Youwriteon.com is a funny business. For the select few of you that have been following my travails it will shock you to learn that after prolonged editing I have actually slipped out of the charts, down to position 21. Gah!
I sent off the submission to Andersen anyway and fingers crossed.
I've signed up with a new site(new to me) called Authonomy. It appears to be a writers' networking site where, as a side effect of your popularity, Harpercollins might review your MS.
Within seconds of posting my MS I had a barrage of interest but the jury is out as to whether this is genuine or self-serving. I'll let you know...
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Doing my nut in.
Gah! I shot up the charts to number sixteen, then back down to twenty and now I have settled at number eighteen - a full eight places away from a proper review by Orion or Random House of my piece.
The real frustration is that I have reviewed over 50 pieces on http://www.youwriteon.com/ and I have only been reviewed 15 times. That is a majorly frustrating deficit.
What seems to happen a lot on this review site is that somebody takes on your piece to review and then just leaves it for four days, at which point the review expires and your piece goes back into the pool. So you've spent four days where you know someone has your piece(but not who) and then you're left flatter than a chapati when your piece flops back to you, unloved.
Gah!
I have three of the Bubble stories up on YWO now -
Green-eyed Goopers and Eight legged Narls
The Unmistakable Invisible Energy Vampires
The Flesh-eating Diplomat from Outer Space.
Think I'll send 'em on to Andersen press. Chris Riddell is one of their authors and if he could illustrate these then we would be minted. Then again, Chris Riddell could illustrate anything and it would sell millions.
Here goes!
The real frustration is that I have reviewed over 50 pieces on http://www.youwriteon.com/ and I have only been reviewed 15 times. That is a majorly frustrating deficit.
What seems to happen a lot on this review site is that somebody takes on your piece to review and then just leaves it for four days, at which point the review expires and your piece goes back into the pool. So you've spent four days where you know someone has your piece(but not who) and then you're left flatter than a chapati when your piece flops back to you, unloved.
Gah!
I have three of the Bubble stories up on YWO now -
Green-eyed Goopers and Eight legged Narls
The Unmistakable Invisible Energy Vampires
The Flesh-eating Diplomat from Outer Space.
Think I'll send 'em on to Andersen press. Chris Riddell is one of their authors and if he could illustrate these then we would be minted. Then again, Chris Riddell could illustrate anything and it would sell millions.
Here goes!
Friday, January 1, 2010
I've charted!
New Year's Day and I have charted. Checked the charts on youwriteon.com and I am in joint 20th. I had hoped to rank higher but there is still lots to do and further edits and reviews will hopefully see my piece climb the charts and gain a proper appraisal.
One of my reviewers put me onto a website that might help. WWW.WORDLE.NET.
This site does a pictorial representation of the number of occurances of specific words in your text. For me it helped to point out that I had over-used and abused 'just'. 'look/looked' and 'back'. I would never have spotted this had it not been for the reviewer and I can tell you that the piece was riddled with these words, like lice in what might otherwise be a perfectly good head of hair.
I used to ask myself 'where do I start?' when I sought to edit my own work. Now with the help of youwriteon.com I have had nine people tell me where I should start and it has been very helpful.
One of my reviewers put me onto a website that might help. WWW.WORDLE.NET.
This site does a pictorial representation of the number of occurances of specific words in your text. For me it helped to point out that I had over-used and abused 'just'. 'look/looked' and 'back'. I would never have spotted this had it not been for the reviewer and I can tell you that the piece was riddled with these words, like lice in what might otherwise be a perfectly good head of hair.
I used to ask myself 'where do I start?' when I sought to edit my own work. Now with the help of youwriteon.com I have had nine people tell me where I should start and it has been very helpful.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
further reviews and thoughts
Well, the reviews have reached 6 now and it is mostly positive.
Review 5
I probably should have waited until I got this one assigned because barring a couple of minor punctuation nits I thought it was hilarious. I smiled through most of it, well, except through the eww-factor when the green gooper exploded, but when I came to kakapoop birds, that did it. A belly buster. I had to actually say it out loud to get it though. I still remember when my daughter was a baby and we did the kaka—poo—poo thing. Good stuff there.”
Review 6
Liked this one a lot - it was light-hearted, funny, deliciously silly and full of energy. I didn't expect it to be a short story, don't know why - perhaps the beginning felt a bit like it was the beginning of a longer piece - the detail about Greta, also having a lot of dialogue both made me expect that I wouldn't see the end of the story by the end of the extract (though maybe I haven't...)
I thoroughly enjoyed it and I reckon it's definitely one of the most fun excerpts I've read on here! Oh and the ending was fab! made me laugh out loud. Thanks a lot for the read
***************
Coming up to Christmas now and that time of year where I plan to do a lot of writing because of some theoretical free time that I imagine will fall to me throughout the period. I normally wake up in January, say 'whassat?', spit feathers out of my mouth, shower and then return to work.
Not this year! (I'm laughing at myself even as I make that ridiculous commit.)
This year will be different! (Slapping my thigh and having trouble catching my breath, I am laughing so much.)
This year I will write every night. (Sure you will)
I will you know. (Yeah sure.)
Review 5
I probably should have waited until I got this one assigned because barring a couple of minor punctuation nits I thought it was hilarious. I smiled through most of it, well, except through the eww-factor when the green gooper exploded, but when I came to kakapoop birds, that did it. A belly buster. I had to actually say it out loud to get it though. I still remember when my daughter was a baby and we did the kaka—poo—poo thing. Good stuff there.”
Review 6
Liked this one a lot - it was light-hearted, funny, deliciously silly and full of energy. I didn't expect it to be a short story, don't know why - perhaps the beginning felt a bit like it was the beginning of a longer piece - the detail about Greta, also having a lot of dialogue both made me expect that I wouldn't see the end of the story by the end of the extract (though maybe I haven't...)
I thoroughly enjoyed it and I reckon it's definitely one of the most fun excerpts I've read on here! Oh and the ending was fab! made me laugh out loud. Thanks a lot for the read
***************
Coming up to Christmas now and that time of year where I plan to do a lot of writing because of some theoretical free time that I imagine will fall to me throughout the period. I normally wake up in January, say 'whassat?', spit feathers out of my mouth, shower and then return to work.
Not this year! (I'm laughing at myself even as I make that ridiculous commit.)
This year will be different! (Slapping my thigh and having trouble catching my breath, I am laughing so much.)
This year I will write every night. (Sure you will)
I will you know. (Yeah sure.)
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Fourth Review and four stars
"I thought this was quite a jolly little children’s story. The pitch and language seemed just about right for your target audience, though I did find the first page a little confusing. Perhaps you just need to establish the setting a little bit more because it was not overly clear to me where they were.
There are some good lines. I particularly liked:
Granddad had taught him very well in the art of launching…hadn’t done very much yet in the art of landing but he would worry about that later.
Though, I didn’t like the line where he (Robert) tells her to belt up. I think your average 7 year old might find that a bit obvious (and unfunny). I could be wrong.
I liked the way you closed this out. That Granddad, he’s a card, isn’t he?
Good luck with this.
Mike"
As this was my fourth review I got to see a general rating of my MS. It was 4 stars out of 5. Is that good? I don't know. To stand a chance of consideration for the Youwriteon.com top ten and win a review from a publisher I need 4 more reviews and they are certainly not coming thick and fast so it may take several weeks before I learn whether I'll be in with a chance.
It is budget day today. I wonder if the IMF has an Arts Department?
There are some good lines. I particularly liked:
Granddad had taught him very well in the art of launching…hadn’t done very much yet in the art of landing but he would worry about that later.
Though, I didn’t like the line where he (Robert) tells her to belt up. I think your average 7 year old might find that a bit obvious (and unfunny). I could be wrong.
I liked the way you closed this out. That Granddad, he’s a card, isn’t he?
Good luck with this.
Mike"
As this was my fourth review I got to see a general rating of my MS. It was 4 stars out of 5. Is that good? I don't know. To stand a chance of consideration for the Youwriteon.com top ten and win a review from a publisher I need 4 more reviews and they are certainly not coming thick and fast so it may take several weeks before I learn whether I'll be in with a chance.
It is budget day today. I wonder if the IMF has an Arts Department?
Sunday, December 6, 2009
My third review - 3 o'clock and all's well
"I really enjoyed reading this, Mark, even though I am the "wrong" side of 70! I have grandchildren in the age-group you are writing for and I think they would love it, especially the boys.
Yes, you hit exactly the right note for your target readership and this is not as easy as one may think. I have read an awful lot of YWO chapters (and I do mean awful!) ostensibly meant for children, which are hopelessly wide of the mark. I think you have just the right combination of excitement and humour here.
Just two teeny-weeny nitpicks: I'd be inclined not to use kakapoop and galoop in the same sentence - could you change one of them just a bit? And do you really need to repeat "like a cat on fire" when they shoot out into space? But, these are really tiny points in an excellent story"
So far my story has been reviewed by 3 people and it seems to be surviving the experience. Not one person has said - 'you are a gimp, Lloyd, a gimp of the highest order.' or 'Your words grate on my consciousness like nail on a blackboard' or, worse still 'well, it was OK, I suppose.'
I need 8 reviews to get a chance at cracking the top 10 and if I manage that I will get a review from a publisher or the janitor at a publishing house - depending on how much moolah the site owners are actually coughing up.
*****
Voice is an interesting topic. I want to go to a workshop that focuses entirely on voice. I worry that my voice isn't authentic. I tend to try to write something in a particular style and it is only occasionally that I manage to write in a way that is readily identifiable as my own voice. When I'm writing I have to avoid reading as the style and ideas of what I am reading will leach into my script.
Hmm...any voice coaches out there?
By the way, if you are reading this it would be rude not to say hello.
Yes, you hit exactly the right note for your target readership and this is not as easy as one may think. I have read an awful lot of YWO chapters (and I do mean awful!) ostensibly meant for children, which are hopelessly wide of the mark. I think you have just the right combination of excitement and humour here.
Just two teeny-weeny nitpicks: I'd be inclined not to use kakapoop and galoop in the same sentence - could you change one of them just a bit? And do you really need to repeat "like a cat on fire" when they shoot out into space? But, these are really tiny points in an excellent story"
So far my story has been reviewed by 3 people and it seems to be surviving the experience. Not one person has said - 'you are a gimp, Lloyd, a gimp of the highest order.' or 'Your words grate on my consciousness like nail on a blackboard' or, worse still 'well, it was OK, I suppose.'
I need 8 reviews to get a chance at cracking the top 10 and if I manage that I will get a review from a publisher or the janitor at a publishing house - depending on how much moolah the site owners are actually coughing up.
*****
Voice is an interesting topic. I want to go to a workshop that focuses entirely on voice. I worry that my voice isn't authentic. I tend to try to write something in a particular style and it is only occasionally that I manage to write in a way that is readily identifiable as my own voice. When I'm writing I have to avoid reading as the style and ideas of what I am reading will leach into my script.
Hmm...any voice coaches out there?
By the way, if you are reading this it would be rude not to say hello.
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