Stacey Trombley's Blog, page 4

Pitch Madness Tips!

I've been in and around the contest scene for a long time now. I've entered and failed many times, entered and made it a handful of times and have now had the chance to sit on the other side of the desk and judge a few of them too.

Truth: I LOVE contests.

This time around I have no stake in Pitch Madness. I'm not entering and I'm not judging, but I've decided to include myself in another way-- helping at many people as I can.

Step one was to offer a few entry critiques, but I could only help a few people that way so my step two is to reach more people with is this post. My contest tips! (step 3 is a full manuscript critique give away for after Pitch Madness. More info at the bottom of the page!)

If you don't know what Pitch Madness is (what is wrong with you?!?), it's a contest where writers submit a short pitch and first page of their finished novels with the hopes that they'll be picked from the masses and presented to literary agents. More info  here!

What does it take to be picked?

1) an awesome pitch that not only explains what your story is about, but how it stands out from others in your genre/category.

2) and awesome first page with awesome-- polished!-- writing, great voice and conflict! Since I wrote a post about writing an awesome first page a while back I'm just going link that (http://middlegrademinded.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-perfect-first-page.html) and spend my time talking about the pitch here.


A 35 word pitch is very hard to master, but so fun (when you stop stressing out about it) and very rewarding!

The biggest problem with these contests is that you only have 35 words to tell why your story stands out from HUNDREDS of others


How do you stand out?

Show us something different!

Show us something that we haven't seen before. It can be a plot twist, a setting, a unique character-- anything! But give us something NEW. That will get you remembered and you HAVE to be remembered or by the time the slush readers read the next hundred pitches, they won't care enough to pull yours out from the masses. (sometimes the writing of the first page is what makes them remember you. But if BOTH stand out? You're golden.)

Why?  

This is the one question I asked most when reading through pitches as a judge/slush reader. Your character has to kill the wizard to save the world? Cool. But why? A lot of writers forget this part. Tell us what the character needs to do but don't forget the WHY!?

Make us care !

One of the basics of a good pitch is to tell us the stakes. What happens if your character fails in his task? Make sure you include that, but I'm going to take that a step further-- why should we care? Often the "stakes" are OR THE WORLD WILL END. Unfortunately, that's just not that compelling. Instead, try for something more intimate. Get personal. We can't fully connect to the world as a whole (and lets face it, how many stories have we heard that saves the world?) but we can connect to characters. People.

So, yeah, maybe your character will save the world/city/bus full of kids, but what makes his journey personal on top of that? Will the love of his life hate him forever? Will he lose his opportunity to go back in time to save his brother? Extra credit points if this personal stake conflicts with the more generic stake. He has to choose between his lover hating him and letting people die. That's compelling!

Voice!

Do you have a pitch that tells your story perfectly, but you're just not sure *sparkles*? Just a word or two could make your simple pitch POP . Try to master the tone/voice of your story and find a way to show that off in your pitch. Tell the story the way your character would tell it. Use words they would use. Don't be afraid to get cute... just so long as you still explain the story in a way people can understand.



Still struggling?

Stop and start over. Try a bunch of different ways of telling this pitch. There are often a few ways you can pitch a story by focusing on different aspects. Write out 5 or 6 different pitches and then narrow them down, or even combine some of them.

Pull out your query and chop it up. Take the most important lines and cut out all the rest. You might find a new way to pitch your story this way. It's a great way to start if you're stuck!

Get another opinion! Get others to look over your pitch and see what they say. Do they understand it? Which version do they like better and why? How do they think you can improve it? (strangers are best for this because it's hard for people who know you well to tell you if they don't like something. You need blunt here)

Some novels are easier to pitch than others, so don't worry if you can't perfect your pitch. If you think yours is impossible to explain in a short way, do your absolute best and focus on the first page being A-MAZE-ING.






Free Manuscript critique!
Want a shot at winning a critique from me? After Pitch Madness I'm going to run a quick giveaway for the folks who didn't make the agent round. The winner will get a Quickie manuscript critique from me (check out the Mentorship tab for information on what that includes.) So check back here after the agent round reveal to enter!

 Extra Credit!
Anyone who tweets this post and includes @trombolii (me),  I'll give them an extra entry into the give away (if you're picked for the agent round you can give away this extra entry to someone you know. Just tweet me who you want to give it to)

Have any questions? Leave them in the comments or shoot me an email SPTrombley88 at aol dot com.

Editing Service Now Open!

I'm starting up a small freelance editing service. I'll be focused mostly on big picture edits and helping you grow as a writer. These packages will be best for querying writers, looking for an agent or a small press deal or a newer writer who's looking to self publish but wants to make sure they're on the right track/can hook readers. I'm not going to be the best choice if you're looking for a line editor.

I will only work on YA or MG works. Why? Because that's what I know best.


 I have two packages:


 1) Basic
200$ for anything under 75,000 words
250$ for 75,000 words and up
(These prices can change at any time. Book now to guarantee this price)

 This package includes a quick big picture read through, inline comments and an edit letter.

Things my edits will look for:

-Plot/structure issues
-Hooking the reader from the start
-Pacing
-Natural Dialog
-Character development
-Voice**
-Building conflict and making the most of every plot twist
-I'll point out some basic writing problems like crutch words and showing versus telling and places that just need work in general (we all have lazy spots we just miss during edits)
 ** (voice is mostly up to you as a writer, but I can point out the places that fall flat, and give advice on how to stretch out that personality. Voice is subjective so I will not be telling you if your voice is "bad" (and believe me you wouldn't want me to.) What I might dislike an agent/editor may love. But rather, I'll help to stretch what you already have)

This is a one time read through with an edit letter.

Turnaround time: You'll have your round one edits from me within two weeks of your scheduled edit, assuming I receive your manuscript. (I will confirm receipt.)

2) The Mentorship
450$ flat fee
(Prices can change at any time. Book now to guarantee this price)

This is a full on mentorship where I'll do everything I can to help you get publishing ready. It will include everything you get in the Basic, plus:

- A second read through once you've implemented my first round comments. I'll tell you if your fixes did their job, or if you didn't do enough or how we can take it the next step. I'll also go a little deeper into line edits and check to make sure your writing is as strong as it can be. By the end of this second edit I hope to have you query ready!
-I'll also work with you to fix your query, synopsis and pitch (if you want), even work on getting that first chapter at hooky as possible. We want you to be getting requests!
-I'll answer ALL the questions. Any questions you have about the industry, advice and even brainstorming. I'll do my best to help you or point you in the right direction. This will be an open dialog for at least two weeks after I send you back the second pass edits. I'll likely still be willing to help how I can after that point but I can't promise I'll be able to answer all the questions forever.

Timeline: You'll have your round one edits from me within two weeks of your scheduled edit, assuming I receive your manuscript (I will confirm receipt). You'll then have all the time you need to reviews the edits and make changes. In the mean time, I will work on your query, synopsis and pitch. There may be several rounds of edits on these. You will resend the newly edited manuscript whenever you feel comfortable. The goal will be to get you the second round edits within two weeks of receipt. I will do my best to make that happen, but in the case that I get more than one round two edit back at the same time it will be first come first serve. I will keep you updated. If this ever starts becoming an issue I may begin scheduling round two edits as well.



Yes! you can choose the Basic first then pay the difference for the Mentorship if you like your edits/want another round.



Payments are accepted via paypal. I'll send an invoice once edit is scheduled. I'll need to have received payments before I send you any edits.


Interested? Shoot me an email to schedule a time or ask any questions. SPTrombley88 (at) aol (dot) com

A few notes about my edits:
 My goal is to help you, that's #1, but I cannot guarantee you'll get an agent or a publishing deal after my edits. I will simply do my best to get you there. Publishing is subjective and always changing and I cannot control the market.

Any publishing advice may be subjective and there may be times that I suggest getting more than one opinion before you make any choices.

Any and all of my notes are suggestions, not orders. Feel free to disagree. Also, feel free to tell me you disagree, or ask more questions. I like giving options, and I always tell you if a suggestion is mostly based on opinion. I'm also a big fan of breaking rules for the sake of style and voice so you should go in feeling comfortable even if you have a writing style that is a little "different". 

These edits shouldn't stand in place of beta readers and CPs. Why? Because having more than one view of a manuscript is invaluable. No one is 100% correct, even publishers. So having more than one set of eyes on every story is always important.

NAKED cover reveal!!!!

It's totally surreal to think that my book baby is going to be born this year! If there is one thing that will make that feel real... it's a cover. The visualization of all my hard work, characters that will never leave me and a story that wouldn't let go. 


I love this story, and I am love with this cover. I hope you love them too!








by Stacey TrombleyRelease Date: 07/07/15Entangled Teen305 pages
Summary from Goodreads:
A teenage prostitute looking for redemption must face her secrets before they destroy her...

When tough teenager Anna ran away to New York, she never knew how bad things would get. After surviving as a prostitute, a terrifying incident leaves her damaged inside and out, and she returns home to the parents s he was sure wouldn't want her anymore.

Now she has a chance to be normal again. Back in school, she meets a boy who seems too good to be true. Cute, kind, trusting. But what will he do when he finds out the truth about her past? And when a dark figure from New York comes looking for Anna, she realizes she must face her secrets...before they destroy her.

Pre-Order Links:
Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Kobo Books

Why I love Taylor Swift: An Anti Insta-Love post

Taylor Swift is not just another celebrity. Sure, she's beautiful, her fans adore her and she sings lots of bubbly pop songs. On the outside she looks just like any other spoiled young celebrity pop star.

But she's not.  Truth is, I could talk a while about all the great things about Taylor. I mean, this girl spent hours buying and wrapping personal gifts to some of her fans with hand written notes. HOW COOL IS THAT? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3yyF31jbKo )



But really, that's still not why I love the girl. This is why I love her:






 









For as amazing as Taylor Swift is, people certainly seem to love spreading hate as much and as often as they can. And almost every instance of that public hate, all those rumors that follow her... the ONE THING people seems to really stick on about Taylor Swift, is:

"ALL THE BOYFRIENDS!"
But why is that such a big deal? Because honestly that's one of the things I love most about her.

1) her songs are honest and from the heart

         They might be about her celebrity boyfriends, or the people who give her a hard time, but they are real. Every. single. one. And they are relatable.

Someone once claimed that Taylor was the "voice of a generation" and I really think that's true.  She sings for young people. She sings for me. She tells us that's it's okay to not be loved by everyone. It's okay to not be perfect.

2) She's a great role model

          She's hugely famous and successful but she never fell off the deep end. She hasn't fallen in the trap that so many girls before, and after her, have fallen into. She's no Miley Cyrus, or Amanda Bines, or Brittany Spears, or Olsen twins. "BUT ALL THE BOYFRIENDS?!" you say. How can she be a good role model when all she does is date around? To that I say: That's exactly WHY she's a good role model, or at least part of it.

In a world where Insta-love runs rampant in the media, Taylor shows us that true love doesn't always come easy. 

Not everyone marries their high school sweethearts. A break up isn't the end of the world. It's okay to be upset or angry. It's even okay to express that anger.


All your boyfriends will not be Edward Cullen (and you probably don't want them to be) 

You are more than your relationships.

The Insanity That Is 2015

                                  

2014 was an intense year for me. 


Two huge things happened that will crescendo in 2015.




March 2014: I got a book deal!!Actually, this had been happening for a while, the offer came in at the start of the year and it took months for it to be official. 
 

May 2014: Just after turning in the rewrite of my contracted YA book to my editor.... I found out I was pregnant. SURPRISE!!



So, yup, 2015 is going to be HUGE for me. Two of the biggest events in my life are happening within 6 months of each other. My life will NOT be the same!


Now, at the start of the new year I'm 8 months pregnant!



Baby Boy is due February 3rd 2015 and my life will change forever!
And I'm getting ready to start the promotion of my debut novel! 
(first up, cover reveal January 28th. Kinda hoping I'm not in labor as that happens! ha) 


[image error] NAKED on Amazon

NAKED is set to release July 7th 2015.... and my life will change forever!

So pretty much, you don't want to miss the insanity that is my life in 2015.

My Pitch Wars Bio and Wish List

Hey guys! I'm a first time mentor and SOOOO excited to be here! I've been contest obsessed for years now, so I know what it's like to be on the other side of the table. In fact, I've been a part of Pitch Wars for the last two years as an alternate. First, with my YA fantasy and last year with my MG. My YA contemporary (which missed Pitch Wars but was in Pitch Madness a while back) is now contracted with Entangled Teen, due out summer 2015. I'm also a contributor for the group blog Middle Grade Minded.

So, that's pretty much all that's interesting about me… How about we move onto the fun part?

What do I want to see in my Pitch Wars inbox?






 I get into a lot of specifics here so remember that you don't have to have many (or really any) of the things I list for me to love your story. This is mostly so you can get to know me, my tastes and most importantly: what gets me excited.

I know what it’s like to be on the other side of this and wonder how in the world will I pick only 3-4 mentors to send to?!? Hopefully, by the end of this you'll have a pretty good idea of if your story is the kind I'd love to see!

So first: I'm looking for MG. Mostly fantasy or sci-fi but I wouldn't mind an emotional, unique contemporary.

Most importantly, if you have a unique story for kids, the kind I've never seen before, regardless of genre— I WANT IT, PLEASE!


For those of you still debating here's a bit more info. For the fantasy side, based in the real world is probably best for me but if I can quickly relate to a world and characters then take me wherever you want (but a cool place in our world like Asia, Africa, Antarctica-- wherever! is a YES PLEASE)

Mostly what I'm drawn to is unique. Something that will surprise me. I get super excited for things I haven't seen before. If you've got a unique story to tell I want to see it PRETTY PLEASE!! I like big concept stories but even a truly unique aspect like character or setting or a cool twist could give me that excited feeling and that's what I'm looking for.

BUT I don't mean crazy weird. If it makes me cock my head to side and say "huh?" It’s not the kind of unique I like. I’m looking for something that gets my mind reeling over all the “what ifs”. I love intelligent stories and characters (like Sage from The False Prince. Or even something like Home Alone or Tom Sawyer (I like girl stories too, don't worry))

Of course, voice is the most important aspect because that's the hardest thing to nail in MG and the most important way to connect with your readers. Work on your MG voice (reading is one of the best ways to do that, especially since no one can tell you how to nail voice)

I'm also going to lean more towards upper MG. If your voice is super young I'm probably not the best for it (but if it's really super unique I'd love if you gave me a shot at it!)

That’s basically the gist, but for a little more fun there are a few things that I’m a sucker for (hint, if you have these things in your story I should be on your potential mentor list (I’ll bribe if necessary) BUT if you don’t have them, don’t feel discouraged. Instead give me something new to obsess over)

 Random things I love:

·       Creepy creatures like Trolls and Goblins.

·       Pirates

·       Basically villains of all kinds. Have a cool protagonist villain? YES PLEASE!!!

·       Treasure stories like The Goonies (actually, anything like the Goonies because DUH)

·       I LOVE a little bit of creepy in my books. Think Doll Bones or The Graveyard Book. Something with a hint of darkness but without going into full on horror story.
And... that’s all I’ve got. I’m totally open to questions if you have them. The best place for that is twitter, @Trombolii but you can comment here too if you can't fit your question into 140 characters (not having a twitter is unacceptable. Get one NOW if you don't already.)  and I’ll get back to you! 

Let the games begin!!

Interview with NA fantasy author J.M. Bray

The Blog Tour Continues. Click the banner to find out more.



The second in the fresh, exciting romantic fantasy Shroud trilogy takes up where Tearing the Shroud leaves off – with the lives, the loves, and the mythical world beyond our own. 


After accepting bodily possession and saving the world, Vincent thought his life would get easier. He thought wrong.

The Shroud may not have torn wide open, but it did tear a little, and the retribution for the failure is coming hard, fast, and directly at Vincent and the people he loves.

His only hope is to once again accept possession from Coleman and do battle with the deformed, terrifying Kafla. But this time, he's not alone. Jule, the woman he loves and hopes to marry, is possessed as well, and together the four of them become a formidable team.

Together they hope to stave off the invasion and take the fight to the Realm, but only a supreme sacrifice can mend the Shroud and save both their lives and their worlds.



Mending the Shroud Links
Goodreads - Amazon - AmazonAU - iBooks - B&N (coming soon!)


Interview with the amazing author of the Shroud Trilogy, J.M. Bray!



You write NA fantasy romances, what’s it like being a male author in such a female crowded genre?
I love being one of the only guys in the crowd, especially when they forget I’m there. Lol Emails about what to wear at conferences, or the parties planned during them, can take some interesting and revealing turns. On the serious side, it also gives me insight into aspects of what women face. It’s valuable information and I don’t take it lightly. As to my sales, hopefully it will help me stand out.

What made you decide to write this genre? What were your very first inspirations?
Romance comes naturally to me. I mean that in a literal way. I write Fantasy novels. They happen to be romantic because I can’t seem to help myself. It just comes out. Once I realized that, I started adjusting scenes to dovetail with the genre.Inspirations. That’s a great question. Please don’t think I’m dodging it. As far as people, other authors, I don’t have any. No one I’ve read made me aspire to become a writer. There are writers I admire, and I’d love to be as talented, but reading them doesn’t spur me to write. For me, inspiration comes from the ideas sloshing around my (mostly empty) skull. Taking a thought, or something I see and pushing it to the extreme or beyond, that gets me going.
How has this genre changed since Tearing The Shroud was first published?
It may seem like I’m mincing words, but hey, authors do that. When speaking of genre, I’m referring to fantasy romance. NA is an age bracket. As far as the genre, I think it’s becoming more open. The expectations for hitting all the romantic tropes aren’t as hardline. I think that’s a good thing. It opens stories up, lets them breathe. NA is changing too. I think people are looking for more than YA with sex, a tattooed bad boy and a girl recovering from abuse, who hates her parents.
If there was ONE book you wish someone would compare your series to, what would it be?
Wow, you are rocking the questions! I’m totally stumped. I mean, everyone would love to be the next big thing. Besides that, I’d like the series to draw people in, make them want more of the world I’ve developed. Raymond Feist’s Magician Apprentice and the rest of the series, did that for me. It’s a huge epic fantasy with a bagillion books. My little ramblings would never compare in scope or depth (or talent) but I’d like to have even a tiny bit of the ‘want more’ it produced.
You have a very hunky main character, Vincent. Before you published and got that amazing cover, who did you imagine as your character? Aka, who would you cast in the movie? 
Robbie Amell is the personification of Vincent. But he’s 26 now, so I may need to start looking again. You think he could play 21?
Tell me about the sequel you have coming out, what can readers expect? Anything surprisingly different from Tearing The Shroud? 
Readers can expect more of the gang and the answers to subplots! In Tearing the Shroud, I was careful to bring things to a solid conclusion regarding the immediate threat, but left…not cliffhangers…but possibilities to follow. Mending the Shroud picks up a month after the climactic end of book one. While there are big surprises, and they are different, I don’t think they’re surprisingly different. There’s that mincing words thing again. Book three, Shrouded, has the surprisingly different going on in spades.
Anything else you’re dying to tell potential readers?
Yes, a few of things. The first is for authors everywhere. Leave reviews, especially if you liked the book. In this day and age, Amazon rankings and what shows up in Amazon emails is determined by your reviews. Take five minutes and help other readers find the author you enjoyed. From the standpoint of my novels, you get to see romance from a guy’s perspective, what we really think. It’s more than pizza and boobs…not that those aren’t important. Also, this series takes nearly every NA cliché and turns them on their heads. If you’re looking for something refreshingly different, buy and follow the Shroud Trilogy: Tearing the Shroud and Mending the Shroud.




About the Author J.M. Bray lives in Southern California with his college sweetheart and their two dogs. After a lifetime together, they are happier than the moment they met. When not writing or working his "day job", he loves to cook, play the guitar, and travel with his wife. Every chance he gets, he races an old Porsche named "Tuffy" at tracks in the southwest.


Connect with JM
Twitter: @jmbraybooks
Email: jmbray@jmbray.com
Website: www.jmbray.com
Blog: http://blog.jmbray.com
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/JMBray.books
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/jmbraybooks/


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Writer's Process Blog Hop!

 


Hey guys! I was tagged in this pretty cool blog hop that's been making it's rounds through all the writer's blogs (I've read a dozen of these already.) So I feel pretty cool to have been tagged by my friend J.M. Bray author of Tearing The Shroud, a fantastic NA fantasy romance. The sequel Mending The Shroud comes out July 1st (and man do I love that cover. mmm ;) so check it out!!http://www.jmbray.com/



Onto the questions:



      1)What am I working on?
Right now, I’m working on my YA contemporary NAKED which is contracted with Entangled Teen. I’m finishing up the massive revision I planned out with my editor before the offer. I just typed “The end” on the new version and now I’m working on going back and revise a few things. I’ll be sending it off soon.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre? Naked deals with an issue rarely seen in YA—teenage prostitution. I’ve seen three books that deal with something similar. 

                              1. Tricks by Ellen Hopkins which is a novel in verse about a few kids who find their way into prostitution.  
                              2. My Book Of Life By Angel which is also in verse (sigh) about a girl already stuck in prostitution and trying to get out

                              3. Sold which is about a little girl who’s sold by her family for food. This one is isn’t in verse but has such a young voice it doesn’t sound anything like most YA books, plus its not based in the U.S. which is part of what makes the issue interesting to me. Normal kids are pushed into prostitution at young ages in the cities all around us.

Naked's nothing like any of those novels. Infact, it's more similar to other YA contemporaries that deal with issues like rape and murder, where the girl is trying to go back to a normal life after something that messed her up. Examples: Faking Normal, All The Truth That's In Me, Where You’ll Find Me. Except instead of hiding something that only makes her a victim, she’s hiding something people will never understand if they know. She slept with men for money, which to a lot of people makes her almost villainous. Part of Anna’s struggle is proving that she is really a victim (even to herself)
  3) Why do I write what I do? I write whatever I feel like writing. Naked is very different from most of my other stories. It appealed to me because of the emotions. It’s a story I’d never heard before, something deep and dark and needed some serious digging to get right. I truly felt that this was a story that needed to be told. So I told it.

4) How does my writing process work?I actually wrote a long post about this a while back so if you want more detail, feel free to hop over there: http://www.staceytrombley.com/2014/01...
In short: I come up with an idea (I’ve got a long list right now) and usually write a chapter or two right away while the passion is still fresh. Then while I work on some other things but let that story stick in my head. I tend to plan a little by day dreaming about the story (I write very few things down, though I do like to write a pitch and a query early on). Then, at some point I pick it back up and write (seriously, I’ve got a waiting list of novels to be written) I try to write quickly because I have a procrastination problem and will put it off if I let myself. Then I revise, revise, revise! The amount of revision passes totally depends on the book.



I've tagged two awesome writers to keep this hop going. They will post next Monday so remember to hop over and check out what they're working on!


Fiona McLaren spends her life torn between the sun-drenched island of Cyprus where she lives, and the windswept hills of Scotland where she grew up.  Despite the numerous beaches, pina coladas and water sports close to her home (jealous yet?!), Fiona still manages to squirrel herself away into a dark corner in order to write and read a ridiculous quantity of YA books. She is represented by Jamie Bodnar Drowley of Inklings Literary.
Check out her site here: http://yabookcase.blogspot.co.uk/



Wife and mother first, and everything else later. Katie Teller is an Aussie living in the USA and just enjoying life as it comes! She's the Amazon best selling author of Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh. She also works as an acquisitions Editor with Curiosity Quills.
Check out her site here:  http://kjhstories.blogspot.com/

A Sucess Story

Once upon a time there was a hopelessly hopeful writer with a hopefully-fantastic manuscript on her hands. She polished and revised and sent to a few beta readers. When she was finally ready she began submitting to literary agents.





 


Step number one for many writers with a finished novel is finding representation, a professional with the ability to sell the book to a big time publisher. But this feat seems impossible for someone on the outside looking in. And this timid little writer was no stranger to rejection.
Her last manuscript, a YA fantasy, had a few close calls, but it never worked for the poor dear. So imagine her surprise when she was picked for the very exclusive, very fantastic , Pitch Madness contest (by  Brenda Drake, the pitch contest queen herself ,and her equally  amazing host Erica Chapman.  See the entry here ).  The hopeful writer walked away with a few agent requests but something even more important—confidence!

The query process was slow and gruesome, very few requests trickling in and a lot more rejections. But more contests made the whole thing almost bearable. She was picked for Query Kombat and received some fantastic feedback, she garnered a few new requests from the occasional twitter pitch contest. But months and months went by and none of those things amounted to anything.

Come summer, another pitch contest caught her eye. #PitchMas they call it. She entered and…. was rejected. You see they only pick so many pitches to go up on the blog, and she wasn’t one of the lucky ones. That’s okay, though. Rejections are a part of a writer’s everyday life. She just had to pick herself up and move on to the next opportunity. In this case, there was still the #pitchmas twitter pitch contest. She’d already tried twitter pitching 3 times before #pitchmas came around and always walked away with a request or two, but hadn’t all the agents already seen her pitches? She didn’t want to look utterly pathetic. But… the draw was too much to take so she threw her hat in for one more try.

Here was the pitch: Anna's busted for prostitution + shipped home to the suburbs to be 'normal' again. A geeky boy named Arney becomes her only friend.

And looky there! A request… from a publisher.

This publisher was one she’d admired from afar for a long time. A small press only around for a few years but already with numerous New York Times and US Today best sellers. Higher royalties than big publishers, fantastic editors and a great marketing team, and a distributor contract with a big publisher! *passes out* Does it get much better than that? And while her agent hunt wasn’t over, it was slowly fuzzing out. So she sent. The publisher said she’d hear in 30 days and she did, with a request for more time. “I loved the pitch you gave during #PitchMAS, and I'm intrigued further by reading your manuscript. I will need some more time to make a decision.” What did THAT mean?

Here’s the thing about writers, you see, they have over active imaginations and uncontrollable passion. This makes for some ridiculous thought processes. And after tons of rejections, a lot of those assumptions are negative. This nearing-hopeless writer’s assumption was that he hadn’t read very far, and just hadn’t had time to get far enough to hate it yet. A few more weeks went by and *ding* went her phone, announcing she’d received a new email to her querying account. She looked at enough to see it was from Stephen, the editor reading her humble little manuscript. But she was right in the middle of a fantasy football draft and didn’t want that heartbreak feeling to plague her just yet. She finished her last few picks, all the while staring at her blinking phone but refusing to pick it up. Once everyone was gone, she settled down to read the email.

“I'm sorry it's taken me this long to get back in touch with you about your book. I think NAKED has amazing potential and would like to discuss with you what revisions would be necessary to make it the right fit for Entangled. Would you have some time to chat on the phone this week?”

Whoa. Now that was unexpected.

THE CALL, you see, is infamous in the writing world. Writers know this to be “THE MOMENT”. The moment when an Industry professional professes their love for your work and tells you they want to work with you (think of it like a proposal, getting down on one knee). Does it always work out? No. But it’s big. Like huge. Most of the time, though, it’s an agent asking to talk on the phone. Publishers don’t always do this. This writer didn’t know exactly what to expect. They scheduled the time for the next morning, and thank goodness because the writer thought she’d explode if she had to wait to hear what he had to say.

Stephen said he loved the writing, the voice, the concept, but the plotting/structure needed some work. He wanted to work with the little writer to make it the best it can be. WITH HER. Not “fix this and I’ll look again”, more of a “if you’re willing to put in the work, I’ll help you hand and foot”. 

Whoa.

He also asked for an exclusive (meaning you can’t submit to other publishers.)This made sense because of the work he’s planning to put in. So the now hopeful (again) writer sent out some emails to the agents reading letting them know of the situation before she agreed to the exclusive. She had a couple close calls, one of which said she would have suggested her own R&R (revise and resubmit, something many writers would kill for) were there not already a publisher interested and she didn’t feel she could add enough to the deal to earn a commission (a class act, that one). So the writer went on, all on her own.

Then the hard work began. Emailing the editor back and forth, some things they agreed on, some they didn’t. But after a while, they got on the same page. Then came another phone call. The editor talked for about an hour about the book, about the new plot they were still putting together. When the writer agreed to the proposed changes, the editor suggested she write the new first three chapters and fill in the full outline with the new changes and he would send it off to the acquisitions board.

Again, whoa.

Basically, he was sending a proposal. Not a finished novel, but the first three chapters and an outline of one. Not exactly a usual situation for a new writer. The rest of the book would still need to be almost completely rewritten, AFTER a contract was signed.

So she sat down to write the outline, taking some of his suggestions and the things they’d talked about and twisting them to what she wanted for her book. That was the easy part. Then it came to writing the first three chapters. Honestly, that should have been pretty easy too. But the pressure was on. She had to make it some of her best writing, fitting the new vision for the book but keeping the heart of the former version. But also, because they were cutting some of the beginning, finding a way to do all of that plus writing it in a way that a brand new reader could be introduced to a character and world they’ve never experienced before.

It. Had. To. Be. Perfect.

This happened to fall right into the beginning of November, the time of the year she wanted to be writing something new (NANOWRIMO!). When she was finally done and happy she sent it off and tried to jump into writing something new, which wasn’t easy. She ended up not finishing nanowrimo (the goal is 50,000 words in a month) but did start a brand new WIP (a middle grade, which is where is random voice of this success story comes from)

She heard back from Stephen within a week saying he was “blown away” by her revisions. EEP! And he would be sending it off the acquisitions. Which basically means, even though HE was sold on this novel, he now had to pitch it to the rest of the team (and his bosses) and convince them they need to publish it. A lot was riding on this, and now all she could do was wait.

And wait.

And wait.

And wait.

Holy cow the waiting.

Good thing was, Pitch Wars, the contest of all contests, was right around this time and she entered with the Middle Grade novel she had just finished revising (not the one she was working on in November.) Contests are a life saver for a waiting writer. It means making new friends, and showing off their writing to the awesome twitter community and working on pitches and revising some more and reading some other writer’s novels. All in all, it’s FUN. And, yes, a fantastic distraction from the acquisitions board reading her baby behind the scenes.

Then pitch wars ended and she was still waiting.

And waiting.

She spend two months waiting for the acquisitions board. TWO MONTHS!!

Until finally, she got an email.

“Hi!!!”
 
(Yes, she was even reading into the exclamation points now. Hmm, he seems happy)
“Can you spare a few minutes to talk tomorrow? Couple of questions it'd be simpler to discuss over the phone”

Could this be it? She tried to think of all the things it might be besides an offer, because if she assumed it was an offer and it wasn’t… 

 But it did seem likely. Would he want to call her to tell her they were rejecting her? Probably not. But it could be some more changes. A new title? Changing a character name? She considered all of those (and came up with backups, just in case) But no, the only “question” he had for her was “Are you sitting down? It’s good news!”  (All the while, the writer was super awkward. Her response: “What?”)



(Yes, a whole lot like Katniss)
After some fun contract business, she signed and sold her debut novel to Entangled! 





But this isn’t the end. No, no. There is still a whole lot to come for this hopeful writer. There is still an agent to found and a MG novel to find a home and a ton more books to be written.  But this a HUGE step and that deserves some serious celebrating!








So that's it, my news! My YA contemporary novel will be published by Entangled in 2015. Before I can end this post I've got some people to thank. I'll try not to make this a full on acknowledgement page but, well, no promises.

A big THANK YOU to my editor Stephen. Thank you for all your hard work and thank you thank you for believing in me! 

Stacey Nash for being an awesome friend and great Beta. My friends at Unborn Writers for the help and support. Naomi Hughes for beta reading a very early version of this novel. All the contest organizers and hosts, especially Brenda Drake-- I'm a better writer because of all that you do. THANK YOU! Rebecca Yarros for your help on the query and first chapter. Laura Timms for reading the revision before I sent it to Stephen. And all the people who helped with the pitch.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I love this community of writers. You guys are awesome!


But most of all, and I know this will sound cheesy no matter how I say it, but it needs to be said: I owe the thanks of all thanks to my God. This passion has been the most incredible gift I’ve ever been given, even better than an outlet to share said passion. So THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! You are truly amazing.

My Writing Process!

All writers are different, we all do things differently. That’s totally cool. But there’s something interesting about hearing how writers do their own "thing." 






I’m currently about 20k into both my 4th and 5th novels. In the time I’ve been writing I’ve developed a process that seems to work pretty well for me (okay, sometimes.)


Step 1. Idea’s
                This deserves a post all its own, so I won’t get too in depth. Really, this is only a step here because it’s necessary. Right now I have 5 novel ideas I want to write right now. Not everyone has so many ideas at once--  It’s not necessarily a good thing. But it does mean I don’t have to make a point to come up with ideas for a new novel. I’ve got a damn waiting list.

Step 2. The first chapter
                If an idea is really stuck in my head I usually sit down and write a little bit of it. A first chapter, 2 maybe 3, but no more than 10k words. The novel isn’t completely developed nor am I ready to commit to drafting at the moment but the passion is too strong. It’s too much of an opportunity to waste (So far, what the things I just sat down and wrote when the idea was super fresh and exciting I’ve kept in the final draft, though of course tweaked and twisted and polished (with the exception of my YA contemporary which through R&R ended up cutting the first few chapters of one of these. I managed to keep the first paragraph though, just in a slightly different way). The first chapter gives me a very grounded idea of some of the basics of the story. Who is this character? What do they want? Where are they? 

Setting is a big one. I didn’t know Darcy Darkling was going to be based in a future society until I started writing about the wall around her city. I didn’t know A Sea Of Treason was going to start out in Carolina, or that Whitely had just moved there from NYC. Those things came out naturally, which is the way I like to do things. I don’t like mapping everything out for my characters. I like to feel them through my writing. But I also don’t like to go into a new draft completely blind. Which is why I write a little bit before I plan. This way, when I start getting the full plot lines in place, I already feel like I know these characters and where they should be headed. I also have a basic idea of the rules of their society.

Step 3: Day Dreaming (aka plotting)
                Some people plot out a book meticulously, mapping out every twist and turn to the T. I don’t. I’m not much of a plotter, to be honest. Yes, making a plot structure for the book is important, and I do plan things out a little, but some of that I do after I write a first draft. Before drafting, I plot by day dreaming. Sometimes I’ll jot down a logical plan or two, thing I know will have to happen, but mostly I just like to play with the characters in my head. Think about what they’ll do, where they’ll go. Some books only take a little bit of planning. Others I think about a whole lot. Like my pirate book, I know just about every scene that I will write for that book. Partially because I love the romance in it, that is a fun one to live out in my head. Can’t wait to get that stuff onto paper!

Step 4: Space
                After I write first part of the novel, I leave it alone for a while. I put it down and go about my business. What comes next totally depends on my mood, what’s going on in my life, and the story. I’ve often had more than one story fighting for time to be written (like right now). So sometimes one story has to take a back seat. Which one I choose might not have anything to do with one idea being better than another, or me liking one more. Sometimes it’s just what I’m in the mood for, or what my brain needs at the moment. For example, I was working on some big revisions/rewrites on Naked when nano came around this year. I was emotionally/mentally drained because I was putting so much time and effort into making the changes work, that I couldn’t get myself to pick my pirate book up and finish it like I planned. So instead I wrote something new. The MG I’m working on ended up being the quickest transformation from idea to drafting I’ve ever done. And I only did it because I needed something new, something fresh, something fun. Something with low expectations.  I do think this MG has a fantastic concept for the market, but I’m not writing it hoping to query. I’m writing it for me. That’s what I needed. Something light and fun that could help me let go of the stress of writing for publication for a little while.  So sometimes I wait a month before I start writing. Sometimes a year. It totally depends. But I almost always wait at least a month to get going for real.

Step 5: pitches
                I actually usually do this AS I’m writing. It helps me get excited about potentially pitching this book one day, about querying it. It also helps me keep the same kind of inspiration through the months I’m writing it. For Darcy Darkling, I had a pretty full query written out while drafting that I pasted to the top of my WIP document and would read every time I opened it. Helped me know where I was going next in the story, what the overall idea/feelings/goals of this story was. It kept me inspired. It kept me passionate about Darcy and her journey. Some stories are easier to pitch than others. My pirate books, I have a fantastic pitch that I doubt I’ll change of word of if I enter a contest. But the query was tough. Darcy was the opposite. That query came easy, and though I definitely changed it I didn’t have to change it much. But the pitch was HARD. 

Step 6: goals.
                It’s time to sit down and actually write. YAY! This is the exciting part. This is the sucky part.
Some people love, love, love drafting. Some people hate it. I’m kind of in between. Sometimes I love it. Sometimes I hate it. My biggest problem is having the discipline to get the story down consistently. I can’t write a book in one day. If I could, I’d probably do that every time. But in a month, you go through so many ups and downs. Things get in the way. Some days you are just tired and can’t focus. It’s just… hard to make yourself do work at every spare moment you have. So I make goals. Five thousand words a week or two thousand words a day (nano style). It depends. Having these concrete goals helps to keep me in check. Not that I don’t fail at them. I do. A lot. But it helps. Sometimes, I end up writing half and stopping for a few weeks to take a break. It’s important to know when something is getting to be too much. There is a fine line between discipline and pushing yourself too hard. Writing is hard work. Mentally taxing stuff. So don’t feel bad about taking breaks. Even longs one. But at some point you’ll have to get yourself back up and finish the story or you’ll never forgive yourself. Do what’s right for you, but don’t make excuses (believe me, I’m good at excuses)

Step 7: Finish the damn book
                Just do it.



As soon you write “The end” that starts a whole new process. REVISIONS!! Whoa there buddy. That’ the big stuff, and I’ll write a post on my editing process as well. I’d love to hear about your processes, leave some love in the comments! (though if you’re going to get as long winded as me, maybe write your own blog post and link it to me)