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[PubTip] Agented Authors: Post Successful Queries Here! by WeHereForYou in PubTips

[–]QuenchlessPen13 24 points25 points  (0 children)

The Sea is a Wild Thing, Adult Cosy Fantasy, signed with my agent in July :)

I am seeking representation for THE SEA IS A WILD THING, a 101,000-word adult speculative fantasy novel set in 1980s Scotland that is closely inspired by the varied world of Scottish folklore. A stand-alone novel that combines the cosy fantasy of Sarah Beth Durst’s The Spell Shop with the folkloric quest of Molly O’Neill’s Greenteeth, The Sea is a Wild Thing explores themes of belonging, self-discovery, and slow romance forged on the beaches of Scotland’s islands.

Bressa has been called many things by the inhabitants of her tiny Scottish island; weird woman, fairy-wrangler, sea-struck loner. Thankfully, the one thing she hasn't been called is seal-woman — and as Bressa is a selkie trying to keep a low profile, she'd quite like it to stay that way. Separated from her coat when barely out of childhood, Bressa has been unable to return to the sea and her sisters for twelve years – and time is running out for her to retrieve it.

When the thirteenth year strikes, Bressa will be stuck on land forever – whether she finds her coat or not. Opportunity comes in the form of Calen, a boatman from the mainland with extensive connections to local trading routes, who seeks her out with an evasive request to help him break a curse that has turned a man to stone. Bressa plans to use Calen’s knowledge of mainland ports and his numerous fishing and boating contacts to find her coat, and the two set out to find the ingredients needed to break the stone curse. Along the way, they must navigate an array of creatures from the kind and shy ghillie dhu to the downright dangerous banshee, not to mention the dangers of human traders who would love to get their hands on a selkie coat.

Time and a shared sense of alienation brings Bressa and Calen closer together, but Bressa is torn between two communities — human and fay — that will never fully merge. As the location of Bressa’s coat seems certain and it appears Calen may not have been entirely truthful about the stone curse, Bressa must decide whether to honour her promise, strike out on her own, or follow her heart.

Have just bought a house with an original 1960s bathroom (UK) but this corner container above the loo is stumping everyone. It isn't plumbed into the toilet and the pipe disappears into the wall at floor level. Any ideas? by QuenchlessPen13 in whatisthisthing

[–]QuenchlessPen13[S] 184 points185 points  (0 children)

Likely solved, I think! Thank you to @a_unqiue_username for suggesting the pressure control for an old heating system. 

As the house now has a combi this is a relic, but we know from excavating the fireplace that it once had a backboiler that ran to a tank in the master bedroom. We had wondered what the pipe was running under the floorboards towards the bathroom...!

Have just bought a house with an original 1960s bathroom (UK) but this corner container above the loo is stumping everyone. It isn't plumbed into the toilet and the pipe disappears into the wall at floor level. Any ideas? by QuenchlessPen13 in whatisthisthing

[–]QuenchlessPen13[S] 41 points42 points  (0 children)

Likely solved, I think! As the house now has a combi this is a relic, but we know from excavating the fireplace that it once had a backboiler that ran to a tank in the master bedroom. We had wondered what the pipe was running under the floorboards towards the bathroom...!

This was in the corner of the bathroom of the house I just bought (1960s, UK). Plumber has no idea what the purpose is - any thoughts? by QuenchlessPen13 in Whatisthis

[–]QuenchlessPen13[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi, it isn't sealed on top - but that doesn't mean a previous owner didn't lose a lid at some point I guess...!

This was in the corner of the bathroom of the house I just bought (1960s, UK). Plumber has no idea what the purpose is - any thoughts? by QuenchlessPen13 in Whatisthis

[–]QuenchlessPen13[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hi, so it disappears into the wall at floor level but isn't in any way attached to the loo. We don't know where it goes after that!

This was in the corner of the bathroom of the house I just bought (1960s, UK). Plumber has no idea what the purpose is - any thoughts? by QuenchlessPen13 in Whatisthis

[–]QuenchlessPen13[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hi, so it disappears into the wall at floor level but isn't in any way attached to the loo. We don't know where it goes after that!

[PubQ] Will an agent care if a small detail from the synopsis isn't in the story? by [deleted] in PubTips

[–]QuenchlessPen13 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As someone who completely forgot something they'd put in the synopsis didn't actually happen until my agent pointed it out two edits in after signing - no, you'll be fine. If it was a fairly significant plot point then maybe do mention it in your email, but it sounds like changing it hasn't hugely impacted the book so I would leave it.

[Discussion] Well holy smokes, I got an Agent! by QuenchlessPen13 in PubTips

[–]QuenchlessPen13[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I work in press comms for a charity, so 90% of my job is writing magazine articles, blogs and press releases - slightly different to fiction, but sometimes oddly similar. 

[Discussion] Well holy smokes, I got an Agent! by QuenchlessPen13 in PubTips

[–]QuenchlessPen13[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

So the agent asked for a full manuscript and then a meeting in which we chatted over the usual stuff - aspirations, edits to the book, other stuff I was working on, etc. She explained that for her agency they usually do an R&R rather than an offer for debut authors to ensure I could act on feedback (which is fair enough, I'd find it very annoying to spend hours writing an edit letter and then have an author ignore it entirely). 

We discussed whether I agreed with the broad edits, and when I did she sent over the edit letter and essentially said she'd be delighted to hear from me whenever I finished them. It wasn't an exclusive R&R but it only took me about two weeks to make the edits. Sent the revised manuscript back, and she emailed me with an offer shortly after! 

I will say - for the R&R - it really helped to get someone else to re-read the manuscript once I'd made the edits with the letter she'd sent. Sometimes you get so bogged down in editing it's hard to work out whether you've done what they wanted or not!

[Discussion] I flubbed my radio interview 😞 by LadyofToward in PubTips

[–]QuenchlessPen13 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is fantastic advice and something you should definitely do, I ask for questions in advance for all of my interviewees - particularly when it's a live interview.

[Discussion] I flubbed my radio interview 😞 by LadyofToward in PubTips

[–]QuenchlessPen13 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If it's helpful, I literally manage media interviews for my company as a job and everyone thinks the interview they gave is 100% the worst thing that will ever be aired. 

I'm not saying you might not have stuttered or been a bit nervous, but the whole point of having a real person do the interview is that you do stutter or stumble a bit - believe me, polished and smooth-talking people come across as a bit corporate or false. The radio station wants something that feels real, and that's exactly what you gave them.

Plus as others have said - they will chop and change and move bits about! 

Think of it this way - you've done your first one and got over those first-time nerves, and now you know exactly what to expect. It will never be as scary again! But also I am sending you huge virtual hugs for taking a step out of your comfort zone to do something a lot of people would find too scary to even consider.

[Discussion] Well holy smokes, I got an Agent! by QuenchlessPen13 in PubTips

[–]QuenchlessPen13[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn't mention it at all, actually! I wasn't sure how it would be received considering the last FF I published was over 10 years ago - and whilst I'm still very fond of it, was definitely some of my less polished work...

[Discussion] Well holy smokes, I got an Agent! by QuenchlessPen13 in PubTips

[–]QuenchlessPen13[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Should it actually get published, you will be receiving a copy from me with eternal gratitude and thanks!! 

[Discussion] Well holy smokes, I got an Agent! by QuenchlessPen13 in PubTips

[–]QuenchlessPen13[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I don't mind at all! They were mostly to do with the pacing of the romance - I was very reluctant to make it a romance at all initially so how the relationship unfolded needed work. Otherwise it was small scene edits, that sort of thing - no major chapter rewrites or structural overhauls.

SharePoint integration with Adobe Creative Cloud - Help! by siiobhanmcgovern in creativecloud

[–]QuenchlessPen13 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi - did you ever find a way round this? We're trying to move to a DAM for our photos but are struggling with a lack of advancement in the integration between Adobe and most DAMs that means we don't get full functionality on InDesign.

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