Monday, March 22, 2010

Funny Ha,ha? OR Just Plain Sad

My Internet quit working again, this time on Thursday night. Having the whole high-speed-radio-antenna-thing, it happens. Only this time it didn't come back on the next day, or the next.

So, I finally got a hold of tech support today (of course they never called me back from Saturday) only to find out my account was turned off for overusing bandwidth. Yes, Speednet thinks I'm downloading massive amounts of porn, illegal music files and/or movies.

What was I actually doing? Obsessing over a major rewrite for BEAUTY SECRETS and researching agents into the wee-hours of the morning. Last week I clocked over 56 hours of writing in 4 days (that's an average of 14 hours a day). Not to mention the extra 22 hours I spent researching agents. I think I went a little mad, or to quote Alice in Wonderland:

Me: "Have I gone mad?"

Alice: "I'm afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are."

The rewrite was totally worth it, albeit scary at times, but worth it. I surprised myself with the ease at which I slashed words and poured forth new ones--changing plot points, characterization and clues. Wow, what a ride.

Then of course the conundrum I found myself in was, "Do I resend my partials to agents who already are reviewing them? Or do I wait to see what they say on the original partial I sent?"

Well, I went ahead and resubmitted a revised partial. Why? Well, here's what I was thinking: I don't want to be an imprudence, but I thought if the agent hasn't started reading my partial yet, it shouldn't be too much trouble to replace my revised partial with the original one. However, if the agent is too annoyed or busy to honor my request, then phooey on them. I'd rather have an agent pass on me because they're annoyed, then pass on the work itself.

What's the difference you ask?

In one case, you're passing on me because of my character. On the other, because of the writing. If you're going to pass on my writing, I'd rather have it be the most recent version. That way, when I see your rejection, I know it was the best I could do, and I won't always be wondering "what if?"

So, that's what I was doing the last week. Hopefully I'll have time this week to catch up with all of your blogs and jump back on to Twitterville. "See" you all soon!

7 comments:

Stephanie Thornton said...

Wow. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor when I saw how many hours you clocked writing. I'm lucky to get an hour a day- my hubby and daughter haven't been too obliging lately.

Good luck with the requests!

Joshua McCune said...

56 hours -- that would drive me to nutville, most definitely... I know some agents don't recommend sending them changed partials, but you've gotta go with your gut.

Stephanie Damore said...

Thank you, Stephanie. It's a good thing my hubby works 3rd shift. I'd never hear the end of it if I ignored him all night.

Stephanie Damore said...

Bane, I've seen the same advice. And to be honest, I only sent an updated partial to one agent. He seems like a cool guy and would understand, so I went with it. I have more than one partial out, but I'm mostly concerned with what this one agent thinks.

Sage Ravenwood said...

If the hours you clocked this past week don't inspire, I don't know what will. Way to go!

I agree, I would rather get passed up by annoyance than the writing itself. (Hugs)Indigo

Shannon O'Donnell said...

How. on. earth? You are the writing Wonder Woman. I think you may be my new hero! :-)

Stephanie Damore said...

Thanks guys! Yeah, I guess you can say I'm determined... to the point of fault.

Although, I haven't worked on my WIP in the last 3 days. Tomorrow's another story. I finally have the house cleaned up and I've spent quality time with the fam.