Yesterday marked the three month point since I sent off my proposal for the St. Rocco manuscript. Having heard no word, I can think one of two things-- they are still considering it, passing it around, debating its merits, or they are so swamped that they just haven't gotten around to sending it back to me with their condolences. I won't even think about the options like, they never received it in the first place, or they hated it so much they tossed it into the fireplace, or-- the writer's nightmare-- they have recently changed their policy and will only respond to manuscripts they have accepted.
This is the most frustrating new policy publishers have adopted. I GET that they are busy, I GET that they want to save paper. But do they GET that receiving even a post card of regret in the mail is the closure a writer needs?
At any rate, I think this particular publisher still responds to rejections. And delayed news has the potential to be good news. There-- I have printed it, and tomorrow I will certainly receive that letter of closure!
Meanwhile, I have completed one and nearly two manuscripts of YA fiction. Katie read the first, with the working title "Seven Summits", and declared, "Mom! Wow!" which I take as high praise!
Although I am proud of the characters I have created in these two books, I am nervous to pass them around for critique. They have language. They are, after all, YA books, and are expected to resonate with the average teen.
I do not feel the need to include sex in my YA's. Language, however, is a tool that helps develop a character. There are some characters one would expect to use certain turns of phrase. To avoid such words would be false to the character, maybe even to the point of distraction. What bully, for example, would be telling his victim, "Stay away from my girlfriend, darn you!" By the same token, vulgarity is a tool that can just as easily be over-used to the point of distraction. Pepper lightly dusted adds zing. Pepper piled high ruins the flavor completely.
