A Blog, A Book, and A Contest

I've been meaning to tell you all about a blog I really like and a contest that made my eyes bug out of my head.

First: Allison Winn Scotch's blog Ask Allison. It is a wealth of information about the publishing industry from a writer's point of view. She covers everything you could ever want to know. And I have learned a lot from her blog.

Second: this upcoming contest. A guaranteed query and 1st chapter read by her agent, Elisabeth Weed. No worries about getting lost in slush. No feelings of if only they would read that first chapter, I know they would want my book! If you write adult fiction, particularly women's fiction, and you have a completed manuscript and you're ready to query, you are positively loony if you don't run out and buy Allison's new book The One That I Want and become eligible to enter this contest. Good luck!

Finished

So, yesterday I cracked open the WIP again. Once I began the agent search, I tucked it aside and swore not to touch it. It was complete. It had been through 4 drafts, many ugly critiques. It was finished.

But I had a moment... a very persistent moment...a lingering moment. A very whiny, nagging, annoying thought. Chapters 3 and 4 need to be reversed. I tried to push it aside. But last night, it said: Immediately, Melissa. Sit the eff down.

So that's how it went. Back to the WIP reversing two chapters that probably never needed to be reversed.

So, how do you feel about this whole idea of 'finishing'? Is it ever really finished? Even when it's published, printed and on the shelf, can you actually open it up and say: yepper do, that's done! I wonder...

BEA

I decided at the last minute to attend Book Expo America this year. I have heard it is not necessarily a great conference for aspiring writers. But I remember sitting in my cubicle last year thinking that there were all kinds of wonderful books and all the people who love and write them mere minutes away. I also figured if babs is going, then so should I.

To my delight, I discovered that there are literary agencies who brave the scene. And one or two of these are agencies I had already planned on querying. I also discovered that there will be some authors there who I would very much like to meet. And, last year, I had the great pleasure of meeting a lot of book bloggers who will be attending again this year.

I must tell you, conferences freak me out. I'd much prefer to meet all of you at my favorite Italian restaurant over a bottle of wine, instead of under the harsh lights of the Javits Center as I desperately try and think of something to say and fail. But I'm going to brave this thing. In the name of books.

So, are you going? If so, I'd love to meet you. Please e-mail me at thistooblog (at) gmail (dot) com. I also live in New York City so feel free to ask me any questions about the area if you feel so inclined.

In Which My Worlds Collide

I think this has already been making its rounds through the publishing blogs. But there's no better way to represent my life than this video.

Here's why:

1. I make toys for a living (no, really, I do...)
2. I was the girl chewing my hair in the back of the classroom reading Jane Eyre.

Therefore, this is NOTHING SHORT OF AWESOME.

What About the Boys?

Guess what?! My very first guest post is up at Media Macaroni. If you write children's literature, work in children's media (or aspire to) her blog is a fantastic spot to learn about all the media out there for infants to tweens. And, ya'll know I write about women and girls like it's nobody's business. So, in a surprise twist, my blog post is about a population I am concerned about in the kid-litosphere and beyond: boys. Check it out!

Second Chances

As I slooowly begin the agent search (seriously, I'm a trepid turtle these days), I've been thinking a lot about second chances. We've all heard it. You only get a first impression with an agent. That query letter has to be perfect. That manuscript has to be flawless. If they are anything less, you've missed your one, golden chance.

I struggle with this. I am a writer and producer. My job is to, literally, make things happen. From start to finish, it is my job to make things faster, better, stronger. And along the way, if there's a problem, it is my job to fix it. What? You don't like this direction? This isn't working for you? No problem. I can fix it. I can make it work for you.

It doesn't seem that the publishing industry works this way. Thanks-but-no-thanks is an everyday occurrence. There is no time to sit and say, "Well, how can I make this work for you? I am willing. I am able." It's more like an irritated mother, yanking her child's arm. "No. Means. No." There are no second chances.

But, as I've said, I am a producer. I make things happen. It is always my job to say yes. An eternal optimist. An eternal problem solver. And I know that this 'no second chances' thing, it doesn't really work like that.

If an agent rejects your work, they are the ones who never get a second chance. You are the one with endless opportunity. To be faster, better, stronger.

And, yes, that's my tough make-it-happen face.

Begin to begin

I once wrote something a long time ago and I used the line "She was desirous of everything and, yet, nothing at all." It's kind of a clunky line, but I think of it every now and then. Because it's a line that applies to most of my characters. They are often quite restless and they want so many things they find themselves standing still.

Maybe most of my characters feel that way because I feel that way a lot of the time.

Right now, I want a lot of things out of life. Most of them have to do with my writing. I want a literary agent. And I want a book deal. And I want to see the book I worked on for so many years mean something to somebody. I want to finish another novel. And I want to re-focus my career so that I will always sit at a desk with a wide open window and lots of blue sky. A desk where I define the time of day that I sit at it. A desk that's really mine. And I don't want my work to sit in a drawer anymore. There are too many stories, too many plays, too many scenes, too many characters that are tired of being tucked away.

But I am also afraid that nobody wants to see any of it. That by putting myself out there I've actually set myself up for failure. I'm afraid that there is no desk to call my own. Because how do you even begin to begin again?

It seems that if you are someone who wants a lot of things, you run the risk of walking away empty. That the more you ask for, the more you may not receive. It can be scary to want things because, well, what happens if you don't get them? Do you just find new things to want? Or do these desires linger? Do they stay?

My experience has told me that they stay. That they stay whether you move forward or you stand still. But the more I make room for them and allow them to grow, the more I wish they would just go away.

Have you ever wanted a lot of things in your life?

Have you ever wanted so many things you don't even know where to begin?