The Developmental Edit for MFA Thesis Novel is Done!

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A lot of work goes into a novel before it hits bookshelves: it needs a cover, ISBN info, back cover copy, reviews from more established authors, and a whole lot of checking for mistakes.  The biggest of those steps, though, is the developmental edit.

I last talked about my own developmental edit back in June, when I went through the manuscript of MFA Thesis Novel one more time doing word tweaks, trims, and making a few small additions.  This was a solo run in preparation for sending the new draft to my awesome editor, Melanie Faith, who’s been INCREDIBLY supportive throughout the entire process starting from when my novel first got signed with Vine Leaves Press.  I wanted to make sure that Melanie got the best draft possible, so I made this final pre-developmental edit part of my summer plans.

My actual developmental edit was slated to run from June 15th to September 21st—three months where Melanie and I could go back and forth getting the manuscript into the best shape possible.  I sent her the new draft on the morning of June 15th, and we made a plan for moving forward. Continue reading »

I Chose a Cool Opening Quote for MFA Thesis Novel!

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I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with opening quotes on books—on the one hand, some of my favorite books start with them, and they can set the stage for the story to follow and give the background on the novel name or the author’s other thematic choices.  For example, here’s the opening of my favorite Hemingway novel, The Sun Also Rises, which includes not one, but two quotes:

You are all a lost generation.
– Gertrude Stein in conversation

One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth forever… The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to the place where he arose… The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to its circuits… All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come thither they return again.
– Ecclesiastes Continue reading »

New Author Photo!!! (and How My Photo Shoot Went!)

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Yep, that’s me.

Above are two cropped versions of my new author photos, superbly set up, photographed, and photoshopped by Toyama-based photographer Kaede Tsuji (@maplens27). We took these photos back in early July on a swelteringly hot Saturday in Kansui Park in Toyama City.  I’ll be using one of them (probably the standing one) for the release of MFA Thesis Novel in April, along with marketing, publicity, social media, and all that good stuff.

This was my second time doing a photo shoot—my first time was back in New Hampshire in 2016 Continue reading »

MFA Thesis Novel is Off to the Editor!

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Welp, I finished a big project last week.

As many of you know, last year I signed a contract with Vine Leaves Press to publish MFA Thesis Novel, my comic novel about grad school life in the Midwest.  After that, I did a lot of waiting.

That’s because prepping a novel for publication takes a LONG time—most presses schedule their release dates 1-2 years (or more!) in advance, and MFA Thesis Novel is slated for publication in April 2022.

There’s a lot of things to be done before next April: designing the cover (VLP editor Jessica Bell’s bringing her expertise to that!), proofreading the manuscript, formatting the pages, obtaining permissions, and a bunch of other stuff.  And one of those things is a developmental edit. Continue reading »

Come See Me and a Bunch of Other Cool Authors Read Online!

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Quick plug for anyone interested: On Thursday, March 4th from 6:00pm to 7:00pm EST I’ll be reading a five-minute excerpt from MFA Thesis Novel online via Zoom as part of a reading with seven other authors from Vine Leaves Press!

The reading is one I’m co-organizing with fellow writer Gina Troisi for the online SMOL Small Press book festival.   Our theme is Commercial Meets Experimental (which we took from the Vine Leaves Press mission statement), which I liked because both of these labels get a bad rap even though they can both do awesome things. I’m not sure which section from MFA Thesis Novel I’ll be reading yet, but I imagine it’ll be one with lots of jokes.

The whole thing is free and open to the first 100 people.  Mark your calendars, and save the Zoom link: https://tinyurl.com/y6zqdrcu Continue reading »

Should Writers Have to Pay to Submit Their Work?

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In my post a few weeks ago about getting my novel accepted for publication by a small press I briefly mentioned a topic that really merits more discussion: Submitting my novel to publishers cost me some actual folding money.

Said folding money came in the form of submission fees to some of the 22 small indie presses I applied to over a 10-month period.

The submission and payment process for indie presses works a bit differently than it does if you’re going for a contract with one of the Big 5 Publishers.  To get that kind of contract, you first have to send your novel to a literary agent, which is always free.  Literary agents get paid by charging commission fees off advances and royalties—in short, they only get paid when your novel sells, and any agent who charges upfront reading fees is almost certainly running some kind of scam.

This is because the Association of Authors’ Representatives (AAR) specifically prohibits its member agents from charging writers to read their work.  This is an amazing protection for writers that Continue reading »

A Very Special Thanks for the Support

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Hey everybody,

After I posted about getting the contract to publish MFA Thesis Novel I received a FLOOD of comments and messages from people saying congratulations, that they were happy for me, that they couldn’t wait to read it, and more.  Some came from people I hadn’t talked to for literally years, and getting back in touch with them felt really good too. I took the time to reply to everyone individually (and if I missed yours I sincerely apologize!) because that kind of personal response is important to me.

In the meantime, though, I also wanted to say a collective thank you to everyone who sent messages, commented, replied, Liked, or otherwise reached out in support—it means a lot, makes me SUPER optimistic about getting MFA Thesis Novel into the world, and provides a genuine confidence boost Continue reading »

Holy Shit, I Signed a For-Serious Novel Contract!!!!!!!!111

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Hell yeah I did.

As of three weeks ago, MFA Thesis Novel, my satire about a grad school writing program, is officially signed and scheduled for publication with Vine Leaves Press in April 2022.  That means that my goal of publishing an actual novel is finally going to become a reality.

MFA Thesis Novel is about a twentysomething writer named Flip Montcalm (who’s definitely not based on me) who enters a grad school writing program (that definitely isn’t based on the one I went to at the University of Nebraska) in the barrens of the Midwest.  However, no one around him seems to like his novel, and in an world of fierce competition, Flip has to figure out how to write something that’s both meaningful and that people will actually like.  It’s a novel about fitting in, starting out as a writer, and the desolate working conditions that thousands of underpaid grad students face every year, along with what it’s like to be a lonely young artist in a strange place.

Plus there’s jokes.  And cursing (fuck yeah!).  And lots of pop culture references. Continue reading »