Words Words Words

I have a surprise for you. This post is entirely made up of words. If you look at any book around you, I assure you it's also made up of words... well paper also but the paper would be blank if not for the words. Now, just for fun, try going out to eat and order without words... go... now... I'll wait....

Assuming you aren't in jail, or a mental hospital, and hoping you lack a pair of black eyes... though maybe at least one black eye because well... I'm sure it's deserved somehow... no offense. Anyway I'm guessing your adventure in communicating without words didn't go very well. 

Now think about this for a moment. A large portion of our lives is made up of words. Now for the scary part, a large portion of society doesn't know how to properly use words. There are so many words in the English language alone that get ignored it's not even funny. 

Now to ask the most obvious question. Is there a point to this post about words? The answer is... nope, none at all. Enjoy your evening. 

Head Vs. Wall

Bit of a frustrating day in the search for agents. Not much to say about it other than to pass on a bit of advice. When agents say that they want a synopsis they don't actually mean the short little blurb in your query email. The want you to attempt breaking your entire manuscript into one or two pages. This is very difficult to do. So right now I want to see which is harder, my head or the wall. 

In other news I have started sending not just thank you letters when I receive a rejection but also fishing for information to see if I can't find out exactly why they rejected it. With any luck I will get some useful stuff that I can use to improve my query and hopefully find an agent. The search continues.

Oh yeah, one more quick tip. If you learn nothing else from my ramblings here learn this really well. When you have written your book and you want representation, do your research. Find all the books and websites you can and get as many tips as you can. Once you get past the information overload you should be able to avoid doing like me and fishing without bait. 

Learn my grasshoppers. My kung fu is weak, it grows stronger through pain, headaches, and judicious use of ibuprofen. Yours need not grow like mine. Start with strong Kunk Fu.   

Rejection Letters

I normally won't make two posts in a day but I have to share this. In my earlier post I had stated that I hadn't received any new rejections yet. Well I just received one. Now as much as that sucks it actually was rather uplifting and is one of the nicest rejections I have received to date. I try to make it habit of sending a thank you letter when I receive rejections and this one I was happy to write even though I was rejected. Let me share the letter with you.

Dear Dustyn:

Thanks for sending along the pages of your manuscript, Ragged Edge- The Cry of the Phoenix. Truth be told, though, I'm afraid these pages just didn't draw me in as much as I had hoped. I'm pressed for time these days and, what with my reservations about the project, I suspect I wouldn't be the best fit. Thanks so much for contacting me and for giving me this opportunity. It's much appreciated, and I'm sorry to be passing. I wish you the very best of luck in your search for representation.

Best,

Obviously I left out the agent's name as I really don't know the etiquette on that and in this case it doesn't matter much. I want to point out a couple things I like about this rejection. 

1. The personalized greeting. This is a small thing but it's actually important. Most rejection letters I receive are addressed to "Author" I understand that most rejections simple form letters but a simple personalization goes a long way towards lessening the sting.
2. This is obviously not a standard form letter. Which means that this agent took the time to write to me personally. I understand that agents are very busy people and don't always have time to send personalized letters or emails but again it goes a long way towards lessening the sting.

   Now since this is the best I have received so far let me show you the worst I've received so you can see the comparison.

Dear Dustyn and Kelly

Thank you for your query.  This project just does not fit in with our current list so we are going to respectfully pass, but we wish you well for its success.

Now I would like to point that my email address is used by my wife and I. My wife didn't send a submission. I have my doubts as to whether or not this agency even read the query letter. Yes they personalized the salutation but they did it with the names from the email, not with the name that I gave them or signed with. Also for those that are interested this is the agency that represents Gregory Maguire. I have nothing against the agency and they do represent some great authors and I agree that I am in no way similar to Gregory Maguire and probably not even close to being as good of a writer but still, put out a little care in rejecting someone.

So I guess maybe this post would be a good one for agents. A little personalization goes a long way. At the very least address the submitter by name. Even if it's just the last name. You want authors to address you by name rather than "Dear Agent" please try to do the same for us Authors. Thank you.

 

Pathways

A new path towards publishing has recently begun opening for me. The question I must ask myself is if I want to take it. An independent publishing company has taken interest in my story through connections with a friend of mine. The catch is that it will be published as a graphic novel. I'm not totally opposed to the idea, I'm just not exactly familiar with realm of graphic novels. When I wrote my book I didn't have graphic novel in mind for it. I have time to make the decision though and I've been thinking about it a lot. I still haven't come to a decision. I've tried weighing the pros and cons, the only problem is that I'm not exactly sure what the pros are. The only definite pro is that I will get to see my work published. Beyond that I'm not really sure. 

This does bring up another tip for other beginning authors. When writing your book consider all possible routes of publication and decide which ones you are interested in and which ones you aren't. That way if you get offered one of your alternatives you'll know if you want to take it or not.

Now as a special treat. I will post a bit of a synopsis of the novel I'm trying to sell now.  If you don't mind I would appreciate comments on it. Just tell me what you think about it. If you're one of the few that has already read the manuscript feel free to tell me how well you think the synopsis describes the book.

Alongside our world is another hidden world. A world in which vampires, shape changers, mythical Gods, and various other creatures prowl. The human race is largely protected from these supernatural threats by a race of beings long thought extinct, if they ever existed. Members of this shape changing race prowl the ragged edges of the world, where the natural and supernatural collide.

“Ragged Edge – Cry of the Phoenix” is the story of Sean Gryphon. A seven hundred year old Atlantean. He finds his job as a junior guardian to be tedious and unnecessary. When his mentor, Darius, comes to him with a mission and the threat of death if the mission fails Sean is less than thrilled.  The mission is to protect an Archeologist, Dr. Ilsy Hillerman, a woman with a supernatural secret of her own, and the mysterious stone tablet she uncovered on her most recent dig. Viewing the mission as a simple babysitting job Sean finds himself unprepared for the harsh reality that quickly smacks him in the face. Attacked by some of the worst creatures ever encountered in his seven hundred years he discovers secrets hidden in his past and catches the eye of the ancient Celtic Goddess Danu. Unraveling a web of deception, pushing himself harder than ever before, and developing feelings for Dr. Hillerman, Sean finds that his life is the least important thing he can lose if he fails.

That's it from me. No new rejections today and still no nibbles beyond the graphic novel possibility. Thanks to those of you that leave me comments. 

Music in Writing

Nothing new today. This means I have received no rejections today which is a plus, but I've also received no nibbles on my queries today... which is... a neutral I guess. I've been thinking about the second book of my series and I'm in one of the most important phases... picking the soundtrack. I can't state enough how important the proper soundtrack is for a writing a book. The music sets the mood, the voice, the scene. If you've never written a book think of it like a movie in your mind. 

I frequently tell my wife that I think all fiction writers are at least a quarter crazy. I think most of that quarter is made up of schizophrenia  the characters become a part of you and live their lives inside your head. When I write I hear different voices for each of my characters and see them as distinct individuals. It can be a little disconcerting but it is rather fun.

Anyway back to the soundtrack. The first book has a soundtrack of 44 songs with the artists ranging from Rage Against the Machine to Dizzy Gillespie, System of a Down to ELO. Quite a spread and it came out well in the book. For the second one I only have three songs so far. "Paint it Black" by the Stones, "Moonlight Sonata" Beethoven of course, and "Back in Black" AC/DC. This is great and fits the mood I want but they are simply not enough. I need more and I don't know the proper songs yet. I have to wait for it to come to me... I don't like waiting, yet it seems as though a good portion of a writing career involves waiting. I'm waiting on the proper music to come to me so I can start the second book, I'm waiting on an agent to decide they like my query, then I'll get to wait to see if they like the manuscript, THEN I'll get to wait on them to sell it, and finally I'll get to wait on the book to actually be published. 

Look at that, my first two tips in pursuing a writing career. 

1. Always have the right music to embrace the spark of insanity that ignites a good story.

2. Be prepared to wait... a lot... a whole lot... like almost constantly... I warned you.

The journey begins.

So here I am. Who am I? That's a great question. My name is Dustyn McCormick and I am an author... or at least I'm a writer and I'm trying to be an author. Aside from that I'm also a father, a husband, and a bit of a weirdo. I'm not a "licking peanut butter off the windows" weirdo, just a "make funny faces at myself in the mirror for a laugh" type weirdo. 

Why am I writing this? Well mostly so I can get out frustrations from multiple rejections (about 11 so far) share my writing (3 short stories and 1 novel), my query letters (4 versions so far) and future book plans (the sky is the limit). Since I'm learning how to do this I hope that other aspiring author's will learn from my mistakes, and also learn not to give up. I haven't succeeded yet but I'm pretty sure quitting will greatly limit my chances of success.

Anyway that's me and this blog in a nutshell. I will try to update at least once a day, even if it's just excerpts from my writing. I hope you snuggle in and get comfy and enjoy the journey with me.