Agents & Pages, Or Lack Thereof

Happy Friday!

Oh, drat. It’s only Thursday.

Frankly, it makes no difference to me what day it is. Because as of this morning I am officially behind on my page count for Coral Moon. Only a few pages, mind you, but behind nonetheless. which means I will be working this weekend. Sigh. The numbers look so good on my Year-at-a-glance calendar. I look at ’em and see how they magically add up at the end of each week . . . month . . . to the end of the book. Makes it look so easy to write a novel.

My mother asked me this morning how I’m doing with the new book. I told her I’m “supposedly writing.” Emphasis on the former word. One of these days I’m gonna learn to plot with ease.

Yesterday I promised Lynette I’d answer her question on agents: “I got an email from one apologizing for taking so long to get back to me and that I probably already had representation, but if I didn't, was I still interested. I emailed her back saying I was still interested and she requested the manuscript, author bio and synopsis. I'm assuming this is good. So from this point, how long should it take to hear back...be it yay or nay? Just curious. Is there a specific timeline? Like, the longer it takes, the better? Or...not?”

Doggone it all, here’s the problem with trying to answer this question: agents have not gotten their acts together. There is no “How We’ll Behave” blueprint they’ve agreed to follow. One might get back to you in a week. Another may take two months. A third might get back to you when you haven’t even sent in anything. (That’s a surefire way to make an author’s head spin. Oh, no, what did I do, send in that tell-all letter to my best friend?)

However, since this agent contacted you, I’d say it’s fair for you to expect a quicker turn-around. If you don’t hear from her in a month (and I think that’s more than enough time, given her come hither letter), e-mail her and ask what’s up.

Now, as to the title for Kanner Lake #3. You all are wonderfully creative, and I love to see your ideas. I have to give the most credit to Katie Hart, who came in on the money when she suggested Crimson Dusk. Not that the book will necessarily be titled this. But Katie picked up on the rhythm and meaning of the first two titles, and repeated them accordingly. And y’all know how big I am on rhythm. Violet Dawn and Coral Moon. First word is a color, two syllable. (Okay, violet is technically three, but the o is a soft syllable.) Second word is some part of the day, one syllable. Therefore, Crimson Dusk fits the bill. I actually have been thinking about Scarlet Eve. Same idea, really, but it trips off the tongue a little easier.

Oh, it’s so much fun to discuss a title for a future book. Way funner than plotting the one whose blank pages are staring me in the face. Actually, I do have two whole pages, whahoo. Want to hear the first line?

Kill and live. Let live and die.

Whadya think? Go ahead, have at it. The last time I posted my first line (for Violet Dawn), man, did I hear from y'all. Nothing like a little chance to edit to get your blood pounding.

See you tomorrow, on the real Friday.