What's Up Wednesday: 08.14.13

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by my ever-so-lovely YA writer friends, Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk. The idea? Well, it's a great opportunity to touch base once a week with all of our blog friends and let them know what's up. Should you wish to join, head on over to Jaime's blog and sign up with the link widget at the bottom of her post! 

WHAT I'M READING:

I'm currently reading a great friend and fellow CP's, YA Contemporary manuscript. This is my second read - her revisions being those requested by her agent - and I can honestly say, I'm loving this story even more than the first time I read it!

It's full of great one-liners, heart-ache, and tears -- oh, the tears...there are actually passages that break my heart. And it's truly become one of those stories that has stuck with me, long after I finished reading it the first time.

I'm so thankful to have any part of her revision process and I can't wait to see this one on the shelves at my bookstore...believe me, you're gonna wanna read it when it's ready, I promise!

WHAT I'M WRITING:

Most all of my CP's have made their way through WTWF and I'm now just finalizing the last of my revisions. I hope to be done in the next week and have this sucker ready to go out into the land 'o queries.

And I can't wait.

Writing goals for this week:

1. Finish revisions.

Oh! If you're in need of some inspiration to write - join the YA Buccaneers Word Sprint! Two rounds, one hosted tonight from 4-5pm PST, and one tomorrow night from 5-6pm PST, hosted by yours truly, on Twitter! #YABWordSprint

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW:

WriteOnCon!

Yes, it's that time of year again, and I've submitted snippets of WHERE THE WATER FALLS for critique and review!

My first 250 just went up - you can find it here! And my query letter also just went up, which you can read here!

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO:

Some of you may have noticed, I've been a little absent as of late. I'm seriously on the job hunt and my focus has been there -- it's a tough process but definitely has been great, and has led to some pretty spectacular job interviews. Hopefully more news to come on that, soon!

But unfortunately, I have also not been feeling well. At all. And I haven't been able to run in almost two weeks.

Early last week, I started feeling super dizzy. By Saturday, that sensation was coupled with one of the worst migraines I've had in years. Sunday, I almost passed out, after getting out of the shower -- the room would not quit spinning, and it would keep starting over, kinda like a broken record. Monday was more of the same and I was concerned about driving myself to the doctor, so I stayed in bed (which didn't help the spinning) or found myself sitting on the floor on more than one occasion. But yesterday, I made it to the doctor...

And found out I have a viral inner-ear infection that causes severe migraines and vertigo. 

Vertigo? Me?

Yep, me. And it's been horrendous. One of the worst sensations I've ever experienced in my life. But...they gave me some great medications and I'm already feeling a bit better. And I can't wait to get back to my running!

SO, WHAT'S NEW FOR YOU TODAY?

WriteOnCon: Pitch-Fest - RESULTS

Ouch. Well that pretty much sums it all up.

Suffice to say, the agent assigned to my pitch / query - Peter Knapp - critiqued my submit earlier this evening...and in a nutshell, did not like the voice of my pitch. At. All.

And I mean, at all.

To see Pete's feedback for yourself, you can read it here. 

In the end, all I can say is I'm glad I have some thick skin - which I know is a prerequisite in the business of writing. As well, there are still a few more days to go in the contest and perhaps another agent or author will feel differently - and maybe even be inclined to leave a comment. Perhaps not.

Regardless, I'm always grateful for feedback from those in the biz - even if it's not in my favor. Because that means someone in the biz actually took the time to give me feedback. And how else will I learn and grow? And if I think a harsh comment on my pitch is tough - that's nothing compared to what readers can do to a book, once it's out in the marketplace! 

So I'll take his feedback, use it to toughen my skin, er, skills, and let it all marinate for a bit. Then I'll decide if I want to heed his advice and change a pitch that's actually been working really well for me in my querying as of late, or leave it be for a little while longer. 

Until then, er-e-er-e-er...yep, that's me polishing up my dinged-up armor. But man, I'd rather go into battle with dinged-up armor, than no armor at all.

How about any of you? Ever been given a tough critique? And how did you pick yourself back up? 

WriteOnCon: Pitch-Fest

Just a quick note to let you all know I'll be taking part in the fabulous WriteOnCon's Pitch-Fest, taking place 3.18 - 3.22.

Yep, that's right, it starts tomorrow!

With a little over 300 individuals selected to participate, each one of us has been pre-assigned to an agent...and I've been assigned to the amazing Peter Knapp (Park Literary) - you'll find my pitch for THE LUCKY FEW (pitch #8) under his board, in the WriteOnCon forums.

But Peter isn't the only fantabulous agent participating - check out the insane list the fine folks at WriteOnCon wrangled together:

• Alyssa Eisner-Henkin, Trident Literary

• Amy Tipton, Signature Literary

• Brianne Johnson, Writer’s House

• Dawn Frederick, Red Sofa Literary

• Eddie Schneider, JABberwocky Literary

• Jason Yarn, Paradigm Literary

• Jennifer Flannery, Flannery Literary

• Kathleen Rushall, Marsal Lyon Literary

• Logan Garrison, The Gennert Company

• Mollie Glick, Foundry Media

• Peter Knapp, Park Literary

• Sara Crowe, Harvey Klinger

Like I said, insane, huh?

So I hope you'll all stop by, read some of the awesomness, and perhaps peruse some of the comments (I believe only those that have been "invited" can actually leave one). Just click on the badge above and it will take you directly to the forums.

Hope to see you there!