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.