It’s been a while since I’ve given an update on YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED. I think I’ve mentioned here on the blog that the book is now coming out Aug. 24, 2021. (I have, right? I’ve kind of lost track of this whole year… ) Anyway, you can even pre-order YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN…
Writing
Another Draft in the Books: Take That, 2020!
When I jumped back into drafting this manuscript a few weeks ago, I didn’t expect to finish this quickly, but here we are! At 56,229 words, it’s much shorter than I was shooting for. This means I only added about 25,000 words to the existing partial manuscript I drafted and rewrote several times last year,…
An Update on the Book I Attempted to Pants
I’ve been writing novels for many years now, and over time, I’ve discovered what works well for me. At the same time, I also know that as a person who really likes systems and schedules, sometimes I need to be flexible and try new things. My usual system for drafting is to create an outline…
Chop Chop: A Revision Tale
Last month, I posted about how I had finished my longest draft ever, ending up at 90,983 words. Quite honestly, I had no idea how I had written that much. Even before I started reading through the manuscript, I was sure it was too long. So I went into my initial editing round with the…
What Day Is it? In Your MS, Not Real Life
As soon as I titled this post, I realized how often I ask myself that question right now. The days definitely do blend together. It helps that May is a big birthday month for my family. We had two in the first week, and my daughter is now counting down the days to her 10th…
It Is Finished! My Longest Draft Ever
Hey, friends! So, it’s been a really long time since I’ve posted an update about my writing. I looked back through my posts and found one about revising YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED from October, and then there was one about how I tried pantsing a book last summer. (That sounds really strange if you…
Author Life Month on Instagram
Hi, friends! Sorry I’ve been absent here on the blog. My best friend’s been in the hospital since early December, and I’ve been spending a lot of time with her. If you would like to read her story, her family is sharing it on this GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/chrissy-stricker. But I did want to check in…
After the Book Deal: All the Doubts!
Hey, friends, I promised I would give an update once I had gone through another round of edits, and I just finished on Friday. Boy, was I glad to send those edits in! But, first, let me just share that I got to do something very exciting earlier this month, which was to meet my…
When a Plotter Attempts to Pants
It’s been a while since I posted a writing update here on the blog. That’s partially due to it being summer and my schedule changing drastically with my kids being off school and driving them to various camps, partially due to more freelance work, and partially due to drafting a new project. That’s where today’s…
After the Book Deal: Next Steps
So, it’s been a couple of months since my book deal was announced, and invariably I get the same question from friends and family when I tell them my book will be coming out in winter 2021: Why is it so far away??? Um, do you know how much goes into publishing a book? If…
My Debut Book, YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED, Is Coming in 2021!
I’m thrilled to announce that my debut book, YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED, will be published by Bloomsbury in winter 2021, followed by a second untitled young adult book in 2022. I’m so excited to be working with Allison Moore. Here’s the announcement that ran in PW Children’s Bookshelf. There are so many people who…
Agent-Author Chat on Krista Van Dolzer’s Blog
Today I’m on the virtual road with an agent-author chat on Krista Van Dolzer’s blog. She interviewed me and my agent, Elizabeth Bewley of Sterling Lord Literistic, about how we connected. You can read the interview here: http://kristavandolzer.blogspot.com/2018/11/agent-author-chat-elizabeth-bewley-and.html If you’ve been following my blog for a while, Krista’s name should be familiar. We first met…
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