Holy Crap! I pitched to an Editor

Okay, so I had no idea on what to expect since I've never formally pitched a story to anyone. The one thing I can say is that Thankg God I was prepared and had some key bullet points listed on a notecard.

My elevator pitch went okay even though it wasn't exactly what I'd written down. I also discussed the bullet points I'd prepared and answered some questions. One of my bullet points was to emphasize my YA mystery had series potential and I shared the ideas for Book 2 & 3. My other bullet points included my hook, the key elements that I felt made my book unique, and why it would speak to a teen audience.

We only had 7 minutes and it was amazing how quickly they passed. There was a person with a stopwatch outside the meeting room and at the 6 minute mark, she knocked on the door.

The editor was so nice and she put me at ease, so I'm grateful for that.

I'm also proud of myself for going through with it. After the COFW conference, I realized that we writers should really applaud ourselves for following through on our dreams of becoming a full-time writer and on being persistent when it comes to trying to get published. It takes alot of courage and alot of picking ourselves up off the floor when we face the rejections that come with wanting to be a professional writer.

At one point, Suzanne Brockman, asked everyone who had completed a book to stand up and we received a round of applause. It's easy to dream about getting an agent or being published or being on the best seller list, but it all starts with finishing and polishing the writing.

So if you're writing, stand up and give yourself a hand.

What's with all the Censorship?

I got all high and mightly about censorship back in high school when the PMRC was trying to censor my heavy metal rock music. Well, now individuals are attacking my reading list and favorite authors.

The latest is Laurie Halse Anderson's incredibly moving novel, Speak. Speak deals with the issues of teen rape and the effect it had on the main character. An associate professor from Missouri State University considered it pornographic. Seriously? I don't even know what to say about that, other than shame on him. You can read Anderson's account on her blog Mad Woman in the Forest

If you remember it wasn't too long ago that YA author, Ellen Hopkins, was 'disinvited' from the Teen Lit Fest due to the content of her novels.

Sherman Alexie's brillant novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Tme Indian was recently banned in Missouri.

What bothers me the most about this is that all these novels deal with real issues that teens face everyday. It reminds me of High School Health class. No one thought teachers should teach sex education because it would lead to promiscuity. News flash, kids were still going to do what they wanted, but at least this way they'd be educated about being safe.

Teens have access to more information than they'll ever need but it's different reading in the privacy of your own bedroom about a character who has gone through the same things you have. Connecting to the words on the page and knowing that you are not alone is key.

Please consider doing something to combat censorship today. You can visit the National Coalition Against Censorhip for ideas on how you can help.

Finding time to Revise

Lately, I've been feeling as if I can find no time to revise my current WIP, a YA Mystery. I love, love, love the story and am committed to trying to get it polished up so I can re-submit it.

Summer was full of activities, classes, and To Do Lists, but my original deadline of Sept. 1, 2010 has come and gone. I'm in desperate need of finding 30 minutes a day, just 30 minutes. I could then do a few pages at a time.

The main culprit, if I can call it that, is that I'm now seriously focusing on getting healthy. I've joined Weight Watchers and now use my lunch hour to work out. That used to be my writing time.

I now need to find that 30 minutes elsewhere. It's like balancing a budget. If you overspend by $30, then you need to make up the $30 from somewhere else.

Finding that 30 minute make up time is my writing goal for the week.

Smories.com

If you haven't discovered smories.com, you should head out to their website and check them out. Smories are basically online videos of children reading children's stories. Children can listen to the story and read along. All kinds of stories are published from retold fairytales to original works.

This month, I have a smories published. It's about what happens when a stuck up kitty meets the aquarium's newest family member, a dolphin.

You can watch it at:

http://www.smories.com/watch/when-sasha-met-polani/

Registration for Write On Con is Now Open

Registration for this amazing free online writers conference is now open. Yep, you read correctly, it's free. Several writers have teamed up with agents and publishers to bring you this opportunity.

Register now:

WriteonCon

Dear Lucky Agent" Contest on the GLA blog

There's another contest on the Guide to Literary Agent Blog. This one is for fantasy or science fiction (adult fiction and/or YA fiction; no MG please).

Here are all the details: http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/
Dear+Lucky+Agent+Contest+Fantasy+And+SciFi.aspx

Maggie Stiefvater's Novel "Linger" is coming out in July

LINGER is the sequel to SHIVER which was one of my favorite novels of the year. It's a beautifully written love story and I can't wait for the sequel.

Here's the book trailer so you can check it out for yourself.