Innocent Dreams: Author Update, June 2023
I was dealing with minor allergy-related health issues during the winter and wasn’t sleeping well. The good news is that I'm doing much better, and my sleep schedule is finally back to normal.
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Innocent Dreams: Author Update, July 2022
🤔Time To Reflect
Over the past month, I managed to query three literary agents. I haven't heard back from any of them yet and may not for a while since the typical response time is 6 to 8 weeks.
I've also been researching other potential agents to query. This has been an interesting process because it has exposed me to many authors, especially Latinx authors, who I had never heard of before. As a result, my reading list is growing longer by the day!
💡
I'd describe Latinx as a gender-neutral term that tries to represent the experience of a group of people who live in the United States but whose roots or cultural heritage stem from Latin America. For more on this subject, I recommend reading Finding Latinx: In Search of the Voices Redefining Latino Identity by journalist Paola Ramos.
Other than pitching agents, I spent most of July not writing. This is probably the most significant break I've taken from the book since I started the project in January 2016.
Even though the time away feels a little weird, it is nice to slow down and give the story (and myself) space to breathe. It has given me a chance to think more deeply about certain aspects of the story that I didn't have the bandwidth to focus on while writing it.
For example, throughout the book, I mention different songs my character is listening to. While I primarily used these songs for setting, I've been thinking about if there was a way I could integrate this music more deeply into my character. I was on a walk the other day pondering this question when I came to a realization:
The song lyrics are a way for my character to express what he cannot say.
As I wrote in my article Feeling Like A Writer (Part 1), when I was younger, I often struggled to find the words to express how I felt. I think music was a way for me to get in touch with those often tricky emotions.
Using this insight, I wrote a couple of lines of dialogue for my character where he conveys this idea to a friend. It may seem like a small change, but I think it helps ground this aspect of the story in my own experiences.
👨🏽💻The Month Ahead
Next month is more of the same, researching and pitching agents. I'm also hoping to start working on the improvements to my website that I hinted at last month. But I'm also forcing myself to relax and enjoy the summer.
Sincerely,
Nelson/Roberto
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Innocent Dreams: Author Update, March 2023
It's been several months since you heard from me. As some of you may know, I had a rough winter health-wise, but I'm happy to report that the worst seems to be behind me, and I’ve returned to my regular work schedule.
Innocent Dreams: Author Update, October 2022
I had big plans for this fall, but unfortunately, I've been dealing with some minor health issues. It's nothing serious, but I have decided to take a few months off from the newsletter and content updates to focus on my health.