#celestialgunfireopera

It’s gone for me too. Woohoo, the power or organized protest and mass complaining :D

Querying is the worst.

1)  If you can afford it, get the Query Tracker ‘premium’ membership. It lets you see user-reported data that lets you know which agents reply to queries, which don’t, and what their usual timeline is.  Everything is slower than usual this summer, but it’s still a rough guide on what to expect.

2)  Find a friend with a subscription to Publisher’s Marketplace and research agents. Someone can say they rep YA, but if all they’ve ever sold are picture books, maybe their intentions don’t match up with their knowledge.  Data is self-reported, and really successful agents don’t always bother but it’s some information at least.

3)  Have as many people look over your query as you can.  PubTips on Reddit is a good place to get brutal but good feedback.  

4) If you’re about to query, and your book is fiction, look into Pitch Wars. The showcase is worth the pain - about 60% of people who get picked end up with an agent within a year.  I did not, but then I wrote a vampire/fairy romance and there’s not exactly a market for that right now.

5)  Which leads me into, know what’s selling.  Deals announced on Publisher’s Marketplace can give you a feel for this.  You’ve already written the book, but I, at least, find it soothing when I can’t sell a book because there’s no market for fairy/vampire romance.  I mean, it’s distinctly possible the book still sucked, but I can tell myself it’s the market not me.

6) And, no, really, it’s the market.  The first book I queried had 20 requests, the second one had four.  And two of those were referrals.  I don’t think I somehow got that much worse at writing, but YA fantasy was hot at the time and climate fiction near future biopunk was not.  Assuming your query is reasonably professional, you don’t sound terrifying, and the pages are good, what matters most to determine whether you get a request is, does the agent think she can sell this.   And also does she want to read it multiple times and talk it up, but if you're writing in a dead genre, you’re just hosed.  

7) Start writing the next book so the thing you are emotionally attached to is the new project.  This will help take the sting out of the rejections (and every book gets rejections, even ones that eventually sell at auction and become lead titles and make list)

8)  Good luck!!!

Beyond Sea and Storm by Celestialgunfireopera is a fantasy (my favorite genre) soulmate AU BKDK fanfic. There are kingdoms, and alchemy, and dragons, and treachery, and loyalty. Katsuki is a king (technically an emperor) of a large empire that he’s amassed in his 20s. Izuku is a prince of the next country that Katsuki plans to conquer. Through a turn of events Katsuki ends up married to Izuku as a bargaining chip. The story centers around Izuku becoming accustomed to his new life and country and mistakes both Katsuki and Izuku make. Oh, I forgot to mention that there’s a curse that may be real or may not be but has been passed down through Katsuki’s people by superstition. The fic is up to 44 chapters now and I’m amazed by the universe building. I didn’t take notes on all of my readings (I really plowed through the first 40 chapters with little sleep) but I did for chapters 43 and 44.

Chapter 43

It’s war as Katsuki has had enough of Hisashi’s treachery. Katsuki and Izuku (and everyone else) are exhausted and on edge. Izuku isn’t sleeping from horrible nightmares and I don’t blame him. War is hell and he knows the possibilities of what can happen to his family. I’m glad that the boys FINALLY talk. It’s bad when your friends have to intervene and tell you to stop being snarky and deal with your issues. At one point Katsuki is hit with a random cough out of nowhere that makes me think of the curse. I really hope not. They’ve saved each other a few times laughing in the face of the curse and I hope this isn’t what fulfills it.

Chapter 44

We didn’t pile them, there is more respect for those who lost their lives than that, but it’s still hard. They’re laid out wherever there is space that the living don’t need. There isn’t really space per say, but we tried.

This post is going to be... a little graphic, I’m afraid. 

I want this to remain a true reflection of the work that’s going on right now— a testament to the people that have lost their lives; I don’t want to shy away from the horror of what’s happened here. Hopefully, this post will encourage some of you to donate to the Japan Relief and Recovery Fund, if you have not done so already. 

It may also serve as a note of other duties that heroes may be required to perform— for anyone that’s interested in doing what we do. It is not a job to be taken lightly.

When Ground Zero and I go on patrols, or if we’re called to respond to a scene, there’s nearly always a villain to fight— or a crook to apprehend. A fight ensues, Ground Zero and I tussle with whoever it is that decided to rob a bank or a convenience store that day, and we capture the criminal. Flashes flicker as reporters flock in by the dozen. 

This isn’t like that. 

There isn’t a madman responsible for this heinous crime; it’s a work of Mother Nature. There isn’t a villain to capture; there isn’t a fight to be had. There are hardly any reporters; not many are braving the complete and utter devastation that has wrecked the western shoreline. Not that I can blame them; in fact, many are being discouraged from traveling to these sites while search and rescue efforts persist. 

There doesn’t seem to be an end to the bodies. 

At every turn, there’s more that have yet to be uncovered. Slogged down in mud, ripped apart by debris, they’re broken. Crushed. Or waterlogged. And the longer it takes to find each body, the more time the elements have to ravage the remains. 

At this point, we’re beginning to run out of body bags; we’ve taken to using sheets to help cover the bodies until more permanent resting places are found for them— until families are able to identify their loved ones.

We didn’t pile them; we want to preserve their integrity, and to show respect for their lives. it makes matters a little more difficult, but it must be done— in many cases, there aren’t designed spaces, but we’ve done our best to ensure that these bodies remain intact for those who will come to claim them.

Structures need to be stabilized. People need to be comforted. We need to distribute water and food. Establish more sanctuaries to relieve shelters that have been overcrowded.

There’s still a lot of work to be done. 

And yet, I wish there was more I could do.

But as devastating as this disaster was and continues to be, there are more than a few glimmers of hope in the darkness— I’ve seen two strangers sharing a meal together when supplies run low, opting to give the spare food to a hungry child. Fathers and mothers finding their sons and daughters after days of searching different camps. Friends and family coming together to help out each other— to survive together. 

It’s—  remarkable, really. 

To see so much hope in such heavy time, and to how much people really are willing to give to honestly help each other. To raise each other up in spite of everything that’s been lost.

It’s incredible. 

Oh! I did want to let you all know that the fundraisers and donations have made a difference here! 

Zero has told me all about how everyone has banded together; I’m so proud to have such amazing fans. 

We’ve given children some of the stuffed animals and other toys that have been shipped in. The smiles on their faces were a sight to behold, and, of course, the fresh water and clothes are greatly appreciated. 

I just wanted to thank you all so much for you help. 

I mean that from the bottom of my heart. 

Ah, I’ve gotta get back. I’ve spent a little too much time typing all of this out. 

Immediately... my husband was a lot like Katsuki (and still kinda is) so I was immediately in love. Izuku stole my heart more subtly, but Katsuki had it quickly

And he’s coherent! 

And... actually wanting to do things, for some reason. He’s so damn stubborn that I just want to wring his neck sometimes. I managed to wrestle him out the grand idea of leaving the hospital to go the police station— in his words, it’s absolute bullshit that he has to wait until tomorrow to give his statement —and convinced him to look through some of the cards that you’ve all sent us instead. 

Maybe that... was a little more, ah. Exciting than I had originally intended. 

This one in particular, sent in by @yabakubae— who’s becoming somewhat notorious for sending in what Zero condemns as pervert faces from hell —was, ah. Of particular interest to Kacchan. 

You can probably reason why by taking a look at the pictures I snapped below. 

This was the front: 

Relatively innocuous, right? A standard get well soon card. I wasn’t exactly hesitant to hand it over to Zero. 

But, ah. 

This was on the inside: 

...He’s still cursing as I type this. 

I wanted to thank you, though. It’s given us both a much needed tension break from this long, frustrating, and nearly devastating day.