Eyes on the Prize! Never say Never! Get 'er Done! It's Your Monday Fortune Cookie, 2/24/14

THEY SAY YOU ARE STUBBORN; YOU CALL IT PERSISTENCE.

 SNARKY RESPONSE: And sometimes it's just called not knowing any better.

They say you are stubborn; you call it persistence.

Despite the snark, I love this fortune. Anyone who has taken the bit in their mouth and pursued something to the end despite the naysayers has to be right there with me.

For folks who stick to their guns regarding dreams and goals, stubborn is the mortar that holds your efforts together. Anyone who's pulled out a hundred rows of knitting to correct one dropped stitch, anyone who has hauled themselves out of bed at the crack of dawn to put in a couple of miles, anyone who has corrected that bit of paint, clay, or pastel until they captured their subject knows that it's really stubbornness that pushes them through.

For writers, this is what keeps us sending out that novel, essay, or poem over and over until it finds a home. Even if, in the end, that home is in something you produce on your own. You wanted to get those words into print and by George, you were going to see it happen.

If it was easy, everyone who wrote would be published. Mini-Snark:No, wait! Thanks to some online publishing services, everyone CAN, but there is the matter of quality versus quantity.

The key, for me, is to have made the effort to produce the best possible writing you can, polish it until it gleams, and then put it out there. I see no reason why you can't sidestep the publisher route and publish on your own, just make sure that it's worthy of your time and effort as well as the time and effort, not to mention the cash, of your reader.

Persistence is a nice word, a pleasant word, a 'politically-correct/motivational speaker' word, but for true - 'stick-to-it'ness (how would you write that phrase?) - I'm putting my money on Stubborn.

What have you been Stubborn about lately?

Pay-offs, Subs, and Your Monday Fortune Cookie 10/28/13

ALL YOUR HARD WORK WILL SOON BE PAID OFF

SNARKY RESPONSE:  Yeah, and the check is in the mail, right?

All Your Hard Work Will Soon Be Paid Off

Talk about hard work!

Anyone who says writing isn't hard, hasn't been doing it right. At least that's what I've been told and, frankly, that's also been my experience.

Oh sure the first draft is a breeze! Caught up in the moment. Chasing that brilliant story idea down the pathways of your imagination...and over the cliff.

It's  not the sudden drop that kills you, it's the sudden stop.

That's the moment when you begin to realize that you have to worry about characterization, plot development, voice, theme, and grammar. All the fine details of continuity - names, physical characteristics, verbal tics. Is the setting easy to visualize and the world-building both invisible and convincing? Does the dialogue flow easily through the mind or off the tongue? No one can ignore the rules without paying the cost. 

You have to make a solid effort to provide your reader with the best story told in the best way that you know how. And that takes work. Time invested in choosing the words, the phrases, and the action. Time putting it down on paper and then reading it over and over as you fine-tune it. Then time re-reading it and revising it some more. Words in/words out/rinse/repeat.

And from my perspective, while it might get easier as you become more experienced, it never becomes automatic.

I've just pushed the SEND button on a submission to my editor. It's a terrifying moment knowing that it's gone out of my hands, and I'm not going to be there when it arrives to help clear up any mistakes or misunderstandings. Will that cold read by my editor be all I hope it will be?

I just know that there's gonna be something I missed. Something I didn't quite nail. Heck, on that final read through, after having read Aces Down until I was green around the gills, I still discovered some continuity issues, missing words, and unclear situations. I fixed all I could find and now I have to hope it was enough. Enough to help my editor fall in love with Norah and Tristan, and the rest of the gang at Aces Down.

Well, only time will tell. Fingers crossed.

Following Through Can Win The Prize!

Any writer who has attended a writing conference has heard about pitch sessions and most have participated. In most cases, writers who have targeted the correct editor or agent for their type of writing will receive a request for submissions: a query letter, a synopsis, a chapter or two and sometimes a full manuscript.

Do Not Drop The Ball On This Opportunity!

This request is golden for writers aspiring to publication because it moves you out of the "unrequested" slush pile, into the "requested" pile, and that much farther up the line to being considered for publication. Of course, there are no guarantees regarding acceptance, but anything that ups your odds is a good thing.

As a result of this process, I'm thrilled to announce that my novella, Collector's Item, has found a home with The Wild Rose Press. Wow, that sounds so cut and dried. I'm actually loop-de-looping the moon and making noises that no woman of my age should make in public.

This all came about thanks to the Virginia Romance Writers For the Love of Writing Conference last May. There, I had the opportunity to pitch my novella to several agents and editors. I sent out my submission documents as requested and The Wild Rose Press requested the full manuscript.

I had been fortunate to make my first novella sale to them with The Festival of The Flowers: The Courtesan and The Scholar. Would lightning strike twice?

With a pounding heart, I sent Collector's Item to the Senior Editor of the Black Rose Line - their paranormal line. And after some discussion about and revision of my manuscript, they offered, and I accepted, a contract to have Collector's Item published as an enovella.

Major celebrations continue to be held, believe me! I've resigned myself to sounding like a teenager who just sighted the latest heart-throb. It would be embarrassing if I wasn't just so darned excited!

Now the hard work of polishing my novella for publication begins. Working with The Wild Rose Press on final edits, marketing information to be created, a cover to be designed, and a publication date to be set. But it's the kind of hard work we writers dream of while we craft our current Works In Progress.

May you have the same good fortune, if you haven't already. Just remember, Follow Through!