Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript in 30 Days

People like me get excited about books for writing, so I’m thrilled to welcome Zoe McCarthy this week. For years, I followed her helpful blog posts that explained grammar and usage in a hands-on manner, and now has compiled them into a text that I’ve enjoyed perusing. And she is giving away a

My review: This volume literally (pardon the pun) bursts with necessary information for both fiction and non-fiction writers. Through the years I’ve consulted various grammar handbooks, and also used several in instructing college writing classes. I can heartily recommend this one. Concise and filled with down-to-earth examples, it offers treasure to serious writers.

I congratulate the commenter who wins her giveaway of a signed copy. To qualify, just leave a note for her in the comment section. And here is Zoe:

“You need to turn your blog posts into a book on writing,” an editor told me. Then a few weeks later, literary agent Diana Flegal said the same thing. She later wrote, “Since the market for fiction writers is tougher than ever, I bugged Zoe, and her agent, for a Zoe McCarthy writing book.” So, I took these professionals’ advice and created Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript in 30 Days.

On the eve of Halloween, I’ll share scary challenges that confronted me and snippet assurances I received in endorsements.

Overwhelming material.I’d researched and written over 150 posts on writing topics I’d used in writing my seven inspirational romances and teaching writing workshops. I didn’t want to dump posts into a book. How could I organize so many posts into a coherent guide for writers? Scary. I wish you could’ve seen the posts’ print-outs stacked into meaningful piles covering my office floor and furniture. Editor coordinator for Pelican Book Group, Jamie West, wrote, “A concise, detailed, step-by-step resource for all writers.”

Daunting dream. How could I structure the book to help writers get their manuscripts in shape and guide first-time writers in writing their stories? I wanted to free writers from experiencing rejections like I’d received on my journey. Freelance editor Denise Loock wrote, “If you follow her advice and implement her strategies, a publisher will be much more likely to issue you a contract.”

Perfection. Since Tailor teaches writing, I wanted it to be perfect. Recently I spotted a typo in one of my examples.Ugh. I wrote, “I didn’t steal this heroine.” I meant a drug, not a woman. Multi-published author Tanya Hanson said, “As an English teacher, I can attest that her tips on good grammar and her hints for excellent sentence and paragraph structure are spot on. But as an author, I also appreciate her ever-present advice that excellent skills are not enough: you must tell a good story, too.”

Confidence. No scary ghost can attack me on one aspect. I believe in Tailor. Multi-award-winning author and president of Word Weavers, Eva Marie Everson, penned, “Zoe McCarthy’s book is a fresh and innovative refocusing of your novel or novella. Through a few simple—and fun—steps, Zoe helps writers take their … manuscripts to a spit-polish finish.”

Aspiration.I hope Tailor will lessen fear of writing. Bestselling cozy mystery author and  Twitteriffic owner, Elizabeth Spann Craig, wrote, “Zoe M. McCarthy’s step-by-step reference guide leads you through the process, helping you fight feeling over-whelmed.” I smiled.

Links: 

https://www.facebook.com/ZoeMMcCarthyAuthor/

October Days

The cold has come, the sun has gone…it’s time for pumpkins! The other day I cooked one and made pumpkin bread, a perfect break from editing a manuscript.

Topped with melting butter, savored with a mug of hot tea. Oh my–the simple joys of the season. I’ll get back to my work soon, but the enticing aroma of pumpkin bread baking is calling me…

Be the Writer’s MVP!

A warm welcome to Sandra Haven, a Developmental Editor for commercially and self-published authors. Have you thought of writing yourself? The first three readers to comment AND say he or she is interested in writing will receive a free PDF copy of Sandra’s book “How to Publish a Book, Novel, or Series.”

NOTE: if you think Gail does not have your e-mail, pls include it in your reply. 

How You Can Become A Key Player In A Series

By Sandra Haven

Who doesn’t like reading more books about the same great characters? Or in the same marvelous setting? I sure like to read them! It is like looking forward to a tasty second and third course in a yummy meal. We all have a favorite series author or two. You also find new writers, like some who participate in this blog, who will perk your interest.

Yet a series can let me down as well. As an editor who works with many series writers, I know a series can be tricky to write. And I know that authors are eager to please readers.

Authors are like cooks: they want to serve readers with satisfying results. Although the book they have already published and is in your hands, they are eager to know if it was satisfying. And your answer will help them refine the flavor of their next course—the next book in their series.

Here are things for readers to think about to help those authors to provide you with great stories:

Was the current book satisfying? Why or why not?

Every book in a series needs a thread of interest, something unresolved, to pull readers into the next book. However, if there is no sense of reward, no place of safety where the character can rest at “The End,” nothing is accomplished and readers can feel let down. How well did the current book satisfy you?

Did you read a later book in a series and feel lost?

Catching readers up on the backlog of previous book characters and issues can be challenging—but, maybe you happened to pick up Book 2 or 12 in a series. You should be able to plunge right in and enjoy that particular story without wondering who is who.  For instance, Susan Furlong’s Georgia Peach Mysteryseries offers the same characters and setting but with different mysteries (and a few peachy recipes!) in each book, each a complete story in itself.

Did you love something (a character or situation) but the author kind of skipped over it?

Did you wish there was more about Joe, that great minor character mentioned in chapter 6? Or did the main character’s problems with this or that seem glossed over? Whatever perks YOUR interest is what the writer wants to hear about. Which brings me to …

How to Help Your Favorite Writers

Tell the Authors!

Authors are nearly all online. Usually they have their own website or blog or FaceBook or other social media pages. Believe me, they are truly eager to connect with readers. They often tweak the next book based on what their readers say!

Want to see more about something, say Joe in chapter 6? Or hear how Stephanie dealt with her health issue? Or maybe you loved the mystery but found it a little too simple  or too complex? Let them know if you found an ending not as satisfying as you’d hoped for or if you got lost at some point. Find their contact information online and write to them.

Most authors would appreciate a note from you; however, many receive so many emails that although they read and consider all of them, they are unable to answer them. Many authors offer newsletters to deal with most of the questions that come up. You may discover what the author is planning next and get some insights on the stories. Sometimes there are other subscriber benefits as well, like special discounts.

I heard J. A. Jance speak quite some time ago about her mystery stories involving police officer J.P. Beaumont. The owner of a Seattle restaurant she had used in previous books asked if Jance’s restaurant owner in the book could have an affair with this cop. In the next book, the cop did enjoy a date with the owner!

You may not be able to spoon with one of your favorite characters, even within the pages of the book, but you certainly can dish out useful recommendations to the author. Then, the next time they bake up a batch of words to serve you, you just might find each morsel has the flavor you preferred in that satisfying read.

Sandra would love to hear from you.  www.Haven4Writers.com

 

The Last of the Roses

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Seems not long ago when the first rose of the summer bloomed, and here it is, nearly the end of October.

Whoever coined the phrase time flies knew what they were doing. I’ve been editing and editing and EDITING…the final book of the Women of the Heartland series. Coming out in November…still not sure of the exact day of release. But the cold has blown in, and it’s time to rescue the last roses from my friend’s bush.

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It’s also nearly the 500th anniversary of the Reformation…yep, did you know that Martin Luther was a the best-selling author? If my writing affects one-hundredth of a percent of his following, I’ll be surprised.

My recent notes while reading about London during the Blitzkrieg… snippets of information like this come together to create a book. I suppose Luther took notes, too, but he wrote without the ease of modern technology, probably long into the night by candlelight.

Nothing about his life was easy, and interestingly, he included a subdued white rose in his seal, connoting the fruits of faith.

Whatever our task, that’s what it’s all about, believing that what we do makes a difference. Even a small difference in a few lives. As roses, in their quiet way, add beauty and lightness to our journey (if we take time for them…) so our work can enhance this weary world.

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Next post, I hope to share the cover of A Purpose True and its release date. In the meantime, I’ll keep on editing, and  hope you find a little time to spend with a rose.

Catching Up With Daylight -MASSIVE GIVEAWAY!

Welcome to the WhiteFire Publishing Scavenger Hunt! If you’ve just discovered the hunt, be sure to go back to stop #1 and collect all the clues in order. Once you have them all, you’ll have uncovered a secret message. Turn that in at the final stop for a chance to win one of THREE amazing prize packages!

The Hunt begins at Roseanna White’s site

  • Take your time! You have all weekend to complete the Hunt—entries will be counted until Monday June 26—so have fun reading all the posts along the way and getting to know each author
  • Lots of extra prizes! Many of the authors are featuring unique giveaways as well, for even more chances to win!
  • Submit your entry for the grand prizes back at Roseanna White’s blog.

On an evening flight from Des Moines, Iowa to Colorado Springs, the man in the seat behind me quipped, “We’ll be catching up with daylight on this trip.” Voila! The perfect title for my memoir.

A few years later, WhiteFire Publishing issued me a contract for this manuscript, a compilation of essays, quotes, and women’s stories. The process of nurturing this work to publication taught me so much about life, even though I was a late bloomer with my writing.

I learned that memoir borrows some fiction techniques, such as grounding the reader in each new chapter. And of course, the genre requires imagination

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You may be singing your heart out like this little wren in our back yard, but must alert the reader to the whys and wherefores.

 

Memoir relays one’s unique journey, but mine definitely benefitted from editors’ objectivity. In the end, the published books delivered to my door one day gave me deep satisfaction. I believe I may have hugged the Fed Ex man.

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Taking the journey is one thing, but turning your private writing into public writing entirely another, and I’m so grateful WhiteFire gave me the opportunity.

From there, the road has stretched on to writing World War II fiction focused on characters’ journeys. Their joys and sorrows become as real to me as my next door neighbor’s.

But for me, memoir needed to come first – making meaning of my own experiences.  Eudora Welty wrote, “To imagine yourself inside another person…is what a story writer does in every piece of work; it is his first step, and his last too, I suppose.”

Here’s the Stop # 7 Scoop:

You can order my book at: http://amazon.com/author/gailkittleson

Clue to Write Down: imagination

Link to Stop # 8, the Next Stop on the Loop: Joy Palmer

Need the full list of stops?

 

Roseanna M. White

April McGowan

Cara Luecht

Christine Lindsay

Debra Marvin

Dina Sleiman

Gail Kittleson

Joy Palmer

June Foster

Melody Carlson (hosted)

Nelson Hannah

Rachelle Rea Cobb

Sara Goff

Susie Finkbeiner

Susanne Dietze

Suzie Johnson

All finished? Submit Your Entries!

And now, for my own little giveaway! I’m adding a World War II replica flour sack dishtowel to our group giveaway, since that era affected my childhood so much, and therefore plays into Catching Up With Daylight.

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Jot a comment here, perhaps about how memoir has touched you, and leave a LIKE or a smile on my FB author page (if you’ve already LIKED it) to qualify.

 

Good morning, sunshine!

A quiet Sunday morning, but after a great rain last night, our plants are grinning all over the porch and deck.

Geraniums garner fresh sunshine . . . the plant on the right has TWELVE blossoms right now.

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Rosemary and basil greet us . . .

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Petunias and johnny jump-ups join in.

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Yesterday the first edits for A Purpose True, the sequel to Addie’s story, arrived. A time to pay attention to details, to make things better, to brighten the world around us, and to enjoy the process.

Already, tomato blossoms promise a fruitful summer . . . what more could we ask?

Richard Mabry – Round and Round/Giveaway

Please welcome Richard L. Mabry, M.D. to our blog today. He’s the award winning author of Medical Suspense With Heart, as well as the Prescription For Trouble series (Abingdon), Stress Test, Heart Failure, Critical Condition (Harper Collins), and  Fatal Trauma (Abingdon) To one fortunate commenter this week, he’ll give away a copy of Miracle Drug.

“Mabry combines his medical expertise with a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat.” – USA Today

THE WRITING CAROUSEL

There’s a song in the musical, The Fantasticks, called “Round and Round.” In it, the couple sees only the good things that go by, even though at times the view from the carousel is of scenes that are less than pleasant. Why do I bring that up? I mention it because the view of writing from the standpoint of the pre-published writer is much different than the one seen by the author who has at least a couple of books under his/her belt.

Before I got a contract for Code Blue, my first novel, I wrote four novels over a period of four years, garnering forty rejections in the process. And that’s nowhere near a record. Although some authors (like Gayle Roper) got a contract for their first novel, others (like T Davis Bunn) collected lots more rejections than I did before a publisher liked his work. Eventually I, and lots of other authors, prevailed. However, shortly thereafter I also learned something interesting: that contract wasn’t the end. It was just the beginning of lots more work.

First, I quickly discovered that, although my novel might be good enough to make an acquisition editor happy, it would go through a series of edits and rewrites before it saw print. And all those edits and rewrites involved me. Did it make the work better? Of course it did. Was it time-consuming? Yes—but I learned with each editorial letter and rewrite.

In addition, there was the process of cover design, a process I’m pleased to say I’ve been involved in for all my novels. That’s nice, but also takes a bit of time. In addition, there was the back cover copy and author information. It was necessary writing, but took some work to accomplish.

Then there’s marketing. Although the publisher works at marketing the book, there’s a good bit for the author to do as well. And I learned very fast that no one wants a book to be read by a wide audience more than the author does. Say what you will about “the good old days,” but nowadays it’s a necessity for an author to be active in social media and other aspects of keeping his/her name and work before the reading public. Don’t forget, of course, that this includes not only their own website and blog, but being available (and even making arrangements) for guest blogs and interviews on the sites of others.

Oh, and while all this is going on, the writer should be at work on their next book. After all, none of us want to be a one-trick pony. And after the first and second come…you guessed it—the third. Authors who quit after the first book aren’t unheard of, but they’re rare. It’s even been discovered that Harper Lee, who supposedly stopped after writing To Kill A Mockingbird, had another book sitting in a trunk or someplace.

Now, imagine trying to keep all those plates spinning. That’s where I’ve been for a while: arranging to get out the news about my forthcoming book, Fatal Trauma, while finishing edits for the next one, Miracle Drug (due out in September), and keeping up interest in my prior novels—the so-called “backlist.” Has it required time and effort on my part? Of course it has. Would I trade it for the status of an unpublished writer? Not a chance.

So that’s the writing carousel. If you haven’t been able to get on yet, don’t despair. Work on your craft and don’t give up. The view from here is pretty good, even as it goes round and round.

Miracle Drug

Dr. Richard Mabry is a retired physician, now writing “medical suspense with heart.” He is an active member of International Thriller Writers, a past Vice-President of the American Christian Fiction Writers, and a member the Romance Writers of America. His eight previously published novels have garnered critical acclaim and been recognized by programs including the ACFW’s Carol Award, the Romantic Times’ Inspirational Book of the Year, the Inspirational Readers Choice, and the Selah Award. His novella, Rx Murder, released via Amazon in April, and Abingdon Press published his novel, Fatal Trauma, in May of this year. Miracle Drug is scheduled for release in September.

You can learn more about Richard on his website (http://rmabry.com) and blog (http://rmabry.blogspot.com). He can also be found via his Facebook author page (http://facebook.com/rmabrybooks) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/RichardMabry).

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Karen Milligan, June 21, 2015

 

Karen Milligan is a reader, teacher and writer. Teaching high school English, literature and a myriad of writing styles for the past 51 years has had its redundancies and periods. Grading papers = editing. (She began teaching when she was 14 years old at a rural summer school and later taught her younger brother and her son all four years of their high school.)

She’s published 30 children’s stories, a book The Great Church Mouse Caper and 5 teacher resource books on writing. Currently she tutors students in expository and creative writing, writes for a Wisconsin Genealogy newsletter and edits thesis papers. She’s also writing her childhood memoirs along with a historical genealogical family tree involving Dutch and Scottish ancestors.

She lives in Menasha, Wisconsin with her husband of 35 years, a former instrumental music teacher; they have one son and two grandchildren, 16 and 18 years old. Her hobbies include: sewing, flower gardening, long distance hiking, reading, travel, photography, bird watching, writing memoir stories, singing, and charcoal drawing. She is open to editing and proofreading and can be contacted at kmbooks50@gmail.com or befriend her at Karen Porter Milligan on facebook.

 

Credits to the Edits

Have you ever thought about how many actual words you hear in a day? The number, if you could count them, would be astonishing. The sheer number of words you read in a day could be counted, but who would take time to do that? We writers and editors, who love words, handle them every day with our eyes and our minds. As a teacher of English, expository and fiction writing, I cannot fathom the billions of words that have crossed my brainwaves.

You, as a writer, accept the fact that you must also edit. Re-reading, searching for mistakes, looking for anomalies, tweaking unclear phrases or spying flat-out typos can be tedious or joyful. This all depends on your viewpoint and time needed to seek the mistakes.

In essay papers corrected by teachers are the following real-life examples of… well, youʼll see… History of the World, a studentʼs answer: Ancient Egypt was inhabited by mummies, and they all wrote in hydraulics. They lived in the Sarah Dessert and traveled by Camelot. The climate of the Sarah is such that the inhabitants have to live elsewhere, so certain areas of the dessert are cultivated by irritation. The pyramids are a range of mountains between France and Spain. The Egyptians built the pyramids in the shape of a huge triangular cube.

Another student wrote: The Greeks were a highly sculptured people, and without them, we wouldnʼt have history. The Greeks invented three kinds of columns–Corinthian, Doric and Ironic. They also had myths. A myth is a female moth. One myth says that the mother of Achilles dipped him in the River Stynx until he became intolerable. Achilles appears in “The Iliad,” by Homer. Homer also wrote the “Oddity,” in which Penelope was the last hardship that Ulysses endured on his journey. Actually, Homer was not written by Homer but by another man of that name.

A third student opined: Socrates was a famous Greek teacher who went around giving people advice. They killed him. Socrates died from an overdose of wedlock. After his death, his career suffered a dramatic decline. A fourth student expressed: In mid-evil times most of the people were alliterate. The greatest writer of the futile times was Chaucer, who wrote many poems and verse and also wrote literature. Another story was about William Tell, who shot an arrow through an apple while standing on his son’s head.

Now these were honest-to-goodness students’ use of the English language which is filled with funny, odd, humorous, out-of-place ideas and phrases. The rules, if you will, about editing take twists and turns. Two words that have been added to American language are: texting and impacting. The word “text” is a noun, not to be used as a verb. Mimi just texted me and I need to answer her!

The word “impact” is a noun, not to be used as a verb. But, we hear both used incorrectly almost daily. The students were impacted by the new campus ruling. One last word that has morphed since I was young is the word harassment. (And, yes, I used the word “morphed” correctly.)

Harassment used to be pronounced with the accent on the middle syllable, but is now pronounced with the accent on the first syllable. Who and where the change was sanctioned on all three words is a mystery to me. Editing will always be a mud-fuddled job. Wait! Where did that word come from? Yikes! I ended a sentence with a preposition. See what I mean?

Alright, all of you writers and editors out there, keep up the good work. (Please, edit out the use of “alright!”) I give you credits to the edits!

Karen A. Milligan Menasha, Wisconsin

Good-bye, April

April is known as a trickster around these parts, and she lived up to her reputation this weekend. During our town garage sales, she sent treasure-seekers racing between vehicles and garages.

But today, the sun’s spectacular, and the sky as blue as my grandkids’ eyes. So I’ve been out checking on the growth in our yard.

My tulips, surrounded by blue bells, are peeking at the world. By the time you see this picture, it’ll have turned around, because I’m going to ask my husband for help. Every time I try to edit it, I lose everything, even my words, so I’m going to publish this post, then ask for help. If you see it’s still catty-wampus, you’ll know that didn’t work out.

 

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But you get the idea- pretty lavender tulips and lovely bluebells.

 

 

 

The potatoes have decided it’s safe to show themselves, too.

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And through another manuscript rejection, I’ve been challenged to slough off old, out-used attitudes. Ya think?

One of my characters motivated me in this area . . . who said we write for publication?

 

Sometimes I think writing is really all about the journey.

So, as May arrives in a few days, I hope I’ll maintain my late-April resolution and stay in a positive frame of mind. One thing for sure, every day brings a bit more green to our Northern Iowa world, and that’s a very good thing.