Don't Take The Kid Into The Candy Store

    Saturdays are the one day of the week that I try to take some time away from anything related to writing. Which means I either go shopping, catch up with chores, or catch up with friends and family.

    The weekend that has just ended was no different, and I wanted to not only start with the Christmas gift shopping. But I wanted to purchase birthday gifts for my two best friends who have a birthday at that time of year too.

   "Good fresh air gives you roses in your cheeks." My gran use to say, and stuck in front of a PC, or reading books doesn't really lend itself to that.  So as it was a gorgeous autumnal day, it was the perfect day to go out and about. Hopefully not only to buy a multitude of fabulous gifts, but exchange my pallor for one that belonged to someone in a slightly healthier occupation, than a writer.

    Only a short drive away, takes me to various large shopping malls. Therefore I'm kind of spoilt for choice. But as the weather was extremely nice I chose one which is located in an idyllic setting, and there is plenty good air to be had. I arrived there at around 10.30 a.m. The mall was pretty quiet, I inwardly cheered at the thought of not being pushed and jostled, or having to queue in line at the cash desks.

    I planned to head straight for one of the larger stores first. In the belief that if I didn't get all my gifts there, I could then work my way through the various other smaller ones on my way back to where my car was parked.
   
    The route I chose through the mall happened to take me past my favourite book/stationary store.  'Mm', I thought, 'I could get the girls a diary for a stocking  filler. It wouldn't do any harm to go in here first.' It's no use boooring you with the details of my purchases in the book store, but I never did see the inside of the store where I was going to make my planned purchases. I spent my whole time in the book store; all three hours. When I go into a book, or stationary store, it's like taking a kid into a candy, or toy store, I just can't tear myself away.

    So does anyone know of an accurate, long range, weather forecast website? Because it looks like next Saturday I'm going in search of Christmas and birthday gifts.

   



   

Love Them, Or Hate Them?

    I read a few blogs this week, all posing the same question. Should we have empathy for literary agents?

    Personally, I do. Which is surprising since I don't have one. Like many thousands of other authors, and aspiring ones, I've received a generic rejection letter, or just been ignored on many occasions.

    So why would I empathise with them? Let me explain; in my life before becoming a full time writer, I worked in the finance world. I underwrote personal loans, and mortgages. But please don't blame me for the state the world is in, I left before it all went wrong.

   Now when a prospective client applied for a finance product, firstly I'd: examine the completed loan/mortgage application form. Agent: reads query letter. Secondly: credit score. Agent: reads synopsis/ 5pages. Thirdly: examine wage slips, rent/mortgage payments etc. Agent: reads full, or partial ms.
Fourthly: decided if it made good business sense to do, and did it fit company business model. Approve/decline finance. Agent: decides if it makes good business sense to do, and does it fit company/their business model. Offer/ reject representation.

    My decision to approve finance was made on what I had in front of me, and an agent can only do the same. That decision is based on, bottom line, about making money.

    It doesn't mean there isn't an agent out there for you, or me. Just as when I declined a finance product it didn't mean that the customer would never get a loan/mortgage. But it it has to make business sense for the agent. They're not a charity.  That's why I empathise.

    Do you empathise?








   

Meet the Editor

    The Acquisition Editor informed me that my assigned Editor would be in touch. Filled with apprehension, mixed with excitement, I kept checking my inbox. Then, there it was, the email I had been waiting for. It was time to get down to business and meet my Editor.

    Physically it was impossible to do so, as my publishing company is in New York and I'm based in the UK. But as you know it's so easy to communicate by email, it doesn't make any real difference that there's the small matter of the Atlantic between us.

    This being the first time I've worked with an Editor, I didn't really know what to expect. At the offset my Editor asked me how I would like to proceed. But it doesn't matter how many books, blogs, or websites I've read on the subject, I knew I was a novice and there was no point in pretending otherwise.

    Suddenly I felt I was back at kindergarten, dependent on others to show me the way. But I have to say that the respect that's been shown to me, and the courteous manner in which the edits proceeded, the feelings of apprehension I had, quickly dissolved.

    Painlessly, I grabbed hold of the outstretched hand to help guide me along the way. That doesn't mean she has been easy on me, no sir. But, sometimes we need to be challenged and that brings the best out of us. That's what I've enjoyed about meeting the Editor.


   

   
 

Signed, Sealed and Delivered

     I read my contract, over and over again; probably in disbelief at first. Then once the actual offer had sunk in, I went over it again, this time with my business head on.

    Being unagented, I had tried to do my homework before selecting the publishers I wanted to submit to. It's difficult to know where to start and I just wonder where I would have been without the Internet. I found online Writers Forums and Literary Agent websites invaluable.

   Some publishers have a copy of their contract on their website too, and this allowed me to do comparisons. Luckily for me I have a legal professional in the family, and he also helped me out when it came down to signing on the dotted line.

   So the contract was signed, sealed and delivered. What next? It was time to get down to business and meet the Editor.

Authors join me and tell us about your journey and promote your book. If you're an aspiring author tell us why you write and most importantly if you're a reader tell us what you like to read.

"Please contact me," she pleaded!!!!

   

   

   

   

Secret Formula?

    When I spoke about sending my MS off with a letter of introduction in my last post; of course I meant the dreaded query letter. There's so much advice flying around out there, I had no idea what to do for the best.

    But the thing I took from the numerous blog posts and books I read, was that the agent/publisher doesn't want to hear about you, the author, they want to hear about your book. They have to look at it from a business sense, bottom line, is it going to sell? Is it worth their blood sweat and tears? After all the reader doesn't really care if you have horns and two heads, but they may want to know if your characters do. The reader wants a good story, and rightly so. I know I do, when I pick up a book.

    So when I decided to send my MS off, I took on board what the experts were saying. I made the focus of my letter, my book, and not me. Even when the rejections came in, I still stuck with the same letter. I was tempted to alter it, or start again, but I didn't.

    I never took any of the rejections I received personally. I told myself, that the sender doesn't know me, it's not me they're rejecting, it's my story. There's plenty more stories whizzing around in my head, therefore if I don't succeed with this one, I will with another. But I wasn't about to give up on this one yet.
   
    Every time I checked my inbox my heart missed a beat. Then there it was, an offer of a contract from a publisher, I jumped up and down with excitement. Then the day after that I received another, then the next day another. I was spoilt for choice. I did the right thing and stuck to my plan.

    I'm  not about to tell you how to write query a letter, I wouldn't dare. But please take on board the advice from the experts and once you've written your letter, stick with it for a reasonable length of time. For goodness sake don't take comments, or rejections personally.

Do you have a similar story you'd like to share with us?  Or do you have useful advice for aspiring authors?
   

Finished, tears of joy, or is it tears of sorrow?

    I've finished. I sigh with relief, then I shed some tears. Are they tears of joy, or are they tears of sorrow? Because I'm having to let my baby go out into the world. It's great when a plan comes together, or a storyboard as it is on this occasion. But he's on his own now.

    He's my hero, I love him. But will everyone else? She's so beautiful. But is she beautiful enough? Oh, and the villain, he's scary. But is he scary enough? Yea...h!! The demons have been slayed. Or have they?

    What about the plot? Is the plot original enough? And the hook, I'm hooked. But will an agent/publisher be hooked, or more importantly the reader?

    I've clicked the send button. That's it, my protagonist is going out into the ether on his own. I can only give him a letter of introduction. Oh, I hope they receive him well. Oh no, he's just been trashed. Oh, that's better, he's pending. Oh, he's on his own, he's with strangers and he's having to wait in line. Will he make it to the top pile? Does he have the stamina?

    If you're a reader, what emotions do you like to experience when you read a book? If you're a writer how do you feel when you've finished your ms, and you're ready to send it off, or have sent it?

    Share your thoughts with us. Share your experience with us.

Pen and Paper, or PC?

    The storyboard is finished, the characters profiles have been created and it's time to start the first draft. For some reason I find it easier to be slightly more creative, using a pen and paper to get started each day. Once I'm confident that I'm heading in the right direction and the creative juices are flowing, I then sit down in front of the PC.

    I use a 'Speech Recognition' programme to transfer what I've already written by hand, onto 'Word Pad.' Then it's time to let my fingers do the walking, so to speak. Meaning I get typing. I write a minimum of 750 words a day, although I find I can normally write more. Before I finish for the day, I check with my storyboard that I've managed to include everything that I planned for. I tick the key points off as I go along, so hopefully I haven't missed out anything really important. Like setting the scene!!!
    I don't edit on the same day, I do that at the start of my next. Just before I take the pen and paper out again.

    How many words do you write daily? Do you use a PC, Laptop, or pen and paper? Come on share your world of writing with this blog.