December 2022

This month I recently finished reading "MotherThing" by Ainslie Hogarth. I'll admit I was initially drawn to the book by its cover, but I stayed for the story. It definitely exceeded my expectations.

Currently, I am reading "The Dark Between the Trees" by Fiona Barnett. It's off to a slow start, and I haven't fully connected with the characters yet, but I'm holding out hope because I like the premise. I'm also reading "A Psalm for the Wild-Built" by Becky Chambers, which I'm thoroughly enjoying. It's not a long book, but I'm taking my time with it because I love it so much. In fact, I bought the second book in the series, "A Prayer for the Crown-Shy," about ten pages into the first one.

After finishing the edit of "Disappearing," I am taking a much-needed editing break and will start working on a new project. I have a story that's been bubbling around in my head since this summer, and I'm hoping to make some good progress on it during my vacation this week.

In addition to writing, I've also been working on a query letter, a synopsis, and other materials needed to send "Disappearing" out to some agents I found online. I've sent it to one agent who I think it might be a good fit for, and I'll send it to a couple more at some point. While it would be cool to publish through the traditional route, I'm prepared to self-publish if it takes too long.

For writers looking to begin querying, this is what I am doing:

  • Research potential agents: Look for agents who represent work in your genre and have a good reputation in the industry. You can find lists of agents online or ask other writers for recommendations. I am using this site https://blog.reedsy.com/literary-agents/ 
  • Prepare your materials: Before reaching out to agents, make sure your novel is as polished as possible. This may involve revisions, editing, and getting feedback from beta readers. This is the longest and most painful part of the process for me.
  • Write a strong query letter: A query letter is a one-page letter introducing yourself and your novel to agents. It should include a brief summary of your book, information about your writing experience, and a reason why you think the agent would be interested in representing your work. This part is pretty painful too, but there are templates and help online to provide you the solid bones of a query letter
  • Decide on the number of agents to reach out to: Consider the amount of time you have to devote to submissions, the quality of your materials, and the fit with the agent when deciding how many agents to reach out to. Aim to send out enough queries to give yourself a reasonable chance of finding an agent, but not so many that you become overwhelmed or spend all your time on submissions. This is also why I have not queried agents much. I prefer to be writing and creating. 
  • Submit your materials: Once you have identified potential agents and prepared your materials, you can start submitting your query letter and manuscript. It's generally best to send a query letter first, and if the agent is interested, they will request a copy of your manuscript. Most agents are using a query submission website that outlines what you need to provide them. Some, though, prefer everything in an email. 
  • Follow-up: If you don't hear back from an agent within a few weeks, it's okay to follow up with a polite email to inquire about the status of your submission. However, it's important to be patient and understand that the process of finding an agent will take time for most of us.  

When I was not writing or working this month, I've been distracting myself with ChatGPT. It's been quite the distraction, and I feel like it's a little bit like the computers of 1995 when they really started changing things for normal folks. Over a weekend, to see what it could do, I wrote/prompted/generated a 10k word book on project management. It needs a little polish and having read quite a few books on project management, it's not bad. I'll share it here at some point in the future. 

Lastly, in an online meeting this month, someone's light went out. They were located in I
reland. One of the other attendees from the UK said, "Looks like you need another 50p for the meter." and then the folks from Ireland and the UK had a chuckle. The folks on the call from the US had no idea what the joke referenced and why it would be funny. We had no choice but to pause the meeting and figure out what the heck this was all about. The explanation was simple. In the past, in Ireland and the UK, homes had meters installed, and you had to drop coins in them to keep the electricity running. They also had similar meters for heat as well. Some of the older homes still do. 

This is a link to the short story 'Fifty Pence for the Meter' by Jamie Guiney if you are interested in reading about the meters in use  https://www.themilkhouse.org/fifty-pence-for-the-meter-by-jamie-guiney/

That's December. I hope your holidays went well; your power stayed on or came back quickly after the storms.  

Here's a picture of a frozen pond I took on Christmas Day.




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