The Wild Blog in the West

This will shock you: when I sat down to write my neo-Victorian novel , I was not exactly aware of the current market for my genre.  I simply reasoned that if people still liked books written 150 years ago, they would be just as happy to read a more modern take. Turns out that knowing your market is pretty important.  One reason is because when you write a query letter, it is often ideal to suggest that your book resembles Book X, which was written in the past 10 to 15 years and sold bazillions of copies.  I did some Google searches, but the neo-Victorian market was surprisingly sparse -- most well-known books like The French Lieutenant's Woman  had been written decades ago. So I went onto Victorian listserv and asked for some examples of popular recent Victorian novels.  One of the examples mentioned was Michel Faber's The Crimson Petal and the White  (2002).  Since that seems to be the most popular recent example, that is where I will start. My purpose in reviewing bo

In my last novel update , where I gave an overview of the genre (neo-Victorian historical fiction) and plot, I also briefly discussed my plans for selling Rage and Regret . The past month or so, I have been signing up for all sorts of "how to sell your novel to agents" events.  Two involved listening to an agent's webinar and getting feedback on the query letter and opening pages.  One involved attending a local pitch fest and getting to talk to some agents and editors in person. All were informative and gave me a much better sense of what agents want, and the market, below. Pitch Fest Not wanting to spend $500 or more on a writers' conference, I was pleased to learn that for a much more reasonable price, I could attend a smaller pitch fest sponsored by a local women writers group .  Be in a room with real-live agenty people who could give me more specific feedback than "It just didn't grab me"?  Where do I sign up?! So I got up on a rainy S

This morning, I received a punch in the gut: one of my favorite websites would be going offline forever .  Yes, Television Without Pity, originating the phrase "spare the snark, spoil the network," will mark its last day on April 4th.  (The forums will remain open until May 31st, but that's cold comfort.) I've lost many Internet loves over the years, but Television Without Pity deserves a special mention.  It has been one of my go-to websites for at least 10 years.  I vaguely remember when it was called Mighty Big TV and run by two women, Sarah Bunting and Tara Ariano, instead of NBC Universal. NBC can be thanked for TWoP's demise.  In 2007, Bunting and Ariano sold the website to Bravo, which was part of the NBC Universal empire.  Recently, citing a drop in traffic, NBC tried to sell TWoP to another entity, but found no buyer.  Rather than try a different model, such as a subscription system, NBC decided to shut the doors. It's possible that someone m

I thought I would be one of the few to avoid saying anything about Frozen , but I was intrigued by the reasons given for why Frozen  was such a mega-hit while Tangled  was merely a box office success.  So I decided to look at both movies and see whether I agree with some of the prevailing assumptions. First, let me say that there is no loser in this race.  Both movies are good -- really good.  In fact, both even have identical ratings (89 percent) at Rotten Tomatoes .  The only way that these movies "lose," in my mind, is being CGI instead of 2D, but that's for later. Some of the reasons given for Frozen's success include better songs, a deeper and more compelling story, and a rare female-centric storyline. The Soundtrack.   Few would argue that Tangled  has a better list of songs than Frozen .  While Tangled 's "When Will My Life Begin" was clever, the Mother Gothel songs a blast, and "I See the Light" touching mainly for the visual se

Hi everyone, I just wanted to give a quick road map of where the blog is headed now that I've finished my Downton Abbey recapping. As you saw, I recently posted an update on my novel that goes more into the storyline than any previous posts.  I will likely be posting more updates of this nature in the coming months -- more information about the storyline, the characters, the research, and the selling process.  Some of it will be tied to past posts (like any of the " Downton Extras "). Another thing I'll be doing is taking a look at other neo-Victorian novels published within the last 15 or so years to get a sense of the market. Otherwise, it will be back to the usual -- Movie Musicals That Got It Right or Wrong, Unpopular Opinions, and other essays.  I have some doozies planned.  Stay tuned!

I figured it was time to give an update on my novel.  For those who aren't interested, at least be glad I'm done recapping Downton Abbey  and will be turning my attention to other fare in the coming weeks... Long-time readers are aware that I've written a neo-Victorian novel set in 1860s England.  I've posted snippets of it here , here , and here .  It began life at nearly 175,000 words, but has since been shaved down to around 141,000, and I don't intend for it to be any smaller [Update: Except now it's 120,000] . I officially finished it last January, but spent some time reading and rereading, correcting errors from historical to grammatical.  I even gave it *dramatic pause* a name:  Rage and Regret . Yet despite my work being ready to hit the marketplace, I realized I was completely ignorant about how to sell.  That turned out to be a big deal because agents are inundated with queries every single day and you need to present yours just right  to get

So here we are.  Another year of Downton Abbey aired and gone... this time with no notable deaths.  Last year at this time, I made several predictions as to how I thought Series Four would go.  This year, I'm going to check how I did and make yet another set of predictions.  Watch me go! Predictions For Series Four 1.  The Viewership Numbers Will Remain Strong.   That was definitely the case.  In the UK, the series viewership numbers slipped just the tiniest bit, from 11.7 million for Series Three to 11.5 million.  The Series Four premiere broke viewership records in the U.S. and the show did better against the Super Bowl than last year. 2.  Mary and Branson Probably Won't Get Together in Series Four, But in Series Five...   Another one on the nose.  Truth be told, it was a bit of a no-brainer.  It would have been wrong for Mary and Branson to become passionate in Series Four after each lost the love of their life in Series Three.  I'm actually surprised that Mary h