Well ladies, the excitement still hasn’t rubbed off, and I’m not sure if I want it to. I’d love to feel like this every day, but I suppose eventually, it will begin to fade…hopefully not for a while though!
I got my first email from my editor yesterday. I’m lucky. This woman is someone I know I’m going to love working with, and the kicker? She’s so excited to be working with me….on my books….as in freaking plural!! Wow….still can’t get over that. We had a nice chat, but it’s down to business. And boy am I ready.
I have my first mini deadline. Before Esi made her offer, I had decided to tweak the ending a bit…flesh it out a tad more and add a pivotal event that will change somewhat the next book I’ve already started, however, it finishes up the first story in a way that for the reader, I think will be much more satsifactory. I’d mentioned this to Esi when we first talked, so now I need to finish this up, so that she can read through and get me my list of revisions.
I told her I’d have it done by Friday, and I’m happy to say, I was able to spend most of the day writing yesterday, and I should finish up tonight. I can edit and then email to my agent and editor.
Wow. A deadline. Which will lead to another deadline. Crazy thing is…..I can’t wait! I want deadlines! I’ve wanted them for like, forever! Lucky for me I work well under pressure…I almost need that nervous energy to really get the ball rolling.
Sigh….I hope that feeling never goes away!
What about you? Do you work well under deadline? If not, what do you do to get your stuff done on time?
Comment
Hi Jules,
That’s great – a bit scary too, I bet. But now you are on the road and you know you’re doing things right so it must be a great feeling. Now, however, as an official author you are going to all these sort of ‘how do you do it’ questions. I thought I’d kick off, hope you don’t mind.
I’ve sort of followed your story from eharlequin and one thing I noticed is that you really seem to be able to get things completed fast. How do you do it? I find that I can get a 1st draft done in 3-4 weeks but the redrafting takes me weeks and weeks and I don’t think it shows in the work – often I make it worse, not better! Do you plan things out a lot so that your 1st draft is near perfect or do you have some way for dealing with the redrafting stage? Also, I just wondered if you had a writing routine – like so many words a day, or so many hours, etc?
Thanks
Clarisa
Comment
Hey Clarissa!
thanks for stopping by! It’s still weird to think, ya….I’m an author! But it certainly feels wonderful…nothing better than sitting in front of a blank screen, and knowing that you can create a story…full of characters and situations, and far off worlds, and it’s ll in your head…you’re in control…or the muse is!
First off….I am by no means a schooled writer…I’m not techinical…and truthfully, sometimes when I listen to other authors talk about their "craft" and they use these "writer terms" I have no clue what they’re talking about!
I write….I get a scene in my head and I write it. I am blessed that I have the luxury of working part time from home…my husband and I own our own business…this allows me to write during the day when the kids are in school. If I had to work 9-5 like a lot of other writers, it would take me a lot longer to accomplish my word count.
I don’t do second, third or fourth drafts. If I write 3k, I’ll look it over the next morning (or whenever I write again) and fix typos and maybe a few sentences that run,or just don’t sound right. This particular ms that I wrote is basically the exact same way it was when I originally wrote. and I’m a total by the pants kinda gal…I picture my opening scene, I know how the story is going to end but I just go with it and fill in the blanks….so far it seems to work for me. You just have to find what works for you…if you are a person that likes to plot…take your time, plot out your story and then begin to write….as for word counts…I can write about 3-4k in a day,no problem. And because I don’t edit heavily I’m able to get a lot accomplished.
LIke I said, this works for me…I know other authors who plot, write, edit, then re-write, edit and repeat the process…but they end up with a great story….for the longest time I thought I was doing something wrong because I never did that….maybe in the future I might have to!
At San Fran this year I had the pleasure of having dinner with Christine Feehan, and she told me that she writes everyday….every single day…and that is something I plan to do as well, her work ethic is incredible…
so good luck with your own writing…what are you working or right now?
Comment
Thanks for the info Jules. I think that’s my problem – my first draft needs such a lot of polishing – sometimes it needs completely dismantling and rebuilding, never mind the polish – so although the first draft takes a few weeks to write, it takes ages to fix and I’m usually feeling quite negative about it by then.
I’ve been aiming at Modern Heat, I got a full requested but got an R. In the wait I’d completed another manuscript but the comments on my first full told me I had an alpha male problem which I’d repeated again (not alpha enough, I write more tender alphas like in the romance line).
So I’ve started a new manuscript, yet again. But I have no idea where it fits for Mills and Boon. In the UK we have a single title romance imprint called Little Black Dress, which Julie Cohen writes for. They seem more in keeping with what I write – sexy romances but without the constraints of having the ‘Presents’ alpha male which I just don’t seem able (or maybe that’s willing) to do. I will keep on going, as Michelle Styles says it’s about the 4 D’s!
Congrats yet again! I imagine Avon pay a bit better than Harlequin so you’ll have to tell us all what you buy with your advance when you get it.
By the way, the writing every day thing that Christine does (and Nora Roberts does it, too) is way too scary for me. Then it becomes a bind and not a pleasure (well to me anyway). Nora Roberts says she writes 9-5 every day (weekends, holidays, Christmas even, I think). I couldn’t do that – besides the vitamin D deficiency I’d get in England (we only have a few hours of sunshine as it is), I’d want to spend all the money I earned and enjoy my friends and family. I like some of the other author’s writing habits – they do a weekly word count goal, say 15K or 20k. That’s sort of what I’m doing at the moment. It means I finish a manuscript in a few weeks, it’s just the redrafting I haven’t figured out!
God, I’ve gone on! Sorry for my verbal diarrhea, yet again.
All the best with this and future books
Take care
C
Comment
LOL Clarissa! Good luck with your new book…it sounds like you’re more of a Julie Cohen kinda girl anyway. I personally, don’t like the presents books…dont’ mind the modern heat though….but I’ve read some of Julie Cohen’s work and I like it a lot…if you had a requested full, obviously you have talent…you just need to focus on writing, and writing YOUR way….everybody does it differently….I don’t know if I could write everyday…I have two kids and a husband, but I love to write so I do tend to spend a lot of time in front of the computer! I just sold to Ellora’s Cave too..found out this morning…so it’s all finally starting to pay off!
Have a great day…or night…didn’t know you were in England…one of my bestest friends is from there…Sunderland??? I think? I don’t know, she moved here years ago…but I’ve always said I’d go home with her for a visit! never been, and it’s on one of my places to visit!
ciao for now!