Catherine Bybee's Blog, page 38
January 27, 2011
I'm Blogging at...
I'm over at Faith's today, blogging about series romance and trilogy's. Come on over and wave!
http://faithvsmith.blogspot.com/
http://faithvsmith.blogspot.com/
January 26, 2011
Let's talk Rejections!
Ohhh... the dreaded 'R'! Do we really want to talk about rejections. Getting the Dear John letter from an agent, editor or publisher?
Yes, yes we do!
Harlequin recently held a week long event labeled, So You Think You Can Write, or as we on the HQN forums call it, SYTYCW. During this week long event wanna be HQN writers were able to take a deeper look at what the editors over at HQN wanted to see in a query letter, a synopsis and in the actual manuscripts that pack in their in-boxes and mail room. It was a very valuable learning tool for any new and even seasoned author to attend. If you missed this event, never fear, the forums are still there for you to go back and read. My guess is the questions you have will have been asked by someone else so go on over and take a look by clicking this link HERE.
All that said, the final challenge in the SYTYCW gig was for everyone to send a synopsis and a first chapter to the editors via e-mail (something HQN doesn't do) and they would respond by January 31st. Yesterday, the rejections started pouring out. When several aspiring authors receive rejections at the same time, the topic is hammered. So here I am, hammering the rejection process.
Rejections are a badge of honor folks. It means you've written something and had the courage to send it to someone to read and either smile or toss in the trash. Ouch, that toss in the trash thing hurts. But I ask you, dear author with a pile of rejections sitting on your desk, have you ever read a book and thought... UGH, what a waste of money that was? Of course you have. In this subjective world of fiction many a book has been loved by one and hated by another.
A couple of years ago, in my quest to find a publisher for Binding Vows *Top 100 seller in Amazon Time Travel for more weeks than I can count* I sent out queries to publishers and agents to the tune of maybe 25 queries. Not that many really... but the rejections came in. Then I read an article in RWA magazine about The Wild Rose Press. Rhonda, the goddess of TWRP stated that they responded to every query personally and if they request a partial they would give feedback even if they rejected your book. So, what the heck did I have to loose? Next thing I know I have a revise, resub request and off I went... It took some time but my finished product was worth it.
Publication is a journey and the only real difference between a published author and a non published author is persistence.
And one more cliche for the road... If you toss enough shit against the wall, something is going to stick! Keep writing and subbing, everywhere... with agents, publishers etc. Rejections don't sting as hard after you've had a dozen or three or five.
Yes, yes we do!
Harlequin recently held a week long event labeled, So You Think You Can Write, or as we on the HQN forums call it, SYTYCW. During this week long event wanna be HQN writers were able to take a deeper look at what the editors over at HQN wanted to see in a query letter, a synopsis and in the actual manuscripts that pack in their in-boxes and mail room. It was a very valuable learning tool for any new and even seasoned author to attend. If you missed this event, never fear, the forums are still there for you to go back and read. My guess is the questions you have will have been asked by someone else so go on over and take a look by clicking this link HERE.
All that said, the final challenge in the SYTYCW gig was for everyone to send a synopsis and a first chapter to the editors via e-mail (something HQN doesn't do) and they would respond by January 31st. Yesterday, the rejections started pouring out. When several aspiring authors receive rejections at the same time, the topic is hammered. So here I am, hammering the rejection process.
Rejections are a badge of honor folks. It means you've written something and had the courage to send it to someone to read and either smile or toss in the trash. Ouch, that toss in the trash thing hurts. But I ask you, dear author with a pile of rejections sitting on your desk, have you ever read a book and thought... UGH, what a waste of money that was? Of course you have. In this subjective world of fiction many a book has been loved by one and hated by another.
A couple of years ago, in my quest to find a publisher for Binding Vows *Top 100 seller in Amazon Time Travel for more weeks than I can count* I sent out queries to publishers and agents to the tune of maybe 25 queries. Not that many really... but the rejections came in. Then I read an article in RWA magazine about The Wild Rose Press. Rhonda, the goddess of TWRP stated that they responded to every query personally and if they request a partial they would give feedback even if they rejected your book. So, what the heck did I have to loose? Next thing I know I have a revise, resub request and off I went... It took some time but my finished product was worth it.
Publication is a journey and the only real difference between a published author and a non published author is persistence.
And one more cliche for the road... If you toss enough shit against the wall, something is going to stick! Keep writing and subbing, everywhere... with agents, publishers etc. Rejections don't sting as hard after you've had a dozen or three or five.
January 20, 2011
January 14, 2011
Release Day for Lizzy and Fin!
Whoo hoo... it's here, my official release day for Redeeming Vows. Book three in the MacCoinnich time travel trilogy.
For all you e-reading junkies, like myself, you can download your copy by clicking HERE and then click on the most beautiful cover in the world. Okay, maybe not the most beautiful, but it sure is nice. So just look for this lovely chest on The Wild Rose Press's website. You won't be disappointed. Blurb:
Modern day, single mom, Lizzy McAllister is forced to bow to the medieval men who surround her when she's thrust back in time to the sixteenth century against her will. When Lizzie finds herself trapped in time with Fin, the one man she finds both irresistible and maddening, she agrees to combine forces with him and his family to rid Scotland of the evil witch Grainna.
Finlay MacCoinnich's attraction to Lizzie sizzles the very air they breathe. Tearing down the solid walls the woman has built around her won't be easy, but he's willing to do anything to keep her by his side. When a spell cast by their deadliest foe throws them forward in time, will they manage to find their way back in time to save their family from peril? And will Lizzy willingly stay in his time, or abandon him altogether?
January 12, 2011
Silent Vows is up for Best Book...
January 8, 2011
Amazon Top 100 Seller in Time Travel Romance
So I'm only a few days away from the official release of Redeeming Vows, book three in my MacCoinnich Time Travel Trilogy, and today I clicked on over and found Redeeming Vows at #91 in the top 100 in Time Travel Romance. Yep, the print version is already on the best seller list. So yeah!
I found my mail box nice and plump with my author copies of Redeeming Vows. It's so nice to hold a book in your hand. Yeah, the thrill of publishing, in any form, is great... but the print book simply is nicer!
I re-read my whole story from page one to the end once I can hold the book in my hand. Ahhh... so nice!
Click HERE for your Amazon order
or HERE to order direct from my publisher
December 31, 2010
2011 Goals
Happy 2011 everyone. I suppose it's safe to say that hours before the second hand ticks down the year. Besides, people are all ready sleeping it off in Sydney, so we're golden.
Goals! Do you set them? Clarie Ashgrove, a fellow TWRP author, has an amazing pace as an author and her goals for the year have been set on her blog. Click HERE to visit Clarie. So I hope she doesn't mind that I'm going to copy her post with a little cross promotion.
I'm a big goal person. I like to set up six month goals and then re-evaluate them and see where I'm at.
So here we go.
2011 - the last of my MacCoinnich Time Travel Trilogy books will be out in January. This was a huge goal for me last year. Now my goals for this series is to see it stay in the top 100 at Amazon for Time Travel Romance. So promotion is going to keep this goal going.
In 2011 I want to make it to the Romantic Times Convention and meet up with other writers like myself. (I'm getting the tickets next week for tax purposes)
*An Agent... if you please. This is a goal, and has been for a while. But I need to pursue this a little harder than I have been. I tend to send out five queries at a time and wait. I think I need to increase that number and give it a better shot.
HQN* Please - Right now HQN is looking at a few books I'm pitching. I would love to get a nod from the big category publisher in 2011.
Writing Goals: Outline! I want to really work on outlining my books before I start typing. I wrote a 58k contemporary back in November with a complete outline. The darn thing was finished in 2 1/2 weeks. That's huge. Yeah, I took a hard look at editing and shined the story until it sparkled over several weeks, but it's awesome. I'm proud because of the process I went through to finish the book. As a pantser, plotting is new to me. I'd like to repeat the plotting with my next set of manuscripts.
I'd like to outline and write another three book trilogy. Yes time travel! I love my highland hotties and my readers do too. So in 2011 I'd like to make this goal a reality.
I have two contemporaries I want to write and two more paranormals. So, I guess that's a goal of five full length books in 2011.
I'll see you in July to let you know where I'm at!
So, dear reader... what are your goals for 2011?
December 27, 2010
Wishing you a...
Wishing you all a happy, safe, warm, loving, and healthy holiday season!
May Santa have brought you all the goodness and cheer he could.
May the contract fairy fly over my writer friends and plant new ones in their in-boxes.
Happy 2011!
May Santa have brought you all the goodness and cheer he could.
May the contract fairy fly over my writer friends and plant new ones in their in-boxes.
Happy 2011!
December 20, 2010
Early Print Release or Redeeming Vows
Whoo to the hoo! Redeeming Vows is out early in Print!
So click here to order your copy today.
Here is the blurb:
For her own safety, modern day, single mom, Lizzy McAllister is forced to bow to the medieval men who surround her when she's thrust back in time to the sixteenth century against her will. When Lizzie finds herself trapped in time with Fin, the one man she finds both irresistible and maddening, she agrees to combine forces with him to rid Scotland of the evil witch, Grainna.
Finlay MacCoinnich's attraction to Lizzie sizzles the very air they breathe. Tearing down the solid walls the woman has built around her won't be easy, but he's willing to do anything to keep her by his side. When a spell cast by their deadliest foe throws them forward in time, will they manage to find their way back in time to save their family from peril? And will Lizzy willingly stay in his time, or abandon him altogether?
December 17, 2010
Pen Names...
This is a topic that comes up a lot. I'm always interested in how an author came up with their pen name, and why they decided to use one.
I'll go first:
Catherine, as many of my author friends know, is my real first name. I thought it would be easier to respond to if I recognized it during a chat or in the off chance that someone recognizes me on the street. LOL -
Bybee, is a family name... but I didn't finalize on Bybee until after I made sure there wasn't another Bybee author out there to compete with shelf space. I read somewhere, from an author blog, to make certain that the .com was available for the pen name you've chosen.
So there you have it... how Catherine Bybee came to be!
What's your story?
