I honestly think the hardest part of any novel is the part from 20,000 to 40,000 words.

I've often said that novel-writing is like running a marathon.  The latter is something I've never done, of course, but I imagine that running a marathon is a process of pushing through the pain, forcing yourself forward with the knowledge that there IS an end, and while you can't really see it yet, it's real and you can get to it if you just don't stop.

20,000 to 40,000 words is about that.

20,000-30,000 is a swamp, usually.  It's just murk and mess to slog your way through.  And there's stuff in the water that you can't see, and just maybe, maybe, you're a little lost.

For 30,000-40,000, though, it's out of the swamp and it's just a long, hard trek uphill with a steep incline.   Here it's less about confusion or uncertainty-- really once you pass 30K you pretty much are past the point of no return and you will most likely actually finish... and for this it's just work and pushing through the weariness.

Also, I find that once I crack 40K, once I get over that incline, and it's a coast downhill to the conclusion.

Querying what you don't believe in

Found today on Twitter, from @Ginger_Clark with the #pubtip hashtag:

People, don't start your query disparaging science fiction to me. I will have to cut you for it. #pubtip


I find this fascinating.  I mean, I get that some people will write a novel out of cynicism; writing in a genre out of a belief that it's what sells, rather than the genre being a passion that drives the writer.  I don't do that, but I get it, that belief that if you want to sell, you have to write what's selling.  But to not only take that to the point of believing, "What sells is this genre crap, so I wrote genre crap"-- i.e., not really believing in your work, but to actually ADMIT that as a selling point to an agent who states outright that they ENJOY that genre?  Now that's just dumb.  And if you're going to be cynical AND dumb, I can't see you going far in this world.

An empty space

I wish I had a camera with me, as I'm in my local bookstore right now.  Right now, as I walked through the sci-fi/fantasy section, I noticed an empty space on the shelf.  It's a spot on the shelf I always glance at, and today there actually was a gap right there.

The space was between John Marco and Juliet Marillier.

It's the space I intend to be in.

I'm taking this as a sign.

Querying strategy...

There's all sorts of advice out there about querying, but one thing I wonder that I don't see much talking about: when is the best time during the week to send queries?

I have an idea that it might be Tuesday or Wednesday.  The way I see it, agents probably get a ton of queries over the weekend, and thus Monday morning they have a heavily laden inbox.  By Thursday or Friday they've probably built up a backlog of things to do that they have to before the weekend, and thus would have to spend less time on queries.  Tuesday and Wednesday gives one the best opportunity to not be lost in the shuffle.

Of course, it may just be that it's just a constant barrage of queries, and no day is any better than any other.  But it's a theory.

Reader question answered, #2

In response to yesterday's post, I was asked the following:

I'm curious - how do you decide which project to focus on at a time? Do you set yourself a plan, like, this week I'm going to work on Crown of Druthal, this week is going to be Thorn of Dentonhill? Or do you write whichever one is buzzing in your head the loudest each day? 

For me, it's pretty much a Little from Column A, and a Little from Column B.  Primarily, I set a plan-- usually based on months rather than weeks-- and that plan usually involves designating something as my Current Main Project, which right now is Maradaine Constabulary.  Then I usually have a Back-up Project, the thing to work on when I get stuck on the Main Project.  This usually take the form of something smaller, like right now it's a short story for an anthology, or something that's more open-ended, like worldbuilding work.

Now, external factors can influence what I make the current main project-- for example, when the opportunity arose for changing Thorn of Dentonhill from third draft to fourth draft (in other words, a requested rewrite to expand its length), I dropped everything to focus on that.  But mostly I make it what feels right in terms of what I want to get done.  I wanted to finish first drafts of Banshee, Maradaine Constabulary and Vanguard, for example, and first focused on Banshee.  But it didn't feel right, and I switched to MC.

And that's where the buzzing in my head comes in.  Sometimes it drags an old idea out of the stewing crockpots in the back of my head and forces that to be finished NOW.  Which is how, for example, the script for the graphic novel Triple Cross pulled itself into a completed first draft when I thought I'd be working on Banshee. 

State of the Writing

Back in September I listed where I was with each of the six first-in-a-potential series, and I think it's high time to take another look at it.
Here's what I wrote at the time, followed by updates on each project.

• Crown of Druthal (Book 1 of Crown of Druthal series):Finished third draft, though aspects of it need rewriting. (APRIL UPDATE: Still on Third Draft, I haven't really made any changes on this book.  However, I am now more aware that the whole thing needs serious rewriting.  As of right now, it's a little too light on plot, and too much meandering. Also, I think there's a lot more going on in my head then ends up on the page, as it were.  Part of the problem is the plot is determined by the geography, making the whole thing far too much of a travelogue.  Stuff happens to the characters, instead of them taking action.  At least for a lot of it.  But I have to admit, reworking this one is not my priority right now.)
• Thorn of Dentonhill (Book 1 of Veranix series): Finished third draft. Currently shopping to agents. (APRIL UPDATE: Now I have a fourth draft, which is currently in an specific agent's hands exclusively.  If that agent passes, then I'll start a blitz of querying with this draft, which has a significantly different word count from the third draft.)    
• The Fire Gig (Book 1 of Holver Alley Crew series): Rough draft 95% done. Anticipate finishing by next week. (APRIL UPDATE: First draft done, working on second draft.  I've outlined points of expansion and plot-points that need cleaning up, most notably a big POV cheat that needs to be fixed.  I've figured out how to fix that and make the whole conclusion work smoother, I just haven't gotten it written yet.)
• From Star to Star (Book 1 of USS Banshee series): Awful, unoutlined, half-finished draft tossed. New outline written. (APRIL UPDATE: Started a new draft, which I like a lot better, but aspects still aren't coming together.  Done more worldbuilding in an effort to figure things out, and it's coming clearer.  Plus I'm talking with someone about making this project into a more collaborative effort-- an idea I've always thought about for this "universe".)
• Between Them and Harm (Book 1 of Vanguard series):Full outline written.  (APRIL UPDATE: I've hashed out a bit more of outline details, but no major change on this one.)
• The Mage Murders (Book 1 of Maradaine Constabulary series): Full outline written. (APRIL UPDATE: Rough draft about 40-50% done.  I'm generally pleased with how it's going.  Hope to push the momentum and finish the rough draft by the end of May.)

So that's where I am right now. Plus I'm working on a short story for an anthology.  That and Mage Murders are the two things taking the brunt of my focus currently.  Once I get those out of my system (hopefully end of May), then I'll finish the 2nd Draft of Holver Alley Crew.  

Promotion and book trailers

I've been thinking about Book Trailers of late. I'm not sure why, exactly, beyond my usual bad habit of getting ahead of myself. I don't have a book ready for trailing, as it were, so I don't need to have one yet... if I need to have one at all.

I can see what the appeal of doing video trailer is-- it's a commercial for your book! That's exciting! Of course, most of the video trailers I've seen are made with all the dynamic hook and technical skill of your average public access program. They certainly don't entice me to read the book.

I heard one person say of book trailers that the best they can do is not hurt your sales. The more of these things I see, the more I can't help but agree.

I was at a panel once where the panelists were advocating making book trailers as a promotional tool. Now, like I said, I can see its value, if it's done well. But then it was suggested that, in order to make one's trailer, one should search through photo archives of stock images, finding stuff that's out there that's free to use.

I couldn't disagree more about that. I mean, why would you use images that only kind-of, sort-of match what your book is about? Let's say, for example, your book has vampire-like and angel-like creatures. Would ANY vampire or angel pictures be suitable? Probably not. I would argue that any images (or video) that aren't specifically made for your book would look generic and unconnected. You wouldn't copy-and-paste text from some other book because it's kind of like what you want your book to be, would you? (I hope not.)

I mean, if you're going to make a book trailer to promote YOUR book, then make that trailer equally your own, just as original.