Smiling all the Way From A to Z -- C

Due to the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge, I will not be participating in the Insecure Writer's Support Group today. I hope that all my fellow IWSG'ers are doing well. Keep up the good work. Never give up!
 

What makes me smile that starts with the letter C? I shall tell you...

 

CHOCOLATE

 

Yes, nummy, gooey, soft, white, bitter, sweet, dark, milky, melting delicious chocolate. I'm a registered chocoholic. Well, if there was such a thing, I'd be registered and packing some dangerous goodies in my pocket--oh, never mind, they'd melt that way. But, I may have to attend some CA meetings (Chocolates Anonymous).

 

My favorite chocolate-coma-inducing treats are as follows (not necessarily in this order):

 

Reeses Peanut Butter Cups

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

Moose Tracks Ice Cream

Kit Kats

Snickers

Cookies and Cream Hershey's Candy Bars

Andes Mints

Brownies

Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark Squares 

 

Starting with the letter C, what makes you smile? Are you a chocoholic? And what are your favorite chocolaty or sweet treats? Or are you more of a fruit sweets fan?

 

Writing Jewels

Giving Up the Sweets

I'm addicted to ... yes, chocolate, or more specifically sweets that have chocolate in them. Without fail, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about sweets at least a hand full of times, especially at night when I'm writing or reading or doing  whatever I have to do.

Well, kiddos, I'm taking a stand. I'm saying "NO" to sweets for a full three weeks. It's said that it takes 21 days to form a habit. Well, by darn, I'm gonna break the maddening cycle of licking my lips and salivating over sweets--of course, until I stuff my mouth full of them.

Now, I make myself out to be someone who has a large tub of ice cream to my chest 24-7. No, no, I just know that this is something I could do better at. Work my mind-over-matter skills in this part of my diet department. And hopefully loose some weight in the process. Yippee! 

So, I started the 3 weeks free of sweets on Sunday, May 20. And I expect myself to stay true to my goal. Therefore, I've invited my sister-in-law to join with me in my fight against the candy bar, brownie, dish of ice-cream, etc... I've gotta have someone to report to, right?

Right-e-o!

And she is going sweet-less with me. What a good sister-in-law to help out! BTW: She's awesome!

So, have you ever taken a stand and given up sweets, soda pop (read my last post here for more about soda pop or coke or whatever you call it), biting your nails, picking your nose (haha), etc...??? What helped you to succeed? Was it having someone else help you? Have you ever reported to  a CP to help you finish your book?

And by golly, if you want to join me in my goal to conquer sweets or whatever, let me know. We can work on it together!

PS: I'll keep you updated on my blog posts of how I'm doing. Right now, I have 5 days of no sweets under my belt. 16 to go! And I hope to have many more sweets free days after that!

Writing. Jewels. 

Querying Made Easy 101

So, I was tweeting back and forth with a fellow writer/CP, offering her things to make sure she did while querying. For sure the process is tedious and awful, but I'd like to share some tips that can make it easier/faster.

The Query Letter: Make sure you have a few set of eyes critique your letter. You'll most likely go through 3 maybe 10 versions before you nail it. After that, send out maybe 10 queries a week to gauge how it is accepted. You may need to re-evalaute the letter at the beginning. Unfortunately, it isn't an exact science. 

Finding THE Agent: Don't randomly query to Agent X or Agent Y. Make sure they represent what you write. It's wasted time and effort to send off your letter to an agent who doesn't even work with your genre. Here are some sites I used to research:

• Literary Rambles
• Agent Query
• Query Tracker
• Agency Websites (Google a list)
• Agent Blogs/Website (Google a list)
• Look into agents who represent your favorite authors, especially if what they write falls under the category of what you write

Agency Websites: If there is a certain agent you'd like to query, check out their agency's website. Perhaps, one of their co-agents will be a better fit for your book. These websites can give you an idea of what the agent may be like and what they're looking for.

Agent Preferred Query Method: Make sure you send agents your query letter EXACTLY as they accept it. If you don't, you might have your query deleted or thrown away. I thoroughly researched them out through their blogs, query websites, agency websites, etc. On agency websites they typically list their submission requirements. Follow them to the "T." If they ask you to email the query letter, synopsis, etc. in the body of the email, DO IT! If they ask for the first 10 pages of your MS, DO IT! If they ask you to title the subject of your email with the word "Query," DO IT. If they ask for you to mail in your query, DO IT!  Enough said about that.

Submission Requirments Made Easy: Querying can take a while with research and all that jazz. But with some pre-query work, you can make it faster. Ok, agents may ask for a synopsis, sample pages, etc. To make it easier to put all that in the email, do the following:

• Save your query where you can easily paste it into the body of the email or attach to the email (if they ask for attachments ONLY)
• Save your MS as 5, 10 , 20 , 25 , and 50 page documents. Yes, five different files. Take it from me, you'll be happy you did. Open the file with the number of pages required for the query email. Copy and paste will become your BFF.
• Also, save your MS as a .doc and .docx. Some agents require it in a certain format. Doing this will save you time. It is important to send agents your MS, synopsis or sample pages in the formate they deal with.

Important FYI: DO NOT query two agents from the same agency at the same time! Sometimes agents will hand off a query to one of their co-agents if it would suit them better. Assume that your query has been sent to the agency as a whole.

Excel Spreadsheet: I developed a spreadsheet of the agents I queried. It consisted of the following columns:

• Agent Name
• Agency the agent works for
• Genre they represent
• Why you like them
• Their submission email
• Agent's response time
• Date I queried them
• Agent's response to your query and date of response

I color coded my spreadsheet according to if the agent sent a rejection, or if they asked for a partial/full MS. In addition, I kept an eye on the agents response time. If an agent said they would get back to me in 4 weeks and its been 6, I assumed their answer was "no." I classified them as a rejection, so I could stop worrying about them.

Additional Tips: The first 25 or 30 query letters you send out will be nervous-making (as Scott Westerfeld would say). Know this is normal. There will be a time when you will push the send button without thinking about it. You'll get the hang of it. For example, when I was researching an agent or agency website, I scanned it for specific things like genre's, what the agents typically requested, and their personality. It can become a quick jump from one agent to the next. Have fun with it. I did with the Excel spreadsheet. And laughing off rejection emails.

Need to Know Item: You WILL receive rejections. It DOES NOT mean you suck as a writer. Remember this industry is super subjective. One agent may be looking for what you've written while another may be in the market for other stories. It's ok to get rejections. They are normal. You can cry and eat chocolate while veging on the couch for a while. But pick yourself up and query some more.

You can do it! If I can, anyone can.

What are your query tips?

Writing. Jewels.

Give Me a Break

When I was a little kid, my favorite candy bar was a KitKat. I still like them because of their chocolaty goodness. Num Num! Yet, they aren’t my most wanted treat these days, unless if it’s a break that I’m looking for.

I’m giving myself a writing break for a couple weeks. I’ve got to admit, I’m a little burned out. I’ve been working so hard, not only on my own book but critiquing other awesome author’s books, too!

As an author, occasionally a little siesta is needed. It clears my mind and helps me get ready for another round of edits, writing, or critiques. I don’t want to write something horrible because I’m exhausted, so I’m avoiding it (except for blog posts and a writing conference coming up this Saturday).

I’ve decided to read a few books, hang out with friends, watch TV and movies, go to the local water park, and maybe clean out my closet. Tonight, I’m going out with a friend. She going to teach me how to bargain shop for clothes. Gah! I’m excited. I love clothes. *claps hands like a little kid*

I want to be at my best before I start writing my next book—an Urban Fantasy. It’s gonna be fun to write. I’ve been stewing over it for a couple months now. You’re all in store for something pretty cool. Well, at least I think so.

I hope you are all enjoying writing. Or if you’re not an author, you’re having fun with whatever your passions may be. But if you are burned out, take a break for a bit to refresh your mind. Go to the store and buy a KitKat. Take a break! Get in some much needed R&R.

PS: Don't forget to enter to win a fabulous Zombie book called Bad Taste in Boys by Carrie Harris. Follow this link to enter!

Chocolates Anonymous

I am munching on Pretzel M&M’s. They're deliciousness in marble-sized form. Have I mentioned that I love chocolate? I have an undeniable sweet tooth. Alright, I can deny chocolate, but it's still tempting. I should form a group called Chocolate’s Anonymous (C.A.). C.A. would be a chocolate treats potluck group, but blindfolds would be required to protect the identity of its members. Why not enjoy the chocolaty goodness with others, even if you have no idea who they are.
You may ask, “How would you know who to invite without knowing their identity?”
“Oh, technicalities, technicalities,” I shrug.
“Well, aren’t such groups supposed to help someone quit doing a bad habit?”
“Oh, technicalities, technicalities,” I repeat and move on with my train of thought.

Anyway, here my favorite chocolate treats that I would bring to C.A.:

1. Chocolate Chip Ice Cream with Cheerios. Yes, you read correctly. When I was a little girl, my sweet tooth was biting, so I plopped a few scoops of chocolate chip ice cream into a bowl. A strange thought popped into my mind to put Cheerios in the ice cream. “It just might taste nummy,” I thought. I took notice that the ice cream was too solid to mix the Cheerios in, so I started to stir, stir, and stir it some more until it was smooth. This was before my family got a microwave. Yep, I’m that old. JK I poured some of the cereal into the chocolate chip ice cream and stirred some more. With anticipation of its taste, I spooned some of the ice cream cheerio concoction into my mouth. The moment I tasted it, I was in love.
2. Hot from the Oven Cookie and Ice Cream Sandwich. Make some chocolate chip cookies. Right when you take them out of the oven, put one in a bowl and place a scoop of ice cream on it. Put another cookie on top of that and add more ice cream. To finish it off slid another hot cookie on top of the ice cream and drizzle chocolate sauce on top. Voila! You have a delicious treat. By the time you eat it, some of the ice cream will have melted. I prefer to use cookies and cream ice cream for this one.
3. Pretzels dipped in Nutella. If you've ever tried Nutella, you'll know this is to die for.

My Pretzel M&M’s are gone now, but the sweet tooth has been appeased. I don’t feel like eating chocolate anymore—at least for today!