Quinn Blogs

Last night I finished my first big revision of Hubris. There were only a couple of major changes: I had to do a complete rewrite of the critical first page, remove the second chapter and place its exposition much later in the story, and cut out about a third of one lengthy middle chapter.  I ended up cutting out more than I added, so this draft is about 2500 words shorter than the last.  The whole process was slow and sometimes grueling.  I don’t like revising, and I never will, but it feels great to have it finished.

The manuscript is now ready (I hope) for the scrutiny of my beta readers: my girlfriend, friends, and family.  We’ll see what they have to say.  I’m quite proud of the story; it’s a lot more ambitious than my first two [...]

Just as I was about to start my first read-through of Hubris (and still am), I received another partial request from an agent interested in The Northerners. I was just about ready to give up on querying The Northerners – I was even saying so as I opened the envelope, since I was convinced it was another rejection – but once again I spoke too soon.  Of course, as I’ve learned, a partial request only means that I’ve gone from about a 99% chance of rejection to more like a 90% chance of rejection, but hey, I’ll take it.

Thanks to this agent, I’ve learned something new: some agents actually do reply positively via mail.  I’ve heard some authors advise you to not bother including a self-addressed stamped envelope with your query; it’s a sign of self-respect, they say, [...]