Tag: Novel

The Time Machine

Nope, I’m not here to discuss a classic Sci Fi Story. Nope. Not that.

I’m here to be all… What the hell, it’s already June!?

 

This should read, “You should be editing.”

 

The Time Machine in this sense is what I’ve been up to since my last post, apparently in March. MARCH.

So, what exactly have I been up to? Fantastic question, the short answer? EVERYTHING. The long answer is (in no particular order):

  • Trying to sort out our backyard still so we can put our fence up (bloody council).
  • Completing my citizenship test for Australia (pledge taking place 4th of July).
  • Handmade all the invitations for our pending wedding (September isn’t far away now).
  • Sourced our rings, or attempted to (waiting on a reply…).
  • Read quite a few books (Throne of Glass, The Final Empire, Sabriel just to name a few).
  • Submitted to three writing competitions (haven’t won yet…).
  • Attended a “Pitch Perfect” workshop on how to pitch my novel (which became more of a publisher Q&A).
  • Became a member of two writers’ centres and one writing society (now to take advantage of all their services).
  • Attended my first writers’ festival (met two writers and asked them all my pressing questions, got a book signed too).
  • Made a few new fantasy writer friends (If you’re reading this, hello friends!)
  • I am apparently mentoring three writers (blind leading the blind much, but I’ll coach them through to “The End”).
  • Been to one leadership training event for work, and two product training sessions. (I hate parking in big cities).
  • And last but not least, managed to rewrite the intro to my story, as well as the synopsis and two rough pitches. (*gasp*)

SO! Really not too much. Might as well go and write another one, right? Okay, no. So in less than four weeks I will be at the Kids & YA Festival where there is the potential to actually pitch to a panel of publishers. I’m only slightly freaking out because everything appears to be lining up.

What’s that?

Don’t believe me?

PROOF! (Put on your tinfoil hats kids, it’s going to be a bumpy one…)

 

Me explaining the following theory…

 

I became a member of the ASA last year, and they posted the event for Pitch Perfect early this year. As it appeared to sell out every year, I leapt at the chance (stay with me here). Then, a few weeks before I attend that event, the Kids and YA Festival comes up and releases the program for it, guess what? PITCHING. Holy crap, I think to myself. It must be fate! (Nope, still not there, but what are the odds?) THEN, to get a discount to that, I decide to join a writers’ centre near me like I was going to anyway. So bam, got both the membership and then my ticket. Fast forward a week AFTER the Pitch Perfect session, a small welcome pack arrives. What’s this? A magazine with the Director of the Kids & YA Festival in it, offering up her top tips for… what do you think it could be… oh man… PITCHING. AGAIN. With heaps of advice from not just her, but also advice from the lovely lady at HarperCollins, which is oddly enough where I’d love to end up!

So, all in all, I’m dreaming about my novel now. Thinking about it 24/7. My pitch is literally on my phone, should just make it my lock screen. ANYWAY…

I’d love for anyone’s feedback in regards to my pitch. I’ve adjusted it slightly as I will only have one minute to get the whole thing out, providing they choose my one hundred word pitch from the piles I’m sure they’ll get on the day. I’ve taken into account the winning pitch from last year’s festival and how she pitched her book, so hopefully I’ve got this… my pulse is racing just thinking about it.

THE PITCH – JEFFERSON & THE MAGICIAN’S CURSE

Born because an immortal magician travelled back in time, Jefferson is forever an outcast struggling to find his place in the world. Jefferson & The Magician’s Curse follows the boy as he is recruited into a secret society by Gabriel, the immortal magician, who is desperately trying to stop the end of the world at his own hands. While the forbidden arts begin to rise and war seems likely, Gabriel spitefully decides to infiltrate the enemy ranks after being bested by his young apprentice. As Gabriel succumbs to his alter ego and the magician’s curse, Jefferson hopes he’s powerful enough to stop him, without tapping into the power around him he doesn’t fully understand…

Jefferson & The Magician’s Curse is a 98 thousand word YA novel for readers 13 and up. With a strong fantasy element, the novel is reminiscent of the unique magic from Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn Trilogy, and invokes the strong characters from Sarah J Maas’s Throne of Glass series. Like these books, Jefferson & The Magician’s Curse offers up an intriguing world filled with rich lore, diverse characters and the possibility for a series of novels.

Let me know what you think as it’s 1 AM and I should be sleeping!

Oh, Hello March.

I fondly remember the beginning of February. Three blog posts ahead, a full team of managers and a plan for my store that was nearing completion to set myself up for the year. Ah, the best laid plans eh?

Staff suddenly were leaving this way and that, others who were transferring into the store decided not to and then my boss and his wife had their baby. Oh, did I mention I was in the middle of writing a novel when all this went down?

Bloody good thing I’m already bald.

The good news? I finished Firebrand, my #writeabookwithal book for February, which clocked in at just over fifty thousand words! Then I interviewed and hired four new staff. Now we are prepping for stocktake. #bossinglikeaboss? I think so.

Writing the book with Allison Tait wasn’t actually sitting in a room with her, but it was the next best thing as we all cheered each other on across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. In fact, in episode 223, I actually got a lovely callout from the author herself on the podcast “So You Want To Be A Writer” where she spoke of my wins! The worst part about it was I was so far behind I found out about it in the Podcast Facebook group first and then had to wait patiently while I caught up!

The novel I wrote, Firebrand, is a story set in the same world as Jefferson and takes place long after Jefferson’s novel. The story follows the barbarian Balthazar who started off as a prophesied child who would rise up and defeat the gods, only for the town to fear his power after he accidentally incinerates a group of kids who were bullying him. The story follows his exile and search for meaning until he begins searching for the Wanderer, a supposed god who walks the realms of mortals searching for those worthy enough to ascend to the heavens. FUN TIMES!

The thing I love about the last two novels I’ve written is that my writing has improved ten fold and although these stories are lore building stories, it is how they tie in that makes me so happy to write them. The more of these fifty thousand word novels I write, the more intricate the details for the world become. After all, the best part about fantasy is the world building, am I right?

Seriously though, am I?

Lastly, I must mention my latest endeavour. Nope, not another novel. Not a submission to a contest either.

No.

This is nuts.

I queried an agent!!!

So for the next 4-6 weeks (as per the guidelines on their page) I will be a bundle of nerves every time my email dings. I’m both excited and terrified at the prospect of actually finding an agent. It’ll make it all too real to get one, and I’m unsure as to how I’ll react if I get knocked back. This being my first query ever, I do expect rejection but expecting it and receiving it are two completely different things. I will say this though, with Harry Potter being my biggest influence for Jefferson’s novel, I’ve chosen my agent carefully as Harry Potter was the series that turned her into a reader. I really want to do that for a new generation and I want to also welcome them into fantasy with open arms.

Not only that, but I have huge plans for my world. I have two story ideas that have come to mind as of late that are also lore building and diversifying. One tale of two womanising princes who fall for each other and cause war between their kingdoms and another with a battle maiden who sacrifices herself to save the princess she’s fallen for, only to find out that the princess is still in danger and claws her way back from death to save her. These are both stories I believe I could write out in fifty thousand words or a bit more (NaNoWriMo, I’m looking at you) so now I just have to choose!

Anyway, hopefully on my day off this week I can get back to some scheduled posts as next week is stocktake, so I will be a zombie roughly until Thursday! Until then though, let me know how your writing is going and also if you’ve got any tips for querying (as I may need them in the future) or for editing (as I continue the staring contest with my first drafts).

Let me know and thanks for stopping by!

My First Query Letter Attempt

So… Hindsight… 20/20… Yadda Yadda.

I imagine the folks at HarperCollins who may have received my manuscript for Jefferson & The Magician’s Curse most likely opened the file for a single moment before deleting it. Harsh right?

No.

In fact, now, I wouldn’t blame them.

I kind of let my excitement and nerves get in the way of rationale and sanity. When I sent it through, first I hoped I’d sent the right file. Second, I hoped I’d sent the right story. Third, I abandoned all hope and wrote the whole ordeal off as a mistake. Back to square one? Don’t mind if I do!

Fast forward… uhh… to a few weeks ago. I started getting Writer’s Digest emails because I’d been looking at their Writer’s Market books. This all stemmed from my partner asking her favorite author, Diana Gabaldon, for some advice on writing for me. She actually replied and with some good tips to boot! On her recommendation, I began to look into the Writer’s Market books but couldn’t take the plunge. Just too expensive in my mind and I couldn’t really get a feel for what they were actually about.

As if by some divine guidance, an email dropped into my inbox.

Now 75% Off! 2017 Writer‘s Market Books!

75%?! That had to be wrong. I mean, I know the 2018 editions are coming soon but 75%? That meant I could get five books from there including shipping and it would cost me less than two of them with free shipping from Book Depository (let’s not even talk local bookstore pricing, yeesh). The order was placed with the support and approval of my lovely partner (who by now was wondering why I hadn’t already bought them).

Shut-up-and-take-my-money

Then, as if guided by the hands of fate herself, the books arrived in record time from the US and just in time for my day off. Not only that but we were informed our house may be ready by the end of next month, which means my writing room could be right around the corner!

As everything falls into place, I began reading the beginning of Writer’s Market 2017 which has a wonderful section about query letters. These are essentially the resume cover letter that we were taught about back in high school, but geared toward the writing industry and your product. It’s not just me I’m trying to sell anymore (yes, I see what I wrote there… close enough) but it’s the story too. Limiting yourself to a single page for all the important details is a fun challenge (read: the tears come at night) but I think I’ve managed.

The question is, what do you think?

<Insert El Editor’s Details Here>

Dear El Editor,

My 98,000 word novel, Jefferson & The Magician’s Curse, is fantasy fiction in the same vein as the Harry Potter series of novels but with a hint of influence from Star Wars as well.

Jefferson is a teen orphan whose feeling of being the outsider leads him to seek out the circus for its oddities and curiosities. Here, he discovers a performing magician, Gabriel, who introduces the boy to the wonders of real magic.

Finding his place in a secret society of magicians, Jefferson walks a dangerous line between the rise of forbidden arts and learning magic. As Gabriel becomes more erratic and dangerous, Jefferson finds he is the key to saving or defeating him.

From cursed magicians and multiple personality disorders to magical battles and time travel, Jefferson & The Magician’s Curse is familiar to fans of fantasy while taking a new approach to the question, “Where does magic come from?”

Jefferson & The Magician’s Curse would ideally fit in with Harry Potter or Dragonlance series of novels. Your website noted that you were seeking out fantasy novels over 75,000 words and this fits those criteria.

I have been writing and editing many of my shorter works for the below website and blog. My short story, Circle of Vengeance, was critiqued and edited more than twenty times before being self-published. You can find this on my website below as well as at lulu.com and on the iBooks store.

As stated in your guidelines I have enclosed the first 30 pages. Thank you for your time and consideration of my novel, Jefferson & The Magician’s Curse.

Sincerely,

TJ Edwards

<Insert My Details Here>

Let me know if there’s anything I could do better! I need all the help I can get!

Also… any tips out there for submitting manuscripts?

Thanks a bunch, as always you folks are legendary!

The Work Week

*Check email* *Be Disappointed* *Check email again*

The funniest part about the above chain of events is that I’ve been repeating this roughly one hundred times a day without considering publishers probably aren’t even returning to work until this week.

Hilarious.

On the other hand, since submitting my story to HarperCollins I’ve been talking a lot more about my story… and carrying a bit more stress. My wonderful work colleagues asked me if everything was okay to which I told them of my submission. A few people understood, but more than a few asked me more questions about it.

What’s it about? How did you come up with that? How many words is it? When did you write it? How long did it take you? Why did you write it? When will they get back to you?

Not that I thought my coworkers were cold, unfeeling monsters, but I’d always just considered the fact that my work life and my personal life were very separate and that I don’t fit the mold that my company unofficially has. It felt good to have people getting excited and interested in my story and as I looked around, I felt a bit better about the team I work with.

Although I also spoke at length with a customer who was having trouble with her eReader about it as well, which was a weird feeling and also pretty exciting. The questions she was asking were actually very deep questions that made me think long and hard.

What sets your novel about magic apart from Harry Potter and other such stories? How does the magic work in your novel? Do you have enough female characters?

Admittedly, I don’t have as many leading ladies as I should, although Jefferson is near ambiguous enough to be either. To be honest, it wouldn’t kill me as a person to think of him either way, even if someone suggested I changed him to a female lead, I’d still love the story. Strange to think the protagonist could be either, but my antagonist must be a male. I have a very strongly defined image of him and could even write a novel about his journey before he met Jefferson. In fact, that’s not a bad idea.

The world of Jefferson’s story has seven novels in my head. Three directly including Jefferson, one prequel about Gabriel and three novels (much more mature) set hundreds of years after the events of Jefferson’s Trilogy explaining the division of the land and how magic has progressed over the course of time. I’ve already begun on the first one of that trilogy and the word count’s just over fifty thousand!

For today, my writing is turning to some background on Jefferson’s world and the characters within it. While I’m waiting for any news (hopefully) from HarperCollins, I’ll be fleshing out the depth of my story. As for you fellow writers out there, how goes your own writing? Did you make a New Year’s Writing Resolution? Let me know, maybe we can help each other!