Week One Update

I'm one of those people who when told there is good news and bad news always wants the bad news first. I'm not really a pessimist I just like to get the bad news over with so I can start celebrating the good news.

Bad news: of the 11 queries I sent out this week, 3 of them were 'no thanks.' The good part of the bad news (see? I am an optimist!) is that they were nice rejections. Basically they were the literary version of the 'it's-not-you-it's-me' break up. One agent said, "Unfortunately, I don't feel like I'm quite the right agent match. I'm afraid that I didn't connect the narrative voice as strongly as you'd want an agent advocate to." Another was short and sweet: "Thank you for thinking of me, but I am not a good fit for this!" As depressing as rejections are, these are better than the generic Dear Author rejections I've received in the past and way better than the non-responders that leave me hanging.

On to the good news: of those same 11 queries 2 agents requested to read the full manuscript! To continue with my dating metaphor, this is the equivalent of being asked out on a second date after the first one went so well. And not just a coffee date but dinner and movie!

Even more good news: I heard from my editor regarding the Sydney books and they are going to begin production soon. I asked her to please keep me posted on the details so I can blog the progress. I had pitched the Olive Jooce series to her when I submitted the Sydney books so I let her know that they are coming right along. (Boy, if I continue with this dating metaphor it's going to sound like I'm seeing a lot of people!)

Thanks to a sleepover at my house last night that involved more gaming than sleeping I was up at 3 a.m. and worked through the details of book two. I had the basic premise already (Olive is afraid to jump off the diving board) and was able to flesh out the story. When I got up for the second time to tell those boys to turn off the game and go to sleep I jotted down my thoughts. Thankfully this morning they still made sense and I was able to outline the chapters. Writing will begin Monday morning.

Here's hoping for another productive week!