The End

[Dottore]

Has anyone else here ever typed those two little words at the end of their first novel?

I did today, and it feels better that just about anything I've ever done - with the possible exception of Rita in Rio in 1982. And that's saying something.

Love to hear from other scribes.

[lendaddy]

I won "Young Authors" in the fourth grade

[MRM]

And at an even 1000 posts I say that's karma! Congratulations!

I feel a story or two bubbling up inside me. I hope in the next few years I can say the same as you. But I will always be envious of you and Rita in Rio. Hmmmm . . . . it is Carnival time right now . . . .

[slodave]

Hmm, I think chapter two needs a rewrite

Congratulations!

[cool_chick]

Good Doors song.

[M.D. Holloway]

Sent my first chapter with intro off last week. Felt good. Felt better when the publisher called to tell me that what I sent would make a great primer stand alone. My final chapter is due this September for Vol 1. I have 4 more volumes to finish out in 2011.

Hint - when running a marathon, don't think about the first 5 miles you are running!

Hopefully you will not stop. The more you write the better it gets. Keep going and let us know the press date!

[azasadny]

Congrats!!

[craigster59]

"It was a dark and stormy night......"

[pwd72s]

So, "-30-" only applies to newspaper articles? May all the hours of hard work reward you well.

[livi]

Yes, it is a beautiful moment.

Even better when you get the OK from a publisher. Better again when you receive the final printed issue. Particularly if you, like me, have a big photo of your baby daughter on the cover!

Not bad when the royalty starts to drop in either. Make you start thinking of that GT3 RS...

[Hendog]

Congratulations

[dduclaux]

Hey Dottore, what's your Great American Novel about? Possibly the story of a pathological liar who claims to write Great American Novels and bang super hot Brazilian chicks when in reality he is just a fat slob who sits at home and lives fantasy lives through his posting on various blog sites while humiliating himself and eating boxes of Twinkies in his soiled white skivvies?

[Jim Richards]

Hey, if it makes him some $$$...

[Sonic dB]

She slipped into the cafe, relatively undetected by the the late afternoon cocktail hour crowd.
But I noticed her immediately.
It wasn't so much her stunning beauty that grabbed my heartstrings. In that regard, she could easily hold her own
against the best of the beauties of Rio.
It was in her lithely waltz, the unassuming gait that allowed her to supress her physical charms in a manner which could be easily consumed by mere mortals such as myself.
I sat, both enchanted and mystified
as she sauntered over to my corner booth.

"'ello, my name es Rita", the sound of broken English came from a place of subtle desire hidden well beneath her pursed, ruby-red lips...

[Dottore]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

I left a very fine career in order to write fiction - just because that was what I always really wanted to do and life is short. It was one of those situations where absolutely everyone I knew - except my wife - advised me to keep my day job, but the day job was so intense and time consuming that writing on the side was out of the question.

So fast forward: Typing 'The End' was very sweet. An excellent publisher purchased an option some time ago - so the next few weeks and months will be all about negotiating the right deal.

But it's looking good - and when I think back to my former partners who are still on the treadmill I feel extremely lucky.

[Sonic dB]

Dottore...congrats on making that life changing decision to
do what you want. Its great to have a supportive spouse too.
Keep us informed on when you get it published and where
we can order it.

[Dottore]

I'll make sure some copies are available to anyone on the board who's interested.

This was the first of a series of books that I have planned - and since the protagonist drives a Porsche there's actually a nice tie-in to you guys.

[bigchillcar]

dottore..congrats! my own 140,000 word fiction novel, "all that is seen and unseen", is just collecting dust. i almost had an agent maybe 9 months ago, but he ultimately decided it was slightly outside his genre. i'd tried maybe a half dozen other agents before getting somewhere with this guy, meaning 'first fifty', author bio, etc. i need to get active with my search again, but have been fitfully depressed of late, recently divorced, hate my job and haven't had the energy to do it. hopefully, this thread will remind me that i have three years of work sitting dormant..
best,
ryan

[Christien]

I'm a composer (not my day job, unfortunately!), so I can mostly relate - it's the same as drawing that elusive double barline at the end of the piece. It's a great feeling!

[dd74]

Again, congrats Dottore. "The End" is a good feeling.

Ryan - agents are very strange, and half the time, as I've found, can't conceptualize what it is you've accomplished.

Meanwhile, they're the necessary evil you need to get to the publishers.

I was told out of undergraduate to take my senior thesis (a story collection) straight to Viking in NY. Daunting to say the least, particularly when they ask, "And who is your representation?"