CURRENT PROJECT - Another Option?

One thing I've learned from author Velda Brotherton is to not put all of my eggs in one basket. Velda is published with Oghma Creative, Wild Rose Press, Indie published and was once published with big traditional publishers early in her career.

While I'm still wanting to publish some of my books as an Indie publisher, having different streams of income isn't a bad thing. I figure the Indie is a good place to kick in the cash flow while I work at other areas for some things. Like my western with Tiffany Schoefield (someday).

One of my strongest support systems is a group of gals I've been sprinting with for almost twelve years. J.D. Faver, Pam Labud and Tara Manderino are three with books to their names. While J.D. has been Indie-published for some time, she also holds a multi-book contract with Sourcebooks, with her first one releasing in September.  J.D. aka June is one of the most supportive people. She has her fingers on the pulse of what's going on and is always happy to share her finds with the rest of us.

Last week she pointed us to a Call for Submissions from Harlequin DARE. They are looking for New Authors and taking submissions through April 20th. We'll hear back by May 4th. That's quite a turn around time and a high-jump over the slush pile.

My challenge is that while I might have something in the tickler file, I'm not sure I can write that depth of 'naughty' I have story lines in my head, but I can't seem to put it on paper. I'm not a prude but I've never been able to talk dirty. Just let me enjoy the experience.  But with a chance like this, I have to at least see if I have something to submit. I've downloaded one of their books but have battled a sinus headache and then music stuff. Hopefully, this afternoon I can curl up with the book to see what they are looking for. From there I'll determine if my file drawer holds any possibilities.

The good thing is that on short notice, they only want a clean first chapter and a synopsis. Easy to pull off if I buckle down.

Oh, and Bob may be home on Wednesday. LOL Going to be a fun week!

As to A Christmas To Remember...  I finally made it through the first rough revision in Chapter 1. I started working on the keyboard again rather than writing longhanded and things seems to be moving at a more focused pace.

How did we write and revise before electronics?

Choose your path and write from your heart!
~Angela

CURRENT PROJECT - Camp Nano!

While the kiddos have to wait until mid-June for Camp, writers get an early start on the season. Camp Nano is an extension of the infamous National Novel Writing Month  aka NanoWrimo.

Camp Nano runs in April and in August, giving us the opportunity to finish up partial projects so we can start NanoWriMo in November with a shiny new project.

I joined Camp several years ago.. around 2011, but didn't enter a project until 2013, join a cabin until 2015, maybe (when I supposedly was going to work on the same project as this year ... hmmm.) In 2016 and 2017 I'd planned to work on contest entries.. but never made it back to my cabin after my first hike. I must have gotten lost somewhere along the way.

Getting lost is not my plan for this camp season. I started a cabin and have five incredibly talented sprinter buddies to keep me in check. I'm hoping if I plan 'fun' virtual things to bring to the cabin each week, at least that will keep me checking in.

GOAL
To complete about 85 percent of what I need of revisions to A Christmas To Remember.

While the meter bar on the sidebar looks full of progress, that is where the current manuscript sits in 'completion' before I begin the revisions. I'm figuring I need about 15,000 words in the revision process.

Personal Camp Location:
Sofa in my office. I can shut the animals out, turn on my pretty strobe light and music to write by.
I have a husband pillow as well as a softer pillow, depending on my back at the time, an ottoman for my feet and a couple of different weight throws - since Mother Nature can not decide what type of weather we need from day to day.

Camp Supplies:
leatherette legal pad folder
pencil pouch of multiple of all the same type of Pilot pens
notebook paper
cash and punch cards for when I go to the coffee shop
at least 2 chapters of the print out with my editing notes.

Are you at CampNano this month? If so, post your camp name and I'll pay you a visit. If not, why not? Come join the FUN!

I'm off to bake cookies for my campers!
Happy Writing!
Angela

BACK ON BOARD! -

I am back! I think I know why I've stayed away. I'll talk more about that in a moment. But first, a picture of what I'm working on.

A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER

A Christmas To Remember was first germinated almost twenty years ago as a story called Ozark Angel. This is the first manuscript I ever finished and put through the paces. 

While it hasn't scored well in small competitions, Ozark Angel did get a 'full' request from a Harl. editor who at the time had a reputation for never requesting more than a partial (first 3 chapters and a synop). After going through two editor reads at SuperRomance, I got a kind rejection letter saying while they loved the story, it didn't fit them. Hey - I can live with that kind of rejection. 

The second time out of the gate, I received a partial then a full on the manuscript from the editor at  Genesis Press. They were a multi-cultural publisher. I pointed out to the editor that this could not be a multi-cultural romance she replied with 'multi-cultural will not always be popular, but a good romance will stand the test of time'. Her reader aka receptionist loved the book. She remembered me and the story a year later when I called their office about another matter. She said her boss was nuts for not picking up the story. From her mouth to a publisher's ears!

And then it sat.... and sat ... and sat...

I've pulled it out a time or two trying to figure out why the story wasn't moving. I know with Harlequin, it wasn't long enough. As I work on the story now, I understand why.

While the manuscript went through a professional editor ( she edits for some big names) as I pulled the story out last fall and decided the time had come, I began seeing a lot of things pop out at me. I'd read a sentence and think 'Why?'  or 'How?' and realized A Christmas To Remember needed serious work. 

Now I try to spend a minimum of two hours every night going through the editing notes I made. The other thing is that I'm handwriting this story from start to finish. There's something about pen to paper that just makes things flow better sometimes. Fantasy author, Prix Gautney writes her stories by hand the first round through. 

I know when I type up the rewrite I'll find other things to fix. Then my sister will do the first read-through for story inconsistencies or something that might not come out the way I had it in my head. 

Okay.. so the WHY I've been absent. I think I was so conflicted about how I wanted my career to go that I just couldn't bring myself to write something that might never see publication. The new-age question of TRADITIONAL vs. INDIE

I've weighed the pros and cons for months - okay, a couple of years - and I keep coming back to two things.

1- How bad do I want to walk into Walmart or B & N and see my book on the shelf - or am I just content to have my own copies to sell?

2 - How much control am I willing to give up?

Okay, that is a big one. I am an OCD control freak. One of the things that really turned the page for me a couple of weeks ago was seeing what one of my author friends is going through. 

She has been a successful Indie author for about three years - or longer. She's worked HARD on a daily basis to a) craft a great read  b) marketing that great read  c) continuing to craft more great reads in the process.  She recently got a multi-book contract for her stories. 

They are revamping her marketing and they've taken excellent titles and turned them on their ear. She is over the moon and I am thrilled for her. But for me, personally, I don't think I can give up that control. I would be a nervous wreck! 

On the flip - I have another author friend who has been traditionally published for years. She is now indie-publishing her books and couldn't be happier!

The MORAL - is that each of us has to do what works for us. 

Some of my stories don't fit into the box some traditional publishers want you to use. But I still think they're great reads and that there is someone out there who will think so, too. And if not, then at least I tried. 

The other thing is let's look at the time line for A Christmas To Remember:

1- End of May - finish the rewrite

2 -End of July - my sister will have gone through the ms a chapter at a time

3 -End of Aug - revamp based on her comments

4 -End of September - Go through professional editing

End of October - have up on Amazon in time for Christmas season

Approximately a 70%  commission if what I'm hearing is correct.

If I were to go through steps 1-4 then by first of October begin shopping to a traditional publisher. I'd be lucky to have a contract by June of 2019. So let's look at this potential scenario:

1 - June 2019 - Get a Contract

2 - 18-24 months to publication - October 2020!

All that time, I'm not making any money! And when I do, they are taking a minimum of 45% plus the 15% (est) an agent will take. Plus.. they are taking their percentage for me still doing the lions share of the marketing work. 

I do have a western series I'd like to traditional publish. I've already spoken to one publisher and she's waiting patiently. But for now, it's all about my contemporary stories.

WHERE I AM TODAY - Back in Step

When I signed in today to welcome in 2018 I was shocked (though not surprised) that I'd done nothing here since July. Posts for several weeks prior to that had be set to auto-post in an attempt to keep some life on here while I prepared for a four-month visit with our granddaughters. At the time they were 9 and 5. We'd not seen the girls in four years, and not knowing when our next visit would come, our summer was all about the girls. 

While the girls were here I put all work with Oghma Creative Media. After they left, I tried to find ground again but I just couldn't gain footing. Something was missing. I wasn't doing what I loved - writing and creating. 

Following a very visual dream on October 31st, - known as the eve of the Wiccan New Year, I knew what I needed to do. I turned in my notice to Oghma effective December 1, 2017. From that point my focus was on ENJOYING the holidays and time with my husband. 

A new year, a new start. 

I've been back to work on a manuscript that made the rounds nearly twenty years ago. While I got great comments from Harlequin editors and contest comments, I put Ozark Angel aside and moved on to MANY starts of new stories whirling in my head.

The time has come to stop being stuck in the publishing mire, pull myself out and move forward.

I like working with song titles. They are recognizable to the general public and a good marketing prong so I've changed the name to A Christmas To Remember. Trust me, this story is about just that. Full of secret child, second chance at love, and tug-of-war as Brendan and Stephanie strive to find a common thread that can bring them back together for the happy ever after.

I also still believe my stories are still Hallmark-worthy. While Hallmark have their own eBook line, I won't publish strictly eBook again. The area in which I live, the people I know and talk to on a daily basis, many are still print readers and that's a market I can't alienate. With that in mind, I search for a publisher as I make changes to things that were missed by my first editor. A Christmas To Remember has waited way too long to see print. That is the first thing I want to change in 2018.

I'm also connecting with the powers that be at The Hallmark Channel as well as writers of the stories we love and the actors who bring the characters to life.  My hope is to bring you interviews and profiles over the coming year. 

In the mean time, I'm just getting a work flow in place so this site may not be as 'busy' as I want. Great things come in small accomplishments.  I'm off to accomplish.

What is your plan for 2018?

CURRENT PROJECT UPDATE! - Slow Progress

Though I'm not sure my progress is necessarily at a turtle's pace (though they can run pretty fast when the need arises. I've watched one run across my back yard after getting tapped with the lawn mower blade. Ouch!)

For those who think writing a book is easy, you are correct. Writing the story is easy. The real work begins when you switch to polishing mode. Correcting grammar and punctuation, staying in the proper Point of View, internalization, deep Point of View, etc. When you can resolve all of those issues in your manuscript, you've earned your paycheck.

I thought all of these things had been done years ago in Ozakr Angel.. now renamed A Christmas To Remember. The story went through a professional editor (yes, she is a professional. She edits for a big name in Inspirational Fiction), received favorable comments from two Sil. Special Edition editors and even got 'The Call' (though after unable to connect with the editor, I wound up with a form rejection letter six months later. Probably for the best). With all these positives, the story still does not score well in competitions where editors and agents are the final judges. Hmmm

Then I heard something from writer friend Jen Nipps last week. She said a friend of hers believes that if the story doesn't score well in competition then it is pretty much publishable. Interesting. As a judge I try to be honest. If  I see issues I leave comments as well as where they can go to learn how to fix the problem. I also praise the things they have done correctly and there have been several over the years when I tell them to let me know when the book is released. Their submission is that good!

So where does that leave me with 'Christmas'? Well, as I tried to prep Chapter 1 for competition I saw a lot of issues that were never caught in the beginning. So now my quandry is, do I play to the competition or go with what has been doing well the way the manuscript is and send it back out. My internal judge (Not the internal editor - but the person who would judge this for competition) tells me I have work to do. So Camp Nano has been put aside and in between work and a journaling class, I'm trying to see the clearing for the forest.

CURRENT PROJECT UPDATE!

I thought I'd get into the Christmas spirit a bit. With Hallmark Channel running their holiday romances and me working on edits for A Christmas To Remember, this picture just seemed appropriate.

I did not accomplish as much as I'd hoped in June. I had an unexpected death in my writing family the weekend the first round of family was to arrive so things got  off to a hectic start. I did make edit notations and hope to implement those today - once I find where the manuscript got put as the revolving door of family began. 

The Ozarks Romance Authors writing competition - The Weta Nichols deadline is July 15th. Yeah.. not that far off. My beta reader is scheduled for a brief hospital visit on Wednesday so time is not really on my side at this moment but I'm pushing forward. I'm excited about the conference and competition this year because of who our two final round judges - Lousie Fury (Historical and YA? Middle Grade) from The Bent Agency and Candace Havens (Contemporary/ Paranormal/ Sci-Fi representing Entangled Publishing. 

Louise has been a supporter of ORA for several years. We are blessed to have her. I have been in Candace's YahooGroup for the past nine years. She and I have a lot of writing in common. We both write romance AND are entertainment writers. Though I have to tell you, while people think I am the energizer bunny, Candace is the super bunny. The woman never stops. She is my idol. 

So now that my desk is in its 'forever home' and the workspace is coming together, I hope to get back on a regular schedule. The cats already know that this is my new office and usually beat me to the door in the mornings. 

After all the company had left, Bob and I took three days in Branson. Bob knew up front this was part work and part pleasure (I really don't do a 'vacation' any other way LOL). While we took in shows and did some sightseeing, I was making notes and taking pictures for visual research for the Branson Series. I fell in love with Branson Landing. I'd never been before and now have an idea for Book 3. 

If you are in Branson, check out The Revolutionists. These guys are pretty amazing illusionists. Each of the five have their own area of expertise and they use audience participation. 

Off to start my week!