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Ok, so lots of things happened at Keycon 2010, but only one thing really matters. Sheila Gilbert gave me her card and personal email address and said I could end her my manuscript.

I was gonna go to the author panels mostly, but I thought, hey, this lady's an editor and might be at this pitch session they're having and I should go to this meet Sheila Gilbert panel, and see what she's about. And at the panel, I realised she's not just a slush reader or first reader, she's like, big time, person-who-decides-what-gets-bought person. And it slowly sinks in that this is a woman who could decide that Lindsay gets published. So I went to all her panels. Missed some that I had really wanted to go to, but I'm glad I opted for the editor content of keycon than the author content. Because really, at this point, I've asked enough authors all the questions I'd want to ask of authors, and been working on the craft for long enough, that with a full novel as close to final draft as it is, the editor networking is far more valuable to me at this point.

Cut to the pitch session; I'm really glad I had my query letter and synopsis critiqued by the proposal package focus group. I brought them both, and I didn't expect her to read them both, but she did. At the end of the query letter, she laughed a little. I was confused and paranoid, and couldn't think of anything in the query letter that would make anyone laugh, but then she went on to the synopsis while I sat nervously waiting. Then she said it was a refreshing idea, and I couldn't think of a negative way of interpreting that. Then I explained I was still editing it, and she said when I was ready, to send it to her, and she gave me her card with her personal email address, which is something editors only do if they're serious. I walked away and the bunch of people waiting for their turn were like "You got her card! You're shaking!"

So now I have a bit of editing to do. In serious form. And thus begins the nano-style caffeine abuse until the deed is done.

I have 5 critiques now on the first two chapters of "The Box", my Nano novel, and the general consensus is that it needs "polishing." Not rewriting, just touching up. Of course, it's got rewritten anyway. I had to, to smooth things out. I've cut a character, and took three characters I originally introduced in chaper 3, and used them in chapter 1. It helps pull it together. But it sounds like it doesn't have far to go before being publishable. The next novel submission package workshop they get going on the OWW, I should be able to get in on. Though, my pitch is already pretty good; it's got more than one person to start reading.