Last Tuesday (just over one week ago???), we officially welcomed The Eleventh Trade into the world! This debut week has been seriously amazing and also seriously so fast, so I’m going to try to capture it quickly for you all! Tuesday, September 18: Sarah Driver flew in from the UK prior to my launch, and together we presented a talk at Christopher Newport University entitled Research & Creative Writing. I had reserved a room for 50 people, but we overshot that a bit and had some students sitting on the floor. We talked about the why, where, how, and when of researching, and...
We are only 12 days from the launch of The Eleventh Trade. THIS IS NOT A DRILL, PEOPLE. On September 18th, my book baby will be on the shelves. For anyone to see. And read. So what does the life of an about-to-debut author person look like? Well… Busy Busy Busy The next month or two promises to be very exciting! And also very crazy! Next week, I’ll be presenting a talk about Creative Writing and Research with my lovely Sarah Driver at Christopher Newport University. The following Tuesday, September 18th, is launch day (!!!!). The launch party will be held at...
Whether you are going the traditional publishing route or you aim to self-publish, there will be things that you can’t control. This entry is geared toward writers who want to have a career of some sort through traditional publishing, because that’s the side I’m more familiar with, but I’d love to get some tips in the comments from independently published writers! With traditional publishing, you cannot control things like: Agents’ or publishers’ interest, how much your book sells, or how much your friends’ book sells. It’s a really uncertain world, where you are never quite certain what will come of...
Guys, I am SO EXCITED to FINALLY be able to share some important news with you. But now that the time has finally come, I don’t even know how to start. I’ve been sitting on this secret so long, I can’t find the words I want — which is unfortunate, since my job is words. I’m going to pull a Ted Mosby and back this train all up to show you How I Met My Publisher(s). Here we go! Gifs will help me. February 2016 My agent Amber has been working with me on Illuminate for some time. But she’s like,...
When your friends start to leave the nest and send out queries, sign contracts, and talk to publishers – or commission their cover, finish up formatting, and prep to self-publish – it gets pretty gosh darn exciting. Everyone’s on alert, waiting for the next tidbit of publishing news. Their dreams are all becoming real! Highs and lows come hand in hand with the publishing journey. Sometimes a high can be just as stressful as a low – like when a friend of mine was caught between two amazing publishers in a bidding war. Though it’s an awesome problem to have,...
There are approximately 24,594 articles and blog entries out there about traditional vs. indie publishing, so if you’re looking for that debate this post won’t help you much. Instead, I’ve focused on hunting up some good links to give you the low-down on what you might need to know about how traditional publishing works. From publishing house basics to tips on researching literary agents, these links will help you get educated about the traditional publishing journey. Enjoy! 1. How a Book Gets Published For a first time author, a book generally starts with a completely finished and polished manuscript for...
This is a general update blog post, so it’s going to be a bit random and short. Yay? My friend Katherine came for a visit! We had many adventures, including but not limited to: Catching a train only because the staff held their car door open for us, performing period dances on the lawn at Chatsworth (Pemberley), exploring a plague village, and a bit of waltzing in the Assembly Rooms! (Katherine is my dance buddy and we took full advantage of this.) I have been editing like a mad person. This will probably result in some revision-themed posts soon. I...
There is a lot of angst (and helpful tips) on the internet for writing your query’s actual summary/hook, but what I’ve always found absolutely terrifying is that fine balance between “Dear Agent, I did my research” and “Dear Agent, I know where you sleep.” Hopefully it’s a given that if you’re querying, you need to research the agents you’ll be submitting to—including perusing their Twitter feed, blogs, and interviews. Susan Dennard has a lovely post about this over at Publishing Crawl. So take a look at that. If you didn’t click the link, the short version is: Research like the...
