It Could Be Worse...

That looks like a pincushion she's holding, but it's the heart of some poor aspiring designer. 

(Photo from: http://www.modelinia.com/blog/meet-heidi-klum-in-wii-form/16657)

So I was watching Project Runway tonight (I'm not a regular viewer, I'll flip to it if it happens to be on when I'm in the mood to watch TV), and for the first time it hit me how difficult it must be to stand up on that runway and take harsh criticism from the judges. As the bottom three designers got feedback from Heidi and the crew, I realized that being on Project Runway is a lot like the process of trying to get a literary agent. 


-You send out a sample of your work to experts (fashion portfolio to producers/query letter to agents) 
-Said agents either reject you outright or ask to see more
-You take a last look at your creation, something which is intensely personal and a reflection of yourself, and you release your fragile baby into the world...
-AND THEN PEOPLE TEAR IT APART!!!!


Fashion, like writing, is a subjective art. There are clear no-no's (crooked seams, ragged hems, bad grammar and spelling), but even when you've studied your craft and followed the rules, there will be people who don't like what you've done creatively. But what's a terrible fit for one person, is someone else's Cinderella dress.


The query and submission process is rough. But through it all, I remind myself, that it could be worse. I'm not getting rejected on a stage in front of my peers, while agents stare me down and giggle behind their cue cards.


And more importantly....


There are no cameras. 

Just for Fun:

Tim Gunn says, and I quote,  "Make it work. Carry on. Holla at your boy!" Loves it.






(From: http://www.bravotv.com/project-runway/videos/holla-at-yo-boy)

Where it all begins...

So I've been trying to figure out exactly what's going to become of this blog. It started out as a resting place for my sample chapters, but then I started to kind of have fun toying around with it. I think it is gradually becoming an online diary of sorts, describing my journey from desperate, starving artist to (hopefully someday) successful, published YA author extraordinaire. So I guess I'll give the background and then share how things progress from this point.

 My journey so far has consisted of:
-a year of writing (I started Jasmine Powers, Super Geek in July '09),
-a LOT of revisions (I've been trading chapters with 3 online critique partners and reading at a weekly in-person critique group),
-and a fair share of queries sent out. I'll just say that if I hit 100 query rejections with no agent, that's when I give up the ghost and trunk this book. And I've still got a long way to go, so I'm feeling pretty good. Got a lot of rejections on my first round query because frankly, it was horrible and I just didn't know enough to realize that then. Took a long pause for the cause and did a new round with my current, much transformed, many times revised version.

With my current query, I've gotten a good number of requests and one particularly helpful rejection on a partial, which led to some revisions which I think really improved the story. I've also had a few form rejections (not right for my list/ just didn't fall in love with the story/voice/concept/ME. Ok, no one said they didn't fall in love with me, but really that's what it felt like) and those were tough. I am usually pretty rational and constantly remind myself that I read and enjoy a lot of well-written books which I don't fall in love with, and I know that it's in my best interest to be patient and find that perfect agent who loves my story the way I do....BUT....I still have moments where I feel like this:


(video not mine, embedded from YouTube)


I've been remaking the song in my head to be about writing my experience. Once I get an agent, I promise I will make a remake of the video w/ my aspiring author version of the song and post it here. One more fun thing to look forward to!