Bryan Bliss -- try not to hate him.

I'm a couple days late in doing this, but I really want to congratulate my good friend Bryan Bliss. Sixteen days from first query ever, to signing with a hot agent. Anybody out there ever heard of shorter?

You're a rock star, buddy.

(If anybody is curious, click here to read more about his whirlwind agent search, and find out who his agent is.)

As for me, my agent offered to represent me within a week of beginning to query. So that would be pretty good, except that it was my tenth novel, and I had close to 400 rejections from all my previous works. A lesser man might be tempted to be bitter over Bryan's nearly instantaneous success, but not me. I'm really happy. Really really really flipping happy. And I really mean it. The emphatic insistance might make me seem insincere, but I'm really really not.

Really.

Anyway. Congratulations again, Bryan. And good luck on your first, big, agent-mandated revision. I'm pleased that we'll be miserable together.

WIP Wednesday -- we now turn our attention towards the revision process

After a bout of real world interruptions, during which time nothing of writerly importance was accomplished, today I spoke to my agent on the telephonic device. We discussed my recently completed first draft of Talonshale, and agreed that six weeks should give me ample time to come up with a version sturdy enough to withstand his weighty scrutiny.

Which seems like loads of time, right? I'll have leftover time coming out of my ears, right? (In the visible spectrum, a sufficient quantity of 'leftover time' can sometimes resemble soap bubbles). Writing a first draft in five weeks means you oughtter be able to edit the thing in a week tops. Am I right?

No -- Not so for me, my friends.

I'm a better word-vomiter than I am a word-polisher.

So we'll see how it goes.

In the meantime, looky here -- some 'family' and some 'whatnot' to go along with all the durned 'writin' talk.

(Click here to participate in WIP Wednesday)

Talonshale update

Wanna hear something weird?

For the first time in my novel-writing career, I'm actually looking forward to the revision process. I finished my book last night, and I like it, but I'm kind of excited to see what it'll look like with all the poop scraped away.

I never used to mind the poop.

Talonshale stats: 308 pages, 35 chapters, 79,000 words, 5 weeks of writing.

And today I slept in.

WIP Wednesday

Hey guys, sorry about not answering any comments on that last post. As you know I've been pouring myself into my manuscript and I haven't taken much time out for anything else. And when I say I 'haven't taken much time', I mean I really haven't done anything else.

Just been writing.

Literally. I've been missing meals, getting less than five hours of sleep a night, and ignoring each and every real world attempt to delay the finishing of my book. And let me tell you, that lasts one's like a swordfight -- block, parry, lunge, riposte... (and that's all the swordfighting words I know).

For the past month, I've been writing fifteen pages a day**, but since my last 'WIP Wednesday' update, I've gotten that up to twenty-five. No exaggeration. I really started to think I could finish that sucker today, but then my kids all had the day off from school and they've been tapping me on the shoulder and whining and saying things like, "Please Daddy, don't blog today, spend time with us instead."

Pshaw... kids just don't get it, do they?

So I'll finish it up tomorrow. Friday easily. And then I can go back to being a lazy slob who wastes his time playing Uno and Skip-bo and X-Box with his kids.

Or maybe I should start editing, I don't know.

(**I'm legally obligated to disclose that this figure does not include weekends. I'm in no way a writer on the weekends because weekends still belong to my family.)

Meet the Jedi-Ninja-Homeboy.

So check this out: you know how I just started my post with the word "so"? I looked back over some older post recently, and it appears that I've been starting about two out of three posts with the word "so".

So you know what that means, right?

(Go ahead and tell me because I don't know what that means.)

The real point to this post, is not to point out anything dorky or goofy that the blog author may or may not do. But to accomplish two important, unique, and very different objectives. Number one, to tell you something interesting and exciting about one of my bestest writing/blogging buddies -- and number two, to share this:

So now that I've gotten my number two out of the way (that's not a pun), let me get started on the main reason I've decided to blog on an otherwise restful and quiet Sunday evening -- Mr. Bryan Bliss.

How many of you writers remember sending out your very first batch of queries ever? You were probably told that querying is all about waiting, and that you were about to be subjected to loads and loads of heart-crushing rejection. And despite that, like me, I'm sure that you secretly wondered if you'd be the exception. If you'd have manuscript requests from every agent you submitted to. Be honest, did that little tiny hope burn secretly in your heart?

I ask because this is exactly what Bryan has been experiencing. He recently finished rewriting his first novel, then wrote his first query, then sent out his first batch, and within a couple of days, pretty much every query letter he sent out netted a full manuscript request. One was a partial request, but still, last I knew, he was up to seven requests SEVEN REQUESTS! -- In his first batch of queries ever! -- I've read his query, and it's really good, but come on? Is that unprecedented or what? I'll bet that if Oprah and Obama and Britney Spears all collaborated on a book about their individual experiences with hallucinogenic mushrooms, it could never garner as much interest and excitement as Bryan's been getting.

Bryan's also recently made the switch from Wordpress to Blogger (which gives him three-point-five additional cool points), so go on over to Jedi Ninja Homeboy and congratulate him. You may want to hang out and read and follow and everything, because he's also an absolute riot to be blog buddies with.

You'll enjoy networking with him, trust me.