Books

On the Path to Publication

Last summer I finally finished the first draft of my travel memoirs – a book I had no intention of writing. My focus had been on writing a mystery and joining the ranks of my favorite authors. Following a visit to my 50th state before I turned 50 – my own bucket list, if you will – friends and colleagues convinced me that my journey was worth chronicling.

What the heck, I figured. At a minimum, it would be one amazing journal of my visits to all 50 states. Now I’m in a second round of revisions and will be finished by late spring at which time I will begin shopping the manuscript around.

On my best days, I write furiously and happily. On my worst days, I’m filled with angst and doubt about my efforts.

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The path to publication is helped when following the advice from published authors. (Photo by Cynthia Price)

I’ve learned, I’m not alone. At the recent Mystery Palooza put on by the Sisters in Crime Central Chapter, several authors shared their journeys on the path to publication.All admitted to the same struggles. I wasn’t alone! Their stories encouraged me to keep plugging along. The authors who presented all had from two to 34 books to their name.

When asked about motivation, several responded about the importance of belonging to writers’ groups. I do, and they are right. Each time I attend a meeting I learn something. I also want to have something to share about my progress.

Frances Aylor, author of the Robbie Bradford financial thrillers, said. “I realized I was telling everyone I was writing a book, and it became a point of honor to finish it.” A few of my colleagues inquire every few weeks about my progress. I look forward to the day when I’m holding a copy of the book!

“Being around other writers motivates me,” author Mary Burton said. Every time I see her, she has encouraging words for me, and she has 34 books to her credit! Her next book, “Her Last Word,” debuts May 8.

Heather Weidner said, “It helps to have peers looking at (your work).” Her second book, “The Tulip Shirt Murders,” just came out.

When I shared my draft with my readers, I was apprehensive to get their feedback. What if they disliked it? Instead, they said, “Tell me more. I want more details.” They scribbled notes and suggestions throughout my draft, and I’m rewriting to deliver what they asked for.

I’m on the path to publication. I’ll let you know when the launch party is!

3 Ps of How Not to Write a Book

Julie Campbell and bookOne of the best talks I have heard about writing a book is actually about what not to do.

My friend Julie Campbell, who wrote, “The Horse in Virginia: An Illustrated History,” has given the talk several times and noted, “It’s a bit of a confessional self-help talk.”

Campbell, who was honored with the Library of Virginia People’s Choice Award for nonfiction, highlights three areas that she did wrong when writing her book. Those areas include: payment, procrastination and publicity.

Payment

“You’re not going to get rich writing books,” Campbell notes. She was prepared for that. What she wasn’t prepared for was making negative dollars. Once she factored in her time and expenses, she says, she made no money.

Her first lesson she shared is to negotiate to have expenses covered. Her contract did not include expenses, so Campbell paid for gas, hotels, meals and photocopies incurred as she researched the book and later when she went to book signings.

She encourages other writers to get an agent, even if the book is being published by a university press. “You want to have someone looking out for you.”

Procrastination

Procrastination is always a challenge. One way Campbell avoided working on her book was raking all the leaves in her “very large yard.” She also confessed to arranging her work space several times.

She finally developed some rituals to place her in the writing groove. She learned to break her work into small chunks and focus on one chunk at a time.

Publicity

Campbell says it’s also important to ask how much publicity the publisher will do and how much you as the author will have to do. She had to do most of her own, although she did suggest to her publisher where to send review copies of the book. She scheduled speaking engagements and created her own press kits by taking pocket folders and inserting her business card and several pages from the book to send to bookstores to make them aware of her book.

One area where she succeeded was with people. “I had the support of so many people to help me along the way.”

5 Tips I Picked up at the JRW Conference

My dear, late friend Emyl Jenkins was known for sprinkling her fairy dust over many writers.

Once again, she did it when I attended the James River Writers Conference. Her delightful husband Bob attended to award the Emyl Jenkins Sexton award, which recognizes individuals who continue her legacy of inspiring a love of writing and writing education in Virginia. He talked about how she spent so much time helping other writers, she sometimes needed to be reminded to follow her own advice: “Put the seat of your pants on the seat of the chair and write.”

That’s what I’ve done for the past two years, and have a first draft of a manuscript of travel essays. I decided to attend the JRW conference to learn more about fine-tuning the book, the publishing process and finding an agent.

I learned how much more I need to do, and what I was doing right. Here are some of the tips:

Attend a conference. This is the obvious one, but I found myself hesitating to register for the JRW conference. It was worth every penny and giving up a weekend of writing.

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Great advice on a tote bag. (Photo by Cynthia Price)

I worried. Do I belong here? Is my writing good enough? Turns out almost every writer has those thoughts. Mystery writer Maggie King shared a great tip, “At a conference, I pick one person and I talk with them.” She says she usually makes a new friend or discovers a fan. Either way, she said, “You’ve done your good deed for the day.”

Identify beta readers. These are individuals who, early on, read your manuscript and point out plot holes, poor dialogue and inconsistencies among other things. I did that with the travel essays, and I’m now reworking the material.

Write a strong query letter. This is your chance to sell an agent on you and your manuscript. You want the letter to be authentic and polished.

Most writers aren’t going to have the success that David Baldacci did with his first query letter. He shared the story during a luncheon Q&A.

He said he wrote in his letter, “I guarantee if you read the first page, you will read through until the last page.” He figured they’d read the manuscript just to prove him wrong. Fortunately, he was spot on, and he now has 34 novels to his credit.

Agent Cherise Fisher said a query letter reveals the author’s knowledge of herself and that’s important to her. “I am looking for a partner in bringing this book into the world.”

Power of Cmty

Maggie King, Joanna S. Lee, Maya Smart and Angele McQuade talked about the power of community during the James River Writers 2017 conference. Shawna Christos moderated.  (Photo by Cynthia Price)

Join a community of writers. These can be face-to-face or online. Maya Payne Smart says she gets more out of in-person writing communities. “You see (the writers) are real people. There is something to putting a face to the stories you hear,” she said. “It’s important to have people cheering for you.”

Joanna S. Lee said it’s okay to join online and then simply “lurk” until you are ready to contribute.

One benefit of an online community is the flexibility. “Not all of us can be in person within the community whether because of work or obligations,” said Angele McQuade.

Just write. The one piece of advice I heard repeatedly is what Emyl always told me — you need to write. McQuade said, “You need to recognize when you are having too much fun within the writing community and aren’t writing.”

 

 

 

4 Time Management Tips to Help With Writing

Sheri Reynolds, whose novel the Rapture of Canaan was an Oprah Book Club selection, says she likes to think of herself as a little gifted. What she really is, though, is persistent.

And being persistent is key to not only writing and editing a book but to getting it published. She has published six novels and one play and has developed some time management tips to help with her writing.

One tip is to go on an overnight trip once or twice a year to push through on your writing. When Reynolds does this she will work for about three hours and then take a walk. After another writing push, she will go to dinner.

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The beach is one of my favorite places for writing. When I need a break, I can go for a long walk. 

My most successful writing has happened just this way. I think of them as mini sprints. In fact, I have three days scheduled this holiday season at the beach where I will do just as she prescribes — write, walk, dine. I have daily goals and look forward to celebrating reaching the goals each evening.

Reynolds also is a proponent of scheduling some time each week with your characters. “I have a little liaison with my fiction life,” she said.

I haven’t done this yet, but I’m looking forward to having lunch with Frank, a detective in my novel. During our lunch, I’ll learn more about his character and think about how he is conducting the investigation.

When you are forced to attend a lecture or concert, don’t dread it. Instead, Reynolds said to think of it as mandated day dreaming time. When she does this, people think she is taking notes, but she is really writing. Airports also are a good place for writing.

A final piece of advice is to always keep a notebook for writing. You can jot ideas and record research. Best of all, Reynolds said, you won’t stress when the train or your doctor is running late.

 

Productivity tips from the experts

For the past several evenings, I have been watching way too many videos, but it’s okay. They are an investment in myself. I recently blogged about the importance of investing in yourself, and one of the things I recommended was finding free webinars.

Capture_PeakWorkPerformanceThe Peak Work Performance Summit is a series of video talks with some of the top productivity names in the industry. It’s a wealth of “research-based insights and actionable tips for elevating your performance,” according to the email I received from Ron Friedman, author of “The Best Place to Work,” and organizer of the Summit. Unfortunately, the videos are no longer available for free, but you can purchase access.

Here are just a few of the takeaways I had –

Gretchen Rubin on Changing Your Habits noted, “Nothing is more exhausting than the task that is never started.” After watching her session, I wrote the introduction for a book idea I have. I’d been talking about writing the introduction for three months. I also developed a writing schedule. She also suggested developing some fun habits, including running down stairs because it’s energizing. I did it at work, and people commented on how much energy I had!

Christine Carter, who wrote, “The Sweet Spot: How to Find Your Groove at Home and Work,” talked about the “better than nothing workout.” Her point is that more is not necessarily better, especially if you don’t even start. I’m on a Fitbit quest, but there are days that 10,000 steps seem daunting. After listening to Carter, I gave myself permission to just walk 2,500 steps that day. Once I started, I was good. That day, I reached 7,700 steps. I was short a bit, but at least I moved.

Greg McKeown spoke about “the undisciplined pursuit of more.” The antidote, he said, “is the disciplined pursuit of less but better.” For example, when an opportunity presents itself, is it a great opportunity, or a just a good opportunity?

I have always been a list maker, and in the last few years, I’ve become even more intense about my lists. I feel vindicated now thanks to David Allen who said, “Don’t use your head as an office.” He said that writing things helps us stay clear and focused. He is the author of “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free Productivity.”

One of the ways, I have developed my skills is by volunteering through groups to which I belong. Dorie Clark, author of “Reinventing You,” recommended doing just that — volunteering in areas of interest where you want to take your career. “It can help you pivot,” she noted. She also recommended creating a networking plan and being strategic about who to spend time with and who you want to learn from.

Carrie Wilkerson, who wrote the “Barefoot Executive,” recommended picking one person and intentionally following them through the year, whether you invest with them or not. Currently, I personally pay a monthly fee to be part of an inner circle in which I get tips on earning positive media coverage. You could also follow a person’s blog or buy their book. The key, Wilkerson said, is to listen and not try to be on all the lists (of course, that’s easier said than done after participating in this summit!)

An underlying theme was the importance of developing and implementing routines. Doing so makes execution as effortless as possible, McKeown said. Turns out our mothers were right to line up our clothes for the week.

My takeaways were many, and I’ve put them on a master list so I don’t lose sight of them. Some of the items are action items, and I’ve assigned due dates to ensure that I follow through. Mostly though, I came away inspired.