Hey all! I had this as a calendar event since mid-October and then exciting writerly things started to happen, and my health took a mini-nosedive, so blogging got slowly pushed off until today. Whoopsie!
So, where do I start?
After two months of drafting, I finished SapphicDystopian, which shall henceforth be called "CMP." I started beta'ing CMP, chopped its 93.5K down to 88K...and then immediately got into the query trenches after I felt happy with my first 50 pages. And before you go, "Nic, why didn't you learn your lesson from SLL?" I have a fairly decent rationale. Plus, y'all know I'm a calculated risk taker. Pro/con charts were involved, of that I can assure you.
I sang the praises of outlines and planning in my September post, and now that I've actually finished the book and am in the editing process, I can confirm: outlining may not be for everyone, but it's a lifesaver for me.
During my drafting process, my outline allowed me to see some places where the pacing lagged, but I didn't work on them yet. I made notes on the doc, sent it out to the betas, and waited to see if my editorial eye was right...and when it was, I said, "okay, snip snip time." Snip-snipping has been happening, rewording has been happening, clarification of sci-fi things has been happening, but on the whole, one big thing has not been happening...and THAT is massive rewriting.
I've been saying it everywhere, and now I'm gonna say it here: the fact that I got requests on SLL (2 fulls, and 3 partials) is nothing short of miraculous considering the state my MS had been in first draft form. Writing that book was easy. Rewriting, and rewriting, and rewriting? That was a labor of love, but oh boy, it was a labor.
Editing CMP, though? It's kinda fun! I have a fantastic beta reader and had multiple sets of eyes on my first 3 chapters and query (including the brilliant MJ!). If/when I get agented, every single one of them is getting a MASSIVE thank you in the acknowledgments. I have a list. On a spreadsheet. If we weren't all spread across the globe, I'd also plan on sending a Wyveri the Wyvern plushie to every single one of them, but y'all, shipping is a PAIN, and I am not independently wealthy.
Anyway, long story short, it turns out I needed all those eyes on my stuff...because I last-minute decided to participate in PitDark, and I got three requests!! One of them was from a dream agent who has a CNR policy after 12 weeks, and that's the one I'm most nervous about. But anyway, once my concept was out there, I figured, what's stopping me from storming the trenches?
I have 10 queries out and a list full of dream agents (many of whom I queried for SLL and I'm hoping it's a case of "right agent, wrong book"). I am very proud of myself, excited for this new journey, and ultimately a lot more relaxed this time around, which I attribute to having a wonderful support system.
The OTHER exciting thing that happened is we have a date for the anthology!! It's called A Chronicle of Monsters: An Anthology and will be out March 27th, paperback and e-book copies! This will be the first time that I'm in print in like, an actual book with a hefty spine, and I am so freaking excited. It's been mostly online lit mags and a couple slim poetry journals before this, so I'm just like oh my god.
And finally...here is the exciting thing that didn't happen yet. I wanted to do NaNoWriMo, despite November historically being a hell month for me, because I like the Wyverns and I wanted to do writing sprints with them again.
I have so far written 0 words on a new WIP. So, yeah. That's shaking down exactly as I predicted. BUT, I have the whole thing outlined and have just been waiting for better health days/less busy work days/an overall end to exhaustion to do it. And I want to tell you a little bit about it!!
You know how a while back I talked about wanting to write an unofficial prequel to SLL starring chronically ill blacksmith Nerys? That's the WIP! Only, I loved the magic system of BansheeWIP (forthcoming March 2024) so much that I want to use a variation of that. And I loved the structure of The Binding so much that I want to structure it that way. And I am trying to keep it as canon-compliant as possible in case SLL gets unshelved at some point, but also am molding some things to work way better. Anyway, I am super excited that I ironed out the problems with it.
I'm learning my ideas usually need time to cook. CMP started as a failed attempt 7 months before I got around to writing it. NerysWIP started as a half-formed seed of an idea back in April. MillieWIP (my dark academia) was slated to be my next, and I did write some stuff on it back in July, but it's not quite ready yet. New discoveries!
On the other front...
My NetGalley arcs are very, very slowly getting read...I'm at a cool 60% response ratio, which, considering I was at 40% at the start of the month, is a place I'm very comfortable being. (Like all things, I have a spreadsheet to make sure I never miss a deadline, but I just get excited and request more books than I can reasonably read in a month, especially since I'm trying to work through my physical TBR at the same time). This month's goal? Get to 70%. I think I can do it, too. I'm finishing up Josiah Bancroft's fantastic and evocative steampunk fantasy mystery The Hexologists, and working my way through short stories from Being Ace: An Anthology of Queer, Trans, Femme, and Disabled Stories of Asexual Love and Connection. I had Two Twisted Crowns lined up next (because I need more Elspeth in my life), but ...I just got my hands on the final book in H. E. Edgmon's Ouroboros duology, and, considering Godly Heathens is a top contender for my "Book of the Year," I think Merciless Saviors is taking precedence over everything else.
Oh! And I have some exciting job stuff happening, too, but mainly, I overbooked myself so thoroughly in the month of October that this is just the much-needed comedown and I'm still kinda processing things. So I'll probably be discussing that in my November recap (coming later this month. Am I really blogging twice in one month? Girl, you are too ambitious sometimes).
Anyway, all good things! I wish I could feel more excited, but honestly, I am just chronically fatigued. I finally got bloodwork done a couple days ago (yes, I have had the script since August. Also, yes, I was totally putting it off), and it turns out I am severely anemic even though I take a TON of iron pills?? BAFFLING. I have a physical in a couple days, so fingers crossed I get a megadose iron pill prescription, because those little multivitamins and once-daily 18mg pills are apparently not cutting it.
It would be nice to feel unstoppable and JOYFUL.
Anyway, until the next!
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