I just need you noooooow.

(I've taken to using random song lyrics as the titles of my blog posts.)

I've got a lot to write about right now. So let's start with my inkpop reappearance.
I decided that it's not healthy for me to have a completely unedited draft up. What if it becomes popular? What if people actually do read it, and they find all the flaws? What do I do then? It would be so embarrassing. So I've gotten rid of the Author's Note warning about its uneditedness, and read through it a few times. I kicked out quite a few unnecessary scenes, giving it a rough sweep, so it'll be at least bearable. Until I can get to the really rough editing, I mean.
I even added a prologue, and made the title longer. So if anybody happens to stumble upon this blog post, I'd like to know what you think of my prologue I wrote. Just click the link on my toolbar thingy above that says Read My Summer Project. I think I'm going to have to make it so it can be a stand-alone, and then write book two separately for NANOWRIMO (which is such an important thing, it deserves an entire blog post on its own, which is coming.)
Autumn itself is, at this moment, only 51k long. I think that's a decent length for my only book that I would dare put up on the internet. I managed to read through the whole thing in one night last night, and though there are still some things in it I ought to work out, I think it's readable. I mean, I'm not published yet or anything.
I've gotten a few good reviews on it, so thanks to everybody who took their time to read it. And once again, if you have a few seconds to look at the prologue, please do.

Now, onto the issue of publication.
I have a copy of The Writer's Market 2010 that I want to put some use to before it's outdated. I'm satisfied with The Shadow as it is---the first part, in any case. And it turns out, I think I might be able to wrap it up at the midpoint, making it 50k or so long as well. Now don't get me wrong, I really don't want to do this. It took me so much effort to get to the 100-beloved-k that I reached during this rewrite. But I think that's kind of long for a debut novel, isn't it? And if I divided it up, it would mean I have two books written for the same series. I still don't want to cut it up. Without many people to read it and give me opinions on this dilemma, I'm stuck.
But I want to use my Writer's Market. So I'm going to get opinions somewhere, and get this issue resolved. Maybe I'll find an adult who's willing to read it. Isn't it funny that not a single adult has read any of my novels yet? And I've been writing all my life? I imagine I'd get some valuable feedback then, and it'd also be a good balance. It's a YA novel, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't get adults to read it.
I'm going to send out at least two query letters for an agent before the year ends, just to see what happens, and so that my favorite Christmas present last year wasn't just collecting dust on my bookshelf all year. So I'll see how I work this out. As you guys have probably figured out, I'm dead serious about publication. It's not a maybe in the distant future I'll think about publishing---no.
I'm going to start pursuing my career NOW, I'm tired of waiting, and so is Garret. I've reached the point where I can't rewrite The Shadow anymore. I just can't. I can chop it a little, sure, if it comes to that. Maybe I can add or rewrite a few scenes. But this is the version I'm keeping.
And no, I'm not doing this too soon. Better now than never. We never know what might happen tomorrow. I feel I'm being called to get started now. And with supportive friends and family, I see no reason why I can't try. Especially once I have enough feedback to make this novel the masterpiece I know it will be.

I'm going to write a short story in verse. That's where all my poetry inspiration was coming from. I have a few rough drafts in a notebook, I have absolutely no idea where they came from, but I'll put them up soon so you can read them. In perfect order. *daydreams* And no---I'm still not pretending to be a poet.

Now, with this happy update, I'm off to continue work. (Writing...) And school and stuff. Oh, how's school going, you ask? Well, I'm getting good grades right now. So I'm not paying too little attention to my studies. No worries. :)