100 Valentines

Happy Valentine's Day!

Let's give a big Valentine to ourselves, shall we?  Here's what I'd like to do:

Leave a comment that says 2 things:

1.  Something you love about yourself.
2.  Something you love about this blog community.  (This can be directed at a particular person, such as, "I love the way Screamin' Meemee always uses humor in her critiques!", or at the community in general, such as, "I love the way everybody sends expensive chocolate to Authoress on Valentine's Day."

BUT AUTHORESS! WHY DO I HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING I LOVE ABOUT MYSELF?

It's simple, really.  In order to love others, we have to first love ourselves.  Not in an I'm-so-great-even-my-farts-don't-stink" sort of way, but in an "I love myself because I'm a valuable human being" sort of way.

I'm serious.  Self-loathing, self-deprecation, and even self-apathy don't make us very good lovers.  (Or good writers.  Or good employees. Or...you get the idea.)

So.  YES.  Your first comment must be something you love about yourself.

I will leave the first comment, so all's fair.

Let's see if we can get 100 Valentine comments by the end of the day!

Oh, and let me sweeten the deal.  Leave at least 100 comments, and tomorrow morning, I'll choose 1 commenter by random to win a $25 Barnes and Noble gift card.  Because I love you.  (Only comments that follow the rules will be eligible to win.)

Sound good?  Let's do it!

All Sorts of Things About MSFV

Here it is, all in one place: Everything I can think of that anyone marginally new will need to know about this blog.

• MSFV = Miss Snark's First Victim. I didn't start this; it happened organically among the readership. It's a lot easier to type.
• The focus of MSFV is critique, information, and fellowship/encouragement.  This is a place for writers who want to grow into better writers. 
• In-house critiques -- Drop the Needle, Kissing Scenes, Talkin' Heads, et al. -- are for all manuscripts, whether finished or not.  These critiques sessions do not include any agents or editors, so it's okay to throw your work in there if it's not ready for professional eyes.
• Secret Agent Contests and the Baker's Dozen Agent Auction are for completed, query-ready manuscripts only. 
• Secret Agent Contests occur monthly from January to May and July to October.  Submission information (including genres for that month's contest) are always posted one week before the contest week.
• The Baker's Dozen Agent Auction is an annual event occurring in December (with submissions earlier in the fall).  It's by far the most popular event on MSFV.
• All in-house critiques and Secret Agent Contests are free of charge.  Always.
• The Baker's Dozen Agent Auction has an entry fee, payable via Paypal.
• You do not need a Blogger I.D., a password, or special permission from the government to read or to post comments on MSFV.  I have set up the comments so that anyone can leave them.
• When leaving comments (especially critiques), I prefer that you do not choose "Anonymous" to sign your comments.  Use the "Name/URL" option and choose a screen name.
• "Screen Name" is not an official term.  Just...pick one. Call yourself something onscreen.  (No, really. I think I get more emails and questions about this one than anything else.)
• All readers are warmly welcomed to participate in critiquing entries in contests and in-house rounds. You do not have to have an excerpt up to participating in the critiquing.
• If your excerpt is included in a critique round or contest, you are respectfully requested to critique a minimum of 5 other entries.  Because this journey (and this life, for that matter) is about giving, and not only taking.
• This blog includes all genres except erotica and erotic romance.  I've had readers as young as 13 (in a Secret Agent Contest, even), and I choose to keep the content here PG-13.
• In the same vein, I will *** all expletives except "hell" and "damn" in excerpts.  (I don't have a problem with those; they're not vulgar in the...vulgar sense.  I mean, even Ron Weasley says, "Bloody hell!")
• The genres for each Secret Agent Contest are chosen according to whatever that month's agent has on his/her current wish list (usually found on the agency's web site).  I do not choose the genres.
• This blog IS NOT solely for writers of children's fiction.  Yes, my readership is largely comprised of kidlit authors. But I think that's indicative of writers in general. There are a HECK of a lot of people out there writing YA and MG. If you're an adult fiction writer, INVITE YOUR ADULT FICTION WRITER FRIENDS HERE. 
• I do not include picture books in the contests simply because the vast majority of agents don't represent them.  That, and the information and critique on MSFV is focused on the Novel (with a capital N, yes). I don't disparage picture books -- I have written them! If you want to do a special in-house round for PB critique, petition me for it! I need to know that there will be enough interest/participation.
• I do not include query critiques on the blog. There are other excellent online resources for query critiques. MSFV's focus is on the writing.

AND ABOUT AUTHORESS:

(There's a wee tab at the top there called "AUTHORESS".  But here are the basics.)

• I write MG and YA science fiction and fantasy.
• I am represented by Josh Getzler of the Hannigan Salky Getzler Agency.
• I have recently launched an editing service called AUTHORESS EDITS.  If you are interested in an in-depth line edit and editorial letter for your first 3 chapters or 30 pages (whichever is shorter), email me at authoress.edits(at)gmail(dot)com.
• I love high quality/organic chocolate, salted caramels, and toffee.  And cashews.  Feel free to send me any and all of these things. 
• I probably shouldn't write things like that. People will take me seriously and get offended.
• Nevertheless.

Have I forgotten something?  Please feel free to add it in the comment box!

February Secret Agent Early Info

Please note: This is NOT the call for submissions! The contest will open next Monday, February 18.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES (please read carefully):

*There are TWO WAYS to enter: a) via email to authoress.submissions(at)gmail.com OR via web form at msfv.thoughbin.org
* THIS WILL BE A LOTTERY: The submission window will be open from NOON to 5:00 PM EDT.  Once the submission window is closed, the bot will randomly choose the winning entries.
* 2 alternates will also be accepted, for a total of 52 entries.
* PLEASE NOTE: You are responsible for figuring out your own time zone. "Time Zone differences" are NOT a reason for not getting your entry in.
* Submissions received before the contest opens will be rejected.
* Submissions are for COMPLETED MANUSCRIPTS ONLY. If you wouldn't want an agent to read the entire thing, DON'T SEND IT. If an "entire thing" doesn't exist, you shouldn't even be reading these rules.
* Manuscripts THAT HAVE BEEN IN A SECRET AGENT CONTEST DURING THE PAST SIX MONTHS (August-January) will not be accepted.
* You may submit A DIFFERENT MANUSCRIPT if you've participated in any previous Secret Agent contests.
*If yours was one of the 60 2012 Baker's Dozen entries, please do not enter the same manuscript in this month's contest.
* Only ONE ENTRY per person per contest. If you send more than one, your subsequent entry(ies) will be rejected.
* If you WON A CONTEST WITHIN THE PAST 12 MONTHS (i.e., offered any kind of prize from a Secret Agent), please DO NOT ENTER THIS CONTEST. (Unless it's a different manuscript.)
* Submissions are for THE FIRST 250 WORDS of your manuscript. Please do not stop in the middle of a

GO HERE to submit via our web form.

If you choose to submit via email, your submission for this contest should be formatted EXACTLY as follows:

SCREEN NAME: Your Screen Name Here
TITLE: Your Title Here
GENRE: Your Genre Here

(Followed by the excerpt here.)

* No "chapter one," chapter titles, etc.
* You will receive a confirmation email with your lottery number.
* Submissions go to authoress.submissions(at)gmail.com. They DO NOT GO to my facelesswords address. Or any other address.
*It doesn't matter what you put in the subject line. The only thing you MUST NOT do is to use "RE:" The bot will think you are attempting to respond to an email, and will reject you.

As always, there is no fee to enter the Secret Agent contest.

This month's contest will include the following genres:

Romance
Women's Fiction
YA (contemporary, historical, SFF)
NA (contemporary, historical, SFF)

Friday Fricassee

It's been another good week for the comment boxes.  Thanks for your feedback on Tuesday's post and your heartfelt response to yesterday's post.

This would be a lonely place, if not for your involvement.  You are the lifeblood of this blog!

One thing I picked up on in your feedback was that it seems I'm not clear enough--probably because I keep forgetting that we're constantly picking up new readers--about what actually goes on here.  One reader didn't realize that WIPs are included in all in-house critiques, unless otherwise stated.  (Only contests that involve agents require completed manuscripts, for obvious reasons.)  One reader suggested I ought to announce the genres of the Secret Agent contests a week ahead of time.  Um, I do.  Every contest month, one week before submissions.

So I need to make sure ALL my pertinent information is easily accessible, so that everyone knows what's going on around here.  Of course, you all need to do your part, too -- read the blog regularly, make sure you're subscribed, pay attention to dates that I throw out.

One suggestion that I love is the idea of a regular Twitter chat.  Feel free to throw out ideas for what those chats might look like.  (I love Twitter.  I just...love Twitter.)

As for the CP "tag" -- this is something I will have to chat about with Michael, my fearless programmer.  The MSFV submission process is completely automated (as you know), and even the smallest change can sometimes mean lots of time for him.  I have no idea how anything works, so I defer these things to him.

So there you have it.  And here's your head's up:  The February Secret Agent Early Info will post on Monday.

Hooray!

Who's writing this weekend?  I actually have half-a-beat-sheet for my new project (hearby dubbed Sacred Doodlefart Draft 1), and...wait for it...I'm hoping to start ACTUALLY WRITING the thing as early as next week.

Couldn't have come this far without you!

Have a joyful weekend!

The Story Inside You

Oh, the online advice.  It's ever-abundant, and much of it is good.  Then, occasionally, I read something that makes me want to bite my coffee mug.

It's not that this particular advice was wrong, per se.  It just hit me wrong.

It was the Don't Choose a Genre Just Because It's a Huge Seller advice.  And mostly, it's spot on. If there are already twenty million YA paranormal romances in the collective slush pile, you don't need to add another one.  If you discover how big the best-of-the-bestselling authors' paychecks are, and you decide to write exactly what they are writing, for exactly that reason, then you're an absolute twit.

But.

For me, it was different.  For me, it was the appearance of having attempted to ride a wave, when that wasn't it at all.

Yes, I'm talking about dystopian--my favorite go-to genre for both reading and writing.  Here's the thing:  I conceived the idea for City Limits two years before I wrote a single word.  Mark that:  two years.  I did not know what the word "dystopian" meant.  I hadn't read any dystopian novels.  I just HAD A STORY GROWING INSIDE ME THAT CAME FROM SOMEWHERE DEEP INSIDE MY BRAIN.

When I finally found the courage to write it (yes, courage--because I think part of the reason I sat on it so long is because it felt so "big"), I was just learning what "dystopian" meant.  It was one of those, "Huh. So that's what I'm writing!" things.

I was blissfully unaware of the wave that was sweeping through the YA bookshelves.  No idea that Hunger Games had crashed onto the scene, opening the gates for countless (countless!) other dystopian tales.

By the time Josh and I took City Limits on submission, editors had all come down with Dystopian Fatigue (for which, apparently, there is no known cure, aside from complete avoidance of the genre).  Lists were full two years out and more.  The market--as well as editors' brains--was saturated.

My manuscript must have had that oh-here's-another-one-trying-to-be-Suzanne-Collins appearance.  In truth, I hadn't heard her name when I started drafting.  It was my story, from my brain.  In the beginning, I didn't even know what to call it.  And when I learned what I was actually writing, I wasn't even sure if the correct word was "dystopic" or "dystopian".

So, yeah.  For me, it was simply VERY BAD TIMING.  I might wring my hands over the if-only-I-had-written-it-right-away-and-not-waited-two-years thing.  But the story would not have been what it ultimately became.  Two years earlier, I wasn't ready to write the story.

Then, when I was finally ready, the market had already outrun me.

C'est la vie.

So, dear hearts.  WRITE THE STORY THAT IS BURNING INSIDE YOU.  If you have examined your motives, and you know in your heart that you are not attempting to ride a wave that's already cresting, and you believe that your story has a life of its own, and does not exist as a reflection of someone else's story--then KEEP WRITING IT.

There is no telling what the market will look like when you finally land an agent/go on submission.  Just write THE BEST STORY YOU POSSIBLY CAN.  Get it critiqued, revise it, get it critiqued some more, rewrite the whole dang thing from scratch if you need to.  But if the story lives and breathes inside you, then LET IT OUT.

I don't regret having written City Limits.  It landed me my fabulous, can't-do-this-thing-without-him agent, and it maintains its place in my heart (and, I think, in Josh's) as a Good Egg.  As in, it's not shelved for eternity.  Not really.  Some day, somehow, it will find a home.  A place in the world.  Because I really want to share this story.  It has something to say.

There is a place, of course, where one needs to stop and assess one's direction.  For me, it has meant moving away from dystopian.  BUT AUTHORESS, you say. YOU JUST SAID TO WRITE THE STORY THAT IS BURNING INSIDE ME.

Yes.  And I did that--last year.  I struggled greatly, because the story-inside-me was another dystopian.  Josh gently warned me; my own common sense tried to nudge me in another direction.  But in the end, I had to write the story.  And again, I'm glad I did.  I love it, and I believe in it the way I believe in City Limits.  But unlike City Limits, this one is going to sit quietly on a virtual shelf.  Because it would be a waste of time to attempt to travel the same path twice.

Dystopian and I, for now, are not meant to be.

It's okay, though!  I'm up to my elbows in MG Fantasy, and it brings me a giddy sort of joy.  Fantasy is my first love, after all--I've been gnawing on fantasy novels since early middle school.  (We're talking adult fantasy--Katherine Kurtz and Patricia McKillip and Terry Brooks.  Hard core, UBER-geeky fantasy!)

What's most interesting about my current project is that I actually wrote it before I wrote City Limits.  Of course, that was before my writing had seasoned and matured.  The novel's been through two major rewrites since then, in addition to moderate revisions in between.  All that to say:  YOU NEVER KNOW WHERE YOUR STORY WILL GO.

So keep writing it.

You know best what's inside you.  You know best what you're capable of, and where your passions lie.  That's the pool from which you must fish your stories.  Not the current trends, not Goodreads, not your favorite authors, not your mom's opinion.  The stories must come FROM DEEP INSIDE YOU.

Read all the advice you can; cull through it, keep the good stuff.  Be savvy; know the market, be aware of what's trending.  Don't write in a dark hole, dripping bits of your lifeblood into novels like some dark, tortured thing.  But DON'T LOSE SIGHT OF YOUR INNER SELF, either.

Write what's inside you.  Work hard and WRITE WELL.  Some day, at the right time, things will fall into place for whichever story has come into its own.

Believe that.  And keep writing.

That's what I'm doing.  And that's what I will be doing, for as long as there are stories in my brain.  (Which, I expect, will be the rest of my life.)

Now go write something.

*hugs*