Hi again everyone,

I'm in an interesting position, with a fully complete manuscript, which I"m querying, but still a few small tweaks I'd like to make to it.

In particular, the opening chapter is troubling me.  I like the one I have, but everyone says it has to be just perfect to attract an agent, so I'm still working on it.  Only I can't seem to improve on what I've got (at least, not in my own mind).  Can't tell if I'm just too attached to my first draft, or if it really isn't getting better.

My main crit partner is supporting the changes, but I still don't know.

I'm getting some professional advice via a class with an editor at a local publisher, so perhaps that will shed some light on my decisions.

In the meantime, I'll keep the query tap open to a small trickle, and plan on turning it to a full gush once I'm happy with the opening.

Cory

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the gap in posts.  My day job has had me travelling around the world for the last two weeks, and try as I might I can't write while I'm jet lagged and stuck on a plane.

This whole querying thing is hard - mainly because of the waiting.  I imagine it's because it's summer, and everyone is on vacation, but from the dozen or so queries that I've sent out, I've only heard responses to three of them.  (At least I hope that it's because everyone's away, and not because they don't like my writing!)

So, I'm trying to keep writing to distract myself.  I find myself wondering if I should keep tweaking my manuscript, hoping to make it a little better, or if I should start on the next writing project.  Although that only opens more questions; Should I write a sequel or a brand new book?  Difficult to decide!  Any suggestions?

Being down in Sydney, the weather is finally starting to warm up and the days are getting longer, which makes it easier to find writing time.  I tend to write first thing in the morning, before the rest of the family wakes up, and before my day job starts to intrude too much.  Waking to a warm house (no central heating in Sydney!) and birdsong as the sun rises is a lot more pleasant than the cold, dark house I've been in for the last few months.

I've got a couple of opportunities for professional feedback on my writing coming up, so I think I'll wait on some of the hard choices until I see what the experts say.  Then who knows?  Either some serious editing, a whole new project, or start querying again in earnest.

On my way!

If failure is the first step towards success, then I guess I'm on my way as a writer...

Last night I sat down and set out my first batch of query letters.  I had worked for a few months on the query, reading everything I could find about how to write them and going through multiple drafts.

I decided that my strategy would be to send out half a dozen queries in an initial 'wave' to gauge response.  If I got no positive feedback I could see if the query needed further revision.

Well, literally less than an hour later, I had my first rejection!  It was just a form rejection, no real feedback in it.

The funny thing was, I knew intellectually that I was going to get rejections.  In fact, a lot more rejections than requests.  Its what every author goes through.  But, even knowing that, it still stung.  It was one of those rare moments in life when you can be experiencing an emotion, while simultaneously asking yourself why you're feeling that way.  A little like sweating while also being freezing cold...

So, onward and upward now.  I'll wear each rejection like a badge of honor, a brick on the path towards acceptance.  Or at least I'll keep reminding myself to try...

Introduction

Hi everyone,

I'm an aspiring author based in Sydney, Australia.  I got into the writing game mainly as a way of keeping my 10 year old twins entertained.  Years ago, a long car ride had reached the "Dad, I'm bored" stage, and inspiration struck.  I took advantage of a youth spent reading every fantasy story I could find, and began telling new stories to my twins based on the exploits of our family pet, an American Eskimo named Shiraz.

Suddenly, the twins were hooked on stories of Shiraz the Rescue Dog, who somehow always managed to save the day when the twins were battling giant sea monsters or trapped in a snow cave with Yeti about to gobble them up.

Over the years, the twins' tastes in stories evolved, but they stayed interested in my stories too.  Finally, at their urging, I started writing them all down, and pulled together my first novel.

It's a fantasy story about twins who find out their mother is in fact a fairy princess when she is kidnapped.  The twins have to rescue her while confronting their own feelings about being half-fairies.

I'm embarking on a new challenge of seeking a publisher now.  Stay tuned, I'll keep you all posted!