Grammar Police! That vs Which

The Sheriff had a request last week from Falen, AKA Sarah (not be confused with the beta Sarah) for the following grammar issue:

THAT vs WHICH

Let's get ready to rrrrrruuuuuumble!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wait ... first I have to admit that I didn't know this was a grammar issue. I don't even think I have this problem. Maybe I do, and the beta, cripes ... I mean SARAH, never mentioned it? Hmph. That's doubtful. So, in hindsight, I actually don't have this problem. Whoa. I need to stop for a sec. A grammar problem I actually DON'T have? That's a first. I need a moment to process that ....

..........
.........
........
.......
......
.....
....
...
..
.

Okay, I'm good now (but I'm waaay proud of myself!). Let's get back on track. Since I didn't know about this rule, I had to do some research. And it was VERY easy to see why some people have a problem with this. The info I read had my heading running around in circles!

I'll try to break it down for you in my awesome, JD-way, and let's hope like heck I make sense!

First, you need to learn the difference between a restrictive clause and a nonrestrictive clause.

A restrictive clause is something has must be part of the sentence, otherwise it won't make sense, because it specifically restricts the noun.

A nonrestrictive clause is something that can be deleted from a sentence and the sentence would still make sense! (Clipping a little darling, anyone?)

Okay, with that in mind, use "THAT" with a restrictive clause, and "WHICH" with a nonrestrictive clause.

Here are some examples restrictive clauses with "that":

Romance books that have a happy ending sell better.
                          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Dogs that go to the groomer regularly smell better.
         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Cars that have a slim exhaust pipe get better gas mileage. (not true, btw)
        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
**Now notice in the above sentence that if you removed the "that" part of the sentence (the part with the ^'s under it), it wouldn't make any sense. Right? Right!

Now, here are some nonrestrictive clause sentences with "which": 

The rug, which I inherited from my grandmother, was made in Persia.
              ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The cat, which clawed my eyes out last Sunday, has a terrible temper.
              ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
My book, which doesn't fit into any specific genre, will be hard to sell.
                 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

**AH-HA! See? In the sentences above, you could remove the nonrestrictive clause and STILL have a coherent sentence!

Because that was so easy, peasy, lemon squeezy, I won't confuse you anymore with other tid-bits of this rule. If you would like to learn even more (the other, albeit "important", rules) click-y, click-y on the links below.

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/that-vs-which/

http://www.sjsu.edu/writingcenter/docs/handouts/That_Who_Which.pdf

http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/which-versus-that.aspx

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jlawler/aue/xmasthat.html

Tell the world!!

~JD

Whoot! Whoot! Friday Update

Sigh ... FINALLY ... it's Friday.

It's been a crazy long week, peeps. C.R.A.Z.Y.

I've been ill most of the week, so you'll probably notice I haven't be around the blogosphere, hanging around some cool blogs (YOURS!) and commenting. Sorry!!! I was able to do my blog posts (mainly because I do them in advance, lol ... "type A", remember?) I do save Friday updates for Thursday night, though. But since I'm still not feeling well, I'm going to make it SAS (short and sweet).

1. No updates on my queries/writing/editing. I haven't done much this week. I haven't sent out any recent queries. I've been in full-blown edit mode. The beta is still whipping me into shape. Which reminds me ... I think I need to go back and read some of my own grammar police posts. I'm slacking with my own knowledge!

2. The beta, ah-hem ... Sarah (I really need to stop calling her "the beta", sound too much like a fish). Did a super cool video (with her fellow Kortizzle army) to wish her agent a happy birthday. Wanna see Sarah's smiling face???? Find it here.

3. Sarah's agent recently did a blog interview telling all us peeps what she is looking for, and some super cool funny things, too. She cracks me up! Find Kathleen Ortiz's interview here.

4. Bam! That's it! I know, I know ... lame, right? There's not even a cool FRIDAY UPDATE PICTURE!!!!  Sorry! Weird week. Long week. Bad week. All equals up to lame Friday update. Next week will be better!

Have a wonderful weekend!

~JD

Queries and Requests! Time Frames

On Tuesday I discussed querying and the longest time it took to receive a rejection. Today I shall discuss querying and the longest time it took to get the all-important REQUEST!!

So once again you send out queries ...

And you wait ...

And wait ...

And wait ...

Seconds seem to be clicking by like HOURS ...



Again, if you sent your query to an insta-responder, you're in luck! A few minutes pass and you'll have your rejection ... or request.

We all know how exciting those requests are, so I won't discuss it again. ;-)

Today I shall share my fastest responder for a requests, and the slowest.

The fastest came from the first batch of queries I'd ever sent out. It only took a few days. I thought that was pretty cool. I hyperventilated. I quickly got over it. lol

I have been querying my very first book for about a year now. I'm out of people to query and the book is, in my mind, is almost dead. About two months ago, I'd marked out everyone on my list as a "form no" or "no response". I still had two people who had partials/full, so it's not totally dead (they still have them, btw).

So, imagine my surprise when I get a partial request from someone I'd marked as "no response."

I looked back at the original query date ... whoawhoawhoa.

Seven months.

It took seven months to get the request. I almost couldn't believe it! Since I'd long written it off as a "no response", I was stoked! My book had one more chance! So a total of three last little breaths of life.

No to shabby. I'll take it. And I'll smile. It's unexpected requested that makes our day, right?

So tell me, what's your longest time from query to request??

~JD

Query to Rejection: Time Frames

Ah ... querying. We all love that, don't we? :-P

And the rejections that come after that, right?

Right?

When you hit the "send" button on your queries, you're almost guaranteed a wait (unless you queried a super-fast responder--who are few and far between).

So we wait ....

 Days ... weeks ... months ...

You'll get a response to your query. Eventually. Then again, maybe not. But when you do, I'll bet you've had an average of two-three months for a response? Am I right?

After about the three month mark, if I haven't heard from an agent, I write down on my cool little spreadsheet that they are a "NRMN" (no response means no). I've got a lot of those. :-(

Anyhoo, sometimes query rejections trickle in after that. But the other day, I had my longest query to rejection ever.

Seven months. To the day. Not kidding.

First, I want to point out that I am NOT complaining. This process takes time. If you don't have patience, you're in the wrong business. :o) Agents are busy people; I get that.

Anyway, I'd already written them off as a NRMN, so when I got the letter, I laughed. It was the first time I actually laughed at a rejection. It will probably be my last, but it was still a moment. Even after all that time, they still had the time to send a rejection. I thought it was thoughtful. They didn't have to. But they took the time, and I appreciated that. Even though it took seven months, I'm thankful to have gotten a response. I guess that's why it was so funny. I'll take that moment.

So how about you? What's your longest time from query to rejection?

Oh, and be sure to come back on Thursday when I do this post again ... only this time, the longest time from query to request. You might be surprised at that time frame, too. ;-)

~JD

Grammar Police! That vs. Who

Wha?!?

That vs Who?

What on earth is that? Or would it be, what on earth is who? HA! I crack myself up.

Ah ... okay, let's get serious.

Personally, I didn't even know this was a grammar "rule". Not until the beta got her sharps fangs (and man, are THEY sharp) into a few of my wips. Well, the first one really. The rule didn't really sink in until the third. I always laughed when I saw her type in all caps correcting me. Funny stuff.

Anyhoo.

I'm gonna make this easy, peasy, lemon squeezy.

Use THAT when you are talking about a THING.

Use WHO when you are talking about a PERSON.

Like this:

The girl who hit my car drove away.

The book that I lost cost $99 dollars to replace! (Ack!)

It's pretty safe to say that you wouldn't normally write, "The book who I lost cost ...", but the other sentence? Yuppers ... easy to switch the "that" and "who".

I do it. All. The. Time.

It's SO EASY!!! Really, it is!!

Now, when you start talking about dogs and birds and cats and fish and horses and bears, there's some gray area. (YES! There is gray area with this one! Grammar Girl says so! Not me, the OTHER Grammar Girl, the New York Times Bestselling one!)

There was even some famous writer somewhere who referred to people as "that". Which, according to Grammar Girl, makes them "less human". LoL. Funny. To me, anyway.

So see? GRAY AREA, PEEPS.

Do what you want with animals of the fuzzy kind. Or the slimy kind. But for people, it's best to stick with "who." For everything else, "that."

One more time:

People/Person=Who

Thing/Object=That

Get it? Got it? Good!

~JD

Whoot! Whoot! FRIDAY UPDATE!

Yuppers!! Friday is here, peeps!

There's not a whole lot to update you on this week, but I'll do my best ...

1. OMGOSH!! CHECK OUT THIS CONTEST. Seriously. You could get your MG or YA book edited by Deborah Halverson, editor!!!

QUICK ... clicky-clicky right here!

2. Last week someone mentioned the title of my newly finished WIP was the title of another book. I. Hate. That. So, I came up with a new one!! YAY!! Keeping it to myself, though ... for now ...

3. That newly titled WIP is currently in the hands of the Great and Powerful Beta of Oz, Sarah Fine. She's ripping it to shreds and I am lovingly putting it back together. ;-) That's how it's done!

4. Said beta, Sarah, is trying to get to that magical 100 follower mark! You should go help her out!! Clicky-clicky the Emerald City at the top, right hand corner of my blog. Please?

5. You saw on my rejection stats post yesterday that I've been querying some projects. Nothing new to report on that front.

6. I'm tired of freakin' snow!! I want spring!

That is all.

Have a wonderful weekend!!!!!!

~JD

Rejection Stats!!

It's been awhile since I've done this ... and since I just came back from a three month hiatus, I thought it would be a good time to update ya'll on my rejection stats! Without further ado, here you go!
BTW, this is also the order in which they were written. ;-)







Book #1 (contemporary romance)

Total queries sent to date: 116

Queries still awaiting a response: 0

Rejections to date: 112

Form rejections: 58

Personalized rejections: 10

No Response Rejection: 44

Requests for pages: 7 (four turned in rejections, still waiting on two, and one agent who is waiting to see a partial when they can have exclusivity)

Requests for manuscript: 4 (still waiting on one)

So, not bad (well, yeah … B.A.D), but this puppy is just going through the motions. It’s ready to be buried!! No more queries can be sent out for this one.



Book #2 (short contemporary romance)

Total queries sent to date: 5 (ps ... all these queries where sent to publishers and not agents)

Queries still awaiting a response: 0

Rejections to date: 5

Form rejections: 4

Personalized rejections: 1 (this one gave EXCELLENT feedback!! And the opportunity to send in again if I made the changes!)

No Response Rejection: 0

Requests for pages: 1 (turned into full)

Requests for manuscript: 4 (yeah, that's right, ALL but ONE query turned into requests!)

**This book is currently at 46K. The beta (love her!) convinced me to lengthen it so it would have more options. What you see here are the only queries that could be sent out due to the short length. And as you can see, the query (and the book itself) got great responses. Will undertake lengthening soon …



Book # 3 (Contemporary romance)

Total queries sent to date: 42

Queries still awaiting a response: 3

Rejections to date: 39

Form rejections: 28

Personalized rejections: 2

No Response Rejection: 9

Requests for pages: 2 (both turned into rejection—but one with some good feedback!)

Requests for manuscript: 0

Ewh … this one isn’t looking good, either!!! More queries can be sent out ... which is what I will be doing this year. (Not a lot of hope, though).



Book #4 (MG book I wrote from my daughter)

Total queries sent to date: 29

Queries still awaiting a response: 11

Rejections to date: 18

Form rejections: 10

Personalized rejections: 0

No Response Rejection: 8

Requests for pages: 0

Requests for manuscript: 0 (Eep! After 29 queries … something must be wrong!)


Sooooooooooooooooo ... that's a lot of books to be querying, right? LoL. And it's a lot of rejection, too. But I don't sweat it anymore--not like I used to. Me (and my books) will find a home some day. Until then, I'll keep searching!

~JD

Learning about Justine: My New Obsession

NAIL POLISH!!!

Yup, nail polish is my new obsession. Which is weird, because, I'm NOT a girly-girl. At all. I would rather walk around the house in my yoga pants, a sweatshirt, and with a hat on my head than get all prissied up. (I'm not sure if prissied is a word ... lol).

Anyhoo, recently I discovered long nails (another thing I've never really had). I think my new found long nails come from the fact that I'm not bored anymore (too busy writing), so I don't do random stuff that breaks them off, and I don't mess with them.

In comes the nail polish obsession.

Here's a pic of my collection, in order by color of course. ;-)

Crazy, right? Especially since this obsession just started recently. It's quickly grown!!!

So, I changed my nail polish color about every three-four days. I like change (in that way, any way). Plus, as soon as it chips or something, it drives me CRAZY!!!!

Up until recently, I only did one color at a time. But I wanted to change it up. Then ... AHA!!! Dexter came to the rescue!!! Check out my nails--compliments of Dexter's mother:

Now having different colors on different nails for me is the norm. (Thank god I have a job that permits this kind of thing).

Stripes? Yup. Polka dots? You got it!

It's a way for me to be me. And I like it! So many colors, so little time. ;-)

What about you? Do you have an obsession?

~JD

You Tell Me ...

Because I've recently shared writing milestones and a huge epiphany in my own "writing" career, I would like for you to share yours!

What, if any, writing milestones have you reached?

Or have you had any major writing epiphanys that changed the course of your writing career?

Come on ... do tell. ;-)

~JD

Writer Milestones: Dun ... Dun ... THE AGENT!!!

Ah-ha!!! The last (and one of the BIGGEST) milestones for writers we will discuss is ....

GETTING AN OFFER OF REPRESENTATION!!!

SNAGGING THAT AGENT!!!

I haven't snagged that agent myself, so I can't actually discuss HOW it would make me feel. I imagine it would be something like this:

I figure the FIRST thing that will happen is ...

QUICKLY followed by this:



Come on ... you'll do it, too. How would you be able to hold in ALL that excitement?!?!?

I wouldn't!

THIS is the what we all strive for as writers. Of course, there are milestones after this (more editing, proofing, submitting to publishers, and getting that contract), BUT getting that agent is the FIRST HUGE step in another set of awesome milestones.

Just ask the beta ... she's there right now.

Sarah is repped by Kathleen Ortiz and her book is currently out on submission to publishers (you go girl!).

Since she's made this milestone, I'll let her take it from here:

If you've read what I've had to say for the previous few days, you'll see that I was kind of a fatalist when it came to the querying process. I was prepared for the worst and willing to accept it. So when I got an email that said “I'm a fan! Loved the piece. Could you please send your bio and complete publishing history? I'd like to schedule a phone chat for next week to discuss the book. Let me know what your schedule is like.” … I nearly had a heart attack.

And then, a few days later, I got this from a second agent: “I finished your book and I absolutely want to bring you on and sell this… like, right. this. minute.” Holy s*%t! I couldn’t believe it. The amazing thing: the second agent was emailing me about a different book. Two agents, two books. And more than ten other agents who had requested material from one book or the other.

The next week was insane. After talking with the fifth agent to offer, I hung up the phone, turned off my computer, and spent at least half an hour crying. My husband thought I had lost my mind. It was so intense. Awesome, but intense. First, because I knew the decision was really important. Second, because I liked more than one of the agents I talked to and knew I was going to have to say no to some really nice people who I’d spent quite a bit of time on the phone with. Third, because SOME OF THE AGENTS WERE TWEETING ABOUT ME. Sure, they didn’t identify me in any way, but I knew they were talking about me. Gah, that just added an extra twist to the intensity. Fourth, just because. Sometimes, you need to cry … just because. It’s like the pressure release valve on your emotions.

I made my decision. I’m thrilled with my decision. I know how fortunate I am. I also know that I am now at the start of yet another process, and I have no idea how it will turn out. I’ll get through it the way I got through the querying process because that’s the only way I know how to do it.

Oh, and one thing I haven’t mentioned, one thing that’s been a constant through this WHOLE process, one thing I could always depend on, one thing that’s kept me sane when all my coping processes failed (because they do sometimes, no matter how realistic and prepared and fatalistic I am): Justine.

She calls herself my “big, strong oak” (don’t laugh. It works for us).

I call her my friend.

Everybody’s process is different. This was just how it went for me. Who knows how it might look for you? But here is my wish for each and every one of you: I wish you friendship. I wish you people in your lives who you can turn to in rejection and triumph, who will give you honesty, who will give you hope, who will give you whatever you need to keep going. Just like the rest of life, the writing-querying-publishing process is not something you should go through alone.

Okay, wait, I have to stop because I am  tearing up. I love Sarah! If you don't follow her blog ... clicky-clicky the Emerald City at the top, right hand corner of my  blog. Do. It. Now. She's better than chocolate.
 
There you have it, peeps. A week a wonderful (and stressful) writer milestones. May each and every one of you reach yours. :o)
 
~JD
~S

Writer Milestones: THE ELITE REQUEST!!!

(reminder ... my verbage is in black and the Great and Powerful Beta of Oz, Sarah, is in red)

You've been querying for a few days ... maybe a few months ... heck, maybe even a few YEARS.

And then it comes. Finally.

That epic, epic request for a partial (or a full). Your VERY first. (and let's face it ... when we open that email, we are generally expecting a form "r" so when you get that request ... whoawhoawhoa)

How did it make you feel? Like this:

 Which made you suddenly need to do this:

Yeah ... I've been there. I remember when it happened to me. I'd only been querying for a few weeks. I'd only received a few rejections. When I read the email, I jumped up, sent the chair flying across the room, and screamed the news to everyone in the house. I couldn't sleep that night. Or several nights after. I was jittery. Anxious. Happy.

But oh ... that feeling doesn't last. Here's Sarah's take:



I remember my first request really clearly. It was a partial request, after 25 straight rejections on my first book. I was jumping up and down, whooping and shaking. It was awesome. It was one of only two partial requests I got for that book before I realized it was not THE ONE. I was naive back then, and thought that once I started getting requests, I was in a very special club.

Well, I guess it is a special club. Just a very crowded one. After awhile, I realized that I could get a whole bunch of requests and still never get an offer. That was sobering. I stopped being as excited about those requests, and started being more realistic.

Yes, the club is crowded, but I am thankful to have been in it. Not everyone makes it into this club, so you're doing something right!

A request is great--it means your query is decent! Maybe it means that your opening pages are decent! But that's really all it means. Anything can happen after that, from a form R on your full to a revise-and-resubmit to an offer. No guarantees. A great start, but just a start.

A request also makes you think you might need medicine to slow down your heart rate and keep your fingers from shaking like an earthquake.

The first request feels good. The second? Even better. The third? Yeah, you're on a roll.

But then comes the rejections (again). The revise and resubmit requests (Sarah and I have both had these ... both resulting in rejections--these are one the hardest things, I think).

And over time, that new "high" of a request turns into that new "low" of rejection. I swear, being a writer and going through these phases is like being addicted to crack. Well, I've never been addicted to crack, but it's like a drug. Way HIGHS. And way LOWS. And lots of ugly, middle ground.

The shiny feeling of a request wears off. Mine has. When I get one now, I sigh and send along the pages. Because I know that request doesn't mean anything else. Another rung on the ladder. There are still more rungs to go. The agent comes next.

A lot of you have made it to this request/revise/resubmit milestone. Very few of us have made it past it.  And if you have--FREAKIN' CONGRATS!! You deserve it! Really.

As time goes on I have noticed that I am becoming desensitized to the milestones. Oh, don't get me wrong, I think milestones are GREAT! It's how you know you are going where you want to go. I just think I did that as a protective measure. The less you make the process about "you" as a person, the better off you are. ;-)

I'm looking forward to my next milestone (even though it's technically not one I am trying to reach) ... snagging that agent! Come on back tomorrow for that last (and biggest) milestone! (Actually it's not "the biggest", but I've only got five days to work with, peeps!!)

~JD
~S

Writer Milestones: Querying

PSSS (My verbage is in black ... Sarah's is in red)

So you've written a book ...
You've edited it within an inch of your life ...
Now what?

Ah-ha ... QUERYING!! That's what!!

What do you do first?

FIGURE OUT WHAT THE HECK A QUERY LETTER IS!!! Research is KEY here, peeps. Don't query unless you know exactlywhat  you are writing. And please, don't make any newbie mistakes ... like me. LEARN ABOUT THEM FIRST!!!!!!

Okay, so you've written that query letter. Spit-shined it? It's typo free, right? Error free? The agents name is spelled correctly? You've personalized it, right? Check, check, check.

So ... you're ready to jump off that cliff. You're excited, right??? Ecstatic???!!!! You want to send the query letter out into the world, RIGHT?????

 WHOOT!! YES ! YES ! YES ! It's time to query!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I was SO excited to start querying. I mean, come on ... I had SERIOUSLY high hopes when I first started! Didn't YOU?!?!

*Deep Sigh*

Yeah, not so much anymore.

You know why?

Because the "high" of querying quickly became a "low" of rejection.

Have you been there?

Maybe you only sent out 5 queries.

Maybe you sent out 25.

Heck, maybe you sent out 105.

Which means ... maybe you got 5 rejections ... maybe you got 25 ... maybe you even got 105

(hey, I've been there).

Querying is like buying a ticket on a carnival ride. Or a lottery ticket. It gives you a little space to dream. Sometimes you get months. Sometimes you get about 60 seconds. Those dreams are nice. But it can hurt when they don't come true.

I would see an email waiting in my inbox, and I would flinch. I would grimace. I would open it up, expecting to read the form R. And usually, that was exactly what it was. So I wasn't surprised. I just sighed and logged it on QT. Sometimes I didn't bother reading the email all the way through, because nearly always, IT'S JUST A FORM. There's no useful information there, just a bunch of words that add up to "no."

So suddenly the excited and hopefulness turns to this:

Or maybe this:

 Or even this:

Either way, it's ugly. UGLY. You can't put into words the way rejection makes you feel. I can't anyway. It effing sucks. It makes you feel like you aren't good enough. It makes you feel emotions you didn't even know you had.

You question your book. The plot. The word count. The query. The agent. The timing.

And then ... you finally start to question yourself. Your writing. Your skills.

STOP.

Buddy, thinking like that ain't gonna get you now where. Hop onto the Justine train and join my twelve step program. Then it doesn't hurt so bad.

So, querying for me is just another day. Just another letter. Just another agent. I don't let querying define me. Don't let it define you either.

My basic response to the query R: Bleh. Moving on. (which is how I deal now, btw)

Anything else would set me up for hurt, and I like to protect myself from that when it's possible. And with the querying process, it IS possible, as long as you're realistic (both in terms of the odds AND in terms of the work it takes to write a good letter).

Being realistic is everything, peeps. The chances aren't good. It's a fact. Don't make me break out the query stats for Steven King, or Stephanie Myer, or JK Rowling. They had some SERIOUS rejection, too.
It will hurt. Rejection ALWAYS hurts. Anyway that keeps it from hurting, I say GO FOR IT!! 

 And even my program isn't bullet proof. But you've gotten this far ... don't give up.

Because what comes if you don't get a rejection?? Hmm?? That's right ... a request. Tomorrow folks, tomorrow is about requests and the whole new world that comes with that.

~JD

~S

Writer Milestones: Editing!!

So, you've written that first book ... now what?

Well, in all honesty, if I told you what I did after that, we'd move right to "querying". BAD IDEA, btw. DON'T ever do that first without editing. But hey, in my defense, I was a newbie ... bound to make mistakes. Right? Right!

So, the right order would be ...

EDITING!!

This is how editing makes me feel:

Seriously ... I. Hate. Editing.

Gah. Blah. Argh. Yuck. Urgh.

There are lots of different ways to edit:

1. Line by line

2. Overall

3. Print out the 300 pager and go to town with a red pen!

4. Get a beta (DO THIS!!) Or two, or three, or four. (Seriously, DO THIS ONE!!)

5. Let it sit in a drawer for 4 months and then read it again (you'll find some mistakes and stuff you hate ... I guarantee it!!)

Yeah, there's lots of "ways" to edit.

It might take a few weeks. It might take a few months. Heck, it might take you a YEAR or MORE. But you have, have, have, have to do it.

Your MS needs to be edited withing an inch of its life. The first five pages need to be banging and hook the reader! Characters need to be fleshed out. The story needs to flow. The plot needs to make sense (with NO plot holes). Grammar, check. Typos, check. So on and so forth. There's A LOT to this phase. And it takes time ... and patience ... and a keen eye (someone else will probably be that keen eye). 

Honestly, editing is a learned trait, I think. It's not easy. It's time consuming (which is why I hate it). It gives me eye pokes. But it's necessary.

Cut the darlings!

Rearrange scenes!

Add a layer ... or two!

Make the story compelling!

With editing sometimes difficult things like rewriting scenes, or the simple line-edit (that comes VERY last).

Either way, it gives me nightmares just thinking about.

The beta has a little different take (now ...lol) Here's what good ol' Sarah had to say about editing:

During our "beta week" several months ago, I discussed the various stages I go through when receiving feedback. I was honest about having a knee-jerk "you can't be serious!" sort of response, but I've learned to get over that. JD certainly helped, but what really did it was the revisions I went through with my agent while we were polishing my book for submission. After going through that, I have discovered something really bizarre: I like revisions. I find them cleansing. Cathartic. I get a certain masochistic pleasure from deleting and changing and rearranging my own words. Sometimes I am quite draconian about it. And why can I do this so easily now, when just a year ago I was terrified of it?

Because there are more words where those came from. I know this now. I know it DEEP. My words are bottomless. Infinite (yeah, I know that's an exaggeration, but go with me here). I can delete my words, change them, cut them ... and there will be more. Once I figured that out, the fear was gone. Especially when I saw how much better my book got with every round.

As for the nitpicky editing, I like that, too. But just ask JD--I know of few people more nitpicky than I. It's really difficult for me to beta read without line-editing at the same time, even though I know it can sometimes be overwhelming for the writer when they see all my red ink. I do the same for my own work (though of course--I have more trouble seeing my own errors). I love making things better, and that's what editing is about. It's not always fun. You have to be in the right place (mentally and emotionally). But the final product is utterly worth it.

She's right ... no matter how you get there, or how many different "editing" steps it takes, the book will be better in the end. It will be worth it. Even though I want to gauge my eyeballs out every step of the way. ;-) Trust me, after I get done editing something, I sigh a HUGE sigh of relief.

*wipes sweaty brow*
*puts aspirin back in the cabinet*
*stretches from hours and hours and hours of being hunched over laptop*
*cries*
*goes outside for the first time in a month*

Or, you know, whatever you do. :o) Either way, editing that first wip (or ANY wip for that matter) is HUGE, HUGE, HUGE. Finishing that book is the easy compared to this step. But harder ones are a' coming. Because once you get past this milesone, there's another mountain to climb. Like ... querying.
*Squeals in horror*

Until then, dig that old wip out the bottom desk drawer. Go find yourself a kick-ass beta (no, you can't have mine). And stomp some word butt!!

~JD

Writer Milestones: Writing that FIRST book!!

Ah ... Snoopy. Wasn't he always writing something?
Do you think in ALL those years, he ever finished a novel? ;-) 

Well, today we shall talk about that FIRST writer milestone:

WRITING THAT FIRST BOOK

So ... lots of people have different reasons for writing that first book.

Mine can be found here. Oh, and please don't laugh when you read it. Well, go ahead and laugh. I think it's still funny that my writing adventure started with Twilight. *Sigh*

Anyhoo ...

Be it a single mother who had that first idea while staring off into space in the laundry soap aisle.

Be it the scholar who spent all those years in college for a degree in creative writing.

Be it the teenager who just had a helluva a book idea with no experience.

Be it you ...

Be it me ...

It became something, right?

So you sit down, and you write.

But tell me something, did you research writing first? Did you know anything about the craft? Did you plot? Map out your characters? Go on the fly? Read what you were going to write?

There are TONS of "things" that go into writing, before you actually "write". Some of us do them before we write that first book. Some of us don't.

I was not one of those people. I had an idea, and I wrote it. Period. No research. No experience. I didn't EVEN READ novels before I wrote my first one. (go ahead and laugh again). But I did it. Um, yeah ... I've learned a lot since then, btw. ;-)

From start to finish, it took me 3 months to finish my first book. And man, when I was done, I felt like WHOA. Whoawhoawhoawhoa.

I just freakin' wrote a 300 page, 80K word novel. Little ol' me. Whoa.

Is that how any of you felt? It was the first, and probably the biggest milestone in a writers career. Because let's look at the facts.

Most writers (around 40% or so) don't even finish that first book. (Yes, I did read that somewhere, some time ago).  AND then, of those who did finish that first book, only about 1/2 of them go one to write more. Why is that? Well, we will get to that later in the week.

But what's important here is that YOU, my dear friends, finished that first book. That alone is a HUGE thing. You freakin' did it! You had an idea and you went with it.

No matter how you got there (through your training or on the fly), YOU DID IT. And that alone deserve an award, dontcha think?

Yeah. I do.

So here's to you ... for finishing that first book:

Writing that first book is a huge deal.

So tell me, what made you do it?

How long did it take?

And how did you feel when you were done?

Me? 5 books later and I still feel freakin' fantastic when I finish one! (freakin' is my new favorite word, btw *cheesy smile*).  

Oh, man, though. There is other stuff that comes after that writing. And some of it is not-so-hot. We'll discuss more of it this week. Starting with editing *shutters* tomorrow.

~JD

Whoot! 2010 Update! (Instead of just Friday!)

Yeah ... since I've only been back blogging for 4 days now, I thought I would update you on all the coolness that was JD's blog this past year.

Here's some linkage:

1. Okay, I JUST found out that I was actually mentioned on AN AGENTS BLOG. Pretty cool right? That alone makes 2010 pretty freakin' awesome. Vicki Motter from Andrea Hurst Literary Management gives a link to my blog here.

2. I snagged a guest blog from Scott Eagan, Romance Literary Agent. He tells us ALL about those darn "writer rules" here.

3. Sarah and I did a weeks worth of beta stuff. We shared our crits of each other's work, talked about how the beta process makes us feel, and lots more! Find that here. Oh, and you'll notice that my crit of Sarah's stuff is MIA. I'm not allowed to have her work on my blog while her book is out for submission to publishers (which it is RIGHT NOW!!!). But there is LOTS of other information!! Check it out!

4. I'm not great with grammar. So in my pursuit to help myself, I created the Grammar Police posts to help others, too. Check out all the topics I covered last year here.

5. We had several guest bloggers last year, too. They talked about what they do, how they write, genre's, and more! Check them out here.

6. Whoa. I talked about myself ... and my family, pets, offspring, etc, A LOT. ;-) What can I say? I love them. Go back through all the "Learning About Justine" posts here and learn all about me all over again!

7. I did a lot of talking about queries this past year, too. What I learned, how to write them, all those darn mistakes you can make, etc, etc. Check out all the info here.

8. And lastly, what would my blog be without my rejection stats? Um? It's important for me to share my journey with others. I learn from my own mistakes, so maybe you can learn from mine, too! Here's a glimpse of my rejection stats. Right here!


So there you have it, peeps! A quick review of 2010. Oh, there was more ... much more! But there are some of the highlights. Enjoy!

See you next week for an entire week of WRITER MILESTONES!! Don't miss it! Me (and the beta, Sarah) will tell you all about some of those important milestones. Oh ... and do you follow Sarah's blog yet? If you don't, you should. She's got LOTS of cool psychology type stuff that applies to writing. You should listen to her ... she's a Dr. after all. ;-) Click the Emerald City badge at the top, right corner of my blog to check out her blog!

Until next week! Have a great weekend!!

~JD

Justine's Writing Epiphany ... It's a BIG one!

Sometimes ... when you get an idea, you just have to go with it.

Other times ... you need to come up with a solution to problem before you go completely INSANE!

And that, my friends, is why we are going to discuss my hiatus epiphany.

First, you need to know me a little better. I'm a textbook type "J" personality (Myers-Briggs), which goes along nicely with my textbook type "A" personality. Together, they create one, mean monster. (I can be sweet, though)

Here are some traits of a "J" (thank you Myers-Briggs):

This type typically leads to a style oriented towards closure, organization, planning, or in some fashion managing the things and or people found in the external environment.

Here are some traits of an "A" (thank you Wikipedia):

The theory describes a Type A individual as ambitious, aggressive, business-like, controlling, highly competitive, impatient, preoccupied with his or her status, time-conscious, and tightly-wound. People with Type A personalities are often high-achieving "workaholics" who multi-task, push themselves with deadlines, and hate both delays and ambivalence.


SO ... do you see how these two personalities create a problem for me when it comes to writing??

I need closure.

THAT one aspect alone DOES NOT bode well for an aspiring writer.

I had a breakdown. Seriously. Over the hiatus I had a breakdown. It's only fair for me to share everything with you, right? Full disclosure and my journey IS the reason I write this blog. Giving you anything less would be futile. ;-)

So, I had finished three books. Two of them are practically DOA. I have very little faith for the third. I started writing two more books, although I struggled through them because the "finish line" was something I struggled to cross.

The "finish line" for ALL us writers is getting published. Right? And let's face it, it's something very few of us will actually cross.

BUT that doesn't work for me. (Go back and look at my personality traits again). I NEED closure. I NEED to finish tasks. I NEED to succeed.

And when I don't ... what happens? TOTAL FREAKING FAILURE BREAKDOWNS. Not kidding.

When I feel liked I've failed, I fail hard. I won't go into details. It's pretty ugly.

So, here I am already feeling like failure, when my beta gets an agent (way excited for her, btw). Not only am I not crossing my own finish line, but suddenly the feeling of LOSING my beta nearly crippled me. Actually, it did cripple me. Because, and I'll be honest, I would be nothing without Sarah. And here I suddenly thought she would be stripped away from me. (Which, btw turned out to be all in my head)

Now what??

I had stopped writing. Stopped querying. And barely managed to make it through the days.

And then slowly ...

Oh, so slowly ...

I started to write again.

I didn't query anything, though. I didn't even THINK about querying. I didn't THINK about anything besides writing. Because after all, writing is what I loved. Nothing else.

I had a talk with myself. I had a talk with Sarah. I had a talk with my muse. I had a talk with my WIP's.

Basically, I realized that I wouldn't be able to continue writing--and enjoying it--unless I changed my finish line. Enter my own 12 step retraining-my-brain-program.

My goal is not to get published. (That will simply be a perk from now on).
My goal is not find an agent. (Though I agree, this is another perk).

But PERKS is ALL they are. Nothing more. Nothing less.

My goal, and only goal, is to write stories that I love. Write things from my heart. Write what all this crazy stuff that my brain is cranking out. Because believe you me, as soon as I started telling myself that finding and agent and getting published would not be what would make or break me, my muse went into overdrive. (Hence the reason I finished two books in three months).

I had to remember why I started writing. And why I still want to write. Because I love to. Because it makes me happy. Because it makes me feel free. When all I worry about it that, I'm good.

Don't worry. I will still edit. (I am right now). I will still query (I will start again next week). And I will still try to get published. BUT, I won't focus on that. I won't be in a mad dash to the publishing finish line anymore. There are more important things.

My new finish line? Simply finishing those books I love to write.

Yes, it's hard. Yes, I will probably falter somewhere along the way. But I will remember why I write.

Because I love to.

Getting published will not define me.

And that, my friends, is all that matters to me now.

Because thinking like that will bring me peace of mind ... and serenity. Even in a world that's hard.

~JD

JD's New Year Resolutions!!

Over the past few years, I've been notorious for NOT making New Years Resolutions. I mean, I didn't follow through with them any way, so what was the point? This year, though, I've got LOTS AND LOTS to look forward too ...

Okay, those aren't my resolutions ... lol. Some of them would work, though. ;-)

So, here's what I strive to be in this new year:

1. Lose weight (everyone has this on their list, right?) I mean, I still carry around like 30 pounds of baby weight from 12 YEARS AGO. I think it's about time I shed it. Maybe. The beta, Sarah, said she needed to lose 10 lbs (I don't see it), so we shall do it together!

2. Spend more time with my kiddo (I spend a lot of time with her already, but what's a little more?) This would require spending more time at the barn with the stinky horses. Kidding. Well, they do stink somewhat, but I love them. And she loves riding, so in turn, I must love it, too. :o)

3. WRITE. WRITE. WRITE. WRITE. WRITE. In a few days (Thursday), I will tell you WHY "getting published" is not on this list and will NEVER be an actual "goal". I had an epiphany while on hiatus. An epiphany that will hopefully keep me sane. I'll talk more about that in a few days. So for now, it's all about cranking out those stories I love to write. And that's IT.

4. Get a new job. Yes, I love my job, but there comes a time when you realize you must move on. This year is that time for me. Wish me luck in this economy.

5. Meet my beta. Yes, this one will come true. Sarah's from my home state you know. And she's going to make a trip here REAL soon. She's been such a rock and inspiration for me over this past year, I must, must, must meet her in person and thank her for everything she's done for me.

Ta-Da! That's it!

I'm a simple girl who strives for simple things. I'm too old to fret about anything else. ;-)

Now, what about you? Did you make resolutions? If not ... why? If so ... what are they?

Oh, and the new year brings my official ONE YEAR blogging date! I've been at this for a year. I've taken some time off here and there ... lol ... so it's techincally not a year. But hey, it's the date that counts, right?


~JD

TaDa! Let's crank the blog back up, baby!

WHOOO HOOOOO!

And whew. Did I miss a lot while I was gone, or what????

I'll take today to round up some of the things that whizzed past while I was on hiatus.

1. Nathan Bransford STOPPED agenting! WTH? Whoa. Just Whoa. I do wish him the best of luck in his new career. But I will tell ya', I was looking forward to one of his insta-rejects. ;-)

2. My beta, Sarah Fine, got an agent!!! Her book goes out on submission to publishers this month!!! And she's got a new blog! And a twitter account! Get to know her, here on her blog ... and here on twitter.

3. Jessica Bell had a book accepted for publication by Lucky Press! Congrats!!

4. Jessica Bell, myself, and Matthew Rush, all had short stories/flash fiction accepted for publication by Static Movement.

5. LENNY LEE! had a recent bone marrow and test and guess what?? He's in remission!!! CARTWHEELS FOR YOU!

6. I finished TWO books!! Yes, TWO! The first, the middle grade book I wrote for my daughter--LOST AND FOUND. And the second, the YA horror (well, I think that's what it is...lol), THE RECKONING. Lost and Found has been edited and is ready to query. The Reckoning is officially in edit mode. Gah. I. Hate. Editing. Don't we all??? :o)

That's just a few of the things that happened while I was gone. Imagine everything else I missed. Sheesh. 3 months is a LONG time to be away from the blogosphere!

Not to worry, though. I'm back. And ready to rock it out with all of you!

Oh, and:

Tommorrow I'll tell you all about my resolutions for this new, wonderful year! Until then!

~JD