Write at Home Moms - December/January

[JoyMC]

Wow, November was even quieter than I expected. I'm making this a December/January thread since we seem to have slowed down, and the holidays might keep us slow for a while.

Things are not slow here - I am have added another high-demand freelance client. I have so much work on my plate it's crazy. I'm so grateful, I'm trying not to complain. What I will complain about however (though it's FULLY my fault) - there was a water bottle spillage incident and my hard drive was wiped. I hadn't backed up in SEVEN WEEKS. Work for clients goes back and forth in emails so frequently I barely lost anything there. I did, however, lose the seven weeks of revisions I had done on my novel. 

I was SO pissed at myself. I didn't spill the water, but I should have backed up way more frequently. I now resolve to back up at least once a week!!!! Slowly putting the pieces back together ...

Anyone else still out there? A few of you were waiting to hear from beta readers, I think? Any NaNo winners?

[BabyMae09]

I did NaNo! I wrote 104 pages :)

I'm wondering, what does one do when they want to start sending a novel to publishers? How do you decide who to send it to, and do you send just a query letter? The first few chapters; what?

So sorry about your Novel, that STINKS.

[Aufilia]

There was some technical issue for much of November that prevented anyone from posting in the WAHM well.  So if not for that, it probably wouldn't have been so "quiet" in here. 

Joy, that's AWFUL about losing your work!!  I would be so upset and discouraged.  It's hard enough to be motivated some days and then to know you're re-doing something you'd already done... ugh!  I hope you can get your revisions re-done again quickly and move forward.

BabyMae, congrats on your NaNoing!  How many words are in your 104 pages?  What genre is your novel?  How you proceed with publication depends somewhat on what type of novel you've written.  But here's a general idea:

1. Finish your novel, if it isn't already finished :)

2. Set it aside for a few weeks or a month so you can look at it with fresh eyes later.

3. While it's sitting, you could:

- Research publication process and norms/expectations in your market segment

- Research agents and publishers

- Write a query letter

- Write a novel synopsis

some places you might start to find info: 

 Nathan Bransford (literary agent) his website is full of good advice :)

Absolute Write water Cooler a very solid site full of legitimate advice

4. After a month or so, read your novel and revise

5. If it appeals to you, you might also look for a critique partner (Absolute Write can maybe help), critique group, or workshop

6. After some revision,  you'll have a sparkling perfect final draft!

7. Seek an agent (you'll need a final draft, a query, and a novel synopsis to get one)

8. While seeking an agent, write another novel :)

As for me, I have some new queries out to new agents. I'm working on another novel -- not related to the one I'm querying, something totally new. :)  I have an outline and like 500 words.

[Aufilia]

Oooh, I'm going to add a link since I saw it today and it made me think of this thread:

How to Get Published, by Jim Macdonald (who is an awesome guy and knows his stuff -- "Uncle Jim" for those on Absolute Write).

[BabyMae09]

Thanks ladies :) I really appreciate it!

[JoyMC]

I also like The Forest for the Trees as a book about the publication process/business. Not exactly a how-to, but full of good information. 

I haven't made as much progress on my re-revisions because I have SO MUCH freelance work these days. This is, I know, not something to complain about around here.  I have just signed a couple new majorly time intensive clients. So I'm trying to figure out how to make the time. 

Oh, and did you know Nathan Bransford stopped agenting? His website is probably still a good source of info, but it was a pretty big surprise in the writing circles.

[Aufilia]

Wow, he did???  I'm surprised!  And clearly out of touch (not hard since I have NO time lately for the Internet).  I wonder if it has to do with his having sold a book of his own? 

I need more freelancing, but I haven't been able to pick up an ongoing gig yet, except for Demand Studios.  (But I'd really really really like something higher paying.)  I don't have the ability to put in full-time hours, though, so I'm glad DS is flexible.

Got another partial request from one of my top-10 agents. I am nonetheless feeling discouraged about my chances of selling it, but more because I'm stressing about other things.  On the upside, I did actually write about 800 words today on my new novel project.

[JoyMC]

Originally Posted by Aufilia 

Wow, he did???  I'm surprised!  And clearly out of touch (not hard since I have NO time lately for the Internet).  I wonder if it has to do with his having sold a book of his own? 

maybe partly, but he took another job doing something else. developing the social media of some company or something like that? i can't remember, but there's a post about it on his blog.

i can't put it in full time hours either, but there's something about the mentality of freelancing that makes it so hard to turn down a gig. you know? there's always the feeling that if you turn this one down, maybe things will dry up and you'll have a stretch of no work and you'll be kicking yourself for turning something down. does anyone else experience that?

[AFWife]

I'm a blogging mama just popping in so I can get email updates on this thread! (No money being earned yet but I wouldn't turn it down!)

[Aufilia]

Originally Posted by JoyMC 

Originally Posted by Aufilia 

Wow, he did???  I'm surprised!  And clearly out of touch (not hard since I have NO time lately for the Internet).  I wonder if it has to do with his having sold a book of his own? 

maybe partly, but he took another job doing something else. developing the social media of some company or something like that? i can't remember, but there's a post about it on his blog.

i can't put it in full time hours either, but there's something about the mentality of freelancing that makes it so hard to turn down a gig. you know? there's always the feeling that if you turn this one down, maybe things will dry up and you'll have a stretch of no work and you'll be kicking yourself for turning something down. does anyone else experience that?

I haven't gotten enough freelance work to have ever considered turning anything down.  But I can imagine....

I've been writing DS articles this month, but I'm only 55% to my goal.  I'm hoping I can squeeze out 10 or so more before the end of the month... but DH is leaving Tuesday for to drive to the Holiday Bowl with my brother, and they're going to be gone 5 days.  Don't get me started on how furious I am at this whole plan, but it's certainly going to wreck a whole lot of my time.  I barely get a break as it is, and I get none at all when DH isn't here.

[zinemama]

I have an essay up on Salon today.

When I was pregnant for the first time, ten years ago, my mother send me a box of maternity clothes. Her old maternity clothes. It's the story of what happened when those dowdy, 35-year-old dresses arrived.

[JoyMC]

nice work!

[Aufilia]

Kate, that's a lovely essay!  I was a little teary at the end. :)

[MilkMachineMom]

Kate,

Thanks for sharing ... it's incredible how our perspective and appreciation of certain efforts shift once we have our own children, no?  I'm sure when I am done having children I will absolutely want to be rid of nearly all of my maternity clothes, but I suspect I will hang on to a couple pieces purely for sentimental value.  I love being pregnant (I'm 7months pregnant right now).  While the clothes rarely make me feel beautiful in my huge state, they will certainly remind me of a time in my life I have cherished.  Whether I'd want to share them with my daughter later on, I don't know ... right now I'll keep them just for me :)

[CathMac]

Advice on copyrighting and Publishing a single piece of music (a lullaby)

 

Hello everyone,

I posted this back in July and August and didn't get a reply so I'm trying one more again.

I don't write for a living or even for a hobby but recently I made up a nonsense song for my 6 year old daughter at bedtime, rather than sing the usual lullaby. She insisted I put it in writing. I sang the final product to her the next day and she suggested I "copy" it.

I now have minor delusions of publishing it.

With my nephew's help I think I can put some basic sheet music together for it.

I also have a couple of bedtime stories that they seem to love, but they are a little more cliched (they involve unicorns, elves, etc. but they tend to be a little more adventurous than the typical "girl" stories).

Realistically, is there any avenue for the average joe to try and publish a single lullaby, or a simple bedtime story, while protecting their intellectual property?

Are there any online resources where writers can give each other feedback?  What is the risk of being copied, assuming you have anything worth copying?

Thanks,

~Cath

[JoyMC]

sorry, i saw that post but didn't respond b/c i couldn't figure out how to. with regards to the song, what are your delusions about publishing it? do you hope to have someone record it? make money off it? i think defining what you want is a good idea, since it's a long, hard road trying to get anything published, even when you've made a lifetime work of it. that said, the music/recording industry is really a whole different ballgame than the publishing industry, so you might need to ask a different group of people about the song. 

as for the stories, if even you think they are a bit cliched, the most honest and kind thing i can tell you know is don't bother getting your hopes up there. just enjoy telling your kids stories and having them enjoy them. getting published in the children's books industry requires a huge amount of talent and an extremely unique story and/or style. literary agents receive 10,000 submissions/year (no joke!). you have to be absolutely outstanding. but with THAT said, check out absolutewrite.com if you want to get feedback on your work. there is a Share Your Work section (but beware: they're brutally honest) and there is a writing buddies/mentors/critique partners section. 

the question of risk of being copied comes up a lot. people have different takes on it. the short answer is ... don't worry about it at this point. or poke around the Absolute Write forums for discussion of those risks.

[MilkMachineMom]

I'm not a copyright expert by any stretch, but my understanding is that once you've written it, it's your property ... one way to "prove" it's yours is to create a typed file of it and e-mail that file to yourself for "datestamp" purposes.  It's a start until you figure out what you'd like to do with these pieces.  Good luck!

[Aufilia]

A quick drop-by -- I found this on my local Craigslist -- freelance writing gig for Groupon: http://www.groupon.com/jobs?nl=1&jvi=oWemVfwb,Job&jvs=Craigslist_Seattle

[CathMac]

 

Originally Posted by JoyMC 

sorry, i saw that post but didn't respond b/c i couldn't figure out how to. with regards to the song, what are your delusions about publishing it? do you hope to have someone record it? make money off it? i think defining what you want is a good idea, since it's a long, hard road trying to get anything published, even when you've made a lifetime work of it. that said, the music/recording industry is really a whole different ballgame than the publishing industry, so you might need to ask a different group of people about the song. 

as for the stories, if even you think they are a bit cliched, the most honest and kind thing i can tell you know is don't bother getting your hopes up there. just enjoy telling your kids stories and having them enjoy them. getting published in the children's books industry requires a huge amount of talent and an extremely unique story and/or style. literary agents receive 10,000 submissions/year (no joke!). you have to be absolutely outstanding. but with THAT said, check out absolutewrite.com if you want to get feedback on your work. there is a Share Your Work section (but beware: they're brutally honest) and there is a writing buddies/mentors/critique partners section. 

the question of risk of being copied comes up a lot. people have different takes on it. the short answer is ... don't worry about it at this point. or poke around the Absolute Write forums for discussion of those risks.

Joy,

Thanks for the response.  Sorry I didn't see this sooner but I'm not on MDC as often as I used to be, especially since the format change.  

I don't really hope to make money on the lullaby.  I just thought it would be fun for my daughters since they are in it.  And in the unlikely event that it was worth something I'd like for it to be protected.

As far as the bedtime stories, it's hard for me to gauge the originality.  When I have a chance I'll check out the Absolute Write forums.

~Cath

[CathMac]

I actually did some research on this awhile ago.  Your understanding is pretty consistent with what I learned except that you should mark anything with the word copyright or the (c) that denotes a copyright.  Especially if you are emailing it to someone or posting it somewhere.  

I had heard that a formal copyright might cost as little as $35.00.  Which is probably worth doing once you have a final draft.

Originally Posted by MilkMachineMom 

I'm not a copyright expert by any stretch, but my understanding is that once you've written it, it's your property ... one way to "prove" it's yours is to create a typed file of it and e-mail that file to yourself for "datestamp" purposes.  It's a start until you figure out what you'd like to do with these pieces.  Good luck!