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engmajor2005

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(All of this is presuming you got your rights back) Agents probably not but there are small presses that do reprints - Rowan Prose Publishing is the one I know for sure but there are a handful out there. You can also self publish it. I hope you find a home for it!


I did a couple of tweaks to my fantasy novel, just two lines to add some depth and close a loop, but then I spent three hours doing comics for Unhinged Pit, which was way too fun and probably not a great use of my time. But it was FUN.
I got the rights back. I emailed the publisher directly, even after I got the email saying it was being taken off the market and that rights would revert back to me. So I've got in writing a couple of times over.

I would love to write comics! Do you write webcomics? For a monthly series? Tell me about this Unhinged Pit, please.
 
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Nether

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I can't decide how much worldbuilding I should do before I start writing (scifi). I've known myself to get bogged in worldbuilding in the past, but I feel almost like I'm overcorrecting this time, shying away from it. I am not without ideas and some loose notes about it, but I have trouble doing things halfway, and so keep backing off from dedicating time to actually lay some stuff down concretely.

Looking for suggestions on the matter has been a mixed bag, too. Most seem geared towards a very all-in approach.

No, go all out. Pick one or two world/universe-shaping technologies, and then just create a setting that makes sense for them. If you need more worldbuilding, you could add it afterward. It's also a good test for how much worldbuilding you actually need.

Although if you're writing an epic space opera, that might be a lot of afterward stuff. So don't write one of those. Well, unless somebody is holding a raygun to your head. Or blaster, depending on your worldbuilding.
 
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CometRider

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No, go all out. Pick one or two world/universe-shaping technologies, and then just create a setting that makes sense for them. If you need more worldbuilding, you could add it afterward. It's also a good test for how much worldbuilding you actually need.

Although if you're writing an epic space opera, that might be a lot of afterward stuff. So don't write one of those. Well, unless somebody is holding a raygun to your head. Or blaster, depending on your worldbuilding.
Not quite a space opera, no. Something a little humbler in scope. Is spacefaring, though, and potentially interplanetary, thus the hiccup.

I do think some building up of the pertinent techs may be worthwhile.

As may be just writing.

Either way, writing starts by Sept 1, come hell or high water.
 
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Nether

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After careful reflection -- and a lot of just writing in present-tense accidentally -- I'm going to switch to present. I'm too used to writing first-present, so I'd have to change to third-past if I wanted past tense.

Either way, writing starts by Sept 1, come hell or high water.

Meaning you could start tonight?
 
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JudiH

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I've been thinking about my FMC's development over the course of the story. I think I messed it up. She does change, but not in a way I expected or wanted. I like it when characters take on a life of their own, but in this case I'm not sure how much of how she changes is organic with the character and how much is me lazily slipping back into old habits.

It's been a bad couple of days, so I may be looking at it through the lens of "I can't write, I'm a terrible writer, everything's useless, I never learn." Or maybe it's a valid observation that I'm blowing out of proportion.
 

Brigid Barry

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Thinking everything you write is a dumpsterful of hot, wet garbage is part of the process for some of us.
 

anakayuri

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I have been having this discussion with my friend-editor about the heroine of my story and her age. She starts off freshly 16 and quickly falls victim to the machinations of a 'family friend' who is 20 years her senior. There relationship for lack of a better word is supposed to make you as a reader feel gross, and I feel like even aging her up a year really depletes that part of it. Because one year shouldn't make a difference but we live a society where the sexualization of a 17 some how sits easier than a 16 year old because they are both children. I don't want to give the reader an easy way out. I want them to struggle with the ages. But, in keeping her 16, am I also sexualizing her in a way?
 
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tusenord

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I've been thinking about my FMC's development over the course of the story. I think I messed it up. She does change, but not in a way I expected or wanted. I like it when characters take on a life of their own, but in this case I'm not sure how much of how she changes is organic with the character and how much is me lazily slipping back into old habits.

It's been a bad couple of days, so I may be looking at it through the lens of "I can't write, I'm a terrible writer, everything's useless, I never learn." Or maybe it's a valid observation that I'm blowing out of proportion.
I look through the wrong lens way too often, without realising it. Good that you can see that might be a reason! I'm working with character development as well where Agent 2 took an unexpected turn into being reasonable in the sequel, so now adjusting the first book so the change isn't too jarring...

Maybe you need to write a "what and why" list, or keep going and see if it feels better as you keep writing?
 
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StarsForScales

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I need to rewrite a scene and I'm afraid. The scene has bothered me from the start, so I think it's good, but it's daunting, because I don't know if the new idea will work when it's on paper, or how to solve the next scene once this is done...

Well, there is only one way to find out. And if it doesn't work at first, at least you'll have it on paper and can figure out from there how/whether you can make it work. And if it ultimately doesn't work at all, at least you'll know and can move on to the next idea with what you've learned. The only way you can really fail to learn anything/make progress at this point is by not trying.
 
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tusenord

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Well, there is only one way to find out. And if it doesn't work at first, at least you'll have it on paper and can figure out from there how/whether you can make it work. And if it ultimately doesn't work at all, at least you'll know and can move on to the next idea with what you've learned. The only way you can really fail to learn anything/make progress at this point is by not trying.
Darn, did you have to go and be all reasonable? ;) I'm staring at the pages now and trying to see where I should go from Weird Lady seeing the magic tattoo on MC1, and how she'll end up dropping a hint readers hopefully won't pick up until right until it's too late for everyone to back down.
 

Lakey

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I can't. Stop. Touching my ms.

I've got everything ready to send queries out today. I'm reading over the pages that will go out with them to make sure there isn't anything stupid lurking in there. And I keep seeing places where I can tweak, improve, this sentence could be clearer, oops I used the word "herself" twice in a paragraph, if I moved this action beat down to the next line of dialogue it flows better, and there's a stupid typo that crept in during my last round of edits.

(The latter is especially mortifying as the ms is already in the hands of one agent-friend. I know there are more in there. At least sending the queries out will buy me a little time to find and fix the rest of them before any requests might come.)

You guys. This is dumb.

:e2coffee:
 

JudiH

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I can't. Stop. Touching my ms.

I've got everything ready to send queries out today. I'm reading over the pages that will go out with them to make sure there isn't anything stupid lurking in there. And I keep seeing places where I can tweak, improve, this sentence could be clearer, oops I used the word "herself" twice in a paragraph, if I moved this action beat down to the next line of dialogue it flows better, and there's a stupid typo that crept in during my last round of edits.

(The latter is especially mortifying as the ms is already in the hands of one agent-friend. I know there are more in there. At least sending the queries out will buy me a little time to find and fix the rest of them before any requests might come.)

You guys. This is dumb.

:e2coffee:
A common problem, I understand. Also for artists, I've read about painters who spend weeks adding a little bit here and covering a little bit there. Maybe it's a learnable skill: How to say "good enough" and let it go. What's the cliche? Don't let perfect be the enemy of good?
 

pebbleg

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I need to rewrite a scene and I'm afraid. The scene has bothered me from the start, so I think it's good, but it's daunting, because I don't know if the new idea will work when it's on paper, or how to solve the next scene once this is done...
This is how I feel about a big chunk of my book! But if there's something that's been bothering you for so long, there's usually a good reason, and rewriting -- even if it doesn't solve it entirely -- will likely spark some new thoughts.

It's always daunting but seeing the eventual improvement will be worth it!
 
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tusenord

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This is how I feel about a big chunk of my book! But if there's something that's been bothering you for so long, there's usually a good reason, and rewriting -- even if it doesn't solve it entirely -- will likely spark some new thoughts.

It's always daunting but seeing the eventual improvement will be worth it!
Yeah, I feel that way too - and considering how I sat and angsted about it last night, staring at the text, I think I'm also freaking myself out way more than the rewrite deserves...
 
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pebbleg

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I can't. Stop. Touching my ms.

I've got everything ready to send queries out today. I'm reading over the pages that will go out with them to make sure there isn't anything stupid lurking in there. And I keep seeing places where I can tweak, improve, this sentence could be clearer, oops I used the word "herself" twice in a paragraph, if I moved this action beat down to the next line of dialogue it flows better, and there's a stupid typo that crept in during my last round of edits.

(The latter is especially mortifying as the ms is already in the hands of one agent-friend. I know there are more in there. At least sending the queries out will buy me a little time to find and fix the rest of them before any requests might come.)

You guys. This is dumb.

:e2coffee:
It's perfectly normal and honestly never stops! When you find yourself making only a few tweaks, or when the changes are getting really small and inconsequential, it's time to let it go.
 

Brigid Barry

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I could do the same thing indefinitely. Move this line farther down the paragraph, put it back, change someone's eye color, change someone's name...

I have put it into my Beta readers' capable hands.
 
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pebbleg

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I could do the same thing indefinitely. Move this line farther down the paragraph, put it back, change someone's eye color, change someone's name...
True story: I keep my main manuscript (written in 1st person) on Scrivener, but I was experimenting with 3rd person in a separate word doc. The other day, I was about to send the opening chapter in both voices to my agent. I wrote the email, and before I clicked send, I decided to relook at my pages again. I decided to move a certain line to a new paragraph in my 1st person pages. So I added a paragraph break, and then I compiled the file again (for those who don't use Scrivener, that means exporting into a word doc). And in doing so, I STUPIDLY SAVED IT OVER MY OTHER WORD DOC -- the one written in 3rd person, which I stupidly never backed up because it was an experiment file.

So the whole file. Overwritten. Gone in ether.

ALL FOR A PARAGRAPH BREAK.

Now this is DUMB.
This happened two days ago and trust me when I say I'm still crying about it.
 

Nether

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Currently waiting for September 3rd, when a lot of agents either will or might re-open to queries. (Although some are always a big question mark, especially considering some agents might almost never take unsolicited queries and others -- including those who SAY they'll re-open around a certain date -- are still working through a backlog. The most fun ones talk about something like reopening in February or March where you're never sure whether they missed 2024 or mean 2025. One mentioned reopening in January 2022, which I assume they probably just left the business and their agency never got around to removing their page... that or they don't like at their away message.)

Amusingly, a few put September 1, but I can't see all that many agents reopening their box on a Sunday. I will check, however.

And right now I'm thinking that right around October 15th (which is just over 6 weeks after the end of my August querying) is when I'll try to start querying Manse. Before then, I need to:
1) Rework the opening lines

2) Decide whether to trim the manuscript from 89k words to 80k (so it'll be more safely within the SCBWI YA word count recommendations, which might improve my chances)

3) Decide whether I'll query it as urban fantasy or as horror. (Although it has a horror vibe, it's not really scary. However, although it has magic, it's framed as the result of either witchcraft and ghostwork.) This could impact the word count. Granted, I MIGHT choose how I query it based on the agent, depending on whether they're amendable to one genre or the other.

4) Put together a great synopsis. (I kinda feel that's one area where I might've fallen flat with FGI.)

5) Post at least the opening 10 pages to SYW after those opening lines get changed. (While it'd probably be good to get feedback on the whole thing, I'm thinking I'll wait, see how it does while querying, and then make that part of my revision/rewrite if the first attempt doesn't work.)

6) Probably put together some shorter pitches

7) Finalize a timeline edit/revision for a piece of backstory

8) Finalize a few character names

9) Oh, yeah, comps. That's been a struggle so far, and will probably be pretty tough.

Not sure what else I might be forgetting.

oops I used the word "herself" twice in a paragraph,

I know, stuff like that drives me crazy, too.

there's a stupid typo that crept in during my last round of edits.

Story of my life, tbh.
 
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You guys. This is dumb.

:e2coffee:
If it is, then nearly every writer I know is dumb.

I won't say stop tinkering, but I will say stop beating yourself up for what is perfectly normal behaviour (even though your query is bloody awesome and I don't think you need to do any tinkering at all).
 

Nether

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Comp hunting might be the fastest way to beat a writer's resolve to query out of them. Hell, it might be the fastest way to beat any inclination to write out of them.

That or instead of writing a book, maybe I just need to look at 2-3 books that sold extremely well a year ago and just write something that combines them. Them BAM! -- insta-comps and on-trend. Hey agent and publisher, I'll take that six-figure advance now! ...yeah, I'm sure a lot of people already try that.
 
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Brigid Barry

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I hate finding comps especially because agents can't agree on what they're for. Janet Reid (RIP) said authors of what will enjoy your book. I've seen some agents want the same writing style, themes, tone...if everyone could pick a lane that would be helpful.

I personally hate the practice. If they want to know where I go on the shelf it's right between Victoria Aveyard and Terry Brooks.

*dusts hands* Problem solved.

BUT. I've been seeing fewer agents requesting comps in Query Manager.