Wednesday, December 7, 2011

The floor is yours.

I'm at a loss of what to blog about today. So, my dear friends, I would love to hear about what you're writing right now. Give me a pitch. A blurb. Whatever. I'd love to hear about the amazing books you're working on or querying or getting ready to pitch to an agent or editor.

What genre do you write? Adult? YA? Do tell!

And if you have any questions for me, I'll be around all day.   Querying, agents, critique groups, betas. Anything! :)

I'm going to make some hot chocolate now. YUM! I love it when it's ALMOST too hot to drink. Not quite burn your mouth off hot, but almost almost burn your mouth off hot. He he. Not sure what that has to do with anything, but whatevs. ;)

33 comments:

1000th.monkey said...

Well, I'm doing a few things.

I just re-ordered a bunch of scenes in my NaNo novel to make room to write (since I ended up in a corner), and I'm excited to work more on that.

I also (finally) wrote a synopsis for a completed story and posted a call for volunteers on my blog to read/critique my synopsis since it's the first one I've written.

...any wonderful advice on synopses?

Chantele Sedgwick said...

Oh, the synopsis. The bane of my existence. The only thing I recommend is keeping it on the shorter side. You don't need to include every single plot point. Just the big ones that change the events of the story. Also, make sure to show the main characters emotional journey. How they change from beginning to end. I actually have a template that really helped me write my last one. If you'd like me to e-mail it to you, let me know! :D

Angela Brown said...

I'm working three WiPs right now. But I'll just share a blurb for one of them, NO COUNTRY FOR FAE FOLK (yeah, working on that title because I just used the first thing that came to mind an why I was thinking of a western movie, I don't know):

17 year old Macie just wants to be left alone. Not going to happen when her death can save the world from a second apocalypse. Her only hope is to find the last known Seam to the Fae Innerverse. Now if she could just figure out how to use her powers to get there before Hell's spawn find her.

That's a rough blurb of it. Got a lot of work to do on that too. lol!!

Chantele Sedgwick said...

Angela, that sounds AWESOME!! :D And I love the name of the MC. And her death can save the world? Intriguing! Thanks for sharing!

Leigh Covington said...

You know all about me and what I'm writing. I'm just excited to be back to writing! HALLELUJAH! It's wonderful!

1000th.monkey said...

@Chantele Sedgwick

That would be AWESOME!

...right now it's 2 pages. That seems to be the *norm*, but it still feels too long to me.

1000th.monkey@gmail.com is my email address.

ah, my *pitch* for this particular story is:

A brothel madam hires two orphaned brothers to rehabilitate her daughter who doesn’t talk, she only screams and bites. If Simon and Hector can transform Faith into a normal girl within four weeks, they will be fed and clothed until they reach adulthood. It they fail, they will be sold back into indentured slavery where a single slip-up could mean their death.

Chantele Sedgwick said...

@1000th.monkey Your book sounds awesome! I'll send that e-mail over ASAP! ;) And 2 pages isn't too long for a synopsis, but I like mine shorter as well. :)

Jessica R. Patch said...

I love hot chocolate like that too! Yum! I write inspirational romance/romantic suspense. At the moment I'm working on the DREADED synopsis so I can send it and the ms to my agent.

I hate the synopsis worse than anything. Thank God for critique partners. I really think they should just write it for me! lol

Stacy Henrie said...

I write inspirational historical romance. Last month I finished revising a western set here in Utah in 1869 - the heroine robs stage bandits in hopes of saving her ranch from the bank. I've got a WWI novel I'm close to being done writing.

Jessie Humphries said...

U are too generous with ur time Chantele...the question should be what can I do for u?

S.P. Bowers said...

ok, this is the first time I've put a blurb out there other than my crit group. Sorry it's so long I'm still learning how to do this.


Paul has spent the last 18 years wondering if his wife Anna loves him. Anna has spent the last eighteen years trying not to feel anything. Especially not a longing for the ocean she left behind. When she runs into Douglass the man who betrayed her, she has to face the past she ran from, but the villiage is full of superstition and fear and Anna has to hide who she is at all costs. When her all too insightful son figures out what she is, a silkie that left the sea, she has another concern, what if he tells Paul. She’s finally begun to see that Paul may be the perfect man, and the good news is they’re already married. But he doesn’t know what she is, and couldn’t love her if he did. Between trying to keep her son from telling Paul, and Douglass from telling everyone she can barely keep up with the work on the farm. Until Douglass tries something more drastic. He’s come up with a plan to get Anna back in the ocean in her silkie form

Anonymous said...

I get to start my story... AGAIN... but here is the thing, I finally know how I'm going to do it and whose voice and everything. I'm so excited to do this again and not have to re-write

Christine Rains said...

I'm finishing off a busy week, but all my holiday stuff is nearly done. Then I can get back to my current WIP. It features a funeral home that caters to demons. Hey, even supernatural beings want to say good-bye to their loved ones!

Maggie said...

Here's my question (and I'm sure if I read through your archives, I'd find the answer). When you were querying was it tempting to jump on the first agent who was interested or did you weigh the pros and cons and then decide?

Jessica Nelson said...

Oh my goodness, that's some hot coffee. lol
I'm working on a wip for which there is no blurb yet. Eek! I guess I should try to work one up. Have a great Wednesday. :-)

Chantele Sedgwick said...

@Leigh Covington Leigh, you are awesome. ;) That is all.

Chantele Sedgwick said...

@Jessica R. Patch I love romance! :D Good luck with that synopsis. They suck rocks! lol :)

Chantele Sedgwick said...

@Stacy Henrie You are a rock star. Historical is so hard to write. And your western sounds AWESOME! :D

Chantele Sedgwick said...

@Jessie Humphries lol You are sweet. I think I'm good for the moment, but I'll definitely think of something in the future! :D
@S.P. Bowers No need to be sorry! Don't ever be sorry! I thought it was great! :D
@Melanie Fowler YAY! Don't you love it when that happens? You finally figure it out? I love it. Good luck!! :D
@Christine Rains That book sounds AWESOME! Demons and funeral homes? Yes please! :D Thanks for sharing!

Chantele Sedgwick said...

@Maggie When I got my offer, I was so tempted to say yes the minute he offered representation. But I knew better than to just jump on the first one to come my way. So, I told him I needed a week to think about it and let the other agents I had queried know. When I got my second offer, I spoke to both of the agents on the phone, weighed the pros and cons of each and finally settled on the first that offered. It felt right to me. And it's been great so far. :)
I would NEVER just say yes when you get the phone call. I would take at least a week to think it over. And the agents are very understanding. It's a big deal. Take some time to think it over, see if the agent is the right fit and go from there. :) I hope that helped!

Chantele Sedgwick said...

@Jessica Nelson No worries! Blurbs are hard to write! lol Have a great day as well! :D

Angela Cothran said...

My brain doesn't want to work today, so I have no great questions or funny thought. Enjoy your hot chocolate. I just wanted to let you know I stopped in :)

Krispy said...

Hot chocolate sounds good, but I NEED the caffeine in my coffee!

I'm working on 2 WIPs. One is a collab with a buddy, the other is my NaNo from the summer (I'm laying aside the NaNo from November).

They're both fantasies. The collab is a fantasy with steampunk elements involving curses, zombies, and a disembodied girl. The second is a fantasy with vaguely dystopian elements involving a girl torn out of her time and tossed into the future.

Jennie Bennett said...

Love Hot chocolate! Actually I have a question I've been wanting to ask a fellow author and there's no time like the present!

Which opening line do you like better?

1. It is a common misconception that time runs in a straight line from point A to point B, but Chrissie Fox knew better.

2. Chrissie Fox has been training to curve through time since she was a toddler.

I'm leaning towards the 1st one, but it's a little long. let me know what you think!

Michelle Merrill said...

Chantele! I feel like it's been so long. Man, why do I have to be so busy? But in the midst of my business, I am almost done with my most recent revision on my story. You know, the one you read ;) I started sending it to beta's to make myself finish my revisions. The teen girl I sent it to is ZOOMING through it and so I have to finish. And hopefully it will happen tonight! Yay. Confetti. And I may even post about it. I know, a post on my blog? Hard to believe, but I'm determined. Obviously, I miss you since this comment is getting so long. Gah! Let's catch up :)

Chantele Sedgwick said...

@Angela Cothran He he. You're so nice! ;)
@Krispy Yay for steampunk! And the dystopian/fantasy sounds amazing as well!
@J. A. Bennett I LOVE number one! That's my pick! :D
@Michelle Merrill I was just thinking about you today! I know! I'm super busy too! I'll have to shoot you an e-mail! :D

Michelle Merrill said...

Please do :) I'd love to have an update!

Peaches Ledwidge said...

I'm simultaneously working on the last three chapters of my manuscript.

Jenny S. Morris said...

You know what I'm working on. ;0) And you've already helped me bunches. Go have some more hot cocoa.

Anonymous said...

I'm wondering why December feels like it should be a national lazy and cozy month. I'm trying very hard to regain motivation.

As for writing (or letting NaNo's novel sit). . . It's from the POV of a way too stubborn, independent, jealous girl and her seaside tribe being hunted. Who knows where it's going?

And I may need some hot chocolate or coffee now. Hope everything is well with you! :)

Nick Wilford said...

I've never really put a pitch out there like this before (just to agents), so a bit nervous. Your response will, of course, determine whether I keep going or just give up now. Just kidding... a bit ;)

Helen, a lonely career woman, accidentally knocks down a man in the street. When she sees him unconscious, she feels an unexplainable attachment to him. He has no ID and no one knows who he is. Going to the hospital, she passes herself off as his wife, and luckily for her he has lost his memory. She eventually takes him back to her home, inventing a new past for him by telling him about their imaginary life together. But what happens when his real memory starts to come back? And can she hang on to her own sanity?

A bit long-winded, I know...

Chantele Sedgwick said...

@Peaches Ledwidge Good luck!! It's such an awesome feeling when you're done! Thanks for stopping by! :)
@Jenny S. Morris That sounds like a great idea! :D
@Madeline Bartos Oh, I just love you! And your book sounds fantastic! Thanks for stopping by! :D
@Nick Wilford LOL! I hope it makes you keep going! ;) I think the pitch is GREAT! I love stories like that. Great job! And good luck with the agent search! :D

Jolene Perry said...

I'm trying to figure out HOW to sell a book where the pov switches from a 15 year old girl, to her twenty-five year old neighbor that she thinks should marry her dad . . .