Vacation time!

It is time for a much needed vacation. I am ready to relax and enjoy a full week of nothingness. No alarm clock, no time clock, no appointments, and no meetings. Yay!

Funnily enough, as I was perusing my blog list I ran across a blog post by Agent Janet Reid that hit home.

I recently started submitting my queries for Immortalis. While I have high hopes that it will be wildly sought after and agents will be clamoring to represent me, ( isn't having delusions of grandeur wonderful?) I know the reality of that happening is quite slim.

In Janet's recent blog post Justin's Case, she specifically tells writers that vacation time is not the time to be away from your writing. What if an agent wants to see it now??

With that in mind, I'm making sure I bring my laptop and handy-dandy thub drive, with all my necessary files. Just in case ;)

See you after Vacation!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Polite Rejections

I recently decided to suck it up and stick myself out there. I've been hiding behind "revisions," preventing me from starting the submission process. I know I can't revise forever. My baby-my story, must get out there and try to be a real book.

So, I chose a small group of agents, and started to submit.

Less than 24 hours after my first email query, I got the dreaded rejection letter.

I cringed as I opened it, fearing the worst.

What I found, was a polite, friendly, "sorry, but no."

Yes, it was an informal, "form" letter, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected it to be. The agent said no, but keep looking. It's the, "keep looking" part that really struck me. The agent could have stopped at "sorry, but no," and I would have been ok with that.

It was refreshing to read a word of encouragement, (generic or not).

Now that I got my first out of the way, im not so scared of the rest that will be comming soon. I know it takes many "no's," before you get a "yes."

New Keyboard

Breaking in a new keyboard has got to be the most annoying thing ever.

I didn't want a new keyboard. It was kind of forced on me. There I was, typing away on Old Reliable, when the hubby decides he wants a new keyboard. He's a bit of a technology nut. You know the kind right? Loves to have the latest and greatest gadgets he can afford (I have to add the afford part in there because that's important to know. We're not rich!.)

Off to the store we go. He finds the perfect new keyboard and brings it home. We are not in the house for two minutes before he is thrusting his old ( not really old, he just doesn't want it anymore) keyboard in my face.

"Take it, it's better than that old keyboard you're using."

"But hunny, I don't need a new one. Mine works fine."

"That things old and beat up. Look some of the letters are rubbed off. Just take mine. It has all kinds of programmable keys."

"But I don't need programmable keys. I just need letters and numbers"

"Just try it, you will love it."

Rather than argue about it. I agree, taking his keyboard.

I can see he wants me to use it immediately. He stands towering over me with a look of anticipation. I know what he wants. He is looking to see the joy on my face as I plug it in and watch the keys light up with their orange glow. He wants to hear the happy sigh as I click away on the keys and the verbal acknowledgment of the true superiority of this new keyboard he has just given to me.

Yes, it is pretty. Yes, it is bright and shiny, compared to my old friend. But, it isn't Old Reliable.

Before I could say a word, my old board was tossed into a box and banished to the dungeon that is our garage.

*sigh*

Now comes the hard part, breaking in the new keyboard, or rather retraining my fingers to the keys.

Each keyboard has a different texture, a different feel. The keys make different sounds. I type very heavy, using the pads of my fingers, not the tips, so I fat-finger keys quite often. I found with my old keyboard, the keys seemed a little larger and my typos, less. Already as I sit here, I have had to correct too many mistakes. I can tell it is going to take me a while to get use to this keyboard.

"Thanks Hunny!"

Publishing process question?

Well I am nearing the end of another round of edits on Immortalis. I think I am really getting close to start looking for an agent and learning the next phase of the writing process... The Rejections.

Seriously though I am trying to go into this level headed. I don't expect any gushing reviews of my work. I expect quite a few rejections. Let's face it, I'm new to the game. I almost NEED them to help me progress.

Not saying I don't ever want to see Immortalis make it to print, just that I don't expect it to be an easy process.

That brings me to a question for other writers out there. Generally the first book a writer finishes, never see's the light of day, from the shelf of a bookstore. I think I read a statistic somewhere that said it is usually an author's third piece that has a shot at being published.

Now, I've put blood sweat and tears into this book. ( seriously, it's a vamp story... tons of blood, in there. =p) <--- that was supposed to be funny. did it work?

What happens when it does get rejected? What do you do with your work that doesn't get to book shelves? Do you publish it anyway with a vanity press? Do you file it away under your mattress, never to be read by anyone? Do you take it back to the drawing board and rewrite it?

What do you do?

My daughter the hairstylist

I'm a divorce who shares custody of my daughter with my ex husband. A fact I am not always happy with, because he fails to pay as close attention to her as I would like.

Case-in-point.

My daughter's hair....

He wasn't watching her, and left out some scissors. Can you guess what happens? Here is a few shots; before, during, and after.



Just so you know. It took two trips to the hairstylist to get her hair to look presentable. Her dad gave her a boys cut following her little incident with the scissors. I had to take her again to get it fixed once I picked her up from daddy's.

About The Author

Katie Salidas is a USA Today bestselling author and RONE award winner known for her unique genre-blending style.

Since 2010 she's penned five bestselling book series: the Immortalis, Olde Town Pack, Little Werewolf, Chronicles of the Uprising, and the all-new Agents of A.S.S.E.T. series. As her not-so-secret alter ego, Rozlyn Sparks, she is a USA Today bestselling author of romance with a naughty side.

In her spare time Katie also produces and hosts a YouTube talk show; Spilling Ink. She also has a regular column on First Comics News where she explores writing from a nerdy perspective.