Tag: am querying

Back In The Saddle Again

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

After a bit of self-doubt recently, I’m again working hard on the third draft of this novel. I have printed out the first half of the second act and I hope to get through it pretty quickly.

Believe.

I still have a fair deal of writing and rewriting to do, but I’m confident that I will get to the midpoint of the novel a lot quicker than I had thought. What really keeps me going is not only what an interesting story I’ve come up with, but how the novel tells a cogent, coherent story.

It’s not at all the story I had expected to tell when I started this journey several years ago, but it’s A Story, which is all that matters.

And I’m aware that the story is “racy” at times. And, yet, I don’t think there’s anything about the story I can’t finesse through editing. But just introducing the idea of my heroine owning a strip club introduces an element of “raciness” that I just can’t avoid.

My heroine has the same phenotype as Corrie Yee.

There’s not much point in introducing such a unique element to the story without leaning into it and exploring as many weird angles as possible. I am also very aware that if I magically manage to successfully pitch this novel that the “part-time sex worker” angle of things is all anyone will want to talk about, especially in marketing of the novel.

And that element of the novel might make the “woke cancel culture mob” very, very angry with me. Of course, if I was an undocumented trans woman, they would praise me for how I was showing women using their sexuality in an empowering manner. I just can’t win. I can’t help who I am and I try my best to be as empthetic as possible to the female experience.

But I’m a smelly CIS white male — and a middle aged one at that! — so I should just twiddle my thumbs in bed and stare at the ceiling until I drop dead.

Lulz.

Anyway. I hope to zoom through the first half of the second act and reach the midpoint of the novel pretty soon.

I’m Really Worried This Novel Will Be Too Long

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The Beta Draft of this novel clocked in at about 80,000 words. I was taken aback by this because I had give myself 100,000 words and, according to the scene count I had in my outline, it seemed I would reach that. After a moment’s reflection, I realized in my rush to finish the novel that the second draft had a lot of short scenes which accounted for relatively low word count.

This time around with the third draft, however, I am really concerned that I will blow past the 100,000 word sweetspot. If I can keep the novel down to about 140,000 words I will be pleased. The novel is really engaging and tells a coherent story, but if it’s 140,000 words I worry that I won’t be able to pitch it.

My worry about this is so severe that I continue to be interested in a scifi concept I have rolling around in my mind. I’ve developed it some, but the main novel has so consumed my life that it’s difficult for me to figure out how to pull my attention away from it.

It will be interesting to see how things work out.

The Kindness of Strangers

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

As I continue to zoom through the third draft of this novel, I also have to manage my expectations. It is clear from my efforts to get my usual Readers to look at the first three chapters of my novel that, lulz, most of them don’t care. So, I have to focus on doing this out of spite towards the haters who I feel think I suck and can’t pull a novel off.

I have a huge chip on my shoulder about my writing and storytelling ability and, as such, that is enough power me white hot desire to wrap up this novel as soon as possible so I can start to query. The whole querying process is going to be rather jarring because of how much rejection and failure I’m bound to face.

And, in general, I have no idea how to query properly.

But I’ve gotten this far, there’s no reason to worry about shit now. It’s time to focus on the goal of finishing the third draft of the novel and then seeing if I can find a manuscript consultant I can afford.

Bar fly makes good…hopefully.

One issue that I continue to dwell on is how this novel isn’t a traditional murder mystery anymore. It’s more about the power struggle associated with one woman’s desire to own a small town newspaper. That she happens to be a strip club owner who strips a little bit herself — hopefully — will add enough of an edge to the story that people will be intrigued.

It’s just ironic that the people who know me — and know how long I’ve been working on this fucking thing — just don’t give a shit. So, it’s going to be rather ironic if the people who give me a chance are people who don’t know me. Typical.

Managing Expectations

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Now that I feel reasonably confident that I will wrap up the third draft of my first novel in a few months, I have to begin to grapple with expectations. Things are going so well that it is easy for me to fall into the delusion that people will actually, like, give a shit.

I hope to write a heroine as interesting as Lisbeth Salander.

I was wasted this afternoon after some quite enjoyable day drinking — only beer for once — and I sent the first three chapters of the novel a number of people who have helped me out in the past. This time I was met with a whole bunch of silence other than one or two people.

This is a heads up that ultimately, the success of this novel will hinge on the kindness of strangers — people who actually know me seem rather blasé about the novel and don’t really care. I would post the first three chapters of the novel here, but, lulz, what do I think is going to happen — someone actually give me any input?

It’s just not worth it. Though I will note that someone in Europe continues to appear in my Webstats who seems very interested in the first three scenes of the novel I posted some time ago. Things have improved a great deal with the novel since I posted though scenes, however.

So I’m going to have to adjusted my perception of things some. I continue to do all this in a vacuum so I really have no idea how good the novel is other than just what my gut tells me. I’m a storytelling snob, but even with that taken into consideration, I’m not perfect and it would help so much if I had a Reader or two who could give me consistent constructive criticism.

Anyway. It will definitely be interesting to see what the endgame of all this hard work on my part is.

Video: Idle Rambling About The State Of The Third Draft Of My First Novel

It’s Comical How Much I Move Scenes Around

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

As I move through the second act of this third draft of my first novel, I continue to move scenes around at a comical, alarming rate. And what makes this behavior even worse is there’s a chance all of it will be quite moot. I have, in general, used what Stieg Larsson did with his chapters as a guide.

This woman has the general phenotype of my heroine.

And, yet, it seems as though modern novels may have shorter chapters than he had. So, it’s possible that for all my futzing with chapters and the sequence of POVs within them…lulz?

I suppose I can console myself by with the thought that even if the first thing happens with the novel should I somehow, magically, sell this novel is everything changes with the scenes and chapters, at least I will have presented the best possible vision for this novel before I came to that point.

That, at least, is what I’m saying to myself to make myself feel better.

My heroine has a sleeve tattoo similar to the one that Megan Fox now sports, even though I thought of the idea first.

But I can’t help myself. I have some very, very strict, arbitrary rules about what “looks right” in the outline I have, even though I’m the only fucking person who will notice such shit — especially if I tell a great story. People will be so wrapped up with reading the story that they won’t give a shit about the exact sequence of POVs within a chapter.

It will be interesting to see how things work out. If nothing else, I’ve come up with a novel I can be proud of, no matter what the ultimate endgame of this particular journey might be.

Well, If Nothing Else, I Won’t Embarrass Myself With This Novel

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Things are finally beginning to click with this novel. As I’m going through and rewriting many of the scenes of the third draft so I can produce something I can maybe get a manuscript consultant to read — if I can find the money — I’m finally, finally feeling confident that this novel won’t, if anything, embarrass me.

My dream is to write a novel as popular and as successful as Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

I can finally feel some peace about all the hard work I’ve done over the last few years with this project. A lot of why things are moving so fast now comes from how I have a stable outline. All I have to do is go through the outline and smooth out some of the rough edges while leaning into character.

I’m really beginning to use cause and effect on the scenes so they’re not just a series of scenes that move around constantly. There is some sense of a flow from scene to scene. This is why I really feel the Beta Release of the third draft will be good enough that it will feel like a professional novel.

My heroine as a sleeve tattoo similar to the one Megan Fox now sports, even though I thought of the idea first.

All systems are go for me to wrap this novel up around July 22 as I hope. When I finally do finish this novel, the real work begins. I’m at a total loss as to what I’m going to do when I start to query this novel. I’ve been developing and writing this novel in such a vacuum that I fear the transition into trying to sell this particular work could be extremely jarring.

But I’m prepared to fail — a lot. And I know the odds are against me big time. It will be like winning a creative lottery to get anywhere near my goal of being a published author anytime soon. Even if I stick the landing, I could be a lot closer to 60 than I am now by the time the book hits bookshelves and people can buy it

My heroine has the same phenotype as Corrie Yee.

And that doesn’t even begin to address the possibility of a political “Fourth Turning” happening or a technological “Petite Singularity.” But I have hope. I’m a peace one way or another.

I believe that when this process is over that I will have a finished novel that I can be proud of, regardless of any obstacles I may face to get it traditionally published.

Even Thought It May Be Too Long, I’m Very Pleased With How This Novel Is Shaping Up

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

During the multi-year process of developing and writing my first novel, I’ve become something of a storytelling snob. To the point that I often walk out movies the moment I feel the storytelling isn’t up to my standards.

The works of the late Stieg Larsson are about 150,000 words on average.

I. Do. This. All. The. Time.

So, it means something when I look over the outline I have for the third draft of my first novel and I’m pleased.

There is one problem — too many scenes.

This is a real problem because, in general, if you’re a nobody loser like me writing your first novel and you hope to sell it traditionally, it needs to be ~100,000 words. But, just from eyeballing the number of scenes this novel has, it definitely seems as though I should probably accept that it’s going to be around 140,000 words.

Fuck it, we’ll do it live.

The only glimmer of hope I have is the fact that The Girl On The Train is about that many words and THAT was a success. If I REALLY want to be delusional, I would compare this novel to what Stieg Larsson wrote which, was, on average about 150,000 words.

So, I find myself with something of a conundrum. The story I want to tell is really, really good — it’s just too long for a first time author who is living in oblivion.

Ugh. Fucking ugh.

Moving At A Fast Clip Now

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Now that I have “a version” done of the third draft, I’m going to go through and read it and pick out scenes that need to be re-written. There aren’t that many scenes at the beginning of the novel, but that number grows significantly the further I get into the text.

I hope to write a novel with a heroine as interesting as Lisbeth Salander.

I’m using AI to help with this by telling it to be a manuscript consultant for me. This only works so well, however, because when it comes to spicy scenes, too often the software just locks up. It balks at even looking at any copy that deals with sex or violence.

But it works well enough that it does speed the process up and it is fun to do something as novel as use AI to help me reach my goal. I still am on track to have something to hand to people at an event I’m set to attend on April 19th. This is very, very arbitrary because the REAL hard deadline is July 22.

And, what’s more, I have a sequel to this first novel that I want to start to work on. But the better this first novel gets, the more I realize I need to think hard about how to improve some of the elements of the second novel. Also, I still have a few scifi novels that I’m brooding on.

I’ve come up with a really interesting First Contact novel, but it’s got so many moving parts — and would require so much research — that it’s more a novel to write once I blow up with my novel money.

I May Rile Up Woke People With This Novel Because I’m A Smelly CIS White Male Writing About A Romantic Relationship Between Two Women

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Oh boy. This is an instance where being a smelly CIS white male isn’t exactly the most helpful. I have come up with a really interesting plot point for this novel — a woman who doesn’t see herself as gay having a torrid relationship with a young woman who is a free spirit — and every once in a while I do a gut check and worry the “woke cancel culture mob” will freak the fuck out that I’ve done such a thing.

I hope to write a novel as interesting as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

This particular element of the story is fun and provides a lot of comic relief to the story and also keeps the story going at a fast clip. And, yet, I’m not a 20something undocumented transgender woman writing about such things, but a smelly middle-aged MAN.

But, lulz, I never what I’m supposed to do and this is where the Muse has taken me for this novel and I guess I’m stuck with it.

At least I’m really, really self-conscious about what I’ve gotten myself into. I understand why me writing about lesbian stuff from a female POV as a smelly CIS white male might be….a problem. The way some young women talk on Tik-Tok, I have no right to exist as a human being, much less as an aspiring male author who occasionally writes from a female POV.

I wish I had a wife or a girlfriend to be my Reader. Then, at least, I would have woman to tell me when maybe I have taken things too far, even if you give me the benefit of the doubt. And, yet, Stieg Larsson wrote some pretty crazy shit in his novels and they were a success.