Technology Fail

My computer is finally starting to say it's long goodbye, which is putting a cramp in how much writing I can get done. ( Cut for those who do not care about my technological woes )

Woke up to a rejection in the inbox. It was a very nice form rejection that included an apology for sending a form rejection. It made me smile, because while that's a very sweet gesture, I don't think any agent should feel the need to apologize for a form rejection. The fact that you bother to send any notification of rejection is actually quite generous on your part. So it's like saying, "I apologize for being extra nice!"

Query Score Card update time! The score is changing not only to reflect the rejections I've gotten, but that I found yet another agent who accepts fantasy that I missed when I re-checked.

Requests - 2 (1 full, 1 partial)

Rejections - 3

Timed Out - 0 (from round 3. All of round 2 has timed out, rejected, or requested)

Still Pending - 4


I'm thinking of posting the agents I've found, thus far, that accept SF/F fiction along with a more specific list of what they have/do accept. I know other lists like this are out there, so would it be helpful to anyone else if I did this or no?

I've found that a lot of agents who will look kindly on vampires, werewolves and leather-clad heroines have no interest in science fiction or higher end fantasy, and I think it's a bit deceptive on the part of some search engines to say that a writer accepts "fantasy" - because that's like saying, for example, that Scott Lynch and Laurell K. Hamilton are writing the exact same thing and if you've ever read The Lies of Locke Lamora or any of the Merry Gentry or Anita Blake series, you know they're not.

Correction to Query Score Card

Brief correction, for anyone who isn't me who actually cares (the tens and tens of you), to the Query Score Card. I was going through the 'sent folder' to make sure I hadn't missed anything and discovered that, actually, one of my agents has timed out.

The partial I sent back in September has now timed out. The agent's submissions guidelines state that she takes 8-10 weeks to get back, and since it's been 10 weeks since sending the partial, that means that she is politely declining.

That brings the score card for Round Three up to:

Requests - 1 (full)

Rejections - 3

Timed Out - 1 (partial)

Still Pending - 4


On the side of good news, I have an orange kitten who is fascinated by the sound of the garbage truck going past and watching him try to figure out what it is kind of makes life worth living. And now he's snuggled up next to me, getting his purr on.

Yep, whatever else happens, even if I never get a publishing deal, never make it to the shelves, never get all the other things in my life I so badly want, I have this much. I have stories that I love to tell, even if just to myself and I have a great husband and an orange kitten and I am far, far luckier than I could ever deserve.

And now the orange kitten is letting me know that I have a flavor and that flavor is kind of sappy. Ah, cats. Always there to remind you that no matter how good you are, you're still just a human.

Stuff and other stuff

I just discovered that I started Invisible!Book about twenty pages early, and that it should start around the middle of chapter two. Luckily, I discovered this 6,000 words in rather than 30,000 words in like I did with Soul Machines. I'd be writing faster, but, my computer is in it's death throes. *sigh*

I want to write faster, because I feel like I'm failing right now in all aspects of this and I really don't want to fail.

But enough about me, have some links:

Conventions and Writing, or Schmoozing 101 by Mary Robinette Kowal - a good guide for networking and interacting for writers at conventions. Since one of my biggest New Year's Resolutions is to network with writing and publishing folk and not just on LJ or the interwebs, this is really useful stuff. Especially since I've never been to a convention, ever. (Thanks to the ever-awesome ecmyers for the link via Twitter).

Alien Water World found. Kind of awesome science stuff. I'd never heard of ice-seven, but now I just have to use it in a story somewhere because it just too awesome. I didn't realize there were different types of ice to begin with, but apparently there are many ice phases, even up to an Ice XV. Wow, they keep making ice like Saw sequels.

OnNYTurf.com Subway Map. A very useful tool that I can't believe I'm just now discovering, but it's actually better than Google Maps for getting places. I mention it because those of you who write about NYC but don't live here might find it useful if you need to plot a character's travel route through the Big Apple. It plots the route for you, so you can see what landmarks your character might pass.