Support NeoGAF

[SolVanderlyn]

FIRST DRAFT IS DONE!

160,578 words, 304 pages on Word. Took me about exactly a year, give or take ten days or so. Woo!

Now to edit this trash into something that's, you know... somewhat nice.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

FIRST DRAFT IS DONE!

160,578 words, 304 pages on Word. Took me about exactly a year, give or take ten days or so. Woo!

Now to edit this trash into something that's, you know... somewhat nice.

Congrats!

 

[Astral/H3X]

So, I just got done with a creative writing course, and not only the other students but also the professor seemed to have the consensus that my work was fairly good. I'm feeling kind of inspired to write a story I've had in my head for a long time, but I'm sorta wanting a bit more critique on the works we did in class, just to see if there's any glaring annoyances in my style or any other such things. Would it be appropriate to post those in here? It's 6 works, four of which are poems, and two of which are short stories (one non fiction, one fiction), both about 3 pages in length.

Just wondering, would love more feedback on what I've written.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

Welp, took me two and a half years of on and off work, but I finished the first draft of my first novel at about 82,000 words or so. Weird to think about. It is a giant symbol of my changing attitudes towards writing, life, and the kind of stories I want to experience; it goes from dark, serious, and depressing to kind of whacky fun. The process of writing this has taught me way too many lessons to count, and I am now at a bit of a loss as to what I should be feeling? I guess relieved, but I don't know what to do next? Part of me wants to edit it, begin the process of polishing and bringing it's voice together into one sound. There are so many great moments in this I would love for people to read. At the same time, it's filled with so many cases of "lessons learned one moment too late" and I wonder if I really could fix it? Last october I reread parts of it and that got me so excited to finish, and I wonder if I will experience something similar in a few months? Where I go through it on a dreary rainy day because there is nothing else to do, and rediscover that excitement.

Anyway, my new years goal was to finish three novels, so this is the first. Plan is to finish a second before November, then Nano will be the third. Here's hoping things go well.

FIRST DRAFT IS DONE!

160,578 words, 304 pages on Word. Took me about exactly a year, give or take ten days or so. Woo!

Now to edit this trash into something that's, you know... somewhat nice.

Congrats! Weird timing, huh? We're like first draft buddies hehehe

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

Welp, took me two and a half years of on and off work, but I finished the first draft of my first novel at about 82,000 words or so. Weird to think about. It is a giant symbol of my changing attitudes towards writing, life, and the kind of stories I want to experience; it goes from dark, serious, and depressing to kind of whacky fun. The process of writing this has taught me way too many lessons to count, and I am now at a bit of a loss as to what I should be feeling? I guess relieved, but I don't know what to do next? Part of me wants to edit it, begin the process of polishing and bringing it's voice together into one sound. There are so many great moments in this I would love for people to read. At the same time, it's filled with so many cases of "lessons learned one moment too late" and I wonder if I really could fix it? Last october I reread parts of it and that got me so excited to finish, and I wonder if I will experience something similar in a few months? Where I go through it on a dreary rainy day because there is nothing else to do, and rediscover that excitement.

I'd put it aside for a month or two and let it sit. Come back when some of the "newness" has worn off.

It's kind of a strange feeling, finishing a first draft. You want to be happy, but you also know the real work begins in fixing all the mistakes. Then you gotta send it to agents/publishing houses, which is its own ballgame.

Basically there's really no "joy" to be had since that next looming bullshit is right around the corner :[

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Welp, took me two and a half years of on and off work, but I finished the first draft of my first novel at about 82,000 words or so. Weird to think about. It is a giant symbol of my changing attitudes towards writing, life, and the kind of stories I want to experience; it goes from dark, serious, and depressing to kind of whacky fun. The process of writing this has taught me way too many lessons to count, and I am now at a bit of a loss as to what I should be feeling? I guess relieved, but I don't know what to do next? Part of me wants to edit it, begin the process of polishing and bringing it's voice together into one sound. There are so many great moments in this I would love for people to read. At the same time, it's filled with so many cases of "lessons learned one moment too late" and I wonder if I really could fix it? Last october I reread parts of it and that got me so excited to finish, and I wonder if I will experience something similar in a few months? Where I go through it on a dreary rainy day because there is nothing else to do, and rediscover that excitement.

Anyway, my new years goal was to finish three novels, so this is the first. Plan is to finish a second before November, then Nano will be the third. Here's hoping things go well.



Congrats! Weird timing, huh? We're like first draft buddies hehehe

Congrats!

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

Got some rough drafts of a query letter if y'all wouldn't mind having a look. Still not a clue how to approach this, but at least I'm trying I suppose.

At first it’s a bad dream, and Norbert has been on enough antidepressants to know that nightmares come with the territory. Yet this one is different: it’s too normal, too focused. The dark library with its thousands of unreadable books feels just as real as the waking world. And that one book, the one with the patterns, that feels real too.
When Norbert replicates the pattern and says the word that goes with it, it becomes real. The picture bursts into flames, devouring his notebook and his views on reality. He performed magic!

And for the first time since he was diagnosed with depression, Norbert is joyous. If magic can exist, then maybe he can wake up one day and not be depressed. Maybe he can just be boring and normal like everyone else.
Maybe he isn’t stuck.

However, waking up will not be as easy as Norbert hopes. He returns to the library every night, and the more magic he learns, the harder the place is to escape. It’s also not empty. There are monsters that lurk in the shadows, a door that’s desperate to be opened, and hiding behind it all is the Librarian.

Norbert knows that if he stops taking his medication, the library and its dangers will go away, but he can’t stop. His medication is starting to work now, and that means when he’s awake, he’s actually happy.

The Grimoire Library is a young-adult, urban-fantasy novel with strong horror elements throughout. It measures 83,700 words.

Norbert feels stuck, and it doesn’t look like his new antidepressants are working. Today marks the fourth week he’s been on them. That’s how being stuck works though: Things don’t change.

Yet when he falls asleep that night, something is different. He wakes up in a strange place, a dark library filled with thousands of unreadable books. The place is too vivid to be a dream, too real, and just as he’s about to leave, he finds a book with a word he recognizes. It’s the caption to a pattern.

The next day while bored in class, Norbert draws the pattern and speaks the word. The pattern bursts into flames. Magic is real, and if magic is real, then anything is possible.
He can finally not be depressed. He isn’t stuck.

However, Norbert quickly realizes that magic comes with more dangers than solutions. Each night he returns to the library, but the library isn’t as empty as he once thought. There are monsters that lurk in the shadows, a door that’s desperate to be opened, and the Librarian.

Norbert knows that if he stops taking his medication, the library and its dangers will go away, but he can’t stop. His medication is starting to work now, and that means when he’s awake, he’s actually happy.

The Grimoire Library is a young-adult, urban-fantasy novel with strong horror elements throughout. It measures 83,700 words.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Got some rough drafts of a query letter if y'all wouldn't mind having a look. Still not a clue how to approach this, but at least I'm trying I suppose.

I like the first one. The first paragraph of the second one didn't grab me at all.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

I like the first one. The first paragraph of the second one didn't grab me at all.

Agreed, the first one is the most grabbing. Though, I would incorporate the fourth paragraph of the second one in because it's just the most interesting thought in that second draft.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

Appreciate the feedback guys! So far the first one is 5/5 and I've gone back and redrafted a bit. Wondering how this one reads:

Dear Editor,
At first it’s a bad dream, and Norbert has been on enough antidepressants to know that nightmares come with the territory. Yet this one is different: it’s too normal, too focused. It’s more like teleporting. He’s in a dark library filled with thousands of unreadable books, and he cannot wake up, and he isn't alone.

The dream ends with a book. Norbert finds a pattern and a word he recognizes, and the next day while bored in class, he replicates the drawing. The picture bursts into flames, devouring his notebook and his views on reality. The dream was real, and so is magic.

And for the first time since he was diagnosed with depression, Norbert is happy. If magic can exist, then maybe he can wake up one day and not be depressed. Maybe he can just be boring and normal like everyone else.

Maybe he isn’t stuck.

However, change won't be as easy as Norbert hopes. He returns to the library every night, and the more magic he learns, the more he feels trapped. There are monsters in the library, and the ones that don’t chase him promise him answers to his worst fears.

There are some things even magic can’t change.

THE GRIMOIRE LIBRARY is a young-adult, urban-fantasy novel with strong horror elements throughout. It measures 83,700 words.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

Appreciate the feedback guys! So far the first one is 5/5 and I've gone back and redrafted a bit. Wondering how this one reads:

I like it, but i would get rid of the "It's more like teleporting line" Kinda takes away some mystique.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

I'm going back and editing my draft, and all I can think is... "is this as good as whatever else is out there?" The fantasy book thread has me keyandpeelesweating.gif

The feeling is crippling, and I haven't even been rejected yet.

 

[Hop]

I'm going back and editing my draft, and all I can think is... "is this as good as whatever else is out there?" The fantasy book thread has me keyandpeelesweating.gif

The feeling is crippling, and I haven't even been rejected yet.

This will probably sound pretentious or egotistical, but:

I have a small collection of lousy ebooks. Not irredeemably bad, and ideally something that wasn't self-published. Just stuff to look at when I'm feeling uncertain about my skills and be like "well... that got published, so..."

With how much is self-published, it's impossible to be the worst out there. It can be really nice to find something that's crap, but some people actually liked, just so you can be like "if they liked that, they'll love what I've got!"

Of course this works best if you're competitive and want to see your enemies crushed before you. So, YMMV.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

I like it, but i would get rid of the "It's more like teleporting line" Kinda takes away some mystique.

Agreed! Wound up changing things around a bit so it's more descriptive.

Wondering how this treat's y'all:

At first it’s a bad dream, and Norbert has been on enough antidepressants to know that nightmares come with the territory. Yet this one is different: it’s too vivid, too focused. It’s like he’s awake. Dirty oil lamps hang from the ceiling on metal chains while black bookshelves run from one shadowy horizon to the next. It’s a library, yet it feels like a breeding ground for large spiders, king-sized rats, and slimy tentacle creatures.

Haven't changed any of the rest yet, though paragraph two needs a hair more work. My bro pointed out that anything involving "reality changing" or "views on reality" comes off as super cliche, and I kinda agree. Not sure what to do with this yet though

This will probably sound pretentious or egotistical, but:

I have a small collection of lousy ebooks. Not irredeemably bad, and ideally something that wasn't self-published. Just stuff to look at when I'm feeling uncertain about my skills and be like "well... that got published, so..."

With how much is self-published, it's impossible to be the worst out there. It can be really nice to find something that's crap, but some people actually liked, just so you can be like "if they liked that, they'll love what I've got!"

Of course this works best if you're competitive and want to see your enemies crushed before you. So, YMMV.

I do this too, or at least, I have done this. Nothing like reading Divergent when you feel like you're a shit author. Puts things into perspective.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

Agreed! Wound up changing things around a bit so it's more descriptive.

Wondering how this treat's y'all:

I like it up to that last line. It feels too much, too revealing. Before, there was nice setting detail, but the next part takes away abit of mystique in the place. Especially the "tentacle" thing. Point is: second one too much detail(i know I'm repeating myself, I am tired) As a minor detail, I really like the chain lamps, it's not something I think about and already made it stand out a little.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

I like it up to that last line. It feels too much, too revealing. Before, there was nice setting detail, but the next part takes away abit of mystique in the place. Especially the "tentacle" thing. Point is: second one too much detail(i know I'm repeating myself, I am tired) As a minor detail, I really like the chain lamps, it's not something I think about and already made it stand out a little.

Hmm. You might be onto something there. Plus, that line is straight up in the book and I feel like I'm plagiarizing myself by tossing it here

Will maybe combine a bit of the new with the old. At least this is improving daily. Hopefully I'll have it done within the next few days so I can start on the plot summaries.

 

[Hop]

Got my first rejection! Yay! From a tech magazine I've written for in the past, which emphasizes having new voices so I can't say I'm really surprised. But it's nice to start accumulating these, get myself used to it before I go on the hunt for an agent.

 

[Delio]

Got my first rejection! Yay! From a tech magazine I've written for in the past, which emphasizes having new voices so I can't say I'm really surprised. But it's nice to start accumulating these, get myself used to it before I go on the hunt for an agent.

Yeah atleast you are getting out there!

 

[Nudull]

Never tried writing for magazines before. I did wanted to get into journalism a bit as I went through college, but I haven't gotten to finish yet.

That aside, keep working at it Hop!

 

[Woorloog]

I may have said this before but man, dreams are weird.
In this dream, i saw text from a book, something i usually don't (or don't remember). Now it is crystal-clear. And that gives ideas. I don't like dreams really, i find them stressing but sometimes they give really, really good ideas, ideas i sure as hell didn't know i had.
This thing delivered a protagonist and general antagonists to me, along with a bit of mythology... Now i'd just have to build something around that idea.

Most likely i'll stay with all my other notes though, so many ideas...

 

[zulux21]

so little progress update. since joining this thread I have added just under 20k words to my current version of my story.

on one side this is below my goal of 50k words per month (as it has been 22 days since I joined this thread) on the other hand almost the entire thing is not based off my first draft and is a lot of new material so designing new characters and personalities for them and what not is taking a bit longer than expected so it's still not a bad pace for me as I figure I will write more tonight and get my average back up to 1k words per day, which is at least holding me mostly true to the image in the start of the page here which I am trying to do.

granted I am not doing very well at the each day thing because work is murdering me right now and I can't think straight after work let alone write coherently lol.

 

[cosmicblizzard]

Heh, just got my first absolutely scathing review on Amazon among all my non-erotica works. It's pretty funny, but of course it has a big spoiler in it so I have to report abuse

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

Drafting my three-page plot summary for when I send this thing to agents. Forgot how much I fucking hate these things. Guys, I fucking hate these things. I have a mock-up done, but it's such a mess and I feel like I'm missing so many important details.

Really not looking forward to the one-pager.

I've done this all once before, but if anyone has any tips, please let me know Anything to make this just a hair easier would be amazing.

 

[Doctor Decimate]

Not sure if this is the place for this, but I'm trying to get into writing freelance articles and I'm wondering how long I should wait before I follow up on stuff (for context, I sent out an unsolicited article to a place that says they accept unsolicited articles). I don't wanna be a bother about it, and I don't really know how long an acceptable waiting period is before sending a follow-up email.

 

[Doctor Decimate]

Check their guidelines. A lot of places will at least give you a vague idea of how long they take and when they're ok with you bugging them.

Unfortunately I didn't really find anything. Was thinking of giving it two-ish weeks.

 

[Nudull]

I've gotten a lot of energy to start finishing up a project, but I always get this great sense of anxiety when I try to push myself to write seriously. There's always that fear of "not being good enough", but I gotta try at least, right?

 

[Doctor Decimate]

I don't know how different the freelance article markets may be from short story markets. Possibly two weeks is reasonable in that field. But in most short story markets, several months would be more appropriate and they'd get kind of irritated if someone followed up after only two weeks.

I suggest that you check with someone who has a better idea about these markets before following up.

Hrm, alright. Thanks for the response.

Anyone else know this stuff?

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Hrm, alright. Thanks for the response.

Anyone else know this stuff?

I did a quick search on following up in the freelance market. Here's one take: don't follow up.

 

[aidan]

Hrm, alright. Thanks for the response.

Anyone else know this stuff?

I would just hit them up on Twitter and ask if they can provide guidelines for querying about submitted pieces.

 

[Crimson_Justice]

I've gotten a lot of energy to start finishing up a project, but I always get this great sense of anxiety when I try to push myself to write seriously. There's always that fear of "not being good enough", but I gotta try at least, right?

Right. If you don't try, you won't improve. Believe in the fact that, even if this one sucks, you WILL get better. If you keep writing, you won't suck forever.

If this project is one of your "babies," and if this draft doesn't turn out how you want, try to think of it as the necessary groundwork for the awesome version you'll create later. Something to mold and build off of.

 

[aidan]

To those wondering about non-fiction markets that pay, Warren Ellis just tweeted a link to this useful site: http://whopayswriters.com/#/results

 

[Nappuccino]

I don't know if I mentioned it, but the issue of Crazyhorse with my story should be out on shelves now!

The store in town doesn't carry it, though.

 

[CertifiedFP]

Finally getting some good headway on the first (Hopefully of a few) story in a Norse-inspired universe with a pseudo-Cold War era bent where Humans are considered and treated like a Beastman species ("Neanderthals"/"Chimps") alongside others, such as the feline Inari by the dominant 'enlightened' elves (Atrians) of the Atrian Empire, which is in a standoff with the recently violently-seceded human-majority provinces which have united under the banner of the Alliance of the Republics of Man. As for what the story itself is about, I'll be keeping that under wraps for now.

 

[Wafflecakes]

November is a no-go for me, so I am thinking about using June as my own personal NaNoWriMo. Hate the fact that the normal event falls smack in the middle of the school year.

 

[Hop]

November is a no-go for me, so I am thinking about using June as my own personal NaNoWriMo. Hate the fact that the normal event falls smack in the middle of the school year.

I'm doing a June NaNo as well! I'd be happy to be an accountability check if you want/need it. (I have another friend who might be interested, she's wrapping up her serious-go-of-it novel and should be done in time for it.)

 

[Beaniedude]

I've been editing my story. It's strange, at the beginning I didn't want to get rid of anything but as time goes on I've slowly become more and more OK with just taking a scythe and excising massive swathes of text.

I need to cut down on a lot of text though. My first draft was 125,000 words long but now it is sitting at just under 110,000 words. If I'm trying to get this published do I have too many words? Apparently 90,000 words is the norm for first novels but if I am trying to get to those numbers I am going to have to start changing the whole structure of the novel which I personally would prefer not to do.

 

[Nudull]

November is a no-go for me, so I am thinking about using June as my own personal NaNoWriMo. Hate the fact that the normal event falls smack in the middle of the school year.

I'm doing a June NaNo as well! I'd be happy to be an accountability check if you want/need it. (I have another friend who might be interested, she's wrapping up her serious-go-of-it novel and should be done in time for it.)

Is doing a personal NaNo a common thing? I wouldn't mind trying.

 

[Hop]

Is doing a personal NaNo a common thing? I wouldn't mind trying.

No clue! I just know having deadlines is really good for me, so I'm using the structure again. Just happens that my friend was up for doing it then as well.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

Working on a cover letter for my book now, because nothing says boring and not fun like writing a cover letter! Especially difficult when i have no publishing credits, so the last paragraph is basically a "here's what's included with this email/physical piece of snail mail you stoneage assholes"

Next week I'll get to bitch about my one-page plot summary!

Edit: Here's draft two of the letter in question

Second edit: Wondering if I should change up that first paragraph--well I know I have to do that since I dislike the second sentence alot--into namedropping novels that are similar to my own. I don't really know of any save one that a friend told me of, but I should probably do more than one. I read very little YA stuff and waht I do come across I generally dislike. It's a horror book, but it feels like I'm up my own ass if I namedrop Stephen King or Lovecraft, though Lovecraft was a bit of an inspiration at points.

Dear Editor,

THE GRIMOIRE LIBRARY is an urban-fantasy/horror novel about a high-school sophomore who tries to fight off his clinical depression with magic. It should appeal to readers of young-adult fiction looking for a more internal struggle with depression and the intrinsic fear that bettering oneself is impossible. It measures 83,700 words.

At first it’s just a bad dream, and Norbert has been on enough antidepressants to know that nightmares come with the territory, yet this one is different. The library is too vivid, too real. When he redraws a pattern from one of the books and creates magic, it becomes real. At first Norbert is happy, because if magic can exist, so can the possibility of him waking up one day and not being depressed, but he soon realizes change won’t be so easy. He’s trapped, forced to come to the library every night, and the library is filled with more than just the monsters in his head. Those that don’t chase him promise him answers to his worst fears.

[Stuff included with this cover letter] Thank you for your time and consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you.

 

[Crimson_Justice]

What's everyone's thoughts on dropping a project? I've been trying to stick with this one, but it's really tough. It's not that I've fallen out of the idea for the story, but I'm realizing that, one, I've bitten off more than I can chew with the amount of characters, and, two, it's not something I actually want to write. It's supposed to be more fun instead of having really developed characters, and I'm just not excited to write it at all. But now I'm struggling with whether I should drop it or not. I feel like I quit things too often--and this project could be a good learning experience still--but it also feels like every time I can get myself to work on it I just stumble through the paragraphs.

If I'm trying to get this published do I have too many words?

I'm not published (or even that experienced) but it probably depends on the genre. Fantasy, at least, might be okay at 110,000 words.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

What's everyone's thoughts on dropping a project? I've been trying to stick with this one, but it's really tough. It's not that I've fallen out of the idea for the story, but I'm realizing that, one, I've bitten off more than I can chew with the amount of characters, and, two, it's not something I actually want to write. It's supposed to be more fun instead of having really developed characters, and I'm just not excited to write it at all. But now I'm struggling with whether I should drop it or not. I feel like I quit things too often--and this project could be a good learning experience still--but it also feels like every time I can get myself to work on it I just stumble through the paragraphs

I don't have an answer for you, but I do think it's braver to stop a project that isn't working than to force it to completion.

I've also NEVER been able to do that. There were three or four times I wanted to stop writing/editing my second book (which still needs another round of editing, I think), but I couldn't just give up on all the hours, so I stuck it through. Wasn't until the tail end of the third draft that I thought I maybe had a good book here if I kept at it.

Whichever course you take, I wish you luck.

I've been editing my story. It's strange, at the beginning I didn't want to get rid of anything but as time goes on I've slowly become more and more OK with just taking a scythe and excising massive swathes of text.

I need to cut down on a lot of text though. My first draft was 125,000 words long but now it is sitting at just under 110,000 words. If I'm trying to get this published do I have too many words? Apparently 90,000 words is the norm for first novels but if I am trying to get to those numbers I am going to have to start changing the whole structure of the novel which I personally would prefer not to do.

While it does depend on the genre, I can honestly say that my first book was denied often because it was too long at 132k words. ANd it was high fantasy too!

Publishers/agents are fine with longer books if they fall in love with them or if you have a track record. But damn when some see that giant word count, they bail right away.

Here's the thing though: a story is as long as it needs to be. You couldn't take The Stand and shove it into a 350-page novel without losing everything that makes that book amazing.

 

[Reedirect]

It turns out it's been exactly a year since I finished my first thriller novel. Coincidentally, today I'm doing the absolute final proofreading before it goes to print. We are still scheduled for release in mid-June.

What a ride it's been. Two months of editing, months of submitting it to publishers and not hearing from anybody, then hearing from the ones that slightly cared, then the hopeful, yet tedious negotiations, and here we are. Thankfully, I've read some truly terrible thrillers in the last couple of months so my confidence is slightly boosted before the final proofreading. Let's hope I don't run into some never-before-seen plot holes.

I guess I should eventually ask someone to add it to the OP. It's foreign though, hope that's not a problem ("Lovci nocí" - translates to "Nightcrawlers" or "Nightstalkers")

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

Snip.

You make a good point there, Sir. I don't know that many writers outside of basically this thread and one or two FB groups, so my experiences are very narrow to myself.

 

[Crimson_Justice]

Thanks, Conker and Cyan. You both made good points. If it weren't for the fact that I do tend to give up on things, I think I would forget this one right away and work on something else. It's too ambitious for my current skill level and a bit out of my comfort zone. I'm going to stick with it, though, if only because I can't let writing become one of those things I just quit. Hopefully I can take something away from the experience also.

And I know my decision doesn't matter to you guys, but I find posting about these things here is helpful in keeping myself disciplined.

Coincidentally, today I'm doing the absolute final proofreading before it goes to print. We are still scheduled for release in mid-June.

Congrats! I wish you positive reception and an earned-out advance.

Edit: Woo, I'm a member finally.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

Personally, for me, that's why it is so important to have end game stuff planed ahead of time. There's a lot of thought that you shouldn't plan too far ahead(and I agree) but for me, I think it is vital to have a few scenes either in the mid or end that you think are really cool. Not necessarily an ending, or even close, but something in the late second or early third act. A spot far enough you have to work to get to. The kind of scenes where if you stop a project, you go over some notes a year later and see that scene, repicture it in you head, and feel enough excitement to start the project where you left off. If you don't have things you're looking forward too, why would the reader look forward to finishing it?

 

[AngmarsKing701]

It turns out it's been exactly a year since I finished my first thriller novel. Coincidentally, today I'm doing the absolute final proofreading before it goes to print. We are still scheduled for release in mid-June.

What a ride it's been. Two months of editing, months of submitting it to publishers and not hearing from anybody, then hearing from the ones that slightly cared, then the hopeful, yet tedious negotiations, and here we are. Thankfully, I've read some truly terrible thrillers in the last couple of months so my confidence is slightly boosted before the final proofreading. Let's hope I don't run into some never-before-seen plot holes.

I guess I should eventually ask someone to add it to the OP. It's foreign though, hope that's not a problem ("Lovci nocí" - translates to "Nightcrawlers" or "Nightstalkers")

Congrats! That's so amazing! Either post the link here when it's live or PM me and I'll get the link added to the OP.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

Personally, for me, that's why it is so important to have end game stuff planed ahead of time. There's a lot of thought that you shouldn't plan too far ahead(and I agree) but for me, I think it is vital to have a few scenes either in the mid or end that you think are really cool. Not necessarily an ending, or even close, but something in the late second or early third act. A spot far enough you have to work to get to. The kind of scenes where if you stop a project, you go over some notes a year later and see that scene, repicture it in you head, and feel enough excitement to start the project where you left off. If you don't have things you're looking forward too, why would the reader look forward to finishing it?

This is a really good idea, and one I accidentally had going for me in my first book. It was also completely absent in my second, which is maybe why I was having such a bitch of a time getting to the end. IT wasn't until I had a fucked up dream that wound up being my novel's climax that returned the spark to continue. It might be a shitty mess, but it was going to have an explosive ending!

I'll be keeping this in mind going forward in my projects, because yeah. I so agree with you but never thought about it until you said it.

 

[Crimson_Justice]

Personally, for me, that's why it is so important to have end game stuff planed ahead of time. There's a lot of thought that you shouldn't plan too far ahead(and I agree) but for me, I think it is vital to have a few scenes either in the mid or end that you think are really cool. Not necessarily an ending, or even close, but something in the late second or early third act. A spot far enough you have to work to get to. The kind of scenes where if you stop a project, you go over some notes a year later and see that scene, repicture it in you head, and feel enough excitement to start the project where you left off. If you don't have things you're looking forward too, why would the reader look forward to finishing it?

Yeah, this is definitely something I learned with this book. My first book, I had a scenario and an ending that I loved, and that was enough "planning" to get me through and sustain my own excitement. But for this one, I tried to do some actual planning--it's worked so far--I just forgot to come up with an awesome ending that I can work towards. And I think that's resulted in dearth of excitement on my part. I need that ending/near-ending sequence that I can have in my mind throughout the entire process.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

Running into a strange problem. So I'm working on my cover letter, and I'm using the line, "THE GRIMOIRE LIBRARY is an urban-fantasy/horror novel about a high-schooler who tries to overcome his clinical depression with magic." as my one sentence pitch.

My bro read through my cover letter and said, "but that's not true. He doesn't use magic to try and overcome his depression at all."

So the problem is we're kind of both right. He never explicitly goes looking for a spell that will make him better, but he DOES rely on the library to hopefully find something that will make him happy. He's looking for a way to change himself, and my thought process is: being stuck = being depressed in this sense.

He both knows and doesn't know what he wants.

I don't want to lie in this cover letter, but I also wonder if I'm selling the book a little misleadingly this way. I also have no idea how else I'd pitch this.

 

[aidan]

Running into a strange problem. So I'm working on my cover letter, and I'm using the line, "THE GRIMOIRE LIBRARY is an urban-fantasy/horror novel about a high-schooler who tries to overcome his clinical depression with magic." as my one sentence pitch.

My bro read through my cover letter and said, "but that's not true. He doesn't use magic to try and overcome his depression at all."

So the problem is we're kind of both right. He never explicitly goes looking for a spell that will make him better, but he DOES rely on the library to hopefully find something that will make him happy. He's looking for a way to change himself, and my thought process is: being stuck = being depressed in this sense.

He both knows and doesn't know what he wants.

I don't want to lie in this cover letter, but I also wonder if I'm selling the book a little misleadingly this way. I also have no idea how else I'd pitch this.

Clinical depression is a specific term—and it doesn't sound like it applies to your character. Has the character been diagnosed with clinical depression? Is he on medication? Etc.

Perhaps you can look at the scenario from the other way around. Start with his discontent, and end up at the magic.

You have:

THE GRIMOIRE LIBRARY is an urban-fantasy/horror novel about a high-schooler who tries to overcome his clinical depression with magic.

Maybe something like:

John has all the problems of a typical high schooler: he's about to graduate, but he's flunking math and the bully waiting 'round the corner is out to get him—he knows something has to change, but he doesn't know what. When he finds the Grimoire Library, all his questions are answered, but can magic really make you a better person?

That's obviously not a sentence (and I don't know the full story, so the details are probably wrong), but it presents the problem first, then offers up a solution. Maybe approaching it from a different angle will help.