Taylor Hobbs's Blog

The big storm that blew out the entire power grid of Kitsap peninsula last week also shook the deepest vestiges of winter off. It brought forth what we in the Pacific Northwest describe as ‘false spring’ because we’ve been so vitamin-d deprived during the twelve weeks of the ‘long dark’ that the promise of 6pm sunsets and anything over 45 degrees has us emerging from hibernation, blinking at the sky in confusion, and setting out porch furniture only to regret it two weeks later when it proceeds to rain for 6 weeks straight.

At the very least, ‘false spring’ has encouraged me to release my white-knuckle grip of getting through winter and look up from my GYBE edits. I may have leaned too far into the hygge season this year in my determination not to leave my house after dark nor go more than two hours without a cup of tea. Socialize? Does my introverted butt even remember how to do that?

It will be trial by fire at the end of the month when I head off to AWP. This is the biggest writers conference in the country, and it happens once per year in rotating cities. The first year I attended, Seattle hosted, which was comforting for my first conference but also kind of felt like when my mom volunteered in my elementary school classroom. I can do it by myself, gosh, Mom. You don’t need to hold my hand but also can you sign me out early because I’m tired and I want to go home.

AWP is in Los Angeles this year. So far my preparations have included devoting an entire Saturday to cultivating my travel wardrobe, scrawling a rough timetable and list of seminars I want to attend (this is harder than it sounds, there are hundreds of interesting seminars and it’s hard to choose only one per timeslot), and drafting my ‘elevator pitch’ about myself. This last one is the hardest. “Tell me, what do you write?” Me—forgetting my own name+internal screaming.

I do have a few recent publications I could mention. This fall I was published in The War Horse News calling out an old boss’ bad behavior, but that might open up a bunch of uncomfortable topics that an innocent conversation is in no way prepared to tackle. One Potato published my ‘Birthday Knife’ story last week, in which I referenced my child’s possible homicidal tendencies, but now that I think about it, that might not be a good icebreaker, either. I have some major book news I’m still not allowed to announce. I could just be like, “Shhhh, it’s a secret”, and melt away into the crowd. Mysterious and memorable.

“I write mostly YA.” Tadaaaaa.

This year my focus will be on networking and after-conference events, so I really need to get my act together. It helps that I will know a bunch of people this year! I can’t wait to hang out with my Pen Parentis Monday night zoom accountability group in person and meet up with my agent. Like, who invited me to the cool kids’ table??

More to come.

Love,

Taylor

My blog fell by the wayside this summer. June and July were filled with revisions for WHAT I WOULD DO FOR YOU, then I solo-parented for three weeks while Conor blew some stuff up. August was spent trying to soak in as much PNW sunshine as we could before school started. Blake Island, blackberry picking, trips to Seattle, art fair in Anacortes, out-of-town visitors, waterfall hikes, and ‘Feral Friday’ playdates. We are still a few weeks off from the true darkness, but I already miss my 9pm sunsets! There might be a few more dinghy trips left in the season, but I can feel the window closing until next spring. This changing of the seasons has thrust me back to reality and my to-do list, including an update here.

It’s hard though, because I don’t know what I should post and what I need to keep on the down low! This is a new stage in my writing career, and I’m trying to figure out the rules. What details can I reveal about the stages of my projects? I can tell you that my agent and I are happy with the final version of WIWDFY. We will be discussing the necessary revisions for GYBE, my YA sailing thriller, very soon. I also brainstormed a third project this summer that is a YA Irish folklore-inspired fantasy, and I’m waiting for feedback on the proposal to see if it’s a project worth continuing.

Books aside, I have tried to be brave and submit some short pieces of writing lately. Keep an eye out for a reflection piece I wrote for War Horse magazine coming out in October. I also just found out that a micro-fiction story I wrote for 101 Words was accepted this week! When I first started pitching, I was always so in awe of the other writers who had a lengthy bio. I am a writer with a bio now!

Speaking of updating my bio, I will soon pass along the Pen Parentis Fellowship crown to the 2025 winner who was chosen earlier this month! I can’t believe it’s been a year. SO much has changed, and I am incredibly thankful for my professional growth between then and now, and the people that have impacted and helped along the way. Hopefully by this time next year, I’ll be holding my hardcover book in my hands (and bawling my eyes out).

Love,

Taylor

Island childhood

I’ve been blessed to witness some beautiful milestone moments in the past few weeks, and I can feel them filling my creative cup.

Editing and revising two novels this spring has been rewarding to watch them take shape, but it has also been months of scrutiny and finding alllllll the flaws. After a while, the intense focus on mistakes can be draining. It’s not as free as the creation process during a draft, and I think my brain craves that balance. But the good news is What I Would Do for You has finished the second round of developmental edits, Gybe has also been sent to my agent, and I’m starting week 10 of the Artist’s Way. I’m still not ready to begin prewriting my next book, but I can feel the ‘almost’. I’m in the brain-dump stage of scribbled notes and zero organization.

What’s really helped is focusing externally rather than internally. I’ve been looking outward to connect with friends and family—feeling joy with the arrival of new babies, love with wedding vows, and gratitude for bonds that have deepened over the course of more than half my life. I can feel my heart squirrelling away these overwhelming emotions, storing them for later and waiting to inspire certain scenes.

When I’m drafting, I live in my head a lot of the time. I don’t need to be drafting constantly, but it is something I’ve pressured myself to do since we moved here two years ago. These past weeks have been an important reminder to be fully present and not miss out, because this joy is essential to creativity. To everyone in my life—I’m so happy you’re in it and I love you so much!

Love,

Taylor

PS—Our milestone moment: the tipping point! Officially been doing life longer together than apart (17 years)

Tolo February 2008 (look at these babies!)Olesen wedding June 2024

I’ve been trying something new for the past month. I wanted to wait until week 4 to talk about it just in case I completely bailed on it after the second week. It’s a program called the Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron and it’s been around for over thirty years. The goal is to help people unlock their creativity by reveling in the joys of everyday life and removing any mental blocks. Some components of the program include ‘morning pages’ and ‘artist dates’ to inspire personal development (parts that make it clear the author did not have young children when she wrote the book).

I admit I’m not really the target audience for this. I’ve been writing steadily for the past two years and completed three books in about eighteen months, so I wouldn’t consider myself to be a blocked creative. However, I am trying to switch genres for my next novel. There’s an idea percolating that would be a great YA fantasy book, but right now it’s just a general concept and some vibes, no plot. I haven’t written anything with magic in it since 2018, and I’m a little rusty. I picked up the program in the hopes that it will get things flowing again.   

It’s been going fine. I don’t love it, don’t hate it, but I’m still waiting for my burst of genius. There’s still 8 weeks left, so maybe it will hit at the end. I figure it can’t hurt to keep going, but I’m also a bit salty about the fact that week 4 is a reading diet. Yep, no books for a WEEK. I’m losing my mind. Apparently, it’s supposed to quiet outside voices and nurture my own narrative. Instead of falling into someone else’s story, I’m meant to be worldbuilding my own.

What have I been doing with my down time instead? Vacuuming all the baseboards in my house. Pulling ivy out of my neglected hedges. Bothering my husband while he’s in meetings. Submitting a short story to a 100-word writing contest. Working out. Writing this blog post. Reorganizing my kids’ toys and clothes. Realizing that I’m much more productive in the real world when I’m not getting lost in fiction, but also crankier. At least I’ve incorporated all my beta reader feedback for my YA suspense book this week and it’s almost ready to send to my agent! But as for the new fantasy story: nada.

Maybe my attention is split between too many projects already. My agent and I are trying to get WHAT I WOULD DO FOR YOU ready to go out on submission, and I’m finishing up GYBE. Just like with kids, maybe I max out at two. Maybe I’m still too focused on GYBE to move on. Maybe sharing the blurb draft with you all to get excited about this project with me will help! Here ya go:

When a tropical storm rips through a small North Carolina town, Sydney finds her prayers to return to the water answered with a washed-up sailboat free for the stealing. She and her best friend, Boone, plan to hide it, fix it up, sail away, and leave their dysfunctional families behind. The sudden arrival of Callum, who is still fixated on Sydney from their liveaboard days, and the need for under-the-table cash motivates the three teens to get crew jobs on board a luxury boat, Vitamin Sea, captained by a young couple trying to grow their vlogging channel.

After a dive for sunken treasure uncovers a body, everyone tries to reconcile memories during Sydney’s mom’s funeral five years ago to solve the new murder case. With all eyes (and cameras) on Vitamin Sea, nobody expects a member of the crew to disappear without a trace during the sheriff’s investigation. The swirling hurricane of crimes past and present—including their own—bears down as Sydney, Boone, and Callum fight to uncover the truth before one of them is next.

GYBE is a 77,000-word YA suspense novel and a great match for fans of the hit Netflix show Outer Banks. Having lived aboard a sailboat for four years on the North Carolina coast, I hope to bring a unique perspective and authenticity to the story.

Let me know what you think!

Love,

Taylor

Sat down to write this blog post today, and I realized I missed posting in both February AND March. Whoops! I don’t think I’ve ever gone this long without an update! Trust that all of my spare time has been spent writing, just not on here.

February—I focused on making the revisions my agent wanted to see before the book goes on submission. It was hugely challenging but incredibly satisfying. Their suggestions definitely improved the story, but it was my first time doing an overhaul like that and it felt like my brain had been wrung out like a washcloth by the end. Hence, no February post. Fingers crossed they like the changes and that I nailed it on round one, but I’m also aware we might have to go back and forth a few times. I’m new at this! Trying to be okay with the fact that I might not get a gold star right away. I emailed the manuscript in early March and jumped straight into editing my NaNoWriMo book while I waited for them to get back to me.

March—Cleaned up my 77,000-word YA contemporary suspense sailing novel and got it in good enough shape to send to beta readers. I had a blast with this book, and I’m dying to get reader feedback regarding all the red herrings, who-dun-it theories, and shocking moments. It took about three weeks to edit, and I just sent it off to friends yesterday. For the first time in eight weeks, I have…nothing on the docket?!

Except the lingering guilt that I’ve neglected my blog! After not posting for two months, you would think that I would have something more exciting than this to share, but it’s mostly been me at my keyboard, mumbling to myself. Oh wait, I guess you could count my dermatitis flare up as something out of the ordinary, but nobody wants to see me with diaper rash cream on my face (If you have any tips regarding this, PLEASE share I am desperate it’s been weeks and it isn’t clearing up).

You CAN be on the lookout for boat updates soon, though. Yep, we lasted 2 whole years without a boat before we caved and bought a DINGHY! It’s so cute and has a little electric motor so we can buzz around Puget Sound this summer. Once the registration goes through, we’ll be taking her out as much as weather allows. The kids are beside themselves. Taking name suggestions at this time. So far the contenders are:

Never AgainOnce More With FeelingFooky Fooky (my son cannot say his ‘s’, so anything spooky he declares ‘fooky’)Next ChapterScout (my daughter SWEARS this won’t be confusing)

Love,

Taylor

I’ve been waiting a decade to make this post. I HAVE A LITERARY AGENT! I am loudly and proudly screaming it from the rooftops—Taylor Hobbs is represented by Michaela Whatnall of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret Literary Agency.

It all started with a cold query in early October. I found Michaela’s Manuscript Wish List page and hoped my book, What I Would Do for You, might be a good fit. The bio stated that they have a soft spot for heartfelt contemporary YA fiction, sibling stories, and diverse voices. However, QueryTracker (the site that everyone uses to submit queries/track data) did not help my confidence—this agent requests additional material from about 2% of their queries. My sister was like, “Oh, the Harvard of literary agents.” Thanks, Calley. I figured I’d be part of the 98% rejection stats, but I might as well start the query process of my 7th book with getting rejections from my dream agents, right?

To my shock, Michaela requested the full manuscript ten days later. My thought was, “At least I know my pitch/concept is working!” Not, “They’re going to love it and sign me!” I’ve had many full requests across all my manuscripts over the years. It is a great confidence boost but I know it ultimately doesn’t go anywhere. Honestly, I was just flattered to make it past the form rejection.

I submitted the manuscript and tried not to get my hopes up. I joked with my Pen Parentis writers accountability group that I was going to manifest an agent in 2024. Well, everyone manifested their butts off because ten days into the new year I got the email that Michaela wanted to set up a phone call and chat about the book.

We talked for an hour and half! I knew within ten minutes that Mike was the right agent for me and the book. They get the heart and soul of it, and we just meshed on all the revision ideas. It was like talking to an old friend. I know they are going to push me to be the best writer I can be, for What I Would Do For You and my future books. I am thrilled about this partnership and can’t wait for what’s to come in my career!

I have so much gratitude toward everyone who has been cheering me on all these years. Thank you for continuing to believe in me and talking me off the ledge of self-doubt countless times. Thank you for reading truly terrible first drafts and listening to half-formed plot rambles. Thank you for seeing the value in art and stories and helping me hold onto myself. You know who you are. I love you guys.

Love,

Taylor

New website bioWhen I got the offer

2024 is off like a rocket. I finished the first draft of my 8th book last week and had a VERY exciting phone call about my 7th book that I’ll divulge more details about later. But back to finishing the book!

My YA thriller ended up being 77,264 words long, which was close to my target word count. The working title is GYBE. For a book that was just ‘vibes’ in October, it only took ten weeks to become a fully-fledged novel by January. Ha, Gybe-vibes. I think my average pace of six months per book is realistic long-term, although I would love to reach the point where I complete a project every four months and do three per year. However, I don’t know if that will be possible until fall of 2025, when my youngest will start kindergarten. So, for now, I’m just enjoying the brain dump that happens once I’m done with a draft and letting the plot threads leak out of my ears.

I’m putting the draft aside for a couple weeks so it will be fresh when I start to revise. I’ve been focusing on some of my New Year’s goals instead. I like the word ‘goals’ instead of ‘resolutions’. ‘Resolution’ seems very constrictive and almost punitive, like one misstep and you’ve failed your resolution. Might as well throw in the towel for 2024! My goal for this year is to meditate more. My hope is that meditation will lead to improvements in other areas of my life—patience, creativity, and lessening anxiety. Instead of a bunch of small, individual goals, I’ve gathered them all up into one action: meditate! Efficient, no? I think it’s working so far (thanks, HeadSpace app!). I manifested the crap out of the first 2 weeks this year

People ask how I celebrate being done with a draft. It is very nerdy and not at all exciting for anyone who isn’t me. Usually, I say, “Woohoo!” then I double-space the whole manuscript. I draft in single-space format, so after I type ‘The End’, I get to watch the manuscript page number multiply. I look forward to this moment for months (don’t judge me). Then celebrations might involve a cocktail at the end of the day while Conor cooks a nice dinner. Then it’s back to life as usual. Here I am, doing laundry and watching my kids bounce off the walls post-draft. The reality of being a parent writer!

Who else is ready for warmer weather??

Love,

Taylor

I did it! I completed NaNoWriMo this year and wrote 50,000 words during the month of November. Were they amazing? No. Were they passable? Also no. Were they completed? Yes.

That’s the funny thing about writing. I don’t always enjoy it, it’s like pulling teeth some days. But I always enjoy having written. Something about delayed gratification, I guess. I am well on my way to finishing my 3rd book just this year, and that is way more than I ever expected at the beginning of 2023. Ending the year by winning NaNo is the cherry on top, and I’m trying to ride the momentum train as long as I can. I also got a t-shirt because I am normally terrible at celebrating accomplishments. Conor was like, “Are you excited you’re done?” and I replied, “Well, I still have 30k left to write before the draft is done, so kind of?” I’m a pro at moving the goalposts.

I’ve never written a thriller before, so I knew this book was going to be challenging. Since NaNo ended, I’ve added another 12,000 words to the draft, with about 20,000 words left before the rough draft is finished. Holding a thriller plot in my hands is like scooping up dry sand at the beach. I’m barely hanging on and trying not to lose the pieces escaping through my fingers. If at the end I haven’t lost too much of it, I’ll consider the rough draft to be a success.

This project has three 1st-person POV, each with a different/distinct voice, everyone has a secret, everyone in the story must have motive for the crime committed, everyone knows different things at different times and I have to reveal it all at the correct pacing for the genre. There is a past mystery to solve, and a current timeline I’m also working with. The two need to tie together. Oh, and each character needs a complete and satisfying story arc.

There are 76 tabs open in my brain at any given time. Christmas. Celebrations. Correspondence. Family. Gifts. A 6-year-old’s unicorn birthday party to plan.

So yes, I bought a t-shirt.

Love,

Taylor

Now I’m one of the cool kids

I’m halfway through NaNoWriMo, which means I am staying on track to actually complete it this year! I almost feel like making a post about it is jinxing myself, but the words are coming pretty easy for this book, which is definitely a surprise.

I think it’s due to three things:

A supportive partner. Hands down. I am dropping balls left and right with regular life and he’s there to catch them. Last night he was in the middle of asking me about something and goes, “Never mind. I just realized we should just discuss this once November is done.” I only have so much brainpower, and right now it’s fueling the creative side, not the logistical side. He gets it.

2. A habit established over the summer in my mad scramble to finish WHAT I WOULD DO FOR YOU before the PNWA conference. That project was 7 weeks straight of writing every day. NaNo is only 4 weeks long. The word count is higher per day, yes, but I had lots of practice to get my brain in shape for November in the months leading up to it. I just keep telling myself, only a few weeks left! I’m not finishing a whole book, just 50,000 words of one. It feels manageable.

3. I don’t feel as much pressure to get this story perfect. I’m able to have more fun with it as I go. As the years go on and I write more books, each one feels less precious. I know that’s a weird thing to admit, but it’s kind of freeing. I don’t agonize over my drafts for a decade. I’m not sinking years and years of effort into one project. My fountain of ideas is endless, and I can see a project through from beginning to end by simply sticking to a process. It’s not my life’s work. It’s a YA thriller that can be comped to Netflix’s Outer Banks. Don’t get me wrong, I love all my books, but it’s easier to separate my emotions from it compared to back when I thought finishing my first book was equal to climbing a mountain.

The confusing thing about NaNo is that even though I’m at the 50% mark, I’m only about 30% of the way through my entire book. I had a moment of panic yesterday when I thought my pacing was completely off before remembering that NaNo is only getting me 50,000/80,000 words. My story beats are where they’re supposed to be, thankfully.

To sum up the NaNo experience so far, I’ll leave you with this quote from EL Doctorow—“Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”

Now it’s time to get my 1,667 words done for the day.

Love,

Taylor

I present this stunning visual representation of my first draft. Please note the crash helmet.

It’s almost here! National Novel Writing Month, the one time per year that writers emerge from their caves of introversion and try to network with other writers. It pushes us so far out of our comfort zones that we spend the next 11 months recuperating. I’ve used NaNo in the past to make some wonderful writer friends at each place we’ve lived, because it really is the ONLY time to try to find us. If you’ve ever wanted to write a book, it is super easy to sign up at nanowrimo.org and find your people. There are forums by genre, experience, and location.

Last year, I went to a library meetup, gathered my courage, and invited two other writer moms to create the Port Orchard Writing Club. We’ve actually made it a whole year with (nearly) monthly meetups. We also attended two huge writing conferences, AWP and PNWA. It is honestly so lovely to talk writing with other people who ‘get it’—the frustrations, carving out time, and the breakthroughs.

I told myself I would take break after finishing WHAT I WOULD DO FOR YOU. But…surprise surprise…I had an idea for book #8. While I won’t be sprinting through and trying to draft 50k words in November, I am going to use this month to plan and outline a YA thriller. I want to incorporate my sailing and liveaboard experience and bring a book to life with this unique perspective. I’ve never attempted a mystery or thriller, so I need to pay more attention to the structure of the genre. My plan is to read 4-5 YA thrillers over the next two weeks to get my head in the game, then I’ll attempt to put fingers to keyboard and outline this new baby.

In other news, I’ve brushed off my resume and am starting to search for some contract or volunteer copy/content/edit jobs to build my portfolio. I’m not quite ready to go into detail about this yet, but I feel like now that the kids have settled in school and I have more time/control of my day, I might be branching out. Weirdly, this feels more vulnerable than querying. Hopefully I won’t get firehosed with rejection on all sides!

Love,

Taylor