A New Strategy

I have a new strategy. As a reward for reading and editing at least one chapter each night in my completed book, I get to spend a little time on one of my other projects. Balance; that's what I need.

It feels good to spend a little time with some new characters. Feels a little more like fun than work. I love my book, obviously, but editing is not as much fun as creating the people and places and situations that establish a story.

I've been reading like crazy too, which also helps to get the creative juices flowing. I finished "Sarah's Key," by Tatiana de Rosnay this week for my book club. I wouldn't say I loved it, but I liked it a lot. It wasn't quite as sad and depressing as I expected a book about the Holocaust to be. The ending wasn't ideal, but it was reasonable.

I've also fully immersed myself in the "young adult" world of books -- or "teen fiction" as it's labeled at my local Barnes & Noble. One of the best panels I attended at the San Diego Writers Conference last month was on the young adult market. One of my books is for that audience, so I wanted to learn more about the genre. As I suspected, the agent leading the discussion said adults are increasingly reading those books as well, because of series like "Twilight" and "Harry Potter" and because they want to know what their kids are reading.

Perhaps the best part of the session was the list of subgenres and book recommendations provided by the speaker. So, in the past week or so I also read the amazing "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman. It's an issue-y novel, which is my preferred subgenre of young adult. I also devoured the addicting "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner. My husband read it too and immediately ordered the next book in the series, "The Scorch Trials." I am in awe of people whose minds are creative enough to come up with these multi-faceted worlds. Amazing.

So, now I'm reading "Shiver," by Maggie Stiefvater. It's a werewolf story. I like it, so far. Not quite as compelling or well-written as the Maze Runner, but it's an interesting read. But, of course, I've already got my eyes on the next book. Maybe "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher or "Hate List" by Jennifer Brown -- more issue-y young adult fiction.

In-Laws and Sickness

My last post was about my week-long hiatus from writing. Well, it turned in to almost three weeks. That first week was a self-imposed break. Then, my mother-in-law came to town and I didn't want to be rude and spend all my free hours at the computer. And I got a cold. A really nasty cold. I came home from work early on Friday and spent most of the next four days on the couch or in bed with sinus pressure, congestion and coughing then body aches and exhaustion.

So, now that my guest is gone (though she's welcome anytime) and my cold is mostly gone (that guest is NOT welcome to come back) I'm back to writing again. Time to dive into my book where I left off and give it one more thorough read-through ... with the goal of cutting even more.

The prize at the end of this long slog of reading and editing, reading and editing, is that when I'm done I can pick up where I left off with one of my many other books in progress. I'm itching to get started, but I still can't decide which story to return to first. I might have to read what I've got so far with each of them and see which one inspires me the most.

I can't wait! It feels like Christmas is just around the corner and it's taking every ounce of strength that I have to keep myself from peeling back the tape on each gift to get a peek at what's inside.

Week-Long Hiatus

I've been clearing my head this week before I dive in to read my book one last time. (Yeah, right. There will never be just "one last time." Even when it's in print it won't be "finished.")

I'm reading "A Change in Altitude" by Anita Shreve. It's slow-moving, as usual with her books, but it's a compelling story, so I'm sticking with it. I read her novel "Testimony" a year or so ago and I liked it, despite the slow pace.

Next, I think I want to read something fun. Maybe one of the "young adult" books recommended during a panel at the San Diego Writers Conference. Those are the kinds of books I think of as cake or desert. Maybe I'll read "Matched" by Ally Condie.

I should dive back in to my book, so I can finish that last read-through that's nagging at me before I start working on something else, which I'm itching to do. Just need to decide which story to start writing again first ... too many intriguing choices.

Step Away From the Book!

I finished reading and editing the first three chapters of my book and sent them off to an agent on Sunday morning. Now it's taking all the strength I can muster to keep myself from jumping back in and continuing to read and edit the rest of my chapters.

I just finished two thorough read-throughs and edits. Combing through the book one more time right now will make me crazy. I've decided that I need to take a break and read for a while -- maybe a week -- then come back to my book with a fresh perspective.

What I really, really want to do is work on one of the other four or five books that I have in various states of progress, but I've vowed to stay away from them until I feel really, REALLY done with my first book.

I've been thinking about all of my other projects, trying to decide where to take each of them next. It's hard to abstain. But, my brain needs a little hiatus, then I can come back re-energized.

Publishing Pet Peeve

My biggest gripe with the publishing industry, at the moment, has to do with how publishers pigeonhole writers. If they publish your romance novel, they want your next book to be a romance. They don't care if you've written a really compelling paranormal book or a good issue-y (yes, that's a genre) young adult novel. Once they know they can sell you in one genre, that's all they want you to write.

How frustrating is that? Extremely!

It would seem to me that a good book is a good book. Who cares what the genre is? If it's written well and it keeps the reader's attention, why wouldn't you want to print and sell it?

If readers liked your first book, they're probably going to like your next book, even if it's in a different genre, as long as you're not jumping from a chaste Christian romance (I hear Amish romances are HOT right now) to elaborate science fiction. I'm talking about going from a contemporary romance or chick lit to what would probably be classified as women's fiction. Not a big leap.

I should worry about finding an agent and then a publisher for my first book before I worry about what they'll let me write for my second book. But if I want a novel-writing career with longevity, it seems like I should think about these things sooner rather than later. Or maybe I should just pick a genre and stick with it. Ugh. Boo on that!