The Bookmark

It was a stifling hot Saturday in August. My first novel was done. I was pretty much at a loss for what to do next. I was sitting in my front yard on a blanket, face down, tanning, and reading "The Dummies Guide to Getting Your Romance Published".

Yeah, newbie...I know.

I was trying to learn what to do next. I had read like fifty million books over the summer (romance of course) just figuring it all out. I knew only two things:

1. I loved to write.
2. I wanted the masses to see the powerful story I told.

(Okay...3 - I found out I actually liked to read)

Hence the book and learning about everything I could. Making myself better. I put the book down to change positions, my back was on fire. That's when I saw it.

A four-leaf clover. Why is that special you ask? Never in my life had I found one. NEVER. My sister on the other hand, can walk through a field and have twenty in her hand by the time she is done. I was always a little jealous of that. But this was my first. My very first four-leaf clover.

Now, I'm not a superstitious person - but there was a part of me that wanted to believe it was a sign. After all, I got a good luck charm while reading "How to get your Romance published?" And it was my FIRST one. So I took what little faith I had in all things superstitious and made the bookmark.


It reads: Instinct, Imagination, & Intuition. Make dreams a Reality!

And yes, that's my four-leaf clover in the middle. I made the book mark to remind me of two things.

1. The impossible can happen to you (like finding your first good luck charm).
2. Don't ever forget your dreams, no matter how far-fetched.

The book mark reminds me what I strive to be. It reminds me of everything I never really knew I wanted until I started writing.

I use it with each book I read. I want to be reminded about these things. I won't tell you how I lost it once and almost went out of my mind searching all the books I'd just returned to the library.

I will tell you it's one of my inspirations. One of the things I believe is very special. After all, it was my first (and only) four-leaf clover.

~JD

Learning about Justine Part 1: Emily

So, I though I would take a break from the norm and introduce myself and my life a little bit better. First up is my daughter: Emily.



Emily is almost 12, and the light of my life.

She has one singular obession: Horses. Yes, we have them - two to be exact. No, I'm not the farmer and the dell. The horses aren't kept at home; we board them at barn.

I would like to say she has other hobbies, but she doesn't. It's all about horses all the time. She collects Breyers (the model horses), her room is decorated to the max with horse posters, horses figurines, horse blankets, and even games with horses. Did you know they have Horse-Oply? And Pony-Oply? Yeah, we have them - both.

Do I like horses? As an animal? Yes (I love all animals) As a pet? Kind of. As a hobby? Errr...not really, but I wouldn't tell Emily that. It's expensive and time consuming, but it makes her happy and that, above all, it the most important thing to me. Seeing her smile when she's loping around the track. Watching her in show arena in her sparkling shirts and black cowboy hat.

The happiness plastered across her face from just those moments is worth it all.

I'm happy when she's happy.


Also, I would like to think being obsessed with horses will keep her out of trouble in the looming teenage years. Let's hope. ;-)

Here's to you Em!! You and your love of horses. Luv You!

Oy Vey! The Queries Have Stopped!

Me and my new BFF, Sarah, have be diligently working on our MS's together. Did I mention how much I love her? ;-) Just wanted to make sure everyone knew.

Because of all the @*#$!&% typos and grammar issues, I have forgone any further querying until this book is polished like a turd. Do you ever wonder why people say polished like a turd? I mean, really? You can't polish a turd - it would fall apart. I, myself, have never tried, but I don't think I would want to either.

Back on point peeps....

Polishing - like a new piece of bright, shiny silver that glistens no matter which way you turn it. It would even glow in the dark! Yeah, that's how I want it before I query anymore. Well, truly - that's how it should have been to begin with. And thanks to Sarah, it will be an wonderful piece by the time I'm done. No more 'literary garbage' as I called it (up until about four days ago).

Only problem? It has stopped my other MS in it's tracks. I haven't put down two words to it since February 8th. That's a long time. I was on such a roll too. That's okay though. My brain has been like mush these last few weeks, so adding to the WIP wouldn't have been the best thing. I would have ended up hating it anyways.

ONWARD!! The faster I polish, the faster I can put my brain back in gear.

*Smile for a good day*

~JR

I Love My Beta Reader

I just wanted to drop a note and say how wonderful my beta reader is. Seriously, I don't know what I would have done if I didn't find Sarah.

If you don't have a beta reader, get one - and fast! You'd be surprised how much small changes in your MS can make a huge difference. They can point out all the consistency problems and quirks that your seven other people didn't! It's more than I could have ever asked for. I've been doing edits for the past six hours (yes...I said six hours - my eyeballs hurt, but it was needed)

So, here's to you Sarah - the special beta reader award *BIG SMILE*

Exhaust Your Piece Into A Diamond

What, you ask? Exhaust your piece into a diamond?

We are talking about re-writes peeps - re-writes. First, let me give a shout-out to Dave Malone, who gave me this wonderful idea.

Check out his blog here: http://davemalone.wordpress.com/
It was his you tube video that really struck me.

I've been told that my writing is a diamond in the rough. But I want to get it OUT of the rough and make it sparkle so bright that no one can ignore it. Okay, so maybe that's a bit pompous, so how about I say I just want a few people to take interest (agents and publishers?)

Dave said "Exhaust your piece into a diamond". Tired of looking at it? Good! Tired of working on it? Good! Tired of re-writing it? Good! You're on the right track.

When you put it down and something "lingers", then you know you still have work to do. Yeah, it's good - but it lingers. Somethings not quite right. You don't feel that edge of satisfaction in the pit of your stomach. Something is just off. Yeah, that's a linger. Don't stop re-writing until that linger is gone. When you don't feel it, you know you're done.

What's that feel like, you ask? I have no idea - all of my books still linger and I don't know if there will ever be a day when they don't.

So I will heed David's words, no matter what "Have the vision, don't stop."

I had planned that all along, but it's good to remember.

~JD

Thank the Beta, Shoot My Foot Off

I've got a beta reader now. And thank goodness because I didn't realize how much I was falling a part before. I had one but she left our critique group before we could really get rolling, so when I found Sarah on Nathan's forum I was more than just ecstatic.

So here's the problem. It's the first time a beta reader has looked at my finished MS that I am submitting. You know, that same one I sent the agent who requested the full? Yeah...problem. Oh, other people read it before, seven to be exact, but they weren't critique partners. If you don't know the difference, go back and read that thread of mine I posted sometimes back in January.

My new beta reader is awesome! But she has also proved that my ms was no-where near ready to send out. She's a self proclaimed grammar nazi and whoooa...I would've never thought my MS had so many problems. She's only four chapters in and I've hit my head on the desk so many times because I know I blew when I hit send.

Oh well though. Can't change anything up until this point, but I'm thankful for her now.

Which reminds me. Nathan's forum's also has a wonderful thread about rejections stats. I'll update my here, because I've received a few more.

Total queries sent to date: 11
Queries still awaiting a response: 4
Rejections to date: 5
Form rejections: 4 - the last one actually apologized for being a 'form rejection'.
Personalized rejections: 1 - this one surprised me and made me laugh.
No Response Rejection: 1 - this one said if you haven't heard from them in a week, you won't.
Requests for pages: 0
Requests for manuscript: 1

Fastest reply: 4 hours (It was a rejection - albeit, the personalized funny one.)

Only 63 more agents to query ;-) Better get that MS straightened out first...hee hee.

Over-Checking Email

I've noticed a serious problem I have developed since the queries went out. Over-obsessively checking my email. Seriously, I log on and check it probably every forty-five minutes. It's definitely not conducive to my time and I know it's a problem, but I can't help it.

Why then?

Again, let us fall back on the OCD and say it's to blame. I'm impatient - yes, but my OCD doesn't want me to miss anything. And now that a full MS has went out, the problem has gotten worse. Yes, I know it could take up to four months for the agent to get back to me, but that doesn't stop my fingers from automatically typing hotmail.com as soon as I open my Internet browser. I swear, I almost think they have mind of their own!!

Granted, this new problem has made me incredibly efficient with all the other 'writer things' that I get in my email. My beta reader has the very best advantage right now since I get back to her so quickly. I don't miss a lick on FB anymore with my email updates. Hmm...now only if I could somehow connect my blog and Twitter, I'd be on top of everything Justine related.

All right, so it's a bad habit but I highly doubt it is something that will go away. I'd say it's here to stay so I'd better just get used to it. Hooray for me.

~JD

Pressing "Send" On Full Request

It's done. The full request has been sent, after two horrifying days of scanning the ms to make sure all the errors have been erased. Did I get them all? Probably not. Am I still scared? Hell yeah.

I uploaded the file and put the arrow over the "send" button. I couldn't push it. No matter what I tried, I just couldn't do. So pathetic. Maybe I'm not cut out for this, the stress is starting to get to me.

So I closed my eyes and clicked. Off it went. Now the real waiting begins. Until then, I can't eat. I can't sleep. And I'm on edge like you wouldn't believe. It's the WORST feeling in the world.

And what terrifies me most? How will I feel if I get rejected? Oh, geez - I don't even want to think about that right now. I just want to crawl into bed and fade to black. Only if my body would let me.

~JD

Request for FULL MS!

So, the query thing feels pretty good right now. This afternoon at 5:32 p.m., an agent sent me a request for a full ms. Ecstatic isn't even the word. Elated...nope. Happy...doesn't even come close. Scared...yeah - that's more like it.

I'm terrified!

Oh, don't misconstrue - I'm so happy there aren't even the words to describe it. But the feeling waaaay down deep in my stomach is not happiness, it's nerves. Nerves telling me that I'm not ready. Nerves telling me that the books not ready. Nerves telling me that I will be crushed when I get the dreaded "R" back from him.

I'd like to say stop the train right there and say sometime positive, but I can't. I'm scared. Downright, shaking-in-my-boots-twitching-with-a-tension-headache-so-much-I-want-to-puke-terrified.

I hope this feeling goes away so I can sleep. But this makes me wonder, if getting a request from an agent feels like this, what does a sell feel like? Lord, I don't know if I could handle that.

Over the next twenty-four hours I'll try to chill myself out. Stop biting my finger nails down to the cuticle, stop pacing the living room and stepping on the cat - just stop everything!

Breathe. In. Out. In. Out.

Yeah, I can handle this. No matter what comes out of it. After all, now I can say that I'm in the 1%.

~JD

Oy Vey! The Queries are Out

Okay Peeps...in the past three days I have officially sent out five queries. And I am TERRIFIED!!

First let me say the stupid thing I did. All the queries were sent via email. I forgot to put a subject line in two of them. TWO OF THEM!!! I was so nervous, I let it totally slip by. Let's forget about the fact that those two will probably not make it past the spam filter. But, just in case they do, I don't want to resend them. Is that a dilema or what?

Sometimes I wonder if my brain is plugged in ;-) Seriously though, I'm blaming it on the nerves, because this query stuff makes me nervous...period.

Waaaaay down deep, I have high hopes for the queries because I recieved such great feedback on them on Nathan Bransfords Forum in order to make them shine (again, mucho thanks to all those who helped me). Seeing as how publishing and snagging an agent is so difficult these days, I'm sure I'll get a pile of rejections and I'm sooo not looking forward to it.

I've only queried this story three times before and got three rejections before I shelved it to work on another. I dusted it off, did several re-writes and polished it until my fingers bled. Even with all that polishing, I'm still making changes as we speak - err - write.

So now I just wait.............................................
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Okay, so where's my rejection? Request for partial? (so I'm dreaming here)
Oh, yeah - I forgot...patience.

I need to wait.
So, I'll wait.
It will kill me.
But I'll wait.

~JD

Valentines Day

So, I hate Valentines Day. Every aspect of it in every way. Don't call me cynical, I am romantic at heart, I just HATE this holiday.

Sure, I've got lots of good reasons and NONE of them are stupid like "So-and-so broke my heart ten years ago so I hate everything that has to do with love". I'm not that shallow thank you very much. My reasons are different and are very dear to my heart. Which means, no one can ever convince me to like Valentines day.

As I was sulking away the day, imagine my surprise when I receieved a electronic valentine from a co-blogger: Christi. It actually put a smile on my face, which is VERY hard to do when I'm in that rut.

Here is my cheers to you for that!!

Thanks to Nathan Bransfords Forums, I found many great writer friends like Christi. She however, seems to be a lot like me. She's a mother for one. Smart, funny, witty, sarcastic, and just as obsessed with her writing career as I am mine. I'll bet she's an all-around ball of fun in person.

So, thank you Christi for lighting up my day.

I'm supposed to pass on this wonderful valentines gift, but I'm afraid the joy stops here, with me.
~JD

QUIET!!!!!!!! How do you write?

Maybe it's because I'm a control freak. Maybe it's because I have a mild (okay moderate...errr, all right...severe) form of OCD - but I need it to be quiet when I write. No music, preferably no daughter screaming in my ear (good thing my daughter is nice and quiet...most times - hee hee). Dogs barking - No. T.V. on - No. The hum of the dryer down the hallway - No.

QUIET!!!!!!!

Is it a problem? Believe it or not. Not really. My house is pretty darned quiet to begin with. Sure, there are moments of brief panic now and again when noise creeps into my creative prowess, but less than you would think.

Plus, I have developed (or have always had, according to my dad) 'Selective Hearing'. For those who don't know what selective hearing is, it's the keen ability to tune out pretty much everything around you - no matter what it is. Thank goodness for that.

So, even though some people need music as their muse, I need silence. So if you see me hunched over my laptop, paying no mind to the overflowing washing machine, you know what I am doing - writing.

Inspiration

Where do you get your inspiration? There's only one answer for that question: EVERYWHERE!!

The woman gossiping in front of you at the supermarket.
The crazy post you read on your favorite blog last week.
A song.
Your children/family.
The coworker from out of this world.
A country you visited.
The strange couple you were walking behind at the park.
A conversation with your dog.

The list is endless - to infinity and beyond!

I currently have two completed ms's and two completed novellas. WIP's include one novella and one single-title romance. Each of them came from a moment in time when something happened, something clicked in my mind because of my surroundings. I won't bore you with the inspiration for all of them. I'll stick to my current WIP.

It came from something I was never expecting. I wasn't even looking for a new idea - I already had like five million written down in my special yellow book. But when this idea came, I had no choice but to roll with it. Once it was ingrained in my mind, my brain wouldn't think of anything else.

And it all started with a fight. You know about those right? You and your significant other? Husband? Sister? Mother? Children? Well, this fight was a doosey and it didn't take long for my circuits to start firing afterwards. I literally couldn't get it out of my head fast enough. I don't write that fast. Heck, I don't even type that fast!!!

Viola! A brand new story was born, one that was unexpected and thought provoking like no other. Not your standard hero. Not your standard heroine. Conflict that is both intriguing and heartbreaking. It's a new kind of romance, and I call it 'All American Girl'.

My YA project & RWA

Lost & Found, the name of my daughters YA book hasn't gotten any further than the original four pages. Make no mistake, I want to finish it for her, but I just haven't found the time....yet. Now, I was griping in my last post about not being about to write a YA book for tweens. Well, it seems that I was asking all the wrong questions.

This months RWR (Romance Writers Report) actually has an article on "Switching to Ya? The questions every writer should (and shouldn't) ask." Guess how many of those questions I asked in my last post were "shouldn't"? Yup...you guessed it - all of them.

Here's what I learned. There's not a "teen" voice. Some writers voices are teen voices, some better fitted to adult. Don't freak because you are trying to figure out what a "teen" would say/how they would act/etc. Your voice is your core, it's your passion.

Teen readers have less patience for "the boring parts". Good pacing, check. No info dump, check. Equal measure of action, romance, or intrigue, check.

Oh...there's more - much more! This article was 5 pages long. But, seeing as how I'm not seeking publishing for my daughter wip, I won't divulge all the details of the article. Not only that...it would make this one long post!!

I'll just tell you that I've simply learned this. YA fiction is not determined by the age of heroine, the 'cleanliness' of the book, a tween voice (although you must have a good voice that appeals to teens), teens are 'smart and savvy...do not write down to them'. There's even more to this...but I'll digress for now.

I'm off to work on my daughters YA. I have a much better understanding of how it should be. I will just write the best story I can for her, and only her.