Sing something for me

I wanted to start my first post of my brand new blog off on a wicked (I can say that—I’m originally from Boston) positive note by sending a HUGE and ENTHUSIASTIC shout out to my crit partner, Andrea Cremer, who just signed a two book deal with Penguin! Woot! Look for her amazing Nightshade in late 2010! She was the first of us to prove my New Year’s Revelation wrong.

My news is also wicked positive. I’ve officially been writing for one year (so sing something for me) and am loving life. The truth is, the books just sort of write themselves. The only effort on my part is taking dictation and trying to keep up with the voices in my head. I went to the SF Writers Conference and the Big Sur Writers Workshop and got really fabulous feedback at both, so that was fun.

On sort of a whim I entered the SF Writers Conference contest with my first manuscript, Dusty Lane, and my submission finalled. (And shocked the hell out of me!) So, for kicks and giggles, I entered my new manuscript, Personal Demons, in a few contests this summer. I just heard from the first of those that I finalled there too. I’m starting to think maybe I don’t suck at this. So it’s pretty much been: writing, writing, writing—submitting, submitting, submitting—waiting, waiting, waiting. But it’s all good. Response has been very positive and I have several manuscripts (both Dusty Lane and Personal Demons) out with major (and majorly awesome) agents. So, while you’re singing for me, cross something too!

So a question for you… (yes you…the only one besides me reading this)

I can pick at a manuscript forever. When do you decide to quit? I’ve read agent blogs that say “when it’s perfect” but in my world, perfect doesn’t exist. I can edit out all the typos, grammatical errors, etc, but that doesn’t stop my characters from coming up with some new, really witty line that I have to add, or some really cool new scene from popping into my head in the middle of the night. When do you stop?