The Big Bumper Friday Check-In Thread

[Toothpaste]

Ooh! Sounds like a very cool experience, CheG, you must report back to us all! You're our spy .

SuperGirl - OOH COVER SOON-NESS! Covers are very exciting but also nerve wracking. Hope it all goes well!!


Me . . . overwhelmed, what else is new. And spending way too long to figure out what my dedication should be. There isn't a particular person who inspired this book, and it's all the usual suspects who I have already dedicated other books to who have been my support. Hmm . . . just thinking . . . maybe "To the usual suspects"? Not a bad idea. Anyway . . . WHY IS THIS SO DIFFICULT???

 

[Samsonet]

I'd appreciate a master thread!

Toothpaste, I really like "To the usual suspects". Very cool and mysterious!

My WIP is going along slowly as ever. I've been really sick the past few weeks, but I'm not giving up!

 

[CheG]

Yay! Sounds like things are going well! I will report back on the boot camp! It's a one day event and so far not much info is available. I found it on the Oregon SBWI site https://oregon.scbwi.org/events/boot-camp-for-writers-6-2016/

The book I have coming out is a contemporary fantasy about three witch sisters who open a magical tea shop in a small Maine town, to the dismay of the local Pastor. It's kind of funny, and has lots of food and tea and magic

 

[Samsonet]

It's probably Saturday for most of the world right now, but better late than never, right?

I hope your week has been sweet and comfortable!

 

[jvc]

I've merged all the Friday Check-In threads together to make a Big Bumper Friday Check-In thread. And I stickied it to the top as well. If I missed any of the check-in threads let me know and I'll add them here.

 

[Supergirlofnc]

Thank you Fearsome Dragon mod and happy belated Friday to all! I turned in my copyedits last week so I'm pretty thrilled about that. What is everyone else up to?

Laurie

 

[CheG]

I cannot freaking end my book! The last scene is just... I don't know how to finish it!?!? My MC is having one last conversation with her antagonist and like WTF do they say to each other?!?! I don't know, and I haven't known for weeks!

 

[Toothpaste]

Ugh CheG, that sounds brutal. So close to the end and yet so far. Sometimes when I'm in that situation I totally upend the scene. I ask myself, does it need to happen where it happens, does it need to happen at all, does their conversation need to be direct or can it all be spoken in subtext. Maybe there's a less literal way you can end the book? Maybe not. But I find asking myself those questions at least does shake things up .

Me, ugh, been unwell the last week and haven't written a word which has been bad as I have TWO BOOKS TO WRITE. The good news is I got the full wrap around sales proof of the jacket of The_Explorers_Club - cover, spine, backcover and inside flaps - emailed to me yesterday AND IT IS SO COOL. It's so dynamic and chock full of fun and whimsy and I'm super super super excited how it's all coming together. I'm also fascinated by the fact that they have three different people who worked on it. The cover artist, the designer, AND another designer specifically for the logo. Fascinating stuff!

 

[Supergirlofnc]

That does sound awesome toothpaste! Will you be able to share it soon? I could look at book cover art and jacket art all day. Sometimes, I go on pinterest and do just that.

Sorry you're stuck CheG. I like toothpaste's idea about totally upending the scene and seeing how it works. Along the same lines, when I get stuck like that sometimes I brainstorm all the possible ways the scene could unfold as well as other scenes that could happen instead. Sometimes it sparks a great idea. Good luck! I hope you get to your ending soon.

 

[CheG]

Thanks guys! I think I'll try some out of context conversations with the two characters and see what shakes loose. Neither of them are subtle people though...

 

[Toothpaste]

SupergirlofNYC - I really hope so!! Trust me the second I'm allowed to I'll be over in Goals and Accomplishments . I'm just like you, totally and completely obsessive about covers. I'm a huge art/design junky I guess and it's nice to know I'm not the only one . . .

CheG - Np! Let us know how it goes!

 

[CheG]

Middle Grade Bootcamp tomorrow!!!!!! I'm super excited!!

AND, thanks for the advice on my final chapter! It worked! I wrote a much better conversation between the characters and realized I need to reorder the events of the last chapter. But I think I have it licked! I should be able to finish the rewrite next week and call the rough draft done!

 

[Supergirlofnc]

Have fun at bootcamp and yay on finishing your chapter. I'm glad you got it all to work

As for me, I finally got to see the cover for my book yesterday which I wasn't expecting but which was really exciting. (And I can share it next week!) Other than that I've been working on my WIP. I'm nearing the midpoint and I hope I will zoom past it next week. It will take me three weeks but its good to have goals. And I've been to the gym FIVE times this week. I'm really going to keep up with it. REALLY.

 

[Toothpaste]

CheG - yay!!! So happy it worked!!! And have fun at bootcamp! Report back to us!

SupergirlofNYC - I'm so happy you get to share your cover soon! Could you come back to this thread and let us know you've shared it, just 'cause sometimes one can miss announcements because others post etc. I REALLY want to see it!!! And the gym 5 TIMES in one week?? Sheesh, you really are Super Girl!

Me . . . been a weird week. Hard to describe. Trying to get back into the swing of things but feeling stalled. I dunno. I'm feeling really overwhelmed by how much I have to do, and I know the key is to just do something, but I feel a bit paralysed. Ugh. Sucky feeling. Hopefully today I break through this wall

 

[Supergirlofnc]

Thanks Toothpaste! It was a nice surprise to see it. I will post it over here as soon as I can.

I hope this week is a better one. It's hard to get things done when your feeling overwhelmed. Maybe you just needed a day or two before you dive in and break through that wall!

 

[Supergirlofnc]

My cover is up! I'll come back and share it on the bouncy thread tomorrow, but if you all want to get a peek today, its at YA Books Central today. Let me know what you guys think! (Unless you hate it, then I might prefer to stay blissfully ignorant.) It's cool, too, because I finished the trilogy, and I think it has a good ending.

It's weird and exciting to be working on new things after working so hard on these three books for the last few years. It's nice because there are so many different things I can write about. But then there are a lot of unknowns like will my agent and editor like what I write next, will I be able to sell it, etc, etc, etc. And I'm a little sad to be finishing my series, too!

 

[SuperKate]

Hi everyone! It's been a while, but I'm thrilled to hear all the good news. Beautiful cover, Laurie! It looks like such a fun story! Congratulations on finishing your series. I have no doubt that the next thing you work on will be exciting and rewarding. You have a blank slate! How fun is that?

I am finishing up the application for the Rutgers One-on-One Conference, which I highly recommend to anyone who is inclined. And we're into pool, summer camps, and crab season here in the DC area. Woo hoo!

 

[CheG]

Great cover Laurie! It's really beautiful!

Well I have pages and pages of notes from the Bootcamp. More than I can type in here. But I had the best time! The agent was phenomenal! Fun, funny and really enlightening.

But one of the things she stressed was surprise and mystery. The importance surprising the reader and flipping cliches. She also had us write down the emotional core of our book- which is what you want the reader to feel when they are finished reading it. And the thematic-core of the book which is what you want the reader to think about when the book is over. I'll write up some more later It's late.

 

[Supergirlofnc]

Thanks SuperKate and Che! I hope you're able to do the Rutgers Conference.

Emphasizing mystery and surprise sounds like good advice. I'm going to put a post-it on my computer to remind me of them. It sounds like the bootcamp was inspiring!

 

[DanielaTorre]

CheG - Congrats on figuring it out. BTW I never told you but I love the cover of Tea Times Three. Very well done. Did you hire someone to do it? It looks fantastic.

Laurie - The latest cover is by far my favorite. A lot of rich colors and details. I'm so happy for all your success.

I dropped in to let everyone know that the annual The Times/Chicken House Fiction Competition is now open. There is a fee to enter which is roughly $20 US dollars, but this year they have allowed for electronic payments and manuscript uploads. So if you're unagented, have a middle grade manuscript polished and a synopsis ready, you can enter! Self published books are allowed, btw. Here's the link of interest: https://www.chickenhousebooks.com/submissions/ I think it's totally worth it. The prize comes with an offer of agency rep too. They are hugely, hugely respected in the UK and Barry Cunningham is the dude how gave JK Rowling her big break.

I've been mainly lurking. The Dementor that is depression has been sucking me dry lately and my patronus is MIA, so no major writing in almost 5 months since I finished my last book. I've been in a bad place in my personal life, unrelated to my writing. I lost my job after ten years, etc... but some fantastic news awaits me next week but I can't talk about it. I don't want to jinx it. I am unusually calm about this good news too. I guess it seems unreal considering all the sucker punches I've had lately, but I'll drop by and share next week. Have safe and fun 4th everyone!

 

[CheG]

CheG - Congrats on figuring it out. BTW I never told you but I love the cover of Tea Times Three. Very well done. Did you hire someone to do it? It looks fantastic.

I made the Tea Time Three cover myself! I commissioned the hand lettering from a lettering artist on Etsy and then requested that Black Opal buy me the stock art and they did (I'd had it picked out for years!) and I put it together in Photoshop over the course of several months. Tweaking and placing things and trying not to over design. I DID end up over designing the back cover though... I am actually worse at back covers than I am at front covers... it's weird.

I'm glad you have some good news coming down the pipeline Daniela! Depression sucks!

 

[Supergirlofnc]

CheG - Congrats on figuring it out. BTW I never told you but I love the cover of Tea Times Three. Very well done. Did you hire someone to do it? It looks fantastic.

Laurie - The latest cover is by far my favorite. A lot of rich colors and details. I'm so happy for all your success.

I dropped in to let everyone know that the annual The Times/Chicken House Fiction Competition is now open. There is a fee to enter which is roughly $20 US dollars, but this year they have allowed for electronic payments and manuscript uploads. So if you're unagented, have a middle grade manuscript polished and a synopsis ready, you can enter! Self published books are allowed, btw. Here's the link of interest: https://www.chickenhousebooks.com/submissions/ I think it's totally worth it. The prize comes with an offer of agency rep too. They are hugely, hugely respected in the UK and Barry Cunningham is the dude how gave JK Rowling her big break.

I've been mainly lurking. The Dementor that is depression has been sucking me dry lately and my patronus is MIA, so no major writing in almost 5 months since I finished my last book. I've been in a bad place in my personal life, unrelated to my writing. I lost my job after ten years, etc... but some fantastic news awaits me next week but I can't talk about it. I don't want to jinx it. I am unusually calm about this good news too. I guess it seems unreal considering all the sucker punches I've had lately, but I'll drop by and share next week. Have safe and fun 4th everyone!

Thanks Daniela! And I'm sorry about the job and sucker punches. I was laid off about two years ago (I didn't expect it) from a job I'd had for about 7 years so I know it's really hard. I'll check in next week to see your good news!

I made the Tea Time Three cover myself! I commissioned the hand lettering from a lettering artist on Etsy and then requested that Black Opal buy me the stock art and they did (I'd had it picked out for years!) and I put it together in Photoshop over the course of several months. Tweaking and placing things and trying not to over design. I DID end up over designing the back cover though... I am actually worse at back covers than I am at front covers... it's weird.

I'm glad you have some good news coming down the pipeline Daniela! Depression sucks!

Che - the cover looks great and I'm so impressed you put it together yourself! I think the hand-lettering really adds to the whole thing too. Congrats!

 

[Toothpaste]

Sorry guys! Been crazy busy with commuting for rehearsals and stuff, I tend to miss the weekends and by the time I'm back I'm so exhausted . .. ugh. Anyway . . .

Supergirlnyc - LOVE the new cover!! It's fantastic!! You must be thrilled!!!!!!

CheG - nice job on your own! I'm most impressed!


As for me, I now have to change the title of my MG!! The reasons are probably not for public consumption, but we have to do it fast so we stay on schedule. I mean, the cover is finished and everything, had been sent to be printed! Now this . But I like the direction we're going with it and I think it's all going to work out. Still it made for a very stressful couple of weeks. Just coming out the other side of it and remembering "Oh right, I also have a couple books to write . . ." I need all your well wishes and good luck for this week please and thank you!!

 

[Glass Valkyrie]

As for me, I now have to change the title of my MG!! The reasons are probably not for public consumption, but we have to do it fast so we stay on schedule. I mean, the cover is finished and everything, had been sent to be printed! Now this . But I like the direction we're going with it and I think it's all going to work out. Still it made for a very stressful couple of weeks. Just coming out the other side of it and remembering "Oh right, I also have a couple books to write . . ." I need all your well wishes and good luck for this week please and thank you!!

Oh wow. I can't imagine how hard that would be! So strange that they waited until it was ready to go to printing to decide to change it. I'm glad that you are happy with the changes though, and most certainly good luck with all your other projects!

 

[Toothpaste]

Oh trust me, this was not my publisher's decision. They were equally as frustrated. I really wish I could explain more, but alas I can't.

The good news is it is resolved. Thank goodness.