Seven More Years

I Guess We'll Call This A Warm-Up Lap...

I thought I would do a quick status update as I haven’t posted anything in a few days.  Things have been pretty quiet with my goals, so there just hasn't been much to post.  That sort of makes me wonder if I am simply not pushing things hard enough.  I am about a month into this thing, and as I look back, it just really feels like a slow start to everything I am trying to do.  The fact that I've done nothing of note over the past three days is sort of telling.

Looking back, it feels like January was a "warm-up" month, even if I didn't quite plan it that way.  Going forward, if I want to stay on track with my goals, I think I am going to start putting in a lot more effort.  I am hoping that this week, I can push myself more and get things moving at  a speed I am happier with.

Anyway, here's an overview of where I am:

Writing:
Still no word back on the remainder of the query letters I sent out last week.  That's actually not surprising.  It's usually a few weeks before you hear back on a query letter, if you ever do (some agents tend to only respond if they are interested).  So I'll keep an eye on my inbox for the next few weeks, but otherwise try to forget about them.

I've also read through about half of my new novel so far.  I am hoping to get through the rest of it by the end of this weekend so I can start rewriting on Monday.  I hate to jinx myself or speak too soon, but (so far) this new book is far and away the best thing I have ever written.  It's crazy how excited I am about this story, and I cannot wait to get it all polished and ready for some test reads.  I still have a lot of work to do, but for a first draft, I think it is really strong.

Fitness:
It was sort of a bad ending to a good week fitness-wise.  I ended up at the gym three days this week, which I thought was pretty good.  Friday I covered 2.3 miles in 30 minutes--that was pretty rough, but I pushed it.  Unfortunately the end result was a gain of 1.5 pounds for the week.  I think most of that is due to my bachelor weekend snacking last weekend and a poor finish (eating-wise) this week.  It sucks to put in such an effort on one end, only to drop the ball on the other.  Hopefully this disappointment keeps me on track for next week.

Music:
Nothing really going on here.  I've got the studio all setup, but other than one session of working through our old set list solo (wow, can you say a bit rusty?), I haven't been down there.  I am hoping to get Kim down into the studio at some point soon so we can start tuning up the old songs.  Eventually, I'd like to get a weekly practice going....but one step at a time.

Well, that's where I am after one month.  Here's hoping February proves a lot more productive.

And Thanks For Playing...

The writing gods give, and the writing gods take away.  With some help from Kim (she did an emergency safety read on the 50 pages I was sending last night), I managed to get a partial out to that agent last night.  It's actually the first time I've ever e-submitted (is that the usage we are going with, gang?) anything, so I was really nervous about formating and stuff.  But I think it got off okay.

And for my timely efforts, I received a response just a few minutes ago: a very kind no.

I can’t say I am surprised.  Despite my enthusiasm in my last post, I knew getting a request for a full was a long shot.  That's just the reality of the publishing world.  (I won't bore you all with the statistics...but I could write out a quick table right off the top of my head).

Still, I got to spend the day in a OHMIGOD-this-could-really-be-happening bliss.  As pessimistic as this business tends to make you, bright spots like that are pretty cool.  And the fact that she thought I was worth a closer look in the first place is very flattering.  Some writers go years without ever getting a request for a partial.  (Look me trying to cheer myself up...aren't I adorable?)

In the end she said she was "intrigued by the premise [of my novel]...but not drawn in to the story as much as she had hoped."

If I look at the past two days objectively, I think it confirms my fears about the book.  The concept is good, my writing is decent, but the execution is just not there.  For all intents and purposes, the plot, pacing, and structure of the book were set in stone as I wrote the first draft, years before I had gained all my levels in writing.  In my inexperience, I just didn't get the story in my head down onto the paper--and no amount of rewriting and polishing is going to fix that.

Ah well, that's the game.  There are still six more queries out there and hopefully someone else sees something there that the others haven't.  Until then, I've got book #2 to work on, and I know that is going to fare much, much better.

Back to it!

Breath, Breath...No Need to Panic

So I just got home from my first trip to the gym of the new year (2.13 miles in 30 minutes on the treadmill and four sets of curls just to feel manly, for those keeping notes.)  I popped open the MacBook to write a quick note for the site, and I noticed I had a few new emails sitting in my inbox.

...one unintelligible spam message <DELETE>

...one message from Writer's Digest promising me the secrets to getting published for $159.95 <SHAKE MY HEAD SADLY, THEN DELETE>

...one Facebook request...<FEEL HAPPILY INCLUDED, SAVE>

...a Staples.com flyer <SILENTLY GRUMBLE ABOUT THE BROKEN OFFICE CHAIR I AM SITTING IN, SAVE>

...a response from one of the agents I queried on saturday <COMPLETELY PANIC>

I spent about two minutes staring at the subject line of the email.

First I tried to be all cool about it:  "Oh my first rejection of the batch, that was quick...whatever." 

Then I some hope started creeping in:  "Well, you know it could be good...I've put a lot of work into this and those first few pages are really strong.  Maybe..." 

Then a little excitement: "Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod, what if she wants to see more?  What if she wants a partial?  What if this is the first correspondence with my new agent which will grow into a long and rewarding professional relationship where the two of us reinvent the entire fantasy genre???  What if--"

And then the impatient cynic--who really just wants to get back to work--piped up: "Seriously guy, just OPEN THE EMAIL!"

So I did.  And...

<drum roll>

She wants the first fifty pages!!!  Oh my god!  Losing my mind, trying to calm down, really wishing someone was here to jump up and down in circles with me.

For the non-writers out there, this is what we call a "request for a partial."  It is not an offer for representation (so don't get too excited) but it is a relatively big deal.  Basically, based on my introductory letter and short writing sample, this awesome (and clearly quite talented) agent thinks my book is worth considering.  This is only the third partial request I've ever received.

The next step is I'll send in the first 50 pages.  She'll read those and if she still thinks there is something there, she'll ask for the whole thing.  Then after reading the entire novel, she'll make a final decision.  So there is still a long way to go, but this is a very exciting first step.

All right, I need to calm myself down and get back to work.  I'll keep everyone posted on this.

Man, talk about positive reinforcement for spending my lunch hour at the gym.

Is There Such a Thing as a Batcave Band?

So I've been playing bachelor for the last few days (Kim and Erin have been in Florida visiting family).  After a few days of not shaving and doing other manly things (read: playing video games and watching BSG), I woke up this morning and decided that I should get something productive done.

So after spending the morning getting those submission packets out (see my last post) I came down into the bat cave (our sort-of-finished cellar that I use as my office for work) this afternoon to finally turn the pile of music equipment I have down here back into the rocking music studio that the lingering electrical engineer in me would be proud of.

I foolishly thought it would take me an hour or so and then I could spend the rest of the night rocking out.  But, the picture above is the result of four and a half hours of pretty dusty, grimy work.  (Don't worry, the Taylor stayed safely upstairs until the very end--and is going back up with me before the night is over).  Not the way I expected to spend my last night of manly "freedom," but I am really happy it is done. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I'd going to head over and see if I can remember how to play that thing.  Anyone feel like coming over for pizza and a jam session?

Submission Time: Here We Go Again

I woke up early--well, relatively early for a guy who was up until two in the morning watching the Battlestar Galactica season 1 boxed set--and got to work preparing and sending out a new batch of submissions for Atimus (my first novel).

This is the first time I've submitted this latest version of Atimus.  I spent a few months over the summer finally rewriting the novel based on all of the feedback I've received over the past few years.  It's actually a major rewrite where I fixed a lot of the style and structure problems that the 2009 version of me would never have let happen in the first place.  2005 me, meant well, he just had a lot to learn.

Anyway, I sent out seven "queries" (basically short letters asking a literary agent if they would consider looking at my book).  Strangely enough, I only had to go to the post office for one of them.  Most agencies accept--and in most cases strongly suggest--email submissions now for obvious reasons.  Still, there is something very cool and charming about heading down to the post office with a stack of 9x12 manila envelopes under your arm.  It's one of those little things that makes all of this feel "real" while you write your stories into the void.  I am glad I got to do it once more today.

The other six were email submissions, which means checking my email is going to be a terrifying experience for the next several weeks (I actually have Thunderbird shut down as I write this--I never do that normally).  Still, it is incredibly exciting to have something out there again.  Scary or not, at least I am doing something.

I really expect these next few months to be the last stand for Atimus.   I'll probably get one more batch of submissions together once I hear back from this group (assuming no one decides to sign me, of course).  After that, I think the book has made its rounds, as they say.  Rewriting the book last summer was a really interesting way to see how I've grown as a writer over the past few years.  Sort of like opening a time capsule in some ways.  Even though I know I'll write much better (technically and stylistically) novels in the future, I think I'll always feel connected to Atimus because of how I cut my teeth on it.  The two of us grew into this writing game together.

Good luck, little novel.  Have a fun time in New York and come back with some good news, okay?

Month One: Complete and Utter Fail

So you may have noticed that this space hasn't been updated for the past couple weeks.  Appropriately enough the lack of posting here is a perfect match for the lack of effort I've put into my goals.  Well, maybe that is a bit harsh.  I am seven pounds down...but that really came from not over eating over the past three weeks.  Basically my inaction (that is, my lack of eating Doritios) led to some weight loss.  I guess doing "nothing" is slightly better than doing the wrong thing, if it is any conciliation.

I've been off track the past two weeks because of a small family crisis we've been facing (one that I won't detail here).  However, I am very happy to say that this crisis ended extremely well and is very, very over (thank Science!).

I've basically spent the last two weeks holding my breath and trying to keep myself as distracted as possible--all while outwardly smiling and pretending that nothing whatsoever was wrong.  Looking back, a part of me feels like it was something of a cop-out to abandon my seven-more-years plans while we waited things out, but that's what I did.  I think things look a lot less scary from the other side of the storm, so I am just cutting myself some slack and getting back to it.

So I am back in the saddle, as they say.  And I you should start seeing much more activity here.  Thanks for bearing with me.

Back to it!

Back From a Slight Case of Poisoning

So I spent last night scrubbing every inch of my basement with bleach.  Funny thing about bleach--those in the know sort of recommend that you heavily dilute the stuff before using it to scrub floors.  If you go by their advice (and I imagine there are several government agency who would insist that you do), you should use about one tablespoon of bleach per gallon of warm water.

As it turns out, it's not advisable to just pour bleach all over your floor, dumb a couple cups of water over it and then get on your hands and knees with a scrub brush.  Even if you are wearing a painter's dust mask.  On a related note, painter's dusk masks are worse than useless (on the order of goggles vs. lava) against bleach fumes.  Just something I've picked up over the last few days.

So today at lunch--as I tried to ignore my pounding headache and worrisome slurred speech--I spent about an hour researching how to clean up bleach spills.  Turns out, lots and lots of water does the trick.  And a little bit of baking soda for good measure.

Anyway, after all that my basement is once again suitable for human habitation.  Just in time for me to go off and spend two days in Woburn (about once a month, I have to spend some days in our Woburn office--which means doing anything aside from my day job on those days is pretty much impossible).

Yeah, so this is not turning out to be the big kick-off I was hoping for.  I still have tomorrow to make something happen (maybe get those query letters out).  We'll see if I can salvage something out of this mess.

Another Visit to the Land of Infinite Tomorrows

Well, today was supposed to be my big kick-off day.  I planned to get Erin off to school bright and early, come back home and get things organized with work (I've got a lot on my plate this week, so I need to make sure I stay on top of things in order to minimize any late nights), spend a fun lunch time getting reacquainted with the gym, and then spend the evening sending out a new batch of query letters.

I was set, I tell you!  Psyched to get things off on the right foot.  But, fate--that is, fate taking the form of our home's century old clay plumbing--seemed to have missed a memo.

Instead of spending last night setting up my music area in my office, I was taking apart our washing machine, foolishly trying to convince myself that the rancid water filling the thing wasn't what I knew it was.

Instead of getting Erin off to school bright and early today, she and I had to contend with yet-another-two-hour-delay^TM (registered trade mark of Assumption School) as it seems to have rained last night.

Then, instead of heading off to the gym in my fancy new sneakers and snazzy new workout clothes, I spent my lunch hour giving a pair of plumbers a tour of my foul, oh-please-don't-that-smell-be-what-I think-it-is basement.

And tonight, instead of sending a pile of email queries to the list of agents I found over the weekend, I plan to be elbows deep in bleach as I scour every inch of my basement while mumbling incoherently about wire hangers to get myself through.

So yeah, not the huge start I was hoping for.  But, if it's any conciliation I don't think I'll be eating anything today--and possibly not even tomorrow.  At least I am on track on the diet.

Hope for better news tomorrow...

These Shoes Were Made For Running...

So in preparation for kick-off Monday, I made a quick trip to the shoe store this afternoon:

 

Those may look like just ordinary sneakers, but they are in fact ASICS TN826 athletic shoes featuring the ASICS Gel^TM Cushioning System.  This cutting edge technology absorbs harmful shock by dissipating vertical impact and dispersing it into the horizontal plane.  Ah yes, with these shoes--and their amazing mastery of Newtonian physics--that treadmill doesn't stand a chance!

On the writing front, I printed out a reading copy of the first draft of my new book:

 

In that binder is the very first printout of my second novel.  Kind of a big deal, actually, if I can take a moment to feel good about it.  As a first step in the rewriting process, I am going just read through the draft and get myself back into the story.  I need to just forget about all the mechanics and just remember why I needed to write this story.  Hopefully, I find myself as excited and in love with the world as I was when I first put the original outline together.  I've got a lot of hard work ahead of me, and I need to get in there and remember what I was doing this for in the first place.

So those were my big steps for the day.  I'm still sort of in vacation mode, so I don't expect to make too much progress over the weekend.  We'll see how it goes...