Anyone who gets the chance, you must check out literary agent Kristin Nelson's blog today. http://pubrants.blogspot.com/
Can you believe it?? An actual book printed where you cannot read the author's name?? While this particular book isn't quite something I would actually read, I think the author, Brenda Novak, seems to have an outstanding attitude about the whole thing! And the expense for the publisher or printer!
I haven't had any writing nightmares yet... and that goes for both awake and dream time. But how about you? Any tales of extreme anxiety?
Somewhat related to anxiety and writing/publishing. At the LDStorymakers conference (a week before I signed with WiDo) i had entered a first chapters contest. I was eagerly awaiting to hear the winners. I had entered general fiction and my friedn Frank Holdaway and entered mystery/thriller.
ReplyDeleteRight before they are about to announce the winners of each category, Tristi Pinkston comes running up with an announcement about a last minute entry (against the rules!!!)
It turned out to be a mock-version of twilight with a guy named Tedward.
But I was so ansty to hear about the real conteste winners that I could care less about a bad-writing skit.
So was getting more anxious by the minute feeling like Lets go on with this.
Turned out I won first place for general and Holdaway won first place mystery/thriller. Soon as he finishes it up I keep telling him to submit it to WiDo.
Cool story, David. That's awesome you went to that conference. When is it? Do you recommend it? I'm interested but am in VA...
ReplyDeleteWhat story did you submit? Was it a partial of Heroes of the Fallen??
I would recommend going next year, I told Karen she really ought too.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I have heard when 2010's is going to be aprilish I'm sure. I liked the topics of among the variety that they had but I especially found the networking with others valuble.
That and since I won, it got my name noticed at least a little bit.
And I will admit another thing. As you may have heard after the conference they do the Whitney Awards. Oscars for LDS writer's. It all depends on IF people nominate me, but because my book will be released this year, I will be eligible. I would be thrilled to be nominated for perhaps Historical or Speculative and win eiother those or even Best New Author or Novel. We'll just have to see what people thing of Heroes once its released.
I did meet quite a few people who came from just about as far away as you are. Kim was in British Columbia, Stephanie from California, and I know I talked to somebody who flew in from if not Virginia then Maryland.
My winning chapter was pushing the boundarys of being called general fiction, it could have been speculative or historical just like Heroes--but I knew if I submitted to specualtive I would be going up against all the fantasy and sci-fi and I didn't want to. (There was an awful lot of that and Romance and YA) I could have gone historical but I almost submitted smething else into that. You can submit as much as you want and in whichever categories you want.
But I was crafty and decided to go with generela in part because I guessed correctly that it would not be an inundated category (like the others) and I thought about one of my favorite writers Cormac McCarthy, he writes westerns but they are termed general fiction so I did that.
My story is "Dance the Ghost With Me" it is a weird western starring Porter Rockwell, with mysterious indians from far away and I tie it together with a Jaredite tomb hidden away up in the high Uintah's.
I have a lot of people begging me to finish this one but its on the back burner at least until Heroes is done.
sorry to thread jack your topic.
Sounds like "Dance the Ghost with Me" uses every bit of imagination someone could dream up! Too cool that you won in the GF category.
ReplyDeleteI mentioned the conference to my husband... :) We'll have to see. It must be a great conference if people are willing to travel like that.