A week and a half ago, my ex-literary-agent told me he’d gotten out of fiction. I immediately started contacting other agents, and I had to rework the proposal plus get together a submission history. So far, so good.
But in doing so, something strange has happened. And it’s wonderful too. I’m writing again.
For a while, I’ve been stalled on the sequel to the romantic comedy the agent was selling. For Nanowrimo 2006, I dumped out 60k words on the sequel novel, and it was a lot of fun. But about the end of the first week of December, I took a break. I’ve been writing short stuff, humor, essays, and promotional stuff for Seven Archangels: Annihilation, but nothing on the novel.
In May, 2007, when we were days away from signing a two-book deal for the romantic comedy and its sequel, I was working on it again and had gotten it up to 70,000 words, when some bigwig from the publisher squashed the whole deal. Said it was “so offensive” he’d lose his job over it. Really. Even though the entire editorial and marketing departments had seen it and loved it, somehow without seeing the proposal, this guy had figured out it was offensive enough to get him fired.
Go me! Who knew a plump housewife from Angeltown could get people fired whom she’d never even met?
But at that point, I stopped working on it again. Until this weekend.
I haven’t done much. But I’ve done something. I’ve been writing. It’s really kind of wonderful, and I’m hoping it continues.
1380 more words today! I hope I can keep this going.
okay, my head is still tilted sideways on the “offensive” business – uh, huh??? *shakes head, rubs out crick* whatever! i’m glad you’re writing again! i hope it will continue as well.
You’d better be careful — I’m so offensive that commenting on my weblog could be a career-killer. Millions of “Karen”s across the nation might be fired just because their employers aren’t quite sure if they’re you. 😉
I actually even wrote a bit more last night after commenting about 1380 words, so maybe it’ll ‘stick’ this time. I hope so.
fired?!? hmmm, would a last name and address help any with that? 🙂
quick question – on what you’re working on right now (or this type of draft), are you writing it out by hand or on a computer? is that a silly question since most everyone is computerbound these days? sometimes i still have to see stuff in my own handwriting on notebook paper.
hope you’re pouring out tons of meaningful and blushingly offensive words today!
Frankly, since this is over the web, you might not even be using your legal FIRST name! I guess everyone needs to get fired.
I generally write first drafts longhand. That’s my favorite way to go, as it feels more intimate, especially when done with a fountain pen, and I feel more as if I’m lingering over the words and choosing the right ones. Then when I enter in the longhand document, it’s “one more draft” and gives me time to hear how it sounds.
The romantic comedy “feels” faster-paced, and so I’m doing it on the computer. Nanowrimo novels also start and end on the computer. “Seven Archangels: Annihilation” went longhand first and then got entered into the computer. Short fiction and flash/humor all goes straight into the computer. Poetry goes either way.
Right now, I’m saving my offensive words for the body shop that killed my car battery. Grr. It’s dead again, and I had errands to run.
Ouch on the car battery.
I have my suspicions that you’re actually an anorexic, pimple-faced 60-year old hermaphrodite who reads kids’ books and Plato when he’s not making a living as a bounty hunter.
I thought the agent was responsible for the submission history. After all, he’s the one doing the submissions.
If I were to post a picture of me, you’d immediately strike “anorexic” from any of the adjectives anyone would ever use to describe me. 🙂 I do read kids books, not so much the Plato, and I think being a bounty hunter would be really cool if it didn’t involve being shot at.
(But I could *write* a Plato-reading bounty hunter. Offensively, of course.)
1530 more words today. I really need a ticker for this, don’t I?