Writing is A Learning Game

In January, I finished writing The Road to Nowhere. In February, I started sending queries to agents. I received the usual "no thank you" from most of them but I continued sending to more agents. I queried one agent who replied about a week later. She asked to see the first 50 pages of the book. I was ecstatic! It was the first time an agent asked to see more. 

I hadn't been idle during those weeks of querying. I worked with a critique group who encouraged me to make major changes in my work. Believing they know more about writing and publishing than I do (which they do by the way), I started hacking at my book. With every change, I felt as if I wasn't staying true to my characters. It changed who they are. I continued editing and changing, believing I just needed to keep at it. When the agent asked to see those 50 pages, I sent her the revised version. Although I was confident in my writing ability (at least as confident as any writer can be), I was not comfortable with the direction the revision took the story. But I prayed God would bless and tried not to stress about it.

After two and a half months of not hearing from her, I took the advice of several others in the business and sent a short email. To my great please, she replied in a few days. Here is her email:

Thank you so much for allowing me to consider THE ROAD TO NOWHERE. There’s no question to me that you have a talent for writing vivid action and strong dialogue, and these both kept the plot moving forward. For me, however, the change in point of view from Aileen to Curtis Ralston for the first few chapters didn’t intrigue me as much as your first version — I wasn’t as invested in Curtis as I had been in Aileen — and the new direction described in the plot synopsis didn’t hook me the way I hoped it would. Although I regret to say that this particular project isn’t a match for me, I’d welcome the opportunities to review future queries that you may have, as I’m always looking for writers like you who are serious about the business.

All the best luck as you continue your search for enthusiastic representation on this project!

 

I cried tears of frustration. I've spent months rewriting and editing only to discover an agent who liked the original version better. The truth is, so do I! I waited a few hours to get my thoughts together and decided to chance a reply email. I shared my revision journey with her, asking if she would consider reading my original version. I prayed. I waited. I prayed some more. 

The next more I received a VERY encouraging email. She understood and would like to see the original. But she went a step further. She is willing to wait to see it to give me the time to get it back to its original storyline. In other words, she believes in me as a writer. I cried again, this time for joy. An agent believes in me. She likes my work and believes I am worth the wait.

I have learned a valuable lesson. I need to learn and grow and stretch my ability as a writer. But I need to trust myself and my instincts. I can't change my work to please everyone because I end up pleasing no one. God has given me a story. He's given me an ability. I want to honor Him with my writing. In order to do that, I need to trust that what He's given me is enough. A lesson we could apply to every area of our lives.

What lesson has God taught you recently? How has He shown you that you need to trust Him and the instincts He's given you?

Frasier Contest Results

Several months ago I entered the Frasier Contest with the first 1500 words and a synopsis of my romantic suspense The Road to Nowhere. Due to nerves and fear (why do they generally go hand in hand?), I waited until the last possible moment to send it off into cyberspace. After I hit enter, I spent several minutes fighting nausea. I finally came to realize it was a done deal. I couldn't take it back. Deal with it. Now all I had to do was wait for the results to be announced on June 1.

Starting early morning on June 1,  I checked my email too many times a day to keep count. Finally it came through - the list of finalists. I scanned through the six names, not at all surprised to find my name didn't make the list. 

Congratulations to the 2011 Frasier Finalists!

Jennifer Tiszai "Under Blueberry Skies"

 Casey Herringshaw "Releasing Yesterday"

 Marcie Gribbin "The Town Crier's Daughter"

 Debbie Archer "Etched" 

Andrea Nell "Saving Savannah"

Shelly Dippel "Flying Light"

What did surprise me was the note below that list of outstanding writers.

And to the distinguished Bronze Medalists!

Pat Trainum

Shannon McNear

Kathleen Anderson

Sarah Ladd

Kimberle Swaak

Ruth Schmeckpeper

Marie Wells Coutu

Christine L. Long

Jennifer Fromke

Cindy Sproles

Rachel Pudelek

Julia Matuska

Elizabeth Schultz

What?! My name was right in the middle of the list! Wahooooo!! I have to admit, my first reaction wasn't elation. I've been involved with groups who honored the winners and gave everyone else a consolation prize. I hate that. But I soon discovered there were over 100 entries submitted. It wasn't a consolation prize. The judges believed the Bronze Medalists have talent as writers. Okay, that's when I teared up. I'm honored and humbled to be among those listed as Bronze Medalists.

The next email I received had the following note:

"Publishing is a tough business, and at My Book Therapy, we are all about encouragement.  So, we designed the Frasier Contest to empower authors as they strengthen their craft, and award merit to those who are continually improving.  Therefore, while there are only 6 finalists to the Frasier Award this year, there are a number of entries whose writing showed great promise and merit.  And, even though your entry didn’t final, your entry showed solid writing craft, and made it to the second round of judging.  Well done!

 

"As a result, you will receive the MBT Bronze Medal distinction for writing excellence and a 15% discount on any MBT Writing Conference for 2011-2012. (a $50+ value).  Your name will be included in the MBT Frasier Ad in the ACFW Booklet, and you’ll be recognized at the MBT Pizza Party and Frasier Award ceremony, at the ACFW Conference Sept. 24^th."

 Wahoo!  I cried again. Now all I was waiting for was the critique, the part that makes grown writers crawl under their desk and refuse to never write again. Okay, that's a bit over-dramatic, but sometimes close to the truth. Today I received the feedback. Four files, two from first-round judges and two from second round judges. Biting my lower lip, I clicked on the first one. I began reading through the information and started breathing again. Here's the scoring break down:

5:  Mastered the skill, ready for publication

4:  Strong skills in this area, continue to tighten and hone these skills.

3:  Average skills – Author’s skill need work.

2:  Weak skill – Author needs to strengthen their grasp on the fundamentals.

1:  Poor skills in this area.  Author needs to spend time relearning this concept.

Here's how they rated my work:

Judge 1 First Round - average score 4.73

Judge 2 First Round - average score 4.03

Judge 1 Second Round - average score 3.75

Judge 2 Second Round - average score 4.8

I'm flabbergasted to say the least! Now I just need some time to apply the comments to my book. The funniest part is the diversity of the comments. One judge said she hated a certain phrase. A different judge cited that same phrase as her favorite. What I need to do is lay them all out side by side and find the common threads. But that will have to wait until school's out. For now, I just keep smiling, basking in the glow that professionals believe my work is good.

Thank you, Susan May Warren, for starting My Book Therapy and the Frasier Contest. Thank you to all the anonymous judges for your expert advice. Thank you for the much needed encouragement to keep on writing.