Oh wow...don't I feel like a horrible writer?
Posted by Full figured women's fiction at 4/30/2009 10:41 AM 
Categories: life,writing
Tags: BGNLT life
Categories: life,writing
Tags: BGNLT life
Oh, wow. I didn't realize it had been 97 days since my last blog post until I logged in to write a new blog post.
*hangs head in shame*
Although, really, the thing is, since that last blog post about wading into the dating pool? Well, a lot's happened. A lot of really awesomely fantastic things that kinda sorta drew my attention away from anything other than, well, the awesomely fantastic things that have been going on.
You probably know where this is going, so I'll confirm--new relationships make you lose your ever lovin' mind.
But in a good way. Well, in a good, I'm totally distracted walking on Cloud 9 a part of me thought this was just fiction and not real, sort of way.
So, really, I have a fantastic excuse for slacking off. Right? Right?
Well, I think so, and that's what counts.
At any rate, I'll admit, my writing has been a bit non-existent these past few months. Sure, I've played with a few ideas, done some research, thought about things I could do if only I had any inclination to do any of them and come out of my lovey dovey happy shiny glowy cocoon. But, yeah...*sigh*...those all fell woefully short. In reality, none of it felt "right." I just couldn't connect, even though I had two really great story ideas that could have been hilarious and oh-so-awesome for my alter ego. They're still there, on the backburner, but I'm not sure that's the direction I--or my alias--needs to go in right now.
I have, however, achieved at least one major thing regarding BGNLT--I submitted it to two epubs.
I realize some of you (am I thinking more people read this than do? probably, but that's okay), who have been playing along at home, are probably wondering, "what happened to getting an agent?"
Well, that's something else I've thought about over these past few months. That is, when I could think about anything other than, well, my lovey dovey happy shiny glowy cocoon. I've had a good reaction from agents, even if I have received nothing but rejections. Every email and letter has been incredibly positive and encouraging, and I am confident that BGNLT is a great book.
The thing is, it isn't your traditional romance. I didn't follow all of the typical romance conventions, and I know I broke a couple of rules--but I had a good reason for breaking those rules. And I started to wonder if maybe that was what was turning agents off, and keeping them from "loving" the book. Sure, I may be way off base here, but hey, I'm not a mind-reader (just trying to read between the lines and do what's best for me and my book). But I did get to thinking about how not traditional it is, and so I started looking into different epubs.
Now, to be fair, my alter ego is e-pubbed. I fully enjoy e-publishing and the creativity it offers, not to mention the fact that I firmly believe it's the future of publishing. Plus, e-publishers are much more willing to accept stories that aren't necessarily "traditional." I have a niche under my psuedonym writing full-figured heroines in a genre where some people would crinkle their noses and say, "Ewww. I don't want to think about that." And the books sell. They sell well, in fact. And get great reviews not to mention my alter ego emails from readers who are also full-figured women thanking me for writing about "real" women.
THAT is something New York and print publishing hasn't really caught on to yet--the need for heroines who fit outside the norm of your typical, traditional romance. And seeing how the e-publishing world has embraced my full-figured heroines (the full-figured heroines of dozens of other romance writers), and how the e-publishing world is much more willing to take a chance on a non-traditional story and/or an unknown author, and the future of publishing and the environment and all these other things, I decided to go for it.
And to be honest, submitting to those two e-pubs was more nerve-wracking than submitting to agents. I'm not sure why, but it was. Maybe because, a part of me is worried that if this story can't find its place in e-pub land, then it might not be able to find its place anywhere. Honestly, I think that would be a shame. Not because I'm conceited or anything, but because BGNLT is a *great* story, andone that I honestly believe ALL women could relate to.
So, yeah. I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed, and I would appreciate it if you folks out there in Blogland could do the same. I won't hear anything back for at least another month probably, so I've been trying to shove it into the back of my mind and not allow myself to worry about it or get all anxious and stuff over something I really have little to no control over.
And I promise to try really hard to update this thing more often. I just, y'know, have to come out of that glowy lovey dovey cocoon I've been in.
For now, though, I leave you with this:
Cheers!
Aubrey
*hangs head in shame*
Although, really, the thing is, since that last blog post about wading into the dating pool? Well, a lot's happened. A lot of really awesomely fantastic things that kinda sorta drew my attention away from anything other than, well, the awesomely fantastic things that have been going on.
You probably know where this is going, so I'll confirm--new relationships make you lose your ever lovin' mind.
But in a good way. Well, in a good, I'm totally distracted walking on Cloud 9 a part of me thought this was just fiction and not real, sort of way.
So, really, I have a fantastic excuse for slacking off. Right? Right?
Well, I think so, and that's what counts.
At any rate, I'll admit, my writing has been a bit non-existent these past few months. Sure, I've played with a few ideas, done some research, thought about things I could do if only I had any inclination to do any of them and come out of my lovey dovey happy shiny glowy cocoon. But, yeah...*sigh*...those all fell woefully short. In reality, none of it felt "right." I just couldn't connect, even though I had two really great story ideas that could have been hilarious and oh-so-awesome for my alter ego. They're still there, on the backburner, but I'm not sure that's the direction I--or my alias--needs to go in right now.
I have, however, achieved at least one major thing regarding BGNLT--I submitted it to two epubs.
I realize some of you (am I thinking more people read this than do? probably, but that's okay), who have been playing along at home, are probably wondering, "what happened to getting an agent?"
Well, that's something else I've thought about over these past few months. That is, when I could think about anything other than, well, my lovey dovey happy shiny glowy cocoon. I've had a good reaction from agents, even if I have received nothing but rejections. Every email and letter has been incredibly positive and encouraging, and I am confident that BGNLT is a great book.
The thing is, it isn't your traditional romance. I didn't follow all of the typical romance conventions, and I know I broke a couple of rules--but I had a good reason for breaking those rules. And I started to wonder if maybe that was what was turning agents off, and keeping them from "loving" the book. Sure, I may be way off base here, but hey, I'm not a mind-reader (just trying to read between the lines and do what's best for me and my book). But I did get to thinking about how not traditional it is, and so I started looking into different epubs.
Now, to be fair, my alter ego is e-pubbed. I fully enjoy e-publishing and the creativity it offers, not to mention the fact that I firmly believe it's the future of publishing. Plus, e-publishers are much more willing to accept stories that aren't necessarily "traditional." I have a niche under my psuedonym writing full-figured heroines in a genre where some people would crinkle their noses and say, "Ewww. I don't want to think about that." And the books sell. They sell well, in fact. And get great reviews not to mention my alter ego emails from readers who are also full-figured women thanking me for writing about "real" women.
THAT is something New York and print publishing hasn't really caught on to yet--the need for heroines who fit outside the norm of your typical, traditional romance. And seeing how the e-publishing world has embraced my full-figured heroines (the full-figured heroines of dozens of other romance writers), and how the e-publishing world is much more willing to take a chance on a non-traditional story and/or an unknown author, and the future of publishing and the environment and all these other things, I decided to go for it.
And to be honest, submitting to those two e-pubs was more nerve-wracking than submitting to agents. I'm not sure why, but it was. Maybe because, a part of me is worried that if this story can't find its place in e-pub land, then it might not be able to find its place anywhere. Honestly, I think that would be a shame. Not because I'm conceited or anything, but because BGNLT is a *great* story, andone that I honestly believe ALL women could relate to.
So, yeah. I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed, and I would appreciate it if you folks out there in Blogland could do the same. I won't hear anything back for at least another month probably, so I've been trying to shove it into the back of my mind and not allow myself to worry about it or get all anxious and stuff over something I really have little to no control over.
And I promise to try really hard to update this thing more often. I just, y'know, have to come out of that glowy lovey dovey cocoon I've been in.
For now, though, I leave you with this:
Cheers!
Aubrey
Hi
Thank you for sharing this great blog post. I am going to read your books. Is there a link to see where they are?
Love From Canada
twitter.com/RKCharron
xoxo
Reply to this
Thanks for the comment! As of right now, I'm still unpublished. I've been submitting to agents and publishers like crazy, though, so I'm keeping my fingers (and toes) crossed that something will happen eventually.
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