Marvelous Monday

Today is marvelous because I had a great weekend and I'm still riding on the high. I attended the best conference EVAH, but of course, I say this every year because it's the best every year. The Colorado Gold can't be beat.

So here I sit in my Denver hotel room, all packed and ready to walk out the door, but I have a few minutes left to take advantage of the free Internet connection. And since I've neglected my blog for the past week or so, I figured I'd spend a few minutes tapping on my laptop before closing down and heading to the airport.

Not much news on the marketing front. My agent did send me an email last Thursday to let me know we we got our first publisher rejection, but she was quick to tall me I shouldn't let it get me down. I wasn't too down about it, but it was the first, so there's a special kind of sting that goes with that. I've been obsessively checking my email over the weekend to see if more news was forthcoming, but alas I found only crickets chirping in the silence. Sigh.

I did have a wonderful experience on Friday, though. I was in a critique session led by an editor from St. Martins press who represents thrillers, suspense and women's fiction. Though I knew she didn't work with speculative fiction like UF, I still wanted professional feedback on my latest project (unrelated to the manuscript my agent has out on submission). My little group of fellow critiquees had submitted sample pages last month to be read by the editor, and then critiqued live during conference. I have to say this is one of the best features of this conference.

Anyway, the editor goes through the submissions one by one, gives big picture comments and critique, and we all chime in with our own opinions. This was an amazing group of writers, too. The level of quality was quite high and I thoroughly enjoyed each and every one. Of course there were no fantasy manuscripts in the bunch, but I'm fine with that. I read across all genres. Not one manuscript was anything like another. They were unique and original, some more literary than others, some with more action and adventure than others, and all were written with a captivating voice. The editor thought so, too. She admitted to being impressed with everyone's work.

When it came to mine, she said it was exactly what the market is looking for and she loved my pages, the story's premise, and the characters. She said, "Please send me the full manuscript right away." I wasn't expecting this. She doesn't even read the kind of weird stuff I write. But worst yet, the book's not close to being done. That's why I was workshopping it, to get feedback and to see if I was on the right track. I told her so, and her face fell with disappointment. I told her about Knight's Curse and she perked up, asking me to have my agent call her about it.

That was very exciting. I'd been straddling the fence on the new project, which I've discussed a bit on my blog, so this experience gave me the boost I needed. I emailed my agent about it, and now I keep refreshing my email queue to see if she's responded yet. Obsess much? Ahem. I try not to, but you know...

Okay, time's up. I've got loads to report on the conference and I'll do it after I get home. Right now I've got to check out and shuttle over to the airport.