What am I up to?
Well, I’m currently trying to actively pursue my dream of making a living from writing. (I know. Geez. This thing won’t die, will it?) Aerosmith says to dream until your dream come true. Why not?
Anyway, my current idea is that I need to write a bestselling novel. Something that’s big enough to provide lots of royalties for a long time, gets my name out there, and makes it so that I can write whatever I want full time, regardless of whether or not anyone wants to publish that.
How to do this? Well, I’ve been perusing long lists of query letters on Ms. Snark, (like 600 or so, I think) and I’ve come to the conclusion that assuming a query is well-written, the only reason people request pages is because of the shiver factor. To that end, I’ve compiled a list of tropes that make me shiver. (I’m not sharing. Go make your own.) Then I will write a book containing two or three of the tropes in a genre that’s selling well right now. (Probably young adult.) Then I will find agents and editors that seem to shiver over the same stuff as me, and they will sign me. My book will sell tons of copies, and I can’t quit my day job!
I figure I can accomplish this within the next two years.
A girl can dream, right?
