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Works in Progress...

Time for an update on my current works in progress... or WIPs

1. Runaway Choices - The story of the snarky 23 year old, Beck. Right now she is in Ireland (started the story at 35,000 feet on her way to London) near the Caisleán Bhaile Atha Troim or Castle Trim.

Written in first person. Word count 30,413, about half way there. Genre: Fantasy Chick Fiction

This is the one I have been working on lately, so if you follow #WIPFire on Twitter, these lines come from this WIP. Though, I have been known to throw out a Mandorian Prophecy line here and there ;)

2. Unseen Chronicles - Haven't touched it in a while. Mainly because I need some true stories to base the Chronicles off of. So if you have you have a true story you want to share with me of you overcoming tremendous odds (in any situation) and you feel like someone was "helping" you along the way.... give me a holler... I would like to fictionalize it... in a good way ;)

Written from an unseen perspective. Emotional, Spiritual... I have the Chronicles Ishmael, Asher, Stephen, Zahalon finished.. Jacob started, need 8(ish) more.

Word count around 16,000, need more stories! Genre: Paranormal Spiritual Religious Fiction(?)

3. Mandorian Prophecies Series - Rings of Time - First Book in series is completed, edited and I am actually writing the query now. I paused writing Runaway Choices for a bit while I edited the blasted thing, but I needed a break from the seemlessly never ending edits on that sucker and picked up on Choices last night. But it will be queried soon. That is a goal I intend NOT to break.

Complete at just under 75,000 words, it's YA Fantasy.

4. Mandorian Prophecies Series - Secrets of Mandor - Second book in series is complete and on the editors desk. I think last time I received an update it was 9% edited. Hoping it will be done in 2010 ;) No pressure Mr. Editor (who also doubles as my husband).

Complete at just under 78,000 words, before the edit and of course it's YA Fantasy as well.

5. Mandorian Prophecies - Unnamed at the moment - Third book in the series, needs to be plotted ;) And I have only written a bit of the beginning. I have to do chapter summaries of books 1 & 2 and make sure I tie up lose ends before I start, but I plan to complete it in 2010...

So if you kept tabs, I have three novels to complete in 2010... three! But I am pretty sure I can do it, well save the awesome possibility that I get picked up or come up with another idea that wont shut up until I write it... *shrug*

Yes, yes, I live in a Fantasy ;)

Query Facts, By Eisley

Whoa, if you thought writing a novel was hard, try fitting your whole novel on one page and having it make sense! THAT is hard...

So the query writing continues. But goodness, I am learning so much about it every day. Things that I will take with me into the wild blue yonder when I go... (why do people go to the wild blue yonder anyway?!)

So... what have we learned? Like I said, a ton. Here are just a couple things that I have noted.

How to start: 

You know, I was told by more then one writer tips on how to start this query. More then one (six) said they suggested to look at the back/jacket of your favorite book and go from there. I am here today to dispell that tip and tell you to ignore it.

Why? Well, in no way is a query similar to what is on the back of a book! The book teaser is designed to give you the desire to read the story, to pull you in to discover all that is within it's pages. It has mystery and intrigue... while yes, your agent wants mystery and intrigue, you can't share your book idea without sharing the nuggets which most certainly are not on the back of the book. If you can get passed this myth, query writing will get that much easier.

The agent WANTS to hear about the turning point in your MS, the information you want your reader to discover, the thing that you want them to GASP at! The agent NEEDS to know this, it's not for them to guess or for you to be vague about. Extremely different then the teaser on the jacket.

So, please, please... if you are suggesting people look on the back of their favorite books... don't. It just screws us all up in the head ;) Making us think we are supposed to be vague and not give you the Ps and Qs.

HOWEVER, they do not want a synopsis of the book. They want you to draw for them your novel in a few short lines... It should take them five minutes to read your query. Not twenty.

Elements of the Query:

Your query should include two distinct elements:

• Information about your novel
• Information about you 

That is it. The agent doesn't want you to waste her/his time by telling them how long you have written this novel, the time you have spent polishing it, paying for it to be edited etc... They just want to read the query and move on. They get 500 queries or more a week, and if you are wasting their time straight off... form rejection. I have read this over and over on agent sites and FAQs and so this is important.


When do I send it? (When is it complete?):
Never ever ever send out a query if you haven't been rewriting your query for weeks... yes, I said it WEEKS! Do I need to repeat that? No... okay, but really. I mean it. Here's why...


I thought I wrote "The Best Newbie Query Evah" in October... Like serious. It was THE BOMB.

Yah... it certainly bombed! It was the vaguest most suckiest thing someone could actually submit... and I submitted it to TWO agencies... TWO! Got rejections letters to prove it!

*hangs head in shame*

You do have to start somewhere but go up from there. With the help of some other writers the query is shaping up. In fact, my deluded self thought once again, "The is NOW the best newbie query evah!"

Yah... ummm... no.

*palmface*

I have been humbled... yet again. While I am not discouraged at all in the query writing process, I have realized that when I say "... best evah..." it is nearly never that.

But, the query writing process is just that... a process. Get others to look at it for you, suggest some things. Peer input can not be discounted! Yes, I know it's hard to let your peers read your "Not so perfect/Best Evah" stuff... but if you want to be a writer, you have to get peer input.

Personalization:
Personalization only matters... sometimes (Check out this article from Weronika Janczuk). Which takes a whole lot of brown nosing pressure off! I mean, if I genuinely have a connection to the agent somehow, fine I will include it... but I am not one for sucking up anyway so this is awesome.  Phew!

However, that does not mean blindly sending with no name or read up on the agent. That is a given, you must do that. State right away what you are writing them for: "I am seeking agency representation and would appreciate your consideration" Around this point if you do have a connection with the agent, this is where you would say it... please don't say something like "Yah, my cousin Luna said you are awesome!"  Something like, "Luna Lovegood, from the Quibbler, suggested I... blah blah blah." Make it short and sweet. Like I said, don't waste their time. You don't have to remind them of their connection to their "friend". If they are truly a friend worth mentioning, they will remember.

Draw your story out: 
You have been writing this novel for 1-10 years now. You know the ins and outs of it like you know your own children, and maybe in some cases, even more so!

But the agent has never heard it. Draw your story out (and I do not mean draw it out in the long sense... but help it to flow! Bring it to light!) Write an interview or something in first person. Put yourself  in your MCs shoes and write something out about what you need to get across.

If your MS is already written in first person, try it from the reporter position. Write out EVERYTHING you can think of... then keep it handy when you start your query. It may not work for you, but it did for me.

Don't Stress: 
You know, when I started this process, I think I got ulcers. I was very worried about sending agents my stuff, well I still am but I have a healthier understanding of this whole process.

It's nothing personal if they send you a rejection. Could be one of a thousands reasons they couldn't take you on at this time. Maybe they are searching for a specific thing and you just aren't it... YET! I stress on yet... the market changes as much as the weather does. What is in today, could be on it's way out tomorrow. What is not accepted today, could be the "Best Evah" tomorrow. So press on, send out your queries and frame your first rejection. It will be a beautiful reminder to you later that you didn't give up.

Did you know Jack Canfield the author of Chicken Soup for the Soul was rejected 134 times, including 20 major publishers?

Chicken Soup for the Souls agent, Jeff Herman, says:

No rejection is fatal until the writer walks away from the battle leaving dreams and goals behind.

Which means... get up, dust your sandals off, and submit again. In this technical day and age, the costs is virtually nothing. You have no excuses.

So, what are you waiting for? Go finish that novel and write the "perfect" query.

Oh yah, that is another thing I have learned... "There is no such thing as a perfect query."

Well, that was something else...

So today, or yesterday since most of you (all two) will read this tomorrow...

So today, I posted about my query letter. How it's on my goal list to send out a few of them... well twenty of them... by March 20th.

After posting that, I went to work on my query. Pulled it out... then stared at it like an idiot. I think something like, "Duhhhhhhhhh" came shooting out of my vocal chords.

Who knew?

In all due respect, writing a query letter is very hard. It's a mind boggling activity. There are no finite rules, each house or agent is different in what they want to see or read. So it's really like playing chess with a monkey... and you are the monkey.

Because no matter which move you make, it's the wrong one for someone. Which transfers to tremendous pressure to write a query that might meet at least 10% of your intended audiences fancy.

So, back to query letters not chess with monkeys... I opened mine up and then did what every person does... tweeted a "Whoa is me dot dot dot whoa to the query process whine whine whine."

You know, I am not much of a whiner... but it worked for me, let's go with this.

I received a tweet back almost immediately from a sweet lady who said she would check out my query. And yup, it sucked just as much as I thought it would... well she probably knew it would too, what with me... using... all... these... freaking... ellipses when I tweet (or blog). But alas, I don't use them when I write, or query for that matter. Really.

Bunny trail, sorry. No, I don't have ADD, why do you ask?

So, she sends me her thoughts back. We exchange a few emails... I scratch her back after she scratches mine and then she emails me the unthinkable...

"I have an idea - try writing what [your MC] is up against, but do it in first person. I don't suggest you send the query this way, but rather just free write to see if you can get some good nuggets out that way. I often free write in a character's voice (complaining mostly) and that helps me to get to the heart of a person/situation."

Sure, whatever crazy lady. No, but wait... this could actually be fun (and no I didn't really think it was a crazy idea... well not completely... moving on).

Guess what... I did it. I sat down and took a bit and wrote out a first person account of my query letter.

I'll be a monkeys uncle (who plays chess) if it didn't work. The difference between the query letters is phenomenal! P.H.E.N.O.M.E.N.A.L! Not that it's any sort of perfect... but its definitely better then it had been... and leaps & bounds better then the way the day started.

Who'da thunk it? Well obviously Miranda did! Boy am I grateful...

Now, my suggestion to every writer trying to write a query... Humor yourself and do it in first person. Then keep it open and start a query from that first person account. It works! Well... at least it did for me.

I am sure more editing on this thorn in my side... I mean, query letter... is on the horizon, but I just had to share my micro-breakthrough... and thank Miranda Kenneally for her time and suggestions. She rocks the ideas. Do check her out on Twitter, cuzz like I said... she is awesome... and puts up with my ellipses... or does she?

Hmmmmm....

One step closer to publication... Eisley Jacobs.

Query Letter Editing...

It's time. 2009 has left and with it, all excuses to NOT get this done. It's a new year, a new chance, a new set of people to contact... no excuses.

In my defense, I just started sending query letters out in the end of October. And I sent two. Two.

Ahem, but you have to start somewhere, right?

 My friend (whom I warmly call my "Fantasy Friend") and I got together on Tuesday and wrote down each others goals. Which unforunately means I have some accountability to said goals here in the real world. Not that the net or twitter isn't real, but I have a living breathing epidermis girl here to smack me over the head.

My first goal is quite easy... in theory.

I have till March 20th to send out 20 query letters. Which then means I have to come up with the perfect query letter that someone will actually want to pick  up.

So yes, in theory, it's a pretty decent and attainable goal. In theory.

Those of you who have an agent, can you remember those first steps riddled with anticipation disguised as nausea? Yah, umm, so there.

It takes a lot to put yourself out there. But if I want to complete all my goals in 2010, I must! So, without further adieu... I am diving into editing the query letter.

*splash*

Reflections of 2009...

I can't believe 2010 is on the horizon... hours from now we will embark upon a new decade of life... new experiences...

I decided to blog one last time before 2009 was over and reflect upon the last years of my life.

So much has changed in the last year, let alone the last ten, that there is no way I could really reflect on it all... so instead I will just note some dramatic things that came in these last ten.

Preteen girl, birth of two boys, military wife, civilian wife (same man LOL), precancerous cells in my esophagus eradicated, moving, traveling, moving, new jobs, new places, new faces, significant weight loss, homeschooling my children, starting 5 novels... completing 2 and the other three will be complete in 2010 (Maybe more?)...

And I could go on... but those are the big ones for me. Things that will forever change my life.

Some of the goals I have for 2010 are to complete the third novel in the MP Trilogy and debate on a prequel.  Complete Unseen and Runaway Choices novels. I also WILL HAVE representation before summer of 2010... and maybe have my first novel already on it's way to the presses.

Do you any goals? Not resolutions... cuzz well those are meant to be broken... but goals. Real obtainable goals...?

Wow...

The decision wasn't any easy after I went to bed... In fact, it is all convoluted!

I thought I would summarize each of the entries so you can see how hard of a decision this has been for me. I will give you a brief line on their entry and then my thoughts. Winner at the end, but take time to read these entries. They are amazing.

---

Jess' Entry:
Holding your chin up high and keep walking despite your circumstances.

Eisley’s Thoughts:
This is the truth as it is written. Regardless of your circumstances, keep walking. Keep your chin up and just keep walking.

---

Foodie ffanatic Entry:
It doesn't matter if I am right, it matters that I am kind.

Eisley’s Thoughts:
I wish the whole world would take what Dani says here and run with it. It really doesn't matter how "RIGHT" you are. Do something kind.

---

Erica's Entry:
Be a survivor!

Eisley’s Thoughts:
Can I dance? Can I dance WITH you? Everyone dance! Yes! It is about being a survivor. Not the survival of the fittest either. Survival of the journey... and dancing in the end. That’s how I see it.

---

Jameystegmaier Entry:
Regrets. He never regretted attending a funeral, but he did regret not attending one.

Eisley’s Thoughts:
I have been in Jamey’s shoes. I choose not to go to my Great Grandmother’s funeral for selfish reasons. And I do regret it. Every time I think about it, I know the decision was a poor one. We live, we learn. Never regret paying your last respects to your loved ones.

---

Anne C’s Entry:
Everything happens for a reason.

Eisley’s Thoughts:
Indeed it does. To sharpen, to mold, to enlighten, to make us think, to help us grow. Everything does indeed happen for a reason. We may not understand the “reason” the moment it’s happening. But eventually we can look back and say, “Whoa,” and get it.

---

Angie K’s Entry:
Learning to make mistakes

Eisley’s Thoughts:
Oh, I never make mistakes what on earth is she talking about? Ha ha ha! Ahem, well… yes. This is something we all need to learn. In so many ways. I could go on and on… but Yah. Make mistakes people, it’s the only way we learn.

---

Jessica C’s Entry:
Live for the little things.

Eisley’s Thoughts:
Like chocolate?!?! Ahhh, yes! Well okay, it’s is deeper than that but, that is the point. Live for the things that matter. And do it as you dance… Dance with me? Ohh, I think I am in a dancing mood today.

---

Danae’s Entry:
Well, how to sum it up? I am not sure. But it made me laugh. She learned… A LOT about many things ;)

Eisley’s Thoughts:
I love to laugh… and have learned similar lessons from my children. “Can you just flush that? Yah,um,thanks.”

---

Slushpilehero’s Entry:
Snowflakes and Warhol’s… being all you can be as a writer.

Eisley’s Thoughts:
These thoughts are every writer’s dream and one they need to grasp hold of like Slushpilehero here. It is up to you to decide why type of writer you will become.

---

Liana B’s Entry:
She learned to count to three!

Eisley’s Thoughts:
I can’t even sum up her entry in my thoughts. I loved this entry, since I too count kids ALL the time. 5 or 6 on any given day. So I could totally relate and it was related to her novels. Each representative in a kid. Such a good entry. Did I mention she has some dang cute socks?

---

Simeon L’s Entry:
He became a writer.

Eisley’s Thoughts:
He had some awesome images in his entry. All of which make you SEE what he is talking about. Indeed he became a writer!

---

Lexi F’s Entry:
Getting closer to her dream.

Eisley’s Thoughts:
You go girl! She realized that it’s not a dream anymore… it’s reality. Which is HUGE. Congratulations!

---

Anne R’s Entry:
She learned she will never be good enough.

Eisley’s Thoughts:
As a Christian myself, I understand her comments thoroughly. It is a relief, as she stated, to realized that I too will fail the world. Ahhh the burden, did you hear it hit the floor? It was a loud thud. And the fact that they only thing that is good enough is Christ, it a reality for Anne and for myself. It’s freeing to not have to live under the pressures of “good enough”.

---

GrooveyMysyter’s Entry:
Enjoy life every day.

Eisley’s Thoughts:
Amen, let’s dance. Twitter does rock the dance floor!

---

Don’s Entry:
The game will always change. Which warm and fuzzies do you choose?

Eisley’s Thoughts:
What matters to you is what is important. Who cares what the rest of the world thinks! Really.

---

Niyrak’s Entry:
Bad decisions are only mistakes if you don’t learn from them.

Eisley’s Thoughts:
Nod, nod, nod. Another good lesson learned for 2009. One to bring into the future! I heard a wise quote from someone, sometime in the last couple years… Ahem, “You know the difference between a wise man and a foolish man? The wise man gets up off the ground, dusts himself off and tries again.”

---

Mercedes’ Entry:
Following your dreams, even if you have to disappoint someone in doing it.

Eisley’s Thoughts:
Beautiful. I loved the parallels she drew here with her words. And boy can I relate. Can you say conviction? This is something I am STILL struggling to make a reality in my life.

---

Trish’s Entry:
The human heart is resilient. While loss can shut it down, love can restart it.

Eisley’s Thoughts:
I cried when I read this one. I haven’t lost anyone close to me, yet, but this one really resounded with me. And it’s so true… Love is where it’s at. In so, sooo many ways.

---

Jenn’s Entry:
Keep striving, keep hoping, keep going… and eat chocolate.

Eisley’s Thoughts:
Amen! That is all that I can say to that!!!

---

Now that you have a glimpse of my what I read and my thoughts, maybe you can see why it was so difficult for me to choose. But because it’s a contest, I must choose and someone must win. It was a hard choice and one that I don’t come lightly to.

The reason I did this contest was because I too was thinking of everything that I have learned from 2009. I learned valuable things that I'll take with me to 2010... But I am still learning, well as much as my thick skull will allow.

Sometimes things can smack me in the face and I still don’t learn from them. I keep doing the same things over and over again until finally my nose is bloodied and my head hurts from repeated poundings and I think, “Huh, this feeling seems so familiar. Well Duh, Eisley. You screwed up like this how many times before?” But then I remind myself… Get up and learn from the situation. Be wise not foolish.

How that applies to me as a writer… well I am still trying to figure that one out. ;)

And in light of this contest, I have a lot of pondering to do on this subject. So thanks. I think *I* am the winner here. Forget the chocolate.

So, since it was so difficult to decide… I took a couple runner’s up. Anne Chilldon and Dani (Foodie ffanatic). They will both receive some chocolate and my thank you for making me think about all the things that are important in life and how to learn from them.

But without further adieu, I will announce the winner who takes all the rest of the chocolate yumminess. The 12+ bars of goodness that will no doubt be the joy of your holiday season *grin*

*drumroll*

Congratulations Mercedes! Her original entry is below. Please take a moment to read, reflect and maybe even make a change in your life. It’s powerful stuff...

You ALL did an excellent job with your entries! I wish I had 19 bricks of chocolate to give away. It was seriously SERIOUSLY hard to choose. But in the end, someone had to win.

Please drop each of the winners twitter pages and leave them a congratulatory comment. It was REALLY really a hard choice.

Mercedes Entry:
Over the hills is a busy city full of neon lights and tall buildings. In this city is a small house, and in this house lived a tiny girl. Her dream was to work in the backyard garden because she wanted to grow a perfect sunflower. But there were distractions.

“Will you hold my parasol, tiny girl?” asked an extremely fancy woman.

“Why, yes, of course,” said the tiny girl. Her mama had taught her to be helpful.

“Tiny girl, will you stitch up this rip in my suit?” asked a (nearly) wonderfully dressed man.

“Certainly,” replied the tiny girl. She tucked the parasol under her arm and took his suit.

“Tiny girl, will you sing a song for us?” asked a young boy.

“Um, I will try,” said the tiny girl, and try she did, singing while she stitched.

“Tiny girl, tiny girl, tiny girl…” The voices came louder and they came more often. Ever helpful, tiny girl said yes, and yes, and yes again, all the while casting her eyes toward the perfect patch of earth that was being neglected while she tried to do everything else. She walked dogs, made dinners, soothed hurt feelings, dressed wounds in Hello Kitty band-aids, critiqued a friend’s novel, put up holiday lights, engaged in social networking, attended meetings for school and work and church and, oh my! It was simply too much!

“No longer!” The tiny girl threw everything to the floor. Her hands felt deliciously cool and empty.

People turned to look at her.

“I am truly sorry,” she said, “but my dream is to grow the perfect sunflower. And I have been so busy that my dream is shriveling outside. No longer, please. I will help where I can, but I realize that my sunflower has to come first. Thank you very much.”
And the tiny girl skipped joyfully outside.


-Mercedes

(Girl with a Parasol by Susanne FrieFire Sunflower by Nadine Rippelmeyer)