Old People Writing for Teens, IV

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Sage

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Yay, Stiger! (I already yayed your entry into the contest)
 

Smiley0501

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LOL I think we all stalk agents when we're querying. *whistles* I mean... What?:ROFL: No one stalks agents ever...

Guys I just handed in my undergrad thesis/final paper so I am now done! :D In honor of it - I have been spending the day reading an ARC a friend gave me (@ M!d$umm3r'$ n!gh+m@r3 by K0dy K3pl!ng3r). I'm about to be done with it. Yea, I'm a quick reader :tongue I just got the book 4 hours ago (had to go to class but would've been done with it right away)
Can't decide if I want to post a blog review or not...
 

Sage

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Out of curiosity, why wouldn't you? Or are you just exhausted, because, I mean, really.
 

Smiley0501

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I'm afraid of posting a not nice review I guess. Not that it wouldn't be nice. I just always feel awkward about posting a 3 star or something review on my blog (though I did it for Th3 Duff soo...)

BTW, I finished it. Easy, breezy summer read, definitely - I can see why they picked June to release it:cool:
 

Sage

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Psh, I say rate everything truthfully and fairly. If you're not being snarky, nobody has any right to complain.
 

wampuscat

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I shared my news in the blogroll, but I'm not above shameless self-promotion so I'll put it here too. I'm being mentored in The Writer's Voice competition. So excited! (and it's by Krista Van Dolzer, a fellow AW'er!).

Also, I queried an agent Thursday and got a request for a full Friday. This is my third full request, maybe third time's the charm? (I've been trying so hard not to think/obsess/worry about it/maintain a nonchalant if it happens it happens attitude, but it's SO hard!).

Congrats on both accounts!
 

Sage

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Oh, but a caveat of the polite negative review... It probably does mean you can never get a blurb from that author in the future.
 

Sage

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Of course, if you're giving the author's book 1-2 stars, did you want their blurb anyway?
 

Smiley0501

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That's true. I don't think I'd want a blurb from Stephenie Meyer post-BD. :ROFL: (Before that I actually liked Twi, NM and E. Don't judge me! This was before the crazies showed up!)

BTW, opening your ms after not looking at it for almost a month is so weird
 

Sage

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Oh, I'll bet.

I can't leave my novels alone that long. Unless I abandon them.
 

amlptj

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I GOT A C- IN MY CLASS FROM HELL!!!! I CAN GRADUATE!!!!
 

Smiley0501

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I was/am revising but then school got hectic, and I wanted this (the end of college) to be my best so I put it aside. :D But now I get to go back to my lovely ms! *snuggles*

:partyguy: YAY!!! AMLPTJ!!!! :partyguy:
 

JKRowley

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There is a lot of good news tonight.

Stiger, congratulations on another full. Even if it doesn't pan out, you know you are on the right track and have your pitch down. That is saying something right there.

I don't know what the mentorship program is, but would like to hear more about it. (Again, me with the questions, but perhaps you will mistake me for the author of the Harry Potter series and want to respond).

Smiley, having an undergrad in creative writing would probably require a thesis, or something like it. Congratulations on finishing it and good luck dusting off those manuscripts. I think a little distance helps. I get caught up in rewrites and ruined many a manuscript that way.

amlptj, I haven't met you yet, but it sounds like you were ensconced in a class from hell. Congrats for getting out with a passing grade!

I had no idea of the minefield of giving reviews. Oops. I also didn't know how prevalent pseudonyms were before coming to AW. How many famous authors use them? Danielle Steele? She has to be a pseudonym. Stephen King? John Saul?

Charl@ine Harri$?

I love the Sookie books, although I admit to being indignant about the last three being not up to par.
 

Stiger05

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There is a lot of good news tonight.

Stiger, congratulations on another full. Even if it doesn't pan out, you know you are on the right track and have your pitch down. That is saying something right there.

I don't know what the mentorship program is, but would like to hear more about it. (Again, me with the questions, but perhaps you will mistake me for the author of the Harry Potter series and want to respond).

Thanks! The mentor thing is a contest. 4 mentors each pick 10 entries out of 200 to coach on their query and story, then they post the entries to their blogs and agents come by and vote.


amlptj, I haven't met you yet, but it sounds like you were ensconced in a class from hell. Congrats for getting out with a passing grade!

I second this whole-heartedly!! We used to say "D is for Diploma," we didn't have anything for C, haha. Congrats on graduating!!

I had no idea of the minefield of giving reviews.

Ditto. Definitely wary now though!
 

Smiley0501

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So I just received a request for 1st 3chapters+synopsis from an agent I'd written off as a 'no.' I'd normally be happy about this but I'm revising my ms..... How/what do I respond with? It was a form request so nothing personal except my name. Halp?
 

JSSchley

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Assuming you're revising for another agent/on another agent's suggestions, just explain that, and offer the original manuscript as well (because of course it was in pristine, gorgeous condition when you started querying and would still be great even without the revisions, right?).

There is one agent out there I've heard who takes people's heads off for revising (even though she tends to take forever to request), but most others have seemed to understand that it's possible you'll get an R&R from another agent while your query is sitting around in their slushpile.
 

Stiger05

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How much are you revising Smiley? Major plot points or line edits?

If it's just line edits, I'd hurry up and polish those first three chapters and submit and work on the rest while you're waiting to hear back.

If you're changing major plot elements, that's a little trickier, but I would still try and get something into shape as soon as possible and submit it.

Most agents I've submitted to had no problem with revisions. I had to submit a full once while in the middle of revising. I just gave what I had and when I finished revising sent an email asking if they wanted the revised copy.
 

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Yep, small line edits are no problem, just polish up those chapters, and you'll be done with the others soon.

If you're doing a big edit, explain the situation. It's been so long since you queried (I assume from you writing them off as a no) that the agent should understand if you've started revising based on feedback (or possibly lack of feedback) from agents. Depending on the type of revisions you're doing and how you feel about them, you could also give the agent the option of which version she wants to see.

I think I had one, and only one, agent request Love Sucks after I did the major revision, which was so major that the query changed with it. I had to explain to her that the query she was requesting off of was not the same book she was getting, lol.
 

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I am amused by how many google hits when I search for my book are random websites that link to all Amazon products with a certain tag, over and over and over. And, truly random, like "allweightlossrecipes" (which made sense when it was "diabetes," but not "demons" or "quest") or "trugreen" I think was one. It's weird. I'm tempted (but scared) to check them out just to see what actually happens if you click on them? Are they just a list of books?
 

Smiley0501

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Oh google hits...

Thanks guys. It's a revision an agent suggested so I'm basically writing in hopes that they will want to see it again, and I queried this new agent(w/3 chapter request) before this all happened.

Is there a form e-mail any of you suggest for me to write to new agent? e.g.: Dear so-and-so, Thank you for your interest but I am currently revising.

My thing is this query-agent asked for 3 chaps and synop. and while the first 3 chapters have not changed, the synop has since I'm doing major revisions/overhaul...
 

JKRowley

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Do you keep older versions of the story? You could send the previous version to the agent. Unless you think the revisions are vital to the story and really do improve it.
 

Smiley0501

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I'll think on this for the next few days and then respond, I guess. *sighhhh*
 
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