WIP Wednesday: Another DUH moment

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm in the home stretch of editing my WiP. I'm at 61,000 words (yes, this one's longer!) with probably 5,000 words to go before I'm done.

You may remember that I have been editing/rewriting with a fire lit under me because I'm attending a writing conference this summer and had signed up for a consultation with an "industry professional."

Yesterday I decided to check the website to make sure I had all the deadlines set correctly in my mind. While I was reading through the list of "how to submit," I stumbled upon this:

For Middle Grade, Young Adult, Non-Fiction and Chapter books: submit only the first FIFTEEN (15) pages even if it cuts off mid-chapter, plus a ONE page synopsis.

Um, duh. Did I really think I was turning in an ENTIRE manuscript for an industry professional to read? Um, yes, I did.

I feel like such a newbie. You'd never know I'd been an online student of publishing (read: following lots of industry blogs) for at least three years. That should be almost equivalent to an AA in How to Get Published. How am I still clueless about things like this?

To cut myself some slack, this is my first conference. I have a lot to learn. And I'm going to attend with the intention/expectation of learning, not with a big plan to score points with lots of agents or editors. I'm not going with the intent to sell my second-draft novel to the highest bidder. (But wouldn't that be a story?)

And on the even brighter side, this mental mistake actually might be good in the long run. Thinking that I had to have an entire manuscript ready for review REALLY made me get to work. I wouldn't be at this point in my second draft if I had known I only had to submit the first fifteen pages, believe me.

So, goals for this week:

1. Finish second draft
2. Start polishing first fifteen pages like crazy
3. Write synopsis (blaggh)

If anyone would be interested in reading a first fifteen pages or a synopsis and providing honest feedback, let me know! No pressure, though. I know everybody's busy these days. Just shoot me an email if you'd like to organize a document exchange (a2sonnichsen(at)gmail(dot)com -- and my first name is Amy, for those of you who simply know me as A.L. *grin*)

Have a wonderful, productive Wednesday, everyone!