March 14, 2006

OH CRAP!

You’ve been hounding your postal carrier for weeks, begging for The Letter, the one that’s going to put you on the road to success. Nothing. Again. Today. But wait! What’s that stuck inside the newspaper advertisement you usually toss in the recycle bin without reading? Holy Royalties, Batman! It’s from the publisher. Correction. It’s from your publisher.

With shaking hands you tear open the envelope and draw out the letter. Hey wait! Where’s the contract? You spread the envelope apart, praying it’s stuck inside. Nada. Okay, okay, they’re probably going to send it after you accept their offer.

Grinning ear-to-ear you flip the letter over and read,

“Dear Author,
We are sorry to inform you…”

Yep, that’s pretty much how a rejection letter starts off. So what are you going to do about it? Sit there and cry? Gorge yourself on junk food until you’re ready to puke? Those reactions are typical. Very few writers entertain thoughts of suicide. And if you do, baby, you need some serious help.

This is the best advice I can give you on rejection; Get Over It. No one likes a whiner.

Sure no one likes to be rejected, be it from a lover, friend, or an editor. But there’s ways to retain your rationale without going over the edge.

Read your rejection again, after you come back surface from your blue period. If it’s a form rejection, without a real clue as to why your book was deep-sixed, then you’ll need to talk with someone in your writer’s or critique group for insight.

If you are fortunate enough to have an explanation of the rejection, study it. Learn from it. Editors are not evil. They don’t wake up every morning and plan which writers to destroy as they prepare for work. Editors want talented writers with a fresh voice. They are all looking for that one author who can help make the editor’s career. They want you to be the one.

Treat your rejection as a challenge. Frame it and hang it right over your desk. Look at it everyday and promise yourself you will do better. Then make it happen. Read your story again, edit it again, fix the problem areas and make it shine. When you are positive it’s the best you ever wrote, ship that baby right back out the front door. It’s just like falling off a bike; you have to get back on to overcome the fear.

Happy Writing!
Sloane

March 7, 2006

Publish this Novel

You have put your heart and soul into a well-edited novel and the time has come to send that baby out into the world. What do you do? Again, it’s time consuming and can get costly so you have to decide what you can afford.

First, I recommend you buy Formatting & Submitting your Manuscript by Jack & Glenda Neff, Don Prues published by the Writer’s Market. This book has all the right instructions, with examples, for your submission.

Following are some extra tips;

• By now you should know the publisher you want to target. Read their guidelines, again. Be sure you
have the correct editor’s name and spelling. Call or email the publisher if you are unsure.
• Print your cover letter, synopsis, and manuscript on clean white paper. Don’t get cute. Editors don’t
like cute.
• If you are a smoker, DON’T while you are printing and packaging. The smell will be absorbed by your
paper and carry through to the editor bringing about a damned quick rejection.
• Be courteous in your letter, but by everything that is powerful, DO NOT suck up. You’re a
professional. Act like a professional.

Speaking of professional, here’s a few more things you should do;

• Join writer’s groups online.
• Join local writer’s groups.
• Develop or join a critique group.
• Get a web site. Be sure it has a professional look and not some honemade cutsy thing.
• Attend every conference you can afford and network. There are rules of etiquette you must follow;
Smile, be pleasant. No one wants to hear about your kid, the brat, or your other half, the jerk.
Don’t interrupt someone who is speaking.
Don’t gossip.
Dress professionally, which means look presentable not like you’re on an emergency toilet paper run.
• Produce a business card with the following info;
You name
A slogan to remember you
Your email address
Your phone number but only on cards for editors and friends
Fax number if you have one but only on cards for editors and friends

The card would look something like this;
Author
Mary Johnson writing as Hot Mama
Hot Mama sets your world on fire
hotmama@sbcwhatever.net
www.hotmama.com
Dress your card in the same look as your web site.

Good luck to you all and please let me know how it goes. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them.

Until next Tuesday, Happy Writing!
Sloane

March 4, 2006

Run, Do Not Walk

to New Concepts Publishing for the hot carnal release of Atonement by Sherrill Quinn. This amazing book was released just today.

So type in www.newconceptspublishing.com

Click on New Releases

Scroll down to Hot New Carnal

And BUY THE BOOK!

Suspense and hot sex. Congratulations, Ms. Quinn on another excellent book.

March 3, 2006

Put Down the Feathers

we’re not talking Conga Line. This is serious. We’re talking Line Editing a simple, but very tedious task you must do carefully before you submit to a publisher. You have about thirty seconds to catch the editor’s eye and entice them to read more of your book. If he or she sees typos, incorrect words (buy vs. by), or skewed sentence structures, it’s the rejection pile for your baby. And by all means, pay close attention to your punctuation.

This is how you do it;

• Print out a hard copy
• Grab a 12 inch ruler.
• Lay it under line one.
• Read each word slowly. Aloud is best.
• Focus. This is a must. Don’t think about anything but your novel.
• Make the corrections using a colored pen on the hard copy.
• Insert the corrections into your computer text.
• Take breaks or your mind won’t pick up the errors.

Some authors like to line edit from the back of the novel and work forward. It stops your mind from assuming the words are correct. I’ve tried it and it does work. All you do is read and edit the last page first, then proceed forward, one page at a time.

It’s a tough job, but you have to do it.

Next Tuesday we’ll discuss, “Publish This Novel”.

Until then…Happy writing!
Sloane