Author Showcase Guest Post - Rena Mason: Keep on pitching
Happy New Year!
This is the latest in a series of Author Showcase guest posts. The posts are by authors from around the world, sharing their tips for writers and readers, discussing their books and careers, and generally sharing any nuggets of wisdom and useful information they may have.
Today’s post is by Las Vegas horror author Rena Mason, about her journey to publication. Next week will feature UK Harlequin romance author Michelle Styles.
Keep on pitching
Thank you for inviting me to do a guest blog.
In 2012, my short story “The Eyes Have It” got accepted to Horror for Good: A Charitable Anthology. It was the first short story I’d ever written. Originally, I had a different anthology in mind to sub it to, especially after seeing some of the authors that were already lined up in the TOC for Horror for Good, but I was encouraged by a good friend to give it a try and was thrilled when I got the news that they thought it was a “kick-ass” story.
At the time, I’d also been editing, and working on rewrites for my debut novel The Evolutionist. I had pitched the story at The Pacific Northwest Writers Association convention in 2010 and got a few bites of interest, but when I got home and re-read it, I thought, I need some professional help. So, I found R.J. Cavender via Facebook and did a little research on him and the company he works for, The Editorial Department. Everything checked out, so I hired him as an editor, and we worked through the MS bit by bit. I think I’d send him two to three chapters at a time and always made sure I’d leave it on a real cliffhanger so he’d complain to me about it, which would encourage me to keep going with my rewrites/edits. He was a good “guide” and “support” system, which I needed, since it was my first novel, so I’ll say that it was one of the best decisions I ever made.
From working with R.J. and becoming fast friends, he encouraged me to go to horror conventions and meet people in the industry, and I did just that, and haven’t stopped since. He mentioned joining the Horror Writers Association, so I did that, too, and it was another one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made. There are so many great people who are encouraging, supportive, and helpful in the organization, I don’t know what I’d do without them. When the novel was finished being edited, I “pitched” it around. I got a maybe that turned into a rejection, and then another rejection, which was a little discouraging, so I went back to the drawing board with the beginning of the story. After making some changes, I “pitched” it again and the story was accepted by Nightscape Press, and when Robert S. Wilson (Co-Owner) wrote me and said that he finished the story and it left him staring off into space just wondering, it made me feel awesome. I knew I’d found the right home for it. It was published in April of this year, (2013.)
Making friends who are also writers at these conventions, got me “beta readers/reviewers.” They are give and take relationships, but absolutely necessary. I always encourage new writers to get out there and meet people. And this advice comes from someone who has a couple phobias regarding crowds and meeting strangers. Connections are also something that happens at conventions and are equally important. That’s how I got invited to write a novella for JournalStone’s Double Down Series. Gene O’Neill, who I’d met and got to know at conventions, had been working on getting together a project like the old “Ace Doubles.” He thought from what he’d read of my work that I’d be a good match up with Gord Rollo. We all met in Vegas during KillerCon Convention, had dinner, hit it off, and talked about what stories we’d like to write, and East End Girls, a novella about Jack the Ripper with a wicked twist, was published June of this year (2013.)
Since then, I’ve also got short stories in a few other anthologies. “Death Squared” in the Fear the Reaper anthology out by Crystal Lake Publishing, “Awkward” in The Haunted Mansion Project: Year Two, and “Reclamation” in Getting Better All the Time: Las Vegas Writes Progress.
I have two short stories (fingers crossed) that are submitted for anthologies in 2014. I’m also currently working on a rewrite for another novel, and have another big project that is currently one of those “secret” projects in the works. Hopefully, I’ll be able to announce something later in 2014.
As far as that dreaded question, “Being a female horror writer in a male-dominated genre.” – I’ll be honest, the first few rejections had me thinking that maybe it was because I was a woman, but I think part of it was also because I was completely new to the scene. My novel, The Evolutionist, is about four women in a book club, their friendships, and how they can easily fall apart, so I can see where a newer indie publisher might not want to take the risk. It really needed “the right” publisher, and it was a “guy” (Robert S. Wilson) who “got it” and took it on via Nightscape Publishing, so it’s really hit and miss. The bottom line is you’ve just got to stay strong, believe in your work, and that it will find “the right” publisher regardless of whether you’re male or female.
You can learn more about me and my work through social media and my website. I’m also an author on Goodreads and Amazon.
See www.renamasonwrites.com
https://twitter.com/RenaMason88
https://www.facebook.com/rena.mason
http://www.renamasonwrites.blogspot.com/
Natasha Ewendt is the author of This Freshest Hell, a vampire novel released in 2013 by Lacuna Publishing. Also a journalist at the Port Lincoln Times and the director of Port Lincoln Copywriting Services, Natasha is reluctantly addicted to coffee and The Walking Dead.
This is the latest in a series of Author Showcase guest posts. The posts are by authors from around the world, sharing their tips for writers and readers, discussing their books and careers, and generally sharing any nuggets of wisdom and useful information they may have.
Today’s post is by Las Vegas horror author Rena Mason, about her journey to publication. Next week will feature UK Harlequin romance author Michelle Styles.
Keep on pitching
Thank you for inviting me to do a guest blog. In 2012, my short story “The Eyes Have It” got accepted to Horror for Good: A Charitable Anthology. It was the first short story I’d ever written. Originally, I had a different anthology in mind to sub it to, especially after seeing some of the authors that were already lined up in the TOC for Horror for Good, but I was encouraged by a good friend to give it a try and was thrilled when I got the news that they thought it was a “kick-ass” story.
At the time, I’d also been editing, and working on rewrites for my debut novel The Evolutionist. I had pitched the story at The Pacific Northwest Writers Association convention in 2010 and got a few bites of interest, but when I got home and re-read it, I thought, I need some professional help. So, I found R.J. Cavender via Facebook and did a little research on him and the company he works for, The Editorial Department. Everything checked out, so I hired him as an editor, and we worked through the MS bit by bit. I think I’d send him two to three chapters at a time and always made sure I’d leave it on a real cliffhanger so he’d complain to me about it, which would encourage me to keep going with my rewrites/edits. He was a good “guide” and “support” system, which I needed, since it was my first novel, so I’ll say that it was one of the best decisions I ever made.
From working with R.J. and becoming fast friends, he encouraged me to go to horror conventions and meet people in the industry, and I did just that, and haven’t stopped since. He mentioned joining the Horror Writers Association, so I did that, too, and it was another one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made. There are so many great people who are encouraging, supportive, and helpful in the organization, I don’t know what I’d do without them. When the novel was finished being edited, I “pitched” it around. I got a maybe that turned into a rejection, and then another rejection, which was a little discouraging, so I went back to the drawing board with the beginning of the story. After making some changes, I “pitched” it again and the story was accepted by Nightscape Press, and when Robert S. Wilson (Co-Owner) wrote me and said that he finished the story and it left him staring off into space just wondering, it made me feel awesome. I knew I’d found the right home for it. It was published in April of this year, (2013.)
Making friends who are also writers at these conventions, got me “beta readers/reviewers.” They are give and take relationships, but absolutely necessary. I always encourage new writers to get out there and meet people. And this advice comes from someone who has a couple phobias regarding crowds and meeting strangers. Connections are also something that happens at conventions and are equally important. That’s how I got invited to write a novella for JournalStone’s Double Down Series. Gene O’Neill, who I’d met and got to know at conventions, had been working on getting together a project like the old “Ace Doubles.” He thought from what he’d read of my work that I’d be a good match up with Gord Rollo. We all met in Vegas during KillerCon Convention, had dinner, hit it off, and talked about what stories we’d like to write, and East End Girls, a novella about Jack the Ripper with a wicked twist, was published June of this year (2013.)
Since then, I’ve also got short stories in a few other anthologies. “Death Squared” in the Fear the Reaper anthology out by Crystal Lake Publishing, “Awkward” in The Haunted Mansion Project: Year Two, and “Reclamation” in Getting Better All the Time: Las Vegas Writes Progress.
I have two short stories (fingers crossed) that are submitted for anthologies in 2014. I’m also currently working on a rewrite for another novel, and have another big project that is currently one of those “secret” projects in the works. Hopefully, I’ll be able to announce something later in 2014.
As far as that dreaded question, “Being a female horror writer in a male-dominated genre.” – I’ll be honest, the first few rejections had me thinking that maybe it was because I was a woman, but I think part of it was also because I was completely new to the scene. My novel, The Evolutionist, is about four women in a book club, their friendships, and how they can easily fall apart, so I can see where a newer indie publisher might not want to take the risk. It really needed “the right” publisher, and it was a “guy” (Robert S. Wilson) who “got it” and took it on via Nightscape Publishing, so it’s really hit and miss. The bottom line is you’ve just got to stay strong, believe in your work, and that it will find “the right” publisher regardless of whether you’re male or female.
You can learn more about me and my work through social media and my website. I’m also an author on Goodreads and Amazon.
See www.renamasonwrites.comhttps://twitter.com/RenaMason88
https://www.facebook.com/rena.mason
http://www.renamasonwrites.blogspot.com/
Natasha Ewendt is the author of This Freshest Hell, a vampire novel released in 2013 by Lacuna Publishing. Also a journalist at the Port Lincoln Times and the director of Port Lincoln Copywriting Services, Natasha is reluctantly addicted to coffee and The Walking Dead.
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