Well, I am still working on MARKETING plan. I have handwritten two more chapter of "HISTORY" but finding the time to type them up...that might be challenging. However - I was thinking of submitting HISTORY to Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction. They are accepting Novellas now through 15 FEB. The winner gets published so that is very high on my priority list.

I did get a REJECT back from Donald Maass. It was kind of disheartening since I picked up the latest Writer's Digest and he was questioned about the state of the industry. I pretty much thought TORMENT did that... TORMENT keeps it's reader's hooked and draws you into the character emotionally. People care about Mihai, Theresa & Viktor!

So far Mihai & Viktor are big winners in the main character category.

Sonia & Stelian have taken nods in Supporting cast. That's pretty diverse if you ask me!

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Well, I got a couple more rejections the past couple of weeks - one from ETHAN ELLENBERG and one from DONALD MAAS. I was a bit disappointed by the MAAS one because I'd used my new query letter format too.

Anyway...I have come to realize that "my baby" is probably not a good choice to submit for because it's not:

MARKETABLE

Who wants to read about WEREWOLVES in ROMANIA???

Go figure.

I am revamping my plan. There are two marketable projects I am working on but they aren't close to being ready like THE HEART'S TORMENT.

One is:

ID: 1024081   (Rated: 13+) Across The Fickle Winds of History  Olga Romanov, the firstborn of the last Czar of Russia, flirts with history by StephB

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Well, I've been busy - who hasn't? GRIN.

First and foremost, I have been editing. In the First Draft, I have edited through chapter 34, which is now chapter 26 in the EDITED VERISON here on the site. I've cut out about 100 pages so far from the draft to edit, streamlining a lot of things.

One of the things I noticed is that Viktor and Sonia's attempts at reconcilation are flowing smoother than before.

So I'd say I'm about 1/2 done my edit.

I have not recieved any more feedback from those agencies still out there - so no news is good news.

I went through the 2005 guide to literary agencts and took a peek at the website: AGENT QUERY. I find that website to very helpful. Now, I could spend all morning there, but I don't have all morning. I've drafted queries for the following:

Donald Maass Literary Agency - REJECT
Ahern Literary Agency
Larsen-Pomada Literary Agency and I'll be sending out those queries together. REJECT

Until next week, I'll be EDITING.






 

Well, not much has been going on. I haven't found much time to put together anymore packets to mail out. I have done my research though. (or I should say, my friend BBINJC helped me.) The following author's have written stories involving werewolves:

"Haunted" by Kelley Armstrong.

"The Demon's Daughter" by Emma Holly

"Killing Moon" by Rebecca York.

"To Tame A Highlander" by Karen Marie Moning.

I did get a rejection in the mail the other day from the William Morris Agency (Agent sent to was Dorian Karchmar)

It was a very personal letter which I greatly appreciated. She wrote: "There is much here to recommend...but in the end I just didn't fall in love with it."

I appreciate the honesty. I did send her the chapters which I'd had a couple of editors help me out on, but I also sent her my old query letter and not the new one as I posted in my first entry.

Also, I'm still working on my editing. I've edited for POV through chapters 18 now, which is about the 1/2 point of the novel.

In chp. 18 Mihai has just discovered his wife is pregnant and Viktor approaches Sonia, asking her to come back to the castle.

Well, that's where I'm at with THE HEART'S TORMENT. I'll have another update in about a week.

StephB


 

Well, heck, someone told me that writing is 10% and editing is 90% of writing. I totally believe that. Also, a good friend of mine said she was reading Stephen King. King advises to write the 1st draft for yourself, write the second draft for others.

That in mind, it took me three months (JUN to SEP) to write the 1st draft of THE HEART'S TORMENT.

When I finished I was excited and giddy. So I asked someone who claimed to have some editing experience to look at the prologue. They told me it was unrealistic.

Talk about DEFLATED. I took a collective gasp. It was now time to edit.

So, I put a Folder with the Edited version

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