Agents, freelancing and books -- oh, my!

So what's gone on in my writing life this week??

Agents, freelancing and books!

For 2 weeks now (M-F), I've been querying agents. When I started last Monday, I was planning to send out batches of queries EVERY DAY. But my time limitations being what they are, I have managed to average 3 queries a day. And that's okay.

Wait a sec...did I say "batches"?? As in, simultaneous querying?

Yup.

For once, I am ACTUALLY sending my query out to EVERY agent I can find representing as much of the stuff I write as possible. It's been quite the learning experience.

I have learned quite a few things in my search for an agent. In fact, I had enough tips I picked up along the way to turn it into an article! You can read that free article here on my website: http://dmcwriter.tripod.com/id43.html

I have also experienced a couple of bumps along the way, too. When I started querying agents, I didn't exactly have EVERYTHING I thought I needed. One thing I was missing was a synopsis, and I couldn't believe I'd forgotten all about writing one! Oops. So, into the second week, I had to write up a chapter-by-chapter synopsis and a one-page synopsis to send on to agents who requested them. It's a good idea to do this before starting the querying process, because stopping to write them can hold things up. (Time limits meant it took me 2 days to write the longer synopsis.)

As for the agents who refuse to accept E-queries: I WILL still query them, but only after I query the ones who do accept E-queries. I just really work faster this way, and it helps me stay on track of who I have queried so far.

Also this week, I went back into freelancing. But I have to tell you...my heart's just not in freelancing anymore. Not as much as it used to be. I was HAPPY just writing books! But the book-writing thing wasn't bringing in any income, something that I needed to do. However, I was NOT HAPPY doing the freelance writing thing. I spent a couple of days grumbling over it. I really felt like I was between a rock and a hard place. Books are what I want to write, not articles or news stories. JUST BOOKS! Books are my thing, my passion. I'm a book-writer, darn it! *kicks rock* Yet I didn't know how to solve the extra-income problem.

Until now.

Now I have FINALLY remembered how I COULD bring in some income writing books....and books and books and books. (haha) I could do the write-for-hire thing. The ghostwriting thing. I have a friend who knows people at a company she did ghostwriting for, with teen books, and she emailed me some years back on how I can step into that. I wanted to do that as a way to practice writing MG/YA books, because of my series. But I'm already writing the series now! So why not go to the next level with that?? After all, I am also planning to do YA books, too. (I have....so many....books planned.) THAT is how I can bring in extra income and STILL write books! YEAH! So, I'm going to dig up her email and look into that.

After I stop kicking myself for forgetting all about it.

In other news, I finished editing the MG manuscript. I'm still editing the VERY LONG appendix for the haunted houses book. It's a listing of haunted houses throughout the U.S. It's coming along really well but I tell you one thing: The stuff I'm reading scares me so bad, I think I'm going to be sleeping with the lights on. For a VERY. LONG. TIME.