Erin Lodes

Well hello kids. And adults. And those who might categorize themselves as other things. I have an update for you about the trials and tribulations of getting my novel published. I’m going to start with something good, because the rest of the post will be a bit rough I think.

This morning, through the wonders of social media, I was reminded that two years ago I published my first piece of flash fiction. “Howl” on Dime Show Review. I read it again for the first time in two years. I enjoyed it. I’m proud of it. And I got it published.

Which is good to remember as I rack up my 20th rejection in my current endeavor to get my debut novel published. Yup. I’ve hit 20 rejections.

And I am feeling a little discouraged but I am certainly not giving up. *She says in an exhausted but determined voice.* I am looking at things that may have put off agents.

First suspect: query letter. I was circulating two different versions, neither of which seemed to be hooking agents very effectively. So now I will be reviewing the entirety of QueryShark and producing a new query letter or letters accordingly.

Second suspect: word count. 112k is a bit long for women’s fiction. Not outside the range of the possible but certainly might be putting off agents, especially because I’m a debut. Understandable. So I’m going in and shaving off at least 12k. Somehow. Gulp.

Third suspect: first pages. Almost all of the queries I’ve sent have included at least the first ten pages, and most have included at least the first chapter. So something might be off there. I’ll rework that too.

I am stubborn. I believe in my book. I’m not afraid of hard work.

So, let’s go.

How I Published My Novel is going to be an ongoing blog series detailing how I get this freaking thing published. I know, I know, you could probably tell that from the title… I’ve gotten to this point (and am still getting help from) the amazing John Adamus, who is my writing coach.

If you haven’t already, check out Part One of How I Finished My Novel, and start from the beginning of this story.