New York Conference

Hi Everybody,

It was fun to be back in New York. It's amazing how different the city looked to me since I moved to the Midwest. I used to drive in every day to work and didn't think much about it, but now that I live out in a suburb with lots of open spaces, the city seemed totally different. Fun, exciting, with lots to do but I found myself missing the openness of my new home at the same time. Or perhaps I was missing the three little voices calling "Mom."

The Backspace Conference Agent Author Day was enormously helpful to me as a writer and I would heartily recommend it to anyone considering a career as an author. I received feedback on my query letter and on my first five pages. Interestingly, some of the feedback on the opening pages ran counter to some advice I'd received previously from another respected agent, which I think illustrates an important point. The judgment of any one agent or editor are subjective. Personal taste plays a large role in each agent's decisions on what to represent. As different people read their work aloud, more than once I heard "It's good, it's just not my cup of tea" from the participating agents. This brought home to me the importance of thoroughly researching any agent I want to query. I read their submission guidelines on multiple sites and read the books of authors they represent.

The agents are consistent on quality of writing, and I know that for any agent I need to polish my work until it gleams. They all want to see excellent writing in the pages submitted, but where I found more difference of opinion was in the particulars they like to see in query letters. Many agents participate in online workshops and/or have blogs, so I would recommend looking through these. Many of them will post query letters they received that they particularly liked.

Anyway, here's what they had to say about mine:

Query letter:

They liked the general format of it. Mostly it needed to be tightened up. I needed to write less in my paragraph describing the work, leave out the secondary character Fiona, and focus more on the romantic relationship between my protagonist, Gemma, and Connor Hogan. They liked the idea of a romantic relationship where one partner can influence the perceptions of the other. Does call for the ultimate bit of trust, don't you think?

As to the opening pages, they recommended less stylized language. In other words, fewer complicated clauses. Keep the writing simple and straightfoward.

So now I have a query letter to rewrite, opening pages to simplify and a manuscript to finish. On the bright side, one agent in particular loved the concept so she'll be on the top of my list of agents to query!

Cheers,
Mary

All About Commitment

Hi Everybody,

Today I've been thinking about commitment from several different perspectives. The first I'd like to share with you is the commitment my in-laws have made to taking in retired horses and giving them a retirement home that roughly rivals an equine version of The Ritz. They have acres of green grassy pasture, updated stalls, lots of apples and carrots, homemade horse cookies and warm, apple flavored water in the wintertime. I think if the area horses could, they'd line up at my in-law's door to apply for the retirement facility.


At the moment they have nine retirees. Here's a picture of two of them, Pride and Star. They have been with them a couple of years now. I remember when I first heard about them. They were retired show horses, very even tempered, well mannered gaited Tennessee Walkers. They were at a farm with a total of 35 horses owned by a couple who had developed health problems and could no longer care for so many. The prior owners loved these two so much, they wanted to find them a home where they could always be together.

My in-laws took them in and promised they would always keep them together. They were both thin when they arrived, but rounded out nicely, as you can see. Star is about 19 and Pride is 20 this year, and they're completely happy. I know many of you have taken in retired horses as well. It takes a special kind of commitment to care for horses who are aged, knowing your time with them will be limited, but it's a wonderful act of kindness.

On another note, I made a commitment of my own in January. I signed up to attend an Agent Author Day Conference as I currently well my novels unagented and have been advised by individuals much more experienced than myself that it's time to get an agent.

Well, in January it looked very do-able to finish my current work in progress, a contemporary fantasy with, of course, an equestrian setting. Hmmm. This was before my son's broken foot and two other family members on antibiotics for respiratory infections that wouldn't quit. Well, here I am in mid-March with 30,000 word count completed on an estimated 85,000 word novel. Here, folks, is the reality of the professional writer. I have three options 1.) cancel the conference and wait for next year's (probably not a good idea as I've been advised not to sell anything else without an agent); 2.) attend the conference whether the book is finished or not (this assumes no agent will want it, which would be going in with a rather self-defeating attitude) or 3.) work like crazy. Ah, here is ground I'm very familiar with both professionally and with horses.

Okay, folks, the clock is ticking. I'm at 30,000 words. Can I do it? Stay tuned!

Cheers,
Mary

www.marypaine.com