Writer's Digest - State Of The Nation

I have finished inserting the extra material into Lottery Odds, and will be well over the 90,000 word baseline established by Harlequin HQN. By the time I get done smoothing out the transitions and editing the existing material, we will probably be around 94-95K. Since the submission request was for the first three chapters and a plot summary (faithfully updated to represent the new material), it looks like all my ducks are in a row. I've got my overall word count, I've got my first three chapters, I've got the plot summary and I have a newly-minted cover letter. All systems are go, and it should be in the mail tomorrow.

It feels good to know that acceptance or rejection aside, I was able to rise to the occasion on this project. I was given what was a pretty tall order; add an extra 33% to an already-completed novel, and not have it stand out like a sore thumb. I've managed to pull that off, so even if HQN decides to pass on Lottery Odds (which I rationally give about a 90% chance of happening), I will have another novel of submittable length that I can add to the rotation.

So what happens next? Well, I would dearly like to get some extra material for The Phoenix Initiative so that this novel could be added to the queue, and there's always the lurking specter of the best urban fantasy novel that has yet to hit the bookstores near you, Salvation. Once this project is done, that would give me three full-length books to hit the markets with. Since The Phoenix Initiative currently clocks in at 58,718 words, it needs to have some more material added. My wife gets the job of reviewing the manuscript and suggesting additional scenes, which is good because I am completely befuddled.

The Final Nine stands at 58,298 words, but the field of literary fiction is a little more forgiving than the normal markets are, so who knows, I might be able to sling that curve ball by them after all without any serious expansions. Or maybe not. Who knows?

I don't have any new novels I am currently working on; there is still the last four or five chapters of Dead of Winter to be finished in order to polish off that project, but aside from the half-completed Descent (Ring of Fire #5), nothing in the hopper is currently clamoring for my attention.

So yeah, that's where I'm at writing-wise these days. Firmly parked under the editor's hat.

Wish me luck on Lottery Odds, people. I'd love to host that publication party at my house with the pool at you'd all be invited to.

Nobody Pity Me!

Haven't posted here in a while, but I have been working away steadily on Lottery Odds, and I'm pleased to say that I am damn near being done with the insert material.

Now, the hard part...

...I have to try to figure out how to seamlessly integrate more than 22,000 words worth of material, spread out across eight scenes, into a novel that is already done.

I'm telling you, this business ain't easy.