So now that it's the week of my BIG talk at Arcadia, I'm finally starting to feel nervous! Like really, really nervous. Because I mean...people are coming...on a Friday night...to hear me...TALK! OMG!
Now for the record, I'm one of those freaks of nature who is NOT afraid of public speaking. I've talked in front of hundreds of people. I'm cool with that. I've even read my own work outloud to a bunch of people--hello graduate thesis night!
But this is the first time people are coming specifically to hear just me, and what I have to say. And granted, a lot of this night could turn into me talking about myself--which come on, I can do that--I'm an expert on me. But I don't know how helpful blabbing on about how I wanted to write stories since I was 3, or how I wrote an epic story about polygamy and psychic fish when I was 9 is really going to be informative to anyone.
So tell me this...if you were coming to a talk called "Breaking Into The Biz: Everything I Wish I'd Known About Publishing" what would you want to learn? What questions would you ask? And maybe you guys can ask me some questions now? Because it would help and I can answer them in a practice post. And I will love you and send you virtual hugs and vegan cookies through the interwebs if you have things to ask me.
So...fire away! Anything...writing, revising, querying, agent revisions...whatever I can answer I will!
Exciting! Congratulations! I'll be rooting for you. Hope you come back to post about it when all is said and done.
ReplyDeleteMy question would be: Would you recommend hiring a professional editor before starting to query? Why? Why not?
Not sure if this is on topic, but how do you plot and do worldbuilding? Are there any excercises you use, particularly for a Fantasy novel.
ReplyDeleteI think a big question to answer will be how to get started writing with emphasis on WHY to get into publishing. Also, recommend critique partners/groups!
ReplyDeletePatricia, Thank you!! I will def post afterwards and that's a GREAT question!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, that's totally on topic and also a good one-maybe one of the the most important ones.
Mariah, oooh yah, people need to understand why and YES critique groups--super important.
Thanks guys!
I'd like to ask about revisions. How many times did you revise your novel? How do you know when enough is enough?
ReplyDeleteAnd do you revise all the way through for one specific reason each time? Like one time, you go through looking for excess adverbs. One time you look at dialogue. That sort of thing? Or would you recommend re-reading the entire mess and then slogging through it a chapter at a time?
(Can you tell I'm deep in revisions right now and feeling a little overwhelmed? heh heh)
Second, how many agents did you query? And what did your successful query include?
Third, how many conferences did you attend before you found your agent?
Joanne, hahaha! I could probably spend 3 weeks talking about revisions--I feel you. And those are EXCELLENT questions! I love this.
ReplyDeleteAre you going to talk about the power of social media and how you just couldn't have gotten to where you are today without the cool people you've met on teh tinterwebs? Hmm?
ReplyDelete(I mean me, if it wasn't clear.)
*cough*
:D
Good luck with your presentation!
ReplyDeleteMy question would be:
At what point do you hand over your novel to your critique partner? Do you give them the whole thing or send a chapter at a time?
Also, how did you find your CP?
Ooh, best of luck Frankie. :) You'll do GREAT!
ReplyDeleteHmm, I would probably ask about how to balance between writing and rest of one's life as well as how to avoid procrastination. xD
you can spend a minute or two mentioning your 9 yr old story or your desire to write since you were 3, but no one really cares about that because it is irrelevant to breaking into the business now, unless if you still draw inspiration from your 3 yr old self or something like that. Just stay focused on one point mostly and don't try to include everything or too much, because afterall you could speak for 24 hours and it wouldn't get boring but this is just one hour so we want an intense dose of one specific fragment of your beautiful life.
ReplyDeletei love you. you'll be great, because you are wonderful and full of charisma.
love,
jm ;)