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Bobby

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so, i have a novel. it's called Prodigal. it's a pretty darn good thriller:

After a drug-fueled accident costs famous rocker Johnny Riles his left arm and his livelihood, he returns to his small, Alabama hometown to recover, but an affair with his brother's wife threatens to rip him apart all over again -- literally.

A one-night stand with Sarah explodes into something else, something neither of them expected. When Johnny's brother, Aaron, discovers their mistake, he makes one of his own: blinded by his rage, Aaron kills an innocent person. It's a costly error, as a good man watches his world unravel. With Aaron's life in shambles, Johnny knows his brother has one thought: take Johnny and Sarah down with him.


(sorry, that's two grafs taken from my query, just for some background.) i haven't been able to find representation for it. rejections abound (more than 100, at last count). so i submitted it to Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award ... aaaaaaaaaand didn't make the cut to the quarterfinals. i'm just in shock. i'm pissed. i know this will sound arrogant, but i find it very hard to believe there are 1,000 unpublished novels out there better than mine.

so the hard thing i have to decide is this: do i give up on Prodigal? do i just move on to the next project i'm writing (20,000 words in already) and chalk Prodigal up to just continuing to learn?

maybe i'm just not as good as i think i am, and maybe being a novelist is out of my reach. i was a good reporter, a good editor, a good columnist. i'm used to winning awards. i take a lot of my identity from my writing.

::sigh::

i'm wallowing a bit, i know. but it's so hard to attack the page when you lost the last battle. at this point, i wonder if the war is even worth fighting.
 

alleycat

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maybe i'm just not as good as i think i am, and maybe being a novelist is out of my reach. i was a good reporter, a good editor, a good columnist. i'm used to winning awards. i take a lot of my identity from my writing.
But, are you a good query letter writer?

I have heard that it's hard for some writers who are used to working as reporters or journalists to make the switch to fiction.

You don't have enough posts yet to post your query letter in Share Your Work, but you might want to do that when you get to 50 posts. I think it might help. I've not trying to be harsh (and you didn't ask for an opinion), but the snippet of the query you posted isn't particularly good. The novel might be brilliant for all I know; but the query letter might not be as good as it could be.
 

Calla Lily

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Booze. Chocolate.

Hang around the forums here, get to know the community, and then when you reach 50 posts, put your query in SYW. I can see slight tweaks I'd suggest, and there are some great (and blunt) people in SYW. Check it out and offer opinions on other queries.

I have two trunked novels at this point. I'm waiting to un-trunk them, rewrite them a bit, and show them to the world someday. Just not today.

My opinionated opinion: forget the contests. Aim at getting an agent. No prize is better than seeing your name on a real bookshelf.

Oh, and welcome to AW!
 

Bobby

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But, are you a good query letter writer?

I have heard that it's hard for some writers who are used to working as reporters or journalists to make the switch to fiction.

You don't have enough posts yet to post your query letter in Share Your Work, but you might want to do that when you get to 50 posts. I think it might help. I've not trying to be harsh (and you didn't ask for an opinion), but the snippet of the query you posted isn't particularly good. The novel might be brilliant for all I know; but the query letter might not be as good as it could be.

Heh, I once had an editor tell one of our staffers: "Henderson, I have an assignment for you: Find another job."

Harsh I can take. :)
 

Bobby

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Booze. Chocolate.

Hang around the forums here, get to know the community, and then when you reach 50 posts, put your query in SYW. I can see slight tweaks I'd suggest, and there are some great (and blunt) people in SYW. Check it out and offer opinions on other queries.

I have two trunked novels at this point. I'm waiting to un-trunk them, rewrite them a bit, and show them to the world someday. Just not today.

My opinionated opinion: forget the contests. Aim at getting an agent. No prize is better than seeing your name on a real bookshelf.

Oh, and welcome to AW!

Thanks for the welcome. And the input. I've got one novel "trunked" (I don't know why, but that term feels sinister to me. Muahahaha), and to be honest, I think it's going to stay that way. I read it over again this past summer, and if anyone else ever sees it, it'd probably be shot on sight.
 

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Heh, I once had an editor tell one of our staffers: "Henderson, I have an assignment for you: Find another job."

Harsh I can take. :)
Mind if I steal that line? I could use it for something I'm working on.

;-)
 

alleycat

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Thanks for the welcome. And the input. I've got one novel "trunked" (I don't know why, but that term feels sinister to me. Muahahaha), and to be honest, I think it's going to stay that way. I read it over again this past summer, and if anyone else ever sees it, it'd probably be shot on sight.
If it makes you feel any better, you should read the first thing I wrote (a novel handwritten in about 40 notebooks). I've joked that the writing is so stiff you could drive a nail into it.

I had a great idea! It seemed like it would be so easy to write a novel from it.
 

kellion92

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Hi Bobby. Welcome. Query writing is so specialized -- if you're an experienced writer, you'll get it. Your posts are funny -- bet your book is too.
 

alleycat

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Don't mind at all. The newspaper business was a great one for quotable material -- and almost none of them publishable.
I used to have a friend who worked for a major newspaper. I've heard lots of stories (especially when he was drinking . . . which he did with some gusto at one point in his life).
 

Bobby

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I used to have a friend who worked for a major newspaper. I've heard lots of stories (especially when he was drinking . . . which he did with some gusto at one point in his life).

Lots of us newspaper people drink ... it made the long hours and the low pay easier to bear.
 

alleycat

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Lots of us newspaper people drink ... it made the long hours and the low pay easier to bear.
I know.

That might a good novel idea (if it hasn't already been done). The old veteran reporter who now spends most of his time at the local bar railing against the politics of the media these days, comes across a great story. But, of course, no one takes him seriously now. He has to fight to get the story, as well as his own (cliche warning) inner demons.
 

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i know this will sound arrogant, but i find it very hard to believe there are 1,000 unpublished novels out there better than mine.
Just curious. Why's that so hard to believe?
 

Bobby

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Just curious. Why's that so hard to believe?

Hey, I did say I was about to sound arrogant. :) Could I be politically correct and say I have an optimally integrated self-image?

Honestly, ego certainly plays a part. My ego can be as big as a medium-sized city. Maybe not Atlanta, but Birmingham would be in the ballpark.

Part of that really stems from, well, winning. I've won awards at every newspaper I've ever worked for. When that happens, you sort of end up accepting winning as your due.

Another part is that I read a lot, across a great many genres. I hope that means I can recognize good writing when I see it, or when I do it. I hope that's true -- otherwise what's the point?

I hope I don't come off as OMG I'm the best writer EVAR, YOU GUYS! Hemingway got NOTHIN on this! That's not my intention. And today my ego is roughly the size of chickpea, just for the record.
 

Bobby

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I know.

That might a good novel idea (if it hasn't already been done). The old veteran reporter who now spends most of his time at the local bar railing against the politics of the media these days, comes across a great story. But, of course, no one takes him seriously now. He has to fight to get the story, as well as his own (cliche warning) inner demons.

I've seen similar things done, most recently in Michael Connelly's The Scarecrow. But it's not a bad idea.
 

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I met Mr. Connelly a few years ago. They have a nice mystery/thriller writers conference in Nashville every year and that year Connelly was the guest of honor.

The story idea kind of reminded me of that Paul Newman movie where he was a washed-up attorney. The Verdict?
 
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Bobby

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I met Mr. Connelly a few years ago. They have a nice mystery/thriller writers conference in Nashville ever year and that year Connelly was the guest of honor.

The story idea kind of reminded me of that Paul Newman movie where he was a washed-up attorney. The Verdict?

Oooo! When is this conference? Nashville isn't too far a trip for me. Tuscaloosa, Ala., represent!
 

alleycat

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August or September, I think. It's called Killer Nashville (they have a website). It's become a fairly large event.

I've been by Tuscaloosa a few times. I went to school at Auburn for a while.


Edited to add-

Here you go: http://www.killernashville.com/
 
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Bobby

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August or September, I think. It's called Killer Nashville (they have a website). It's become a fairly large event.

I've been by Tuscaloosa a few times. I went to school at Auburn for a while.


Edited to add-

Here you go: http://www.killernashville.com/

Ah, you went to Auburn? ::sigh:: You are my mortal enemy. ;-)

And ... that conference looks awesome.
 

alleycat

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Oh, great. An Alabama grad.

Actually, when I was at Auburn I would sometimes mention I grew up as a University of Tennessee fan. Not a great way to make friends there.

I haven't been to the conference the last couple of years, but other people here have.
 

Bobby

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Oh, great. An Alabama grad.

Actually, when I was at Auburn I would sometimes mention I grew up as a University of Tennessee fan. Not a great way to make friends there.

I haven't been to the conference the last couple of years, but other people here have.

Ha! I went to the best school in the state: Troy University! :-D

Out of curiosity, when were you at AU?
 

alleycat

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Back in the late seventies. I was in the architectural school.

There was a news story on earlier this week about some nut poisoning the oak trees on the Auburn campus. Strangely enough, I remember those oaks; they were near where the School of Architecture was back then and I would sit under them and read.
 
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