The Secret Life of Golden Heart Finalists, part II

So, it's the Wednesday after the GH announcements. The congratulations have been trickling in (so nice!) and my honey got me a card and flowers! I know... I can't believe it either. Last year, I was sadly lacking in bloomage; this year, he knows what it means to me.

Here's a photo with Jodi from Wisconsin, a lovely woman who dined with us before the ceremony in Reno. A pink orchid corsage would have been lovely... *sigh*

What a shock to make it into the Young Adult finals two years in a row. A lovely shock, but still. I'm proceeding with a way more realistic sense of what it means this year:

First -- A Golden Heart final is not a publishing contract. Most people sell without ever finalling in the GH.

Second -- Not everyone in the universe cares about the GH. Shocker, I know.

Third -- Not everyone will be happy that you are a finalist. The truth hurts.

Fourth -- Being a finalist is not an excuse to shirk writing duties! (Or to laze around reading endless emails related to finalling, dress shopping, taking the perfect photo.) You need to get your butt into your writing chair and do those revisions, queries, whatever.

So what *is* good about it?

After of learning of my final on Friday afternoon, I let myself say, "I am going to make it. I am going to make it in this tough business." I let myself believe it, let it sink in to my heart. I can do it.

So, the GH final silences my inner critic for awhile. The GH final tells me that I'm on the right path. (I don't know how far I have to travel, but damnit, I'm heading in a good direction.) The GH final gives me a boost of energy to work harder so I can write the best book I possible. That's what it's all about. And that, more than any contest final, is the prize.

**
And now a pre-Golden Heart Acceptance moment:

(Warning... enthusiastic punctuation ahead!!!)

Yay for Juli Heaton & Trish Milburn, two fellow chicks in the YA finals... Good job! Hello to Cherry Adair, chapter goddess with her Rita nom. Also, cheers to Marley Gibson on her sale to Puffin! And kudos to Alesia Holliday on her Anthology Rita final!! Hugs to the other Wild Cards who made it to the 2006 GH finals & those of you working so hard to travel your paths! Love to Ann Roth, Steve, and the gals of GSRWA! Thanks to the Chick Lit chapter with hugs for Diana Peterfreund, Simone Elkeles and Cari Ferrer.

Extra love to Pat White for her support & phone therapy... :) Big hugs to Missy Norris, Robin Wood, Sandi Holstein & Jen Hoffman, my fave critique buddies of all time. Much love to Dona Sarkar, the next big thing & YA critique goddess extraordinaire. You rock, chica!

Okay, they're playing the music in my head. I must cut myself off. Gushing this early in the morning is just plain scary. ;) Revisions await...

Golden Icing on the Cake!

So, I thought this week was already pretty rockin'. I had revision requests from a *great* agent, had an exciting idea for a new paranormal YA series, and then, today... the GH calls went out.

I really didn't think I would make it. I put it out of my mind and concentrated on teaching science for the day. Several viewings of Cells, Tissues, Organs and All About Balance & Motion later, I called home to check in with my hubby -- and got the message to call a "lady from RWA."

I called. She told me I double finaled in Young Adult. Double finaled! Can I say that again with feeling? OMG. Kinda freaked out! Had to celebrate with champagne and a Pepperidge Farm chocolate layer cake which was pretty good for store-bought, actually.

Yay. It's a good week.

Sequels...

While I'm waiting to hear on submissions, my goal for the month is to write the first chapter and synopsis of the sequel to my latest teen paranormal.

I sat down the other day, after weeks of letting things bubble and squeak in my brain and jotting down notes in my journal, and surprise -- three and a half pages of a decent opening scene emerged! Love that.

In honor of sequel crafting, I give you a link to Diana Peterfreund's excellent sequel post on RTB http://www.romancingtheblog.com/blog/?p=554

Wisely, she noted the pros and cons of various sequels before charging on into her own sequel. Smart, that one.

Since I've just finished reading the excellent sequel of Uglies by Scott Westerfield -- Pretties -- I'm excited to get into my own sequel work. Did I mention this story starts off in a Girl's reformatory in the Swiss Alps? What's up with me and the Swiss?

Hm.... perhaps I'll reveal that in another blog entry....

The Value of Good Critique Partners

I have a new critique partner just for my YA work. Not that my other CP wasn't great (*Hi, Jen!*) but sometimes you need someone who's working in the same sub-genre as you are.

So, my new YA CP and I traded books last month, and it was a great experience. Mostly because her book is great! I looked at her whole MS, made notes, and then inserted them into the word doc. That was a little odd -- when I reached the end of her book, I kinda felt like I was writing "The End" myself. :)
But, this second read made me see the book in a deeper and more involved way.

It's really great. Did I say that already?

My CP has a way of fleshing out her protagonist that I can learn from. She developed her protag fully, and I did that more with my secondary characters. But perhaps that is because she's working in third and I'm in first person. I get so busy seeing the world around my character, I forget to let the reader see her. I'm learning! Anyway, my CP's agented already, and I am feeling that this book may be the one that takes her to that next level. Yay, Dona!

On my MS, her comments were really helpful -- big picture things that I just didn't see being so close to my work. And, unlike a critique group or someone who's just seeing a chapter at a time -- having a CP read your whole MS means they can give you overall impressions, pick up areas where you "lost your thread", etc.

So, the book had the once over -- and immediately went out the door. It's had some interest, so I'm waiting to hear. In the meantime, I'm toying with my ideas for a sequel -- forcing myself not to write it, yet! My M.O. is to dive right into the next work without time for breathing, so this is quite hard. But, I know to do a really good job, I have to plan carefully and start in the right place. There's no sense in rushing.

I am catching up on some reading this week. Just finished Lori Handeland's Dark Moon and am now into a Meg Cabot (who is my unofficial Madonna!) book called Teen Idol. In the TBR pile are Scott Westerfield's Uglies and Pretties. After hearing Diana Peterfreund's rave reviews of SW, I figured it was time to read him!

So, I'm chilling. Waiting. Hoping. The waiting never gets any easier!