Caution: Author at work!

I'm not dead, y'know.

From my recent posting history, you all probably thought I fell into some vacuous void of cat vomit, never to return.

Okay. Enough of my alienating alliterary attempts to sound authorly.

The ACFW conference was incredible. Intense. Exhausting.

Not so much because the schedule was packed, but because I've entered unfamiliar territory. My manuscript is complete (except for the fact I can always think of a million different ways to make it better). My agent hunt is off to a good start.

I'm in the game.

I can't shuffle around writers' conferences anymore clutching my backpack straps with both hands, wondering what the heck this whole business is about.

Two agents express interest in The Plot Against Mr. Plank. One has read the entire mss. He read it in one sitting then passed it off to his assistant who complained I kept her up all night.

Now them's the kinda words I love to hear!

However.

My affection for cliff-hangy ending works great for chapter breaks, but not for conclusions. Both readers felt I forgot to send the last two chapters.

My rationale was, "well, I'm working on book number two in the series and I'm leaving these loose ends to carry over..."

The constructive advice was, "Readers don't want to feel compelled to buy your next book. They don't want to wait one or two years to find out what happens. By then, they won't care. Also, what if book number one is the only one that sells? It's got to stand alone."

Awesome advice. I've started working on the final chapters. And, I must get it done in one week!

So. My posts may be short and even bizarre.

That's because I'm busting really hard to expand my ending and get both agents all that I have and see how God leads from there.