Short days and long To-Do lists

By Tamara Girardi

With Christmas only a few days away, it seems like my list of tasks is growing, and the days are getting shorter. That's not completely true. Days will start getting longer now, but I think I'd need an extra few hours to really see an impact.

Maybe you're like me. Or maybe you're one of those super impressive folks who has everything lined up days, or even weeks in advance. If you are, I salute you (and find you a complete enigma).

If you're not, I'm going to help you out. I'll keep this post short.

This year was a good one. I met some great people at writing conferences and in my PhD program. I have completed more than half of the coursework for my PhD program, revised one manuscript and drafted another. Just this month, I submitted my revised manuscript to several agents, and I'm planning a revision schedule for the other novel.

There is always more to do, and I'll be doing it in 2011. But we rush through days, weeks, and months always looking at what's left on the To-Do list rather than looking at the things we've crossed off. So before we get to those pesky resolutions, take a few minutes to tell me about what you've done this year. What have you accomplished? How have you spent your time? And how will you mark the year 2010 for the future?

Happy holidays to all of you...!

Thanksgiving in the Writerly World

By Tamara Girardi

So, tomorrow's the big day. Turkey day.

For me, it's a day that I don't have to cook, I get to eat two huge, delicious dinners, and I can spend the early part of the day finalizing edits on my manuscript. To be more specific, I'll be reading the pages aloud one last time before submitting it (cue vibrant marching band playing my private, writing fight song - I so need one of those).

Hopefully agents will fall in love with the manuscript. So will editors, booksellers, and readers (the marching band is really playing now!). Not if, but when that happens, there will be many people to thank.

My colleagues on this blog, for instance. Members of Sisters in Crime, Backspace and PennWriters. My first readers. My family, especially my husband. My dog for keeping my toes warm while I write.

Then there are my favorite writerly resources. Since I'm so thankful for them, I'd like to share them with you.

First, books:

1. On Writing by Stephen King
2. The Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass
3. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
4. Story by Robert McKee
5. How to Write a Damn Good Novel by James N. Frey (not the controversial one)

Blogs:

1. Query Shark - a must if you're planning to query agents soon
2. Former literary agent Nathan Bransford - particularly the Agent for a Day posts
3. Literary agent Janet Reid
4. Literary agent Rachelle Gardner
5. Former literary agent Colleen Lindsay

Conferences:

1. Backspace (next conference May 2011)
2. PennWriters (next conference May 2011)
3. Write Stuff (next conference March 2011)

Also, I have to say I wouldn't be anywhere without my ghost-hunting friends at Spirited Ghost Hunting. I can't wait to go on another hunt with you all!

So, I'm curious. What resources would you add to this list?

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

What Can I Tweet For You?

By Tamara Girardi

I woke up this morning in New York City. The sense of confusion when you open your eyes in a different place and wonder where you are doesn't last long here. The beeping taxis and cars rushing outside your window remind you pretty quickly.

I'm here for a writing conference, and I'm thankful to be here.

Yesterday, I had dinner with college friends at Dos Caminos in midtown. An open-faced shrimp quesadilla. A shared pitcher of sangria. A blueberry margarita with sugar on the rim. I was very thankful for all of those things.

My fabulous and recently agented critique partner emailed me her thoughts on the final 30 pages of my manuscript yesterday. She challenged a weakness in them, and I plan to spend the entire day either at a bookstore or Starbucks working to employ the changes she and I brainstormed. I'm immensely thankful for her and the fact I can spend the full day working on my writing.

But being thankful is not just about saying the words. It's about doing something about them. Let me explain.

Tomorrow, the Backspace Conference begins at the Radisson Martinique on the corner of W. 32nd and Broadway, and I will be the official Twitterer for the conference. I'll spend all day Thursday and Friday hanging on the words of other writers and literary agents, finding the gems that will be helpful to others who cannot attend the conference, and tweeting about them to my followers (@TamaraGirardi) and followers of Backspace (@bksp_org).

I'm thankful for this opportunity, and in order that you and other writers might be thankful of it, too, I'm asking for your help. If you knew a woman who was spending the next two days in a roomful of writers and agents (ha hemn, that would be me), discussing query letters, opening pages of manuscripts, and writing in general, what kinds of things would you want that woman (again, me) to look for and tweet about?

I'm thankful for your responses.

Five Things I Learned on My First Ghost Hunt (and some really fun other stuff)

By Tamara Girardi

So, this month is spooky October. I love October. It's my birthday month; the fall colors are gorgeous, and the weather is perfect. But nothing beats Halloween.

One of my coolest ghostly tales involves my ghost hunting adventure at Mansfield Reformatory in Ohio. It's been a while, but the experience has stayed with me for sure. For your enjoyment, I'm reposting my blog entry from immediately following the ghost hunt. Enjoy!

1. I am nothing like Leia Angeletti, my brave, 17-year-old ghost-hunting heroine.

2. I am a big scaredy-cat.

3. Fear of heights and a cell block with a low railing do not mix.

4. I am not patient enough to hang out and wait for a spirit to manifest.

5. I'm a really bad ghost hunter!

The picture to the right is my favorite from last night. In it, you can see down the long hallway of the West Cell Block at the Manfield State Reformatory. If you notice the cells are on the right, and to the left is basically a cage.

The East Cell Block has no cage. There is simply a hip-high railing, and as you can imagine, several inmates were thrown to their death as a result.

The building itself is amazing. In the video posted here yesterday, a former prisoner compared it to Dracula's castle. That's an incredibly appropriate comparison for several reasons.

The exterior is spooky yet gorgeous. The architecture demands attention and fools new visitors into believing the interior could be palace-like. As you can imagine, though, that anticipation doesn't deliver.

Inside, paint is chipping from the cell bars, walls, and ceilings. Wooden floors in the former wardens' living quarters soften as you walk over them creating nearly as much fear and anxiety as the graffiti on the walls and the violent history the tour guide revealed, which plays in your mind throughout the night.

The Attic

As the stories go, an inmate was helping with work in the attic once upon a time. The guards left him, and he committed suicide by hanging. Although many of the members of Spirited Ghost Hunting have been to Mansfield several times, they had never been in the attic. It was too dangerous - because of the mess, not because of the ghosts.

But after scarfing some pizza, we headed for the attic above the East Cell Block in a group of 8 around 11 p.m. We wandered around in the dark, flash lights bouncing off the walls and lingering on massive holes in the ceiling where plaster was peeling and hanging low, feet shuffling against the mounds of dirt and dust.

Across the attic were what appeared to be shower stalls like this one, which brings me to our first point of investigation.

My husband and I were standing in this stall while other groups were in adjacent stalls. Everyone was doing their best to be still and quiet while we recorded some electronic voice phenomenon or EVPs.

Rachelle, Spirited Ghost Hunting's fearless leader, was asking questions such as why are you here, what year is it, and what is your name?

She asked if anyone was there could they give us a sign. We heard a bang on hollow metal. I recognized the sound immediately. A few minutes earlier another hunter Tonya and I had squeezed through a small door frame to find an old furnace and stairs to other aged heating or water devices. That area is on the other side of the wall from the shower stalls.

Rachelle asked more questions and again asked for a sign, a noise of any kind or movement in the room. At that moment, Dom moved next to me.

"Did you hear that?" he asked.

"Yeah, stop moving," I told him, fearing we were going to get yelled at for improper ghost hunting etiquette. We were supposed to be quiet!

"No, someone threw something at me," he said. I was standing in the doorway of the stall, so it didn't come from that direction.

The rest of the group came into our little stall. We flashed lights on the floor and found a piece of glass. Glass hitting the floor made sense with the sound both of us had heard. I assumed he stepped on something or dropped something, but he insisted the glass either fell through the hole in the ceiling of the stall or the hole on the wall.

Tonya and I insisted no one was in that room. We had just been back there. To investigate, we all filed through the doorway into the next room to find a few other ghost hunters enjoying the joke they'd just played on us!

A couple more things about the attic before we move on. The history in the building is obviously incredible. It was opened in 1896 and first housed youth offenders. They were taught trades and "reformed" before being released. Then around World War I, more serious adult offenders called it home. At one time, it housed Death Row. Although its capacity is 1,100 prisoners, the most it ever held was 3,600. Clearly, overcrowding was an issue.

That's one of the reasons why in the 1970s, officials were pushing to have it closed. The decision was made in 1978, and it took 12 years to transfer all of the prisoners before the doors closed to corrections in 1990. Now, it's privately owned and preserved as a historical landmark.

I'm not sure why so many prisoners were up in the attic or why the place hasn't gotten a paint job for 80 years. I guess it's always possible that someone got creative and jotted some notes more recently than that, but above, you can see one of the many "I was here" notes.

It's hard to make out the details, but it's from prisoner 30890, who was transferred from Cleveland to serve at Mansfield in 1933. Some of the notes included reasons for incarceration.

A number or name. A crime. A date. I guess in their everyday lives, those were the most relevant attributes.

The notes illustrate a desire similar to Brooks' need to be remembered in The Shawshank Redemption, which was filmed at Mansfield. The halfway house Brooks lived in when he left the prison was filmed in one of the prison's administration rooms.

But back to the attic. We had one more experiment for the spirits, if they were with us. Four people set their flashlights in the middle of the floor. We crowded around them.

We got our voice recorders ready, and Jami, a really nice guy and fun ghost hunter, started with the questions. The main request was for the spirit to use the battery power in the flashlights as energy, thus shutting the flash light off. A particular line of questioning yielded a flicker in one of the lights.

"Did your family not visit you? Were they ashamed of what you'd done?"

The flicker was very visible. Not groundbreaking research or ironclad proof of paranormal activity, but clearly visible. After a few questions, Jami went back to the family questions again, but no more flickers, and none of the lights were extinguished.

When you're hoping for something to happen, it's hard not to assume or conclude prematurely. For instance, take a look at this photo of Rachelle and Colleen in the attic.

If you look closely above both of their heads, you see orbs. You can see one to the left of Rachelle (who's in the brown shirt and black shorts) and one right above Colleen's head. Farther above them, you see a few other orbs floating around.

I'd conclude these are dust particles. The validity of orbs carries a heavy debate. Some people believe if there is any color to them, it means they are paranormal whereas colorless orbs are simply dust particles. Others rule them out completely. Some, still, jump at any orb in a photograph and are excited about the implications.


*If you're interested in the followup to this post and want to hear some spooky Electronic Voice Phenomenon, link to the post on my blog here.

Undiscovered Literature

By Tamara Girardi

We all have those authors that have us running to the bookstore on release day. They're our go-to authors. When we want a solid read, a funny read, a spooky read, we call on them. But I've recently been reminded what we're missing when we fail to venture out of our favorite sections in the bookstore.

This semester, I'm the graduate assistant of the adolescent literature course at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The course is mainly directed to undergraduate students majoring in English and secondary education. The purpose is to expose the future educators to works of contemporary young adult literature they may consider teaching in their classrooms. The titles on the syllabus are primarily literary.

The titles I often read on my own are also young adult, but they are mostly genre or commercial fiction. I'm not about to take the traditionally academic stand that a foul stench tends to radiate from such work. I adore Alyson Noel, Sarah Dessen, Ally Carter, Meg Cabot and many other popular writers, but the stories I'm reading for the adolescent lit course have made me think about YA differently.

They focus on serious issues such as imprisonment, conformity, sexual abuse, slavery, war, starvation.

If you're wondering to which titles I'm referring, take a look at Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak or Chains, Walter Dean Myers' Monster, Jerry Spinelli's Stargirl or Milkweed. The stories are heavy but enlightening. Truth be told, there are times I want to run back to the light, comic, feel-good stories I often read. Maybe it's because the class forces me to keep reading. Probably that and I really do like discovering new literature (and rediscovering some novels I've read before).

So what do you think? In your spare time (since time is just something we never have quite enough of) can you step outside of your reading circle? I challenge you to discover a piece of literature outside of your reading comfort zone and give it a try. You might just learn something that will spark your own writing.

Are you up for the challenge? Got any ideas of titles you might try?

What it means to learn about ourselves

By Tamara Girardi

Self-awareness is a good thing. I'm not convinced it's pervasive in our society for many reasons, but this is not a rant so I'll refrain.

As a teacher, I aim to create learning experiences that will continue for my students long after they leave my classroom. For instance, the ability to analzye yourself might be the most valuable skill you can ever possess.

This helps you in your career, your relationships, and most especially for us, your writing. Undoubtedly, there have been moments in my life I've allowed the world to chew, swallow, and regurgitate my dreams. I become lost in a cloud of things I must do and things I want to do. Soon, the muddle of life has removed me from any self-awareness.

But then there are those moments that bring me back. Like last night. Over a pitcher of margaritas, a pound of nachos, and some vibrant conversation, I realized it is time to reevaluate and get back on track - with lots of things, but especially for me, my writing.

School has been all-consuming thus limiting my writing time, but I have allowed it that control. And as a student, I've learned a lot of great lessons about my writing. The most recent one is that how you learn will most definitely affect how you write.

I'm a visual learner. I like to see pictures. When I see words, I translate them into pictures. When I write scenes, I envision them, see the characters moving, and then translate the pictures I'm seeing into words.

I'm a global learner. I see the big picture of a novel as I write it. I know the general plot. I know the beginning, the ending, and some points in between, but listing every scene from A to Z frustrates me intensely as it seems a waste of time.

There are two lessons here. For those writers who are self-aware, who understand their strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles, they are more likely to use such awareness to their advantages. On the contrary, knowing you lean one way or another might make you more conscious of what you're missing.

For instance, I could lighten up on that A to Z frustration and realize knowing the steps in the middle might actually save lots of drafting time (as you don't know what to write next) and revision time (as you'll be cutting scenes that don't necessarily advance the plot).

As writers, we relish the tales from published authors on how they got there and revelations of their writing processes. But it might be as valuable or even better to spend that time getting to know ourselves.

We know not every writing process works for every writing, so every self-evaluation process will not work for every person. But let's talk about them anyway. How do you self-evaluate? What value does the action represent for your writing?

New Beginnings - Friend or Foe

By Tamara Girardi

Here's the thing about new beginnings. I'm not sure if I should dread them or relish them. Of course as my grandmother always said, "Circumstances alter cases."

For instance, I drove to Indiana University of Pennsylvania today to buy my books, submit paperwork, drop off library books, pick up graded papers from professors, etc. I spent all of June and all of July in IUP classrooms and the library. It was intense and impossible to reflect upon because I was so in the moment.

Then I was blessed with three weeks off. And now, what? I have to go back to begin a new semester? Impossible.

Yet, I have those new books. There's excitement over the promise of learning.

New beginnings with writing are similarly dependent on situations. We can be positive in that we welcome a new beginning every day we return to the page. But many writers say that's the hardest part - actually sitting down. Once you're there and in the moment (there's that phrase again), words begin to flow.

What about the new beginning of kicking off a fresh project? Gulp. Sound scary? Writers spend months, years, even decades working on one book, and then suddenly it's time to move on. Make a new start. How terrifying is that?

Writers admit to fears of whether they can ever craft anything else. Then again, what if that new project is the one that scores the agent, hits the bestsellers list, rolls in the millions (whether you laughed at that last possibility or believed it could prove true for you might classify your place in the following discussion).

Maybe the votes tallied for new beginnings being dreaded are equivalent to those tallied for glasses of water being half empty. Same may go for half-full kind of folks and those who relish new beginnings. Of course, nothing's ever that simple. Life is not dichotomous. There are fields of grey and infinite spectrums.

So where do you fall on the spectrum? Are your new beginnings half empty or half full (pay no attention to the mixed metaphor behind the sheer curtain)?

*I'll be spending the day at the lake with my family, so apologies for not being around to respond to comments most of today.

Technology fried: In response to Annette's last post

By Tamara Girardi

Last week, Annette posted a discomforting tale of driving through a family community to see no souls outside enjoying the weather. To be fair, it's hot out there. Yet, she has a good point. In fact, as an online college instructor, I find myself debating the interference of technology in our personal voices often.

Outside the world of legitimate techies, I guess you could say I'm somewhat of a techie. I don't program. I don't know the inner workings of my computer, but I relish and often champion technology. In my PhD classes at IUP, I have written papers arguing for the use of technologies such as Twitter in the classroom. Here's an instance of how it was done, and done well:



I love technology. It allows me to do last minute research for papers before submitting them. It allows me to check my APA via online style manuals, spell check and fact check, and access articles that I can't imagine students struggling to find twenty or thirty years ago. It allows me to spend the week up at school and return home to all of my television shows preserved in a brilliant little box (DVR) that I control with another brilliant little box (remote control).

Yes, technology is my friend.

But I'm here to tell you, I'm more than a little fried. After more than two months sitting in the air-conditioned library, typing at one keyboard after another, printing document after document, checking my email briefly and ineffectively on my BlackBerry, and who knows what else - I. Am. Fried.

But I'm terrified to pop my technology bubble. It's dangerous out there without technology. Or is it? Have we been programmed to be so reliant on technology that we can't see life without it? I must admit I have been. I'm not naive enough to even consider boycotting technology. It sounds romantic, but is it possible?

Um, I'm using it right now.

Um, you're using it right now.

See what I mean?

How far would I get in one day without technology? There's my alarm clock. My BlackBerry, which is usually checked before I even roll out of bed. My battery-powered toothbrush. The fridge that holds my breakfast. The TV that entertains me while I eat my breakfast. Wow. I can't get through five minutes.

So is it possible to boycott technology for a day? An hour? And where do we draw the line? If we cut off TV, does that mean we can't watch our favorite shows online? Or DVR them for later?

What, if anything, are you willing to cut? For how long and to what benefit?

Go on Vacation Every Day

By Tamara Girardi

The theme of summer vacation is incredibly attractive to me, mostly because I’m being held prisoner by books that could hold open the heaviest of doors.
I won’t lie. The Composition and TESOL (Teaching English Speakers of Other Languages) PhD program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania is a great program. I’ve enjoyed all of my classes, and the professors are well-read, provoke great discussion, and support students in a big way. At least, that has been my experience.

Yet as I write this, I hear someone listening to music outside the window. That gifted person might be lying on the lawn, soaking up the sun, and dare I say it – drinking a cool, alcoholic beverage. (I can’t say margarita. My heart can't handle that pain!). I’m in front of my computer, aforementioned door-stopping books beside me, and when I finish writing this, I’m off to read Aristotle. Since I’m the kind of girl who likes to look on the bright side, though, I want to see this as sort of a vacation.

What is a vacation? It’s an experience where you vacate your life temporarily to experience something new, right? In honoring that definition, I’m on vacation! I’ve vacated my life of a stay-at-home mother of one adorable black Labrador, writer and teacher by day, house-wife by evening.

Yes. That’s the only way to look at it. I’m on vacation.

Destination: Indiana, Pennsylvania.

Activities: Reading, writing, reading, writing, reading, writing, theorizing, discussing, eating, reading, writing. Sleep? Occasionally.

Cost: Well, we won’t get into that.

So, what’s the point, long-winded-PhD-student? I challenge you all to see vacation as more than the opportunity to dig your feet into hot sand, swim in salty water, hike steep trails, and so on. I have to stop, or my theory on a PhD program as a vacation will go up in smoke.

And the belief that I’m on vacation right now is way too powerful to let that happen.

So, are you on vacation?

Steal Me Away

by Tamara Girardi

The title for this post was inspired by the TV show Dallas. You remember it I'm sure.

My husband and I have been watching the seasons for a while. We go through spurts, watching for a few hours a day, and then not watching again for months. Let's face it, it's not the best show ever, but it possesses a train wreck quality, doesn't it?

Recently, I spent a night away from home. My husband was watching Dallas, and we were texting back and forth. I was stranded at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, my brain being held hostage by mounds of peer-reviewed, scholarly readings and endless homework.

I mean it. Endless.

In any case, you might recall the character Afton Cooper sang at a night club for a while, and she often belted out a song, of which the main lyrics were: "Steal me Away. . ."

My husband and I sometimes mock the song by shouting the lyrics out of nowhere, and we both laugh. Now, the joke's on me as life has stolen me away from my writing. Deep sigh.

But I'm still writing. I'm writing thought and application responses to the aforementioned readings. I'm writing a technology paper on incorporating Twitter into classroom instruction. I'm writing an exploration paper on what constitutes data. I'm writing the transcript for a YouTube video that I plan to use in a group presentation.

What I miss is the writing that requires I spend some time with my characters in darkened rooms during ghost hunts I attend only in my mind. I guess it's a good thing to miss your characters. But I'm also wondering if it's a good thing to be stolen away sometimes (please forgive the passive voice).

So rather than postulate any more than I already do every day as part of my PhD education, I'd like to throw out a few questions for discussion.

Do you find stealing yourself away from your writing for a while helps your process? If so, how long's a while? Is there a danger in being away too long and losing any momentum or thoughts you may have had the last time you were immersed in the project?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts...

Bookbuyers Anonymous

By Tamara Girardi

Ever since we were high school sweethearts, my husband has enforced a rule when it's time to leave the mall. He puts the horse blinders on. It's kind of embarrassing actually.

He places his hands on either side of my face, creating blinders, so I will not stop at one more clothing rack, not another display counter. I can’t thank him enough. Retail therapy is one thing. Book stores are completely different.

I cannot go near a bookstore unless I plan to leave with a stack of books and spend lots of money. Like max the credit cards, kind of money.

It’s an addiction, and the horse blinders come in handy.

I don’t literally hold my own hands up, but you get the picture. Just last week, I had to go to the bookstore to buy a gift. I knew which book I wanted. The plan was to get in, get out, and keep my credit card bill in check.

It was tough. I got the book quick enough, but then I had to weave through the expertly-designed aisles to get to the checkout. Used to be you could walk straight down one aisle without really looking at anything. Now, the bookstore is a maze of end-caps stocked with beloved authors.

Passing the bargain books without a second glance is torturous. But I mentally enforced the horse blinder rule.

Keep walking, Tamara. Oooh, Lee Child’s books. I love Jack Reacher.

No. Focus. Regroup. You can do this. Just keep walking.

Wait, is that Janet Evanovich? With a bargain book? Do I have that one at home? Or did I borrow it from the library? I mean, either way, I already read it. It’s just a matter of having it in my collection to gather dust.

Oh, a table just for the classics. I should read more classics.

Do you see the problem?

The other day, I charged up my Kindle, found some really great books unread in my Kindle library and rediscovered the joy of pushing a button and a book being delivered within seconds. Um, hmmn. Talk about going from bad to worse.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a writer. Supporting other writers is key, and supporting them means buying their books (among other things). I have a full library in my house to prove the kind of literary cheerleader I am.

Still, I go to a bookstore or click on my Kindle store, and I feel like Sophie Kinsella’s shopaholic Becky Bloomwood in a high end clothing store.

Is anyone with me?

The Difference a Year Makes

By Tamara Girardi

I’m excited to write my debut post for Working Stiffs. Thanks to Annette for inviting me.

After attending the PennWriters conference this weekend, I began thinking about how my work has progressed in the last year. I started writing THESE WALLS CAN TALK, a YA paranormal novel in January 2009. Four months later, I pitched it at the PennWriters Conference in Pittsburgh.

The book’s about a 17-year-old ghost hunter named Leia who learns she has a psychic ability known as retrocognition. She can step into rooms and see the history that occurred there, including secrets some would kill to keep hidden.

A few agents at PennWriters requested pages. Two weeks later, I attended the Backspace Conference in New York City. Other agents requested pages.

I thought I was golden.

But then I learned an interesting concept does not equal book sold. Those pages the agents request really matter.

Um, duh?

Here’s the thing I’ve learned: writers query and submit pages way too early. I’m guilty of it. I’ve heard agents chirp about other writers who commit the writing crime.

Let me offer a concession here. Sometimes agents do take on work that isn’t quite ready with the promise the author will work with said agent to revise, revise, revise. However, it’s not common because many agents lack the time for such efforts.

I remember the weeks it took to write THESE WALLS CAN TALK. Yes, it took four weeks, which should be the first clue significant revisions were necessary. I write fast, but the manuscript didn’t honor every element of good novel-writing. The scenes did not link in a cause and effect manner. Some scenes didn’t advance the plot at all (thank you to Nathan Bransford for pointing that out to me so graciously). The characters weren’t always true to themselves and at times behaved rather wishy-washy.

In other words, it wasn’t ready.

But I had worked on it for months. I had done everything I could. It HAD to be READY.

It wasn’t.

The problem was I didn’t know how to fix what I had created. So, I read books on writing, took several online writing classes through PennWriters, participated in workshops and critiques with the Sisters in Crime, and found a really good critique partner.

The knowledge I collected from these sources served as a translator, clarifying the comments many agents had offered me along the way. Sparks of revision ideas soon followed those “Aha” moments. I kept a notebook with me at all times, and when I thought of a way to better connect scenes or to show character traits more consistently, I wrote it in the notebook.

The notebook is now filled with page after page of scribbles that will make the story better.

I wanted the book to be as good as it could be when I submitted it to agents a year ago, but I didn’t have the experience and knowledge to identify the mistakes I was making. That’s the difference a year makes. I can only imagine the tips and skills I’ll pick up in this next year.

If there’s one lesson I’ve learned over all others, it’s DO NOT SUBMIT UNTIL YOUR MANUSCRIPT IS ABSOLUTELY READY. There’s no rush. I know electronic publishing has created a major debate regarding the disappearance of traditional books, but publishing really isn’t going anywhere. Agents want to see the best work you can present to them.

If that takes a month, or two, or six, that’s fine.

Yeah, you’re making them wait. Not the best scenario. But think of the alternative. You have this great opportunity – an agent interested in your concept – but the pages aren’t ready, and instead of an opportunity for when they are ready, you end up with a rejection and a manuscript crying out for revision.

Instead, let your work rest before rushing to send it. Search for a few beta readers. Offer to exchange a critique with another writer nearing submission. You’ll learn as much from identifying what works and doesn’t in that writer’s manuscript as you will from the comments he or she provides you.

Sign up for an online writing class and as you learn, evaluate your manuscript. Is it excellent on all levels? Pick up a writing book like Story by Robert McKee, How to Write a Breakout Novel or Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass, or any others that look appealing to you. Read them actively. Complete the exercises.

Do your scenes, characters, plotlines, twists, and all other tidbits in your book still classify as excellent?

If so, go ahead and send that manuscript off to the agent(s) who requested it.

If not, writing is rewriting.

And rewriting.

And rewriting.

So, time to come clean. Have you ever queried or submitted pages to agents or editors too early? How did it work out?