Thursday Thoughts

Thoughts lately:

1) I got an iPad for Christmas (thanks, boyfriend). I adore it, but I can't help but wonder why there are virtual finger nubby placements on the F and J?

2) I like watching suspense / mystery films, but someday I'd love to see one with a really complicated plot that doesn't do the end reveal using:
     a) the Big Bad Baddy delivers the starndard My Evil Master Plan & How It Worked Speech right before he dispatches someone
     b) a series of mini-flashbacks with a voiceover to remind the viewer of what happened in the past hour or so or
     c) a character muttering key words aloud to themselves (usually in front of the Big Bad Baddy as they are in the process of figuring out s/he is in fact the BBB) to clue the viewer into their stream of consciousness while putting the pieces together.

3) I miss the '90s. They were pretty awesome. We had ER, The X-Files, grunge music, and one of the best Saturday Night Live casts since the show's inception. Also, style demanded you walk around looking unkempt and slightly bitter, which really suited me.

Interview with Terry Lynn Johnson

I'm lucky (or cunning) enough to have lured yet another successful writer over to my blog for an SAT - Successful Author Talk. SAT authors have conquered the query, slain the synopsis and attained the pinnacle of published. How'd they do it? Let's ask 'em!

Today's guest is Terry Lynn Johnson, published author of DOGSLED DREAMS (2011). In her newest title, ICE DOGS, a 15-year old dogsled racer loses her way on a routine daytime outing with her dogs; with food gone and temperatures dropping, her survival and that of her dogs and the mysterious boy she meets in the woods, is up to her. ICE DOGS will be available Winter 2013 from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Are you a Planner or Pantster?

I'm somewhere in between. I plan, then everything goes for a crap when I start to write.

How long does it typically take you to write a novel, start to finish?

My first draft is normally complete after a hectic four or five weeks. Not sure if that's called a novel though, more like a big pile of goob.

Do you work on one project at a time, or are you a multi tasker?

One is enough!

Have you ever quit on an ms, and how did you know it was time?

I have one half finished that I may get back to. I've discovered that if I don't stay on the writing wave the first draft, if I take a break, I have a hard time getting back to it. Could be because I have the attention span of a pea.

Who is your agent and how did you get that "Yes!" out of them?

The most awesome Caryn Wiseman of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency picked my query for ICE DOGS out of the slush pile. I was signed with her within three weeks of sending my query. We've never even met. That means if I can do it, anyone can.

How long did you query before landing your agent?

I queried a few agents with an early draft of my manuscript, and received some great advice on how to revise. I'm so glad that happened, because then I sent the newly revised manuscript to Caryn!

Any advice to aspiring writers out there on conquering query hell?

I'm not convinced you need to stress over the query. It's the first pages that the agent reads, if they like it, they'll go back to the query. You have to catch their interest in the first pages!

How did that feel, the first time you saw your book for sale?

My book was face out in my local Chapters bookstore and I almost had a meltdown right there. I was pointing it out to complete strangers and taking pictures with my cell phone. So embarrassing!

How much input do you have on cover art?

I did have some on a technical error with regards to the sled. But other than that, not much.

What's something you learned from the process that surprised you?

That the writer is usually the last to know what is going on. I still don't know what is going on. What is going on???

How much of your own marketing do you?

I have a blog, am on Twitter, and have my own website.

When do you build your platform? After an agent? Or should you be working before?

If you're a writer, I think you should have some kind of presence out there. A website is free. It's easy to join Twitter, and fun. And you can learn so much from other writers.

Do you think social media helps build your readership?

I don't think it hurts, unless you're a complete dork

Taking Stock

Yes, it's true. I raided a cattle herd over the holidays.

OK, not really. I just wanted to give you a funny visual because I couldn't come up with an original title for my Looking Back On 2011 post.

Obviously 2011 was really, really good to me. I got an agent, Adriann Ranta (who has a lovely speaking voice) in March, and a book deal with Sarah Shumway (nice voice, check) at Katherine Tegen / Harper Collins just recently. So, I can't complain. And I'm not going to.

What I am going to do is talk about what my goals were, and how I managed to hit one by the skin of my teeth. (And what the heck does that mean anyway? Huh... guess that's my Wednesday post accounted for).

I backed my self-enforced WIP due date to Thanksgiving, but took some digestive time off when the book deal happened because I needed to roll around in sloth for awhile. And I highly recommend rolling around in some nice, hot sloth every now and then, because I broke into December like a rabid animal chasing  uh... something non-rabid and much smaller.

As of yesterday evening I can claim that the WIP is in fact, finished. I don't have to do my usual guilty sashaying in front of RC Lewis and muttering that I only have one more section to get through. And I checked my numbers: I wrote 113 pages and 32,000 words over the last week of November through yesterday evening.

2012 is looking good for a few reasons. The initial word vomit of the WIP first draft is finished, NOT A DROP TO DRINK is on Goodreads, and just yesterday it cracked the top ten in the Goodreads YA Novels of 2013 list. So drop in, put me on your to-read shelf, and vote for as many 2013 YA titles as you like - I want the Mayans to feel our hope trickling back through the ages. :)