I had a fellow writer ask me how I get so much done; he was bemoaning that many days he did not feel like writing, and how lucky I was to have so much inspiration.
I had to consider that for awhile. I do feel fortunate that I have stories running all the time. I love thinking about my stories, painting my stories, and researching my story ideas.
I also don’t mind writing them down, but that is work. I positively detest doing the editing. However, all three activities are part of writing. I never have to force myself to come up with story ideas or run them around in my head. It is hard some days though, to write them down. When I start a new novel I know generally where it’s going, but not the specifics. I have times when I get stuck. And like I said, to edit I have to really force the fingers to go.
But I make myself. When I decided writing was going to be my career I treated it as such. When I worked in corporate America I got up every day and went into work; some days I didn’t feel like it, physically or mentally, but I did it anyway. I do the same for writing.
If I’m truly stuck, I have a couple of tricks I use. I might tell myself if I can just get my character to the next place she needs to be I can stop. Most times when I start writing I keep going. Coffee is also a good motivator. :-) If I’m flat out devoid of ideas, there are other things I can do to forward my career; I can check my novels and stories that are at publishers and see how much longer I have to wait, I can send out a rejected story to someone else, I can research new markets, I can write in this blog.
That’s not why I’m writing today, though. Really.
The point is, some days I can write a whole chapter, some days I can’t, but every work day I do something to further my career. If being a published author is your job, that’s what you do, inspiration or not. You don’t want to ping-pong the other way and never leave your seat, but making yourself do something even if you don’t feel like it make you a…writer.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Characters
When I see the word “character” I think of two things: the characters in books, and meeting a “character” in real life, which conjures up a host of images for me: the nutty lady I met when we adopted our cat, the before mentioned vampiresque executives, or the creepy gas attendant I saw last week.
Characters are the meat of any story, even though I adore settings. I love to see a unique world built before my eyes. I can drown in it. And perhaps that is the best choice of words, because no matter how good the setting is, if the people in that world are bland, boring, or you don’t care about them, the best setting in the world can’t save the book.
People have asked me where I get ideas for the people in my books. Fans have said mine are very real. I think that’s because my characters many times start from a person I’ve met…often they are a blend of a couple, usually exaggerated, and sometimes I will gather bits of conversations and expand. And of course, there is always a bit of me in every one of my protagonists; I think this is true of any author.
Two things I’ve discovered that is important to keep in mind, one is don’t ever make the person TOO much like the real life model. Even though the likelihood is nil, you don’t want your mom reading a story and saying, dear…was this ME? Not good. The second thing I learned was that even odd people have personalities. And personalities are usually somewhat stable. Even unpredictable people are predictable in their unpredictability, if that makes sense.
So how to accomplish a certain stableness in my characters? Since my education is in psychology, I use the MBTI system of identifying personality. It’s one of many, I happen to like this one because it easy to understand and it allows for flexibility. Here is a good website if you’re interested in finding out more:
http://www.myersbriggs.org/
Here’s an example to how it would work. Say I “type” my main character as a ISTJ. That means usually she’s inwardly focused, has a matter-of-fact attitude, tends to stuff feelings and is uncomfortable with emotional outbreaks, and leads an ordered life. She may break away from this now and then, but if all of a sudden she starts hugging everyone and is late to every appointment, then I haven’t been true to her.
I had a good lesson in this in one of my early books. My protagonist had to make the choice between leaving her home forever with her man, or staying in a world she knew he could never survive in. I couldn’t bear to have to leave her family, so I had her whimp out and stay; NOT what I had established as who she was. My sister called me on this immediately; my heroine would NEVER do that. So I fixed it, and it read much better …it felt “real’ again.
In essence then, grab all the weird people you want and throw them into your stories, but do make sure they have an identifiable personality beyond the showy quirks. If you don’t, you’ll have a host of Pinocchoes; characters that try to be human but will never become real to your readers.
Characters are the meat of any story, even though I adore settings. I love to see a unique world built before my eyes. I can drown in it. And perhaps that is the best choice of words, because no matter how good the setting is, if the people in that world are bland, boring, or you don’t care about them, the best setting in the world can’t save the book.
People have asked me where I get ideas for the people in my books. Fans have said mine are very real. I think that’s because my characters many times start from a person I’ve met…often they are a blend of a couple, usually exaggerated, and sometimes I will gather bits of conversations and expand. And of course, there is always a bit of me in every one of my protagonists; I think this is true of any author.
Two things I’ve discovered that is important to keep in mind, one is don’t ever make the person TOO much like the real life model. Even though the likelihood is nil, you don’t want your mom reading a story and saying, dear…was this ME? Not good. The second thing I learned was that even odd people have personalities. And personalities are usually somewhat stable. Even unpredictable people are predictable in their unpredictability, if that makes sense.
So how to accomplish a certain stableness in my characters? Since my education is in psychology, I use the MBTI system of identifying personality. It’s one of many, I happen to like this one because it easy to understand and it allows for flexibility. Here is a good website if you’re interested in finding out more:
http://www.myersbriggs.org/
Here’s an example to how it would work. Say I “type” my main character as a ISTJ. That means usually she’s inwardly focused, has a matter-of-fact attitude, tends to stuff feelings and is uncomfortable with emotional outbreaks, and leads an ordered life. She may break away from this now and then, but if all of a sudden she starts hugging everyone and is late to every appointment, then I haven’t been true to her.
I had a good lesson in this in one of my early books. My protagonist had to make the choice between leaving her home forever with her man, or staying in a world she knew he could never survive in. I couldn’t bear to have to leave her family, so I had her whimp out and stay; NOT what I had established as who she was. My sister called me on this immediately; my heroine would NEVER do that. So I fixed it, and it read much better …it felt “real’ again.
In essence then, grab all the weird people you want and throw them into your stories, but do make sure they have an identifiable personality beyond the showy quirks. If you don’t, you’ll have a host of Pinocchoes; characters that try to be human but will never become real to your readers.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Cats and Breaks
Do all writers have cats? It’s the stereotype, isn’t it? I always imagined myself at my desk, a purring kitty either on my lap or perched beside me, giving me sage physic advice. And I have had those sorts of cats. In fact, the cat we lost two years ago was that sort; never bit, was always good natured, a furry meatloaf in his later years.
When my husband and I were thinking of a new cat I allowed him to make the decision. I knew I would love any feline because cats are my favorite animal. Gary, on the other hand, does love cats, but he also enjoys dogs, ferrets, fish, and who knows what else. As we live in a small condo we really only have room for one small beastie, not including his huge fish tank.
So Gary did a lot of research. He wanted something different. Something energetic. A play cat, he said. He chose an Osicat because the personality matched his requirements and because of the spots. And so we went to visit an Osicat cattery. Let me add here that folks who raise cats are, um, quirky. I won’t say the owner was a crazy cat lady, but you get the idea. Within two minutes of meeting her I heard way more information about Osicats and her personal life than I ever wanted to. But she did make it into a story. ;-) More on that next post.
Osicats don’t have any wild cat blood, although one could argue that point after meeting them; we were bombarded by about thirty kitties when we entered their space, all messing with each other and biting any butt they could sink their pointy teeth into. I was overwhelmed…all I could see was spots. But finally one little miscreant jumped on my shoulder and starting chewing my hair. She then leaped to Gary and nibbled his ear. Awe, so cute.
This is the one we picked. Gary named her Spriggan, after a hooligan Irish fairy. And it fits her; she can be the sweetest kitty ever, but she also bites, squawks like a banshee, licks you in the middle of the night, and is very demanding.
For example, one day last week I was writing and she brought me her stick. (She fetches). I ignored her. I was having trouble with a particular passage and I wanted to stay with it. She growled. I still kept writing. Then she bit me. I sighed. THIS is my writer’s kitty? But I got up and played before she could feast on any more ankle meat.
After that she curled up on a chair behind me (she is not a lap cat), and I settled back into my seat. And guess what? The chapter now flowed freely. Well what do you know, I needed to get up. Which sometimes I don’t do. I can stay glued to my seat for hours on end, never knowing what time it is until my husband startles me, home from work, with a cheery “have you been here all day?”
I think for me this is a combination of being in the corporate world of produce or die, my own driven personality, or perhaps the fear that my ideas will disappear if I don’t get them down. I’m better about taking breaks now. But the tendency will always be there.
So perhaps the cat I got is the cat I need; Spriggan reminds me that play, activity, and a connection to something other than my books are all very important. Besides, if I never leave the house, where would I meet all those fascinating people to base my characters on like that very interesting cat lady?
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need another band aid.
When my husband and I were thinking of a new cat I allowed him to make the decision. I knew I would love any feline because cats are my favorite animal. Gary, on the other hand, does love cats, but he also enjoys dogs, ferrets, fish, and who knows what else. As we live in a small condo we really only have room for one small beastie, not including his huge fish tank.
So Gary did a lot of research. He wanted something different. Something energetic. A play cat, he said. He chose an Osicat because the personality matched his requirements and because of the spots. And so we went to visit an Osicat cattery. Let me add here that folks who raise cats are, um, quirky. I won’t say the owner was a crazy cat lady, but you get the idea. Within two minutes of meeting her I heard way more information about Osicats and her personal life than I ever wanted to. But she did make it into a story. ;-) More on that next post.
Osicats don’t have any wild cat blood, although one could argue that point after meeting them; we were bombarded by about thirty kitties when we entered their space, all messing with each other and biting any butt they could sink their pointy teeth into. I was overwhelmed…all I could see was spots. But finally one little miscreant jumped on my shoulder and starting chewing my hair. She then leaped to Gary and nibbled his ear. Awe, so cute.
This is the one we picked. Gary named her Spriggan, after a hooligan Irish fairy. And it fits her; she can be the sweetest kitty ever, but she also bites, squawks like a banshee, licks you in the middle of the night, and is very demanding.
For example, one day last week I was writing and she brought me her stick. (She fetches). I ignored her. I was having trouble with a particular passage and I wanted to stay with it. She growled. I still kept writing. Then she bit me. I sighed. THIS is my writer’s kitty? But I got up and played before she could feast on any more ankle meat.
After that she curled up on a chair behind me (she is not a lap cat), and I settled back into my seat. And guess what? The chapter now flowed freely. Well what do you know, I needed to get up. Which sometimes I don’t do. I can stay glued to my seat for hours on end, never knowing what time it is until my husband startles me, home from work, with a cheery “have you been here all day?”
I think for me this is a combination of being in the corporate world of produce or die, my own driven personality, or perhaps the fear that my ideas will disappear if I don’t get them down. I’m better about taking breaks now. But the tendency will always be there.
So perhaps the cat I got is the cat I need; Spriggan reminds me that play, activity, and a connection to something other than my books are all very important. Besides, if I never leave the house, where would I meet all those fascinating people to base my characters on like that very interesting cat lady?
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need another band aid.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Due Credit
Writers are a by in large a solitary bunch; not surprising, because writing is a combination of being in one’s head much of the time in order to come up with stories and the actual writing part is usually an alone activity. Writers in general, I think, also have a tendency to believe because we do our craft alone we also accomplish it alone, and, that our product somehow ends up in a parallel universe populated by faceless non-people.
I am not guilty of the first faux pas; I know I need lots of help and support and I’m grateful for it. But I am guilty of the last. Before I discuss my failings, I do want to say a public thank-you to all the people who have helped me do what I love to do. First, my parents. My mom, bless her heart, even reads my vampire stories. Right up there with mom and dad is my sister, who is my first and number on editor, my confidant, my cheerleader, and she gives me good ideas. My husband is a great supporter too; he allows me the time I need to write. I would also include here all of my friends who read my books, even though they may not care about the subject matter. These sorts of people need to be thanked often, if only for listening to all of your story ideas and how hard it is to be a writer ad naseum.
Beyond the folks who love me are the editors and publishers with whom I have worked with, both good and bad. I have learned so much from all of them; I often say it’s just as important to know who you don’t want to work with as who you do. Included here are all the artists who have interpreted my work, both on the covers and as illustrations. I am an artist myself and I do some of my own, but sometimes either I don’t have time, my style doesn’t match, or it isn’t the policy of that particular publisher to allow me to do my own. It was weird at first to see my characters done in a way that I wouldn’t do, but I have come to enjoy alternate interpretations. Check out the flikr feed to see some of the great artwork done for me; the ones that are not my work I have noted and given credit for on my website.
The other surprising group of people I would thank would be all the mean people I have met. Of course, all sorts of folks make it into my books, disguised appropriately. But unpleasant people…they make the best villains. A number of my vampires were former corporate acquaintances. Moohaha. But would they ever guess? Not to worry. Carly Simon sung, “you’re so vain I bet you think this song is about you”. I would change that line to “you’re so vain, you’d never guess this monster is about you.” Still, if you do this be careful. At least change the name. ;-)
Ok, so on to what I really need to do, thank my readers. Let me first say I’ve always appreciated them. I know where those royalty checks come from. But what I didn’t do at first was to truly write FOR my readers. I wrote what I loved and how I liked to write. I’m an artist. Artists should do what they feel. Well, yes, if said artist never want to publish. If you DO want to publish, you must temper your artist expression with what the market wants, and the market is composed of PEOPLE. People who BUY YOUR STUFF.
I’m capitalizing that for me as much as anyone else, because I constantly have to remind myself of that. For example, I love settings. I choose books with lots of rich descriptive passages because that is what I like to read, and that is how I enjoy writing. But…today’s readers for the most part do NOT want lots of description. I have a friend who told me “I just skip over those parts.” Argghhh! All that hard work is being bleeped over? But stylistically clean and straightforward prose is what most people want today, at least in genre fiction that I do. So I adjusted.
I also had to reconsider my view of young adult literature. I have written several “sweet” YA books that I love and I have published. But they have never made that great leap. Why? Today’s youth want more mature fiction with adult themes. So, if I wanted to be successful in the YA world, I had to adjust. The book I have at Flux (waiting to hear back, sigh) is more in this vein.
In conclusion then, I think acknowledging the people who enable you to write is so important. No one does anything in a vacuum. Finally, acknowledging your readers as real people, that is, people who have likes and dislikes, and are not just repository for your art, is equally important. It is art, but it’s also a product. In today’s world, people have less and less money to spend. And like those candy bars at the check out counter, tweaking your work to fit today’s sensibilities will hopefully make it too temping to ignore.
Thank-you, readers, for teaching me this.
I am not guilty of the first faux pas; I know I need lots of help and support and I’m grateful for it. But I am guilty of the last. Before I discuss my failings, I do want to say a public thank-you to all the people who have helped me do what I love to do. First, my parents. My mom, bless her heart, even reads my vampire stories. Right up there with mom and dad is my sister, who is my first and number on editor, my confidant, my cheerleader, and she gives me good ideas. My husband is a great supporter too; he allows me the time I need to write. I would also include here all of my friends who read my books, even though they may not care about the subject matter. These sorts of people need to be thanked often, if only for listening to all of your story ideas and how hard it is to be a writer ad naseum.
Beyond the folks who love me are the editors and publishers with whom I have worked with, both good and bad. I have learned so much from all of them; I often say it’s just as important to know who you don’t want to work with as who you do. Included here are all the artists who have interpreted my work, both on the covers and as illustrations. I am an artist myself and I do some of my own, but sometimes either I don’t have time, my style doesn’t match, or it isn’t the policy of that particular publisher to allow me to do my own. It was weird at first to see my characters done in a way that I wouldn’t do, but I have come to enjoy alternate interpretations. Check out the flikr feed to see some of the great artwork done for me; the ones that are not my work I have noted and given credit for on my website.
The other surprising group of people I would thank would be all the mean people I have met. Of course, all sorts of folks make it into my books, disguised appropriately. But unpleasant people…they make the best villains. A number of my vampires were former corporate acquaintances. Moohaha. But would they ever guess? Not to worry. Carly Simon sung, “you’re so vain I bet you think this song is about you”. I would change that line to “you’re so vain, you’d never guess this monster is about you.” Still, if you do this be careful. At least change the name. ;-)
Ok, so on to what I really need to do, thank my readers. Let me first say I’ve always appreciated them. I know where those royalty checks come from. But what I didn’t do at first was to truly write FOR my readers. I wrote what I loved and how I liked to write. I’m an artist. Artists should do what they feel. Well, yes, if said artist never want to publish. If you DO want to publish, you must temper your artist expression with what the market wants, and the market is composed of PEOPLE. People who BUY YOUR STUFF.
I’m capitalizing that for me as much as anyone else, because I constantly have to remind myself of that. For example, I love settings. I choose books with lots of rich descriptive passages because that is what I like to read, and that is how I enjoy writing. But…today’s readers for the most part do NOT want lots of description. I have a friend who told me “I just skip over those parts.” Argghhh! All that hard work is being bleeped over? But stylistically clean and straightforward prose is what most people want today, at least in genre fiction that I do. So I adjusted.
I also had to reconsider my view of young adult literature. I have written several “sweet” YA books that I love and I have published. But they have never made that great leap. Why? Today’s youth want more mature fiction with adult themes. So, if I wanted to be successful in the YA world, I had to adjust. The book I have at Flux (waiting to hear back, sigh) is more in this vein.
In conclusion then, I think acknowledging the people who enable you to write is so important. No one does anything in a vacuum. Finally, acknowledging your readers as real people, that is, people who have likes and dislikes, and are not just repository for your art, is equally important. It is art, but it’s also a product. In today’s world, people have less and less money to spend. And like those candy bars at the check out counter, tweaking your work to fit today’s sensibilities will hopefully make it too temping to ignore.
Thank-you, readers, for teaching me this.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Communication Overload
I am not a child of the internet. I like it, don’t get me wrong, but I grew up with a stationary phone, snail mail, and gasp, face to face conversations. Today we have land lines, cell phones, twitter, email, facebook, blogging, websites, and more I’m sure I’ve forgotten. Hopefully we can still jam in actually seeing our friends and family. And I mean SEEING, not watching over a webcam.
To my niece Ruthie this all seems like a wonderful world; full of an ever increasing network of friends and acquaintances she somehow manages with grace and intelligence. I can’t seem to do that. Or maybe I just don’t want to.
I keep in touch with the people I love via “old fashioned” methods; my cell phone, seeing them, and email. But as a writer, there is also the need to keep in touch with one’s fans. I had to really think about that. I love my fans. Heck, just the idea people who don’t know me are buying my stuff is such a thrill. But it has taken me awhile to truly believe they would want to know me. And I want to give them something of myself. But I am also a private person, and, the idea of keeping up all of those communication sites just seemed overwhelming.
So here is what I picked. I decided on a website. That’s pretty static; I do update it from time to time, but that’s not too much work. I keep a non writing blog with my husband about our dancing. I now have this writer’s blog. I keep two email accounts, a home private one, and a public one which is accessed from my website. I have a private cell phone number, of course. And that’s it.
Other writers do it differently; I know some authors who have a huge presence on the web via many different kinds of sites. This just isn’t for me. As a writer you have to decide what’s right for you. Here are some things to consider in how you wish to communicate: how much and what kinds of information to do you want contribute, to whom, and where. Also how much time do you have, and how fast do you write. Then stick to your guns. You will get lots of advice telling you what you should do, but don’t make yourself crazy. Pick a few ways of communicating with your fans and leave it at that.
Besides, you want to make sure you actually have time to…write. :-)
To my niece Ruthie this all seems like a wonderful world; full of an ever increasing network of friends and acquaintances she somehow manages with grace and intelligence. I can’t seem to do that. Or maybe I just don’t want to.
I keep in touch with the people I love via “old fashioned” methods; my cell phone, seeing them, and email. But as a writer, there is also the need to keep in touch with one’s fans. I had to really think about that. I love my fans. Heck, just the idea people who don’t know me are buying my stuff is such a thrill. But it has taken me awhile to truly believe they would want to know me. And I want to give them something of myself. But I am also a private person, and, the idea of keeping up all of those communication sites just seemed overwhelming.
So here is what I picked. I decided on a website. That’s pretty static; I do update it from time to time, but that’s not too much work. I keep a non writing blog with my husband about our dancing. I now have this writer’s blog. I keep two email accounts, a home private one, and a public one which is accessed from my website. I have a private cell phone number, of course. And that’s it.
Other writers do it differently; I know some authors who have a huge presence on the web via many different kinds of sites. This just isn’t for me. As a writer you have to decide what’s right for you. Here are some things to consider in how you wish to communicate: how much and what kinds of information to do you want contribute, to whom, and where. Also how much time do you have, and how fast do you write. Then stick to your guns. You will get lots of advice telling you what you should do, but don’t make yourself crazy. Pick a few ways of communicating with your fans and leave it at that.
Besides, you want to make sure you actually have time to…write. :-)
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Hello Fellow Writers and Readers
I decided to write a blog about writing; about mine in particular because my publishers think it’s a good idea, and writing in general because I’d get bored with just my own story (so to speak), and also because I’d like to think I could help beginning writers. Writing is a tough business. Hopefully by recording my good experiences and ones I’d rather not repeat, others could follow a similar path. Or not as the case may be. :-)
First, let me say that while believe in my skill as a storyteller, my editing ability is mediocre at best. I’m better now because I’ve had to improve to be successful, but I know there will be an occasional typo and as my dear sister and number one editor says, “Kelly’s funny mistakes”. Hey, that might be a fun game. Write to me when I make goofs; I’ll publish the best ones.
Second, I’m not going to start out with giant biography; I have some of that on my website and I think people are most interested in learning about the writing world and the books I’m working on than about my personal life. On my website there are links to other stuff, like the dancing blog my husband and I do.
Finally, since writing is a big part of my life this blog will bump into lots of stuff; things I’m researching for a book, publishers, books I’m reading, interesting people and places that will land in a story, etc. I get bored easily so I intend this blog to be ever changing, fun, if also meandering.
So here we go. I have a bit of catch up to do; I’ve been seriously writing (aka, writing to be published) for about five years. I started out with short stories for two reasons, one, this way is easier to be published if you are an unknown, and two, I needed the quick fix of actually seeing my work in print. I compare this to school grades vs. the working world; one of the reasons I loved school is that nice affirmation every quarter. In the working world I was lucky to get two reviews a year, and those were filled with vague promises and weird “feedback”.
Anyway. I started with short stories, and had pretty good luck with them. I joined The Writer’s Market which helped me figure out exactly where to send them. I don’t use it anymore because I can do the research myself now, but for someone just getting started I think it’s tremendously helpful. Short stories were also a way to see what I wanted to specialize in. I tried it all, romance, children’s stories, sci-fi, fantasy, detective, adult fiction, young adult fiction. And I did discover what I liked best; young adult fantasy. But…I still love to foray into other genres, and continuing to write short stories allows me to do that. I also get to experience all different kinds of publishers and editors which help my writing and my submission skills. There is a famous quote that says a good writer knows the difference between a bad story and a bad publisher…so true.
During this time I also wrote a paranormal romantic trilogy. I know, it seems dumb even to me that I would write THREE books when I hadn’t sold the first one. But…I did. And I did sell the first one to New Concepts Publishing. And it did pretty well. But when I tried to sell the second one to this publisher, I heard nothing back. Which would be a complaint about this publisher; they do not communicate. So, now I have to wait until my book is out from under their contract and then hopefully sell the trilogy in its entirety somewhere else. This publisher also does not edit. At all. This is also not the norm. And I know my books need editing. Saying that, they have always been fair about getting me my royalty checks. Lesson learned about the trilogy; if you don’t know anything about the publisher, don’t send book one of a series.
I sold my next book after my trilogy (a romance) to Freya’s Bower, followed quickly by a sale to their sister publication, Wild Child Publishing, a young adult novel. This publisher is fabulous, and the editors are the best I’ve experienced. That said, some of their editors are better than others, not in technical skills, but in people skills. I do not have a fragile skin because I’ve worked in corporate America for so long, but I would guess for some writers starting out if you get a cranky editor it cold be brutal. The best editor (in my opinion) at FB/WCP is Michelle Ellis. She’s skilled, funny, tells it like it is but also encouraging. She’s also a great writer. So I have several books there now, two YA books and three romances. This publisher communicates and gets your checks out fast. I highly recommend them.
But as much as I love Wild Child, I wanted to move to the next level. WC is a small press. So the next two novels I wrote, both young adult, I sent to bigger publishers, one to Flux, and one to Holt. These are not huge like Bantam Books; I would classify them as medium. Unfortunately, most big publishers only accept from an agent. and it’s hard to get an agent when you are first starting out.
So that’s where I am; waiting to hear back from Flux and Holt (six months), and continuing to write. I’m working on another YA book. For me it’s important to keep on writing no matter what. It makes it easier to take a “no” when you are half way through another novel. :-)
First, let me say that while believe in my skill as a storyteller, my editing ability is mediocre at best. I’m better now because I’ve had to improve to be successful, but I know there will be an occasional typo and as my dear sister and number one editor says, “Kelly’s funny mistakes”. Hey, that might be a fun game. Write to me when I make goofs; I’ll publish the best ones.
Second, I’m not going to start out with giant biography; I have some of that on my website and I think people are most interested in learning about the writing world and the books I’m working on than about my personal life. On my website there are links to other stuff, like the dancing blog my husband and I do.
Finally, since writing is a big part of my life this blog will bump into lots of stuff; things I’m researching for a book, publishers, books I’m reading, interesting people and places that will land in a story, etc. I get bored easily so I intend this blog to be ever changing, fun, if also meandering.
So here we go. I have a bit of catch up to do; I’ve been seriously writing (aka, writing to be published) for about five years. I started out with short stories for two reasons, one, this way is easier to be published if you are an unknown, and two, I needed the quick fix of actually seeing my work in print. I compare this to school grades vs. the working world; one of the reasons I loved school is that nice affirmation every quarter. In the working world I was lucky to get two reviews a year, and those were filled with vague promises and weird “feedback”.
Anyway. I started with short stories, and had pretty good luck with them. I joined The Writer’s Market which helped me figure out exactly where to send them. I don’t use it anymore because I can do the research myself now, but for someone just getting started I think it’s tremendously helpful. Short stories were also a way to see what I wanted to specialize in. I tried it all, romance, children’s stories, sci-fi, fantasy, detective, adult fiction, young adult fiction. And I did discover what I liked best; young adult fantasy. But…I still love to foray into other genres, and continuing to write short stories allows me to do that. I also get to experience all different kinds of publishers and editors which help my writing and my submission skills. There is a famous quote that says a good writer knows the difference between a bad story and a bad publisher…so true.
During this time I also wrote a paranormal romantic trilogy. I know, it seems dumb even to me that I would write THREE books when I hadn’t sold the first one. But…I did. And I did sell the first one to New Concepts Publishing. And it did pretty well. But when I tried to sell the second one to this publisher, I heard nothing back. Which would be a complaint about this publisher; they do not communicate. So, now I have to wait until my book is out from under their contract and then hopefully sell the trilogy in its entirety somewhere else. This publisher also does not edit. At all. This is also not the norm. And I know my books need editing. Saying that, they have always been fair about getting me my royalty checks. Lesson learned about the trilogy; if you don’t know anything about the publisher, don’t send book one of a series.
I sold my next book after my trilogy (a romance) to Freya’s Bower, followed quickly by a sale to their sister publication, Wild Child Publishing, a young adult novel. This publisher is fabulous, and the editors are the best I’ve experienced. That said, some of their editors are better than others, not in technical skills, but in people skills. I do not have a fragile skin because I’ve worked in corporate America for so long, but I would guess for some writers starting out if you get a cranky editor it cold be brutal. The best editor (in my opinion) at FB/WCP is Michelle Ellis. She’s skilled, funny, tells it like it is but also encouraging. She’s also a great writer. So I have several books there now, two YA books and three romances. This publisher communicates and gets your checks out fast. I highly recommend them.
But as much as I love Wild Child, I wanted to move to the next level. WC is a small press. So the next two novels I wrote, both young adult, I sent to bigger publishers, one to Flux, and one to Holt. These are not huge like Bantam Books; I would classify them as medium. Unfortunately, most big publishers only accept from an agent. and it’s hard to get an agent when you are first starting out.
So that’s where I am; waiting to hear back from Flux and Holt (six months), and continuing to write. I’m working on another YA book. For me it’s important to keep on writing no matter what. It makes it easier to take a “no” when you are half way through another novel. :-)
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