Hurry Up & Wait

As the eldest daughter of an officer in the U.S. Army, I've become familiar with the term "hurry up and wait." I often heard my dad describe the Army this way a kid. Back then I didn't know what the phrase meant. Now I do. And I also know that it applies to other areas of life. 

Like the publishing industry.

As a writer, I spent a little less than a year working on my book, wrote a query letter, and hurried to send it out (once it was deemed ready, of course). Then I waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

A little more than a year after sending my first query letter, I have an agent (yay!) and we've made four passes through THESE WICKED WATERS for editing purposes. Now we're embarking on the pitching process (to publishers) which will involve, as you might've guessed, more waiting.

After I've hopefully signed with a publisher, gone through edits and other changes, more waiting lurks around the corner until my book is finally printed. Which, from date of publisher-signing could take anywhere from 1-2 years.

Crazy, huh?

Yet, in a way, it's also wonderful.

While the publishing industry involves a lot of hurry up and wait, there's opportunity in the waiting. Waiting offers time to savor, to prepare, to research. Or to work on an entirely new book!

Because of that, I've decided to twist the phrase. Instead of hurry up and wait...

Hurry up and wait, while savoring each moment. 

I hope you do the same!

What I'm Up To

Back in mid-June I got to share some very exciting news with you guys. You can find the original post here. 
So, what am I up to post-agent-getting?
I plan to write a series on what to expect after signing with an agent. But I haven't experienced each step yet. So this time around, I'm sharing updates of what's going on with me writing-wise.
My agent and I have been steadily working on THESE WICKED WATERS. No major editing overhauls, just a few tweaks and changes. If things stay on track, we're hoping to be ready to submit to publishing houses after Labor Day. How exciting is that?!

Yeah, I can't quite believe it. Yet.
But as excited I am about THESE WICKED WATERS, it's not my only toasted bread in the Fondu pot (can you tell I'm craving something particular?). I'm also editing SECOND-HAND SCAVENGERS, my NaNo project from last year. I hope to have my first round finished in the upcoming days so I can send it out to beta readers.
On that note, if you're interested in swapping stories for beta reads, just let me know!
Isn't life exciting?

How I Got My Agent

This is a post that, at my darkest moments, I never thought I would write. 
This is a post that, at my most hopeful moments, I only dreamed about.
But here I am, sitting in front of my computer, fingers clicking away at the keys, a smile on my face, telling you lovely blog readers...

I GOT AN AGENT.

To those of you who are reading this post, jealousy twisting your hearts, I've been where you are. I know. I know how hard it is, how discouraging, how depressing. Especially when reading success stories. 

Don't. You. Dare. Give. Up.

To show you how much I do understand, here's some background information.
I signed with my agent for THESE WICKED WATERS. My fourth book. That's right. I wrote four books and queried three of them (one was a sequel) before I found an agent. I'm talking over 150 query letters and subsequent rejections.
That doesn't even count the queries I sent out for THESE WICKED WATERS. 
(Hint: here comes the actual How I Got My Agent story.)
Back in June 2015, after winning a few contests, I sent 53 query letters for TWW. Of those, I received the following:
Partial Requests: 1 Partial Upgraded to Full: 1 Full Requests: 1 Rejections: 51
...Or so I thought.
The usual policy with agents is that if you don't hear back in four weeks or so, the answer is "no." I'd closed out all my outstanding query letters and retreated from the front lines. I knew TWW was The One. The truth of it resounded in my bones. But I realized it needed work. And maybe my query letter did too.
I let TWW sit. For almost a year. In the meantime I wrote two other books and focused on this blog. Finally, early this year, I came back to TWW and began a massive rewrite that took months.
The day after I finished my overhaul (June 8), an email pinged my inbox. It was an agent, asking to see the full of TWW, from a query I sent a year ago. I did some hurried proofreading and sent off the full a day later, not expecting much. 
Okay, to be honest I was expecting something: A Rejection.
On the evening of June 15 I got another email. I was sitting at my desk at work, eating dinner with my sister. My phone vibrated. I opened the message, already brushing off the "Unfortunately this isn't what we're looking for." 
When my gaze reached the, "I really enjoyed your book" sentence, I leapt out of my chair. I didn't even read the rest of the email! I started squealing, pacing around my--thankfully empty!--office, babbling nonsense while my sister read the rest of the email. Once sufficiently calmed down, I hurried back to my desk and read the message in a daze.
An agent liked my book!
An agent wanted to talk to me!
To me!
I was shaking. I was so happy tears threatened. I was disgustingly sweaty with nerves. I had no idea what to do with myself. I called my family, told my closest friends. It took me a literal hour to relax enough to think clearly enough to email the agent back.
Things moved quickly at this point. I set up The Call (or so I hoped), accepted her offer of representation, and ok'ed the agent-author contract.
So, now, in as much disbelief as I was when I first got that email, I can say:
Hello. I'm Emily Layne, represented by Becky LeJeune of Bond Literary Agency.
I can't wait to share this process with you guys. This is a phase of the writing world that is brand new to me. I hope we can learn together! Thank you for sticking with me in the querying trenches. Through the ups. And the downs. You're all so wonderful, and I don't deserve you.
Now, how about some help thinking of a new slogan? I'm no longer "a young adult writer braving the slushpile." 
...Am I?

Contests for Writers: Ink & Insights 2016

Boy, do I have a treat for you guys today! I have with me Catherine, owner of Critique My Novel. Critique My Novel runs an annual contest for writers called Ink & Insights. I've participated in Ink & Insights for (almost) three consecutive years. Click here to see my placing in 2015 and 2014!
With April under way, Ink & Insights 2016 is winding up. Knowing this contest is huge for writers, new and seasoned alike, I asked Catherine for an interview. Being the amazing person she is, she agreed. Buckle your figurative seatbelts, writers. 
Here we go!

Catherine, thank you so much for chatting with me about a fantastic contest for writers! Before we start, could you give me a little background about Critique My Novel, the business behind Ink & Insights, and some of your services?

Critique My Novel is a low-cost editing service that got its start in 2011. I discovered a love for editing and critiquing the work of others in a critique group while I was writing my own novel in 2009. I dabbled quite a bit back then, took a few classes, marked up a few books of my friends, then decided I wanted to try my hand at it on a more professional level. Critique My Novel was born.

In the beginning, the only service I offered was a Full Edit/Critique. But as time wore on and I worked on all levels of manuscripts, I saw a need to split that service up because it wasn’t right for many manuscripts. So we offer several different services now to fit any level or draft of manuscript.

Onto the contest information! What is Ink & Insights? Give us the details! (For example: Is there an entrance fee? How long does this contest run? Are there different entrance categories? etc.)

Ink & Insights is a writing contest geared toward helping independent writers by focusing on feedback.

We require the first 10,000 words of your manuscript. Each entry is assigned four judges who specialize in the genre of the manuscript. They read, score, and comment on specific aspects of the novel. (Characters, dialogue, style, pace, tension, scene structure...) This year’s fiction scoresheet is eight pages, with spots for plenty of feedback. With four judges reading, that’s a minimum of 32 pages of helpful feedback for EVERY entry!

The categories are Apprentice for the beginning writers or early drafts, Master for those novels ready for the market, and Nonfiction. The Master and Nonfiction categories include an Agent Round for those that place in the top three spots as determined by judges’ scores.

There is an entry fee, but this isn’t for the contest itself, it is to pay the judges who pour over the submissions and write detailed analyses. Most spend over an hour on each. (I personally average four hours on the ones I work on.)

So anyone who doesn’t want to enter because they’ve heard that contests shouldn’t have an entry fee can rest easy. They are paying for the critiques with an added bonus of a competition.  

Regular entry goes from April to May and is $40. Late entry goes through June and is $45.

What types are the prizes awarded to the winners of Ink & Insights?

The biggest prize we offer that EVERY submission wins is the invaluable feedback.  

There are cash prizes as well as a few other things—free entries, books, free CMN services. But the most exciting prize is the Agent Round.

The top three Master and Nonfiction submissions are passed to the panel of agents who read and comment on each. The agents also determine the final placement of these top three submissions.

Their invaluable feedback is priceless as it is, because it is rare to get that far during a novel’s query stage, but if they like your book, they have the option of asking to see more!

What advice would you give prospective entrants when prepping to enter?

You may think that formatting guidelines are not important, but contestants earn bonus points just for following instructions. And when it comes to the final fight for those top spots, every point matters. Last year, only a half point separated the third and fourth place winners in one category! Only the top three go to the agent round.

I’d also suggest not waiting until the last minute. We have a deadline and once the frenzy hits, judges get frazzled trying to finish. Early in the contest, while everything is calm and judges have plenty of time to spend a few hours on your MS, is the optimal time to submit.

Are there particular genres judges are looking for?

Each judge has his or her personal genre tastes and those genres they have more experience with, but all genres are accepted and there are readers for everything.

While we’re on that topic, are there any genres that are not accepted for Ink & Insights?

Nothing is off limits. Most of the judges are writers themselves and write in a wide variety of genres and topics. As long as we get a bit of warning about questionable material such as excessive violence, language, gore, sex, rape, or stories that involve child/animal abuse, I can find readers who are not turned off by the subjects. I have an extensive list from each judge about reading preferences (even though not all are listed on the bios page) as well as the types of stories or ‘situations’ they are not comfortable with. This way, I can make sure that each novel has the best team to represent its target audience.

Is there anything else you would like to add before we wrap up?

I’d really like to make sure it is widely known who came up with the fantastic title of our contest.

One of my favorite writers, who has landed in the top three more times than anyone else, came up with this incredibly fitting title that embodies our entire aim. (Before it was Ink & Insights, the contest had the drab title of ‘201_ Novel Writing Contest.’) The fabulous Emily Layne! (applause applause.)

(Oh, don't make me blush!)

Thank you for your time and for doing all the background work to ensure Ink & Insights 2016 shines!

You are most welcome. And thank you for supporting us year after year. We really have a blast doing this and love reading so many great new novels. 

Interested? I thought so! Here are some links you should check out:

Ink & Insights Facebook Page

Ink & Insights Website

Ink & Insights Twitter

Critique My Novel Website

If this interview has sparked your interest, make sure you take me up on my free critique on your first 500 words before you enter.

Good luck!!

Release the Kraken

Substitute "queries" for "kraken," and you'd have the perfect summary of my weekend. 

Yes, I started querying Friday. Oh, sorry. That calm font is not even close to the way I felt when I clicked the "send" button. Let me rephrase.

I starTed qUerying FRIday!!!!

Much better. Sheesh, I was a mess. Never, on any of my books, have I been this nervous. Also, never on my other books have I:

1. Finished writing in two weeks.

2. Worked on my query letter four four months.

3. Wanted to die at the thought of not hooking an agent.

I love These Wicked Waters SO SO SO much. More than I've loved any previous work. 

And I'm terrified of rejection. But I know without a doubt its all part of a grander plan. So I'm just going to sit back, relax, write something else, and be patient.

For at least five minutes each day.

;)

Slow & Steady Gets an Agent

What's the first thing about your book an agent scenes?
A query letter (usually).

How important is a query letter?
Very!

How long should you spend working on your query letter?

First off, everyone's different. Some people can get a perfect query letter in one day of writing (if you're one of these people, we really should meet up) others it can take weeks. In my case, two months. And I'm still not finished yet, though I think I'm close.

The thing is, unlike my last three queried books (unsuccessfully, might I add), I'm not in a rush to send out my letter. I want to take it slow and get things right. Which, in turn, will get me an agent (I hope!).

How am I so blase about querying? Let me tell you my recently discovered method via a step-by-step diagram. I was a business major, after all.

1. I wrote These Wicked Waters.
2. I did a quick edit of These Wicked Waters.
3. I wrote the query letter for TWW.
4. I started planning/writing another book.

While writing my other book, I go back to my query letter and make changes, then I send it out for other people to edit. I've got about 12 different drafts of it. Currently I'm on my 13th.

Honestly? It's the best query letter I've ever written. We'll see if the whole process works come June 29th, when I plan to start querying. Fingers crossed!

Value of A Tweet

I will admit it, I rarely use my Twitter account. I'm not famous (yet!), and I don't have anything interesting to share with the Twitter-verse. Odds are, I'm not alone.

Hold your horses though! Don't sprint to your laptops and deactivate your Twitter accounts (because you totally would if I told you, right? Ha!). Twitter does serve a purpose for the boring, Z-Listers of the population. Especially in the next few days.

                            

#PitMAD and #PitchMAS are starting!

                                         

You must be squinting at the computer screen and going "Um, what?" or maybe you know what I'm talking about and are giving excited nods. If you're in the second group, make sure you're alone. People tend to look strangely at people who encourage their electronic devices.

                                         

In lieu of giving a lengthy description, check out these two links for details. #PitMAD and #PitchMAS. They'll explain everything and answer any questions.

                                   

As far as the basics, here they are. #PitMAD and #PitchMAS take place on Twitter, thus the trendy hashtag (the number sign, in case you don't speak the lingo). If you don't have a Twitter account and are seeking an agent...make one now! 

On Thursday, December 4th #PitMAD starts on twitter. You have 140 characters to sum up your book in a catchy way. Well, less than 140 characters since the #PitMAD hashtag plus the genre of your book is required. The same goes for #PitchMAS on Thursday, December 11th. There are some other details along with #PitchMAS so you'll definitely want to click the link above.

                                  

Just to give you some inspiration, here are the pitch I'll be using:

150yrs after Alice's legacy, a spirited 17yo races to escape a steampunk Wonderland before she loses her head. And her heart. #pitmad ‪#‎ya‬

Fun, huh? Good luck! See you on the Twitter feeds!