Back To My Regularly Scheduled Entries

So, yeah.  Things with that conlict went a lot better than I thought they would.  I probably shouldn’t automatically expect the worst from people.  ::Shrugs::

Anyway.  I’ll give the full story of my query and whatnot.  I went to Barnes and Noble and decided to pick up the 2005 Writer’s Market Guide for Novels and Short Stories edition with the gift certificate Ryan had given me.  So, I looked it over, and decided, okay, lemme find places I can potentially submit Celeste’s Life to.  So, I went through the ‘publishers’ section, and I found a bunch of them, including one called Poisoned Pen Press.  That name just caught my eye.  It interested me, and it reminded me of that one thing in Shrek 2, that pub called the Poison Apple.  And they accepted the kind of mysteries that Celeste’s Life fell under!!!  So, I simply bookmarked the page, and when I was looking through it later, I found at the start of the book, an interview with the editor of the company.  It turns out that she owns a bookstore, too, and didn’t like the kind of mysteries that would come in, so she started her own publishing company, Poisoned Pen Press.

Well, everything that I read in the interview gave me hope, so I decided to come online and check out the website.  I confirmed that it was definitely the one the Writer’s Guide was talking about, and decided, “you know what?  Let’s do it!”  And I sent off an E-query.  (For those of you who don’t know writer’s speak, a query letter is a letter to the editor, pitching your book, it’s genre, and a bit about yourself, such as why you’re qualified to write it.  What gives you expertise in that area.)  So, I wasn’t expecting to hear anything back for awhile, because even queires usually take time to be read and considered and answered.  Well, I sent it on the afternoon of the 9th.  And I just looekd at the dates of when things were given and received, and I realized I was wrong!  I got an answer the very next day!!!  It wasn’t even a full 24 hours before I got a response.

Well, anyway, less than 24 hours later, (Hee!! J ) I got the response, requesting a synopsis, and the first thrity pages of the manuscript.  I had a couple of questions about the format to send the thirty pages in, so I sent abck a reply, asking about it.  Next day, reply that answered them, and Shannon had looked over those thirty pages, and gave me a hand in editing, so I felt pretty confident that this thing was really good.  Now I just needed to write the synopsis, attach them to an E-mail, and send it off.

Which is where I was snagged for a bit.  I SUCK at describing my own stuff.  I suck at describing things in general, which shocks the heck out of me, considering that writing has been my dream for eight years now.  Lol.  Anyway, I did manage to write the synopsis, and within three pages, too, so yay for me.  🙂  (Three pages was their max limit.)  And I sent it off.  I got a reply, saying that he’d received the submission.  The first person to review it is unfortunately about three weeks behind in his submission reviews, but oh, well.  After he reads it, and/or asks me to fix anything, has to problems, he sends it off to two other readers.  If both of them find it favorable, then I’m asked for the full manuscript.  That gets sent to two readers, if they both like it, it’s sent to an aditional four, and if they like it, it’s sent to the chief editor for a final decision.

As far as I can tell, the entire process takes about nine months, minimum, with breaks in between, if I’m asked at the beginning to fix up something, or I’m being requested to give the full manuscript.  On the upside, however, I made it past the first cut, which was the query.  Now, the first four chapters just have to make it past the second cut.  Then my full manuscript has to make it past the third cut.  And finally, the editor has to say, “Yes, we’ll publish it.”

I’m hopeful about this whole thing, though.  I mean, never in a million years did I expect to have a query answered that fast.  I honestly expected it to be a week before I heard anything, let alone a request for the first thirty pages.  I’m going through and editing the rest of the novel as soon as possible.  In fact, I should probably be doing that now.

Oh, plus, another awesome thing.  As of yesterday, the scale officially reads that I’ve lost a full ten pounds.  Honestly, if I can keep this up, and just lose ten pounds a month between now and my birthday, I’ll be set!

Okay, going back to editing now.