How to Handle... Life?

Hey, everyone! :)

Hope everyone's week has been better than mine. Although I finally finished (hopefully) my novel and submitted it to another author for review, this week hasn't been the greatest. I attribute that to being sick. No fun, for sure. Kind of kills the creative aspect of me, and all I want to do is sleep and watch Jane Austen movies.

Thankfully, the worst of it is over, but now I'm faced with a new challenge: writing another book. I can't help it -- as soon as one idea comes, then comes another, then another, and so on. I've actually started writing several other books, but haven't finished them. Right now I'm trying to figure out which one I want to stick with for the next year or so.

Some authors can write a book in five months, some in a week, and some take ten years. Generally, when all is said and done, it's about a year or a little more for me. The first draft usually takes about five to six months, but the editing takes a lot longer.  While I wish I could write more every day, I write in spurts, where I'll write five or more pages in a day, then not write for a few days, then go back to writing. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of "Sherlock Holmes" wrote around 3,000 words a day, which is very impressive and makes me feel very ridiculous sometimes. But you write how you write.

Now, the above picture is the main character in my recently finished novel UNDER. I've been getting very frustrated due to the fact that I don't have a consistent style, which I'd really like. I usually find different artists and like different things about them, but I still haven't found which style I prefer overall. Realistic, manga, lined, unlined... driving me crazy! I guess the main thing is that I still have to finish up college. I hope by the time that I do, I'll have figured it out.

But what are your thoughts? Do you find it easy to stick with one style of art? How long does it take you to finish a work of writing? Let me know!

- Serena

New Year's Resolution and New Art Shop

I normally don't do New Year's resolutions, but I decided that I'd make one exception for this upcoming year. I've been trying to blog more than one post a month, but I get too busy and forget to update. Not good.

So, my resolution is to blog once a week. We'll see how it goes!

Updates before the year is out: Almost finished with the final edit of my novel, then it's off to more agents. I'm hoping to have most of the letters out by January. The fun part (oh joy) is compiling the list of agents. Since this new novel is a completely different novel from any I've written in genre, I have to find a whole new list of agents to write to. I do like that most of them take email now, but you have to do your research. It's a lot of time and effort. But hey, if you're doing what you love... :)

Next update! If you didn't notice the new banner right under my Deviantart tab, it's my Society6 shop -- a shop for art prints, iPhone cases and skins, and laptop cases and skins. I have several of my artworks available in various forms -- all of them in fine prints, and some in iPhone case/skin format, and some in laptop skin. I'll be adding more as time goes on. Check it out! :)

Prayers are appreciated! I'm applying to transfer to a different college for the fall of 2012, and as of yet, I have no idea where I'm going. We'll see how things go, but right now, that and finishing up the novel are my main priorities. :)

Take care! I'll try to add another post before the year is over.

New Mermaid Novel

Hey, everyone!

Hope you're all doing well. It's been a rough past couple weeks, but I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving, probably my favorite holiday. I love making pumpkin and maple pecan pie... One time I made a chocolate raspberry cheesecake. Good times.

Now, onto novel news. To the left is a cover I've created for my newest novel UNDER, a young adult dark mermaid novel. It's filled with action, suspense, and of course, romance. I've sent out only a couple query letters so far, and one agent did ask for the whole manuscript after reading the partial. In the end, she did reject it, but her letter was extremely encouraging. I'll be sending out more letters soon after some further editing (fun fun).

I'm very excited about this novel. Although it's an extremely difficult process, I can't imagine doing anything else. I've often wondered what I'd do if I weren't writing. But every time I think about it, I really can't imagine not writing. As soon as I finish one, I feel incomplete - plot bunnies are constantly attacking - and I have to start another.

I've also had a lot of people ask me about self-publishing, since my other novel OCEAN OF EMPTINESS is self-published, as well as a short story. Self-publishing, while I think it's the wave of the future, is a very good option. But I've also had a lot of people want the book in print, but it's very expensive if you're self-publishing. If you want to reach a wider audience at this point at least, I still think traditional publish is the way to go. But I think eventually digital printing will overwrite the traditional, which is sad, because I still love hard copies.

So, I've gone through the initial stages of the writing and querying process for UNDER, so now it's a little more editing, then off to other agents! I might re-query the agent who requested the full manuscript as well. She was absolutely wonderful and responded quickly and very nicely.

If anyone has any questions or would like to comment, feel free! :)

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

- Serena