Heart palpitations...

I received an email from the agent that had my partial tonight while I sat here and my heart beat wildly out of control. I didn't want to open it. It was out of control. Seriously. But I did. And it was a rejection and my pulse slowed. "My heart can handle this." I told myself. "It can. It's just another in a very long line." But it hurt, as I suspected it would. I did not cry. Not one tear was shed because it was exactly what I expected and like I said before, it's among many that have and will yet be delivered to my inbox. Life goes on, we cope and we query. This agent seemed really sweet and did offer a small amount of feedback which was kind or her. She didn't ask me to send her my next work or revisions. At least it was something. That is more than I had this morning. I'm not going to make any changes to that manuscript just now. I'm going to let my outstanding queries get responses and then go from there and I will be thinking about what she said in the meantime because that is what you should do as a writer. You listen to comments and you decide what to do with them. That's what it's all about. I wish that made each rejection easier to take, but it doesn't. I'll make it though, and the sun will still rise tomorrow! That is what makes life worth living. Perspective is very important when you write for life. It's hard to keep an eye single to your goal, but it's the heart of progress.

query queen!

Ok....not really, but I'm doing SOMETHING. I consider that to be royal in some way. I'm trucking right along(wow, that sounds less royal and more white trash)

Today - I'm going to get some writing done and/or editing and I'm excited about it! Too bad I'm not feeling good which is why I'm sitting here...oh well. You can't have everything, right?

Query Stats - since it's been called to my attention my previous link didn't work and they've changed since then anyway.
Sent = 45
Positive Responses = 1
Negative Responses = 16

Ok - off to do some laundry then - WRITING!

53 pages of worry?

First, a little comic relief from Debbie Ridpath! She's brilliant! After a weekend of slashing and editing and pouring over every last word, I sent off what I hope and pray was the most perfect, most compelling, most 'I HAVE to know MORE' or I'll die partial Manuscript imaginable yesterday night. I've been saying for months that I just don't know what I could possibly cut but this weekend proved that I can cut more. I guess when it's crunch time we do what we have to do. So this week and in the weeks to follow I'm endeavoring to not think about the partial and just get more writing done. I'm planning on sending out my first round of snail mail queries to agents that don't accept equeries. Here are my query stats according to querytracker.net. I have to admit it was super fun to put a happy face in one of those spots amongst all teh angry red ones! lol By the way- If you're a fellow author and you use querytracker.net Look me up! I'm Melony Martin. And if you don't use http://www.querytracker.net and you are thinking about querying at some point, check it out! It's an awesome tool to help you keep track of your project stats and research agents/authors. I cross reference at http://www.publishersmarketplace.com, agentquery.com and http://www.absolutewrite.com just to be safe but the tools at querytracker are great!

Well, for today, I'm off to the gym and then hopefully some work on Flash and maybe some more slashing on Hourglass since I've proven I CAN do it. That, and querying. Also, found out Friday night that there is a vampire book coming out in March called Hourglass. Not really thrilled about that. Hourglass. Vampires. COME ON!!!!

Good enough for me!

Good news today came in the form of my very first partial request! It's not earth-shattering or anything but it's encouraging and something I really needed right now! The chances of this agent requesting the full manuscript and then subsequently offering me representation aren't huge and that's ok with me. I just feel very validated somehow by the request itself. Lately, every time I sit down to write I feel guilty about it because I just can't be sure whether I'm any good at it or whether it's going anywhere. If it were my job then I'd be working, but right now it's a hobby and I have a very full life as a wife and mom. So this told me that yes, it's at least worth someone asking for more and that's enough for me!

Querying again...

Well, I've toyed with the idea of changing Hourglass in some ways that would involve a little bit of a rewrite but I've decided to leave it as it is and just bust out the queries. I originally set a goal to do a certain number and quit at 19. That's kinda lame of me and I really have no right to get depressed over 19! 219 maybe but not 19 so I am going forward with those despite word count issues and all my other worries. I've been working steadily on Flash and am now at 30K so just under halfway done! Woohoo! It's a great story and is coming along nicely. Every time I open Hourglass again I think, "Wow this is good..it really is." So I just need to follow through on it, I think. I've had other people read it and they have also enjoyed it so it's onward and upward on those queries! Writers group read the first few chapters of Flash and they seemed to all enjoy it except for some minor flaws I've already fixed. More than one of my friends said I needed to pursue it so that's fun!

In other news I've actually started reading again! I'm so excited! I finished The Dark Divine by Bree Despain and am now reading Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. So far, so good. I think it is important to read as an author so you can keep up to date and also it does help me creatively so I've decided to MAKE the time for it!

Well, I'm taking my writing time blogging so that's all for now! Query stats right now are 26 queries sent 12 rejections and probably 8 no response

If you're a writer watch this!

2010

It's 2010! How in the world did we get here? 2009 was a great year because I once again discovered and embraced my love of writing. I had done it all through grade school, middle school and High school but once I started having kids it was kind of buried under motherhood again. In fact, when I started writing Hourglass and actually contemplated trying to get it published my husband wondered if I'd be able to "do it again." I have to admit when the question was posed I worried. Maybe not. My head, which had caused me to get in trouble all my young life for the fabulous stories I made up, hadn't provided me with much fantastical fodder in years and years. So, at that point I did worry. But here I am 1/3 of the way done with another novel and I have at least three others outlined mentally and ready for me to work on. I've started all of them plus Book 2 of the Hourglass series(which is mostly outlined already too) So, yes. Yes I can do it. YES! My head is still a crazy place. (Should I be cheering about that??) Hmm. Anyway. I will be 35 in 2010 and I am seriously hoping to push my career forward this year. It's a goal, a dream and I think, a possibility waiting to be untapped! Happy New Year to all! May 2010 bring wonderful things for you as I hope it does for me!