BookingIt

I had some news and links I wanted to share. First, one of my best friends ever just recently sold her book to Abram's imprint Amulet !!! Anita is a superb writer who first guest posted here in 2008 . You can read Anita's Call Story Here . Woohoo, Anita! I know there are many more sales in your future! Secondly, one of my amazing critique partners Karla Akins just had a non-fiction book released. She's done a wonderful job with this book. If you homeschool or are Canadian, you may be interested in checking it out Here . So, E-Readers are becoming more popular . ACFW is so close! I'm going, are you? And...my line edits arrived. At first I felt intimidated but as I'm going through them, I'm really enjoying it and finding some great nuggets from the editor (thank you!). Do you use an e-reader? Are you going to ACFW?

One thing I've loved about my new job is talking books with one of my co-workers. She's a big reader who ranges from literary to all things Harlequin. The perspective of someone who reads but doesn't write is fresh for me. Now another co-worker started reading a book and was telling me how mad she was at a male character over how he treated the heroine. The depth of her immersion in the story was inspiring for me because last week she'd mentioned that the story was confusing at times due to an abundance of characters. Yet that didn't stop her from rooting for the heroine. How do I make a story like that? One that, despite its weaknesses, ensares a reader to the end? There are lots of rules on how to do it, but sometimes I think it comes down to voice. What was the last book you read that put you in tears or made you mad at a character? Any insight on how the writer did it? Do you talk books with nonwriters?

I've been traveling the world of Writerdom for many years now and I've traversed through different lands ( Query Land and Agent Land ), but I've never been on the border before. It's the strange and shadowy place between Unpublished and Published. There are befuddling sights in this region and new sounds. People from both sides mingle here and I'm seeing things from both the same and a new perspective. (Dichotomy, anyone?) What's your region like halfway into 2011? Are you enjoying it or counting the minutes until you escape? Have you ever felt like you belonged somewhere other than where you find yourself now?

I sold to Love Inspired Historical !!! Here's how it happened: " You should write a book. You'd make more money doing that." In 2006 my editor at the newspaper I freelanced for told me this. In that moment, a lightbulb went off in my head. Write for money? Sure, I'd written stories all my life, but to actually write a book and be paid for it was a concept that had never occurred to me. That same year, I started a historical romance. Why historical? Because Love Inspired was launching a historical line in 2007 and I was aiming for that. I also love reading historical romances. "The characters should be talking by now." So said agent Steve Laube at my first writer's conference in 2007. He'd gotten to page 7 and my heroine was still thinking of backstory. I made every newbie mistake with that first manuscript. So I read articles and did my best to make the manuscript shine. Then I submitted it to agents. Form rejections. I decided to submi...

I'm heading toward third base! The journey to getting published feels like baseball to me right now. I cracked the ball and sent it soaring (sent out my queries). I reached first base. Then I got a request for a full. That's my second base. Some people go straight home from there, but I'm heading toward third. That's because I received a revision letter from an editor. *swoon* Remember I had a full out to a publisher? They've requested some revisions which I am only too happy to do! So right now I'm trying to get these done so the manuscript can go out for some reads. I've heard that some writers are discouraged by revision requests. Maybe they're overwhelmed (I was a little) and they step off the base and are out. DON'T step off the base. If you get a request, and it feels doable and you resonate with it, RUN like lightning for third base. This is pretty exciting for me. I could still get out but I know there'll be other chances for me to bat ag...

I've been blessed in the last few weeks to meet up with two different sets of bloggers. First, I met Megan Rebekah and Karen Amanda Hooper at Megan's very awesome, completely cool house. We had a great time and I wish I brought my camera! Then, last week Janna came down for vacation with her family and was able to meet up with Terri Tiffany and me at Cracker Barrel. Here's the pic, thanks to Janna and her camera! Meeting with fellow bloggers is always so wonderful and uplifting. Is there a group you regularly meet with that encourages you? How far would you drive to meet a blog buddy?

I'm back! I had a wonderful time with my family. Thank you all for asking. :-) In 2009 my schedule evolved into a blog first/write later kind of thing. It happened that way because my husband began using the computer in the afternoons and evenings for his project, but now that I have a router, my schedule's changing. It's time to work first, play later. That means I do my chores/errands in the morning, write at naptime, and visit your wonderful blogs in the afternoons and evenings. So if I don't show up in the morning, don't be alarmed (if you even notice, lol). I'm just changing things up. I'm too exhausted in the evening to write, that's why. During the day I have way more energy to write but at night there's a fifty percent chance I won't do it because I'm so tired. When's the best time for you to write? I also need to shout out my awesome crit partner, Linda Glaz! Some of you may have met her at ACFW. She's a wonderful, faithful, ...

While there are plenty of things to watch out in our Great Agent Search, I don't want to leave everyone on a wary note. The thing is, a compatible, solid relationship with your agent can be the best choice you ever make for your career. Whether the relationship remains professional or turns into friendship, it can be wonderful. We know the things to look out for, but I'd love to hear about any great experiences you've had with agents. If you have a great relationship with your agent and are interested in doing a guest post about it, e-mail me at jessica_nelson7590 AT yahoo Dot com. Or you can share in the comments section. Here's a link to an encouraging and helpful post on picking an agent . I'm looking forward to reading some awesome comments/posts!

First, I hope all of you have a wonderful, relaxing Labor Day! For this post, I just thought I'd share a run-down of where I'm at in my writing. I have a proposal for an older manuscript with an agent, but she's had it a long time so I'm not sure if the interest is there. Hoping though, and still very excited that it's under consideration. :-) I'm almost done editing this WIP and then I'm going to give it to a few people to read over. This is also the WIP I'm planning to pitch at the conference in two weeks. Not only that, but I just got some contest results back on this WIP. *cringe* I'm smarting still, but mostly at my own stupidity. I forgot to change my synopsis to reflect the changes in my WIP. Therefore, my motivations didn't line up and both the judges caught discrepancies between what the plot was supposed to be and what the chapters were showing. There were also some other excellent suggestions, but overall my scores were low so that was...

When it comes to writing an interesting character, I think the best ones are those who go verbal places we're afraid to. Sometimes they use subtext, sometimes speak the truth, straight-up. Or maybe your characters break some rules you would never dare to even imagine breaking? Maybe they expose themselves, make themselves vulnerable to other characters? Or do they demand things we've learned to only wish for? What's the wildest thing one of your characters has done? Would you do it?

Thought you all might be interested in knowing that two of my manuscripts bombed in a contest. Okay, I don't know how they did yet, only that they didn't final. In the words of my dear writer pal who shall remain nameless, "Wah!" But don't worry. My skin is thick and I'm well aware of how subjective a contest can be. Thus, armed with that practical knowledge, I press on with revising Bad Boy's Redemption. And guess what? I've gotta do some research! Exciting stuff too. Since my heroine is a PI, I have a few questions for someone in that career. One lucky (or unlucky) detective will be getting a call Monday morning from an aspiring novelist. Have you ever needed to talk to a professional about a subject/character in your book? What was the most exciting research you've ever done?