You want me to do what........??!?

Good Morning, Kittens.

Today I have the privilege, nay, the HONOR of hosting two of my most favorite ladies on my blog!  We are talking about R&Rs (Revise & Resubmit).

Before we get to the goods, let me tell you about the brilliant tales we're talking about:

Amber's is about her YA inspirational memoir titled PERFECTLY BROKEN.

When a foreign exchange program sends me to Spain for the summer, it's the perfect escape from being the raped girl. Falling in love wasn't what I had in mind though. As the end of summer draws near, I have to decide, remain in Spain with the boy I love, or return to testify against my abductor and rapist.

Rachel's is about her Contemporary Edgy YA, Violent Delights.

Told in non-linear chronology, HEATHERS meets HATE LIST when 17 year old Jenna tries to figure out how she ended up with her parents divorced, her friends alienated and her boyfriend dead after a junior year gone seriously wrong


Mine is my Contemporary YA, Washed Up.

Melia can breathe underwater, and Kass can fly. One of them is crazy. One of them isn't.


Moving on.

 I JUST learned how to use Gifs, so let me illustrate some feelings I've had on this journey.


When I first opened up the e-mail from "the agent" and saw it wasn't a rejection:

And then I saw the revision notes:

Three glasses of wine later, I happily got to work:

I get halfway through the notes and....whoa...are you SURE you want me to change that? This isn't so easy anymore:

Wow - this is WAY better:

And........Done!:

Yay moving pictures! (Find all of these gifs, AND more at photobucket . com)

Alright, now onto the questions!

1. What was your timeline with your R&R(s)?

Jenna : I've received R&Rs from two different agents, so here are the QT stats:
EQ: 7.19
Full Request: Same Day
R&R: 7.29
I thought I sent it three weeks later, but THANK GOD I forgot to hit send. Revised again.
Revision Sent: 10.15
Round 2: R&R


EQ: 8.24
Full Request: 9.19
R&R: 11.29

Rachel:   I queried in October 2011 and got a full request the next day. I didn't hear from the agent for 5 or 6 months so I nudged. I got an e-mail from her a week or so later and expected to wait a month after. To my surprise, I got the R&R the next day. We had a phone call a week later and from there, it was up to me.

Amber: With agent number 1 I had no timeline, and I knew not to rush or she would think I didn’t do it right. With agent 2 we spoke over the phone and she just wanted minor changes sent to her by the middle of February, so she gave me three weeks. But I sent in two weeks.

2. What stage are you in your R&R?

Jenna: I've forced myself to stop tinkering with it, and send it off to a my CP and another beta.

Rachel: I just handed it in and heard back that she got it. Now I'm twiddling my thumbs and refreshing my inbox. Way way way too frequently. 

Amber: I have finished and sent them. Now I can sit back, freak out, and eat all the food within ten blocks of my house.

3. What are you working on now?

Jenna: Other than staying calm? Not a lot. I have a couple projects I've been working on, but I wouldn't be able to commit until I've send off the R&R - it monopolizes my brain.

Rachel:  I have 1,000 words of something new that I love, but I know it needs work. I'm taking a break and reading a lot. I spent almost a full year on this R&R (just this R&R, nothing else) so taking a hiatus from writing is really nice. 

Amber:  Well, this week I’m critiquing 2 mss. Next week I’ll crit the first 6 chapters of a contest winner. Then I have 3 mss of my own I’ll be working on. I have one MG horror that is ¾ done. I have an Adult horror that I’m plotting and can’t get out of my head (the premise is so unique, I can’t wait to live inside of the story while writing it), and I have a YA horror I’ll be working on with you, Jenna!!! J It’s from two, alternating povs, (which you already know because we have plotted this awesome ms out and it’s gonna rock) So, ummmm I’m writing 3 horror stories—MG, YA, and Adult. You might think I like horror, right?

4. What is something you've learned from this R&R that you can apply going forward?

Jenna: Kill your effing darlings. At the beginning I took this super literally. I killed off one of my favorite characters  And then I revised her. And then I cut her. And then I cut some scenes/dialogue I liked. I had to learn to let go of parts I liked because they weren't working for the story.

Rachel:  How to really edit and develop characters. I honestly didn't know how to *really* edit before I got this R&R.

Amber:  The first R&R wanted me to focus better on the main plot and cut some of the fluff, including several unnecessary characters. The second R&R wanted me to end my memoir in a different place/time in my life. I was able to use the “no unnecessary characters” rule from agent 1 and apply to my new ending from agent 2. I hope they are both satisfied. I definitely think my final version is much stronger!

5. What is your favorite book-turned-movie?

Jenna: Harry Potter. Obviously. I also (this should go in the guilty pleasures section) LOVE the Twilight Movies. Love them.

Rachel:  My favorite book-turned-movie is *er...come back to this later.* 

Amber: I’m gonna go with THE HUNGER GAMES, although I am a huge fan of THE LORD OF THE RINGS movies too. But I freaking can’t wait for ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD, and DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE. Those books were amazing. I so hope the movies are at least close to as good.

To see more questions, answers, and hot boy GIFS, head on over to Amber's blog HERE and Rachel's blog HERE .

Have a great weekend!!!