No news yet. Still waiting on the Agent Train for my stop.
Although, I did receive what is to date, the best rejection letter of my life.
An agent I was really into requested my full manuscript. That in it of itself warrants a !!!! But the next email I received from them went something like this:
I cannot represent you. Because I cannot finish reading your manuscript. …Because it is giving me nightmares.
!!!!!!!! Holy smokes man. I could not have asked for a better endorsement. People who have problems sleeping are going to have a hard time reading about the near extinction of the human race due to mass insomnia… So I guess that goes for agents as well!
I’m going to look at horror agents now, because this manuscript is far more horrifying that I originally gave it credit for. >:)
I’m also working on a new project which I will soon be able to share with you. It will be presented in audio format, and has been great fun to work on so far.
Also, I added a link my in “Craft” links- this one to a blurb I wrote on reddit, about my planning process! It has tons of links to various entries in this blog to elaborate.
SO meanwhile, because I really like that you stopped by, you beautiful resilient caribou, you astonishing display of peacock feathers, you stack of waffles, you, dear reader, I will add some fluff here. Because I like sharing. And laughing.
Want to get lost in Youtube watching cake-spinning videos with me? Because they are *singsong voice* amazing!
My fav:
When I wrote this draft I was mega hungry, so a lot of this first bit is food related. NOW though, I am stuffed FULL of waffles and have a Magnificent Sandwich (band name called it patent pending HG Bleackley 2014) waiting for me for lunch. Chicken. Brie. Pear. Hoooo man I am going to have to wait a while on that though… waffles are my world right now.
How about some pictures instead?
Nooooooooo
Something else! Not cake! Not food!
Wait for it…
.
.
.
WHOMMP
NOOOOOOOO ok how about- this is how dogs drink!
Ah yes, the rare 9-legged Plover.
And then sometimes, you’re like, no freakin’ way.
Banana!
That’s all for now folks!
Back to agent hunting. And when I have this audio-project ready, you’ll be the first to know.
First a video of my kitty playing! She’s rather subdued when she reaches the end of her “running around” phase of playing. When she moves into her “rolling around” phase, I really enjoy playing with her and her mouse toy this way. Cutest!
Next up is some art my mom made with Aaron’s Wild Gears! Holy smokes she’s been crankin’ ’em out.
Photo of his newly-opened gear sheet, by Scott Bleackley:
And in writing news, I’m hearing back from literary agents. The consensus is very positive- I’m getting a lot of “Great idea!” type comments, but so far all of them don’t feel like they’re the right agent to champion my manuscript. *crosses fingers* One of them has got to be the one. I’ll keep looking. I submit to really cool people, and it’s sometimes hard to tell if they’ll be into what I got goin’ on, but I’ve got to get it right one of these times!
Tonight: Ink Club! I’ll spend the night researching several more literary agents I’d like to submit to.
This involves reading interviews they’ve done, looking up what people on Absolute Write Water Cooler have to say about them, and looking up their past sales. It takes time, but it lets me know if I think they’d be a match for me and my work.
I’ll keep you posted, of course. Thanks so much for stopping by!
World War ZZZ is a book about what would happen if the world stopped sleeping. It’s gripping, compelling, and heartbreaking. It showcases the depths that humanity can sink to, and also the heights to which it can soar, when put to the ultimate test.
It’s written. It’s edited. (Side note- this is the fewest edits I’ve ever received from my beta readers; I’m getting pretty darn good at editing! Or maybe the story was so good that their attention was elsewhere? Either way I’m pretty stoked.)
And now comes a part I’ve previously dreaded: approaching agents with the work to see if they would represent it and take it to publishers.
But I’m not dreading it. I’m actually feeling pretty pumped about it. Why? Because I know this book will pull people in. I know it will sell. I am so confident in this manuscript that I am in danger of feeling overly confident. A little arrogant maybe even.
After all, this was the most difficult thing I’ve ever written, and it turned out damn good. Damn good I say old chap.
Or maybe this feeling is covering for the terror of agent-hunting yet again? *nervous laughter*
In any case, I’ve queried a few agents who I’d love to work with. Watching interviews and looking at their existing clientele is a great way to see if an agent is for you, and so far I’ve found several who I think would rep this novel well.
So I’ll keep you updated with how it’s going. Every full request bolsters my spirit, every rejection is expected. I’ll grab one of them enough to go to bat for World War ZZZ, and then we’ll get this party really started.
In the mean time, here’s a great way to find and share music I’ve been participating in:
plug.dj.com is pretty neat! You basically are in a room with people sharing music, and you can share too! You have three options when a song is playing: woot! (you like it), grab (you like it enough to save it for later listening), and meh (you don’t care for it).
I’ve been listening to tunes with the folks on the Miner Apocalypse minecraft server, and you can come see if anyone is DJing, here. If not, set up a playlist! 🙂 Once I begin my next project, I’ll be playing music to write to here. (I’ll let you know when the tunes star flowing in case you want some writing background sound too!) I love making playlists to add to the ambiance of whatever genre I’m writing. Western Inspiration, Noir, Epic Film Soundtracks, Rock.
If you hear something you like, grab it for later, and then find it in iTunes! I’ve bought more new music from hearing it on plug.dj than anything else recently.
Hope to see/hear you there!
I played Banished for a little too much there… I had three builders building their town’s first Tavern, and I’ve never seen them work so fast.
Heh.
What else. Oh man, at the end of writing, I was binge-watching TV shows like it was my job. It was such a good escape from the horrors I was crafting in the novel, even though some of the shows I watched took horror to a whole new level.
Like, holy smokes.
It’s terrible, but such a guiltly pleasure.
And then it was Attack on Titan.
I could write a whole post on this one, but I think the less I say, the better. I went into it knowing very little, and it was a better experience for it.
I’ll tell you it’s an anime, it’s brutal, and scary and disturbing. There are giant monsters that eat people. The monsters look like people. We made walls to keep them out, and we live in a safe zone inside the outer wall. The show begins on the day that this outer wall is breached.
Just an amazing show. Many feelings. Such tears. Wow.
Yesterday, after I spent the morning querying, I watched Rick and Morty, and I loved it. Oh, Dan Harmon is involved (you know, from Community?).
It’s pretty dope. And then around episode 6 it goes from funny to like, way more serious than I was expecting. Like, things got real. And I loved it even more.
The last of the TV worth mentioning is this stunning HBO miniseries, True Detective. Talk about sublime characterization; my god man, this show pulled me in and wouldn’t let go until the final second. I gotta recommend it.
Oh yeah, I haven’t just been studying storytelling/rotting my brain with TV… I have been play testing a board game in development, and reading. I read The Handmaid’s Tale (how on earth did I go this long without having read Margaret Atwood! I skipped grade 11 English so maybe it wasn’t entirely the school’s fault…).
I’m also giving Neil Gaiman a rare 4th shot. Usually it’s 3 strikes and you’re out. But when I tell people I’m not into Neil Gaiman I get looks like I’ve just drowned a sac of puppies or something… *sigh* So I’ll try again. I really want to like his writing.
Anyway this post is bordering on the rambling, so I’ll end it here. I’ll keep you updated with good news as it comes in.
Thank you all for your support. It’s really lovely of you to continue to stop by and see how things are going on this long road to being a published author! ❤
H.G. Bells 