A question

I have a story that I feel is suitable for two markets. One is in this country and the other is abroad. As I would be oferring only the first publishing rights in each country would it be okay to send it to both of them?

CT etc

Work on the new project (CT) has been hampered by the false start that I had a couple of weeks ago which I decided to "cut" last week. The 3,000 words that I had were reduced to 0. My target as of last night was that I would have 3,000 words in the bag (2 weeks * 1,500 words a week) however I only had 711 - what can I say there's been a lot going on. Anyway I am happy to report that as of right now there are over 1,800 words in that bag so it's looking much healthier. I've still got a bit of catching up to do but give me another week or so and I think that I'll be back on track.
Having said all of that I have to stop now because there is a cupboard under the sink that is absolutley screaming to be cleaned.

Just stuff

Remember the euphoria of early March when it was all acceptances and no rejections? Well those days are a distant memory. Two rejections in two days. Good job I have thick skin. Actually the rejection that I got today said that it was "really nicely written," which is some consolation. It sucks but it goes with the territory.
On a different note. I posted BTL off today which is exciting. I am however a realist and know that the chances of hitting pay dirt as it were first timw are pretty remote. But hey - nothing ventured nothing gained as they say.
Also, I sent the first chapter of my second book to my good friend J and she said that it made her want to read more. It's still a bit (lot) rough but it is only a first draft so the fact that she wanted to read more is all I really wanted to achieve at this stage.
Just wanted to share these few bits and bobs with you.

Here goes

Well, it's printed and ready to go and tomorrow BTL will be making it's way to an agent. Feel just the way that I did when the kids were starting school.
On a different note, the new first draft of the first chapter of CT is done, stronger and punchier (possibly a made up word - but weren't they all originally) this time.
Have achieved a lot today. I made a list of everything that I wanted to do and I did it. Everything is crossed off so that makes it a good day.
Anyway, take care BTL out there in the real world. And remember, Mummy loves you.

More than I thought

I had a email last night from my friend who is an artist. It was just the usual stuff you know what our kids are up to, the weather etc. We'd been talking about the projects that she's working on and then she asked me what I was up to at the minute and I started with "not much." Then I started to say what I have been doing this week and when it was in front of me I realised that it's been a fairly busy week all things considered. I have..
1. Come up with a new start for my book.
2. Pitched an idea to an editor that I've worked with before. sadly they are making some changes to the magazine layout so she didn't want to commission them at the moment but told me to sit on them.
3. Wrote a short story which is partly typed will then need an edit and a polish before it gets submitted by Thursday.
4. Worked on my writing CV in readiness for sending off with my BTL submission (deadline for sending this week.)
and
5. Submitted a short story.
I felt quite chuffed with myself after that so thanks for asking the question Jan.

A new beginning

As you may know I started a new project last week (CT) and as of last night I was 3,500 words into it. It was coming along okay but only that. It was okay. I wasn't terribly happy with it. However after much thought I believe that I have come up with a much better start. So in a few minutes time I'll be holding down the delete button and starting afresh. It means that I'm a week behind on the word count target that I set myself - well 9 days to be exact - but I'm hoping to pick that up in the next fifty and a half weeks.
So here goes.

the end of an era

The "all acceptances no rejections" era has ended. Got my first rejection of the year today. Never mind - couldn't last forever.
P.S. Anybody got any ideas on how to impress Norah at TaB?

Birthday Boy

This gorgeous little fella is 3 years old today.

Products of my ongoing apprenticeship.

My deadline for sending BTL to my chosen agent is a week tomorrow and I have spent the last hour or so working on my writing CV.
Successes to date:
14 short stories and 5 articles.
I don't know what to think about that.
Well I've thought a minute and I think that I'm happy. Seven of those hits have come in the last year and four have come since Christmas so I think that I'm getting better. Also I am producing more and I am submitting more. I now work in a more structured way. I will view my success so far as the products of my ongoing apprenticeship.
P.S. I know that there may be some reading this who have yet to be published and are wondering what I am moaning about. I am NOT moaning I promise you. There are lots and lots of people with more success than I've had and good for them. But my success is mine and I'm proud of it.

An award

Thanks to the lovely Jarmara for this prolific blogger award.
As with all awards there are rules and the rules to this one say that I have to pass it on to 7 other prolific bloggers. How on earth do I do that? There are so many of you out there. Therefore if Jarmara will forgive me I will ask that the next 7 prolific bloggers that come here pick it up. Those of you that have not already been awarded it that is.

New project

Just thought I'd take a second to let you all know about the new project that I am about to embark on - quite literally as soon as I've posted this and made a cup of tea.
It's the new book that I talked about the other day.
I've decided on the voice that I want to use to tell the story, I've come up with what I want to happen along the way and I know where I have to be in the end. It's quite fluid (one of my boss's favourite words for not set in stone) and I am sure that I'll come up with things as the characters develop but I'm ready to go I think.
I've set myself a realistic target of what I can certainly achieve on even a bad week and hopefully I will exceed that target sometimes which means that the whole thing will come along much quicker. The deadline that I have set myself for the first draft to be finished is one year from today. It will actually be the second draft I suppose because as most of you know I write with the pink pen on real paper before committing it to the electronic page. I've decided that I'm going to write and transfer on a regular basis because that's not what I did with BTL and that meant a lot of too-ing and fro-ing at one stage so I'm hoping to eliminate it this time. Plus I understand that most professionals write and edit as they're going along which is what I will be doing essentially. And if it's good enough for those that make their living doing this it's good enough for me.
Anyway that was it really - just wanted to mark this momentous occasion and announce it to the world.
I have a brand new untouched pad to start the epic on and the pink pen is primed and ready so here we go.
Once I've made a cuppa of course - that goes without saying.
Just one last thing. The working tital for this project is CT

2nd chance maybe

It occurred to me this afternoon that I'm wasting some of the stuff that I have written. Well wasted might be a bit extreme because I'm talking about the stories that are in my "published" folder. Everything in there has been published somewhere - I guess that the name of the folder was a bit of a give away. But maybe I could sell it somewhere else. I have stories that I have sold FBSR to that I could try selling to a magazine in a different country and likewise things that have been sold abroad that I could try selling FBSR to.
Definately something to consider.

One more thing

Hello again (the kettles nearly boiled by the way) I was just closing all of the windows on the computer down in readiness to switch it off and the last screen that was there was the spreadsheet where I record what os out there. I noticed something that I have to mention today because it may well change tomorrow. So far in this calendar year of 2010 I hve had no that is 0 rejections and 2 acceptances. I am willing to bet the breath in my lungs that has never been the case before. So if that's not a cause for celebration i don't know what is. Might have a biscuit with that cuppa.

Nothing in particular

Let us imagine that we have one and a half hours a day, five days a week to write. On addition to this you can also on one of those days fit in a three hour spell. It's not a lot but its all there is so deal with it (as my good friend that shall remain nameless said rather heartlessly I thought.) Anyway bck to the point - how would you spend that one and a half hours to get the most out of them. The answer is not "write" because - well just because its not.
Oh this is the question that I ask myself all the time. Its not a lot of time but it is "time" and I'm constantly trying to work out the best way of using it.
I've had a productive spell this morning. I've given two stories a final polish and submitted them. Well one by email and I'll post the other in the morning. I have also rescheduled into my diary all of the things that I haven't got round to doing yet. And to think that at one point at the beginning of February I announced to the world that I was ahead of the game and all my self imposed deadlines met. That didn't last long did it?
Does a rhetorical question need a "?"?
I also had an idea for book 2 yesterday which really should be book 3 because i have already started NMBK. However I think that this one would tie in much better with BTL and so might be a better prospect. All I have to work out now is if the story had enough legs to get to 80,000 words and if I am up to the job.
I think that my problem is that I spread myself a bit thin and try lots of different things without really concentrating on anything. But when I think of myself as "a writer" (metaphorically speaking beause I never actually think of myself like that) I think that I am just that. I don't want to be a "novelist" or a "short story writer" or a "travel writer" - I want it all. Oh my goodness was that ever the start of a slippery slide?
You've probably noticed that I am rambling but the truth is that when I'm blogging I imagine that I am with you and just talking to you so the words come out like that which is why they aren't always in the right order. But I'm sure if you were here with me at least one of you would have told be to shut up and go and put the kettle on so that's what I'll do.
Tea or coffee anyone?

C V Advice

I'm finally biting the bullet and sending BTL out into the world of agents and my chosen recipient requires a CV. My question is does anyone have any advice on the best way to set this out? Should it be a detailed list of what I have had published and where or is it better just to be general? I've written CV's for jobs before but never for my writing. All advice would be greatfully received.

Good news

I have a couple of bits of good news to report.

1. Shiny new laptop seems to work as it should although I'm struggling to get used to the cursor being in a different place.

2. Last night I sent off the article that I had commissioned and today I received an email from the editor saying that it was just what she was looking for. I am so pleased because I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to get it right. But apparently I did.