Addendum.

For those who are looking for an easy way to keep reading me on my new blog, I've added an email subscription tool to http://jvalka.blogspot.com/ , my new site.  Just scroll down to the bottom of the page and type in your email.  This will send my posts to you automatically.  Or so they say.  I have no idea how this will work.  

Moving day.

For those who read me on a regular basis, please redirect your attention to my new blog: http://jvalka.blogspot.com/ .  From now on I'll be making all of my new posts there.  I will continue to use this blog for reading my subscriptions, leaving comments and managing the World's End blog ring.  Please pardon my dust as I remodel, and thanks for sticking around. 

A book recommendation for writers.

In preparing for the upcoming trial of submission and rejection, I've been trying to arm myself with as much knowledge as possible.  I just finished reading a very fine book called 78 Reasons Why Your Book May Never Be Published, and 14 Reasons Why It Just Might by Pat Walsh.  At times the author is a little too much of a clever smart ass, but I also had several laugh out loud moments.  So many of the reasons why the book may never be published should be painfully obvious (reason number one is "you haven't finished writing it"), but he gets at the very heart of the hopes and illusions that aspiring writers fall prey to. 

In the end, his advice is very practical, and very doable: write the best book that you possibly can (which means check spelling, grammar and do a rewrite), be professional in your approach, don't resort to stupid tricks to get the attention of an agent or editor, know your market and make it clear in your query letter that you know your market, and be patient.

As a professional editor, the author speaks from a position of experience.  He doesn't try to dazzle you offering the "secret trick" that will get you in the door, nor does he give advice on how to write a super mega blockbuster best-seller, get yourself on Oprah and land a million dollar movie deal.  This is a dose of reality, a bit harsh at times perhaps, but necessary in bursting some of the bubbles that people like me get stuck in. In the end, it would seem that editors want the same thing that writers want: to publish really great books that prove to be successful.     

Currently Reading 78 Reasons Why Your Book May Never Be Published and 14 Reasons Why It Just Might By Pat Walsh see related

A happy ending.

Yesterday at work I hunkered down and started writing in earnest.  I did nine full pages after lunch, writing almost non-stop.  This morning I finished “The World” at 17 pages, and in doing so finished the first draft of A Proper Fool.  I noticed that it was 11:00 when I put the pen down, which multiplied by 2 equals 22 – the number of cards in the major arcana, and the number of chapters I’ve written.  I’m not sure what this means, if anything, but I feel compelled to make a note of it.

Immediately after finishing I listened to “What’s Up?” by 4 Non-Blondes, which is my traditional way of marking the completion of a long manuscript.  I first did this back in 1996 when I finished writing The Secret Ministry of Frost, my first novel-length manuscript.  I don’t know exactly what compelled me to do this, but it just seemed right.  I also listened to “Crucify” by Tori Amos, which was the theme song of that particular manuscript.  My theme song for A Proper Fool has been “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” by Neutral Milk Hotel.  I listened to that song after “What’s Up?” 

In the last week or so I’ve been moaning a lot about how I don’t want this to come to an end, but right now I feel really good about it, proud of myself for making it to the end.  I know that I’m not really done of course – I still have to type the last two chapters up and then look at the whole thing with a critical eye toward revision, but the story is now DONE.  I don’t want to spoil it for anybody, but I will say that it has a happy, albeit somewhat bittersweet, ending.  It seems to me that this is perhaps the best kind of ending to have.

Currently Listening Bigger, Better, Faster, More! By 4 Non Blondes What's Up? see related

Very near the end.

Right now I'm writing "The World," my final chapter of A Proper Fool.  With a little bit of diligence, I should finish over the weekend.  The only thing keeping me from the end is my desire not to see it end.  I'm pressing on though, feeling hideously ambivalent as I do so.