SUBLIMINAL MONDAY: Girls Gone Wild in the Northwest

I just got back from a week in Portland and southern Washington. My Awesome Agent, aka Bernadette Baker-Baughman, spoiled me to no reasonable end [I didn't deserve any of it, but please don't tell her]. I love her with all my heart and soul and feel so blessed to have her in my literary corner and in my life.

Once I got used to being on the Left Coast, I very much enjoyed myself. To say I sampled the vineyards of Oregon would be an understatement [um, yeah,]. I have so many great pics from the trip that I'm going to shut my big, fat trap [Henrietta, there is a God!] and give you a visual tour of Girls Gone Wild in the Northwest.

With the exception of AA, the girls I went wild with I met on Twitter. In other words, this was my first official "Tweet Up." AA already knew two of the very nice, well-behaved gals [out-of-control, uber wild women], but the other three were strictly from Twitter.

The women and our Twitter handles are: me [@dlschubert], AA [@bakersmark], Gretchen Stelter [@editorstet], Kristina Martin [@quickmissive], Cheri Lasota [@StirlingEditor], and Tawna Fenske [@tawnafenske]. Kristina also opened up her beautiful home to me and let me stay with her and her extraordinary family for two nights. Being with each of these amazing people is something I will always treasure. [Okay, you're boring us (again). Pictures, please!!!]

So, without further ado, here are the pics:

Me and AA at the breathtaking Royal Rosarian Garden.






The beautiful Gretchen Stelter:










Gretchen, Bernadette, and me:











Me and Bern at the Tao of Tea - incredible chai tea and delicious Indian food at Oregon's oldest Tea House.


More evidence that this trip was the right thing for me to do at the right time: A double rainbow (look closely) on our way out to Multnomah Falls:

























Here we're at The Farm Cafe
1) Me, Bern, Gretchen, Kristina, and Cheri;
2) Cheri, me and Bern.

And, here is me, Tawna, and Kristina at Seasons and Regions where we enjoyed a nice Oregon Pinot Noir:

So, there you have it folks. Girls Gone Wild in the Northwest. It was a beautiful thing. [It really was.]

PS: For the moms reading this, I hope your Mother's Day rocked!

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BBB & DLS in NYC

Okay, folks, I've edited a bit and tried to make this VLOG as intriguing as possible. May I present me and Awesome Agent (the incredible Bernadette Baker-Baughman of Baker's Mark Literary Agency) in NYC. Let me know what you think!



Sorry about the darkness and the background noise. Steven Spielberg has nothing to fear from me.

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SUBLIMINAL MONDAY: Meeting Awesome Agent - The Ballad of B & D

I bet you're wondering how my meeting with Awesome Agent aka Bernadette Baker-Baughman of Baker's Mark Literary went? [You're not? Fine. Be that way. I have no feelings.] It wasn't easy, people, let me tell you: It. Was. Not. Easy.

First of all, she was supposed to fly in on the Red Eye Tuesday night, but, guess what? The East Coast got slammed with the biggest storm in like a bazillion years. [That's not an exaggeration. It was a bazillion and three years since the last storm this big hit Philly, Baltimore, & DC. Google it if you don't believe me.] So.... plane canceled.

Tears streamed down my face at warped speed for the next 24 hours until, VWALAH - Wednesday night Red Eye took flight! Yes, Maribelle, there is a God and her name is jetBlue. [I've no idea who Maribelle is, and if God existed, which I'm not completely convinced she does, her name would most definitely NOT be jetBlue. It would probably be something like Sasha or Ariella or Alexandra or Sasha Ariella Alexandra. You know, something with beauty, elegance, a little oomph.] Alas, my tears dried up like the Sahara after a wicked rainstorm, and joy began to creep back into the soft, slight creases on my face. [Okay, they're craters. Whatev.] Awesome Agent managed to fly 3,000 miles into the City Of My Birth, and now it was my mission to travel a mere 94 miles from Philly to NYC. No big woop, right? WRONG! In my humble town, we received 20 inches of snow atop the previous 15 inches that was dumped on us only four days prior. Three freaking feet of snow, people, three freaking feet of snow. So, guess what?

1) Honey plowed our driveway with our super-duper snow-blower for three hours and we still couldn't get a car out.

2) I couldn't get a cab to the train station.

3) Most of the trains were either not running, or seriously delayed.

So, AA was in NYC and I was, once again, crying at home in Philly. [Do you feel bad for me? Cuz you should definitely feel bad for me. Heck, even I feel bad for myself! This story is a real tear-jerker.] I was supposed to have dinner with AA, but I couldn't even get to my mailbox.

She wrote to me in an email, and I quote, "The force is strong with you, young Jedi. I believe that you'll make it. ANYTHING is possible."

Wow. She called me, Young Jedi. How could I so thoroughly disappoint my Master, especially when she'd traveled thousands of miles just to see me? [She had meetings galore in NYC. Dinner with me was, no doubt, a regretful afterthought.]

LIGHT BULB MOMENT! I could try to get into New York on FRIDAY! I checked the train schedules and paid the price of a plane ticket, but it was worth it, because I was on my way to meet my Master! The clouds parted, the sun shone through, the flowers bloomed, and Sasha Ariella Alexandra spoke to me. She said, "Good job, my young Jedi. The Force is most definitely with you!"

[BTW: For those of you new to my blog, if you were looking for a "meeting" here, AA doesn't mean what you think. AA stands for Awesome Agent. And, best of luck with your sobriety.]

So, after what seemed like a lifetime of tears and sadness and disappointment and sheer terror, I found myself on a bumpy, ice-lining-the-tracks train ride to NYC. [There wasn't even one scintilla of terror, I just thought I'd toss it in for effect. Did it work? Were you terrified? Good. Then, I'll give my bud Stephen King a shout-out. He's kind of green at the fear game - thinks it's "his calling" (such a Drama King!) and I believe strongly you've got to encourage the newbies.]

I arrived in Penn Station not much worse for the wear - a few hairs out of place, my make-up smeared, some drool on my chin from a much-needed nap - I mean crying for 24 hours wears you out! And then, as if in a beautiful dream, there was AWESOME AGENT! Amidst the millions of busy New Yorkers racing by, AA appeared in a black and white checked coat made of pure awesome. She walked up to me in slow motion and gave me a long, much-needed hug. I'm fairly certain Steven Spielberg hovered above in a hecidoctor [That's what my son called a helicopter when he was little. Isn't that cute? No? Oh, well, never mind then.] filming the most intense, history-making, literary moment EVAH!

We slipped inside an Irish Pub and got down to the business of getting to know each other in person. Phone calls, emails, tweets, and even Skype, don't begin to convey the magnificence of AA. She's exactly as I imagined - an angel sent from Heaven to help me along my literary path. She even has wings, I swear, it's true! [And, yes, Maribelle, the Pope is Jewish.]

We did an 8-minute vlog answering questions submitted by my dear followers. I will post that vlog later this week. All I'll say about that is that it's downright hilarious [think Chelsea Handler meets Lewis Black] and is filled with way-important literary tidbits. You will not be disappointed! [You may be bored, but you will not be disappointed!]

Until then, I hope your Valentine's Day was filled with love, and more importantly, chocolate, and that you're enjoying the Winter Games in Vancouver.

Go USA!

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In Query Hell? Give Yourself a Fist Bump!

Query Hell

For those of you in query hell, please know, I feel your pain. I was there not long ago, and I easily recall the distress of obsessively checking my email and excel spreadsheet, and stalking, I mean researching, agents on their blogs, Twitter, Publisher's Marketplace, AgentQuery.com, Google, QueryTracker, blah, blah, blah.

Being the oddball that I am, I actually enjoyed querying. Let me clarify: I enjoyed the part where I reworked every word on my query until it sparkled like a diamond, the part where I personalized my introductions, and the part when I hit the "send" button. In other words, I liked the parts I had control over. The parts I didn't have control over? Not so much.

Rejection Sucks
There's really no nicer way to say it. Rejection sucks - it's brutal, horrifying, and ego-crushing. On the other hand, being asked for partials or fulls never loses its luster.

Let me explain:

1) I recently got a pass on a full of my murder mystery MURDER ON TWILIGHT CIRCLE (MTC) by an agent who'd had it since last July. (I informed her I was offered representation for my YA novel, but she asked to read the murder mystery, anyway.) My stomach sank.

2) I also recently got a request for the first 75 pages and a synopsis for MTC. The query was sent last August. I gave myself a pat on the back.

As you know, I signed with Bernadette Baker-Baughman aka, "Awesome Agent" of Baker's Mark Literary Agency in November. My point is, I have an agent so none of this matters, right? Right! So why did I feel happy about the request and unhappy about the pass? Because I'm human and have an [abnormally large] ego. The emotions are still there, though thankfully, not quite as pronounced.

Fist Bump, Baby!
If you're in Query Hell, give yourself a fist bump. Why? Because you're pursuing your dreams. I'm not kidding, do it! Did you do it? Good. Because, you, my friends, are special. There are many folks out there who don't pursue their dreams for one "good" reason or another. It's true they never suffer the indignity of a rejection, but they also never experience the deep satisfaction of going for it.

We're All In This Together
Simply put, you are not alone. I'm not saying there are definitely other life forms "out there," I'm just saying we really are all in this thing together. And by thing, I mean, life.

I'd love to hear about your experiences, emotions, viewpoints on the querying process. And, best of luck to all along your journey. ;-)

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Co-Hosting YALITCHAT... Expanding My Horizons

Last night was a first for me - I co-hosted YALITCHAT with Georgia McBride. Our guest was Daniel Ehrenhaft of Sourcebooks Fire, a YA publisher. The chat was fun, fast, and furious.

For those of you who aren't familiar with YALITCHAT, it's a chat on Twitter held on Wednesday nights at 9PM EST for writers of young adult books. If you're a YA writer and haven't stopped by, you're missing out. (If you have questions, email me and I'll explain exactly how you can "meet up.") My co-hosting duties included introducing, welcoming, and wishing farewell to folks, including agents, editors, and writers, as they came and left the discussion. I also retweeted anything I thought should be emphasized.

Agents such as Elana Roth from the Caren Johnson Literary Agency, Colleen Lindsay of FinePrint Literary Management, and Bernadette Baker-Baughman of Baker's Mark Literary Agency graced the chat and added many interesting questions and comments to the mix. 

It was a fun experience, though not without stress. For the first ten minutes or so, we had technical difficulties. People's tweets weren't appearing and the chat was moving at a snail's pace. Fortunately, the glitch was magically fixed (I imagine with the same faerie dust that makes fax machines and iPhones work!), and the rest of the hour went smoothly.

What did I learn from this new endeavor? 

1) That it's good to take on new endeavors.

2) That Sourcebooks Fire is a wonderful opportunity for YA writers.

3) That Dan Ehrenhaft is a sweetheart (and a good sport for being a first-timer, jumping  into the warped speed that is YALITCHAT), and that he's committed to putting great YA literature into the hands of readers.

4) Georgia McBride is a saint for getting the chat up and running in the first place, and for creating the partner website yalitchat.ning, which is a great place to network with agents and other writers and to improve your craft. You can get feedback on your queries and even submit directly to agents through the site. If you haven't already, you should check it out fo' sho'.

5) That I have the best agent in the world. I know, you're getting tired of my saying it, but it's true. She showed up all sparkly and beautiful to usher in my debut as a YALITCHAT co-host. (And, she tells me she'll soon be there to usher in my debut as a published author!)

6) That the writing community in general, and on Twitter in particular, is beyond amazing. I don't say that lightly. The writers, no matter where they are in their careers, are the most supportive, interesting, and passionate group of people I know. I realize that sounds somewhat crazy - I mean, how can you "know" someone via the internet? Yet, I do feel  I know a lot of them, just like I feel I know many of you.

Since I enjoy pain (kidding, Georgia!), I've agreed to co-host the chat again on January 20th.  That night we will be visited by JJ Jones of St. Martin's Press. She will be presenting winners of a recent contest and discussing the New Adult category, which features protagonists in their late teens to mid twenties.

So, get out there and try something new. That's what 2010 is all about. ;-)

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Little by Little All Your Sweet Dreams Really Do Come True

A few months ago I went to see the Australian phenomenon Tommy Emmanuel play guitar. Let me rephrase. A few months ago I went to see Tommy Emmanuel elevate guitar playing to a level I never thought imaginable.

One of the stories he told involved the phrase, "Little by little all your sweet dreams come true." When he said it, I was transformed. I couldn't get the phrase out of my head, nor did I want to. I changed the layout of my blog the next day to reflect this amazing and inspiring saying. I refer to it often at the top of my blog page, and I believe it with all my heart and soul.

My writing dreams are beginning to come true, and I'm deeply grateful and humbled. I promised I'd write about what it feels like to receive your first Editorial Notes from your shiny new agent and sign your first (and hopefully, only!) agent/author contract, and I do my best to fulfill my promises. So, here goes...

EDITORIAL NOTES
As far as receiving the Editorial Notes goes, it feels freaking awesome, that's how it feels... for about a week. Then it feels, well, kind of scary. And then you read the notes over and over again and smile because someone majorly awesome who can help get you published not only knows about your book, but about each of your characters and their motivations, quirks, and dreams. Not only that, but they care about you! They care about you as a person and about you becoming a better writer and about making your story shine. You look in the mirror and pinch yourself to make sure you're awake and not just having the best freaking dream of your life.

Then you get back to work.

That's where I'm at now: editing. Huh, this is eerily familiar, except with a little more direction. Correction: make that a lot more direction. Nice.

I'm sure each agent has their own style. My agent - the uber-wonderful Bernadette Baker-Baughman - sent me notes with a wide brush stroke. This is because we're working with a first draft. We decided together, that I have until the end of January to dig a little deeper into the story and get it back to her for a second look. At that point, she'll do a more thorough read and edit. I'm hoping the third time will be the charm, but that remains to be seen.

Some of the wide brush stroke topics included in her Editorial Notes were:

• CONFLICT
• TONE
• ANTAGONIST
• METAPHORS
• CULTURAL REFERENCES

For example, TONE: Go darker, really dark. Or CONFLICT: Set up conflict right out of the gate, and she went on to make suggestions. This is precisely what I need at this point - to have direction and concepts to think about as I add color to the black and white sketch that is the first draft.

AGENT/AUTHOR CONTRACT
I said I'd post about what it feels like to sign the agent/author contract, but I don't know the answer to that yet. She emailed it to me in order for me to review it and ask questions, and the paper contract is currently on its way somewhere between Portland, OR and Philly. I'm sure signing it will be a thrilling moment. I'll do my best to keep my hand from shaking so much that my signature won't be legible.

I hope my experience helps you envision your own Editorial Notes and agent/author contract. If you believe and work hard, you will soon have your own version of this story to tell.

Lyrics from songs I wrote many moon ago:

Dreams... dream on - until they are no longer fantasy.

and...

Dreaming dreams along the way
If you slow down you'll fall astray
Finding what you need in love
Knowing you'll soon rise above...

Dream on, my friends, dream on. And, always remember: little by little all your sweet dreams will come true.

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Did I Mention I've Got An....

Did I mention I've got an agent? No? Huh. Silly me. Must have slipped my mind...

OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG!!!!!! I'VE GOT AN AGENT!!!!!!!

Yes, it's happened - that life-changing phone call that well, changes your life.

First of all, let me introduce you to the most amazing agent on the planet: the lovely and talented Ms. Bernadette Baker-Baughman of Baker's Mark Literary Agency.*** Why is she so amazing?

1) Because she just is;

2) Because she "gets" my work, sees the potential, and has big plans for it, me, and us.

This story - "our" story - is somewhat unusual so, I thought I'd share it with you.

Once upon a time, there was a novel called, "SPARKS FLY SOMETIMES: CONFESSIONS OF A ROCK PRINCESS." (Yup, that's me "back in the day.") I've given the tag line before, but here it is again:

Life as a rock princess in the Denver music scene does nothing to prepare Jenny for life as a domestic goddess in the suburbs of Philly.

I love this book with all my heart, and I queried it widely. By "widely" I mean in the neighborhood of 150 queries. I received some requests for partials and even a few for fulls. BTW, one of the form rejections I got was from an agency called Baker's Mark Literary Agency.

Though I got interest, I didn't get any requests for representation. So, what did I do? I kept writing.

Next up: MURDER ON TWILIGHT CIRCLE. I always wanted to write a fun mystery and had a ball writing this. I queried widely again, in the neighborhood of 150 queries. This time, I got a lot more interest. 17 partial requests and 8 full requests. Ah. Now we were getting somewhere! Oh, and btw? One of the form rejections I received was from an agency called Baker's Mark Literary Agency.

Stats on MTC:
158 queries sent; 82 no response; 51 passes; 25 requests

Then a miracle happened. Through the magic that is Twitter, I received an e-mail. It was from a certain Bernadette Baker-Baughman from Baker's Mark Literary Agency. Here's a portion of the e-mail:

Hi Debra,

Bernadette here of Baker’s Mark Literary Agency. I just saw your funny reply to our twitter correspondence about author queries and I thought to myself “Shoot, did Debra query us and we responded with a no? How could we?” At any rate, I hope that is not the case, as I am quite enjoying our correspondence via twitter, and I like what you have to say on your blog (very beautiful, btw). If that is the case, well, I’d like to invite you to query again... We get anywhere between 150-300 queries a week and sometimes it is just downright difficult to pull out what we are looking for.

Yup, you read that right. She liked what I had to say on Twitter, visited my blog, and invited me to requery her for MURDER ON TWILIGHT CIRCLE. I immediately sent her the query and she asked for the first 100 pages, cover letter, and bio.

Then we emailed and talked on the phone. She said she loved my writing, but didn't feel a mystery was the best genre to go out with as a debut author. I told her about SPARKS FLY and she liked the idea. She asked me for the full manuscript. Then, I told her about an idea I had for a YA novel. That's when she got really excited. She asked me to keep her posted on my progress with the book. I began writing on September 20th and finished the first draft on November 3rd (six weeks; 62,000 words). This was the fourth novel I've finished, and the third novel I've finished this past year. (The first one took me 13 years, give or take, and the last three were done in a year.)

When I finished the first draft of my YA novel, she made a request. "I'd like a 7-day exclusive on your 1st draft."

"Come again? Um, okay, but let me read through it once before I send it."

What? An agent wanting to look at a first draft? I'd never heard of that before. I read through the ms and did a soft-edit, making sure sentences made sense, and correcting all the little odds and ends that go horribly awry when you're writing a first draft. Then I sent it off and was a basket case.

We scheduled a phone call for this past Friday, as in "Friday the 13th." Hmm... I wasn't feeling the warm fuzzies about the date or the call. I was sure she was going to say something like, "It's not bad, I mean maybe it's even good in places, but it's totally not there. Why don't you finish your edits and I'll take a look again, say maybe sometime next year?" I was ready for that. I took deep cleansing breaths and did stretching exercises in the minutes leading up to "the call." I could handle "no." I'd gotten quite good at it over the past year.

"The Call" lasted nearly an hour, and somewhere within that time frame, Bernadette offered to represent me. When I got off the call, I had a little trouble breathing. Okay, I felt like the air had been sucked out of my lungs and I needed CPR - but in a good way. As wonderful as the conversation was, it wasn't a done deal. Bernadette told me to sleep on it, really think it over, and call her back when I'd made my decision.

Decision? What decision? To go with an amazing agent who loves my work and who, by her own admission, is a "high-powered bitch" (which is a great trait for an agent!), and who has huge vision and plans for my book vs. remaining agent-less? What kind of decision was that?

If only it were that simple... Keeping with the "proper protocol" of being offered representation, I sent e-mails to all agents who were still reading my work. There were five - each truly awesome. Two asked for the full 1st draft of my new book, another asked for the first 20 pages, another declined but wanted to continue reading my murder mystery, and one did not reply. Uh-oh. What do I do now?

In the end, I decided Bernadette was the one for me. Part of me knew it since that first e-mail she'd sent back on September 2nd. At the risk of sounding cliche, she had me at "hello" (or, "Hi Debra").

My advice to all of you wonderful and talented writers who are looking for representation is as follows:

1) QUERY WIDELY!

2) Keep writing. You never know which ms will be "the one."

3) Do lots of research. Find out which agents represent your genres, what other writers and clients have to say about them, what they've sold, etc. If possible, go to conferences and meet them in person.

4) Be organized. I had separate email folders for "Queries," "Passes," and "Requests," as well as an excel spreadsheet. I also kept track of my queries on QueryTracker.net. Other great resources include: AgentQuery.com and Publishers Marketplace.

5) Get to "know" agents on Twitter. It is the single most amazing resource writers have to converse with agents and find a good "fit."

6) Be your own best marketer. Have a blog &/or a website, keep it updated, and have it be a true representation of yourself. Get used to marketing yourself - you should always be your number one promoter!

7) DON'T GIVE UP!!!! If you're talented, committed, and dedicated, your day will come. I have no doubt about it. Neither should you.

Last, I'd like to thank each and every one of you for your incredible support. I can't tell you how much your comments mean to me. I hope the story of my journey (so far!) has been worthwhile for you.

Namaste, my friends. With all my heart, I bow to you.

***Bernadette is now with Victoria Sanders & Assoc. in NYC.

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