Mark Twain

Did you know 2010 marks the 175th anniversary of Mark Twain's birth and the 100th anniversary of his death. True story.

To celebrate, and really to learn more about this American literary icon my friends and I are headed to Hannibal today. It's the birth place of the famed writer and of course they have a whole museum tour set-up for tourists. Not totally my kind of thing, but I've got a couple friends who are big-time into it.

Never read a Mark Twain piece? Try this free short story on Bartleby. Jim Smily and His Jumping Frog

I've read both the Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. But I have to admit, ashamedly, that I did not know he wrote the Prince and the Pauper until I checked it out of the library last week. Read his bio here and see the complete list of works.

Novel Status Update

I have three major things to be excited for when it comes to the current status of the young adult novel I am trying to get published.

One: I FINISHED the edits. This is the third round of edits and I did some major line and scene editing to really sharpen up the book. I wanted to make sure each scene and each line furthered the story along and wasn't superfluous fluff. It was a task that has literally taken me 6 months! Hopefully the time spent editing was worth it.

Two: Since I am finished, I get to start writing another novel attempt. I've been very disciplined over the last year, refusing to start a new story until this one was fully edited and ready to be presented to literary agents. I'm so excited I don't know where to begin...

Three: Starting in the New Year I plan to send query letters and a portion of the manuscript to at least 30 agents. (I've already gotten my first rejection - which oddly enough made me very happy. I think it's because now this whole thing seems real.) I've already begun research on the agents that I hope to submit to, and like a super-nerd have bookmarked each person's individual requirements. I've even started a word document that details each agent so I can personalize the letters. The morning of January 14th will be spent e-mailing each individually. Yay!!

Yup, I'm Writing a YA Novel

Actually... I wrote a young adult novel. I'm in the editing stages now. I've been in the editing stages for more than 12 months. Ouch.

I'm a firm believer in the concept that if something is written down it is more likely to happen than if it is just a personal thought/goal/ambition. So, to kick my butt in gear I'm going to chronicle this process on here. (Don't worry I won't only write about trying to get published.)

Here's the current status:
I've completed the third round of revisions on a hard copy of the manuscript and am 75% done with transferring the edits to the Word document. From there I am going to read through the book one more time for any glaring errors/problems/conflicts; and then... I'm sending it out to literary agents.
I've started looking into agents. A number of them have excellent blogs that talk a lot about their profession, the type of writing they are looking for, how to write a pitch letter, etc... I'm locking away all that info in the back of my mind to pull it out in a week or two when I am ready to take that HUGE leap and submit the book for consideration.

Scary. Exciting. I can't wait for the process to begin. (Is that weird?)

Taking a Step Back Can Actually be Helpful

So I admit it, I am one of those writers who loves to push as close as possible to the deadline and then crank out an awesome piece under pressure. And to be honest, most of the time the articles are better written, clearer and more concise when I write in this manner. When I think too hard about it or start writing weeks or days in advance it will take me twice as long and usually ends up longer than need be.

But I'm learning that when it comes to novel writing the exact opposite may be true. I started my first official attempt at a young adult novel in August 2008. At the time I had grand plans of having it in the hands of agents by December. I completed the first draft in September and sent it to a number of close friends to read through. They sent back their thoughts, I added parts, changed character names, deleted a few scenes and went through a long editing process. By January I was at a point I thought appropriate to send off. Then I sent it to my mom...

She liked the story but went into teacher mode and highlighted every point she was confused about, every grammatical error, every incomplete sentence. At that point I started reading what exactly is required to get an agent - and discouragement set in.

I set the book aside and didn't look at it for almost two months. Then my early readers started hounding me about getting it completed and sent out. Just the thought - The fear. The anxiety, The likely rejection.

But I picked the book up again last week, printed all 280 pages out and pulled out the red pen to begin edits. This being the third time I've done edits I figured it would be a quick process. Um, Nope. I thought I'd have nothing else to add. Wrong again.

Letting it sit while I focused on other things - like this blog, twitter, securing freelance gigs - might have been the best thing for the book. I've realized in the editing process there are certain words I overuse. I use forms of to be way too often. I hate cliches and yet they littered my pages. And one of my characters is a little one-dimensional. I'm trying to change all of that now.

Is it good enough to get published? I have no idea. Do I hope it is? Heck yes. Will I bite the bullet and finally send it out after this round of edits. Yup, it's getting to a point where I'm proud to say I penned this.

Despite my insecurities about this, I've learned that at least giving the book a little space has given me a fresher approach and an unbiased eye.