Nancy LaRonda Johnson's Blog, page 22

My Guest Post Article

I wrote this article for Publish Myself, a great web-site for people wanting to boost their writing resumes or just like to share ideas. This was my first published article.
The Woes, Fears and Promises of an Expectant Writer
The “wannabe” writer
At the end of December 2011, I was a hopeful “wannabe” writer who just completed one of the many “final” drafts of her first novel. The San Francisco Writers Conference 2012 was coming up in February, and I just learned that their Indie Publishing Contest deadline was soon approaching. I asked my niece to do a rushed final edit, and sent in my entrance application, which included the first 50 pages of the book, believing with all my heart that I had a good chance at winning. When I made the finals and they asked for the complete manuscript, I was ecstatic that other people would be reading my work.
They announced the winners near the end of the conference, and I was nearly devastated when I did not hear my name called. I spoke with literary agent, Elizabeth Pomada, who stated that initially my book had won because the story was engaging and the writing was wonderful. This changed, she said, when they got to the Christian parts. She said the judges, of whom she was one, believed it was preachy, that Christian audiences would not like the dark parts of the book and commercial genre readers would not like the Christian aspects. She made other comments that I took to heart. At that time, I had not heard of Christian speculative fiction and, looking back, it seemed that no one at the conference had either. Afterward, I did a search of various Christian fiction and learned of this growing genre.
Although I didn’t win the contest, I took in Ms. Pomada’s comments and set out to make changes to the book. It was reduced from over 98,000 to about 93,500 words, and I spruced it up in areas I felt Ms. Pomada made good points. After an ad finitum set of revisions and edits, I felt it was as complete as I could get it, and set out to send query letters.
Queries!!
The conference had introduced me to query letters, pitches and organizing a database of submissions. I was on my way to becoming published! I knew I was still clueless, did some research, and finally came up with a query letter I was pleased with. It took over six months and 53 failed queries for me to realize that my pitch was horrible. I learned this when someone from Authonomy.com (a free site where you could upload your manuscript and get advice) finally commented that my pitch put her off, but that the story was great.
I became weary of sending out query letters, especially after learning and becoming more shocked everyday with the number of people who have written books and are looking for agents. Later, I made a book trailer with a different and better pitch, which I’ve been using ever since.
Should I wait or should I publish?
I decided to research other avenues of publishing besides the traditional, and learned about vanity press companies. Ignorant of it all, I had seriously considered using Tate Publishing, a company that claims to be a traditional, Christian-based publishing company. They offered me a contract to publish my book for $4000, which included editing, creating the cover, book trailer, a television commercial ad and marketing, and stipulated that my investment would be returned after I sold 1000 books. I probably would have accepted the contract, except that they gave me only ten days to decide. I hadn’t heard back from enough people who had used them to make that decision. So, I declined.
Then came WestBow Press, which used to be a traditional publishing company, but is now a vanity press affiliated with Thomas Nelson Publishing. They were also willing to offer me a contract, but I had enough debt and, after continued research, decided to stay away from pay-into publishing companies.
Once that decision was made, I learned about CreateSpace and Lulu, two top-rated self-publishing companies. I researched both, and felt that CreateSpace met more of my needs. So I decided to publish!
The hard part was over. Or was it?
The book was finished, I had a publishing venue, and I was making headway to putting my book out there. The hard part was over! I so naively believed.
I have accepted myself as a writer who loves to create short stories and books, and have one novel in slow-working progress, and two others on hold. I believed that I could finish the publishing process, do some marketing (although I dreaded the idea of it) and focus more on writing. The further I got into the process of self-publishing, the more I realized that if I wanted to be even a slightly known author, I needed a second job: Self-marketer-networker-promoter, all in one long job title.
And this is where I’m at. My book is out there in paperback and eBook. I have made some formatting changes in the print version and corrected a few typos, and now I have my first copy in hand. I’m also realizing that my second job, although it causes me to I pay out more than is coming in from my writing, it takes up more hours than my pay job, it is learn-as-you-go, and it consists of countless hours of research, it is nonetheless very enjoyable and fulfilling.
The promise of the future
Looking ahead, I dream of when I can retire from my day job because my writing brings in enough money, when I will have time to write regularly, and when I will know that each passing day more people are discovering and loving my work. I believe God gave me this gift and desire to write, and that he will lead me to the fulfillment of all of these desires. I count these dreams as promises from God that will one day come to fruition.
Bio
Nancy LaRonda Johnson has recently published her debut literary Christian speculative novel, Anticipation of the Penitent. She has written short stories, poetry and personal journals most of her life, has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and a Juris Doctorate, and works as a deputy probation officer. She maintains the blog “Writer’s Mark – Christian and other fiction, poetry, and ideas” at www.nancylarondajohnson.blogspot.com, and is working on several projects, including a sequel to Anticipation of the Penitent.
Anticipation of the Penitent was a front-runner in the Indie Publishing Contest sponsored by the San Francisco Writers Conference 2012.

A Christmas Gift of Transformation

This was a beautiful, faithful and public gathering in Christ's name. I hope you watch it to the end. It's very touching.


Which gets me to my point tonight. It's nearing Christmas and I'm feeling in the spirit for gatherings, sharing, and good memories.

And gifts? I wish not. In these economic times when we should be sorting out our finances, retraining how we spend, and saving money for emergencies, it's hard for me to spend money on things for people that they'll probably not like so much and don't need. Long gone are the days when Christmas lists were written so parents would know what to get. Instead, the family is growing exponentially, the weather's cold, time's short, and who knows what anyone wants.

I usually try and get what someone needs instead, especially for adults. Most times, however, even that's unknown, except the most expensive stuff - car, stove, work on the house, furniture.

But in my complaining, I realize that I'm being selfish and need to think on what Christmas is really about. Instead of complaining, I could look to give true gifts of Christmas - items that reflect the gift of God and the sacrifice of Christ. That would be a challenge, one that all of a sudden is quite exciting to think of trying to meet. Not everyone in my family is a believer, but that doesn't matter, because this is what Christmas is all about.

To put in different words, here's a writing prompt:

A Christmas gift of transformation.


This is a poem I wrote from the prompt. I invite you to post a writing to this prompt as a comment.
A True Christmas Gift
With eyes closed and wishing for the best,seven-year-old Anderson instead learned his parents failed the Christmas Spirit test.
No Christmas lists for Anderson to post,no lines to Santa to wait expectantly in,only parents so tired they resembled dreary ghosts.In the living room, was a skinny fake treewhich Anderson eyed – it looked as dry as toast.They failed to notice his tears or his heart so broken,that he wished Christmas was another time – almost.
The night moved slowly, until he drifted asleep.Upon waking, he smelled what seemed to be Christmas.Jumping out of bed, Anderson took a quick leapdown the stairs and, with eyes wide open,he saw what could only be a true gift of Christmas, not just a token.
In the arms of his mother, looking so small,was a baby, newborn, cuddled up close.Turning his head to peer through the hall,in the kitchen was a Christmas breakfast feastfit for a king, his family and all.
Cinnamon steeped in tea and chocolate,and stockings hung near a very real tree!Underneath was a small bassinette. Did his family suddenly grow to three?
"You came down just in time,"said Anderson's mother, her voice filled with delight,"This is your brother, a new heir in our line.We've adopted him and he needs our love, so he can learn, as you have so fine,the true spirit of Christmas.
"What is his name?" Anderson couldn't help but ask."You tell us. Look in his eyes and hold him close,because a name is not something you can remove like a mask."His father added, "We've been so busy bringing him home.You're seven years old now and this is your Christmas task."
Anderson squealed with joy,"This is the best Christmas day and gift.This is much better than any old toy."
No more lonely days ahead,Anderson's seventh Christmasbrought more happiness to his world, instead.

"The Next Big Thing" posts continue

I'm very excited that two of my tagged bloggers have completed their posts of "The Next Big Thing." Please be sure to check out their sites:

 Ann Marie Thomas has opened the gates to write about a topic no one else seems to have written about. Historical non-fiction about the origins of a particular 13th century castle that seems as exciting as it is interesting.
Marilyn Lesser Katz is putting another notch into her greatest fiction interest: Zombie apocalypse! She's more interested in how the horror started than how they go about eating each other. Quite intriguing.

Let's continue to support the players in this very fun blog hop!

Alex Cavanaugh blogfest

I’m excited to be a part of this celebration of blogger Alex Cavanaugh! New to this community, I nonetheless have had the pleasure to experience Alex’s advice and to welcome him into my cyber world. Here’re my four responses regarding Alex.

What Alex looks like:I’m sure he’s tall, full head of dark hair (maybe graying), roaming eyes because he’s always on the go.
Who could play him in a documentary:Gary Oldman, a versatile actor, would have no problem playing Alex in a documentary
Who Alexs remind me of:Alex reminds me of an actor whose name I don’t know. SO instead, I’ll say he’s a cross between Gary Oldman and Chris Cooper.


Flash fiction using “Cavanaugh” “cosbolt” “ninja” “guitar” “IWSG”It was the night Cavanaugh never wanted to see – a night of cosbolt trained ninja fighters who used Cavanaugh’s last surviving guitar as weaponry and fuel for fire. That he created the night of his own will and let it remain on the white pages of the now filled computer page, did not stop the tears from flowing down his cheeks. Between weeping and mewling sniffs, he exclaimed to himself, “Thank goodness it’s the first Wednesday of the month. I desperately need IWSG to get over this. The story must go on!”
Bonus points comments:Thank you Alex for making blogging so much funner and connecting like-minded people who otherwise would likely never meet.

Feeling blessed but lacking?

Busy, busy weekend. Full, fun and somewhat melancholic for some reason. Now, I'm home, wishing I could be more productive - you know, read faster, wash clothes, write - but also like time of doing nothing, which seems more like a dream and I shouldn't even try and go there.
[image error]
What do you do when you're feeling blessed but lacking?

[image error]
Maybe my hormones are chaosing about. (Yes, I like to make up words.) I'm pretty sure that's what it is, and this melancholy will pass in a day or two.

But, do you have strategies when you're feeling out of whack and need to get yourself quickly back in alinement?

Daily writing prompts??

Okay, I'm starting to get that with all the relating and sharing and blog hopping going on in this crazy webisphere, doing daily writing prompts is not feasible. I do wish to get involved more with these blog fests and hops, and don't want to overwhelm the webisphere with those, my own posts and daily writing prompts.


So, I'll change it to "Occasional Writing Prompts," because I still do love doing them, and I realized that these last few days of not doing them have left be a bit creatively depressed.

I'm still figuring out how often to do them. But here's the one for today, anyway, then we'll go from there.

Writing Prompt for 12/7/12: What's your favorite temperature? It could be the temperature for anything...weather, food, travel, living, body...the list goes on.

Again, the post could be any genre of writing, just post as a comment, up to 300 words.

The Next Big Thing

This is the infamous Blog Hop for "The Next Big Thing". Though infamous, I'd just learned about it a couple of weeks ago, and I am glad to be on-board. 

How it works? You first mention the person who tagged you to post “The Next Best Thing,” then you answer questions in your post about your Work-in-Progress (WIP). At the end, you list five blogs that you are “tagging” to post their "Next Best Thing" for the following week.
**I was tagged by M.L. Smith. Check out his blog and his new, exciting NaNoWriMo novel.
Here are my responses to The Next Big Thing:
1. What is the working title of your book?
Anticipating Dawn
2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
It is the sequel to my first book, Anticipation of the Penitent, and delves into the idea of what happens when a relative of a serial killer has guilt about the harm the serial killer caused the victims' families. It also speaks of how someone who is gay and lives in a Christian community learns to accept himself.
The idea of victim reunification came from my job. As a probation officer, I often deal with victims and how the criminal can pay back for the harms their crimes caused. The idea of the gay male in a Christian community came from my beliefs of how God views gays, which are different in some aspects than what many Christians believe God feels.

3. What genre does your book fall under?
Literary fiction. Maybe Christian speculative fiction.

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Searching the web and just going by looks, because I don’t know the up-and-coming young actors, I’d say Christian Keyes would be great as Michtam. And as Gent, maybe Paul Butcher. 

[image error]           [image error]
Christian Keyes as Michtam               Paul Butcher as Gent

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Michtam, a relative of serial killer Thomas, feels he must ease the torment to the families of Thomas' victims, but risks causing more ruin to their broken lives, while his best friend, Gent, must learn on his own whether he can live in the only home he knows, the Christian community Gabriel, while being true to himself as a gay male.
--I’m sure I can get it shorter down the line.

6. If you plan to publish, will your book be self-published or published traditionally? 
I will try the traditional route first, but will self-publish if after some time I hadn’t caught an agent.
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
The first draft is not complete, but I’m hoping to be done by June. I’ve been very busy with trying to promote Anticipation of the Penitent, as well as with work, church and family, that I don’t get to write everyday.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I really don’t know. I haven’t yet come across much Christian fiction that deal with these topics, especially in a literary fashion. Prayers for Bobby by Leroy Aarons, is non-fiction, but deals with the ideas of Christianity and homosexuality in an honest and heart-felt manner. (I only saw the movie, however. The book is on my to-read list.)
9. Who or What inspired you to write this book?
The victim reunification idea came from an inmate reentry meeting I attended for my job. Someone spoke about how she studies victim reunification programs in prisons, and that struck me as what Michtam would try for the families of Thomas’ victims.
The gay Christian idea came from being involved with my church, which, in general, is conservative. I don’t agree with many conservative Christian social beliefs, including the idea that being gay automatically means you are not saved and are not going to heaven.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
While reading Anticipating Dawn, you will follow Michtam and Gent as they go through trials when they enter the lives of distraught people who battle daily struggles. Their discoveries will change their own lives, the lives of their loved ones, and the lives of others who have given up hope.
--Thank you M.L. Swift for the tag!
And these are my "tags" for the next post of "The Next Big Thing" on December 12, 2012:

* Ann Marie Thomas is an amazing woman who, at 60, decided to focus on her dreams. She worked while suffering from fibromyalgia, until her stroke. She is now focusing on studying and writing, even without use of her right arm and limited use of her right leg. God bless her as she continues to recover and rediscover herself.
* Jon Etheredge is proud, retired military and has a couple of books in his gunnysack. He states he has his next project hiding underneath his keyboard. Can't wait to find out what it entails.
* Alex Auguste, AKA Mistah Marvel, is a poet, writer of short stories, memoir, and a novel. He's a host/creator and an aspiring artist who does Spoken Word Poetry and Hip-Hop music.
* Andrea Norwood is a writer of children's books, YA and horror, and is a mother of three. (No wonder she writes what she writes!) I'm glad to be able to help her endeavors at marketing and promoting her work-in-progress.
* Renee McKinley is what she calls a "weirdo" only because she loves writing about fantasy and mild horror. If that's what makes you a weirdo, then I've got to join in! As highlighted in my previous post about Renee, she loves to blog, write, be with her family, crochet, knit, and anything to do with yarn. Now, that makes her weird! :)
* Marilyn Lesser Katz has a blog about her interesting book entitled, Raft People. It seems like a unique story of a post-cataclysmic occurrence on Earth. I'm looking forward to hearing more about her and her work-in-progress.

Meet Blogger & Writer Renee McKinley

Renee McKinley is the first highlighted writer from the writing prompts over the last week. 

This is the prompt she commented on:  You're staring at a completely set Thanksgiving table loaded with the most amazing feast in a room that's decked out in fine celebration style, but you are the only one there.
Here’s Renee McKinley's writing from that prompt, a descriptive and sad piece that moved me:
The centerpiece had been designed with care and an eye to autumn hues. Each place setting perfectly assembled. The turkey nestled on the gold rimmed platter, crisped skin shining with the remains of basting. Bowls of potatoes, mashed white and candied sweet, waited patiently with the cranberry sauce. Fresh from the oven pies filled the space with cinnamon and ginger, and a hint of chocolate. 

She peeked through the curtain again, checking the drive way for their arrival. Slowly the feast cooled, the gravy congealed. She sat silently at the empty table, waiting. As she had waited every Thanksgiving for the last five years. 
This is what Renee McKinley has to say about herself:
I have 2 blogs, my creative writing blog, where I write for different prompts and sometimes just let my muse go. I usually write in the fantasy/mild horror genre.  I'm just a weirdo at heart. Elsetime & Otherwhen
And my personal, where I rant about my job, husband, and just stuff.  It's pretty boring really. Random Rants
My blog also has a  facebook fan page http://www.facebook.com/ElsetimeandOtherwhen
 In my not writing life, I co-own a small restaurant with my daughter.  I love crochet, bowling, cats and my grandkids.  
I really enjoy all fiber arts, I've spun my own yarn and would love to learn to weave.  
Great job, Renee! I hope readers here will click on the links to her blogs and experience more of her writing.  
**To celebrate and keep her in the highlight, the next writing prompt will not be until Friday, December 7. Feel free to add to the prior writing prompts. I'm looking for more people to highlight!

Time to Write

Writing prompt for 12/3/12:  Start writing with "Chances are..."


Post your writing as a comment. For details, please click this link, "Writing Prompts to Build a Community".

Writing Prompt - Success is here

Writing prompt for 12/2/12:  You're at the brink of success - What does it look like? How does it feel?


Post your writing as a comment. For instructions, please click this link, "Writing Prompts to Build a Community".