Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Interesting Times

Assignment 6 for the novel writing module went out the door this morning. Last night I commenced work on assignment 7.

This will be interesting and highly beneficial.

I need to create a submissions package to a fictional (at least I think it's fictional), publishing house. Strangely, my course seems to highlight the course of submitting directly to Houses rather than to agents inside Australia. Through my research, this seems bunk advice but then nobody is twisting my arm to follow it so as long as I pass, I don't care. If any other writer taking this course is silly enough not to do their own follow up research then they don't deserve to get on the publishing track anyway. Harsh - yes, but true.

So, last night I began drafting my query letter for AKL. It still needs work and yes I'll be paying a visit to the Ninja Query, but a few things have already hit home. I've managed to get the first paragraph pretty much done as per the guidelines in the assignment. I'm then to move into the spiel about the book, which I've done - and I sat back and thought, gee, it sounds like a pretty interesting book - why doesn't the one I'm writing have all that in it?

In part, this is because I'm still writing it, because it's a first draft, and because I know there are bits I have to go back and add/edit/expand/kill. But overall, it's a little depressing to find I haven't penned the story I imagined so long ago.

Still, I must remember that it is still only the first draft.

After the query is done, I need to write the synopsis. Anyone know where I can find a Synopsis Ninja? And then do a quick polish on the first chapter and submit the lot. Some time this week or early next - joy.

In other news, Wamphyri was rejected again overnight. I need to reread it and closely consider my next move with this one. Anyone think of a paying market for a vampire story (which isn't a YA romance) off the top of their head?

8 comments:

  1. Hey BT,

    Have you tried Night to Dawn (I can't recall just now)? It's token payment, but Barbara puts together a nice publication for a micro-press.

    Synopsis. *shudder* I dislike doing them enough that I don't even like looking at them during reading periods at LBF. o_O

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  2. Hungur also accepts vamp stories...I don't know where you sent "Wamphyri" first...but check them out:
    http://www.samsdotpublishing.com/HungurGL.htm

    Best of luck.

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  3. Jodi already took my idea. Can't think of any off the top of my head right now.

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  4. Maybe they just want to give you an idea of how to do a submission package in case it ever comes up? Or maybe they're just slightly clueless. Either way, it's probably a good exercise, I guess.

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  5. I'll second Hungur and Night to Dawn.

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  6. Thank you everyone. I shall look into your suggestions shortly.

    KC - I've read a few articles and assignments where they seem to be suggesting life is a little different in the Australian publishing industry - and yet my research tends to say otherwise unless dealing with an independent publisher setup. Still, I do need the practice on creating these submission packages.

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  7. Gone to Night to Dawn. Hungur seem to want more alien vampire type stuff.

    If this doesn't work, I'm going to try some lit markets.

    A search on Duotrope yielded a whole 8 open markets to try for vampire specific themes, and a few of them weren't a good match either :c(

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  8. Good luck!

    Hey BT - there's another one, too. Vampology from Library of Horror.

    It's listed in the open markets at Permuted Press. I don't know if I can post links in the comments here, so... if you can't track it down, shoot me an email. :)

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