September 2024 - Reading, Writing, and Randomness Monthly

This fall, I’m going to be getting out there and doing the thing at conferences. You can find me here:

Colorado Gold Writer’s Conference (Sept 27 - 29, Denver CO). Hosted by Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, I’m particularly looking forward to the Critique Partner Speed Dating, the workshops on romance and synopsis writing, and the keynote from Beverly Jenkins, a true romance writing legend.

Women’s Fiction Writers Retreat (Oct 16 - 19, Alexandria VA). Hosted by Women’s Fiction Writers Association, I first attended their conference last year in Chicago and it was an amazing experience. I’m looking forward to the retreat, with a lighter schedule and more dedicated writing time and hoping to see some of the great folks I met in Chicago there.

Are you a fellow Romance writer attending either of these? Make sure to come find me — I’ll be sharing romance themed friendship bracelets with fellow writers. I’m currently deciding what I should include, so if you have any trope or subgenre suggestions, hit me up on Insta or click through to comment on this post.

And now… on to the Reading, Writing, and Randomness…

Reading

Star rating on a scale of 0 - 5. Titles in BOLD link to full review in a new page. ✨ indicates a 5 star read

• Savor It by Tarah DeWitt | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5

• Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

• This is Not a Dead Girl Story by Kate Sweeney | Not Rated

• A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand | Not Rated

• The American Roommate Experiment by Elena Armas | Not Rated

• Nightwing: Year One by Scott Beatty and Chuck Dixon | Not Rated

• All They Ask Is Everything by Hadley Leggett | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

• ✨ A Love Like the Sun by Riss M. Neilson | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• ✨ False Confidence by Sophie Snow | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• ✨ Prime Time Romance by Kate Robb | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (a slight cheat - finished this one Sept 1 and it just came out so I didn’t want to wait!)

Writing

She’s DONE!!!

So… what happens next? For readers not familiar with the publishing process, here’s a rundown of next steps. This isn’t the journey everyone takes, but this is my plan.

Next up: Querying. Querying is the process of finding agents and/or publishers that you think would make a good fit for your book and pitching to them. QueryTracker and Manuscript Wish List are the main ways to find agents and understand what they’re looking for. I’m being pretty targeted and selective in this round of querying with a list of about a dozen agents that I’m submitting to. As of the drafting of this newsletter, I’ve already got one rejection (woohoo!) and have 4 queries pending response.

Something I know about my manuscript is that it’s kind of high concept (which can be a tough sell). It’s a Shakespeare retelling, told in dual timelines and four POV (point of view) characters. Oh, and it somehow ballooned to 94K words in the last edit (when I removed two POV characters). Typically, a romance will max out at 2 POVs and 90K words. Obviously, there’s exceptions to everything, but when you’re an unproven, debut author, the agent has to really love the concept and take on the story to take it on. So I’m fully aware that this round might be all rejections and that’s okay — everything is data.

If I get no bites from this round of querying, my plan is to hire a developmental editor. Different than a copy editor (what you probably think of when you hear “editor”; someone who catches those typos and inconsistencies), a developmental editor looks at the book as a whole and, often, what can make it more sellable. As authors, we’re so close to our story that we can’t look at it completely objectively; this is where developmental editors come in handy.

After developmental editor feedback, I’ll review what they have to say and decide what I want to do next. For example, I think I can maybe cut one more POV from my book, but if I do, I only have one half of the secondary couple — does that make it weird or unbalanced? If I cut both of their POVs, I’m not sure I can tell the story that I want to tell. If the feedback I get is that I really need to cut to 2 POVs in order to sell the book, I’ll have to decide if a) I want to focus on traditional publishing and make those changes or b) I want to tell the (unconventional) story that I want to tell and move forward with self-publishing.

… and Randomness

• I’ve gotten myself into a new hobby: Stained Glass. Fortunately, I was able to have my day job subsidize it since I’m one of the organizers of our on-site makerspace. Bougie tech jobs do have some good perks.

• Fun things in the life of a writer: taking the opportunity to tour a couple of private jets in the name of “research”. I got to do this at an amazing charity event for the Morgan Adams Foundation, benefitting their mission for fund research into pediatric cancers. Check out the link above to learn more about their amazing work and contribute.

• I shared that I jumped on the Chappell Roan bandwagon a few months back. Earlier this month, she made an Instagram post calling out fan behavior that crosses the line. A lot has been written recently about parasocial relationships fans can have with celebrities (much of it focused on Taylor Swift). I think it’s incredibly brave and sincere and healthy of Chappell to discuss this topic and be clear with her boundaries. Her whole relationship to the industry, the concept of “celebrity,” and how those intersect with who she actually is, out of costume, seem so balanced and mature to me and I just love her all the more for it. Here’s hoping that she’ll continue to be able to set these boundaries, keep making music as long as she loves it, and keep having fans who respect this about her.

Okay! Back into query research, devouring Before and After the Book Deal, and procrastinating on writing by making stained glass. See you next month!