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 |   Exploring the future through the present. One day at a time. |
| The third year I attended the Writing for the Soul conference, I researched none of the editors or their magazines. I figured God would lead me to the right ones, and if I depended upon him then I wouldn't fail. After meeting with the first editor God informed me that I wasn't depending upon him, but being lazy. Sure, God will set a path before us, and give us strength and wisdom, but he still requires us to walk that path. Remembering my total failure of the previous conference, I researched the magazines I wanted to pitch to. I read their guidelines, and checked out some of the articles on their website. I then polished up the pieces I thought would work. Mere days before the conference, I was ready. The first magazine editor I met with was Cynthia Schnereger of Light and Life. After the introductions I said, "I have a few articles, but after attending Lin Johnson's class, I know I need to restructure them." I described one to her and she said, "It's a good idea, but it's more of a basic that would work better as a devotional for people who are just learning about the Bible. Our readers are more advanced in their journey." Fine and dandy. I then presented one of my favorites. Again she said, "It's a good idea, but it needs to be fleshed out more." Her magazine needs articles with five points that describes a specific problem and offers a solution using my own journey of discovery. The article I showed her contained neither. Cynthia then asked me what my current focus was, and I described my book to her. Her eyes lit up and she said, "You could write an article about how science fiction fits in the Christian market." Good idea, but Christianity Today recently wrote a similar article. Although a good article, it still seemed leery of mixing Christianity and science fiction. I said as much and Cynthia said, "Which is why you should write it after you succeed in the market. You have a different and more positive perspective on it." Our fifteen minutes ended, and I thanked her profusely for her advice and giving me the idea for the article. No thievery now. The idea is mine, mine, mine! (Kidding. Ideas can't be copyrighted). I like how she stressed not to write the article now. I need to succeed in the marketplace first with my science fiction novel. Otherwise it might sound like a complaint with no positive outcome. Wow. This entry ended up longer than I intended. Tomorrow I will describe my other editor appointment. It turned out equally positive, but more on a spiritual level. |
| Following is Jerry’s critique, but I must explain the symbology I used to show what he eliminated, reworded, etc. Underline – eliminated words. (Bold) – Jerry’s comments (sp) – spelling error with correct word afterward Italic (except the first paragraph) – reorder the words. (Bold and italic) – word replacement and/or addition (on the nose) – A Hollywood term for writing that exactly mirrors real life without adding to the story. God help me! I'm drowning! (Telling) The blue water engulfed Larn Wintel, and with what seemed an intelligent (to) purpose(ly) it pulled him down into the dark. The light above wavered and disappeared,(thus the dark) but (sp)the more he struggled the faster he sank. The pressure increased and his body grew stiff and cold (on the nose). He called out once again to God, but perceived no answer (Don’t tell what doesn’t happen). His heart thudded and his lungs burned— Larn jolted awake, his body (what else?) drenched in sweat. He sat up and gasped for air (what else would he gasp for? Syrup?) as his eyes darted about to determine his surroundings.(comma) He sighed with relief(ved) to find he was still in his bedroom (had been only dreaming), but his breath caught (again) when he saw the figure standing at the foot of his bed. Thinking it nothing but a phantom of his nightmare, he studied the person standing within the soft moonlight streaming through the gossamer drapes of his tall windows. Though she wore loose black pants and (a) tunic, she was obviously a woman. With her short stature (,) and (she looked short and) lithe figure he assumed her to be (as) a mere teenager, b(. B)ut her large and dark eyes revealed a hardness of heart of someone much older. He then felt the pressure in his mind. The woman (This) was no phantom. He tried to shrink away (I’d like to see anyone try to shrink away in a bed) and call for help, but her telepathic hold on him kept him pinned and silent. His chest felt compressed and h(H)e struggled to breathe(,) once again. He fell (falling) back, his strength and will to fight dissolving. He felt no anger, no despair, only regret for a girl who had been abused and exploited in ways he alone made possible. His past (I hope they were past) sins had finally caught up to him, and they demanded justice. Using the last of (With) his (last ounce of) strength, he lifted his head and stared into her now surprised (POV) eyes. "Take the book," he whispered through pain-filled gasps. "O(o)n my nightstand. Computer, too. Please. Read them. Understand. I'm so terribly sorry." She blinked, but otherwise her hold on him didn't waver. His heart stopped moments later, and Larn Wintel took the last breath of his life. (Got it) *** Only after Doctor Wintel breathed his last did Kallie Gartew realize she held her own (Her own what? Breath?) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whew! I hope that all makes sense. If not, you can read the edited version here: "Invalid Item"  The reason I balked at my spelling error is because an earlier submission contained two and Jerry jumped on them. “Even in a 500 page book,” he said, “it’s expected to see about a dozen spelling errors. However, for a new writer seeking a publisher or agent, the first five pages have to be perfect. It shows the writer is either lazy or sloppy, and the editor will send out a standard rejection form without reading another page.” When Jerry finished the first page, he stopped and said, “This isn’t a bad story. Here the man wakes up from a nightmare to find a figure at his bed. This is scary.” Several people behind me said, “Yeah. I wanted to keep reading.” I danced on the inside hearing that. However, although my meeting with Zondervan wasn’t negative per se, I wondered if I should shelve my book for a while. I worried that my book wasn’t publish worthy, both in writing and in storyline. Jerry and the other comments affirmed that my story is indeed worthy to be read by others – if not yet ready. When he finished a lady leaned over and whispered, “I wonder if the man was an abortion doctor.” I whispered, “Sort of.” She gasped (for syrup) and said, “That was yours?” “It is.” She laughed and said, “You’re only admitting it because he said he liked it.” “Yep.” “Is he really an abortion doctor?” “Actually, he’s a geneticist.” That piqued her interest even more, which was cool. Jerry’s edits eliminate mostly excess verbiage. Once I rewrite it, I will end up with a more concise and active story. Hopefully I will remember his suggestions throughout the rest of the manuscript. That's not to say I agreed with every one. Jerry even said editing is subjective, and we can take or leave them. Mostly the workshop is designed to teach us how to look out for and eliminate wordiness. Tomorrow I will discuss what I learned from the two magazine editors. Thursday will focus on what I learned in the other classes and workshop, and Friday I will talk about the spiritual component of the conference. That’s the plan anyway. So my entries don’t get too long, I may stretch them out over the weekend. |
| After starting my trip in the smallest airport ever built -- the size of a medium-sized restaurant -- I arrived at the conference half-way through the Thursday night kick-off session. Gary Chapman spoke, and he talked about the five ways a person should apologize. I didn’t take any notes, because I don’t apologize (kidding). When he finished, all the attendees stampeded to the tables in the back for appointment sign-up. We could choose up to three. Zondervan was first on my list, and I made second in line for that. The other two I managed to get were near the bottom of my list, but no matter. I could still take a seat at the reserved tables for lunch and dinner, and talk to them then. The conference scheduled was structured with a continuing education class in the morning, a workshop in the afternoon, publishing panels (Q&A with all the editors) and an evening speaker after supper. The 15 minute appointments took place during the classes and workshops. Friday morning I attended the Publishing 101 class with magazine editor Lin Johnson. She discussed what most editors looked for, and how to format all submissions. I noticed even at the start I made a few boo-boos with my articles I wanted to show off. For instance, never begin or end an article with scripture. Oops. Did both. My first appointment with Andy Meisenheimer of Zondervan started at 9:45, and I was a little nervous -- a few stomach butterflies only. I sat and pitched my novel. “What is the sub-genre,” he asked, “Cyberpunk, Space opera, or what?” Andy received a blank stare as a response. That’s one thing I didn’t include in my research and wish I had. I said at one point, “You’re asking great questions. I wish I thought of them beforehand, so I could answer better.” After bumbling through my pitch a little more, I gave him my pitch sheet. He looked up with a sigh and said, “You had to choose science fiction.” Although his bio said he was willing to look at science fiction “or anything weird,” the larger Christian publishers -- including Zondervan -- are still not willing to take most speculative fiction. Most science fiction is published mass market, and CBA doesn’t know how to mass market their books. “Plus,” he said, “science fiction doesn’t sell in the CBA market.” I think he anticipated my next comment, because he said, “Granted they can’t sell what they don’t publish.” I nodded and said, “It’s a catch-22.” “Exactly.” He then recommended I try the smaller presses such as Marcher Lord Press, or even vanity-press. “I plan on writing my own science fiction novel, and will likely try the small presses first or self-publish. I don’t see that route as a stigma, because it’s the only option for Christian speculative fiction writers at this point,” he said. In the end Andy further verified what I already knew, so although he didn’t ask to see more, I didn’t waste my time. The worst part of an appointment isn’t the nervousness before or during, but the mental chastising afterward. I walked away and berated myself for saying one thing, not saying another, did I sit too close or too far, did I breathe my dragon-breath on him . . . By the time I returned to the class I was grinning. I reminded myself no one thinks about me nearly as much as I do. I bet the moment I left the table, Andy was talking with his next appointment and likely even forgot my name. I attended the “Thick-skinned Manuscript Clinic” on Friday afternoon. I submitted months ago the first two pages of my novel for critique by Jerry Jenkins (co-author of the "Left Behind" series and owner of the Christian Writers Guild). Jerry critiqued three fiction submissions, and Andy Sheer (managing editor of the guild and former editor of Moody magazine) critiqued three non-fiction submissions. Mine was the last of the afternoon. The moment he placed the transparency of my submission on the overhead, my ears started to burn. I was grateful to have long hair, because I could cover up my delicious apple red ears, and no one would know the submission was mine. A second later I saw it. In the second paragraph I began a sentence with “he” instead of “The.” I thought, “Oh, crap, is he going to pounce on that!” I can’t believe I missed something so glaring even after combing through it at least four times. Jerry didn’t start there . . . Sorry, I have to end this entry now, because the critique is quite lengthy. Tomorrow I will go through it point by point. I think you’ll enjoy it, though. |
| First off, my apologies for not writing an entry every day while at the conference like I promised. It was a full schedule, for one, and by the time I arrived at my room between 9:30 and 10:00, all I wanted to do was sleep. Plus the hotel didn't provide wireless internet in all the rooms. My only options were to drag my laptop down to the lobby, or spend $10/day on ethernet access. No thanks to both. But I did keep excellent notes, so in the next week I'll write what happened and what I learned each day. I hope you all had a terrific weekend, and will enjoy an even better week. I look forward to catching up with you as well. |
Thanks, Ken  .Now it's back to work. I need to decide what articles to present to which editors, print them out, cut my hair, finish laundry . . . |
| Yodaspeak aside, when I first started my website and my other blog, I knew a lot of time was required, both to make it attractive to readers, and keep them returning for more. My first blog I started here in 2005. At first I signed up to post my work for critique, and about six months later started my blog. I didn't expect any readers at first, but once I did I was hooked. I learned that in order to keep and gain more readers, I needed to visit theirs. About a year later, I needed to cut down on my time spent there. I realized I was spending more time on my computer than with my husband or when I should have been working (one of the downfalls of an internet connection at a place of business). It was easier to cut back than I expected, and I managed to cut down my time from two to three hours a day to about three to four hours a week. I'm near falling into the same trap -- under the guise of marketing. There is so much available online to expose my name and my book, it's overwhelming. First there's the reading other people's blogs, and other exposure sites such as twitter, facebook and myspace. How does one keep all that updated and keep in touch with friends without other parts of my life suffering? Good thing I love my sleep, otherwise I'd set that aside. My little 13-month-old boy keeps me grounded. He's at the intensely curious age where I can't ignore him for any length of time (even if I wanted to, which I don't. A child grows up so fast, I don't want to lose a minute of it). I don't manage my time well, but I do make sure I spend no more than one hour online a day. At home that is. At work, I admit to stealing time away from doing actual work. Stealing it is, too, because they don't pay me to play on the internet. I'm a bad girl. If you don't see me around, you'll know it's because I'm meeting my obligations, something I should be doing anyway. Marketing can wait until my given hour at night, or during weekends while Thomas is napping or playing with Daddy. Come this Thursday I'll try to write one entry a day to let you know how the conference is going. I'm looking forward to it, but at the same time it'll be a long four days. I've never left my son for more than five hours at a time, so not being with him for so long is going to be rough. I almost forgot! Wednesday, February 18th, fellow author Voxxylady  and I will be participating in a Q&A session about self-publishing beginning at 2pm CST in the Bookspa group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thebookspa/). If you're not a member, you might consider signing up. It's a group dedicated to reading, writing, and discussing books of all genres except erotica. |
partyof5  (aka: Svetlana) discussed a friend who's heart may have been manipulated (and destroyed) by someone who wasn't who she claimed to be. (See "Invalid Entry" )Others commented on why they remain anonymous online -- to protect their name. I used to think the same way. Since I published a novella and started my own website in the hopes of gaining more readers, I decided to splatter my name wherever I could. My name is my business, and needs to be exposed in order to be remembered. I could have made up a name, but my real name is memorable and -- duct-taping humility's voice -- elegant. Perfect for an author. But does my name reveal everything there is to know about me? Not hardly. It doesn't reveal my heart, my soul, my favorite fruit, how much I weigh, my social security or credit card numbers. I still retain a large portion of my anonymity. Sure an internet search will reveal my address, but if someone wants to drop by with ill intent, be prepared to meet my little friend manufactured by Ruger. Diligence is always called for whether my name is "out there" or not. As partyof5 (aka: Svetlana) described what happened to his buddy, what others on this site alone have gone through, it's always prudent to keep a sharp eye out for inconsistencies.Six months after I signed up here, I made friends with a young girl. I thought she was incredibly intelligent and her writing ability left me in awe. This girl was going places, and I wanted to help her along. A few months later she claimed to have leukemia and would only live five more years. A few things about her story didn't add up (including the five-year life span), but I ignored them. She then claimed one day she would kill herself, and I drove myself insane trying to find and stop her. She revealed enough about herself such as her hometown, her first and last name, and her birthday. My husband called the police in her town, and after a few hours they tracked her down. She lied about everything. Her reason I found out later was as susanL (aka: Herb) described: the need for attention and sympathy from others. A fourteen-year old girl snookered me. I was so embarrassed I almost removed my account here. And she only knew my first name. Name anonymity gives us only partial protection. We need to protect our heart even more. |
gennivre and Eric Wharton  wrote at length about serious health problems, rethinking their futures, and reevaluating how they will live today.I've always been healthy. Giving birth to Thomas is my only hospital stay, and I did so well after the cesarean section, they let me go after two days instead of three (the constant begging for release helped, I'm sure). I've suffered from many a cold, the flu, bronchitis and other typical illnesses, but never enough to cause concern. I still can't complain of a single health problem except for gravity pulling down certain parts, the inability (and lack of willpower) to lose extra poundage, occasional forgetfulness, needing eyeglasses to read, and an arthritic knee due to an untreated torn ligament. If (and likely when) a serious health issue looms over me, I will not react well. I take my health for granted, and expect to never face having to prepare for my eventual demise. This entry contains no profound insights, no advice on how to rise above the darker challenges we all face -- nothing that won't sound patronizing anyway. I can only pray and hope for God to show me how to live each day to it's fullest, and to enjoy -- no savor -- every moment. The second we blink, it's gone. |
| When I started my website, I expected (and hoped) for viewers from all over the world. I hoped for (though not expected) a single-digit percentage of return viewers. What I neither expected nor hoped for, however, is receiving the attention of the more successful and recognizable authors. Three days ago I wrote an entry about my favorite writing books, and I asked my readers to list theirs. I mentioned one called Write Tight by William Brohaugh. I wrote: "This is especially handy for those of us who have a tendency to write extremely long sentences that go on and on and on (can you tell I'm one of those?). Of all the reference books I've read, "Write Tight" is the most fun. His style and examples will make you laugh." No big deal. It's a mere single-paragraph review of one of my favorite writing books. Less than an hour ago I received this comment: Andra, my humble thanks for your kind words about Write Tight. Specific to your request about books that have taught us best about the craft of writing, there are so many. Let me suggest starting with Paul Darcy Boles's Storycrafting as an instructional text, and any and all Ray Bradbury stories as instruction-in-action. Bradbury was a core influence in my writing life. Studying his elegance is exquisite edification. I'm still a little stunned, although I really shouldn't be. I'm sure he found my entry via Google Alert or regular internet search of his name and/or book. It's not even that he read my entry, but took the time to comment. I feel like he gave me his autograph when I didn't ask for it. He showed me all authors, no matter how successful, are human and appreciate compliments from little nobodies like me. |
| My internal editor, that is. No matter what I write, be it a blog entry, an article or short story, even an email to a friend, she hovers over my shoulder and whispers, "That's terrible! Reword that. You used "I" too many times in that sentence. Repetitive statement in this paragraph. It's 'your' not 'you're.'" With spending so much time editing lately, I can't shove her away and just write. I love the written word primarily because I can always edit it later. Writing crap is better than writing nothing. Editing itself isn't the problem, it's the editing as I write. I can't tell you how many times I've rewritten a single sentence in this entry alone (this sentence has been reworded three times -- make that four. Five). How do I manage to write anything with her breathing down my neck? The least she could do is consume less onions and garlic. The question is, do I save or waste time by editing as I go? No idea, and I'd like to find out someday. Once my internal editor takes a long nap or vacation to a far, far away place with no phones or email, that is. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening any time soon. And no comments about my internal editor not knowing a thing about writing by critiquing this entry (kidding)! And! If you don't like this entry, it's all gennivre's fault. She made me post it. |
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