I am sorry I have not posted since March 5 but the past couple of weeks have been full of expectation, high hopes and exciting news. This past week has been a true red letter week. As this blog is about a writer’s journey, and these are all milestones along the way, I thought I’d share my “red letters.”
This magical section of my journey began with an online chat with Mary Murray, editor for Lyrical Press that ended with an invitation to send her my manuscript Only Scandal Will Do. After polishing it, Monday morning I sent it to Mary and to an agent who had requested a revision.
I also entered The Knight Agency’s Speed Dating 2 contest—put your name on their blog between 12 and 1 pm and if you are randomly chosen, you send in three pages. And lo and behold, I won that lottery! I sent in my 3 pages, bit my nails for three days, and made the cut to Round 2: a request for 10 pages.
On Friday, March 11 I also submitted an HR short story, “Heart of Deception,” to Books to Go Now! They have a two week turnaround, so I was not expecting the email I got at 11pm on Sunday night: the offer of a contract for the story. Walking on sunshine at midnight!
Less than 12 hours later another magical moment: I made it into Round 3 of The Knight Agency contest: request for three chapters. A request for a partial! Things were getting scary good, though I kept remembering Harvey Keitel’s line from Thelma and Louise: “Brains will only get you so far, and luck always runs out.” Meanwhile, my crit partners were telling me to buy a lottery ticket!
The bubble burst on Thursday when I got the email that the Knight Agency had determined my work was not a good fit for them at this time. Looking at their website I tend to agree. They seem to not handle much historical romance, making us not a good fit. But apparently my writing impressed them enough for them to take me to Round 3. I’d like to think that at any rate. I started out as one of 466 people who left comments and ended as one of 15 participants from whom they requested chapters. Although I’d have liked to have continued, I’ll take the ride I was given and say thank you.
But that’s not the end of the story. Last night I sent out five new queries for Scandal and within half an hour I had a request for a partial and synopsis. The absolute cherry on top of the Red Letter Week.
So the rollercoaster continues. Will anything come of the queries or requests I have out? I have no idea. That is part of the life of a writer. It is a constant pull between feast and famine. But despite the ups and downs of the process, you have to keep trying. The week before Red Letter Week was Black Letter Week- depths of despair, nothing happening, nothing going to happen. Let’s have a pity party tonight.
Okay, break’s over. Get back out there and make it happen. No one can do it but you.
Have you had Red Letter days when nothing could go wrong? How about Black Letter days, when it seemed someone was dumping the sewer down your shirt? Please share a comment about how you cope with either/both of these writers’ experiences.
Jenna Jaxon Romance--because passion is timeless. 
Your post resonated with me, Jenna! Being a writer is sort of like being blind-folded on a merry-go-round and asked to get off. We never knew where our next steps are going to take us, but I guess that’s the beauty of it. Sometimes we step in the mud, and other times we stumble over that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
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Your post resonated with me, Jenna! Being a writer is sort of like being blind-folded on a merry-go-round and asked to get off. We never knew where our next steps are going to take us, but I guess that’s the beauty of it. Sometimes we step in the mud and other times we stumble over that pot of gold
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Great analogy, Lisa. I did feel a bit drunk at times this past week! But having come through it, now that things have simmered down a bit, it’s like getting back to the real life of critting, reading, blogging, and oh, yeah, writing. I did remarkably little of that this past week. I felt like I was digging worms instead of fishing. LOL
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You should be so proud of yourself, that was a great week!
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I am proud–and still kind of reeling from it. Talk about a whirlwind! Heady stuff, but somehow not quite real. The fact that I am to have something actually published has not fully clicked in my mind yet.
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I can’t remember a red letter day, at least not one as good as yours, but I haven’t given up hope. Red letter day reminds me of Felix Felitious from Harry Potter. For non-potter fans – it’s liquid luck! And I totally want a COSTCO bottle of it.
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Man, don’t you know they would end up with all the money in the world if they could bottle luck! I had forgotten about Liquid Luck, Kary. But here’s wishing us a case of it!
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Great post, JJ. It seems like a roller coaster ride, but it’s all part of the process. And, even after doing this for 18 years (11 years with the same publisher), I still quail with every synopsis that goes out. Will they take it? Will this be the time they say, “You’re all washed up!”?
I like the fact that a writer’s journey can be shared with other artists, both for the red letter days and the black ones.
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I wonder if we remember the red letter days more than the black ones? There seem to be more of the black to remember, but the reds are such highs they just have to be memorable. But it’s rather daunting to realize that the “OMG will they like it?” feeling doesn’t go away with time and experience. Thanks for that heads-up, Patricia! LOL
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