Guidelines For Nocturne Bites 2

New room, and I'm the first one here?  This is so like me; you'd think I'm an overachiever what with always trying to be a couple of minutes early to a meeting where everyone else shows up two minutes late.  The truth, however, is I have time to kill.  LOL

Couldn't resist popping in to say hi!   It'll be great to see what happens this year and get to read the awesome stories everyone puts out. xD 

I finally broke down and bought a laptop (well a little netbook...it's soo cute! lol) so I have no excuse not to finish a ms or five.

Oh hey, I would love to hear how anyone finds or has found a critique partner or someone to critique their work?

Clean and shiny! ;)

Hi everyone!

Sue

Oh, it is too funny how I get a little panic stricken when threads are archived.  I get this "where did everyone go" feeling. lol  Found my way into the new room! Whew...

First off, hugs to snowpuppy on that rejection.  It sounds like you're not letting it slow you down.  Good!  Sometimes it's just a matter of finding the right place for the right story at the right time and that won't happen if we let rejections stop us.  You'll hear me say "Write. Submit. Repeat." I've been following that tactic for about a year now and it seems to be working better than the "Write. Submit. Put-it-on-a-shelf-to-gather-dust." tactic I used to follow:P

elove, good on you with those suggested revisions from Anna.  Sounds like you're rolling up your sleeves and ready to work. I never realized how much work in this business came after you typed The End!

 Anna, good luck with your AFS.  (I still have nightmares filled with drop down menus!  But, of course, I'm dying to fill out another.<g>)

As for me, I'm still on the bench.  My Bites sub is with ALT.  It hasn't been there long enough for me to be getting *too* antsy yet:>

Barbara~

Am plowing through revisions - you're so right, Barbara (good luck with your sub...).  The real work might well begin after 'The End'.  I'm really pleased with the way it's ironing out, though. 

 Anna - you're a gem!  Thanks again - I think your suggestions for amending EI were fantastic - it's shaping up to be so much better than it was.  Between you, Rach, & Neo, it's looking good (well, I think!).  Glad you think my faeries are sexy, too :).  Have fun finishing up your bite.  If you need a reader... ;)

Hope your little one is on the mend, sb. 

Kids back at school yet, Rach?

Hi Dee...

Back to the grindstone... E x

I was gonna say 'nose to the grindstone', but I decided not to, as some would say my nose was sharp enough!  Also, I believe that would probably hurt.  As would putting your back on it.  I'm all for pain avoidance. E x

I'm in the middle of writing my Nocturne Bites submission. At first I had stopped it because I felt it wasn't good enough after reading some Nocturnes. 

Then after looking at it again, I'm totally re-writing and re-working the entire thing.

All of you through the forums have been giving such great advice. Thanks for that

 Great to find this new thread!!

Good luck everyone.

Hetal, i'll be more than happy to look at it. my e-mail is mvillery@nycap.rr.com.

 Do you mind looking at mine? 

The WIP definitely seems better with the additional hero POV.  I think I was hesitant at first because getting into the guys head wouldn't have seemed genuine without being able to play off the heroine first.   I have very few life examples to draw from so I keep thinking back to boyfriends from way back when.  My DH, sweet though he is, not very good at giving me the drama I so need.  Hmmm, why am I complaining again?

Hey Shell, I'd love to take you up on that offer.  I'm going to need a couple of days to make the changes I talked about but feel free to email  @ hetalpinal@gmail.com in the meantime.  Gotta tell you, I'm nervous about this.  I absolutely will not let the DH look at it and though I mentioned it to my sisters, I don't know if I'll  have the guts to follow through.  I'm going to consider you my warm up to the entire process.   

Dee, maybe it'll help with the smell as well?  Just trying to find the silver lining, tee-hee.  Baby has been really fussy during daylight hours lately.  Maybe teething?  We can't figure it out.  Too bad I couldn't use that good baby karma you sent out for helping them sleep.  She happens to sleep really well at night, it's the other stuff that needs fixing!  Oh well, goes with the territory I guess.

I received a revision letter today for the Bites I sent ALT a few weeks ago.  It's very much like the letter I received for "Wilderness", referencing specific pages and specific things to change. I love a road map!!  Also, Ann Leslie liked the premise.

So, have grindstone and nose, will travel! <vbg> 

Barbara~

but what the heck. I'll hide in the shadows of Barb's revisions and admit I finally sent in a submission to Nocturne. :)

Sending out good luck vibes to everyone waiting. :)

Dee

Gidday all. Good luck to those of you that have recently submitted - and there are quite a few of you! I'm crossing fingers for you all.

Congrats Barbara!! You must be doing a little happy dance. wahoo

E - the kids are back at school but have had birthdays and back to school stuff going on so my official - get my ass back on the chair - day begins on Monday. I should have things sorted and back into routine by then and I can (hopefully) get some kind of flow going.

Anna. Can't wait to see your dragon bite. How's your new bite coming along?? I'm itching to read it

Happy writing everyone!! 

Dee, btw good luck!!!

 And thanks Barb!!!! 

Off to write! 

I said it in subcare but will repeat here, way to go Barbara!  And Dee as well!  Just wanted to let you know I'm blogging at the bradford bunch, www.thebradfordbunch.com come by and for all you supernatural fans, there's a little treat!

Jules

Congrats Barb and lots of good vibes for the revision!

Do you remember when you had sent your submission in? As comfy as the bench is getting with those fancy pillows and cupholders, i'll admit i'm getting antsy after two full months. That, and it's hard to type when you've got no nails left :P

I honestly don't know what I'd do without the congrats and the hang-in-theres from all the friends I've made here at HQ.  I can't tell you how often I've been inspired, supported, soothed etc.

Not to sound like a Guitar Hero addict, but "You Rock" people:)

Barbara~

Welcome to Shell, Hetal and Florida.  You're gonna love it here...

Big congrats to Barb - fingers crossed (sooo unnecessary, I'm sure...)

Good luck with your noc sub, Dee - crossin' for you too...

Anna has a date for her Bite debut now...  I'll let her jump in and tell you  :)  There's one I cannot WAIT to get my hands on!

I have decided (after going most of the way through with Anna's critique) that my story just doesn't have enough angst or depth, and I want my hero to be more than luke warm.  I am having a mini-crisis.  I am going to re-write it.  Lord, help me.

Sorry if I've misspelled anything.  I sat on my glasses (had them off to read DARK CURSE - loved it - whew! Hot!), now the lenses are different distances from my face.  Perspective is up the creek.  I keep walking into stuff.  Got DARKFEVER on audio to 'read' now - doesn't require glasses.

Have fun, everyone, E.

Yep,the same one who won't give me that break.  At 7 months old,
it's scary how much she alredy loves technology.  She sits on my lap
while i type, has to hold the cellphone when I'm on a call, and wants
to flip channels with the remote right at the height of suspense of
whatever I'm watching.  My little goober

Shell,
wanted to let you know that I haven't looked at your Bite yet as I
raced to the finish with mine, but I am sooo looking forward to giving
it some time now.

Can't tell you how many times I've come to crushing my glasses.  I have this knack for knocking them off the nightstand with my blankets as I roll around in bed, so then I'm gingerly putting toes on the floor to get my butt on the floor to search in the absolute dark for them.  I've been lucky so far, but that luck can only hold out so long.

Thanks for the welcomes.  Now that I've got one story out of my head, another one's knocking  around in there hollering to get written.  guess I better get to it!

G'night all

Barbara!!  So glad to hear you got revisions and got them finished so quickly.  Can't wait to hear more about this Bite and see it on the "virtual" shelf...or better yet, my Kindle.

E - I've told you this before, but good luck with your revisions.  And don't throw out everything!  You had great moments in your story.  You'll have a winner, I'm sure.

Dee - Good luck with your submission!

Florida girl and Shell - good luck with your Bites and keep us posted on the progress.

Hetal - so glad to hear you put your hero's POV in your Bite.  I agree, I always feel cheated if I don't get to see inside the hero's head.

As E let slip, I have a release date for my Bite, Savage Dragon - July.  I'm super excited and working to get my website finished.  I also (finally) finished the other Bite I've been working on.  E and Rach are reading it for me before I send it off to Ann Leslie

Anna.

That's fantastic, Anna.  I'm going to look forward to July!  I understand completely about trying to get your website going etc.  I've said before that I wasn't as prepared as I should have been for all the "after the sale" things. Like you, I worked to get my website going before my release and gradually, over time, I've gotten set up on facebook, twitter, yahoogroups and just a couple of days ago, YouTube.  It's all very fun, but more work than I'd planned for!

Barbara~

I never even thought about the necessary evil of self promotion if I ever get to where you're at, ladies.  In my naivete, I just figured I'd write and that other stuff would work itself out.  Boy am I blushing

As always, your knowledge is appreciated by newbies like me!

On the upside, Shell and I have recently finished critiquing and trading back our papers (does that sound middle schoolish?  ).  With her notes under my wing, I'm going to use her constructive criticism and clean up my WIP.  Hope to tell you guys soon I'm submitting, but I guess time will tell.

Shell, thanks so much again for your advice.

Well, the website is definitely the biggest step. A blog is I would say step 2. Giving readers a place to learn about you as a person--like we do here, but in maybe not as interactively--is good word of mouth promotion. Promotion of THAT sort is really a writer's bread and butter because YOU are your own brand item. If you come across as an evil cow who is suspicious and malicious...that'll effect your sales. But if you're personable and interesting (as we know you ladies are), readers remember you and think about how that translates into your writing. (Remember how by his books, people expect Stephen King to be a scary, really psycho guy?--I hear he's actually quite the nice man)

Thankfully, the only pictures of me on the internet involve having had my hair done, otherwise folks would mentally put me in the Stephen King section, lol.

Dee

Hi all, I was wondering how long it takes people, in general, to write their bite?  Mine is taking way too long, and it is a tangled mess.  I'm screaming on the inside because I always feel like I'm running on a wheel.  I love writing my stories, but it frustrates me that it takes so long to produce a clean draft.  I feel like an oaf when I hear that other writiers, write their novel in three months and boom, get it published. 

:: waving long and wild to all my friends!! ::

 Nice shiny new room... lots to catch up on... moving in all my notes and updates.. :)

Where have I been?? umm.. mostly on Facebook.. lol.. friend me at: Nicole Bisceglie  plus I have a new blog under my pen name - Nicole Dennis : http://nicoledennis-author.blogspot.com/   and I'm trying to work on a new website.. but having issues with figuring out what to do...

News?? 3 short stories have been accepted for 3 different anthologies from a different online publisher.. leaning more towards erotica than paranormal.. :) two anthologies are out now.. the other in late spring - I think.. I got a positive rejection letter from another e-pub and am working on that story thanks to the wonderful roadmap the editor gave me..  and I caught sight of the new pitch for Bites and made a note to add that to my calendar..

Work?? Still with my wonderful little office that lets me get away with writing during the day.. most of the guys (all accountants) are actually intrigued with the writing/creative process... lol.. getting into tax season tho so work is gonna pick up speed..

Umm... did i miss anything??

Congrats to everyone who got wonderful news.. :) Hugs and cyper chocolate to all who got bad news.. but everyone is right - just keep writing and submitting and learning this wonderful craft.. Hugs to all the moms out there who are writing and taking care of all those cuddly babies and kiddos.. I just have two furkids to handle so I can't figure out how you moms can accomplish all that..

Ok.. gonna wrap up.. :) I'll try and hang out more here.. I promise!!!

Don't fret.  Writing is like giving birth.  Sometimes those babies seem to magically appear in this world with no morning sickness and no labor pains and sometimes...well, sometimes it's much, much worse!

For me, every story is different.  Some seem to magically appear on the page and others seem to just about kill me before they're ready to share with the world.  Hang in there.

I'm a featured author in a Forum Fiesta today at  http://www.moirarogers.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=39&sid=8cc66320a6fd2d0fb0dd0de8e58d8d54

I hope you'll all stop by to read excerpts and take a look at all the great contests!

Barbara~