Yes, actually, this post does relate to the song from Wicked (which I want to see SO bad! I've heard it's mind-blowingly incredible.)
Ahem. Ignoring my ramblings...
I've been an avid follower of author Kody Keplinger (ya know, who wrote The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend)) for probably about a year, and I just love her humor and YouTube videos. She's such an inspiration to aspiring authors, and gives fantastic advice.
Take, for instance, what I'm going to post.
In this video she discusses rejection, and how defying a little gravity can do loads of good for you when pursuing that elusive, fantastic, published author dream.
It's basically one of my favorite videos to watch when I feel down, or when I need to rid of some stress and get myself inspired. Enjoy! (And make sure you check out Kody's blog if you've yet to already; you won't regret it! It's http://kodymekellkeplinger.blogspot.com/.)
On a different note, Harry Potter was AWESOME!!! It's been two weeks since my last post, and--whadaya know--I've seen it two times since then! Yes, there were things that could've been done slightly differently, but that's just the nature of the beast when dealing with movie adaptations of books. I still give it a glowing 5/5 stars, and still completely, wholeheartedly, undoubtedly LOVED it. =D Make sure you see it too!
And that's all I have. Have a great day! :)
Showing posts with label Rejections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rejections. Show all posts
Friday, July 29, 2011
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
PageToFame, Girl With Dragon Tattoo, and More TV
Hey guys. :)
So, I admit, I haven't really had anything to blog about, which is most definitely why I haven't posted since, well...my last post. But thankfully, that's changed. At least for today.
First and foremost, I wanted to bring up a fantastic website I've blogged about just once (I think): WEbook! And, on WEbook, is PageToFame, something I've utilized four times now, and something that I really think will help me (and possibly you, too!) with my novel.
WEbook, if you're wondering, is a website where writers, readers, or anyone else, really, can post work, receive feedback on said work, give feedback on others' work, participate in writing competitions, obtain help (like what to do when you have writer's block), and much more. It's home to the PageToFame competition, where you post your first page of either a "Short" (short story, poem, etc.), or a novel. For me, I'm a full-length novel writer, so I've posted the first page of my main story in addition to another story that's in development (your whole book doesn't have to be done to do this). From there, others with accounts on the site can rate your first pages on a scale from 1 to 5, 1 obviously being the lowest (lousy) and 5 being the highest (heavenly). There are 3 rounds, and if you receive good enough ratings, your 1st page is elevated to round 2, where you post your first 5 pages, and lastly, round 3, where you post the first 50 pages. Best part is, participating literary agents read your work each time you're elevated!
Phew. That was a big block of words. :)
Anyway, here's the link: http://http//www.webook.com/
So, that's that. Now, onto something veeeeeery interesting...
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson!
I just started this one today, and must say I'm completely sucked in! I've heard amazing things about this thriller, and have learned the U.S. is coming out with the theatrical version in the next year or so (already insanely excited)! In fact, a huge character in the novel, Lisbeth Salander, has been chosen to be played by Rooney Mara. (The Swedish films had Salander played by Noomi Rapace.) So, I simply wanted to say I started it (anyone already read it?). I'll definitely be checking out the movie when it flies into theaters!
Movies relate to TV, and for my last little discussion, I wanted to talk about a very favorite show of mine... (Nice transitional sentence, right?)
Saturday Night Live!
This show... What can be said??? It's amazing, hilarious, has a mind-blowing cast... Did I mention hilarious? I did? Oh well. Hilarious, hilarious, hilarious...
I'm pretty sure you've all seen and/or heard of this show, but still... I just wanted to bring it up because I just watched a reran episode a few days ago, and I was completely laughing out loud!
Ah, the joys of television... =D
Well, I'd say that's it for now. Nothing new with the novel. Oh wait, there is some news, actually. I got another rejection from a query I sent over a month ago. It was sad, but I'm totally fine with it. :) Rejection #30, I believe...
So, that's it for now!
So, I admit, I haven't really had anything to blog about, which is most definitely why I haven't posted since, well...my last post. But thankfully, that's changed. At least for today.
First and foremost, I wanted to bring up a fantastic website I've blogged about just once (I think): WEbook! And, on WEbook, is PageToFame, something I've utilized four times now, and something that I really think will help me (and possibly you, too!) with my novel.
WEbook, if you're wondering, is a website where writers, readers, or anyone else, really, can post work, receive feedback on said work, give feedback on others' work, participate in writing competitions, obtain help (like what to do when you have writer's block), and much more. It's home to the PageToFame competition, where you post your first page of either a "Short" (short story, poem, etc.), or a novel. For me, I'm a full-length novel writer, so I've posted the first page of my main story in addition to another story that's in development (your whole book doesn't have to be done to do this). From there, others with accounts on the site can rate your first pages on a scale from 1 to 5, 1 obviously being the lowest (lousy) and 5 being the highest (heavenly). There are 3 rounds, and if you receive good enough ratings, your 1st page is elevated to round 2, where you post your first 5 pages, and lastly, round 3, where you post the first 50 pages. Best part is, participating literary agents read your work each time you're elevated!
Phew. That was a big block of words. :)
Anyway, here's the link: http://http//www.webook.com/
So, that's that. Now, onto something veeeeeery interesting...
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson!
I just started this one today, and must say I'm completely sucked in! I've heard amazing things about this thriller, and have learned the U.S. is coming out with the theatrical version in the next year or so (already insanely excited)! In fact, a huge character in the novel, Lisbeth Salander, has been chosen to be played by Rooney Mara. (The Swedish films had Salander played by Noomi Rapace.) So, I simply wanted to say I started it (anyone already read it?). I'll definitely be checking out the movie when it flies into theaters!
Movies relate to TV, and for my last little discussion, I wanted to talk about a very favorite show of mine... (Nice transitional sentence, right?)
Saturday Night Live!
This show... What can be said??? It's amazing, hilarious, has a mind-blowing cast... Did I mention hilarious? I did? Oh well. Hilarious, hilarious, hilarious...
I'm pretty sure you've all seen and/or heard of this show, but still... I just wanted to bring it up because I just watched a reran episode a few days ago, and I was completely laughing out loud!
Ah, the joys of television... =D
Well, I'd say that's it for now. Nothing new with the novel. Oh wait, there is some news, actually. I got another rejection from a query I sent over a month ago. It was sad, but I'm totally fine with it. :) Rejection #30, I believe...
So, that's it for now!
Friday, July 30, 2010
SO Excited (Plus Another Rejection)!
Excited because I just bought two novels I'm insanely excited about. These are: ROCK PAPER TIGER by Lisa Brackmann (how could I resist the cover?) and SISTERS RED by Jackson Pearce (again, this cover is so incredible I just HAD to get my hands on it!).And yep, got another rejection. Number 28. It made me a little sad, I'll admit, but doesn't every rejection? :) I was really, really hoping this agent would say yes, too... But don't we all want every agent to say yes? Even just a partial request? Perhaps, if we're immensely lucky (does this even happen?), a full request?
Ah, well. It's not too bad. I'm having my query critiqued, and I'm revising my first pages just to make sure they're enticing enough, and enthralling enough, and amazing enough, and fantastic enough...
Um, maybe that's a little too much to mash and shove into the first roughly ten pages. But hey, I want to make sure I have the absolute BEST manuscript possible so when (hopefully) an agent gets his or her hands on it, they totally, undeniably ADORE it...and instantly call me up and offer representation five seconds after receiving said manuscript.
So, yep, that's pretty much it. Two new books. One new rejection. A head filled with thoughts of how to revise, edit, query, blah blah blah... Anyway, if you'd like to purchase ROCK PAPER TIGER and/or SISTERS RED (which you most definitely should; aren't those covers immensely captivating?), I've posted the links to Amazon, Borders, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million below (just because I'm in a helpful mood!):
Until we meet again, happy writing! (You can see my photography skills are maddeni ngly amazing in those two pictures. That wooden table really shows my artistic ability.) ;)
Monday, July 26, 2010
Rejection #...
27. :) Up to number 27.
It's not too bad, these rejections. Though I'm sure many are simply form rejections, I have gotten a few that tell me another agent will surely feel differently about my work, or, my absolute favorite rejection I've gotten, that while my story is interesting (that makes me very happy), they just don't think they can successfully represent it. Which is totally fine by me. As long as they're being honest.
So, nothing else new. It's amazingly sunny outside, so I think I may head out and suck up as much Vitamin D as my body will allow before it forces me to gulp down gallons and gallons of water.
Um, other than that, not too much.
Actually, now that I think about it, I'd like to pose this question: Any upcoming book releases you're excited about? Me? Hmmm. Here's a little list.
It's not too bad, these rejections. Though I'm sure many are simply form rejections, I have gotten a few that tell me another agent will surely feel differently about my work, or, my absolute favorite rejection I've gotten, that while my story is interesting (that makes me very happy), they just don't think they can successfully represent it. Which is totally fine by me. As long as they're being honest.
So, nothing else new. It's amazingly sunny outside, so I think I may head out and suck up as much Vitamin D as my body will allow before it forces me to gulp down gallons and gallons of water.
Um, other than that, not too much.
Actually, now that I think about it, I'd like to pose this question: Any upcoming book releases you're excited about? Me? Hmmm. Here's a little list.
- Mockingjay (Hunger Games 3) - Release Date: August 24th, 2010
- Bran Hambric: The Specter Key (Bran Hambric 2) - Release Date: Fall 2010
- Paranormalcy - Release Date: August 31st, 2010
- The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) - Release Date: September 7th, 2010
What about YOU?
Monday, July 19, 2010
New Book, New Title, New Query
Hey all. :)
So, I have to admit I haven't updated the blog for roughly four or five days (I'm too lazy to count). But, the truth is, there's been absolutely no reason to.
So, to further prove this point, I've compiled some reasons as to why I don't really update daily...
Number one: I'm blogging about my journey in seeking publication, and that whole "seeking" bit is an extremely slow process. So, as with all slow things, you can guess it's been going pretty, what's the word?, slow. :D So basically there's nothing to ever update about, unless of course I start to freak out and hyperventilate when something (hopefully soon) AMAZING happens regarding my novel.
Annoying, yes. But that's the book business.
Number two: I don't want to pile useless information about my day onto this blog...unless I so choose. I may contradict myself in later posts, but, uh, yeah. For now, I don't want to.
Hmmm. I can't really think of a number three, which is good, I'd reckon. (I don't hear the word reckon often, so I thought I'd use it!)
There are two things to talk about, though...
First, I received another rejection today. Number twenty-four, if you're that curious. (I'm keeping count; it'll be interesting and fun to look at past rejections once I'm hopefully a published author.) But trust me, it's not angering. It's more frustrating than anything. So, yep, not too big a deal. Just need to keep submitting, keep submitting, keep submitting...
Secondly, I'm about to start a new book! Recently, I just finished the first novel in the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan, titled The Ruins of Gorlan. IT. WAS. FANTASTIC. Seriously. It was a fast-paced, enjoyable fantasy that flows very well and has a hold-your-interest plot that kept me buried within the pages. I'd wholly recommend picking this novel up if you have the chance. In fact, I've already started the sequel, titled The Burning Bridge.
Now, back to the book that I was talking about. The one I'm about to start.
The Light by D.J. MacHale! =] It's the first novel in the Morpheus Road trilogy, and ever since I picked it up over a month ago it's been idly sitting around, just waiting to be read. So, yes, though I'm already reading the second Ranger's Apprentice (and another book; I'm one of those people who doesn't mind reading multiple books at a time), I just couldn't resist staring at it longingly anymore. So, I'm about to start it!
Well, that's it for today! I've submitted more queries, attempting to craft them various ways and such just to see what the effect would be. On one of them, I even changed the title just to do a little "experiment" so-to-speak, and see what the response would be!
Wish me luck with the queries! And now, I leave you with these questions that you're more than welcome to leave the answers to in the comment box below: do you like to read multiple books at a time?, what are your favorite books?, and, lastly, what are your favorite covers?
Until then, happy reading and writing! ;)
So, I have to admit I haven't updated the blog for roughly four or five days (I'm too lazy to count). But, the truth is, there's been absolutely no reason to.
So, to further prove this point, I've compiled some reasons as to why I don't really update daily...
Number one: I'm blogging about my journey in seeking publication, and that whole "seeking" bit is an extremely slow process. So, as with all slow things, you can guess it's been going pretty, what's the word?, slow. :D So basically there's nothing to ever update about, unless of course I start to freak out and hyperventilate when something (hopefully soon) AMAZING happens regarding my novel.
Annoying, yes. But that's the book business.
Number two: I don't want to pile useless information about my day onto this blog...unless I so choose. I may contradict myself in later posts, but, uh, yeah. For now, I don't want to.
Hmmm. I can't really think of a number three, which is good, I'd reckon. (I don't hear the word reckon often, so I thought I'd use it!)
There are two things to talk about, though...
First, I received another rejection today. Number twenty-four, if you're that curious. (I'm keeping count; it'll be interesting and fun to look at past rejections once I'm hopefully a published author.) But trust me, it's not angering. It's more frustrating than anything. So, yep, not too big a deal. Just need to keep submitting, keep submitting, keep submitting...
Secondly, I'm about to start a new book! Recently, I just finished the first novel in the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan, titled The Ruins of Gorlan. IT. WAS. FANTASTIC. Seriously. It was a fast-paced, enjoyable fantasy that flows very well and has a hold-your-interest plot that kept me buried within the pages. I'd wholly recommend picking this novel up if you have the chance. In fact, I've already started the sequel, titled The Burning Bridge.
Now, back to the book that I was talking about. The one I'm about to start.
The Light by D.J. MacHale! =] It's the first novel in the Morpheus Road trilogy, and ever since I picked it up over a month ago it's been idly sitting around, just waiting to be read. So, yes, though I'm already reading the second Ranger's Apprentice (and another book; I'm one of those people who doesn't mind reading multiple books at a time), I just couldn't resist staring at it longingly anymore. So, I'm about to start it!
Well, that's it for today! I've submitted more queries, attempting to craft them various ways and such just to see what the effect would be. On one of them, I even changed the title just to do a little "experiment" so-to-speak, and see what the response would be!
Wish me luck with the queries! And now, I leave you with these questions that you're more than welcome to leave the answers to in the comment box below: do you like to read multiple books at a time?, what are your favorite books?, and, lastly, what are your favorite covers?
Until then, happy reading and writing! ;)
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Playing the Waiting Game
It's extremely tough to wait. Especially when what you're waiting to receive is a response to your nurtured, perfected little book you've sent out into the world with hopes that rise high into the sky.
It's even tougher when you're attempting to break into the book business, a business that (I've come to learn) is full of waiting.
How I handle it? By simply kicking back, smiling, and telling myself I've done all that I can do. I wrote the book I had a vision for (over a year ago, in fact), edited it until my eyes fell out (eh, a little dramatic, but you get the point), and wrote what I truly hope was a really, really well-written and intriguing query letter.
End of story.
So, yes, it's definitely hard to wait for a response. Especially when you keep receiving rejection after rejection. But hey, didn't all the most amazing authors have their fair share of rejections? The answer is a wholehearted yes.
Just remember that every "no" you receive is taking you one step closer to the "yes" that I'm sure we'll all (hopefully soon) receive. And no matter what, keep going.
It's even tougher when you're attempting to break into the book business, a business that (I've come to learn) is full of waiting.
How I handle it? By simply kicking back, smiling, and telling myself I've done all that I can do. I wrote the book I had a vision for (over a year ago, in fact), edited it until my eyes fell out (eh, a little dramatic, but you get the point), and wrote what I truly hope was a really, really well-written and intriguing query letter.
End of story.
So, yes, it's definitely hard to wait for a response. Especially when you keep receiving rejection after rejection. But hey, didn't all the most amazing authors have their fair share of rejections? The answer is a wholehearted yes.
Just remember that every "no" you receive is taking you one step closer to the "yes" that I'm sure we'll all (hopefully soon) receive. And no matter what, keep going.
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