Midweek madness

My novel is in an awkward place again. I know where it needs to be in a short while and I know where it needs to head after that. The only problem is this middle it. I think I have it cracked though and tomorrow night one more quick scene will have set up the end game of the whole thing. But tonight it meant it was difficult.

So much so I only managed 690 words even despite having time enough to write at least double that. Still I have written something, kept the momentum going and that's all that matters.

Here's the update
Tonight - 690
December - 1,288 (so I write more tonight than yesterday - yay)
Novel - 76,462

One more writing thing. After posting last night's blog I had a little more time than I thought so decided to send a few more submissions out; five more for the YA Fantasy the Patternmaker's Daughter to be exact.

Now, there's a lot of odd advice out there about submitting if you read all the blogs and submissions guidelines on various publishers' and agencies' websites and much of it contradicts. One I read last night suggested it was bad form to submit to both agencies and publishers and advised you stick to one and not the other, only for the next to say send it to anywhere you can find.

Then one site (I didn't submit as none of my books were in their genre wants list) said blanket sending to all is counter productive as "agents talk to each other" only for the next to recommend sending to everyone you can find who will take it. It's all rather confusing.

By the way, I'm not going to get to the end of this and say I know the perfect way to approach submitting to agencies and publishers. Mainly because I don't and I'm honest enough to admit it. I have sold a number of short stories, articles, book and film reviews over the last few years (and even two horror crosswords and a wordsearch) but I have yet to secure agency representation or a published novel/novella. In light of that what advise can I offer with any sincerity.

I'm just going to plod on, read through page after page of submission guidelines and try my best to meet the requirements these pages list well enough that the recipient will give my work a fair reading.

There are a few publishers/agents I would dearly like to submit to but can't in good conscious and this is not for any nefarious reason. I've come across some that request exclusivity with the submitted work. Now whereas I might not have a problem complying with this if I think the work is particularly suited to the market I and sending it to, all of the works I have in a sufficiently completed and revised state are already under consideration elsewhere.

The only ways I could send to the exclusivity wanted would be to lie outrageously - a problem if (miracle) one of the current submission might prove successful (hah); or, and this might just happen, write something specifically.

The second is an option for one I've seen recently. I have a hankering to write another Ben Williamson novella (or rather continue - I might have already written the first chapter). Now if I was to write this I could try out one of these exclusive submission markets. I did actually try two of them with the Intersection (also Ben W) only for neither of them to ever respond to me (even after querying them after the end of their stated "guaranteed" response times).

Of course I have to finish the current WiP - No Man's Land - first. Hoping that will be out of the way before Christmas. I have a few days/evenings coming up when my wife will be out playing gigs (mostly private Christmas parties) so might get a but of a move on with it.

On a complete aside from writing and anything to do with it - music.

I've picked up (by accident) an album by a band going under the name of Rain Tree Crow. It was a reunion project (I'm quoting Wikipedia) by members of New Wave band Japan and the album is rather good. My wife even likes it (a lot of my music taste does not correspond to hers) and thinks one of the tracks might rearrange well for her jazz band.

I was tempted to say it's not like my normal taste but as that includes Progressive Rock, Modern Jazz, Heavy Metal, Tom Waits (category all his own that guy), Frank Zappa (ditto), folk, punk, some reggae, New Wave, Blue Eyes Soul, Rhythm and Blues (60s style), Northern Soul, 60s pop, Hard Rock, Classical, Kraut Rock... I could go on.

Anyway what I'm saying is - it's good.

Right - out of time. More writing (and more blogging) tomorrow

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