Bryan Koepke's Blog: http://bryankoepke.com/blog, page 6
February 1, 2014
What's new with my pursuit of an agent to represent my novel, Vengeance, you ask?
What's new with my pursuit of an agent to represent my novel, Vengeance, you ask? As of last night I've sent out 10 query letters and received 3 rejections. Now that I have a few rejections under my belt I'm in good company. J.K Rowling's first Harry Potter novel was rejected 12 times. Jack London received 600 rejections before selling his first story. Fellow thriller author John Grisham's first novel, A Time to Kill, was rejected by 15 publishers and 30 agents. Stephen King's first novel, Carrie, was rejected 30 times. More than 350 million copies of his novels are now in print.
So what's an author to do while being rejected you ask? The answer is: constantly review and edit one's query letter, synopsis, and first 10 pages. Then once I've worked myself up into a frenzy sit back and work on the next novel.
Along those lines I'm very pleased with the plot I've devised for the book 2 in the Reece Culver series. This one is definitely shaping up to be a techno thriller drawing from my 20+ years of work in the field of engineering. Perhaps book 3 will draw upon the 5 years I've been in finance. You know they say write what you know. Now if I can only gain the interest of a solid literary agent I'll be on my way to getting published so all of you can get some enjoyment out of my blood, sweat, and tears.
So what's an author to do while being rejected you ask? The answer is: constantly review and edit one's query letter, synopsis, and first 10 pages. Then once I've worked myself up into a frenzy sit back and work on the next novel.
Along those lines I'm very pleased with the plot I've devised for the book 2 in the Reece Culver series. This one is definitely shaping up to be a techno thriller drawing from my 20+ years of work in the field of engineering. Perhaps book 3 will draw upon the 5 years I've been in finance. You know they say write what you know. Now if I can only gain the interest of a solid literary agent I'll be on my way to getting published so all of you can get some enjoyment out of my blood, sweat, and tears.
January 26, 2014
Update on The Writers Cabin Blog, The Reece Culver Series, and other pursuits.
Attention to this BLOG - I'm currently working 7 days a week at my day job trying to make a deadline for a big project I've been assigned. With that and my need to write daily, the Blog is suffering. When the smoke clears I'll get back to Blogging.
The Reece Culver Series Book 1 - As you know if you've been following my posts, either here or on Facebook I finished book 1, VENGEANCE, in the Reece Culver Series. I started sending out queries to literary agents on January 3rd. As of this date I've sent out a total of 8 and so far have gotten one response back.
The Reece Culver Series - Book 2
Book 2 in the series will be a Techno Thriller and is coming along nicely. This new book will make extensive use of Reece's background as an Aerospace Test Engineer. It will also contain at least one flying scene. I've fleshed out the plot and am making good headway toward my goal of completing draft 1 by March 31, 2014. The first book in the series took 20 plus drafts to get to the point where I was satisfied that it was done. Of course all of us writers have a hard time calling something done. We learn new tricks, advance our craft, and read the work of others. All of these things keep us moving forward, improving, working toward being the best we can be as authors. My number one goal is entertaining the reader.
The Reece Culver Series Book 1 - As you know if you've been following my posts, either here or on Facebook I finished book 1, VENGEANCE, in the Reece Culver Series. I started sending out queries to literary agents on January 3rd. As of this date I've sent out a total of 8 and so far have gotten one response back.
The Reece Culver Series - Book 2
Book 2 in the series will be a Techno Thriller and is coming along nicely. This new book will make extensive use of Reece's background as an Aerospace Test Engineer. It will also contain at least one flying scene. I've fleshed out the plot and am making good headway toward my goal of completing draft 1 by March 31, 2014. The first book in the series took 20 plus drafts to get to the point where I was satisfied that it was done. Of course all of us writers have a hard time calling something done. We learn new tricks, advance our craft, and read the work of others. All of these things keep us moving forward, improving, working toward being the best we can be as authors. My number one goal is entertaining the reader.
January 18, 2014
How to Overcome Writer's Block
Don't you hate writer's block?
You have this great idea that you've been running through your head all week, but now that you've sat down to write there's this big blank screen in front of you. You force yourself and manage to write a few words only to be enticed by that big blue Facebook icon. Someone might have commented on my post. Oh, and I need to tell everyone about the trip I took last weekend.
You go back to that page of your manuscript. The one you managed to write two sentences on earlier. It's there again that blank white page that makes up 4/5th's of the page below your two measly sentences.
"I've been meaning to look at the movie listings for Friday night," you say to yourself. "I wonder what time that movie I was thinking about is playing?"
We've all been there. There are times when the words flow and their are times when we must force ourselves to write.
9 Steps for Overcoming Writer's Block
1. Schedule a time to write. During this time don't look at anything but your writing. Block out 60 to 90 minutes and don't do anything but write. If you're having trouble getting started go back a few chapters in your manuscript, or a few lines in you poem and read your work. If you're still stuck begin at page one and edit. Look at sentence construction. Hunt for grammatical errors. Read your work out loud and listen to the dialog and the flow of your prose. Can it be improved?
2. If you're writing multiple subplots pick one and stick with it. Get into the head of that character by reading your notes, and the work you've previously produced. Read the scenes and start writing the next one in the thread.
3. Organize your chapter and scene ideas. For this I use an Excel spreadsheet with different colors for each subplot. If the writing isn't coming spend your time organizing and outlining your chapters and plot.
4. Resist the urge to look at the internet. I once read that a bestselling thriller author sets an alarm clock when he sits down to work on his manuscript. When the alarm goes off in 1-2 hours the author allows himself half an hour to read e-mails or surf the web.
5. Exercise at least 3 days a week. Get moving. Walk, run, or go to a heath club and move that bod of yours. It's good for you, burns calories, and gives you time to think. Exercise produces endorphins, which tend to make you happy. The happier you are the more motivated you'll be and the more likely you are to keep to your writing schedule.
6. Read the work of writers. If you're like me you love to read and find that when you do you'll get ideas about things to include in your own stories. Pick up a book in a genre that's different from the one you write in.
7. Get out of the house and see a movie. Go out with friends. Attend a lecture. See some sports or listen to some music.
8. Take a vacation. Go camping, hiking, skiing. Browse a bookstore, go to the library, or just take a walk down a busy metropolitan street. Go to a museum. Nurture your brain.
9. Get a good night's rest. If you're like me you don't produce your best work when you're tired. Coffee helps, but there are some Saturday mornings after a hard week at work when the last thing I can do well is write fiction. If you're having one of these days give yourself a break and spend the day away from the computer.
If you've had writer's block I'd like to hear what you've done to work through it.
You have this great idea that you've been running through your head all week, but now that you've sat down to write there's this big blank screen in front of you. You force yourself and manage to write a few words only to be enticed by that big blue Facebook icon. Someone might have commented on my post. Oh, and I need to tell everyone about the trip I took last weekend.
You go back to that page of your manuscript. The one you managed to write two sentences on earlier. It's there again that blank white page that makes up 4/5th's of the page below your two measly sentences.
"I've been meaning to look at the movie listings for Friday night," you say to yourself. "I wonder what time that movie I was thinking about is playing?"
We've all been there. There are times when the words flow and their are times when we must force ourselves to write.
9 Steps for Overcoming Writer's Block
1. Schedule a time to write. During this time don't look at anything but your writing. Block out 60 to 90 minutes and don't do anything but write. If you're having trouble getting started go back a few chapters in your manuscript, or a few lines in you poem and read your work. If you're still stuck begin at page one and edit. Look at sentence construction. Hunt for grammatical errors. Read your work out loud and listen to the dialog and the flow of your prose. Can it be improved?
2. If you're writing multiple subplots pick one and stick with it. Get into the head of that character by reading your notes, and the work you've previously produced. Read the scenes and start writing the next one in the thread.
3. Organize your chapter and scene ideas. For this I use an Excel spreadsheet with different colors for each subplot. If the writing isn't coming spend your time organizing and outlining your chapters and plot.
4. Resist the urge to look at the internet. I once read that a bestselling thriller author sets an alarm clock when he sits down to work on his manuscript. When the alarm goes off in 1-2 hours the author allows himself half an hour to read e-mails or surf the web.
5. Exercise at least 3 days a week. Get moving. Walk, run, or go to a heath club and move that bod of yours. It's good for you, burns calories, and gives you time to think. Exercise produces endorphins, which tend to make you happy. The happier you are the more motivated you'll be and the more likely you are to keep to your writing schedule.
6. Read the work of writers. If you're like me you love to read and find that when you do you'll get ideas about things to include in your own stories. Pick up a book in a genre that's different from the one you write in.
7. Get out of the house and see a movie. Go out with friends. Attend a lecture. See some sports or listen to some music.
8. Take a vacation. Go camping, hiking, skiing. Browse a bookstore, go to the library, or just take a walk down a busy metropolitan street. Go to a museum. Nurture your brain.
9. Get a good night's rest. If you're like me you don't produce your best work when you're tired. Coffee helps, but there are some Saturday mornings after a hard week at work when the last thing I can do well is write fiction. If you're having one of these days give yourself a break and spend the day away from the computer.
If you've had writer's block I'd like to hear what you've done to work through it.
