Friday Fricassee

I emailed our 20 ON THE BLOCK winners a short while ago.  I always feel an exquisite sense of glee when I send things like that.  The thought that my words are going to make some people very, very happy makes me almost giddy when I hit send.

Of course, I also carry the disappointment of those who weren't chosen.  I hate that part as much as I love the other bit.

BUT I've got something special for those of you whose entries weren't chosen!  In January, I'm going to open up 40 slots for a special in-house critique session of your opening page (the same one you entered), and some of our AFFABLE AUTHORS are going to be joining us to offer their critique as well.  Full details after the New Year!

So it was HARD choosing winners this year.  Always, there are a lot of "maybes" that I have to go back through. This year, though, for whatever reason, I ended up with a couple dozen or so "maybes" that I really struggled to narrow down.  Obviously, this is a good thing--it speaks well of the writing in general.  But, ugh!  Back and forth, back and forth.  Should I or shouldn't I?  This one or that one?  In the end, I tried hard to listen to my gut.  As in, yes, this voice is strong and I'm happy with the writing, but...it does seem to be a wee bit heavy on backstory, or I'm not really feeling like we've been given an opportunity to get to know the protagonist before being dropped into this scene, or...fill in the blank.

I had to get tough about not-very-big things.  And about things that are, of course, subjective.  It's important, too, to bear in mind as I read that these entries are ultimately going before agently eyes, so another thing I've got to keep in mind is "regardless of my love for this, do I see a potential for marketability?".

Lots to think about.  Just know that I did take my ultimate decisions seriously.  I took the necessary time.

And I appreciate each one of you who entered your work.  Thank you for being brave enough -- and for trusting in YOURSELF enough -- to do so.

Whew!  The posts are already queued up to go live a week from today.  Early next week, I'll post everything you need to know about the upcoming critique session and auction.  TALK IT UP!  Let's give our 20 winners a lot of support and participation from the wonderful writers' community we're all a part of.

And now I'm going to slunk off and spend as much of the rest of my day writing as I possibly can.  I'm in revision heaven (love! love!), on chapter 17 of 30 and hoping to press through a lot over the weekend.

Hugs to all!