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Posted in Writing

Older and Wiser

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

Since my last post, I’ve kept busy though not as much as I would like. I might have even overwhelmed myself with the amount of projects I’ve wanted to work on. As soon as I realized that, I took a step back from a few of them. Before, I’m not sure I would have been able to do that, but now, I have a better idea on how to take care of myself.

I’m still working on the sequel to Clan of Ash (the novel I’m trying to publish). Although I made progress on it, I’ve come to realize that I don’t like it very much. The way I written it doesn’t work with what I’m trying to do. Instead of starting from scratch, I’m still continuing it. I’ve made notes for myself on how to change the beginning once I start editing the draft.

It was difficult to continue to write. I think I’ve always restarted the draft because I didn’t like it. But now I know that I shouldn’t. I’m not sure how I managed to write anything in the past. Maybe it was a fear of rejection that kept me from unable to finish my drafts. I’m glad I’ve stepped away from that habit.

Needless to say, there has been some news on my query letters. It also the news I expected. My query letter has been rejected two more times. While I’m disappointed, I didn’t let it get to me. Rejection is expectation. That’s the mentally I’m adopting.

Saying this, I not disillusioned. I’ve been finding more agents to query for the second wave. That hasn’t been very easy. YA Paranormal is hard to find right now. While there is a romantic element, it’s not the forefront of the book so I don’t feel comfortable using YA Paranormal Romance. I feel like it would be misleading.

Good news though is that the website I use is undergoing maintenance and an update in four days from this post. While I’m still using twitter to search for agents in the meantime, I think waiting for the update might be a good idea. It will decreased, hopefully, the amount of time it takes to search for agents.

Until then, I’ll keep offering updates. All I can do is keep going.

Posted in query, Writing

My First Rejection

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

It’s been a few weeks since the beginning of the new year. While some goals are proceeding better than other, there is still progress.

It has been difficult to return to work after a long break, but I’ve gotten used to it again. If I think about, this month has gone by really fast. We’re almost in February. It definitely feels like I’m busy every day.

Luckily, I’ve had to time to work on my current novel – currently named – Clan of Blood. It’s the sequel of the story I’m currently try to publish. I tend to write every day even though it might be a paragraph or two at a time. I do need to get better at setting a writing time for me, but I’m going to focus on the positive notes: I’m writing every day.

One of my goals this year was to start query again. I’m happy to announce that I started querying a novel I’ve called Clan of Ash. It was a bit tough researching the agents that fit my genre. Not only that writing the synopsis was super tough too. It did feel like a hassle mostly because I needed to decided what was most important. I must have written the query letter ten times before I was satisfied.

At times it felt like every version of the query sounded the same but I kept powering through. Clicking send on the emails and on Query Manager was nerve wrecking. I didn’t think I was ready. But to be quite honest, once I did, it was a relief. I took the first step and that’s what matters.

I didn’t send out as many queries as I wanted to but it was close to ten so, I call that a win.

There was an agent I queried on 18th of this month (they were closed through 17th) and guess what?

I got a reply back!

It was so quick.

Back when I had tried to query before, I didn’t get many replies. Usually that meant the agent wasn’t interested in your work so receiving a reply is huge.

With baited breath I opened the email and read it.

I was rejected.

Honestly, I didn’t feel bad. Maybe deep down I knew I was going to be rejected. I feel that being rejected is to be expected. Anything else than that is amazing and great. .

This is probably the first rejection out of many and all I can do now, is hope for the best and keep trying.

Posted in Uncategorized

A New Year (2023)

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

It’s been a month or so since I stopped writing on the blog. Everything got away from me this past month. I hadn’t been able to properly manage my time. However, I want to start the new year with goals. Why not a resolution?

I think of a resolution like a decision. You decide to do or not to do something. In the grand scheme of things, it’s great but it hasn’t worked for me. Maybe I didn’t put too much effort into it. Saying this, a goal is something I can work toward. They can be measured.

Some of my goals are aimed at creative writing, and some are aimed toward daily life, etc.

For Creative Writing:

  • I want to write more on the blog. If not weekly then bi-weekly at least.
  • I want to finish the first draft of my second novel (in a series)
  • Start sending out queries for the first book in a series
  • Become more active on social media e.g. more daily posts (3 or 4 a day)

For Daily Life:

  • I want to be healthier which means exercising a bit and eating healthier e.g. choosing yogurt over a donut
  • Manage household chores a little better

Creativeness:

  • Continue drawing
  • Keep learning digital art
  • Crochet and finish more projects

The best thing to remember is to break it down into manageable steps for each goal. That way, I won’t become overwhelmed with everything I want to accomplish in the new year. But, first and foremost, enjoy the little successes.

Posted in NaNoWriMo, Writing

NaNoWriMo 2022

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

We’re on the sixth day of National Novel Writing Month 2022, and I’ve only just caught up to 10k words. It’s definitely been a struggle to write almost 2k words every day. Most days, I’m exhausted from work. This past week, I had to take a day off for some self-care. I take small victories where I can take them. If I manage to write 500 words or a thousand then, I’m proud of myself for it. Stressing about NaNoWriMo this month won’t do me any good.

Luckily, I got the day off tomorrow, and on Thursday, I’m visiting NASA, so, I’m looking forward to a relaxing week.

Posted in NaNoWriMo, Writing

National Novel Writing Month 2022

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

It’s almost that time of year again and I don’t think I’m ready for it.

To be honest, I don’t remember the last time I participated in NaNoWriMo but I do want to participate this year. I think I’ve gotten better at time management. Saying that, I’m not sure what I’m writing just yet. There’s been a few ideas bouncing around in my head lately, but I also have two projects that I’m currently working on. Adding a third project into the mix might be a little too much for me.

The goal is to write 50,000 words in thirty days. Technically, it doesn’t have to be towards one projects specifically so maybe I can distribute those 50k words between projects? It’s definitely taking liberty with the spirit of things but it would definitely make me write more than I already do.

We have 8 more days until the event starts. Who knows? Maybe I’ll end up finish a one project before the start of November.

Social Media

As part of Wattpad’s Creators Program, I made an account on Instagram to help build an audience. I’ve managed to post some content but in reality social media is tough. Once I’ve gotten a bit more comfortable with the platform, I might do more with it. For now, I’m experimenting with the kind of content I want to post.

I know it’s important to have social media as an author and I need to be better about it. To be honest, I might need to dedicate time out of my schedule to post something about my progress. While blog posts help, I’m not too consistent with it, but I’m trying to do better now.

Let’s Keep on Chugging

Me

All that’s left for me to do is keep on chugging. I’ll somehow manage to figure it out. Most importantly, I can’t lose track of my goal for this year: send out query letters before Christmas break. While I don’t have much time left, I believe I can do it.