Hilary Wagner's Blog, page 4

"...and the cat won." The End

Due to a CRAZY schedule I'm taking some time off from the old blog, which I've never done before. I have Lords of Trillium, Book III of the Nightshade Chronicles to finish soon, and I feel a little bit like poor crazy Muffin, who looks like she's about to lose it on whoever is snapping that picture! 

On a cool note, Nightshade City and The White Assassin are available on nook, and will be available in e-format on Kobo, Amazon, and iTunes in the very near future! Very exciting to see my book on nook! As always, my publisher did a bang-up job!

I'll be back in October, unless Muffin gets to me first! ;)

Hilary

I Sent WHAT????

We've all done it. I don't care how well published you are or how new to the industry you are, but we've all sent something out with a big fat humbling and in most cases highly visible typo--and usually more than one. It's unavoidable. No matter how many times you read through a manuscript, you are bound to miss things from time to time.
If you've recently sent something out to an agent or editor and realized you've left in some conspicuous typos, don't freak out. Take a step back and know that it happens to everyone. Besides, if someone was going to bounce you out of consideration for a typo or two (or even a couple more) in your 250 page manuscript, possibly it's someone you wouldn't want to work with anyhow. Clearly, there are flagrant typos in some manuscripts, wherein the reader is tripping over one in every paragraph, that's not going to fly, but everyone, from writers, to agents, to editors, miss things now and again. After all, we are only human and if humans were perfect, there would never be typos in published books--bestselling books--books that have been combed through by the author, editor, readers, and copy editors, among others. I mean, it happens. It does. Period.
Tips for catching typos:Print it out: Print out the full manuscript. Somehow a lot more typos slip by the naked eye staring at a monitor, than when you hold the physical manuscript, knocking out typos like Mike Tyson with your almighty red pen.
Read your work out loud: This requires you to read everyword from start to finish. Time consuming and dry throat inducing? Yes, but a lot more effective than skimming through it silently.
Let your work sit a while: This is a hard one for me, as I'm about as patient as a stock broker, but do it. Even if it's just overnight, let your work sit. This will cause you to read your words more thoroughly and thoughtfully the next day, rather than flying through something you were just working on.
A second set of eyes:When time permits, I always have my husband read through my work before I send it off. Since he's reading it for the first time, it's far easier for him to catch "to" versus "too" than it would be for my tired eyes.
Okay, truth time. In my first manuscript I had typos. I think you've probably figured that out by now. After I caught them (which was after I hit "send") I sat at my laptop and cringed, wondering how on earth I could have missed something so glaringly obvious (note: it was only glaringly obvious to me). I probably read through the manuscript at least 50 times, but there they were, "shutters" instead of "shudders", "there" instead of "their". You get the picture. I wondered if I'd be automatically rejected, heck, even black balled! Yes, I was (and still am) a bit of a wackadoodle. But hey, I still got published! Luckily, the typos did not. ;)
Long story short, there will generally be normal inconsequential typos somewhere in something you send out. Don't sweat it. It doesn't change your story or your hard work. It only makes you human.
PS: If there are typos in this post, please blame typo cat. He posted it for me!
Hilary

Answer and Winner of the Mystery Question Giveaway!

I asked last week (in the post below) what do the Disney villains, the Evil Queen, Maleficent, Scar, Gaston, Ratigan, Frollo, and Clayton all have in common...and the winner is Kayeleen Hamblin!! She answered with the correct answer first: They all had a hand (or paw) in their own demises...as it goes with most villains worth their evil salt. Yes, crime does not pay. Okay, well it does sometimes, but it shouldn't! :) 


Congrats, Kayeleen! I'll be sending you five brand spanking new YA ARC's for your super genius answer! Please send me your snail mail address to h.wagner@nightshadecity.com! 


Thanks to all who entered!! Look for more giveaways soon!


Hilary

A Mystery List Contest for 5 YA ARC's!

Okay, what is the below list about? Think carefully, it is not necessarily what you think! Everyone who guesses will be entered to win FIVE fantastic YA ARC's! You don't have to get it right to be entered into the contest! Winner (and the answer) will be announced next week!Evil QueenMaleficentScarGastonRatiganFrolloClayton

Girl Scouts Studio!!

I'm amazed and honored to be featured by the Girl Scouts of America this week as a featured author on Girl Scouts Studio, a showcase for inspiring storytellers of all kinds. I remember when I was a Brownie, wearing my neatly pressed little uniform. I was so impressed with myself when I got to wear it to school! I felt special and that I was part of something really important and I certainly was. The Girl Scouts is such a great organization. It empowers and inspires girls and promotes friendship and understanding, and what could be better than that? Were you a Girl Scout or a Boy Scout or part of a similar organization or club? If so, how did the experience influence you? For me, it made me stronger and more supportive of others--two things that have carried me through my life.

Please check out their interview with me and other authors HERE!

Travel Cat Waves....

Travel Cat has been doing a lot of traveling and feels a little bit like Steve Martin in that movie! He will be back next week with new posts! Until then, HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!

Who is Your Favorite Fictional Daddy?

Happy Father's Day to my husband and my dad and all those great daddies out there! 
Who is your favorite dad in a children's book? I have to say I love the rabbit dad in Guess How Much I Love You! 

Don't be Fooled by First Person Cat!

This is actually First Person Cat
I've always been a third person writer--always--until now. I've recently started a YA novel (insert gasp here) and I wanted to try my hand at first person (place hand over mouth and add another gasp). Yes, it was tough at first. I've always preferred third person in both reading and writing, but finally, I've given in to the dark side...and frankly, I'm liking it. ;)

Now, I will still always write certain books/genres in the third person--which I still love. The Nightshade Chronicles is in third and writing an animal fantasy (especially with a large cast of characters) from the first person perspective might be, well, tricky...but still...interesting. Yes, the moment I wrote that an idea sparked--stupid ideas--always getting me into trouble! We'll just tuck that one away for a much later date.

So, at this point, I really do enjoy both, but what is your preference--first or third? Does it matter to you? Do you read one and write the other?

Office Cat Wants You In His Office NOW!

Most of us have full-time jobs, kids, spouses, laundry, a lawn to mow, soccer games, karate, bills (hate that one), oh, and we need time to sleep. As a writer, how the heck do you balance it all? Do you squeeze in writing where you can or do you have a specific time or day you allow (or force) yourself to write? People ask me how I get me books written. I can attribute a lot to that old adage, If you want something done ask a busy person. Well, the adage goes something like that anyway! It's true, though, on a lazy day where I have all the time in the world, I tend to get nothing done...not even the laundry. Okay, especially the laundry. Funny how that works! ;)

Demigods and Monsters! I'm in the new book!

Late one night just a few weeks back, I received an urgent call from my agent, who never calls late, so I knew it had to be really good news or really bad news. Luckily, it was good--in fact great! I was asked to be part of the new edition of Demigods and Monsters, Your Favorite Authors on Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series! It was such great news, I can't even put it into words, which is not good considering I'm a writer! ;) The new edition releases in March of 2013 and I'm so blown away that I'll be apart of this great anthology! Contributing authors include, Kathi Appelt, Rosemary Clement-Moore, Paul Collins, Cameron Dokey, Sarah Beth Durst, and others, not to mention the man himself, Rick Riordan!

Thanks so much to Leah Wilson, the Editor-in-Chief of Smart Pop Books, my uber cool "passionista" agent Marietta Zacker, and of course, Rick Riordan! I promised Marietta I would not fly and/or drive to San Antonio to stalk him. ;)

This will be my first nonfiction piece, but I'm a huge fan of nonfiction (especially the funny stuff), so I'm hoping I can make it as fun and engaging as the great essays I've read in the first edition of the book!

About the Demigods and Monsters:
The #1 New York Times bestselling Percy Jackson series—including The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse and The Battle of the Labyrinth—features a 12-year-old dyslexic boy who discovers he is the son of a Greek god, the target of mythical Greek monsters and the center of a prophecy that could change the balance of power in the world forever. In Demigods and Monsters, YA authors take on Greek gods, monsters and prophecy, to add insight and even more fun to Riordan’s page-turner series.The book also includes an introduction by Percy Jackson series author Rick Riordan, that gives further insight into the series and its creation, and a glossary of ancient Greek myth, with plenty of information on the places, monsters, gods and heroes that appear in the series.

Okay, so there you have it! Sorry for all the exclamation points! Now I must go back to work and try and come down from Mount Olympus! ;)


Hilary