@philippaeast
Active 1 year, 5 months ago-
KazG posted a new activity comment 7 years, 2 months ago
Thanks @philippaeast. Yes, we’ve only submitted to PRH so far. The silence is killing me!
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KazG posted an update in the group
December SloMo 7 years, 2 months agoGood for you @philippaeast. You more than deserve that break! What a rollercoaster in a whirlwind you’ve been riding, but also, what an awesome result. Do you have an outline for book 2?
My update is that backat the end of last year I thought that Penguin Random House had gone too quiet and all was lost (my agent was getting ready to go out on…[Read more]
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That’s brilliant news Kaz. It’s like snakes and ladders, isn’t it?? Glad you’re still on an upward trajectory, and really looking forward to this book
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This is AMAZING news, Kaz! Well done! Sounds really hopeful and positive and generally fantastic. I’ll be keeping fingers and toes crossed that aquisitions are quickly on board. WIll your agent be subbing more widely anyway, or are you waiting on this one first? And good luck getting back to the NaNo book. It feels like a looooong time since the…[Read more]
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Ooh that sounds fantastic Kaz. Exciting, exciting, exciting!!! I’m watching this space…
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Thanks @raine, @daedalus, @janeshuff! Yes, Snakes and Ladders is exactly how it is. We’re only submitting to PRH at the moment; the situation is a bit unusual in that I got a response from them after pitching directly to them, before I’d even signed with my agent (which happened just after, actually). They’ve already given me editorial feedback so…[Read more]
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Oh gosh, so exciting! And well don’t for grafting out those edits. Really pleased they worked for you, and hopefully it just means you’re even happier with the book. Now I’m keeping everything crossed, but given that (if I understand correctly) your agent hasn’t even sent anywhere else yet, this is all looking super optimistic! Good luck on the…[Read more]
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Thanks @philippaeast. Yes, we’ve only submitted to PRH so far. The silence is killing me!
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Oh man, I feel your pain!!
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ps I’m trying to put an outline together for Book 2 as we speak. I’m not keen to go writing off into the wilderness as I did with Book 1! Still trying to find all the pieces, and how they might fit together….
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Oh good luck! I’m doing the same, to try to stop things flying off in all directions. What outline template are you using? By chapter?
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I’m using the Story Grid Global Foolscap template, where you block out your beginning hook (act 1), middle build (act 2) and ending payoff (act three), identifying the key plot points in each (inciting incident, progressive complications, crisis, climax and resolution). This template also gets you to define your overall genre (e.g. love story,…[Read more]
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Oh that looks interesting! A new approach. I’ve just done a plotting workshop that looks at different ways of approaching this so my head’s trying to incorporate it all and decide on the best approach for me right now. I’ll summarise and post when I get a moment. Thank you!
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And GOOD LUCK š
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Daedalus replied to the topic My Publishing Nightmare ā the story of a book deal gone bad (Part 1) in the forum Blogs 7 years, 2 months ago
Thanks @philippaeast – you’re most welcome. I feel very silly having made all these avoidable errors, but I wouldn’t want anyone else to fall into the same trap. Mostly I don’t want people to get stuck with publishers who act in bad faith.
Would you mind retweeting the link the next time you’re on Twitter? Just to get the highest circulation…[Read more]
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Alan Rain replied to the topic Entering the Citadel in the forum Blogs 7 years, 3 months ago
@Philippaeast This is brilliant. I’ve only just caught up with the news. I’ve really been in a self-imposed bubble for the last 3 months.
I’ve read the last few paras of you blog, and can now understand what a strain you’ve been through. But you’ve come through it with honours. So interested to keep following your journey.
Again, congrats and…[Read more] -
Raine replied to the topic Entering the Citadel in the forum Blogs 7 years, 3 months ago
@philippaeast this is brilliant. You are fab, and you deserve all this success. And like Daeds says, it is so valuable to see the non-glossy version of people’s experiences, although I know it takes bravery to tell it. There are too many stories from authors who knew someone who knew an agent and tada! they were taken on, so it is heartening to…[Read more]
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Bella replied to the topic Getting An Agent Blog in the forum The Writers' Lifeboat 7 years, 3 months ago
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!
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Raine posted a new activity comment 7 years, 3 months ago
Oh, such a shame you aren’t going to make it @philippaeast, I always look forward to reading your stories. But understandable, given the Monster Edit of Doom. š
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Raine posted a new activity comment 7 years, 3 months ago
Thank-you @philippaeast. It was a good feeling writing that new word count into my cover letter! I did it partly by stripping out a character, which meant a bit of structural shenanigans but did streamline bits of the plot. I also cut out a minor PoV. But a lot came from just line edits, which is quite scary re how much there was that I could cut.…[Read more]
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JaneShuff posted a new activity comment 7 years, 3 months ago
I don’t think you have any reason to panic, @daedalus. They will be wonderful.
Thanks @raine and @philippaeast. Encouragement and hugs and tea are exactly what I need!
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@daedalus It’s no wonder you are feeling a little daunted. Funny isn’t it? You’d think having the contract there at the start would be a dream, but it’s a whole different kind of pressure I guess. Sending you lots of good luck. You will do them brilliantly, I know you will. xx
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Daedalus posted a new activity comment 7 years, 3 months ago
Thanks @philippaeast and @raine …um, yes, the novellas. I don’t really want to talk about them too much until I’ve written them. I haven’t even started yet and am a bit panicked about it. Will add more when I’m a bit more comfortable with how things are going.
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I don’t think you have any reason to panic, @daedalus. They will be wonderful.
Thanks @raine and @philippaeast. Encouragement and hugs and tea are exactly what I need!
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@daedalus It’s no wonder you are feeling a little daunted. Funny isn’t it? You’d think having the contract there at the start would be a dream, but it’s a whole different kind of pressure I guess. Sending you lots of good luck. You will do them brilliantly, I know you will. xx
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Absolutely fair do-s
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Raine posted a new activity comment 7 years, 3 months ago
Yay @philippaeast for reaching the end – that really has been an epic act of bravery, so well done. And I’ll keep fingers crossed Sarah’s verdict is ‘Yes! Out on sub now!’ š
@daedalus three novellas!?!? THat’s fantastic news, you kept that quiet, you sly thing you! So pleased for you, hope that gives you a huge, well earned boost.
And @janeshuf…[Read more] -
JaneShuff posted a new activity comment 7 years, 3 months ago
Congratulations to all three of you. Lovely to hear what everybody’s up to. Excellent work @philippaeast and @kazg! Histfic novellas @daedalus – tell more! I’ve been bumbling around in the dark. Trying to find my next novel, working on short stories and feeling fairly down – the result of going into 2018 with such high hopes and having them all…[Read more]
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Thanks @janeshuff! And sorry to hear about your dashes hooes ☹️ All credit to you for keeping going, even if it feels like bumbling right now. Hope you feel more positive soon x
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*dashed hopes
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Oh, @janeshuff, I am sorry to hear that. It’s so hard to get back up from dashed hopes. I SO enjoyed reading the extract from your novel, and am keeping everything crossed for a nice slew of successes in 2019
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successes for you
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Elle replied to the topic Short Story Publication/Competition in the forum Podium 7 years, 4 months ago
Thanks @philippaeast!
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Raine replied to the topic Getting An Agent Blog in the forum The Writers' Lifeboat 7 years, 4 months ago
Yeah, do post an update when you have time, @philippaeast! I’d love to hear how it’s worked doing such big edits with your agent as editor. I didn’t really get much of that with mine, so would be interested to hear how it’s been.
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KazG posted a new activity comment 7 years, 4 months ago
Thanks @philippaeast! God knows I’ll need it š
Yes, momentum has an energy it itself I find @libby. Even just a little helps.
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JaneShuff posted a new activity comment 7 years, 4 months ago
I’m going purely down the Indie Route @philippaeast. I’m staying with my agent but she’s happy for me to try and sell this to an Indie myself as suggested by Raine and Debi. Speculative fiction is apparently a bit of a hard sell…
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Raine posted a new activity comment 7 years, 4 months ago
Oh yuck to backstories! Hope you are feeling less yucky about it today @philippaeast. I don’t know. I don’t think we need to know everything about a secondary character’s past, as long as their character and story are ‘real’ to us. Apart from bits of their past that are relevant, obv. I figure I don’t know everything about a friend’s past, but I…[Read more]
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Daedalus posted a new activity comment 7 years, 4 months ago
Thanks @philippaeast, I hope so. The other day I really wanted to just drop everything and start reading through my WIsortofP so that’s probably a good sign. I feel I should just read it through without making any notes, let alone editing, to try and read it as much like a reader might, and get a feel for what I might cut without overthinking it.…[Read more]
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Do it Daeds.
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@daedalus I’m pleased the impetus is there. That IS a good sign. And I think an “open-minded reader’s” read would be a great place to start. (Tip: If you’re like me, lock up the pencils / pens before you start. I find it so hard to resist marking stuff up and it always gets in the way of absorbing the story as a whole)
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Raine posted an update in the group
December SloMo 7 years, 5 months agoGoal of 1k words today have mutated into a goal of just getting through the day in one piece. And possibly printing out an MS. I’ve been told I need to trim it back by 10-15k. Which is a little daunting, and like @philippaeast with her more esoteric edits, I need to make sure I am doing this in short enough bursts that I am genuinely paying…[Read more]
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I have had to do major trimming in the past, Raine, and actually found it quite liberating once I had got into the right frame of mind.
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Hi @raine. I feel your pain! Is that comment about trimming one that you have only just received? If so, then it might need a little time to digest. Is it a change that you are, in principle, in accord with? Do you think it’s a case of losing some scenes / a subplot line, or more a case of just tightening everything and trimming words throughout?…[Read more]
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Oh man, I feel your pain!!