Find where you fit...

Have you ever wondered in a moment of frustration, "Where the heck DO I fit in the publishing world?"
There's a funny little quiz thing online that you can answer and it will tell you what your genre is. I don't think it's very accurate.
Here's the thing, I've been trying to figure this out for months. I'm not horror, not fantasy, not YA, not adult, not... anything?
That should have been my clue. I wasn't narrowed down enough in my scope. But mainly I needed to find books like mine. I need to read books like mine. But I kept picking up books that just made me cring! Wrong genre, wrong audience. Then someone told me where to look. THANK YOU!
The funny thing is, I thought no one was publishing what I wrote... come to find out Vampires are still hot. Weird.
So where do you fit? And how did you figure it out? Did you start with it in mind or did you have to go searching?

The Value of a Good Critique

Nothing is ever less useful (or less honest) than a "I loved it" critique. It never makes me feel good, it makes me feel like they aren't taking it seriously.
Nothing hurts more (ok well maybe there are somethings more painful... like getting your head cut open) than a brutal critique that sees no promise, no value, and only points out how much your work sucks.
Oh but the beauty of the sandwich concept. Something positive, something useful, something positive. I love these critiques!
Something I have just experienced that I love even more. A critique that values what you've done, but sees how you can go higher and shows you a glimpse. A critique that instead of leaving you cradling your manuscript and wailing it's loss, makes you see it for the stepping stone it was and you leave it sitting because your creative juices are flowing and nothing died. Suddenly you see the critique as a chrysalis and not a grave.
Thank you to my favorite colleague for her insight. I hope to prove worthy of her faith.

Update

Things have slown down. I seem to be going in waves. If I can keep from checking blogs and facebook every five minutes I tend to get somewhere.
What's your distraction?

How do you write in the Summer time?

When all the world is green?

Do you run around like mad to activity after activity scribbling on napkins?
Or do you take your note book and disappear near a brook to feel the inspiration fly?
If that's what you do...
I wish I did to.

Seriously, what do you do to keep writing during this season of business and beauty?

What's the world coming to...

I just had two experiences that intersected to create an eliquent double take and a very profound 'Huh?!'
First we went to the library to pick up some books. I wanted something YA to improve my knoledge of the genre. So I looked, gagged, and looked somemore. I think for every "That might be ok" book there were atleast two "You've got to be kidding me, THIS got published?!?!" smutty books. I'm talking badly written and bad premise. You could just feel the Yuck coming off the shelves.
Second, I came home and read an article that said basicly, 'With the onslot of self published book the average Joe might not be ready for the slush pile.'
My 'Huh?'... you ready?
If the stuff that makes it through the publishing desks are that bad, either they are VERY right! And I don't want anything to do with the slush pile!
OR
Bring on the slush, I must think COMPLETLY differnt than an editor.

So here's the question of the day.
Have you read YA lately?
If so, would you call it quality stuff?
If you have some favorites, PLEASE share!

New helpful site.

http://querytracker.net
I'm already finding this site hugely helpful and I'm only signed up for the free version.
Now I'm back to my real problem. I can't tell you how many times I've read. "If you can't give (insert critical information here) at the drop of a hat, in clear consise terms, there's probably something wrong with your story."
Yes, I'll tell you what's wrong witth my story. It was writen by a novice who didn't know she was supposed to be able to write a query letter. A novice who also knows nothing of "the business" and what would makes one versus the other.
So here I am having trouble querying because...
I don't know what nitch my work would fall under(no I didn't have one in mind when I started)
I can write five million synopsises but I don't know what to focus on to make it exciting and interesting.
So there we go. Any advice?

Look!

My blog is now pretty. :)
I've almost got all the background figured out.
Oh, by the way, I've started a whole new project while I'm waiting to hear back in my first project.
So far my main draw back witth this story has been background. Every little comment counts so I really need to know what happened, not only in her past but the world. (It's set in 2195 AD or 101 YC)
So excited about this story.