World Fantasy Con 2

Another great day at WFC. Yesterday I mostly hung out with new and old good friends. Attended on session for about 2 minutes. Here, I think the game is mostly the socialization the occurs in the halls. One of the more enjoyable moments was discussing with Isaac and Janci about writing for the magazines. Who knew we'd come to a fantasy convention and end up discussing writing for a faith-based magazine and sharing our testimonies and convictions? These are some awesome people!

Today, I'll buy a book, keep my eyes peeled for a few agents I'd like to meet, and then enjoy the rest of the day. Success rating thus far: Huge.

Oh, and I had a great conversation with Beth Meacham, an editor from Tor. She explained that it's best for unagented writers to send their ms to the general editing team rather than to a specific agent because someone will read it much more quickly that way. So I can relax about trying to meet specific editors and chill about that. What a blessing! That's exactly what we did. So the Lord inspired this process even more wonderfully than I knew. Cool

World Fantasy Con 1

Arrived yesterday at World Fantasy Con. It's been an excellent convention so far. Stumbled into several editors and agents. Totally blew it with one editor, one agent seemed diffident to begin with, but made a nice connection with Joshua Bilmes and Eddie Schneider from Jabberwocky. They are not actively seeking epic fantasy, but the connection is great, especially because I spent about two hours hanging out with them and some of their signed clients.

Spent much of the time meeting people, going to dinner with Jim Frenkel from Tor (that's the editor I mentioned), and hanging out with some good friends. So far, it's been very successful. I'm learning a ton about interacting with people, polishing my pitch, and learning to relax. At the end of the day, I've realized that editors and agents are just people, like you and me (hey, I'm an editor--shouldn't surprise me), and I can be more relaxed. If my book doesn't sell, I'll just write another one.

Busy Month

Yeah, so my trip to the Marshall Islands and Tonga was fantabulous. Of course, I'm still behind in every conceivable way! Including letting so much time pass between posts. I have some amazing stories to tell about that trip--but that will have to wait for another post.

I've been submitting queries to agents and feeling the pain of rejection. Wondering if my query just isn't up to par, or perhaps my ms, my first chapter, really, starts too slow. Major action takes place about 10 pages in. I had developed a slower point of entry to get the reader acquainted with the world setting and the imminent problems, but that may not be the best approach. I've been toying with starting just a few paragraphs before the major spell is cast--really get to the point where all is set in motion--but haven't been brave enough to make the edits permanent.

And when I was feeling dejected, I had this feeling, a spiritual feeling, that said to just relax and be patient. So I'm taking some time off pushing for agents until I see a little bit further down the road. The ms has been off to Tor for about 3 or 4 weeks now. Still too early to hear their response. I'm hopeful, but not planning on anything great. I do want to submit a short story to Writers of the Future, so perhaps I'll turn writing time to that, or to my next book. But for now, I've got plenty of articles to write for the magazines, and others' works to critique. So perhaps now is the time to focus first on those things. Feels like a good decision.

MS is off!

So, here is an interesting, marvelous story. I met one of the publicists for Deseret Book at Lisa Mangum's book launch about a month ago. After a genial conversation, topics turned to what we each do. I mentioned that I'm a senior editor and writer for an international magazine with a subscription of over 900,000 (Ok, I just said the name of the magazine; some of you know what it is, but I'm trying hard not to use that 'name' as a chip--wouldn't be prudent), which she already knew, and that I write epic fantasy.

So she asked me to pitch my book to her. I did. She was intrigued and asked me to send it in to her to review. When I asked how much, she said the entire thing.

Ok, I was very excited at this point. But, as she was very honest with me that Deseret Book and Shadow Mountain don't have an epic fantasy line or any plans to, I wasn't sure what would happen. She is an avid writer herself and very talented, so I hoped that at least she'd give me good feedback.

It was better than I could have even imagined. This is the part where I convey the facts as related to me, not tooting my own horn, but sharing what was a fantastic and humbling response.

She shared my work with her boss. They both concluded that they couldn't convince the powers that be to go into epic fantasy publishing. They also both agreed that my book was very good and was worthy of more. So she offered for the two of them to send it on to other publishers on my behalf.

This is the point where I'm certain Heavenly Father is involved and I am being blessed. How often does something like this happen? I mean, aside from the fact that my new publishing contact and her boss are just totally awesome, and I hope my work is good (what self-respecting author, aware of all great talent in the world, really feels 100% confident their work is really, really good? Well, maybe you do, but I'm always worried about it and not certain. Some of you have read my work and can comment better than I can.), but they are going beyond the call of duty here.

Perhaps my work speaks for itself. Perhaps they are just really that awesome. Perhaps they were inspired to do this. Perhaps this is one of those once in a lifetime deals that just sort of happen.

Lots of perhaps's. I don't know exactly why it happened, except that I know I'm receiving some extraordinary blessings, and my faith leads me to believe that the big guy upstairs is smiling upon me. It certainly is very unusual, and I certainly don't think I 'deserve' this kind of treatment. But, boy, it feels really good.

Ok, so I'm not published yet, and that is a long road, and a ways away. Still, this is doing wonders for my happiness meter.

Editing whirlwind

So I have this wonderful publicist who believes in my book and wants to promote it to other publishers. I knew it needed some serious proofreading. So how do you proofread 185,000 words in just a few days? Call in your friends, writing buddies, and critique group!

I'm a very, very fortunate man. My alpha readers were busy, and my small critique group was busy. But my other writing friends and critique group were not. So I was able to recruit 13 readers to do a crash proofread from Friday to tomorrow. Now that is amazing. When I think about it, I've had about 25 active readers provide feedback in the last few weeks. I just hope I can sell that many books! I may have tapped out all the possibilities... ;-P

Still, I can't believe the awesomeness of these folks. Really, to pull together like this, at the last minute, when I can see how busy they are. Truth is, I've cashed in a lot of favors, and now am indebted to the gills. They've been extraordinary, and have proven to me that no matter how many times you read something, you can always find something else. So at some point you just have to put the pen down and let go.

So, I finish this tomorrow, off it goes, and then I can concentrate on my trip to the Marshall Islands and Tonga. Come July, I'll have some serious critiquing due for others...

To post or not to post...

This is one of those posts that is not really a post. I mean, you have to post to keep people, like you, amazing readers, amazed and reading. But sometimes there is really not a whole lot to post. So what do you post when there is little to post? A post about there being little to post about.

I wonder if this is annoying, or actually some totally cool chiasmus that I wasn't aware of???

Anyway, my Mom was here for the weekend. She's a wonderful southern lady originally from Tennessee, now from KY, and so we of course had to watch the Preakness this weekend! It's in the family blood! What an amazing race, too. The filly won. I don't care about the odds--that was extraordinary and not necessarily a clincher. What a horse.

Well, since this is really a post about nothing in general, just to keep tantalizing you, I'll finish writing nothing about something. Or is that something about nothing???

I Submitted My MS to a Publisher!

Yep, per request, I sent it in. Now I'm totally on that roller coaster of freaking out and not knowing how to handle this awesome experience. Of course, this is a special circumstance, and though I pitched the book successfully, the publisher doesn't currently publish epic fantasy. But there is the tiniest possibility this could be their first endeavor into that genre. If not, I'm still amazed at my good fortune and grateful for this person's interest in my work. At the very least, she will provide professional feedback and may have more to offer.

How awesome is that? How tremendously blessed I feel!

Writing Groups--Awesome!

Ever wonder about critique groups, writing groups, and such? The reality is this: if you want your writing to improve, you need impartial readers giving you honest feedback. You need people who understand something about what you write--your genre, your style, your target audience, etc. People who know the difference between a broadsword and the broad side of a barn. That's assuming there still are barns where you live.

Anyway, the point is that I have received some awesome feedback from folks from my bootcamp at Storymakers. These people are good.

But I've also joined another writing critique group online. That group has some excellent contributors, but my reality is that I just don't have the time that they do. I'll see anywhere from 15-25 posts a day. And there are a lot of people on this critique group. And they have a lot to contribute.

That's the problem. I want to be a part of the group, but my life is just prohibitively busy. Work, family, church, attempting to edit and write my own things. I think maybe I need a smaller group, I think. One with as much fire and gusto, but not quite so much happening that I feel broadsided. By the barn, not the sword.

Recovering from Conference

There are two big conferences this time of year, and I'm still recovering from both.

1. Storymakers: Man, that was an awesome conference. There were so many good sessions it was hard to figure out what to attend. And though it was my first time, I was asked to participate on a panel talking about my work as a senior editor for the Ensign. Turns out I recalled quite a bit from my days at McGraw-Hill, too, that added to the session. But my colleagues on the panel were also fantastic.

I was reading James Dashner's blog on this weekend, and he put it very well. There were just so many wonderful people I met, newly minted friends and associates, it was just amazing. I felt privileged to be participating among so many talented, creative, dedicated and accomplished people. And those who, like me, are working hard at becoming published. I could hardly believe the caliber of my bootcamp friends and the others I met.

I was also excited about having something to offer folks as an editor. On the one hand, I felt something like a peon as an epic fantasy writer hopeful among authors I'm a fan of. On the other, it was strange when people would find out what I do, from my bootcamp table peers, to those I met in passing, to some of the authors, how they reacted.

The truth is, it is a gift from Heavenly Father that I have this job. I guess I'm pretty good at it--but this is an extremely important work--it is part of THE work, if you get my meaning, and to be allowed part of it on such a degree is humbling. And to see how people respect it just makes me want to work all that much harder at making it the best, most fulfilling magazine I can. They expect it, and need it, and are worth it. I suppose by 'they' I mean you, folks. I hope I can serve you well.

I was also just plain inspired. I want to write two more epic books now, an historical fiction piece based on the BoM, a MG book based on stories I tell my kids at night, and still fix my current epic fantasy novel. Woa. Big plans for a tired man!

The best part was that my wife was able to attend the Whitney Awards. That was the highlight of the night, even if I was just an observer of the event. So many great folks everywhere! Wow, we all have a lot to live up to.

2. General Conference: Well, I've been given the amazing task to assist some pretty exceptional people edit an article that is, well, extraordinary. This isn't the kind of thing you brag about, so I'm not going to go into any details. Let's just say I've been living a dream and feel like I'm in la-la land regarding the importance and the beauty of what I've been asked to contribute and participate in. Wow. Should be over in about 4 days, though, and then I can go back to being a normal editor. Meanwhile, the rest of my work just piles up. . .

I'll get to it eventually. And this amazing ride we call life just keeps going on and getting better. But of course, where much is given, much is required. . .

The Hourglass Door

By the way, Lisa Mangum's book, The Hourglass Door, is awesome. Ok, it's not normally the kind of book I would read because it's a YA Fantasy, but the plot is unique and intriguing. I'm about halfway through myself, and very excited for Lisa.

Way to Go!

LDS Storymakers Conference

I'm sitting here with author Ben Crowder at the LDS Storymakers Conference. Ben is an amazing writer and the owner of Mormon Artist, a print and online magazine. We're having a great time listening to the presentations and getting excited about writing.

We had lunch with editor Stacy Whitman, agent Kirk Shaw from Covenant, and a whole gaggle of up and coming writers. Also some pretty successful writers, such as James Dashner, and my good friend Lisa Mangum, whose new book, The Hourglass Door, is coming out in about two weeks (May 9th, I think.)

In my opinion, conferences are really helpful because they get you excited about your work. Even though not all the sessions are helpful, they get you connected with other writers. Anyway, I'm not paying attention to the sessoin, so back later.

Blogging--the next frontier? And writing thoughts.

So it turns out that everybody under the sun seems to have an interesting, successful blog. You know, something that tells what's happening in your life, lots of interesting pics, colors, and a humorous bent to it.

I suspect my once a month (make that twice ever) blogs are not enchanting readers the way they might someday. Ha!

Well, life at work has been extraordinarily crazy. Meeting with some really significant authors and leaders has been inspiring, humbling, and demanding. Let's just say I realize how much there is to learn in the world of journalism, and though exciting, I realize also just how much effort I'm going to have to invest to make these pieces truly remarkable.

As for epic fantasy, I finished the SF&F class at BYU by Brandon Sanderson last week. He gave us some advice that for me finally clinched how to move forward with my next book: given all the world building I've done for the world of Krackenlan, rather than start a completely new world and series, I'm going to start my new series in the same world--as a kind of prequel. I create really awesome backstory for the current setting with a war that I've always been intrigued by. So next book, I'll jump back in time 175 years and see what happens. I've already developed the initial conflict in my head. This has the potential to be a much more character-driven story. In fact, the two main characters will be the driving factor for all the main action leading to an epic war.

Actually, if that goes well, the next series, about 25 years later in time, has vast potential as well.

Got to get book two of the first novel written at some point, however. Somehow these things just don't seem to write and edit themselves. I can't understand why?

First Blog Ever

This is my first blog ever. Wow! It all got started because of meeting James Dashner at LTUE 2009, and thus history was made. His blog made me laugh heartily, and meeting all the folks from LTUE and reconnecting with them has been fantastic.

Well, we are in Kentucky right now visiting family. It's going to be a great trip even if I don't sleep well sharing the bed with the kids in someone else's home. Good to be with family.

LTUE, by the way, was truly inspiring. I met so many wonderful people who were so talented and interesting and good at writing. Makes me energized to get writing.

Ok, the family beckons, so this first post will have to do.

Adios