My 15th Rejection Letter!

When I mailed the original batch of book synopses and query letters back in June 2014, I honestly didn't expect I'd receive a response almost 8 months later.

Well that's exactly what happened today.

After removing the mail from the box, I noticed something familiar.  It was one of my envelopes with my self-addressed label on the front of it. And then I recognized the name on the return address as one of the literary agents I had mailed a synopsis to.  

And what did that agent say:  Sorry not for us.

Already sensing it was another rejection, my son opened it up for me.  But it's all good, now that I self-published my novel I feel it is what it is.  But don't get me wrong, I would absolutely LOVE it if a literary agent wants to represent me and help get my book published.  Or if an actual publisher wants to do it. That would be fabulous. But as I've stressed before, I'm a realist when it comes to the world of writing and publishing. 

And I've accepted that I might always just be a self-published author and believe there's nothing wrong with that.  Like I've said before, it's awesome that authors have the ability to self-publish their work and put it out there for the whole world to read. 

I feel very lucky to have that option.  

So I will stick this 15th rejection letter with the other 14 and keep on writing!

- Heather Carnassale aka the Delusional Novelist 

Behind the Mask - Synopsis

Here's the synopsis for Behind the Mask:


       What appears to be a typical bank robbery is anything but.  It’s Columbus Day in the city of Brotherly Love and when the Bank of Philadelphia is besieged by a group of masked mercenaries, it’s not cash they’re after, it’s five rare pink Argyle diamonds, that are housed inside a safety deposit box.  As the employees become unwitting hostages, things appear to run smoothly until one of the gunmen, 28 year-old Liam Matthews, unexpectedly gets locked inside of the vault with 23 year-old bank teller Remi Catalano.  During this time, she never sees his face or learns his name, but when an undeniable bond forms, Liam will make a fateful decision that will drastically alter the heist’s outcome.  In its aftermath, Remi will have no memory of what transpired while Liam, now a fugitive with the diamonds in his possession, chooses to hide in plain sight.  

Two months following the heist, the captor and his former hostage will inadvertently cross paths again, but without any recollection or having never seen his face, Remi has no idea that Liam is the man behind the mask.  And though he tries not to tempt fate, by initially avoiding her, curiosity along with unforeseen threats, make it next to impossible to distance himself.  But as Remi struggles to regain her memory of that day, Liam’s world begins to unravel.  

As each learns something surprising about the other, and about themselves in the process, in a twist of irony, just who ends up protecting who will ultimately define who they both really are. 

Check it out on Amazon.com

- Heather Carnassale aka the Delusional Novelist

A Self-Published Author!

On Monday, I officially submitted my book, Behind the Mask on Amazon.com.  And yesterday it went "live" and to say I'm nervous would be an understatement.  All these years (6 + to be exact) and time that I put into it, and after almost exactly one year after completing the first draft (November 21, 2013), it's as if a huge weight has been lifted.

All those rejection letters/emails have brought me to this point.  And whether my book is successful or not, I can honestly say I did it myself and didn't QUIT!

It's been a major learning process and though at times definitely not easy and quite tedious, getting over that hurdle and now being to say I actually accomplished something feels fabulous!

The book is available on Amazon.com as an e-book.  If you don't have a Kindle you can download the free Kindle App for Apple products or free Kindle App for Droid or at the Google Play Store

- The Delusional Novelist

Taking a Leap of Faith

Stephsstacks.com

Well after much thought I've decided to self-publish.  As in my previous post, sitting around waiting is crazy. So I'm not going to do it anymore.

As a self-proclaimed unapologetic NON-risk taker, I've got to stop playing it safe and just go for it. So yesterday I set the plan in motion.

After editing the book yet again, I managed to clean it up quite a bit and removed another 2,800 words. Typos, grammatical errors, mistakes, etc.  Knowing the book by heart, I hadn't read it a long time.  So with fresh eyes I started it from the very beginning.  And I was kind of stunned at how many errors there were.  Not that I thought it was perfect, I was just surprised at the stuff I missed.  Simple stuff too.  YIKES!

Anyway, now that that is complete.  There's a whole process of formatting it to put it up on Amazon so it can be read digitally.  Amazon has provided a step-by-step guide...thank goodness!  Not that I thought I would just upload the book and presto it's available to be bought.  But I also didn't realize the little things that would need to be done with it.  So I'm totally learning as I'm going through this.

My goal now is to have it all ready in the next few days.  Then I will set my "baby" out into the world.  Hard to believe after all this time, I'm actually going to do this.

It's daunting but at this point I have nothing to lose.

- The Delusional Novelist

What Am I Waiting For?

Bessauer.com

So the other day I received my 14th rejection from one of the original agents I had sent a query/synopsis to.  I mailed that at the end of June, so it definitely took much longer than I thought to get a response.  At this point I had pretty much resigned to the fact that I wasn't going to hear from the rest of the group.

Which means there are six agents from the original 20 who I haven't heard from.  And I emailed four more a couple weeks ago and haven't heard anything from them...yet!  However, all of those stated that I would not hear anything unless they were interested.  So though I'm not technically folding in the towel I don't have a good feeling about them either.

I've begun to seriously research self-publishing and all that's involved.  I wasn't delusional (no pun intended) in thinking that self-publishing was done in one easy step.  There's definitely more to it than that.  But I feel educating myself on the workings of it is a must.  As it's looking more and more like the route I'm going to take.

To say I'm nervous about putting my novel out there would be an understatement, as it took me a very long time to allow people I know read it.  It wasn't the criticism I was afraid of, it was more because it's my baby, something I created and setting it free so to speak is scary.  But if this is what I really want to do, then I need to make it happen.

I've sat back for months waiting to hear from agents and I have to ask myself...what am I waiting for?  When it might be time for me to stop sitting on it and put it out there myself.

Oh what a conundrum!  *sigh*


- The Delusional Novelist

To Sequel or Not to Sequel?

In researching first-time novels, one of the biggest points I apparently missed was that a first-time novel should stand alone.  Meaning it should have a conclusion that wraps up a story.  No loose ends.

Well mine does that...sort of.  My novel can absolutely stand alone.  Leaving the reader to use his/her imagination on what happens next.  But pretty much from the get go, I always knew how I was going to end the story, and wanted to leave it open for a possible sequel.  Mind you, when I first began writing it, I was only writing it for fun.  Never thinking I'd actually ever try to do anything with it.

So without spoiling the ending, I felt there was more story tell, but can't really go into specifics for those that haven't read the novel.

Some people have suggested I write an entire different story and either nix the sequel or go back to it.  But what if my novel gets published, regardless if I do it myself or a publisher does, I would prefer having the sequel ready to go as well.  Just in case.

Guess I will add it to the list of how clueless I am in regards to writing novels.  But I'm learning as I go along.


- The Delusional Novelist

Been a Long Time!

I haven't updated this blog since January which is really sad.

But over the past year I fell into a social media funk.  I got to where I had no desire to be on the internet other than to look up stuff and read news.  I stopped tweeting on Twitter, cut way back on Facebook, and obviously neglected this blog.  Not sure what caused the funk, but I think I'm slowly getting out of it.

For starters, I finally tweeted after not doing so for over a year.  And I didn't say anything remotely interesting, but I just needed to break the ice and put myself back out there.

I noticed I lost a lot of followers which was expected.  Who the heck wants to follow someone who never tweets?  What would be the point?  But I perused twitter and started following some people that I wasn't following before, and some decided to follow me back.  Which in a way has now put the pressure on me to actually keep tweeting regularly.

Which is exactly what I plan to do.

I'm also going to update this blog more regularly.  And post on some significant things that have happened since January including where I'm at in regards to trying to get my novel published and what I've learned in that process.  *sigh*

So, my goal is to put myself out there and hope for the best!

-  The Delusional Novelist

It's a New Year!!!

Happy 2014!!!!

I know I haven't updated this in MONTHS as the last post on here was from my birthday at the end of May.  Yikes!  That's bad blogging on my part.  My apologies!

But I can honestly say, I've been busy trying to finish up that infamous novel that I've been writing for YEARS!

And can FINALLY declare that I have completed my first draft!  YAY!!!!!

I finished it at the end of November but held off making an official announcement until I felt confident enough to do so.

The final length of the first draft was a staggering 133,575 words and 226 pages.  Which after much research on first novels do's and dont's, that was way too large.  It definitely needed major trimming. So, I managed to cut it down to 128,596 words and 223 pages.  Which was still too big but decided to print it out and allow my husband (who has patiently waited) to be the first person to read it.  He's an admitted non-reader so wasn't sure how that was going to go but he got through it and liked it.  Of course this is my hubby so I highly doubt he was going to tell me it sucked!

A few other people close to me have read it and given me their honest critique.  And the consensus has been a positive thumbs up.  So that gave me the confidence to go ahead and try to put the story out there.

I'm currently working on the 2nd draft and have gotten the count down to 124,342 words and 217 pages.  Apparently, a first novel should be between 70,000 and 120,000 words unless it's Sci-fi or fantasy.  And since mine is neither my count still has to come down.  But in all honesty, reading through it again I find more and more things I can eliminate and/or fix.  I've learned that editing and re-reading a story over and over is NEVER a bad thing.

Once the 2nd draft is complete, my next step is to have a professional editor edit it for me.  I've been mulling over the idea of self-publishing it on Amazon while seeking an actual publisher at the same time.  But not going to jump ahead of myself.  Taking things one step at a time.

I want to thank my family and friends who have given me 100% support in writing this novel.  Without their encouragement and faith, I don't think I would have ever finished it.


- The Delusional Novelist

It's Been Awhile...

Wow!!!

I knew I hadn't updated in some time but I didn't realize it was that long!  YIKES!

The sole reason why I hadn't been posting was because I've been putting all my concentration and effort into finishing the book.  And I can finally say I'm pretty damn close.

I felt in limbo for so long that just my word count going up makes me happy.  And I know a large word count means bupkiss and it's the quality that matters.  But when you sit at one specific word count number for months and months and FINALLY extend it, it's cause for celebration.

So as I inch closer to finishing it, the real fun will begin!  As I need to go back and edit the crap out of it.  And believe me, it's gonna need LOTS of editing. 

Am I still a realist when it comes to the book/story I've written?  You bet!  BUT I've gotten a tad more confident with it.  So we shall see what happens.

Stay tuned!

- The Delusional Novelist

Hopelessly Distracted

I should just begin this post with a big old *sigh* cause that's how I'm feeling at the moment.

My goal was to finish my novel by the end of this year.  And here it is December 14th, 2012 and there is no way I will be done with it.  But anyone who knows me will not be too shocked by this honest disclosure.

So what happened?

Let's see, in my previous post I wrote about my Kabuki room, so you know I decided to paint (which also included a hallway and stairwell).  This process took a few days, being that I'm not a professional painter.  It takes me a whole day just to tape. And I'm a very messy painter and have various articles of clothing that can attest to that.  In fact, I have a couple pairs of pants that if you look closely enough, you can see every color that I have painted with in the last ten years.  The paint on the clothing also proves that no matter how much plastic or cloths I put down, I still manage to get paint on the carpets and floors. This recent experience cost me my fave sneakers too.  Stupid me just knew painting in them was a huge mistake but NO...I told myself I'd be careful.  Well, in typical Three Stooges or Lucille Ball fashion, I stepped off the ladder and put my foot right into the pan filled with Kilz primer.  If anyone has used that shit, you know it's thick and hard to remove from things other than walls.  So unfortunately, my sneakers met a terminal fate as even the washer machine was no match for Kilz.  :(

Anyway, painting was time consuming and then tack on another day or two for redecorating.  Both took me right out of writing mode. Hell I didn't even turn my computer on...yeah NOT GOOD!

Next distraction is the holiday season. Not that I've been out shopping much, but it just feels my mind is preoccupied with it.

Or maybe it's just preoccupied in general.  Hmmmmm....wouldn't be the first time.

For my own sanity and possible those around me, I must set another deadline.  Even though I'm the only one concerned on whether or not it's completed, putting a date out there helps get me motivated again.

So here it goes....next deadline is January 31, 2013.

- Heather

Same Blog, Different Name...

For the past 4 years, I have been working on a 'novel' which has kind of become a running joke.  Because for one I never considered myself a writer and second I didn't know that I actually enjoyed writing until about 2007.

I wrote a little fan fiction for awhile and it was fun, but thought why not try an actual novel.  So at the end of 2008, I started it.

Well, its October 2012 and is that novel completed?  NOPE!

I could come up with lots of excuses why it's not done.  But here are a few 'legit' reasons.  The first being that I have way too many versions of it.  Can't complete a book when I keep changing my mind on the plot.  Second excuse, I'm easily distracted.  I always have good intentions on 'working' on the book but it doesn't always pan out the way I planned.  Third excuse, I'm not really a writer and think my writing is just not good.  Yes, I'm a perfectionist who is super hard on herself (excuse #765).

The last two reasons are why I haven't let anyone read any of it.

So this is where the 'Delusional Novelist' comes into play.  Because its really just me being sarcastic.  I'm NOT really delusional at all.  I'm a realist who knows getting a book published and have it be successful is a major long shot.

The running joke is that people that know me or who learn that I am writing a book will ask, "How is it coming?" or they say, "Can't wait to read it." To which I give my stock answer...don't hold your breath.  Again that's just me being sarcastic (which cannot be helped since I was genetically predisposed to it).

Anyway, I've decided to get serious about the 'novel' and see what I can do with it.  My grandmother, who is no longer with us, had some great sayings and one that fits perfectly right now is "shit or get off the pot" and that's exactly what I'm going to do.  For me to work this long and hard on a story and not put myself out there might be something I would forever regret.

Even if it fails, I can still say that I at least tried. And that's something.


- Heather
The Delusional Novelist