The Introduction Thread

[Jessa]

I... can say absolutely nothing that hasn't been said. Except, perhaps, that my name is Jessa. Long-time reader, first-time poster. Love Nathan's blog. I've written a novel I'm in the process of sending to agents and have gotten my first rejection. I'm comforting myself with glasses of Our Dog Blue wine and lots of guy-with-an-acoustic-guitar music, in between refining my list of who to send the query to next. But it's probably time to go to bed, as even the dogs are leaving the room while I try to drunkenly warble along to Tom Cochrane's "I Wish You Well."

[grazia]

I am so sorry to hear of your first rejection, but, take heart: Rejection is part of the deal. Don't take it literally. Submissons are about as much fun as dunking your head in a toilet, (hopefully not literally, but who knows after the vino), and much more difficult than actually having written the darn thing. I just want to tell you to keep your spirits (figuratively) up. Good luck!

[m.a.leslie]

Hello Everyone,

My name is Michael and as most of you are I am an aspiring writer. I have been working since the beginning of this year on several stories and with the help of this blog and several others out there I have been trying to become published. I write under the name M.A. Leslie because my wife, Amy, and I write our manuscripts together and if it wasn't for her insanely vivid dreams and ideas then I wouldn't have the inspiration to put pen to paper. I know that there are several things that I do incorrectly and I struggle with query letters, this I know because I have only received rejections from them, but I am willing to learn. I look forward to using these forums to improve the craft and look forward to working with all of you.

[tcrowley]

Hey everybody. I'm not an author but I play one on tv. Just here to do a lot of research and understand the crazy submission and pre-publishing process better.

[Evelyn]

Hello everybody!

I'm glad to be here, this is a great forum.

I am 46, play classical guitar, and live in Seattle with my husband and six cats. I recently completed my first novel. I'm deep into research and choosing which agents to shop it to - I'm almost ready to send out the first queries. It's a big step! I'm very excited.

I've enjoyed writing since I was a kid. I used to play with my mother's old Royal typewriter and imagine I was writing a book. I still have one of those first stories, it starts like this: "Sandy was nice. She was really, really, really, really nice. She had a friend named Sue. Sue was really, really, really, really nice too."

I guess I liked nice characters.

In sixth grade I shared a desk with a boy (a really, really nice boy) named Po Bronson. Yes, THAT Po Bronson. I had a crush on him. He was really, really, really cute.

In high school I entered a short story in a competition, and I won first prize! There was money involved - $75 - and I was over the moon. Hey - I wonder if I can count that as a publishing history in my query letter????

My current novel is science fiction, although it doesn't fit neatly into the genre. I've been working on it for three years or so, revised it so much that the pages glow, and now I'm excited to send it out into the world.

I'm very excited to find this forum!

Evelyn

[JDizzle]

Hello All!

My name is Jem. I'm English but recently moved to Tucson, Arizona for work. I haven't actively written on any forum for about 8 years (since I was a teenager) - I'm nervously tapping away at my keys! I'm impressed by how friendly and helpful you are all so I decided to take the plunge and join the forums. I've been addicted to Nathan's blog for some time. I can't remember how I found it but I'm glad I did!

I'm currently working on a YA novel. I started it two years ago but became distracted doing my PhD - but now that's done (thankfully) - so I'm back to working on it. I'm pleased I took some time away from my YA novel because I now see that a lot of my initial ideas were so-so. It's a much better story now :)

I've had fun reading the intro posts! I love to talk about anything so feel free to PM me anytime :)

Looking forward to talking to peeps and to NaNoWriMo next month!!!

Jem

[Severus Lawliet]

Uh oh. I already posted on the forum without introducing myself first!

Hi! Feel free to comment on my wacky username XD

Anyway, it's great to join the forums, such great advice is given.

(I have yet to create a username with Sevvy instead of Severus...on the to do list...)

I could lie and say that I've been writing novels since I was two...but alas I won't. Too much of a blatant lie.

My main interest is a no brainer -- WRITING! XD

I love the font color option...red looks so nice on these forums...

And I love nanowrimo!

[JustSarah]

Hello, my name is Sarah, and I'm working on a post modern psychological thriller trilogy. I look forward to reading some of your synopsis-es. However the only criticism I can give is to point out plot inconsistencies.:C Anyway, look forward to getting to know you guys more.^^

[Auralius]

Hey-o! My name's Mark (hence the "Auralius" handle, thanks to my eigth-grade math teacher - yes, it should be spelled with an "e"). Long-time lurker. I do lots of things, all of which are pretty interesting but not particularly pertinent to this post, except that one of the things is that I'm (wait for it) writing a book. Well, three books, really. 50K+ words into book number one, first two chapters finished in number two, and 8000 words written for the big trilogy climax in book three. If nothing else, it'll be finished for my own edification, but it sure would be nice to have it published. Looking forward to doing more than lurk here.

[SuCue]

Hi Eeryone --

I'm Susan, native Californian, long-time Bay Area resident. I've completed a 103,000-word comic novel this year based on my experiences working as a neophyte journalist for a small and rather odd trade magazine, now defunct, located in San Francisco. (I need some good advice on exactly what genre my book falls into, hence joining the forum).

I've worked in journalism and corporate writing for more than 20 years, but now I am a stay-at-home Mom and aspiring novelist. In addition to trying to figure out how to market the just-completed work, I'm currently working on a second book of inter-related short stories, somewhat inspired by William Soroyan's "My Name is Aram."

[Rowan]

Hello, everyone! I'm a regular poster over at Absolute Write and have been lurking here for a while now. Thought it was time to introduce myself! I write adult urban/paranormal fantasy, live in northern Virginia and work for the fed.

I look forward to getting to know everyone here!

Cheers

[adam.purple]

Hello, all. I'm Adam, from New Hampshire in the US. I've been a following Nathan's blog for over a year now, but I am new to the forums.

I'm an aspiring writer, and have completed an 85,000-word coming of age novel, NAUSET'S CLOSE. I am querying, but without any success so far. I also blog at my website, Writer, not.

Thanks!

[erin_bowman]

Hi All. I'm Erin. Like Adam, I'm also from the granite state. I write a fiction and at the moment I've got two YA pieces in the works (one is contemporary fiction, the other more of a dystopian tale). I blog about writing and the pursuit of publication over at http://refinedwords.tumblr.com

I've been a lurker round these parts for awhile, but just joined the forums recently. Looking forward to working/helping/critiquing (and of course getting to know) everyone.

[Down the well]

Lots of new people lately. *waves*

Nice to see you all come out of lurkerdom. :)

[webspinner]

Hi everyone. I'm a South African writer living in Germany, where the cheesecake and beer are good, but where there are very few communities for English-speaking writers. I belong to Litopia, another online community (which I can recommend!) but since I'm a long-term reader of Nathan's blog, I thought I should come and join this forum too.

I'm a reader with catholic tastes and a book collection that is running out of space in my home, but I tend to read most widely in literary fiction, contemporary, mystery, women's and crime.

I started a novel in January 2008, the year I turned 40. It was a bit of midlife crisis project, but I had the urgent sense that if I didn't start then, I never would, and I would die old and bitter. And I wanted to avoid that.

The novel started as literary fiction, but on a lonely, rain-soaked road between Berlin and Heidelberg, I realised it was crime. In August this year, I signed with a Berlin literary agency and am busy making the revisions my agent has suggested. I'm loving the process of revision; seeing the novel become crisper and clearer with every pass.

Looking forward to meeting you all here on the forum and having some interesting discussions.