The Undiscovered Country

It�s good to be home.

Good day! I hope all is well with you.

We had much fun on our little vacation. The trip up was uneventful, though I traveled better than expected. An answer to a prayer, that. I prayed I wouldn’t be miserable, and it ended up quite the opposite. Perhaps because the seats were better designed than I’m used to, or God decided to give me a break. Either way, I’m thankful.

It rained mostly through South Dakota and parts of Wyoming, but not so bad as to make driving difficult. We saw loads of antelope and at one point came close to running over a flock of turkeys.

Rufus traveled very well. She had plenty of room in the back, and slept most of the way. I didn’t need a whole lot of breaks, but still stopped every few hours. We made the 690 miles in about 12½ hours.

As for the weekend, we didn’t do much more than visit. Fine by me. I didn’t end up a gasping pile of goo, thank goodness. In fact, other than chapped lips and cracking cuticles on my fingers from the dry air, I did really well. I guess my lung capacity didn’t shrink as much as I feared.

My sister and her husband live close to a small river named the Michigan. A creek by North Dakota standards - only about five feet wide and on average two feet deep. Still, it was enough for Rufus to have oodles of fun playing in it and fetching sticks for Dave.

Sorry, no pictures. I brought my camera with, but kept forgetting I had it. That was one thing the lack of air did to me - stupidity. So many times I forgot simple words (cracking everyone up more than once as I struggled to speak), and walked around like some kind of zombie. I provided much amusement for all, I’m sure.

We went to the local museum, and for a small town, it was impressive. 27 rooms, three floors, and over 200 years of history to peruse through. Most of it, like most small-town museums, was donated by local families who have lived there since the 1700s. That’s a long time by American standards. We decided in order to see it all, we’d have to go at least three more times.

On our way back, Dave and I stopped at the Laramie Prison Museum. That was a bit of a disappointment. It was a small prison, and simply didn’t have enough history to make it all that interesting. I told my sister when she asked about it last night it’s not worth taking a special trip to see it, but they should stop by if they happen to drive by and have an hour or so to kill.

Since we stopped at the museum, and otherwise took our time, we arrived home at about 9:30 last night. I brought in a few things, then went to bed. What is it about driving long distances that wear a person out?

Not having used a computer for four days I found 29 emails in my email. One to my utmost surprise - and not a little trepidation - was from Winsun Literary Agency. I admit I didn’t open it for a few minutes.

In short, they had a few minor editing suggestions, and afterwards want my book proposal. Looks like I have some serious work ahead of me! I suppose it’s a good thing I didn’t edit much on my other manuscript this weekend. It’ll have to be set aside again for a while. I did manage to read parts of “Self Editing for Fiction Writers”, but not much more.

Which reminds me!

Thank you Michael Wonch for the merit badge!:



I emailed him back saying I’d recount the story about how and why I bought it. I am equally appreciative of the person who recommended this book to me - though the circumstances were quite different.

I’ve written about this before in my publication journal, "Ah, the pitfalls of seeking publication." , but instead of making you go there, here’s the entry, written - wow, almost two years ago now - 9/18/05:

Rejection #4

This was the hardest rejection yet, but the most useful.

After doing much research I thought I found the perfect agent for my book and bookmarked him, both in my "Christian Writers' Market Guide" and his website.

I then saved up my money to attend the Christian Writer's Guild "Writing for the Soul" conference. There I met with three agents to plug my book. Only one seemed genuinely interested, but she said they take agented submissions only.

She, along with the other two recommended only one agent to me. I figured it was a sign from God, because all three recommended the one agent I already bookmarked.

So after much more editing and putting together my proposal, I sent it off. Again, I figured I was a lock in getting accepted.

My SASE came in the mail. I knew by how thin it was it contained only one sheet of paper.

I only saw one word when I opened it up: "Unfortunately . . ."

After that, all the other words flowed into the center of the page and morphed into one single word, "REJECTED!"

Teary-eyed, I had my husband read it.

"This is actually a really good letter," he said, "But I know you don't see it."

I burst into tears and he hugged me.

"It just hurts to know I'm not ready yet." I sobbed.

Two weeks later, I read the letter again, this time with a less emotional eye.

What a great letter! The agent liked my premise and said, "You have a really good story concept," but (I hate that word as much as 'unfortunately' and 'sorry') "we feel that the writing just doesn't measure up to what is on the market today."

It didn't end there. He pointed out two examples in my manuscript that didn't meet his standard of excellence (I should have expected this since he was an editor for 15 years prior to becoming an agent). He then went on to recommend the book, "Self Editing for Fiction Writers" by Browne and King.

I purchased the book and read it in four days. Afterwards, did I know what the agent meant. My writing indeed . . . sucked! I was actually embarrassed for sending it out when I did.

But the whole experience was the best thing that could have happened. The first thing I did was delete the first three pages of my manuscript and continued on through to the end. I cut out so much superfluous material, I had enough room to add three more scenes, and still ended up 4000 words fewer than when I started.

Whether or not my manuscript is ready for publication, I don't know. But until I send it out again, I won't know.

After I finish “Self Editing for Fiction Writers” I will tackle my second-favorite writing book. It’s “Write Tight: How to Keep Your Prose Sharp, Focused and Concise” by William Brohaugh. As the title suggests, it gives excellent advice on how to tighten writing, both fiction and nonfiction. It’s also a fun read, because some of the examples he gives on flabby writing are hilarious.

I have but one other book in my Essential Writing Library: “Elements of Style” by Shrunk & White. Most of you are familiar with that one. If not, it outlines the common mistakes every writer makes as far as word usage and grammar. Every editor and writer I’ve talked to and read recommend this small reference above all others.

I will finish all three before I tackle my manuscript once again. As for my proposal, I asked Winsun for more information on what they expect such as the length of the synopsis, how to structure my bio and introduction of the book, and if they’ll want the entire manuscript or the first several chapters.

I have most of those done but I’ll have to rewrite them, both because they need it, and to meet Winsun’s criteria.

Because I'll be busy with my book, and recuperating from my mini-vacation, I can't promise when I'll be able to catch up with the rest of you.