A funny thing happened…
…when I went to the doctor’s office last week. I mean I went in completely well. With a small malady of course. The doctor’s office wasn’t even full. I was soooo careful. I used my own pen, didn’t touch any doorknobs, used hand sanitizer and everything else to avoid contact with germs. And yet, today I woke with sniffling, sore throat and utter anguish. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN????? just.Luc / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA
I got nothing. But this guy does!

I am in Christmas mode over here and writing and posting are taking a back seat…but I did find this on a search on Amazon then digging into the author’s site…wow. He has an awesome book trailer! if this doesn’t make you want to read the book NOTHING WILL! The author is Ransom Riggs and the book is Mrs. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Check it out!!
Jumping off the cliff
While I am following my goal list I have encountered a bit of a new twist. The book is at 86,000+ words already and this rewrite is growing it fast. It is a YA fantasy, and therefore expected to be a little on the high end of page count (more like 60-65K), but certainly not as big as an adult fantasy. I worry that too much world-building will make for such a massive book that it won’t be accepted anywhere. I guess I could add in all the world-building (this IS the rewrite after all) — and then cut the
Heinlein’s Rules for Writing

Mr. Heinlein had some pretty good ideas. Here are a few: HEINLEIN’S RULES FOR WRITING 1. You must write. 2. You must finish what you write. 3. You must refrain from rewriting, except to editorial order. 4. You must put the work on the market. 5. You must keep the work on the market until it is sold. I have added my number six and seven: 6. Once it is sold, you must promote it for no less than six months after it has been shining from the shelves. 7. And then, repeat steps 1-6–do it all over again. And
Get over it
So, let’s discuss the nature of getting published by the big world. That bright and shiny world called NY publishing. Quite a different animal from doing it yourself. It’s hard to get their attention. It’s mostly, “thanks for asking, but no our lists are full”. I feel sort of like how can a lowly author ever know when it is a good time to submit, if the lists are always full? When I was at the festival recently, the bathrooms were always full. Now that sort of ‘always full’ I get, right? But this full list thing, argggg. But really?