Since my last entry, my writer has received more rejection letters than one could shake a stick at. We both knew to expect them, however, somewhere in the back of both our minds we hoped that our tale would be one of those success stories. It still can be. It's just going to be an uphill swim from here on out.

One of the things the agent rejections told me is that the economy has definitely had a negative impact on the publishing industry and literary agency businesses alike. Both have become far more selective in what they're even willing to read, which is a shame because I'm sure a lot of good stuff doesn't get considered.

Our next step has been to forget the agent route altogether, and try to pitch the publishers directly. I have started researching this avenue and creating new solicitation materials that act as more of a sales pitch than an agent request. I have only just started this task. With all the other things I have going on in my world, I imagine it will be mid-May before we're ready to mail anything out.

We're also looking into self-publishing, which is something we may have to do if we strike out with the publishers.

Also, I have had 6 more test readers give me their critique on chapters 1-5. Overall the feedback has been excellent. Several of the readers have gotten really excited over the story, and one of them has even successfully figured out a lot of what's coming in future pages. Needless to say, I was impressed.

There was one person, however, who absolutely hated what she read. She had nothing good to say at all, but I found her comments to be very well illustrated and helpful nonetheless. I always knew there would be individuals who would not like this story. I am just thankful that I found one now so that we can use the negatives to our advantage.

The sequel story is really getting good. My writer is on about page 87 now and I really love where the story is going. It's such a treat for a reader like myself to be able to watch the story unfold each week. So even if it takes another year or so to get The Reversing Hour in print, at least I am enjoying the hours I have invested into the project thus far.

Recently the writer and I began talking about possible storylines for the third and fourth novels in the series. It's kind of neat that we can both see that far down the road. These characters are so much a part of me now that it's easy to picture where the continuing works can lead and who each will feature.

On a different note, I'm off to visit Las Vegas this week. This is the first time I have traveled there and I am really looking forward to it. I am staying at the guest condo of one of my Georgia Dome suite owners, visiting with a former coworker and tearing up the town with 10 friends from another online community I participate in. Should be a great vacation!