Welp, that's it, and wow, has it been a whirlwind few days! Things that happened:
1) Read A LOT of queries, first 250 words, and synopses. I underestimated how entrenched I was going to get in the critiquing process. I probably looked at and provided comments for at least thirty separate projects and came back to multiple, too. Having never really read the sheer number of queries I ended up reading for WriteOnCon, I felt like I came out with a good grasp of what works and what doesn't in a query. At least, I hope I came out with a better grasp than I did going in. Other thing I learned: Everybody has cool ideas. Absolutely everybody. Also, I felt bad about myself because everybody else was so FREAKING GOOD AT WRITING. Wow. People are awesome. I would read 90 percent of what I commented on. I'm so easy like that.
2) Got some fantastic feedback on my own query/250. My query started out at over 300. It now clocks in at around 230, by virtue of the great advice people gave me. I read some incredible first lines in the 250 forum, and it gave me plenty of inspiration for my own.
3) Met some cool people! Including one person who lives near Cambridge and is a nerdfighter! We shall meet up in reality soon.
4) I learned that CODE NAME VERITY is the new "it" book of YA. Everybody and their dog brought it up. Historical and contemporary are getting a lot of love right now too (which is awesome). Picked it up in a bookstore and read the first couple of pages some weeks ago. I thought it had great voice, but I didn't keep going. Guess I should give it another gander.
5) I got a full request from an amazing agent I've researched off my first 250! Totally didn't expect this, haven't even started querying for real yet. But yeah. I freaked out maybe a little. Fingers crossed. More queries going out soon, also. This book may or may not be The One, but regardless of what happens, I'm sure having fun with it so far.
In conclusion, great fun, loved it, would definitely do it again. Thanks to Lisa & Laura, Elana J, and the other organizers who put it all together and have done so for three years now. Lovely opportunity for all writers.
Other things that happened during the Con, but unrelated:
1) I did not pack for school. Or buy textbooks because WHO NEEDS THOSE. Yeah. The excitement of the request sort of eclipsed all other practical things.
2) THE DEMIGOD DIARIES by Rick Riordan came out! And I almost forgot! Read the Percy chapter first (of course). Squealed over my illegal love for a sixteen-year-old MG protagonist (seriously, I need to stop aging). Will probably start trolling around the fandom again for more fics? I'm sure there will be some good lead up to MARK OF ATHENA.
3) Got my schedule. I equated all my classes to Harry Potter. As in, Legislation and Regulation: Transfiguration. Torts: Charms. Criminal Law: Defense Against the Dark Arts. Civil Procedure: Potions. And Legal Research and Writing: History of Magic. Get off me, you know you did this with your classes too at some point. Now all I gotta do is pay tuition ... a lot bigger of a price tag than Hogwarts, I imagine.
{from elysium} ... unorganized observations of an aspiring author
Dude, EVERYONE AND THEIR MOTHER was all over Code Name Verity.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your request.
Right. I feel like every single event that happened, someone was compelled to bring it up. Well, I guess that must mean it's pretty freakin' good. I do love me some great historical fiction.
DeleteThanks. :)
Congrats on your request!!!
ReplyDeleteAs for Code Name Verity, I have a copy of it on my kindle but haven't started it. Like you, I've heard about how amazing it is, but I've also heard it's kind of slow, so you have to wait a bit to get into it. So maybe give it a try again in the future? I'll let you know what I think when I finally get around to it myself. :)
Thank you, thank you!
DeleteI probably will. I used to be SO INTO historical stuff that I almost exclusively read historical, and then I got into fantasy, and now I'm into contemporary. For historical, I tend to gravitate more toward early to mid to pre-modern Europe. There's a ton of WWII stuff, and while I love WWII as a topic, I'm iffy about it as fiction. But now I'm all curious and must see what all the fuss is about.
First, MANY congratulations on Harvard Law. I mean, it's HARVARD LAW. This floors me! This excites me! And I can't imagine how thrilled you must be.
ReplyDeleteAnd regarding the full request...that same reaction! I will totally buy this if it happens, I don't care what it is.
Also, your book recommendations continue to be excellent in every way - I just started Guitar Highway Rose!
WAHHHH, IT'S YOU. :) Thanks so much for all that congrats! I don't have a whole lot to complain about right now, at all.
DeleteI hope you love Guitar Highway Rose. I just want to move to Australia. I'm pretty much obsessed with books set in foreign countries.
Also. Since I only use my LJ to stalk people's fics, I never check my inbox apparently? And I discovered a whole backlog (like two years worth) of super nice comments about Three, and they just made my day so hard. I think it is one of my favorite things I've written. I'm even kind of sad it's all over. But basically, thanks for reccing it and being awesome.
I stalk your blog every couple of months. ;) I missed hearing from you during your hiatus!
DeleteAnd that's why Anna and the French Kiss was so excellent too. Still one of my favorite books.
Aw, yes! I was cleaning out my desk a couple of weeks ago and found this huge stack of paper that ended up to be the last half of Three. And I re-read it all. Of course. It made me so emotional, even now...but it feels like it's from forever ago, at the same time.
On a sidenote, not sure if I've told you, but I'm planning for law school too! I actually might end up taking Legal Research & Writing this year to be eligible for a certain program. What a coincidence. :)
Yay! Well if you have any questions about applying down the road, let me know! :)
Delete