The most convoluted way to handle your editorial revisions

Okay, first off – it’s been awhile. I almost feel like I need to introduce myself again. It’s been a little crazy around our house – school, sports, and oh yeah…I got my editorial letter! Woo hoo!

I didn’t know exactly what to expect before I got it and I already had a few changes of my own that I wanted to make so it was with nervous anticipation that I clicked open the email from my editor, Emily Meehan.

I read through her notes about five different times and they were good, really good but I was at a loss at how to start tackling the issues she had listed on six neatly typed pages.  

So I created the most convoluted system to revise your novel. Note: you will need to make a trip to an office supply store, a teacher supply store and the liquor store.

Here’s a picture to help explain what I did:

As you can see, I’ve got a lot of stuff going on. When I broke my editorial letter down - I had 26 items that needed fixin’. Yes, I’m from the South, we say fixin’. So each item got a note card and I jotted a few notes about how I would make these changes. Each note card then got its own cute colored-coded sticker. (I picked smileys, pushpins and stars but go with whatever works for you!)

I read my manuscript again. If I can across a part of the story that had anything to do with one of my 26 items – I put the corresponding sticker on that page, then noted the page number where that item appears in the manuscript on the back of the card.

Are you ready for a drink yet?

When my manuscript was full of stickers and the backside of my cards covered in page numbers, I went to the computer and started revising.

After all revisions were made, I printed another copy and did one final run through – you know, to see if there were one or two things that needed cleaning up.

Here’s a picture of what that looked like:

In my defense, 90% of these were type-o's

Now am I 100% sure that there is a better way to do this – YES! But what I needed, especially after being knee deep in Book 2, was to re -familiarize myself with Book 1. And this process did it for me. And I found some patterns that allowed me to fix two problems with one solution. Not sure if I would have seen it like that if I wouldn’t have done it this way.

But no matter how crazy my method – I’m done. That is until round 2…

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde have taken over my office

There are two very different uses for my office at home. There is the writing side (really just a small corner I’ve carved out for myself) and the small business side. My husband and I own a commercial lawn and landscaping company and I get the horrible soul-sucking important job of keeping the books. You know: invoicing customers, creating job bids, billing, etc… And while I know it’s a really, really important part of the business – It. Is. Not. Fun.

At all.

Just to show how I feel about these two vastly different jobs I do – here is my writing desk:

And here is my business desk:

Yeah, I know. You see my writing side is warm and pleasant. Inviting, really. I’ve got my scene notes on the wall, Coke Zero in my favorite “Medieval Times” cup with a straw (can’t write without this), and my favorite lip gloss. (And for those of you who really know me – I may have cleaned my area just a little for this picture. But I had a point to make!)

On the other side, it’s chaos. Granted, it is controlled chaos - I do know where everything is and what’s due and when. Promise. But there’s no love over there. It is a necessity that I do that job. No one cares about your business like you do.

And then I realized a part of writing is like that. The not so fun parts you really don’t want to do but are essential in order to get that shiny fabulous finished product.

So I’m embracing my two sided office. And I may even clean that other side up. Tomorrow.  

January...a recap

I know, I've been a very bad blogger. Not that I was ever a good one but January was crazy!

So here’s my month in a nutshell:

I ♥ outlines! I’ve spent most of the month learning to be a plotter. I know… I feel sorry for me, too. But what I’ve learned is putting that work in on the front side should (And that’s a BIG should) make less work on the back side. I read the book SAVE THE CAT! and loved it. It’s geared towards screenplays but easily adapts to novels. When it came to plotting – the thought I hated the most was it would take all the fun out of discovering the story. But I’m finding my characters still have their own ideas of what they think should happen. And yes, I’m speaking about them as if they really exist and actually have a say so in regards to what will happen to them. But the outline is keeping them in line. So if my MC wants to be a little more rebellious than I anticipated – that’s cool but it doesn’t change the ultimate path she’s on. And I have to say, I love her a little more for trying to throw me off.

Major love for the SCBWI Winter conference! 1,100 people gathered together – all talking about children’s books is incredible. I’ve been to conferences for writing and photography before but none compared to this. My agent, Sarah Davies, was there and the highlight of the conference – for me – was finally meeting her in person. Sarah gave a talk about YA thrillers that was really great. Of course, it didn’t hurt that she mentioned me and my book to a room full of people!

"The Fonz" speaking at the SCBWI Winter conference!
There were three screens like this across the room. People tell me he really was there but I have to take their word for it.

Meeting Lucky 13ers in person = awesome. Just wish there would have been more time. And pictures! There's always next year...

NYC gets better with every visit! Four friends – not writers but sight-seers – came with me to NYC. This is what I learned: five women in a hotel room meant for two is doable. And the rooms at the Hyatt Grand Central appear larger in pictures than in person. But we had a blast. Every surface of our room was covered with hair products and we had clothes hanging from door knobs to light fixtures but I wouldn’t have done it any other way.

Christa, Katie, Jennifer, Christy and me walking through Central Park. Really cold but really beuatiful!And to insure no one mistakes us for locals - there's the map.

Drinks with Sarah Davies and my editor, Emily Meehan, was icing on the cake! I can’t even describe how awesome both women are. And how great it feels knowing they are on my side. We talked about books, and writing, and kids, and everything else. It was amazing and the absolute perfect way to end the trip.

     

2011...What a year!

We're having a New Year's Eve party at our house and getting ready for tonight's festivities has got me thinking about the year that was 2011.

It was a great year. A great year in my writing life. A great year in my family life. I'm a little sad to see this year go.

Thinking back over the year - this was a big year for change.

In my writing life:

I didn't start writing THE RULES FOR DISAPPEARING until Feburary of this year. In fact, on New Year's Eve last year, this story was just a few stray thoughts that had started to grow in my mind.

I didn't start this blog until August.

I didn't have a twitter account or a Facebook page until November.

In my family life:

My two older boys are growing and muturing and fast becoming young men. Well, there are moments (okay, a lot of moments) when they aren't so mature - they are boys after all - but you get what I'm saying!

My baby moved from diapers to big boy pants - and any of you with young kids knows what a Hallelujah moment that is! He also started K3 in August and was one of the only kids that didn't cry on the first day of school. (Is it really sad that part of me wished he did!)

2011 was so awesome that I’ve got really high hopes for 2012. I’ll be starting revisions soon which is scary and exciting at the same time. I’ll get to meet my agent, my editor and several of the Lucky 13 authors in NYC in January. I’ve started the sequel to Rules and 2012 will be the year to see what that book will ultimately become. And maybe even a few other ideas are growing.

So goodbye 2011 – I really loved ya! And hello 2012 – you’re looking pretty nice yourself.

And one last thought…After today – I can say my book comes out next year!! How cool is that!

Have a very SAFE and very WONDERFUL  New Year!

Character Interviews are hard

Today I posted my first blog post at the Lucky 13s. The topic was character interview and it was much harder than I thought it would be. I wrote these characters, so therefore it should be really easy to "interview" them.

Right?

Not so much.

Mainly because there is so much I didn't want to give away.

If you want to check it out, click here. I hope you enjoy a little glimpse into the world of THE RULES FOR DISAPPEARING.

Things I Learned in New York

First, let me say, my trip to New York City was incredible! We covered more ground (on foot by the way) than I thought was humanly possible and ate the most incredible food – my favorite stop was probably the little bakery in Little Italy. Oh, cannoli!

Yes. These were all mine. Don't judge me.

 

So this is what I learned on my trip to New York:

1.      I am not wired for marathon shopping. There were nine of us in our group – 4 of them being 13 year old girls. And they like to shop. For many hours. In a row. I knew I was out of my league when we walked into a store and I immediately looked for a chair.

2.      The world is a small place. Besides the nine of us – two other families that go to our school stayed at our hotel (I knew they would be there but it was still strange running into them). We met a very eccentric woman in the elevator that lives two miles from my house and I ran into a family whose son is friends with my oldest walking through Times Square. On our last day, I bumped into a woman in Dylan’s Candy Bar whose daughters I have photographed numerous times. That’s insane to me.

3.      I love Broadway shows. We saw Wicked, Mama Mia and the Rockettes. We might have embarrassed the girls by singing and dancing in our seats during Mama Mia but we didn’t care.

4.      Fifteen seconds on TV is really exciting. We got up early and made our way to GMA where Sam Champion actually interviewed the girls on air. I think I was a giddy about it as they were.

5.      Can’t wait to go back in January for the SCBWI Winter conference!

Outside GMA. The girls stayed up until 2am making that sign. I know - it's awesome.

Really bad iPhone pic outside of Mama Mia.

It’s always good coming home, though. And as much as I loved hanging with all those girls – I really missed my boys.

And actions speak louder than words. I guess this is my youngest son's way of telling me he wasn't going to be left behind next time.

Baby Boy with his favorite pillow and favorite blanket in my empty suitcase.

The main difference between traveling with girls vs. boys – the amount of time it takes everyone to get ready to leave the room.  

Braiding hair before a night on the town. You would think mulit-tasking like this would speed things up.
It doesn't.

Watch out NYC...here I come!

This year is the SCBWI 13th Annual Winter's Conference in NYC! And since I joined the Lucky 13s blog and will be debuting in 2013 - I took that as a sign to attend. But what's equally exciting is that I will (finally) meet - in person - my fab agent, Sarah Davies and my awesome editor Emily Meehan while I'm there! Woo hoo!

But I'll also be in the Big Apple this weekend! A group of friends are taking their daughters to celebrate turning 13! Yes, another sign - I must go too! "But wait," you say, "you don't have a 13 yr old daughter. Or any daughter for that matter. All you talk about are those boys!"

I know - and that's the beauty of it. I'm going as the "Favorite Aunt!" I get all the fun of watching these girls experience New York, shopping with them, attending some shows (Wicked, Mama Mia and the Rockettes!) with them  - with none of the responsibility! The trips my hubby and sons plan consist of camping out in some remote wilderness place where war has to be waged against all the bugs and wildlife in order to get a decent night's sleep. But this is a trip with shopping - and other females. I can't resist.

If any of you have ever been - I'd love any recommendations: things to do, places to eat, anything that's a must for New York...