Happy Halloween!

Oh blimey! Guess who managed to get her Internet shut off the day before the start of NaNoWriMo and NaBloPoMo? If you said me, you're right. The bright side is that this should leave me with less time procrastinating while on the Internet and more time to write my novel.

Speaking of writing novels, Jenni can you hear me? Are you out there somewhere?

I have managed to commandeer my sister's lap top which was once my old lap top. Not only does it have a horribly slow dial-up connection and a broken disc drive but it's missing several keys (the letters have been replaced with alt, ctrl and such) but it has been dropped on the ground no less than three times.
Hopefully, it will function well enough to get me through a few days of blog posts and NaNoWriMo page updates.
I'll just say sorry in advance that I will miss out on a lot of blog posting. I don't have enough time and patience for it to load every one's every day and I'm not sure that I know more than a few address without my favorites list. I'll do my best and hopefully this won't last long.

Before I go I'll mention that I can't wait for 12:00 to come. I have such an awesome plan for my novel in my head and I keep going over it. I've been thinking about my first line and I know I can't write it down yet but I feel I have so much built up that I could write the whole book in one sitting once that clock turns 12:00!

Hope everyone has a very fun and imagination filled night. Halloween is one of the best days. It encourages so much imagination and creativity. I just love it.

Trick-or-treat alternative

In the comments for my last post I was encouraged by D.B.Echo to tell the world what it is that I give out for Halloween. At least that's what I got from the comment so if I'm wrong sorry. It actually has something to do with writing so I guess I will share it with everyone.

When kids come trick-or-treating to my door I give them candy but I also give them comic books. I spend a few days going around town finding cheap, kid friendly comic books and even steal a few from my personal collection. (If you are considering doing this tell the store why you want the books. They help you find kid appropriate ones and may give you a better deal. One store gave me a great deal if I let them put the store sticker in the front cover).

I do this for a few reasons. Everyone gives candy so I like to give a little something different. Also I love comic books and if someone would have given me one instead of candy I would have loved it.
The bigger reason I give out comic books is to promote reading and art appreciation. Maybe it's not the finest literature or art you are going to find but for kids it's a start. More and more kids and adults rely on T.V. and videos games. I love these things too but I worry that eventually few people will care about reading because they can just watch it. Then they will miss the beauty of things like the inner monologue, the suspense that fills you when you just can't read fast enough and how much more grand things are when imagined rather than shoved in your face. And I worry that few people will ever stop to appreciate the time and effort it takes to draw images that look like they could reach out and touch you and maybe no one will realize that if you take the time to think about it one beautifully detailed scene says so much more than a movie can.
I know that most people don't see comic books that deeply but they can be a start for children. Obviously not just comics either. If you can find children's books or give out Play-Doh or crayons, anything that encourages a child to think and imagine, then hand those out.
I don't think I need to explain why we should encourage children to create and appreciate. I just thought I'd mention it in case anyone was looking for an alternative to candy this Halloween.
I've done this for the past three years and the kids seem to love it.

BTW: I updated my sidebar with my NaNoWriMo page and this time it's my own page not just the home page for the site(Oops!). I also added my MySpace page although I don't spend much time there so it's not that exciting.

NaBloPoMo too?

I've pretty much decided that I am going to give NANOWRIMO a shot even though I have a ton of other stuff going on including the writing of Behind the Naugahyde.
While I was checking out another writer's blog I stumbled upon NaBloPoMo, which is National Blog Posting Month. It's suppose to be for those who are too busy to participate in NaNoWriMo. In this case you just blog every day during the month of November.
I'm actually thinking of doing this as well. I know that's a big challenge for the month of November but I think it's something I need to do.
These past months have been hectic and I've used that as an excuse not to write but it should be an excuse to write. A release of emotion and a break from the reality that is my life. So I'm going to set these goals for November and I'll push myself to do it.

I'm going to attempt to put links to my NaNoWriMo page for anyone that wants to keep track. Maybe I'll finally add my mySpace page too.

Novel or not?

Recently I wrote about wanting to do NaNoWriMo but not wanting to start a new novel while Jenni and I are in the middle of one. Then I thought perhaps I would just set my own personal goal of writing 50,000 words of fiction whether it was part of the novel or a short story.
Well I know that while it is a good goal for myself it is not exactly the spirit of NaNoWriMo. I thought about just writing short stories but not an actual novel but if I don't think it's a novel, then according to NaNoWriMo it doesn't count.
Then I got this crazy idea. My idea for NaNoWriMo is to write a novel about a writer and what she's writing. That way I can still write my short stories and on my part of BTN but I will have to tie them together using the main character. I'll make a connecting story about where she's at, when she finds time, how she's inspired, breaking through writer's block.
I think it will be cool.
Maybe not everyone will consider it a novel but I will so that's what matters.
At least that's what I think I'll do, maybe not though. There's still a few more days to decided.
Can you believe I actually pushed my paranoia aside long enough to share an idea?

BTW: There is a new Nauga Note posted at www.behindthenaugahyde.com

I actually want my rejection notice! Please!

Not to rant, but... you know what really annoys the hell out of me? When a magazine's submission guidelines say please include a SASE(self addressed stamped envelope) for a reply to your submission and then when you send one and the only reply you get is a subscription order form. No rejection letter at all, not even one little generic line of thanks but no thanks. I paid 39 cents for a subscription form for a magazine that I wouldn't buy now because that is just rude. I didn't send the stamped envelope for that I sent it for the rejection notice.
I don't care if you throw in a subscription slip, occasionally I buy an issue if I have the money, but please put in the rejection note. I love those (not as much as acceptance letters), I collect them, I have a huge folder full of them. They remind me that I am trying and that I need to work harder. That's why I pay the 39 cents.
I'm sorry my complaining probably sounds stupid but it really annoyed me.

Writer's Blogs

Lately, I've been reading a lot of fellow writer's blogs. I have added my blog to a few list of writer's blogs and I thought it was only fair to read other blogs in hopes that they read mine. I'm pretty sure that just about the only people that read writer's blogs are fellow writer's.

Anyway, it's become overwhelming. There are so many good ones that I want to bookmark. My list is getting huge and I'm not even through the A's. I try to read one a day and if I like it and it's been updated recently then I'll add it to my list.
It's already taking a while to read through my list. My non-writing friends who have blogs on avereage, they update around once a month maybe once a week. Writer's seem to update every day or every few days. I might have to figure out a rotating or elimination system.

The other part of reading all these blogs that is frustrating, at least for me, is commenting. I want them to know I'm reading since I appreciate it when people comment here. I assume that others would like to know that someone is paying attention. My biggest problem is that I never say the right thing as I mentioned in my last post. I'm afraid I might seem creepy or generic. Possibly even critical. I don't know. I just know that I hate commenting, critiquing or reviewing other peoples writing. But I'll do it if I have to.

Just watched: 30 Rock

I can never say the right thing.

Finally, I have ink, and stamps. I'm running a little low on big envelopes but I can get out a few submissions and some query letters for now. Although I must say trying to decipher all my submission charts is starting to give me a headache. Maybe I need to go back to my old way of hundreds of scribbles in the margin of my Writer's Market, which reminds me I need the 2007 edition.

The other day I ran into a friend that I hadn't talk to in a while thanks to an awkward situation. I had thought in my head a hundred times of what I would say to this person if I bumped into them. Of course they totally caught me off guard and I bumbled out a bunch of stuff that was not what I planned to say, made no sense and made the situation potentially more awkward. I'm pretty sure I ruined what was left of the friendship.
What's any of this go to do with writing? Well I hate talking to people. The above situation is why. I don't seem to have the ability to think before I speak. I can't plan it out and edit it, no matter how hard I try. I always seem to mess it up. That's why I like writing. I can think it through, I can fix things. Maybe a well written letter can get the friendship back on course. I don't know.

Frustration and anonymous poetry

Today I heard back from the magazine that had given me a list of things they didn't like about my story. They offered me the chance to change them and send it back. I changed nearly everything they had suggested because most things made sense. I did keep a few things that I thought made the story what it is.
I opened the letter and found another set of comment sheets signed by the same people as last time. What did they say? Good story but here's what we don't like about it. As I read further I imagined they would say something about the part I didn't change but I was wrong. They didn't even mention it. They just made a whole new list of things, none of which were in the last letter. And to be honest they were very vague things like "a few paragraphs don't flow well".
It's really great that they give feedback because most people don't. I just think that sending someone a list of comments and saying "fix these and we'll reconsider" and by reconsider we mean giving you lame excuses and more things we dislike, is a little confusing. If they had wrote back and said they didn't think I changed enough or had mentioned the part I didn't change I would be okay but don't say "this part sucks and I, as an editor, didn't notice it before". I guess mostly I just don't understand. Well, actually, I do. It's a crazy business but it is still frustrating.
My complaining probably sounds ungrateful and unreasonable, if it makes sense at all. I'm just annoyed.

On the other hand I did something a little odd. I know several times I've mentioned poetry and how I don't get it. Mostly I don't understand the "techniques", but with all art I believe it is the message, not the skills and training, that matter more. And every now and then I have something to say that isn't a short story or comic book. I'm not sure what it is . I just write it and it kind of seems like poetry. Anyway, it's not my goal to get it published I just have something to say. So I joined one of those on-line poetry websites in hopes of getting some feedback. I'm not going to say my pen name or which site because I'm not brave enough to let people who know me read it. I know that sounds weird but that's me.
The only problem is that I feel to get feedback I should give some. I'm horrible at commenting and as I've mentioned many times before I don't know poetry. I guess I'll just have to comment on the message I get from the poetry. To me, that's the most important part anyway.

Just watched: 30 Rock (Tina Fey is one of my heroes!)

I need ink, stamps and to finish a story!

With all the madness that is my life, I haven't really been able to stay focused on writing anything. Last night I couldn't sleep so I decided to look up some agents for Behind the Naugahyde. I found three that accepted e-mail queries so I went ahead and sent them. (Sorry, I didn't ask first Jenni, but I didn't think you'd mind).
I just can't wait until I can afford new ink jets and stamps. I like doing submissions when I need something to do but I can't seem to focus or when I have writer's block.

With Friday the 13th and Halloween coming up its an excellent time to write a scary story. Perhaps finishing the vampire story that I continue to talk about but never finish. The mood is already set for it and the T.V. is just running non-stop with inspiration. Yet with everything that is going on with my family I can't seem to find the motivation for that story. I really have to try and push through that. If I can't finish something because crazy stuff is happening, then I'll never get anything finished.

One of my former professors came into the shoe store this weekend. And he said something like, "If I recall you did well in my class. You were a really good writer." I would have thought I heard him wrong but my co-worker mentioned that she heard him say it too. I'm sure he says that to all his former students he runs into but I'm just going to pretend I'm special. That will make me feel a little bit better.

Tired

With all the craziness this week I've been doing okay. On a restless night (or early morning, rather) I attempted to send out e-mail submissions (until I can afford new ink). Unfortunately I made some mistakes, like sending a cover letter mentioning one story, then sending a different story along with that letter, to a company that had already rejected the story that actually got sent. Other than that I haven't messed too much up.

I got an e-mail from NANOWRIMO, since the month of November is fast approaching. I had thought that I was set on not doing it. After all I didn't really want to start a new novel while Jenni and I are in the middle of writing Behind the Naugahyde. However, since NANOWRIMO is more about goals, I thought I could set a goal to write 50,000 fictional words in the month of November. It might motivate me to write on Behind the Naugahyde and some other short stories. I could keep track of it on NANOWRIMO and since you don't win anything for finishing, I'm not cheating. November is still a ways off so I've got time to decide.

tonight I sat down with the intention of writing some fiction but now I can barely keep my eyes open. Things won't get back to normal for a while but hopefully I'll have more time for writing
soon.

Hospital madness

My dad's having some trouble and it's got him stuck in the hospital for a few days. I've been spending most of my time at the hospital and haven't gotten much else done. Although I have filled the pages of my journal with the craziness that happens to and is, my family. In fact my emotional writing of the last few days has 12 entries that cover 38 pages.
Aside from that I've been reading rather than getting any work done. I wanted to print out some of my work to edit but due to my stupidity I have an empty ink jet. So until pay day I'm out of luck. I thought about starting something new but I have so much unfinished work and fairly often I have to stop for one reason or another so I don't really feel like I can put out quality material. I'm sure the material in my journal is interesting but right now it's still too new and personal for me to share.
For now I'll be at the hospital most of the time so it might be a while before I get anything done including blog post.

Literary magaiznes>bad reality T.V.

I finally got my September 2006 issue of Writer's Post Journal! YAY! There was a small typo in my story but it was my fault so I'll just have to live with it. I suppose there could be more than one typo. Maybe I just didn't notice.
My story wasn't the only one with a typo so that made me feel slightly better. Not that I want to feel better from others misfortunes. Maybe the editor should of caught theses things but I'm not going to be picky because they published me and I know running an independent literary magazine is tough.
Lately I've been getting a lot of letters from companies I submitted to saying they are going out of business. While I am a little annoyed that my precious stamps were wasted I'm more sad than anything. It's hard for these literary magazines to keep running. Everyone wants their story published but no many are buying. I know a lot of writer's don't have the extra money. I try to buy as many different ones as I can but I can't really afford it either.
It just seems that in general the only people reading literary magazines are the writers. It's good to support others but I just want to live in a dream world where people chose to read over watching bad reality T.V. shows.
Sorry about the rant.

Vampire ballet and an unfinished story

I just got back from seeing the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company performing Dracula. It was based on the original Bram Stoker novel.
The dancing was wonderful and they told the story very well. I had already read the book so I knew the story but they gave sufficient back ground information in the program, a narrator started the show by telling you what was going on and after intermission they did a hilarious quick dance that was the whole story but told in a very funny way. So if you didn't know the story already it was okay. The lighting and stage settings looked so creepy. I just loved it. It was a one time performance in Lansing but if you ever get the chance, check it out.

There were a few young guys that were probably sci-fi/fantasy geeks (not that there's anything wrong with that, I'm one of them). However, they complained about how it wasn't just like the book. It's a ballet, how can it be exactly like the book? And please stop complaining about the costumes. If you go to a ballet and expect guys not to be in tights that's your fault. They so reminded me of being at a first showing of a comic book movie.

Anyway, I know this seems more like an entry that I would put in my live journal because it really has nothing to do with writing. I wanted to keep my AIDS Walk entry up on my live journal (see previous blog entry) and I can actually tie my ballet story in with writing.

I haven't really written any short stories in a long time because I've been focused on writing Behind the Naugahyde and I've been a little obsessed with sending out submissions of my previous short stories. In fact I haven't written any new short stories since my last creative writing class. I actually have a half finished story from my last writing class. What's it about you ask? Vampires.
It's actually a story I had an idea for about the time I started blogging. I came up with it in hopes of getting a job writing a vampire comic. When that didn't turn out I kind of left it until I needed a story for class. Then I had a rough time with my last writing class, for a lot of different reasons, and I never ended up finishing that story.
Now that I've seen Dracula and realized that I haven't written any short stories in a while,
I guess I will set a goal of finishing it.

One Step Toward A Solution

A quick but very important non-writing blog post:

On Sunday, October 1, I will be walking in AIDS Walk Michigan. The money raised goes to HIV/AIDS prevention, education and services.

If anyone would like to sponsor me by making a donation you can send a check payable to Lansing Are AIDS Network. (Please comment or e-mail for address). I know it's a lot of hassle to mail a check so if you would still like to help, LAAN accepts credit card donations on their website. Or you can also join me in the walk. Feel free to leave me a comment or send an e-mail if you have any questions regarding donations or joining the walk.

This cause is very important to me and I appreciate the support. I realize not every one has money to donate.

Please get tested, stay informed and pass on the message.

Thank you.

www.laanonline.org
www.aids.org
www.aegis.org

Is changing good?

In an earlier post I mentioned getting a rejection notice with critiques and the opportunity to resubmit. After re-reading the letter I started to think there was a slight chance that this wasn't something they did for everybody. That's when I decided I should get my butt in gear.
Once I read through the critiques and then back through my story, I became a little frustrated.
A lot of the suggestions were good and I immediately realized that they were valid points. I struggled with how to fix them but I think in the end I did okay.
There were a few things that I didn't understand. One of the things that I think makes the story truly unique is one of the things that they seemed to not like. I was really worried about what to do.
I didn't want to change it and not because I refuse to be wrong. The other suggestion were great suggestions and I went a long with them happily. I know that I'm not a great writer and even if I was, nothing is going to be flawless. Writing can always be improved on is some way. I know this.
My reason for not wanting to change it is that I really wanted the story to be funny and unusual. I think the character's ridiculous thoughts make the story unique but the critique mentioned focusing on a different train of thought.
I wanted to explain why I didn't change it in my cover letter but I also didn't want to seem defensive.
Getting published would be wonderful but I can't talk myself into changing what I love best about a story just to see it in print.
Who knows? Maybe I read way too much into the comment. Maybe they won't even notice that I didn't fix it. Maybe they send everyone these letters to make them feel special and I'm stressing over nothing as usual.
Oh well, I did the best I could and what I thought was best. And now if this story doesn't get published I can make a huge post about how I was robbed of being published because I didn't sell out to the man!

Just saw: Little Miss Sunshine
Just watched: Dancing with the Stars ( what did I tell you about me and cheesy dancing?)

Jump and pop ups

This probably sounds really crazy. When I get really excited about something I'm writing my fingers can not type fast enough. My head is way ahead of my body and I have to jump out of my chair and move. Last night I was really on a role with what I was writing. I just loved every thought in my head and it just filled me with energy. It's awesome. I know, weird but I wanted to share because there really wasn't anything else to say.

Behindthenaughayde.com is still really cool to me, especially now that we have people signing the guest book. I'm a little bummed. We agreed to have ads on the sight. It's the cheaper version and we're poor artist here. Anyway, for a while there were no pop-ups or banners and I thought that we were having some good luck. Well the pop-ups and banners are there now so I'm bummed that our luck ran out or was never there really. But the site is still awesome. Who knows? Maybe one day we'll upgrade.

After hours of fumbling with HTML I finally got the guest book working at www.behindthenaugahyde.com .

I was going to work on more submissions now that I finally purchased stamps but my great flyer escapade of 2006 left my printer empty of paper. Better paper than ink. I'll have to get some tomorrow.

An exciting reject notice came for one of my short stories today. They sent me notes on how to improve my story and a note saying that if I make the corrections I can send it back for reconsideration.
I have tomorrow off from work. Hopefully, I can get that done.

It's been a crazy weeks so not much else got done.

Flyers and the fest.

I forgot to update yesterday and give details of the 'Reading, writing, and rockin' fest'.
I made a flyer using the "about the book" section of our website and then put the sample pages from the book that I had previously posted here. Then I wrote a little blurb(featured below) about why we we're handing out flyers and had a website before the book was published.
Fortunately for me, Jenni caught that I had one minor and one major typo after I had printed all of the flyers. So that was not so good. That's okay because I went through all the flyers, crossed out the typo and wrote "obviously we need an editor too,' hopefully adding to the attempted funniness of the paragraph.

As for the show itself. It was cold, it was windy. Few people were set up to sell and promote things, even fewer people came to the show. So the flyers that were given out are probably still blowing around downtown.

Don't worry, we're not giving up. We're going to stick with the flyers. There is a huge college campus not far from here and several other places to promote the site.

Two struggling writers are creating a hilarious novel, Behind the Naugahyde, and all they want is to get it published so that their moms can buy it. They've sent out letters to agents and publishers from all around and while a few have been interested, they've mostly just acquired a stack of 'Dear Author' letters. To help their publishing plans along, Ashley and Jenni came up with an idea.

They made a website for their book, Behind the Naugahyde. This site features details about the book, its authors and notes from the characters. Now all they need are people to stop by, enjoy the website and tell the world about it. Then publishers and agents will check it out and say " Wow! So many people love this book, we have to publish it!"

visit: www.behindthenaugahyde.com

NEW WEBSITE!

The big news has finally arrived! Behindthenaugahyde.com is here! Jenni and I have set up a website devoted to our novel. Even though we haven't gotten it published yet, we thought it would be really cool if we had a website. Then we could send the website address to publishers and they could see what are book is about.
Tomorrow I'll be going to the 'Reading, Writing, and Rockin' fest' in downtown Lansing. I've made flyers featuring information about our book and the website. I'll be handing them out at the event. Hopefully, we'll get some people to check out our website!

Those are the crazy promo ideas I've been talking about. Once the RWR fest is over and we've put a few finishing touches on the website, it will be back to the business of writing and submissions.

Soon to be announced?

The promos are in the works and if all goes as planned I should be announcing them by Saturday!
Jenni and I also came up with an awesome surprise ending for the book. I can't wait!

Nothing else really exciting happening. I worked on submissions since my new business cards arrived. Tomorrow is pay day so I'll be able to buy stamps and send them out.

Listening to: The Bee Gees
Just watched: Maria Full Of Grace

Dead pens and burnt popcorn

Finally, I heard from Jenni. She liked the promo ideas. We're working out a few details but hopefully they'll get done super soon. That's my plan anyway but who knows.

Other than that, I've just been working on the promos for when we do decide to get them going.

My favorite pen died tonight, then my two back up pens went. I'm sad.

And in case you're wondering, burnt, lite popcorn that my grandma accidentally ordered from a fundraiser, that's what poor writers eat for dinner while they wait for pay day. Yum!

Possible promos?

The past few days I have been working non-stop on "Behind the Naugahyde". I got stuck on chapter six because it took me a while to figure out how three different characters would each react to seeing a giant picture of.... well, I can't give too much away so let's just say it's not a pretty picture. Anyway, I got a little stuck so I took the time to develop some possible promotional ideas.
I know it sounds crazy to promote the book before it's even finished but the concepts are cool and I think in a way they might even help us get the book published. I'm not sure if Jenni agrees because I haven't heard from her yet, but I think the work I've been doing this weekend may help convince my partner that these unconventional promos might just make our book a minor success.
Other than that I did go to a few websites that feature blogs by writers. I applied to have "Ink On Paper" added to the lists so hopefully I get a few more visitors. It's also been interesting reading other writer's blogs.

Currently watching: Going back and forth between the CSI marathon on Spike and the That 70's Show marathon on FX.
Just read: A ton of comics. I got really far behind and I haven't even got last weeks books yet.

Just wait

It's amazing how the week has went from chaotic to stifling.

Right now I feel like I'm just waiting. I haven't heard from Jenni since we opened our e-mail. I know she's busy so it's okay but I miss hearing from her.
I'm also waiting to see if any of the artists who responded to my ad will write me back after I sent sample pages.
I check my mailbox waiting for rejection notices.
I've even been waiting to send out submissions. A lot of the university published magazine don't except submissions until September 1.
Of course, I've been waiting for my September issue of Writer's Post Journal!

The waiting will probably end and I'll get bombarded all at once.

The only thing I haven't been waiting to do this week is writing. It's writing that I love the most so if I have that, waiting for everything else isn't so bad.

QUIRKY but not in a good way!

After sending out the first pages of our novel to the possible agent, I sat by my computer checking my e-mail every second. Just as I was getting ready to go to work an e-mail arrived. I was too nervous to open it so I went to work.
Then I called Jenni later to tell her I was dying to know what it said and she thought I was nuts for not opening it. So we agreed that she would call me or have her internet hooked up by the time I got home and we would open it together.

All night I kept thinking that I wished we had gotten a chance to edit it and it would probably say the same thing as the Writer's House letter.

Jenni kept me waiting six minutes past scheduled time, which nearly killed me.
I finally opened it and this is what it said.

"....I took a look; it's hilarious and the fragmented structure works really well. But it's a tad quirky and I'm not entirely sure I'd be able to secure a publisher."

Now you can see how reading the first part can get your heart going a mile a minute only to have it smashed the next second. But it was better than the last response so it's encouraging and it made me feel way better about not having edited it.
The Writer's House letter had said they didn't think the fragmented style worked, which makes it clear that writing is very subjective. And I almost fell out of chair laughing when he said quirky after last night's post. Although he used quirky kind of negatively and it was actually the positive choice for my question.
I considered begging him to reconsider and just try to find a publisher but instead Jenni's going to send a nice thank you note.

Now our plans are to finish editing chapter 5 and then we'll go back and read through 1-5. We hope to make a list of notes and questions that we can give to a few samples readers and get some feedback, seeing as Liza Dawson Associates thought it was pretty good and Writer's House was more toward the not-so-great side. We're a little confused about what we should be fixing.

That's the plan for now.

Quirky not crazy, right?

Today has been CRAZY!

To start everything off I hadn't heard from Jenni in a while. I figured that she was moving and starting her new teaching job so she was probably just busy. Part of me also thought maybe she was mad at me for saying that perhaps she was overly intelligent in my comments on chapter 5.
Since I was assuming she was just busy I tried not to stress that we were suppose to be editing chapters 1-5 and then sending them to a sample audience. After all there was no rush.

I woke up today and I felt like hell. I tried getting out of bed but when I threw up while showering I figured I'd better get some bed rest. (Sorry I'm sure that's more than anyone wanted to know).
I'm resting peacefully when I'm woken up by the phone ringing. I almost didn't get the phone call because they asked for Jennifer, not Ashley, but luck was on my side. It was an agent calling that I had sent a query to last week, he wanted to see our first 50-100 pages. I felt like a moron because he had to call since I forgot to put an e-mail address on the letter. Not to mention I got busted screening my calls.

You'd think now I'd be happy but I'm in serious distress. After our Writer's House rejection we decided to edit our first chapters. That hasn't been done and I have to get the e-mail out to the agent right away. I'm thinking I could wait until tomorrow morning but would that be enough time to edit? Of course, it was Jenni's first day at her new job (Yay Jenni!) so I left a few messages and she got a hold of me later at work. We decided to just send what we had and not try to rush edit it. After all writing's a subjective business; one person may like it and another may not.

Once I got home from work I hopped on-line and typed a nice cordial e-mail. When I went to put the book title in the subject line it occurred to me that I had not changed the book title, to "Behind the Naugahyde", when I sent out the last batch of query letters. So rather than confuse the guy, since he was already thinking I was nuts after the phone call fiasco earlier, I just stuck with Shoe Crew for now.
I send it off and ten seconds later I get a note saying the mail can't be sent because the address doesn't exist. I double check and find I had typed it in wrong. Okay. I re-type the address and send it off....without the attachment. Once I realized what I had done I kept hoping I would get another e-mail saying I had put in the wrong address but not this time. Now I had to send another e-mail apologizing for my incompetence and with the file attached.
Hopefully, he thinks I'm quirky rather than insane.

That's my crazy day folks.

E-mails from artists

My javascript is not functioning so my e-mail account is not working. Also this blog page looks a little weird.

Anyway, before my e-mail started acting all funny I was able to open up the three responses I got from my digiweb ad. Two of them, I'm going to guess, were not fluent in English because I'm not exactly sure what they were trying to say. I feel bad but I don't know how to communicate my visions without words. Unless I draw a picture, which I can't do. That's why I need the artist. It's too bad because one of them had amazing art but they were all superheroes in poses so I'm not sure how action scenes would have went. Also the little bit I did get from his e-mail led me to believe he thinks he's getting paid.

I did send sample pages to the one that seemed to be fluent in English. I feel a little stupid showing my work to people I don't know. It's odd, but I'm neurotic like that. I'm also afraid that my crappy synopsis is not going to persuade him to work with me. I think the best part of the story is the surprise ending, which I don't want to give away because we all know that I'm paranoid. Anyway, I hope it works out.

Just saw: Step Up (because we know I'm a sucker for cheesy dance movies!)
Currently watching: CSI re-runs

My day off!

I have been working my butt off today. It's my day off from work so I went into my office at 1:00 and I have been here since then. I took a few breaks to eat and watch the news but I have been cranking out the stuff.

First off, I got a ton of submissions set and ready to go once I get some stamps tomorrow.
Then I tore through chapter 5 of "Behind the Naugahyde". It took me a lot longer this time. Now that we've had rejection I am really trying hard to pay attention. Hopefully it will help.
The other thing I did was come up with a really neat idea. Now that I had a story published, I have to let the other publishers I sent it to know that it's been accepted since it was sent out simultaneously. I feel like a whole letter for this is a bit much. So I thought of postcards but what kind of post card do you send. Then it occurred to me that I had read that if you have a book signing or want to promote a story that it's a good idea to send postcards to those who may not have e-mail. That's when I got the brilliant idea to have my own postcards made. I checked the company that I get my business cards through and they had these really cool layouts. I already designed them and I am going to order them when I get my new business cards. I'll have to start a mailing list for mail now. Of course, I don't really have one for e-mail, so perhaps I'll start one of those too. And both the postcards and business cards promote this awesome blog!
Other than that I filed away the stack of papers on my desk that were higher than me and put an ad on digital webbing for a comic book artist. The ad says female hero and no pay which pretty much means no one will respond but I had to try. I tried it before that's when I found the artist that could draw characters but not backgrounds and the guy whose work was phenomenal but he couldn't read English.
I also put a post on my live journal and myspace blog about my story being published. I tried to do a myspace bulletin but there was an error so I guess I'll try again tomorrow.

I had a lot of fun just working on writing and writing related stuff, even if it did use up my whole day off. I really wish I could quit my job and do this all the time. It's a beautiful dream, isn't it?

Now I'm off to watch my recording of 'Who wants to be a superhero?"

No stamps, no envelopes, no business cards, no magazine, no money!

I decided to take a quick break from editing chapter 5 and writing chapter 6 so last night I thought I'd work on submissions. Only to find I was completely out of stamps and only had a few of my overly sticky envelopes. Then I began to realize that I am almost out of my lovely business cards that have the hand written sticker updates. None of these things I can afford until Friday.
I also haven't been able to order my own copy of Writer's Post Journal because of lack of money. While I do get a free sample copy, I can only receive it once I have sent in a self-addressed stamped envelope, which brings me back to having no postage.

And to think I really wanted to quit my job. Good thing I didn't just dive into that.

Currently watching: 30 Days

Now available!

What a day!
I finished my part of chapter 5. Now I'm working on the first part of chapter 6. The reason that we're only doing part is because 5 kind of ends in a mini-cliff hanger.
I'm real excited about working on this. I keep thinking of hilarious things to put in. One of them is inspired by a Pussycat Dolls' video. It involves stripper moves and what else, a Naugahyde curtain. Yep! It's just that wacky!
The part that I'm writing for chapter six will involve a lot of superhero inspired maneuvers, a battle between a smart woman and an arrogant boy, plus a poster of a naked body part.
I hope I'm getting some suspense built up.

Okay onto my other big news. It is now available. The September 2006 Issue of Writer's Post Journal is now available through LBF books. I will be adding the link to my side bar. A few words of warning to anyone who may want to actually by it. First is that it's not my typical kind of story. It's funny( I think) but it's not superheroes, action, adventure, sci-fi. The next is that the magazine cost $9 plus $2.50 postage and the story is flash fiction. While I would love for many to buy it I realize it's quite pricey for such a short story so I won't be mad if no one buys it. Of course just because my story is short it is filled with lots of other fabulous stories and it will help support a small literary magazine that makes dreams come true for writers.

Currently watching: The Jaws marathon on AMC. Not 1, 2, or 3 but 4 Jaws movies, in a row.

Mouse=trash

I just want to say that my mouse sucks. Most of the time it doesn't move at all. I've tried cleaning it and throwing it across the room, neither has worked. I really want one of those way cool laser mouses but seeing as how I have negative money I don't think it will be happening.
My computer has also been sucking lately but I think it's because AIM and yahoo are constantly running. I've also had just about every file related to "Behind the Naugahyde" open and that's a lot of huge files.
Finally my computer just went down closing all the files with it. Only minor temper tantrums will occur since everything was saved.
On the bright side since my mouse has decided to not function, it makes wasting time on the internet very annoying so I'm doing it a lot less, thus giving me more time to write, in theory.

About to watch: Real World/Road Rules Challenge-Fresh Meat(I know I need help, I really shouldn't watch it but it is so addictive. Yikes!)