New Year, Querying, and Surviving the Mayan Apocolypse

First off, Happy New Year!  We survived the Mayan apocalypse and we are still kicking.  Hooray!

Even though the world didn't end, December was a hectic month for me.  In the midst of health and financial issues, I finally found the nerve to start querying.  It took me six months from when I first pronounced myself finished with my novel to really feel that I was ready to do so.  I now know that I was no where near done, and being the perfectionist that I am, I didn't want to risk sending out something until I was completely satisfied.  Now that I've reached that point, I'd like to thank those that helped me along the way, especially my friend, Ameenah, who was the first to take the plunge into my world, and a shout out to E.B. Black, without whose invaluable feedback I could not have felt my story was truly ready to put out there.  Watson, I know that we still haven't finished sharing our stories to each other, but I also really appreciate your positive support!  I'd also like to thank the Agent Query Connect family, I learned so much information from you all, from reading your posts to getting answers to all my questions.

In my heart I know that no matter what happens, I tried my best, and found a way to try to make one of my many dreams come true.  I won't give up easily, as I've heard the stories that successful writers got rejected many times before they finally succeeded.  I keep remembering the fact that Kathryn Stockett, writer of "The Help", which became a best seller and was created into a movie that received an Oscar, got rejected 60 times before she landed an agent.  It took her five years from when she first put her pen to paper to sell her book.  This business takes patience, resolve, and a little bit of stubbornness.

I have a few other ideas though, so even if this one doesn't work out, I'm going to try my next one--just have to find the time to write it!

Newtown, Connecticut

In the wake of today's tragedy, I am heartbroken.  I am outraged.  I've had enough.

Unfortunately, we live in a society where trying to look for solutions to prevent this type of thing from happening over and over again is automatically politicized.  So be it.

It's not the wild west anymore, and we don't need militias to protect ourselves against the British. The day the Mayan, or Zombie, or your Apocalypse of choice happens, we can always raid the stores or make our own homemade spears and bows. If the government comes after us, I doubt a handgun is gonna stop tanks and nuclear weapons. What is the need for a gun? To protect against intruders, I get that. I get that if you are in a 3rd world country where it takes hours for police to arrive. If you can't get a gun, they can't get a gun. It'll be a knife to knife or bat to head fight. What if you use a gun to protect yourself, and it turns the burglar was just your son sneaking in from a party? You can't take a bullet back once it's shot through the brain. Why can't we just all learn really good personal defense? CIA agents can do a lot of damage without a gun in hand.

I've seen some pretty ridiculous comments thrown around, everything from how if all the teachers (and even the kids) had been armed this wouldn't have happened, or how cars can also kill people but we don't ban cars. First I would like to say, a gun's primary purpose is to kill or seriously injure another being. It is a weapon. Comparing it to other inanimate objects that could potentially kill people but has another purpose is pointless and stupid. Secondly, the goal in all of this is to prevent senseless bloodshed, not make it worse. If everyone had a gun, we'd probably see more violence since people would resort to the gun for any little dispute.  You don't think more people would get killed caught in the crossfire?  Plus we don't live in a war zone, I don't want to feel like I am by seeing arms all around me.

There's got to be a way to compromise. I'm not saying take away all guns. Law abiding citizens who want to keep their guns should be able to, but they have to be willing to jump through the hoops. Stricter enforcement is needed. Tighter rules and proper training. Better security would be great. Trained professionals who know how to use a gun to be posted in public places. (It would create more jobs!) But not any ordinary person with no experience or unstable backgrounds. How many more people have to die before we face reality? The status quo isn't working. Personally, I would like to see the day when we wouldn't need to have any guns at all. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.

Election 2012

Those who know me know I am a big supporter of Obama.  Before Election Day this past Tuesday, I went around putting signs up for him, constantly tried to get out the vote, and even was inspired to write a poem about him.  This election was really important to me.  I became emotionally invested, not only because I believed with all my heart that Obama would lead us down the right path, but because I just couldn’t stand all the negativity and animosity being promoted by the other side.

On Election Day, I sat in front of my TV, biting my finger nails and wracked with anxiety.  Would the rest of America see that Obama stood for progress and equality?  Do they understand that four short years is not enough to fix a mess that others started?  Or would they be blinded by the lies and hate being spewed by right extremists?  The fate of our future would be decided that night, and I would either be cheering or crying.

As the numbers came in, I was on the edge of my seat.  Virginia, where I am from, kept changing from blue to red, and so did Florida and Ohio.  But the moment CNN declared Obama the winner, I jumped up with joy, dancing around my living room and screaming his name out of my balcony.

I never thought I would be into politics.  I was never really interested before Obama came around.  I was old enough to vote in 2004, but didn’t do it.  Back then, it was the norm to think your vote didn’t matter, and the candidates weren’t motivating enough to really get involved.  But that all changed with Obama.  He stood for hope and change, and even now I see him as someone who’s looking out for our best interests.  He supports the rights of all people, including gays, immigrants, women, and the poor.

Even though I’m ecstatic he won, I’m saddened to see that our country is deeply divided.  Politics will be politics, and negative ads are nothing new.  But I was surprised by the force of rage and antagonism that I kept seeing in some of the comments that people would make online.  They would demonize him, make up lies, blame him for everything.  You state the facts, or you show them how their feelings are unfounded, but they don’t want to listen.  

It’s hard to see people filled with such hate and anger that it overcomes the need to become united.  It doesn’t seem like they’re interested in that.  

The worst remarks I’ve seen and heard about Obama are based on discrimination: because he’s black, or because, mistakenly, they still believe he is a Muslim or not an American Citizen.  First of all, if he was a Muslim, it shouldn’t even be an issue.  Don’t they understand that freedom of religion is a safeguard for all religions, not just their own?  And even though he has shown his birth certificate, this is not enough for these conspiracy theorists.   The fact that some people are still outraged at the color of his skin is just despicable.

The other prevalent idea that has been thrown around, is that anyone who votes for Obama is a lazy person who just wants handouts.  Do these people really believe that over 50% of the nation is on welfare?  And are they themselves that well off to support their party’s ideology of providing tax cuts to the rich?  They cry out socialism, like it’s the devil.  Don’t they know that the rest of the developed world relies on socialist policies?  It is the government’s job to provide social safety nets for its people in times of need, and it’s a protection that they benefit from as well!  The majority of people who do receive government assistance are those with disabilities, the elderly, and children.  The rest are people who are suffering because of the economy.  And we all know that the economy started its deterioration before Obama even took office!

Finally, I keep hearing them up in arms over Benghazi.  Do these people forget that we went to war over false intelligence of Weapons of Mass Destruction under Bush?  Or that Bush also had some warnings about the 9/11 attacks before they happened?  Any loss of life is unacceptable; there are obviously flaws in the intelligence system, and that is why there is an ongoing investigation.  But somehow this one incident becomes worse than 9/11 itself.

All I hear is hypocrisy, discrimination, and lies coming from these right extremists.  And the worst part is that almost half of the country buys into this.  Ignorance and lack of education is always a breeding ground for fear and deception.  But how can we reach out to our fellow Americans, and make them understand?  How can we start the process of healing and cooperation, when there are still those out there spewing hate?  When times are rough, you always look for someone to blame.  But right now what we need is to work together to go forward.  I hope everyone can come to see that.

If you’re interested, please see my poem below! (To make it larger, left click on the image, then right click, select view image, and you can zoom in :-)

Pitch Live!

Title: VELOCITY OF THE WOLF

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Word Count: 60,000

 Here's my entry for the Pitch Live! Contest.  Thanks for taking a look!

What's in a Dream?

I dabbled with writing all my life. IB English was my favorite class in high school, and in college I was able to expand and perfect my writing. But before I ever thought about becoming an author, I believed I was going to be a famous singer.

As a teenager, I wrote song lyrics to little melodies I would make up in my head. I loved to sing, belting out tunes in the shower, in the car, in my room. I would make my mom listen to my songs, even doing little performances with them.

I loved the performing arts in Middle School, taking classes in Chorus, Dance, and Drama. I even tried out for musicals, and landed some pretty good roles. I was the Grandmother in The Little Match Girl, and the Rose Seller in Oliver. 

There were two other girls who were as passionate as I was, popular girls—while I was the dorky kid with glasses and frizzy hair. I remember how they had been cast as the Strawberry and Milk Sellers, and how they said they wish they had gotten my part. Cast for the same scene, we had to spend a lot of time working together; and for a moment I truly believed we would be friends and I would finally be in the popular crowd. Oh, Middle School angst! As soon as the play was over, I was back to being the dorky kid.

I look into them from time to time on Facebook, and see that they have both pursued music careers. One is a big star on Broadway (soon to have steamy kissing scenes with the sexy Ricky Martin) and the other is an independent artist with her own CD, touring the country and singing at different venues.

Unfortunately, my dream of pop stardom never came true—though I do think about trying out for American Idol from time to time! My mom told me in high school that singing was only a hobby, and that she wasn’t about to spend thousands of dollars for me to study a hobby—I needed to choose a more serious ambition. I dropped out of chorus after that.

Who knows what would have happened if I had followed that dream? It certainly worked out for my fellow Strawberry and Milk Sellers. But alas, that was not the road for me.

One day, I realized that all those fantasies and daydreams I had growing up could be converted to words on paper.

I remember writing a short story for a college class called Andean Myth. The story had to be 10 pages long, in Spanish, and incorporate elements of indigenous story-telling. I called it The Girl and her Dog, a shapeshifting story about a girl growing up in an hacienda, who fell in love with a boy cursed to be a dog. I spent a lot of time on it, and was pleasantly surprised when my Professor approached me and told me I should seriously think about having it published--it was that good.

That’s when I knew I had a new dream.

Why aren’t you published yet?

There may be some of you who are thinking, “Ok, Vanessa you said you were finished with your book back in July.  Why aren’t you published yet?”  I thought I’d give a little update on my progress and a summary on how the whole process works.

First of all, when I said I was done, I thought I was done, until I realized I wasn’t.  Confused?  I was too!

When I first decided to write this novel a year and a half ago, my goal had been to get to 50,000 words.  I had read online that the word count range for young adult novels start at this number.  When I finally reached that number this past summer, I shouted with glee, proclaiming that I was finished! 

And then reality crashed down on me.

Researching the process of contacting agents, I came across a fantastic site.  (Shout out to Agent Query Connect!)  There I began to realize not only all the steps it actually takes to try to get published, but I also found out that a 50,000 word count is considered short by most agents’ standards.  So I had to find ways to up my word count.  I’m at 60,000 now, which is still on the short end, but more acceptable.  Just for you to get an idea, a 50,000 word count is about 175 pages and 60,000 words about 240 pages.

Then I was informed, that before you do anything, you need beta readers.  Beta readers and critique partners are people (friends, family, other writers) who read your story to tell you what you might not be able to see yourself after having read your own story so many times.  They can help you fix grammar or find plot holes.  It’s a very important process to polish your manuscript.  (Thank you Ameenah, EB, and Watson!)

So I’m at a point now where I can probably start querying agents.  What does that mean, you ask?  Well, a query letter is like a cover letter, but for your book.  You have to basically summarize your whole story into a one page letter that will hook an agent.

Most likely this will be followed by a ton of rejections.  The writing industry is extremely tough, with agents receiving hundreds of queries a day.  I read daily about great writers who are rejected.  So I’m expecting this right off the bat.  But I will keep trying because I believe my story deserves a chance!

If an agent finds my story interesting, then they may request a synopsis (a summary in 2-5 pages), a partial (a few chapters) or a full (the whole manuscript).  If they love it, they’ll want to be my agent.  *Hopes*

But even hiring an agent is only just the beginning of another road.  They have to try to sell your story to a publisher, and after more editing and revising, it may take up to two years from the moment your story is sold before it even sees the shelf of a store.

So it’s a lot of work, takes a lot of patience and a lot of time!  Please feel free to wish me luck because I’ll need it.

Cut the Fluff: Keep your Resume to One Page

I know you really want to put every single training you’ve had in your resume, because it honestly did improve your competency.  And you also want to list every skill you’ve developed along the way.  But I know you’re not going to list all your jobs, because we already talked about only listing relevant ones…right? 

You have every right to choose what you want in there, but ultimately it should be one page.

I’ve read again and again that hiring managers ignore anything beyond the first page.  But let’s say you really have so much relevant experience that it does go over.  It’s not ideal but it could happen if you’ve been over 10 years in the work force, for example.  Just keep in mind that the most important things you want an employer to see should be on the first page.  This should include your education, any skills you want to mention, and most recent or important jobs. 

Anything more than two pages?  Cut the fluff, because the Hiring Manager will probably think you either don’t know what you’re doing or think too much of yourself, and your resume will end up in the trash. 

If you still want the chance to showcase the things you felt were important but had to leave out, put it in your cover letter!