Thanks for this.
I'm just sayin. 'Cause it's true.
The girl's not playing with a full deck, Giles. She has almost no deck. She has a three.
Buffy ,'Same Time, Same Place'
The Great Write Way, Chapter Two: Twice upon a time...
A place for Buffistas to discuss, beta and otherwise deal and dish on their non-fan fiction projects.
Liese S. - Jun 07, 2006 9:47:08 am PDT #7050 of 10001
"Faded like the lilac, he thought."
erikaj - Jun 09, 2006 9:17:48 am PDT #7051 of 10001
Always Anti-fascist!
How much should you know about your idea before you pitch it? Because, being Spec Girl in my usual writing life, I know the pain of eating, sleeping and living a particular subject, only to have somebody say "Know what? Don't care." Would like to possibly avoid. Can I just write the magazine and say "What about a piece about X for your Special Issue?" or are they always wanting hypothetical word lengths and etc.
-t - Jun 09, 2006 9:22:57 am PDT #7052 of 10001
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
I've heard advice along the lines of Don't Write Anything Until It's Sold for magazine submissions, erika, but I don't know if it's really viable.
Topic!Cindy - Jun 09, 2006 9:30:03 am PDT #7053 of 10001
What is even happening?
or are they always wanting hypothetical word lengths and etc.Could you estimate a word length and make yourself stick to it, later?
erikaj - Jun 09, 2006 9:47:03 am PDT #7054 of 10001
Always Anti-fascist!
I suppose, but it can be hard to pick one that makes sense, sometimes.
Amy - Jun 09, 2006 9:50:26 am PDT #7055 of 10001
Because books.
Could you estimate a word length and make yourself stick to it, later?
I suppose, but it can be hard to pick one that makes sense, sometimes.
Is this a magazine that has pieces/features that are usually a certain length? If you're pitching to a certain area of the magazine, can you estimate that way?
In the end, I think you have to give them an estimate, and then figure out how to cut or expand based on what they want.
Strix - Jun 09, 2006 6:09:34 pm PDT #7056 of 10001
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
Sail, -t --
I have more pages. You want?
Strix - Jun 09, 2006 6:28:05 pm PDT #7057 of 10001
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
Actually, I have another question.
How do people decide how much to write? More specifically, setting weekly or daily goals? AmyLiz has indicated that most books in the genre I am writing in, paranormal romance or erotica are about 80,000 words or roughly 400 pages. I have 40 pages and I've set myself a goal of 2 pages a day, at least 5 days a week. Which I haven't done in the last week (sick) but I hammered out 4.5 pages in the last two days.
Now, I am proud of myself because my main goal -- my ulimate goal -- is to write a book. Beginning, middle, end, done. And I am hardly the queen of consistency, so right now my focus is on setting up habit.
However, since I am a freakish Virgo, my mind always goes to the better, more part of things.
How do others set up goals for long-term lengthy projects? If I was writing a long research paper, I would have no problem saying "X pages per night; due on this date; revisions two weeks before."
But a novel? I am adrift.
EDIT: And for a taste of part of the reason I am asking this question, upon re-reading I thought, "4.5 pages? In 2 days? That's PATHETIC." Cause I'm used to writing 4.5 pages of research or narrative essays or something similar in like 2 hours. So I'm trying to get a norm, if there be such a beast.
-t - Jun 09, 2006 8:37:19 pm PDT #7058 of 10001
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
Yes, I want the more pages!
As to the other, I dunno. 2 pages every day is (figuring conservatively taking weekends off) 40 pages/month, gets you to 400 pages within a year, which seems quite fast enough to be "normal". I think any goal is gonna be necessarily arbitrary until you get a feel for how you work best.
deborah grabien - Jun 09, 2006 10:25:02 pm PDT #7059 of 10001
It really doesn't matter. It's just an opinion. Don't worry about it. Not worth the hassle.
But a novel? I am adrift.
I don't know. I'm one of those irritating "organic" writers. I figure I'll stop when the story's told. If it's too short for one editor, it probably won't be for another one. If it's too short for all of them, I'll take another look then.