Today I am not going to talk about agencies or their rejections. I am going to write about one of the most amazing mythical creatures there are, dragons. Most of the authors has portray them as dark, evil and sinister creatures but if you go do a bit of research you will actually see that not all of them fall under that category. There are the peace loving, caring dragons that actually love humans and coexisted for thousands of years. Some dragon lovers even claim that they teach humans how to talk. According to many websites, they are also wise and friendly. They have abilities just like some gifted humans in paranormal stories and can even shape shift into a human form to hide amongst our humans. Why? Because they will do anything to be part of our world. I have created a series about them called the Dragon Glider. The first book King of Lions are complete and consists of 96 000 words. It is not my first novel I have written but it is the first one I feel has the umph to go far. It is set in modern times and plays of in a word I have created called Paegeia, hidden from the human realm. Elaina Watkins is the MC that finds herself in this world and how she is forced to come to terms that dragons are real. Not an easy task for a sixteen year old I may say and is bound to lead to a lot of disastrous and hilarious scenarios, and the best part of it, things are not what it seems. It is filled with riddles, mind games, puppy love and modern Arthurian that ends up into plenty of courage. The main plot and sub-plots have been my favorite part to write and I tried to keep everything as realistic and believable, cause that is what I love about fantasy. I hate reading these far fetch stories that makes no sense and is trying to accomplish the thought that Paegeia might actually exist.
I truly believe that my yes is just around the corner and for that purpose I won't give up.
You should do the same, and remember keep your dream alive, after all it only takes that one yes.
Till later
I.W
18 Oct 2011
7 Oct 2011
No Luck
This is going to be a long entry. As you know I am on a query war. I must have probably queried twenty agencies.
I am still waiting for some of them to get back to me but I have to say, was a little disappointed with a couple of them.
First, I need to thank those agencies that does get back to you and I don't take it personal if they say no thank you, but when they send a no thank you back and don't even know the right title, giving it a complete different name makes the wheels in my head turn.
How much time do they really spend on your query letter or do they scroll down to the paragraph about yourself, see that you are a first time writer that never published anything before and makes a decision
on that. Another agency said thanks for the look, I mean, they are editors for crying out loud and could rather say thank you for the query. I guess I should be grateful just to get something back but was a little shocked at her word use. So I started to think, maybe it isn't me, because I have send my novel out to five people that is willing to read my story and they loved it. However they did help me with a couple of things or stages of my book they think I can make it more exiting. I did that but still wonder why they are the only ones loving my story and why agents can't see what the public does. It is very frustrating at the moment and I am actually thinking of going into self publishing but am not that desperate yet.
I just have to believe that someday, in the neat future hopefully, I will get that YES.
In the mean time I am going to keep on writing and do what I love.
Remember never give up.
That's what I believe.
Cheers till later,
IW
I am still waiting for some of them to get back to me but I have to say, was a little disappointed with a couple of them.
First, I need to thank those agencies that does get back to you and I don't take it personal if they say no thank you, but when they send a no thank you back and don't even know the right title, giving it a complete different name makes the wheels in my head turn.
How much time do they really spend on your query letter or do they scroll down to the paragraph about yourself, see that you are a first time writer that never published anything before and makes a decision
on that. Another agency said thanks for the look, I mean, they are editors for crying out loud and could rather say thank you for the query. I guess I should be grateful just to get something back but was a little shocked at her word use. So I started to think, maybe it isn't me, because I have send my novel out to five people that is willing to read my story and they loved it. However they did help me with a couple of things or stages of my book they think I can make it more exiting. I did that but still wonder why they are the only ones loving my story and why agents can't see what the public does. It is very frustrating at the moment and I am actually thinking of going into self publishing but am not that desperate yet.
I just have to believe that someday, in the neat future hopefully, I will get that YES.
In the mean time I am going to keep on writing and do what I love.
Remember never give up.
That's what I believe.
Cheers till later,
IW
27 Sept 2011
WHAT DO AGENCIES WANT?
I got my second decline today and immediately went back to my query letter.
I must have change it like a million times. I am probably the person that has searced every
different kind of query letter but it seems that it is still not one of my strongest subjects.
I even have burn marks on my legs to prove how hard I am working just to get that one freaken yes.
I mean they do represent the genre I am writing for but just for once I wish that I could be for one day
in the mind of an agent to find out WHAT IT IS they are looking for and WHAT DO THEY WANT.
It is probably not going to help to bitch and moan about it.
Well that is one of the reason this blog was created. TO BITCH AND MOAN.
I will just have to work harder at it and hopefully someone would see the potential my story have.
I am going to crawl into bed now and try my best to FORGET about Query letter for the next 8 hours.
Don't give up though, It will happen.
Cheers,
IW
I must have change it like a million times. I am probably the person that has searced every
different kind of query letter but it seems that it is still not one of my strongest subjects.
I even have burn marks on my legs to prove how hard I am working just to get that one freaken yes.
I mean they do represent the genre I am writing for but just for once I wish that I could be for one day
in the mind of an agent to find out WHAT IT IS they are looking for and WHAT DO THEY WANT.
It is probably not going to help to bitch and moan about it.
Well that is one of the reason this blog was created. TO BITCH AND MOAN.
I will just have to work harder at it and hopefully someone would see the potential my story have.
I am going to crawl into bed now and try my best to FORGET about Query letter for the next 8 hours.
Don't give up though, It will happen.
Cheers,
IW
23 Sept 2011
Synopsis, Urgh!
Good day people,
I guess you can see what is on my mind today. Yes, it is the one thing every single author hates. The reason why, because how the hell can you summarize your entire manuscript of 100 000 words into 1 000. It is crazy difficult and a lot of writers don't know how to do that.
I think that I have found a method that makes a synopsis as easy as riding a bike.
I use to not query agencies that asked for one but decided to tackle it and get it over and done with.
I thought that it is going to take months because it just sound impossible, but to be honest I actually loved doing it.
The best way to know what needs to go into your synopsis, is to think about your story, real fast. What is the main elements. Write then down. Step two is to put them in order so your story moves forward. Once you got that, put a small introduction and an end. Voilla, you have your synopsis, now polish it and send it to all the agencies you used to overlook because of a stupid synopsis.
Good luck and hope that you are going to start enjoying you Synopsis.
Till later,
I.W
I guess you can see what is on my mind today. Yes, it is the one thing every single author hates. The reason why, because how the hell can you summarize your entire manuscript of 100 000 words into 1 000. It is crazy difficult and a lot of writers don't know how to do that.
I think that I have found a method that makes a synopsis as easy as riding a bike.
I use to not query agencies that asked for one but decided to tackle it and get it over and done with.
I thought that it is going to take months because it just sound impossible, but to be honest I actually loved doing it.
The best way to know what needs to go into your synopsis, is to think about your story, real fast. What is the main elements. Write then down. Step two is to put them in order so your story moves forward. Once you got that, put a small introduction and an end. Voilla, you have your synopsis, now polish it and send it to all the agencies you used to overlook because of a stupid synopsis.
Good luck and hope that you are going to start enjoying you Synopsis.
Till later,
I.W
20 Sept 2011
First query news
Good day everyone,
As you can see the title of this entry, I guess you know already what it is I am going to say.
I wish that it was good news, but unfortunately it is not the yes I have been hoping for.
I have to say one thing though,Kristin Nelson and Sara Megibow is really professional when it comes to declining Query letters. Other agencies can learn from their rejection letter and I have to admit that I am a little disappointed in getting that no from Nelson literary agency. I think that their staff is prompt in answering query letters and would have love to work with them.
Maybe next time.
However it is not going to make me stop in sending in my queries and is curious to see what agency will finally gives me that yes.
Till later and remember don't give up.
I.W
As you can see the title of this entry, I guess you know already what it is I am going to say.
I wish that it was good news, but unfortunately it is not the yes I have been hoping for.
I have to say one thing though,Kristin Nelson and Sara Megibow is really professional when it comes to declining Query letters. Other agencies can learn from their rejection letter and I have to admit that I am a little disappointed in getting that no from Nelson literary agency. I think that their staff is prompt in answering query letters and would have love to work with them.
Maybe next time.
However it is not going to make me stop in sending in my queries and is curious to see what agency will finally gives me that yes.
Till later and remember don't give up.
I.W
18 Sept 2011
Rejections, Rejections, Rejections.
Good day first time writers.
As you can see I am covering a lot of rejections but it is something that I am familiar with when it comes to Agencies.
The thing I have learn from it is always do thorough research first about the agency who you want to submit you're query to. See how they want a query letter to look like and always make sure that you follow the guidelines
to the T. Another thing that can decline your query is make sure you got the genre right. If you don't know what genre your novel fall under and you end up sucking it out of your thumb, they will relate it to your work as well and won't even bother asking for your ms. The third big thing is grammar. I know it is a heartache and I'm struggling big time with it.
Last keep revising that query, polish it as best as you can. All of these guidelines will help with getting that forward of a ms.
Good luck and remember don't give up
I.W
As you can see I am covering a lot of rejections but it is something that I am familiar with when it comes to Agencies.
The thing I have learn from it is always do thorough research first about the agency who you want to submit you're query to. See how they want a query letter to look like and always make sure that you follow the guidelines
to the T. Another thing that can decline your query is make sure you got the genre right. If you don't know what genre your novel fall under and you end up sucking it out of your thumb, they will relate it to your work as well and won't even bother asking for your ms. The third big thing is grammar. I know it is a heartache and I'm struggling big time with it.
Last keep revising that query, polish it as best as you can. All of these guidelines will help with getting that forward of a ms.
Good luck and remember don't give up
I.W
17 Sept 2011
Mission statement
Okay so my first entry might have sound a bit confusing but what I really to achieve is not that at all.
I want my bog to assist people, first time writers like myself to not giving up.
I know out of experience how difficult it is to get up after numerous rejections and I have to admit, sometimes I have to force
myself to do so. If you feel that you can't stand another rejection take a break but keep in mind that it will only get harder.
No agency promise a sale so the rejections are never going to stop. If you really can't handle one coming from an agency maybe writing is not for you then, with out being harsh.
Steven King got seventeen rejections with his first book and every one knows that the amazing Stefanie Meyer's was rejected 39 times. It is scary, I know but look at it this way. The more they reject it the more you can revise an polish it so that it might become the next big thing.
Don't ever lose the dream of becoming a published writer and keep on sending those query letters. I know I will
With love,
I.W.
I want my bog to assist people, first time writers like myself to not giving up.
I know out of experience how difficult it is to get up after numerous rejections and I have to admit, sometimes I have to force
myself to do so. If you feel that you can't stand another rejection take a break but keep in mind that it will only get harder.
No agency promise a sale so the rejections are never going to stop. If you really can't handle one coming from an agency maybe writing is not for you then, with out being harsh.
Steven King got seventeen rejections with his first book and every one knows that the amazing Stefanie Meyer's was rejected 39 times. It is scary, I know but look at it this way. The more they reject it the more you can revise an polish it so that it might become the next big thing.
Don't ever lose the dream of becoming a published writer and keep on sending those query letters. I know I will
With love,
I.W.
15 Sept 2011
Welcome all fellow first time writers
I have to admit, being a first time writer can be really frustrating.
I thought writing a novel was hard, but then I took the next step and realised it is nothing compared to getting your story noticed.
Agencies don't play around and will give you that 'sorry but your project is not what we are looking for right now, but please don't give up.'
Sometimes I wish they could give it to you straight, give a small reason but I guess they are super busy with the ones that did get noticed.
Well to make a long story short I am still searching for that one agency that would just give me that one chance.
My first novel is a paranormal love story (yes, it's got vampires with abilities and even hot steamy sex) some would think that I am a big phony copycat but I really think that my story line is great.
It is just to get that query letter perfect, to draw them in and ask for more.
My biggest problem is exactly doing that. Query letters.
No agency want the same so you really have to do your research well on how they think a query letter should look like and write one from scratch. It takes loads of time and not to mention spending time on the Internet.
That is how I found out that I will never publish my first novel, whom I have spend almost three years writing, sending it to an editor and even thought that I found an agency, only to find out that it was a scam. I was heart broken but determent that I am not going to give up.
So, I wrote a new one and is back to square one. Finding that one agency that will give me a chance and yes it is fiction too that fall under fantasy.
I really hope that this is going to be a the one that is going to get noticed.
If there is anyone out there, please feel free to leave me a comment and maybe we can share our stories that might help other first time writers dreams come true.
I know that someday it will happened for me and hopefully by then I can share the happy news with someone.
Don't give up first time writers and feel free to share your stories, complaints what ever is on your heart to release some of the negativity that makes you want to stop.
Just don't give up!
If you want to learn more about query letters there is an awesome blog created by a couple of agents. One of them is known as the query shark. Although she doesn't cover any fantasy queries, I promise you will learn something about what a query letter should look like.The blog is called confessions of a wondering heart. Please feel free to check it out.
Till later
I.W.
I thought writing a novel was hard, but then I took the next step and realised it is nothing compared to getting your story noticed.
Agencies don't play around and will give you that 'sorry but your project is not what we are looking for right now, but please don't give up.'
Sometimes I wish they could give it to you straight, give a small reason but I guess they are super busy with the ones that did get noticed.
Well to make a long story short I am still searching for that one agency that would just give me that one chance.
My first novel is a paranormal love story (yes, it's got vampires with abilities and even hot steamy sex) some would think that I am a big phony copycat but I really think that my story line is great.
It is just to get that query letter perfect, to draw them in and ask for more.
My biggest problem is exactly doing that. Query letters.
No agency want the same so you really have to do your research well on how they think a query letter should look like and write one from scratch. It takes loads of time and not to mention spending time on the Internet.
That is how I found out that I will never publish my first novel, whom I have spend almost three years writing, sending it to an editor and even thought that I found an agency, only to find out that it was a scam. I was heart broken but determent that I am not going to give up.
So, I wrote a new one and is back to square one. Finding that one agency that will give me a chance and yes it is fiction too that fall under fantasy.
I really hope that this is going to be a the one that is going to get noticed.
If there is anyone out there, please feel free to leave me a comment and maybe we can share our stories that might help other first time writers dreams come true.
I know that someday it will happened for me and hopefully by then I can share the happy news with someone.
Don't give up first time writers and feel free to share your stories, complaints what ever is on your heart to release some of the negativity that makes you want to stop.
Just don't give up!
If you want to learn more about query letters there is an awesome blog created by a couple of agents. One of them is known as the query shark. Although she doesn't cover any fantasy queries, I promise you will learn something about what a query letter should look like.The blog is called confessions of a wondering heart. Please feel free to check it out.
Till later
I.W.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)