-/

It's been about three weeks, with one no so far. I'm so invested in this book I've found it hard to concentrate on writing anything else, so the waiting is really starting to get to me. But I'm determined to do nano (two of my three mss were written as nano first drafts), so hopefully that will distract me!

I'm still hoping this is going to be THE ONE. I know *I'm* determined to do whatever I can, whether that means more revisions, or going to mid-sized or smaller presses.

So anyway...hang in there! And big hugs to Miss Plum and Mid. This industry does its damnedest to kill all our hopes and dreams. But we just can't let it!

tracy, good luck!

I didn't sell "the one" but I still have hope that one day it will see the light of day!

rosiecotton said:

JBuck, like Lisa I probably shouldn't be here anymore either, but it's such a great bunch of people that I hate to leave.

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This! And I want to be around to see everyone else's great news when it happens!

Like Lisa and Rosie and YA, I shouldn't be here anymore--but for a different reason.

I was on sub for almost a year--several close calls, yada yada--and then my agent suggested we take the book Indie (self-pub). It was a tough decision but I'm happy with it. Sales are nothing to brag about, but steady and climbing. I'll put the next book in the series up next month.

And yet I still come back here because of:
1. the people
2. the chance to cheer on Hellions on sub and/or offer hugs
3. the speznas.

So, I'm back. After a wicked long hiatus during which I missed you all, I've returned. My first book with Samhain launched last Tuesday (10/18) and is surprising me with sales.

Have a new project that is my absolute favorite thing ever. Let my agent go last week. Did NOT go well. Surprised, disappointed, sad. I suppose I'll be moving back to Hell as I begin the search for a new agent.

I read back through the thread (last 3 hours...my eeeeeyyyyyyeeeeees!) and am really encouraged by the totally awesome familiar faces and the very cool new ones. Hope to slip in now and again and update you on my query trench war. I know I'm out of this level for the moment, but you guys are just so awesome.

Hey Mad -- we missed you too! Nice to see you back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And if we weren't in the next Circle of Hell, where would we be?

For that matter, where would we be without speznas?

Peggy Blair said:

And if we weren't in the next Circle of Hell, where would we be?

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The one after that? I believe it's known as the Hunter S. Thompson circle.

Peggy Blair said:

Hey Mad -- we missed you too! Nice to see you back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And if we weren't in the next Circle of Hell, where would we be?

For that matter, where would we be without speznas?

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The Tenth Circle of Hell! No...really. They never end.

Peggy Blair said:

For that matter, where would we be without speznas?

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Speznas! I'm so glad I'm back. Drinking alone has been unfulfilling.

*rugby tackles Mad*

I finished LEGACY. It was such an exciting read and very, very SMEXY! My God, woman! I kept smirking at my husband. I'm sure he thought I'd turned loopy.

So glad you're back in town, and sorry you've had to part ways with your agent. What happened? PM me if you can't talk on the boards.

Hey, the sun is over the yardarm -- SPEZNAS FOR EVERYONE!!!

rosiecotton said:

JBuck, like Lisa I probably shouldn't be here anymore either, but it's such a great bunch of people that I hate to leave. Plus, I ain't going anywhere until Miss Plum gets a deal!

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Aw heck, you're getting me all touched and guilty here. (Do you hear that, you damn publishers? A writer with a DEAL has extended her stay in hell thanks to you.) That said, please, PLEASE stick around. I like looking at a cheery face while demons are sticking hot knives in my back.

callalily61 said:

The way I look at it is: Just because you might not be on sub right now doesn't mean you're never going to be on sum ever again. Right? So we're a bunch of past, present, and future Hellions. Speznas for all!

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So true!

MadDabbler said:

So, I'm back. After a wicked long hiatus during which I missed you all, I've returned. My first book with Samhain launched last Tuesday (10/18) and is surprising me with sales.

Have a new project that is my absolute favorite thing ever. Let my agent go last week. Did NOT go well. Surprised, disappointed, sad. I suppose I'll be moving back to Hell as I begin the search for a new agent.

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Welcome welcome welcome, MD. Sorry about your bad-ish news, but it sounds like you had to do it.

Congrats on the publication with Samhain!!!


And tracy, you hang in, girl. I certainly had no idea rosiecotton's journey was 14 years long, and I well remember her happy dance over getting a deal. (It was then that we found out who the real "rosiecotton" is!)

Miss Plum said:

(It was then that we found out who the real "rosiecotton" is!)

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Hi, Mad. Congrats on the release. That's a gorgeous cover.

So sorry on the agent situation.

I shouldn't be here, either, but I can't resist. I lurk here--a lot.

Whenever I read good news, I get all giddy here on my end of the computer. I literally can't help grinning like a goof. When it's bad or sad news, I get that lead-ball feeling in my gut. Sympathy pains.

rosie, 14 yrs!!!! wow, that is amazing!

MadDabbler, sucks about the agent. Good luck when you go on the hunt again!

tracy, I wish you the best of luck with this latest book! your post made me relive all that sub angst...

Great story, Rosie! And after so much hard work!

Tracy - thanks so much for sharing. What a rough ride. But by the sounds of things, the book you are subbing now is 'the one'!
I've got my fingers crossed for you, me and all of us on sub - hey, and even the ones here not on sub (wishing you guys mad post-christmas-like sales).
In conclusion - lots of good luck all round!!!

Thanks, Miss Plum. I'm so happy to see you again!

Thanks hillaryjacques.
It's been hard on both, I'm sure. It's always sad to me when a relationship ends. (sigh)

Thanks for the compliment on my cover. The artist for Legacy is just amazing! I love her work so much. I hope she'll be assigned the art for the entire series. The second book comes out in April, so I should have a new cover in January (ish).

My web designer made me a graphic for my newest work, Raising Cain, and it's on my website. I think that has to be my favorite artwork ever. It is SO representative of the story.

Glad to be back!