SO YOU WANT TO WRITE:Chap.3

6. March 2010 by admin.

As I promised last time, there are several helpful websites and blogs out there that I really wished I’d known about before I quit my full-time job and became A WRITER. I was lucky to be in a place in my life where the opportunity to move to an area offering a lower priced quality of living presented itself. I also have a marvelous husband who is in my corner and gets up five days a week to trudge off to work. Thanks, Honey!

Back to basics, since I digress. When a new writer wonders about how to word a query letter or what to include in a synopsis, I am smart enough to suggest those who offer better advice. Two sites that come to mind? http://Kristualla.wordpress.com & http://www.lisagardner.com.

Krista has pages and pages of helpful hints and she explains the whys and hows in an upbeat, get-it-done flair. I love Lisa’s Tricks-of-the-Trade section full of helpful points for any aspiring writer. Check both out. Better yet, add them to your favorites! (Like mine)

Or, join another chapter. Romance Writers of America has numerous sanctioned on-line chapters. Do you love a vampire or werewolf saga? Do dragons and faeries make you tingle. How about avenging angels and sexy urban fantasy demons? You might consider joining the FANTASY, FUTURISTIC & PARANORMAL Romance Writers. Check them out at: www.romance-ffp.com.

Do your heroes wear kilts? Are your heroines swept away by regal Irish Dukes? Do Highland castles and Welsh maidens fighting off marauding bans of warriors fill the pages of your manuscripts? Do present day witches fall through time or fall in love with contemporary Scottish farmers? Then you should look into joining THE CELTIC HEARTS ROMANCE WRITERS: www.celtichearts.org.

Maybe you are curious about what agents are looking for. One of the best blogs out there is http://blog.nathanbransford.com.  Agent Nathan Bransford, of the Curtis Brown Agency, has a place where you can sign-up to automatically get his new blog posts in your e-mails. He keeps on top of comings and goings and has written several blogs on e-books versus big NY City publishers. He does the work, and we reap the rewards.

Some people who start out in this gut-wrenching, tear-jerking, how can I get so many rejections in one week business want to know if it’s worth it, money wise. (Of course, YOU don’t care about the money…right?) Well, there is a website for you, too. Check out SHOW ME THE MONEY at http://www.brendahiatt.com. What Brenda has done is compile volunteered info about how much an author received as an advance, and how much a book sold in total. This information is worth its weight in gold, but remember that it might take up to three years for one book to go through enough sales history and return compilations to get an accurate showing, but this really helps. As you will notice, the large NY publishers are the ones offering the big advances for a new author signing with their house. Smaller e-pubs offer no advances, but the writer’s share of each book is greater. This chart, updated every few months, is a start.

Before I send my query letter to a publisher I have not followed closely, I check their credibility on a site which gathers the dirt. Check out: http://pred-ed.com.  Again, take every report listed on Predators & Editors with a grain-of-salt. People who grumble about something make the biggest noises, so posting something derogatory soothes them but hurts the agent or publisher. The best way to gather helpful information is to ask around and find people who work with these people. They will be able to tell you more, and with straight talk.

The point is, this is a business and you must arm yourself with the best information possible in order to come out on top as a successful writer. But, please do not forget the most important aspect of this whole business.

YOU MUST GET YOUR SEAT IN THE CHAIR AND WRITE!

Check back with me for some more good news in my work to be a successful, published, writer. 

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