My fiction writing first went public thirty years ago. I was a freshman in high school, sweating at my desk while my English teacher read several short stories to the class, including mine, a tragic piece about a boy whose best friend committed suicide. Fortunately, my classmates liked the story, and it made it into the school literary magazine.
Now here I am, many years later, still pulling words into something I hope resonates with readers. Today, the first page of my young adult manuscript, REDEFINED, is up at Miss Snark’s First Victim. I made it into the ON THE BLOCK contest, along with 23 others, which means I’m putting my writing out there for readers and writers to critique. On Tuesday, November 10, agents will bid on manuscripts they want to read more of.
Hopefully, if the stars fall into line and my character’s voice is strong enough and the conflict is clear enough, an agent, or maybe two, will ask to read more of my work. It’s not a guarantee of publication, but it’s a giant step in the right direction, my work in front of agents’ eyes.
Did you know it took Kathryn Stockett five years to find an agent for The Help? The road to publication isn’t for wimps. Thank goodness I’m stubborn. And I have supportive friends. 😉
Word Nerd Request
If you feel inclined, please stop by Miss Snark’s blog, read my first page, and offer a critique. My novel is a young adult contemporary, which means it’s about real kids with real problems. It’s similar in style and content to something written by Sarah Dessen or Morgan Matson. I won’t dare to compare myself to John Green, but there are literary references, as in his books.
Here’s the log line- publishing speak for a 1-2 sentence summary of the book. (Do you know how hard it is to summarize a book in two sentences? )
Seventeen year old Cat craves a social life, but a neurological disease is wrecking her mom’s health and her uptight dad wants her to stay home to help. When Cat falls for a guy who understands family weirdness, she must stand up to her overprotective father or lose the boy she loves.
Word Nerd Suggestion
If you enjoy writing, please follow Miss Snark’s blog. She offers valuable advice and support, as well as several contests each year to help you get your work out there.
Can you recommend any other online contests or writing sites? I’m also a big fan of K.M Weiland.
If you have any good luck mojo, please send it my way. 😉
Thanks!
This is so exciting, Julia! I just read your first page and the comments – while I know it must be hard to put your work out there to be critiqued, you are getting some thoughtful ones.
If I’m home at 10:30 on Tuesday, I’ll be watching and hoping you get a bid!
I’m kind of dying for you! Really, I’ve felt anxious all day. I just read and left you a comment. It’s so fun to see it there after reading your draft. I hope that when you become a famous writer we can still be beta readers 🙂 GOOD LUCK. I’ll be lurking with the editors, perhaps I could send them a howler on your behalf…!
Oh, cool! Congratulations on having your work up there! I’ll be sure to check out REDEFINED!
I’m assuming the paranormal romance isn’t yours – which will go up later, I presume?
Debbie, Thanks for looking already! I’ve updated the links, and now they go directly to my entry, REDEFINED.
For your convenience, here’s the link:
http://misssnarksfirstvictim.blogspot.com/2015/11/on-block-10-redefined-1030-am.html?m=1
Thanks! Your story deserves an editor to take a further look.