"Dear Lucky Agent" Contest: Memoir and Narrative Nonfiction

I seriously thought about entering this contest, but my manuscript isn't finished yet. :P I hope they'll run another one sometime when it is.

If you have a finished manuscript for memoir or narrative nonfiction, why not submit the first 200 words? You may land yourself a literary agent! Follow the rules carefully or you will ruin your chances of making the cut. There is still one more day to enter! Click on the title of this post to find out more.

Need Editing? Free Manuscript Editing for a Limited Time!

While I keep writing, I need a steady paycheck. I have decided to pursue editing to provide that paycheck. All wanna-be editors probably have a similar story to mine: I grew up correcting the handouts my teachers gave me. I even handed the corrected versions back to them. When I graduated from high school, I got my creative writing teacher a spelling dictionary since I wouldn't be there to edit for him.

What little information I can find on becoming an editor says this isn't enough. They suggest I need to start working for a publisher and learn all about the publishing business. Well, there has to be more ways to become an editor than that. There are no criteria or standards to follow like if I wanted to become a doctor or a lawyer. I don't need a degree. I can refresh my memory on all the rules of grammar and proofreading by taking a simple course.

I have a zero chance of getting a job in publishing at this point in my life. I'm 46. I have a slew of children, the youngest of which is almost 3. It's hard enough to start over yet again without having to compete with 24 year olds for low paying jobs.

So, I'm paving my own way. I will take the course from The Graduate School (part of the Dept. of Agriculture) on editing. I will offer my services for free at first to gather manuscripts for my resume. I'm already doing that. I will focus on working with authors who want to self-publish at first or even exclusively if I have to. I can do this. I will do this. My family needs me and I will rise to the challenge.

If anyone reads this who is a writer that needs some editing, respond in the comments. I am still doing free editing for the next few authors. This can save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars to have me look at your manuscript for free. This is a limited time offer. I'll help you with your manuscript if you help me add to my resume and give me a quote I can use for my website. Do we have a deal?

Procrastination

Procrastination. It sounds like a positive word, doesn't it? I mean, it starts with the prefix "pro-"... that usually means something positive. Alas, all it does is make me crazy. My work piles up. Pages are not written. I mentally beat myself up because I folded the laundry or took a brief stroll outdoors to mingle with the chickens instead of pounding away on my worn out keyboard.

That reminds me... do other writers have the problem of the letters wearing off of their keyboard? So far I'm missing the E, the D, the C, the N and the M and several more are threatening to be unrecognizable.

See? There I go again. Procrastinating. That's why I'm writing this blog post instead of working on my book. I was a good girl and wrote all day for work, though. I have been reading with interest some of the query letters, first pages and even first chapters from other writers at Agent Query. My mind catches all the little typos, grammatical gaffs and other boo boos. I've always enjoyed editing... I wonder what it takes to be an editor? It may be fun to be a book doctor... I could see myself helping others to perfect their masterpieces before they send them on to their agents or publishers...

Hmmm. This will take further investigation. Heck, I used to correct the handouts my English teacher gave me in high school and hand them back to him for correction. LOL When I graduated, I got him a spelling dictionary since I wouldn't be around to fix his errors. Maybe I'm really just an editor waiting to spread my wings and fly.

Or maybe I'm still procrastinating. Still, this is an intriguing thought...

Writing Update

In the past week I have written a rough draft of chapter one. I have sent it off to someone to critique and have received it back. It's not bad... but it needs work. No surprise. A rough draft is just that... rough. I need to have at least 3 chapters written and polished before I begin sending query letters. In exchange for the critique, I am reading and critiquing the chapters of the writer who so kindly took a look at mine. Wow. That sentence was awkard. :P Anyway, that is on my to do list for tonight.

I have also started writing my first query letter. I have a decent start. Once I am finished I will post it for critique on one of the writing sites I visit freqently. The writers there really have a knack for tightening up these things. :)

Meanwhile, on the article front, I wrote a rough draft of an article about cesareans. It is already about 1700 words. It may turn out to be more feature length. I spoke with an obstetrician who answered some of the questions I had. Now I need to add that whole section to the article. I am thinking this may end up over 2000 words unless I manage to tighten it up considerably.

I've been learning more about agents. I've read lots of blog posts suggesting that all writers need a Facebook fan page. We'll see... oh yeah... on top of all that I am still doing my day job, managing the family and dealing with the usual medical crises that have been occurring of late.

I must get this going and start making a better living from my writing. It is possible that I will end up as the sole provider for the family and I've got to get this groundwork done quickly.

If anyone has any tips, I'm all ears. :)

Research, Research, Research!

I have spent a portion of the past few days learning. How to write a query letter. How to organize a book proposal. How important it is to get your work critiqued. In the process I have found some terrific sites.

Writer's Digest is not only a fabulous print magazine, they have a nice website and an online community. You can learn a lot from this site. Subscribe to the magazine, too.

Writer's Weekly is another wonderful resource for writers. They have forums, articles and more about how to be successful at what you do. They also track situations where writers were not paid for the work they did. They follow up with the publications that did not pay and try to help get a resolution.

AgentQuery is a fantastic site... probably one of the best I've discovered so far. Not only do they help you find the right literary agent by letting you search their listings according to the type of writing you do, they have terrific networking ability. They help you write the best query letters, offer critiques and help you connect with the right people.

I also joined several email lists, some groups on LinkedIn and some other sites. They have yet to show me how worthwhile they are.

If you get the chance, follow some blogs written by literary agents and follow their advice. Don't waste their time by doing things differently. It does not make you stand out... it makes them reject you. Isn't there enough rejection in this business? Why ask for it?

Someone on one of the email lists I joined was posting their query letter for critique. They got a lot of advice and revised it. Still, the query did not match the formula that agents and editors want. This information can be found at the sites I listed here and many other places online, as well as in many books on how to get published. I can't stress it enough... FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS. Write the query to the best of your ability following the formula. It isn't rocket science, but it is pitching your idea. Don't waste time telling them how many years it took you to write your book. Don't waste space asking them to give you a break or free advice. All you will get is stony silence or a rejection letter. Follow the directions... I'm just saying.

Ghostwriting

I am exploring the notion of expanding my ghostwriting. I already do it for my day job... except that I get paid very little. Ghostwriting can be very lucrative... especially if you are doing books. This is definitely an avenue to explore since I've already been doing this for two years. Oooooh... I can just see the kids teasing me about being a ghost.

I am very seriously researching the possibilities about this. More later.

Writing Daily

I am reading a lot of blogs, writing forums and more about how to succeed as a writer. They all say, "Write every day!" Well, I do write every day, whether I want to or not. It's my job. Today, for instance, I wrote about 3,000 words... for work. I need to find a way to divide my time so I can still work enough to get paid and still have time to write my own stuff. I need to write on my book. I need to write for our Organic Birth website. I need to write for our Rakestraw Reads website. I need to read some books sitting here on my table so I can write reviews of them. There must be a way to do everything I need to do and still feed the animals, tend to the kids, fold the laundry and occasionally take a bath. Here it is, almost midnight and I am finally posting here. It will work out... I just need to figure out a decent schedule. Unfortunately, articles for work may take 20 minutes each or they may take a couple hours each, depending on how much research I need to do and how many times I get interrupted. At least I found a way to work on my artwork... I sketch or paint during the few minutes every day that it takes for my computer to turn on. Too bad I write on the computer and not on paper, huh?