Adam Heine's Blog, page 33

How I Got My Agent, Part I

I don't know about you, but when I read these stories, I'm always more interested in how long and difficult the journey was (it encourages me when I'm dealing with The Long and Difficult myself). So this first part is everything leading up to the call. The part where Tricia chose me comes on Friday.



BACKGROUND

2003-2008: I wrote a novel (Travelers). I learned what a query letter is. I got rejected a lot.



2008-2010: I wrote another novel (Air Pirates). I got lots of feedback on it, learned...

AchievementLevelUpUnlockedHolyCrapYouGuys!!!

Three and a half years ago, I started this blog just so I could type this sentence:



I HAVE AN AGENT.


























I am now represented by Tricia Lawrence of Erin Murphy Literary Agency. She's a new agent with a great agency, and she is very excited about Air Pirates. I can't wait to start working on this thing again.



I'm aware, of course, that this doesn't change the game. I've beaten a boss, but there are more levels to come, and the princess is in another castl...

On Choosing an Idea

I've created a label for demotivational posters. You're welcome.

Sadistic Choices: The Third Option

So you've got your Sadistic Choice (and hey look, I decided). The fate of the world -- which obviously rests in Erasmo's hands -- is to either become slaves forever to the evil Biebots, or else rip a hole in the space-time continuum, thus destroying the Biebots but also humanity as we know it. How do you, the author, decide what he does?



First, there is no right or wrong answer, but there are potential pitfalls which we'll get to in a second. Like everything in writing, what matters is not s...

The Enemy of Self-Publishing

The self-publishers I know personally are really great people. They're kind, open, and smart about why they went with self-publishing. Most of all, they don't think someone like me is an idiot for aiming at traditional publishing. I have no proof, but I like to believe this attitude is the majority.



But, like everything else on the internet, there is a loud, vocal minority of meanie heads.



It feels like most of the self-pubbing rhetoric out there is antagonistic. Like self-pubbing is a side...

On Overcoming Phobias

(In which my loving wife tries to reassure me as I leave for the hospital)

Cindy: "How about this? Would you rather get your blood drawn or go to the dentist?"

Me: "That's a mean question."

Cindy: "Well?"

Me: "All right. If it was just a tooth cleaning, then I guess . . . No, the dentist lasts longer."

Cindy: "See?"

Me: "Fine. I'd rather get my blood drawn than go to the dentist. There, I said it."

Cindy: "How about 'Yay! I'm getting my blood drawn!'"

Me: "Don't push it."

The Sadistic Choice

One of the things that can make fiction compelling is an impossible, sadistic choice. Like in Hunger Games, when you want both Katniss and Peeta to live, but you know only one of them can. Or like I said about Open Minds, where Kira has to decide whether to lie about having no mind powers, to mindjack everyone she loves, or to tell the truth and put herself in serious danger.



An impossible choice keeps you reading, because you don't know what you would do in that situation, and you want ...

Statistics, Milestones, and Statistics

As of this morning (last night for you in the Americas), the first draft of Post-Apocalyptic Dragon-Riding Ninjas (with Mechs!) is finished, and I can breathe a big sigh of relief. Not because the work is done (far, FAR from it), but because drafting is my least favorite part of the process.



To celebrate, I'm posting these pre-revision statistics on the four finished novels I have sitting on my computer. (What, you don't think statistics are fun? Perhaps you've mistaken this blog for someone...

My Nightmares 2: The Maze

Wait for it...

In Which I Map Social Media to High School Like Everyone Else, but with an Actual Map

It's a little frightening to me how well my social media experience maps onto my high school ones. This is a picture of how. Your mileage, of course, may vary (particularly if you hung out in the gym -- for me, that was like one of the Circles of Hell).







 Classrooms: Where we did Actual Work. This is why we were at high school, but nobody wanted to admit it. And for sure nobody wanted to hang out here. If we could, we would've hung out outside all the time.



Rally Court: Our quad was lou...