2003 Journal Entries
11/30/2003: Some days you get the bear, and some days the bear gets you! Today was the day I set aside some time to get my GH entry ready to mail -- I needed to print out 6 copies of the first 55 pages of the manuscript, then copy and paste all twenty chapters of Keeper by Surprise from my hard drive onto one Word document on a floppy disc. I was prepared -- I had bought a ream of paper, a new ink cartridge and a blank floppy disc. Let me at it!
About 40 pages in, my ink cartridge gave out. Cool -- I was ready. I quickly put the new ink cartridge in, and kept printing. Only, four or five pages later, the ink had dried up again. I got page after page of sketchy gray print. Hmmm, I went into the Printer Properties and ran all kinds of tests. Nothing worked. Nothing I did would get that ink settling darkly on the page. I can only hope that when I get a new ink cartridge it will correct itself.
So, I moved onto putting the entire manuscript on the floppy disc. It worked fine for about half the book. Then, around chapter 11, as I was saving, it gave me some kind of weird message that I couldn't save because of a file permission error. HUH? By that time I'd been working for close to three hours and needed a break anyway. Stay tuned. Hopefully I'll be able to get my contest entry printed and formatted properly, and off in the mail this week.
Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving, for those of you in the US!
11/8/2003: Today I printed out my synopsis, which is 7 pages, for Keeper by Surprise. That left 48 pages of manuscript to include in the Golden Heart entry. So I did revisions of those 55 pages -- trying to polish them to a glossy
shine for the contest. It's a little scary that I thought those pages were in their finished form -- after all, I had previously written, rewritten, revised and polished them before I sent them to my agent! But despite all the previous work, I still managed to make many word changes, and cut out two whole pages! Just goes to show you that there are always improvements to be made. My GH entry is ready. Now for the printing -- 6 copies of the 55-page entry, PLUS one copy of the entire manuscript. I'll definitely be killing some trees with this thing.
11/4/2003: Okay, I'm ready to make a commitment to start writing again. Although my life is busy, it always is, and I can't use that as an excuse not to write. I've been away from the computer long enough. One thing that will get me jumpstarted -- I entered my latest manuscript, Keeper by Surprise, in the Golden Heart contest, sponsored by Romance Writers of America. The total entry is 55 pages including the synopsis, so I need to go through the first 50 pages or so of the manuscript, with a fine-tooth comb. After I spend a few weeks revising work I've already done, I'll be in the mood to start something new.
It was a very tough day about a month ago when I found out that the editor I had the appointment with in New York (Erica Orden of Bantam/Dell) rejected the manuscript that I'd pitched to her -- along with Avon Books as well. <<Sigh.>> This is a really tough business and I'd sailed along for so long, not really worrying about the rejections. This one hit me hard. Oh well. You pick yourself up and you keep going. You'll never find success if you don't.
9/6/2003: Today's the day -- I forayed into the beginning stages of writing my next book! A story idea had been niggling at the back of my mind for the past few days, and I decided it must be the premise for my next book. So I sat down today and wrote a short synopsis, or at least the first draft of one. My goal for the rest of this month is to get the synopsis in good enough shape to take to my critique group in October. I want their input on the plot, primarily, to identify holes and spots that don't make sense. I'm also going to try to write the synopsis in the same voice, or tone, that I'll write the novel. I'm going for a newer sub-genre known as "chick lit" -- kind of a humorously sarcastic, "smarmy" kind of voice, usually told in first person, at least those parts of the story told in the heroine's point of view. I still have a lot of work to do before I can start writing -- such as deciding on names, characters' backgrounds, etc., but I'm hopeful that this will all go smoothly.
8/28/2003: Time for a new journal page. Tonight I'm printing out an entire hard copy of Momentary Lapse, to submit to the Library of Congress, with my application for a copyright. Just think, two manuscripts of mine will be sitting in the Library of Congress. I wonder what on earth they do with all that paper. And how long do they keep them before they just PITCH?
Also, today I picked out three photos of myself and sent them to Publishamerica for my back cover photo and publicity. They were just snapshots I had taken with black and white film, but I had just had my hair done and I like how they turned out. Hopefully the publisher will like them.
School has started and the boys are off in full swing. Unfortunately, it's been so dang hot here, that they've had early dismissals for the last three days. Which throws in a real monkey wrench for working parents! Oh well, a cool snap is supposed to arrive tomorrow.
August 18, 2003: Things are starting to move with the production of Momentary Lapse! The publisher asked me to submit an "Author's Questionnaire." Sounds harmless, right? Maybe a few questions to answer -- easy stuff that I could answer off the top of my head, like "What's your favorite beverage?"
Huh uh. This puppy took AWHILE to complete. But it was all good stuff -- I had to write the Dedication page, the Acknowledgements page, the back cover blurb and my bio. Then, I had to reformat my entire manuscript into a single file with no page numbers or headings, so they can use it in their typesetting. Also, they asked for the names and addresses of 100 of my friends. Once the book is ready to be released, they'll generate a letter of announcement and send it to those 100 people with an early bird discount offer on buying the book! Also I need to send them pictures of myself for the back cover, and apply for my copyright with the Library of Congress. So, exciting stuff!!
Not too much else going on ... in other words, I haven't started a new book yet. :( This summer has been insanely busy. I went on my third trip in a month, with my family -- a wonderfully delicious trip to Riviera Maya in Mexico (south of Cancun), right on the Caribbean where we soaked up the very intense sun and bathed in the gorgeous turquoise ocean waters. Since I've been back, we've had family visiting from out of town.
But... soon! I'm going to sit in a quiet room and brainstorm about a new story idea, and then I'm going to get started on Book #5.
July 30, 2003: New York City was loads of fun! I managed to see a lot of New York City "stuff" as well as jam-pack a lot of conference in as well. I've written a detailed Trip Report, so check it out here if you want the scoop.
Right now is deadline time for my local writing group's published author contest, the Madcap Award for Excellence in Romantic Comedy. I'm up to my ears in book entries, and I'm going to need to read at least six of them in the next month or so. My family and I are headed on a tropical vacation in a few days to Riviera Maya, Mexico, so hopefully I'll get some good beach time in, where I can read read read.
July 14, 2003: I'm packing right now for my trip to New York City and the Romance Writers of America National Conference. I'm sooo excited. Can't wait to see some friends I made last year at the Denver conference, meet new author friends, share news, talk with editors, and soak up all that knowledge and expertise in the workshops! I promise I'll post a day-by-day trip report when I return, for those of you who are interested.
Also wanted to tell you that a woman who runs a chat group called Karen Finds Out About New Books, contacted me. She'd run into my website and invited me to do an online chat with their group of about 210 people to talk about Whispers of the Heart. I'll be online at the same time as Patti Berg, the USA Today Bestselling author and final judge of my chapter's Madcap Contest, which I'm coordinating for excellence in published romantic comedy! So I'm in good company. I'll post more details soon in case you want to join in on the chat. It's July 29 at 9 PM Eastern time.
Wish me luck in my editor appointment!
July 6, 2003: WOO HOO! YIPPEE! HOORAY!! YAY FOR ME!!
What's all the hoopla about??? I just got a contract for my second book! My long-awaited second book WILL see the light of day! My interminable "Second Book Slump" is over!! YIPPEE!
Okay, let me calm down enough to give you the details: my second manuscript, Momentary Lapse, has finally found a publishing home! In fact, Publishamerica, who published Whispers of the Heart (my first book) has offered to publish my second. God bless 'em, because I had just about given up hope that Momentary would see the light of day. At last count, it had been rejected by 17 publishers. So the moral of that story is: never give up!
In other exciting news, I've had a successful completion to my 1000th Visitor contest! My website received its 1000th visitor in the morning of Friday, June 27, at about 8:30 Central time. As promised, I did a random drawing (my soon-to-be-12-year-old son did the honors) of all the entrants, and I'm happy to announce that Diane Welch of Lewisville, Texas is the winner of an autographed copy of Whispers of the Heart! Congrats, Diane!!
In other writing news, (I know -- nothing for months, and now WHAMMO! -- tons going on!) I'm on the countdown to my trip to New York City to attend the Romance Writers of America National Conference. I leave in 9 days. I was lucky enough to get an appointment with Erica Orden, an editor with Bantam/Dell Publishers. I'm going to pitch my Keeper by Surprise manuscript with the hope that she'll ask me to send her the manuscript! Keep your fingers crossed for me, because this will be my first face-to-face appointment with an editor. I generally don't do "short" well, but I'm going to have to learn, because my appointment only lasts EIGHT MINUTES! Yes, I'm going to have to amaze and intrigue her in only eight minutes! So keep me in your thoughts.
In addition to attending tons of workshops about the craft and business of writing, and chats with established authors and editors, I'm also going to be the moderator for one of the workshops, and hopefully meet up with authors I met from around the country when I went to last year's RWA conference in Denver. I got Broadway tickets to two shows -- Lion King and Chicago. The last night I'm there, everyone gets dressed to the nines and attends the RITA Award ceremonies -- think Oscars, but it's the romance writing crowd. To say that I'm excited to be going is a vast understatement!
I know -- I'm on a roll, and maybe all this good karma will carry over to one of my two other manuscripts who haven't yet found homes. Stay tuned!!!
June 1, 2003: Okay, this is ridiculous. It's been WAY too long since I updated my journal. The month of May absolutely FLEW by in a blur of ... of what? Oh yes! Family Fun Night! The school carnival that I coordinated, with the help of some wonderful other moms and dads. I'm happy to say it was a complete success -- in fact, it was better attended and more profitable than any year in the past! So we must have done something right. I'm SOOO happy to report that my FFN responsibilities are OVER -- at least for this year, and won't start again in earnest until September for next year.
So, what else has been going on, in my writing world, specifically? I finished revising my synopsis for Keeper By Surprise, and I'm fairly happy with it. Well, happier than I've been with any other synopsis I've written. I got it entered in the PASIC Book of Your Heart contest. I've got my fingers crossed that my entry makes the finals, because then it will be read by a St. Martin's Press editor as a finals judge.
've also agreed to judge for two unpublished writing contests, in addition to my own chapter's published book contest whose entries are due in August. I'll be reading entries for these two contests in June and July, so it shouldn't conflict. I actually enjoy judging the unpublished manuscript contests, because I can put my reader/editor hat on and see what things stand out to me for improvement. I just wish it were that easy with my own writing!
4/22/2003: I've come up with my first draft of a synopsis for Keeper by Surprise. A synopsis is a condensed version of the entire book -- including characters, plot and the tone (or voice) of the book, all in ten pages or less. Mine ended up at six pages double-spaced. I always struggle with writing synopses, as many writers do. But I've got my first draft down, and as always, that's the hardest part. I shipped it off to a writer friend of mine and asked her to critique it for me. Once it's revised and polished, I'll ship it off to the Book of Your Heart contest and keep my fingers crossed.
4/10/2003: I'M DONE!! I've finished revisions on Keeper By Surprise! Amidst my jam-packed scheduled, I consider that a real accomplishment!
4/6/2003: I've been "kicking butt" on my revisions of Keeper by Surprise!! Today I cranked out, I think, 6 chapters, so I'm done through Chapter 15. Five more to go. I'll be done by the end of next weekend. Then what? I'll need to write a killer synopsis, and enter it in the PASIC (Published Author Special Interest Chapter) Book of Your Heart contest, for one.
3/24/2003: Hooray!! I finally got back to my manuscript, Keeper by Surprise, and started revisions! I got through Chapter One twice, each time cutting, and adding, and polishing, and making sure my meaning was coming through. I ended up cutting close to two pages out of it, so it's 20 pages now. Hopefully 20 good pages. I can't afford to have "fluff" in there, or anything that isn't important to the storyline. So I ruthlessly used that Delete key, keeping only the good stuff.
In my RWR (Romance Writer's Report), a monthly magazine for members of Romance Writers of America, I noticed the announcement about the 2003 Book of Your Heart contest. I had entered the first chapter of Legacy of Lies in the same contest last year and got some great reviews. So I'm going to get Keeper by Surprise ready to enter this year and see how I make out. Booksellers judge the first round, and editors judge the final round, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.
I'm happy to report that both of my volunteer activities are slowing, as least for the time being. I've finished the advertisements for the Madcap contest, and the Family Fun Night is chugging along under the strength of its volunteers, at the moment. My goal is to spend at least 5 hours a week on revisions for the next few weeks, and then write a good synopsis. And then decide what to do with it.
3/13/2003: WOW. It's been forever since I've worked on my manuscript. Almost a month, according to this journal. But that's okay. I'm busy with other things, and I am letting it simmer on the back burner. Once I have time to go back to it, I'll dive into revisions and it'll be all the fresher.
I'm busy with my volunteer activity of coordinating the school's big end of school year carnival. I've been pleading with parents to be volunteers. Fortunately, I've got some really great people helping me so I'm feeling some of the pressure lift.
2/27/2003: I'm done with Keeper by Surprise!! Well, the first draft anyway. I actually finished it on the 16th, with a fit of inspiration and devotion. I planted my rear in the chair and kept plowing till it was done. It needs help. There were plot points and back-story that I changed mid-stream, and now need to go back and fix. And there were individual pages that I got critiqued by my monthly group, that I haven't updated yet with their suggestions for improvement. But revising is so much easier than writing, and the hardest part is over!
2/15/2003: A debilitating snowstorm has hit my town! The radio broadcast was filled with events that were cancelled today due to snow, snow, and more snow! Including, I'm happy to report, both my sons' basketball games this morning. So, we have an unexpected free day to stay around the house and do whatever we want! My husband is snow-blowing the driveway, the boys are playing in the snow, and I'm up in my guest bedroom, ready to work on (drum roll here, please...) the FINAL chapter of Keeper by Surprise. Yes, I began Chapter 20 last night and I hope to get some good work done on it today and tomorrow. I may even finish it this weekend, who knows.
It was an uneventful but pleasant Valentine's Day. My Valentine got me a beautiful little heart pendant. On one side it's encrusted with rubies and diamonds, and on the other side it's sapphires and diamonds. COOL. He says he loves picking jewelry out for me, so hey -- who am I to argue? :)
2/3/2003: I heard back from my agent. He followed up with those publishers that have had Legacy of Lies for six months with no reply. The good news is, they haven't rejected it yet, and I'm taking the approach that no news is good news. The bad news is, they aren't panting to buy it either. Oh well. Such is life.
1/29/2003: I'm writing again! After about a two-month sabbatical forced on me by the holiday rush, visitors and my cruise, I've returned to Keeper by Surprise and am actively working on it. It feels like a familiar friend has returned. I have worked consistently every day since Saturday (5 days now) and I'm happy to report that I've finished Chapter 18. I'm on target to finish my first draft, and my revisions/rewrites by March 1.
1/23/2003: My cruise was a total success! It was a Mother/Daughter trip, and my mom, Carol and I had a wonderful time. We left on Sunday the 13th and flew to Miami. We caught a shuttle to our hotel, and despite having to take a detour through some pretty scary streets, due to the Miami Heat game closing down the main road, we made it to our hotel safely. The next morning, we took the metro to Bayside, a cute little shopping/restaurant area on a boat pier. We ate lunch at a Bubba Gump Shrimp Co restaurant. CUTE. We boarded the ship around one, then spent the afternoon strolling the Lido deck, trying out the fruity drinks at the bar.
Tuesday morning we docked in Key West, and headed for a catamaran to take off on our snorkeling excursion. Too bad it was 64 degrees outside. The people we ran into on the ship's elevator thought we were nuts. So did we, when we were several miles off shore, dressed in bathing suits and winter jackets! But miraculously, once we got to our snorkel spot -- the third largest living coral reef in the world -- the tour guides (who, we didn't fail to notice were decked out in full body rubber wet suits) convinced us that it would be warmer in the water than out of it. We all were game, so we jumped in and snorkeled to our heart's content, with only a little bit of a shiver when we first hit the water. We witnessed some beautiful tropical fish, as well as a barracuda and a shark!
Other highlights of the trip include horseback riding on the island of Cozumel, Mexico, enjoying the Broadway-style song and dance shows and comedians on the ship, gambling in the casino, and of course, EATING at every buffet, dining room, snack bar and grill the ship had to offer! When we left the ship on Friday morning, we took advantage of the long hours till our plane left, and took a bus to the Florida Everglades National Park, and took an airboat ride through the Everglades! We saw many alligators and a few wild turtles.
All in all, a wonderful trip and a great time to spend with my mom. It was great to get home, but boy, I wish some of those warm temperatures had followed me back.
1/3/2003: Wow, it's hard to believe that 2002 is gone. It just flew by in a whoosh of flipping calendar pages. 2003 is fast upon us and I'm anxious to document some writing goals for myself. Goals help me to stay on target, and keep me moving forward, even when it doesn't appear that I'm making progress. So, here it is: what I want to accomplish in my writing career in 2003:
- MAKE A SALE!! I don't care which manuscript, who buys it, or how much they pay me. I just want to sell that elusive second manuscript and look forward to having my second book in print.
- Finish Keeper by Surprise by March 1, final edits and all.
- Start another book by April 15.
Some of my co-workers got me a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble for Christmas and I rushed out on 12/26 and bought some books. My favorite one, and the one that has stolen hours of potentially productive time away from me, since I couldn't put it down and found myself reading it at every spare moment, was My Losing Season, by Pat Conroy. I LOVE Pat Conroy's books! He's so inspiring to me as a writer. This one was autobiographical, and he wrote quite a bit about how he decided he wanted to be a writer, and how he went about training himself for that job. It was a magical experience for me, just to read it.
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