My Personal Path To Publication - Felicia Guillot Rogers
Our author sharing her path today is so far the only one who writes historical suspense. A fellow author with me at Astraea Press (and you should check us out, we are growing, both in numbers and in reputation!), she came to publishing in two different ways. She both won a contest and she was accepted by our wonderful independent press. Felicia is also a great example of the value of revision. For most writers, revision is a bad word, conjuring up images of the artist with several pots of coffee surrounding her, and a pile of scrunched up paper, discarded versions of where the story was supposed to go, the muse long since having left the building. In Felicia's case, and in her own words, you'll see where she took a story that wasn't working, for the varied reasons we as writers will recognize, and not only made it work, but made it readable, enjoyable, and with eye firmly on prize, marketable! Now, please enjoy the journey of my friend and fellow author, Felicia Guillot Rogers.
1. How long have you beenwriting?I've been writing offand on for as long as I can remember but only seriously for the last two years.
2. Are you published andif so, how long have you been a published author? If not, what's yourplan?I currently have fourworks published. My first publicationwas in December of 2010.
3. Which route did you choose forbecoming published, the traditional route, with an agent, the "indie" route,going directly to the publishers yourself, or deciding to self-publish?In the beginning I searched for an agent. It was my desire to acquire an agent and gofor one of the big six. But as timerolled on and no one seemed interested, I began searching out smallerpublishers on my own with much success.
4. How long did it take you to writeyour first novel?I can't remember! I wrote it over two years ago thisSeptember. But in general it takes metwo to three months from start to finish to complete a novel length book.
5. How long did it take you to publishit?The first book I wrote was There Your Heart Will Be Also. It was completed in Sept. 2009 and Ibegan seeking publication. This bookwill be published later this month. Which means this novel took me over two years to publish.
6. How many times did it get rejectedbefore it got published?I guessyou could say this manuscript was like my first child, I had to use it forpractice.Numerous times! I had a POV (point-of-view) issue and thenthere was a character issue—he wasn't liked. This one manuscript has been rejected more than all my other manuscriptscombined. Poor thing.
7. Describe your worst rejection letter.The worst rejection letter I've ever received came from an agent. I finally had an agent request my work. They sent me an email, all in small letters with no punctuation which read: may send first 50 pages and synopsis via mail. There was no address listed and since thepunctuation was lacking I figured it made sense that the 'e' might have beenleft off of the word mail. I did go andstudy the website thoroughly but still nothing grabbed me about what to do. So I fixed everything up and emailed it. Two minutes later I received my answer. It read: pass but may God bless. This wasclearly my worst rejection.
8. Describe the best newsyou ever got in your writing life and how it felt.I was really down and doubting my abilitiesfrom so many rejections on my novel then I got the news that my novellasubmission for the Celebrate the Season contest had won. That was clearly the best piece of news I'd received. I was jumping and running around theroom. I think I kind of scared thehubby.
9. What's the worst piece of advice youever got?Honestly I can't think of any real badadvice that I've received.
10. Now, tell us the best.
The best piece of advice I've received wasfrom an editor/publisher/friend who told me my writing was good and gave meways to improve upon it.
11. What's the one thingyou would want an aspiring writer to take away from your personal path topublication?The one thing I would wantfor an aspiring writer to take away from journey is to never give up on yourdream and remember that practice makes perfect.
12. Where can we Buy your books? www.astraeapress.com
Connect with you on facebook? http://www.facebook.com/feliciarogersauthor
Yourwebsite? www.feliciarogersauthor.webs.com
Blurb for There Your Heart Will Be AlsoOnlydaughter of an English lord, Sarra of Greenbriar, is used to getting herway. So when her father passes and the King begins sending suitors,she feels justified in taking matters into her own hands. Through aseries of harmless pranks, Sarra works to keep the potential husbands at bay.Cedric MacNeil is a Scotsmanthat has lost it all. Death claimed his parents and jealousy claimedhis entitled position as Laird of his clan. Since his mother was afamiliar of the English court, he leaves his native land and heads to Englandto fight on behalf of the English King. Tournamentsare won, earning honor and glory for the crown. Cedric's reward is theopportunity to gain what he wants most in this life, land.
But as he gets to know Sarra,he realizes he might get more than he bargained for.
Doesn't that sound glorious? Everything you'd expect from an historical novel and more. I know we'll be expecting many more from Felicia in the future. Please comment and let her know how much you enjoyed reading about her journey. As with all my author friends, she would love to hear from you. And the next time you are faced with the seemingly daunting prospect of completely changing your manuscript, think of Felicia, and remember, it just may help you sell it!~
1. How long have you beenwriting?I've been writing offand on for as long as I can remember but only seriously for the last two years.
2. Are you published andif so, how long have you been a published author? If not, what's yourplan?I currently have fourworks published. My first publicationwas in December of 2010.
3. Which route did you choose forbecoming published, the traditional route, with an agent, the "indie" route,going directly to the publishers yourself, or deciding to self-publish?In the beginning I searched for an agent. It was my desire to acquire an agent and gofor one of the big six. But as timerolled on and no one seemed interested, I began searching out smallerpublishers on my own with much success.
4. How long did it take you to writeyour first novel?I can't remember! I wrote it over two years ago thisSeptember. But in general it takes metwo to three months from start to finish to complete a novel length book.
5. How long did it take you to publishit?The first book I wrote was There Your Heart Will Be Also. It was completed in Sept. 2009 and Ibegan seeking publication. This bookwill be published later this month. Which means this novel took me over two years to publish.
6. How many times did it get rejectedbefore it got published?I guessyou could say this manuscript was like my first child, I had to use it forpractice.Numerous times! I had a POV (point-of-view) issue and thenthere was a character issue—he wasn't liked. This one manuscript has been rejected more than all my other manuscriptscombined. Poor thing.
7. Describe your worst rejection letter.The worst rejection letter I've ever received came from an agent. I finally had an agent request my work. They sent me an email, all in small letters with no punctuation which read: may send first 50 pages and synopsis via mail. There was no address listed and since thepunctuation was lacking I figured it made sense that the 'e' might have beenleft off of the word mail. I did go andstudy the website thoroughly but still nothing grabbed me about what to do. So I fixed everything up and emailed it. Two minutes later I received my answer. It read: pass but may God bless. This wasclearly my worst rejection.
8. Describe the best newsyou ever got in your writing life and how it felt.I was really down and doubting my abilitiesfrom so many rejections on my novel then I got the news that my novellasubmission for the Celebrate the Season contest had won. That was clearly the best piece of news I'd received. I was jumping and running around theroom. I think I kind of scared thehubby.
9. What's the worst piece of advice youever got?Honestly I can't think of any real badadvice that I've received.
10. Now, tell us the best.
The best piece of advice I've received wasfrom an editor/publisher/friend who told me my writing was good and gave meways to improve upon it.
11. What's the one thingyou would want an aspiring writer to take away from your personal path topublication?The one thing I would wantfor an aspiring writer to take away from journey is to never give up on yourdream and remember that practice makes perfect.
12. Where can we Buy your books? www.astraeapress.com
Connect with you on facebook? http://www.facebook.com/feliciarogersauthor
Yourwebsite? www.feliciarogersauthor.webs.com
Blurb for There Your Heart Will Be AlsoOnlydaughter of an English lord, Sarra of Greenbriar, is used to getting herway. So when her father passes and the King begins sending suitors,she feels justified in taking matters into her own hands. Through aseries of harmless pranks, Sarra works to keep the potential husbands at bay.Cedric MacNeil is a Scotsmanthat has lost it all. Death claimed his parents and jealousy claimedhis entitled position as Laird of his clan. Since his mother was afamiliar of the English court, he leaves his native land and heads to Englandto fight on behalf of the English King. Tournamentsare won, earning honor and glory for the crown. Cedric's reward is theopportunity to gain what he wants most in this life, land.
But as he gets to know Sarra,he realizes he might get more than he bargained for.
Doesn't that sound glorious? Everything you'd expect from an historical novel and more. I know we'll be expecting many more from Felicia in the future. Please comment and let her know how much you enjoyed reading about her journey. As with all my author friends, she would love to hear from you. And the next time you are faced with the seemingly daunting prospect of completely changing your manuscript, think of Felicia, and remember, it just may help you sell it!~
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