Bleeding Heart is a paranormal romance (the supernatural element stemming from alchemy).
Type and Cross is a family drama, but at its heart, it’s a love story.
Both focus on the hero and heroine and whether they can reconcile their differences by the end.
And both are on sale. (Click on the link, and then select which book(s) you’d like to download. Amazon | iBooks | and we’re still waiting for Nook to price match.)
If you’ve already read one, some, or all of these, please help spread the word to your family and friends. And, if you haven’t already reviewed what you read, consider doing so. Reviews really help an author.
If you haven’t read these books, consider downloading one, some, or all of them before the price goes up. (And then, when you’re finished reading, please leave a review.) Thanks.
The Oghma Creative Media sale has something for everybody. There’s a western, a paranormal romance, a PTSD drama, a Poe-inspired mystery, a funny mainstream, a snarky romance, and for you adventurous readers, an erotic love story.
And, of course, there’s my supernatural romance and my family drama/love story.
Seriously, if you need a gift for Valentine’s Day, any of these would make a great one. And if you think of Valentine’s Day as a Hallmark holiday, well, reading these will give you something to do on the 14th!
Thanks for checking these out. Wishing you a wonderful weekend and an early Happy Valentine’s Day!
Hello. If you’re stopping by hoping to read another anecdote about my family or my friends, you’re going to be disappointed today. Or maybe not.
We’ve been discussing my relationships for a while now. I’ve told you stories about my grandparents, my parents, my siblings. You’ve read about my husband, my kids, my friends, heck, even my dogs.
What we haven’t discussed much lately is my work life. And we should. Because as far as relationships go, we have professional ones as well as personal ones. And if you’re as lucky as I am, you’re as passionate about your career as I am about mine, which means your professional relationships have the potential to be quite powerful, meaningful.
This weekend I attended the Northwest Arkansas Writers’ Workshop Annual Conference in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It’s been a while since I saw some of the attendees, some of the people I only knew from online and I got to meet in person for the first time, and some people were complete strangers to me but became new friends and colleagues. A great time was had by all, and there was some valuable information presented.
The day started with Greg Camp, Publishing Director of
Oghma Creative Media doing a presentation on
editing for publication.
Greg’s talk covered the importance of a few key points
in fiction writing in order to avoid getting rejection letters. Well, to avoid getting as many as you would otherwise, anyway.
Grammar—You must have no grammatical errors if you want to be considered for publication.
Research—You have to do your homework. Historical inaccuracies are a sure way to get your manuscript tossed.
Pacing—You can’t do an “info dump” and tell the reader everything within the first five pages of the novel. Action needs to be revealed through the POV character interacting with other characters at a measured rate throughout the novel.
Conflict and Motivation—You don’t have a story unless your characters are at odds with something or someone and are motivated to change their situation.
I’ve known Greg for a few years and we have a lot in common. We both taught at the college level (he still does), we both write fiction, and we both edit for a living. I can tell you two things about his presentation: He knows his stuff and his advice was spot on.
The next presenter was Casey Cowan, President and Creative Director of Oghma Creative Media. Casey’s presentation was all about the seduction and allure of book covers. He said four things sell books:
Word of mouth/peer pressure
Big name endorsements
Eye appeal of the cover
Author effort/interaction with readers
When Oghma Creative Media designs covers, they consider the demographic of the readers and the genre of the book, then they look at the book’s message or theme and work with the author to design a front cover and spine that has the appropriate appeal for the audience. Then they work on the back cover to design not only the right color, but also taglines, teasers, and endorsements so that the back works with the front and works with the genre, creating a comprehensive package.
Then my bosses, Duke and Kimberly Pennell from Pen-L Publishing, did a presentation on the relationship between authors and publishers. They discussed author expectations, publisher expectations, and the importance of the two getting in sync for a rewarding relationship. Some points covered were:
Personality—It’s really a matter of chemistry between author and publisher. If you don’t like each other as people, you won’t trust each other and you won’t work well together.
Vision—What are you expecting for your book? Your promoting efforts? Your career as a writer? Talk about it and be sure your plans mesh.
Marketing/Promotion/Reviews—Publishers used to send books to reviewers, issue releases, handle the promotion efforts. Now the shoe’s on the author’s foot to handle the marketing. These plans should be agreed on in advance so there are no surprises or disappointments.
Editing—Typically work is done in Microsoft Word using “track changes.” If a different method is preferred, it should be discussed.
Distribution—You need to know where your books will be available for purchase, how much you can buy them for, if you can buy them at wholesale price, etc. Learn the details in advance.
Support—Support shouldn’t end when the book is released. If you have questions or concerns, you should be able to call your editor. If you are doing a marketing tour, it’s not unreasonable to request a media packet be sent on your behalf. Make certain you have this support in place. Remember, your publisher doesn’t make money unless you do. They should be on your side.
After lunch, one of the founding members of the group, Velda Brotherton, discussed her twenty year writing journey. She encouraged us to hang on to everything we write, even our early work, because while we might not find a publisher for it immediately, years later we might. She’s finding success with some of her work twenty years after she wrote it. She offered a lot of advice, applicable to novices and experienced writers.
Write the best book you can (This involves more than just writing; it means studying the craft, joining critique groups, going to conferences, writing every day, editing ruthlessly, and having your work edited—with a thick skin.)
Build your platform so people can find you and follow you—Promote!
Publish your own work if you have to so your tribe can start reading your work
Avail yourself of small publishers
Use Createspace
Look into audiobooks
Then go for broke in New York (This is where conferences are so important. You’ll make connections with agents and editors there to get your foot in the door.)
We ended the day with the other co-founder, Dusty Richards. Dusty discussed everything and anything you’d want to know about writing.
How to measure page count (1 page = 250 words)
How to structure a novel (1st quarter, hero’s lost. 2nd quarter, hero’s alone. 3rd quarter, hero gets support. 4th quarter, hero becomes hero or martyr.)
How to end a chapter (with some teaser to keep readers turning the page)
How to analyze the experts (Read every other page; you’ll see their structure. Or read one scene in the middle of the book and pick it apart.)
How to get experience (Work on short stories first, then work on single person POV.)
It’s been a privilege being in Dusty and Velda’s group for the last several years. Between them they have close to two hundred books published and decades of wisdom that they willingly share. All of the speakers were full of knowledge and quite entertaining. It was a really good day.
But I think my favorite part was the people. I used to be intimidated by conferences, but now I love them. I like meeting new people and catching up with old friends.
This was the first time I set up a book table. That was a new experience for me, and it was a blast. It’s always a shock to me when someone wants my autograph, and this time someone even wanted to take my picture! I even had one woman come up to me and say she saw my book cover from all the way across the room and she just had to come over and see what it was about. That was a real honor. Yes, I met a lot of new people, made some new friends, and had a really good time.
So this post wasn’t about family, but it was about relationships—professional ones. And I’m just as passionate about them and treasure them just as much as I do all the other relationships in my life. What about your professional relationships? Have you recently been to a conference? Are you in sales? Do you have a funny work story to tell? Share it with us here.
It’s that time of year again. I spent Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in Eureka Springs, Arkansas at the Ozark Creative Writers Conference. For forty-six years, they’ve been bringing in experts in the industry, and this year was no exception.
Dusty Richards
Thursday evening began with prolific western writer Dusty Richards holding an informal meet-and-greet. Many attendants gathered for two hours, introducing themselves and talking about their writing journeys. Later was open-mic night, where writers snacked on hors d’oeuvers and had the opportunity to read a few pages of their work to a captive and encouraging audience: their peers.
Beth Bartlett
Friday was a full day. After opening remarks by Beth Bartlett, this year’s OCW president, writers had the opportunity to attend one of two sessions. Writer and editor Margo Dill covered the children’s market while blogger and publisher Dan Case of AWOC Publishing discussed blogging.
Dan Case
I attended the blogging session, and plenty of great information was addressed. Mr. Case covered the five elements of good blog posts (headlines, hooks, word count, photos, and conclusions) and emphasized that above all else, content is key. He offered examples, answered questions, and proffered advice for the blogging writer, novice to expert. He also suggested some resources for blogging and obtaining stock photos.
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Pat Carr
After the break, author and teacher Pat Carr covered writing love scenes. (Not sex scenes. Love scenes.) She discussed the twelve steps of intimacy and the importance of them occurring in order, followed by the five scenes that must be present in a novel or short story. When these scenes (meeting, conflict, admiration, affection, and climatic resolution) are written with proper pace, flow, and order, the story will be a success. She also offered ten scene descriptors that will enrich the setting, and therefore the story itself. The session concluded with a writing exercise, and some writers were brave enough to share their efforts. Their results, using techniques learned in session, were amazing, and covered romantic love, love between family members, and even love of special pets.
Dianna Graveman
After lunch, there were again two sessions to choose from. Travel and western writer Johnny D. Boggs hosted a talk while marketing specialist Dianna Graveman of 2 Rivers Communications talked about public speaking and social media. I attended Ms. Graveman’s session and learned so much. She stressed that writers are business people and need to approach their careers that way. Providing value and being sought after is far more effective than the hard sell. She offered several options where writers could seek out public speaking engagements, from historical societies to continuing education programs. She also addressed several social media opportunities to garner speaking engagements, and offered invaluable tips on how to promote speaking events (reminding us that promotion should occur before, during, and after the engagement for full exposure).
Susan Swartwout
After a quick break, Susan Swartwout, publisher at Southeast Missouri State University Press, gave a presentation on queries and rejections. She discussed the twelve items agents and editors look for in a query letter (everything from the hook to the marketing plan) and then moved on to the reasons for rejections. She offered twenty-one reasons why writers might be turned down, some being the writer’s responsibility (bad writing or not following guidelines) and some boiling down to fate (publisher maxed out on that topic or the printing schedule is booked). Dr. Swartwout’s talk was peppered with examples and she offered great advice.
The day ended with a presentation by Peggy Vining. Ms. Vining has been attending the OCW Conference since it began, and in 2003 was appointed Arkansas Poet Laureate by then Governor Mike Huckabee. Ms. Vining shared her love of poetry with the writers in her session. She believes it’s important to spread the love of words and form throughout the community.
Later that evening, Dusty Richards assumed a role he’s well known for. He served as the auctioneer at the first ever OCW Auction, where a good time was had by all.
Jim Donovan
Saturday began with keynote speaker, literary agent Jim Donovan, discussing a writer’s path to publication. He said a crucial question writers should be asking (but almost never do) is: How do I become a better writer? And he proceeded to answer that question with some great advice. Mr. Donovan gave six important steps which will help writers improve their craft:
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Read as a reader, to absorb what works in that genre.
Read as a writer, and focus on specific elements (character, dialogue, pace, action, plot, setting).
Read writing books to learn rules and technique.
Write regularly.
Join a good critique group.
Revise, revise, revise.
He then discussed query letters and what agents and editors want in a manuscript. He ended his talk with a Q&A session.
Pat Carr
After a break, writers were again given the option of two sessions. Writer and self-publishing guru Velda Brotherton held a workshop on preparing a document for Kindle while Pat Carr covered short story writing. As I am lucky enough to regularly benefit from Ms. Brotherton’s expertise (I’m a member of Northwest Arkansas Writers, a critique group run by Ms. Brotherton and Mr. Richards), I made the difficult decision and attended the short story session. Again Ms. Carr offered great advice. She said it is paramount to make a reader care about the characters, and gave five ways to make sure that readers care. Writers must show that the character:
cares about others.
is capable of love.
is in jeopardy or danger.
is doomed (but cannot whine about his fate).
is vulnerable in some way.
She talked about the use of actions, emotions, dialogue, and scene descriptors, then ended with a writing exercise: write one scene resulting in an epiphany, portraying a strong emotion. It was a great exercise, and she seemed pleased with the results.
Kevin Brockmeier
After lunch, keynote speaker and noted author Kevin Brockmeier shared three excerpts of his acclaimed works (there’s nothing like hearing an author read his own work, when you know the inflections and emotions are as the writer intended), then he answered questions. He talked about his writing process, discussed his characters and the messages he explores in his work, and offered a list of books and authors he loves to read.
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Margo Dill, Jim Donovan, Lonnie Whitaker, Susan Swartwout
There was a quick break, and then I had to make a difficult choice again. Ms. Graveman gave a talk on freelance editing, which I desperately wanted to attend, but opposite her was the editors’ panel. I couldn’t walk away from a chance to pick the brains of not one, but seven, experts in the field.
Lou Turner, Dan Case, Delois McGrew
The panel consisted of publishers Lou Turner, Susan Swartwout, and Dan Case; editors Delois McGrew, Margo Dill, and Lonnie Whitaker; and agent Jim Donovan. Questions covered several topics, from contract language to editing rates. All too soon the session was over. I’m sure we could have peppered them for information all day.
The conference “proper” ended with a toot-your-own-horn segment, where people could talk about their achievements. It seems every year people have more to celebrate, so we must all be improving. That’s just proof that the conference was again a success.
That evening was the concluding dinner and awards banquet. I’ll be posting my awards soon on my Awards link, or you can check out all the winners on the OCW site. So many talented writers were acknowledged that evening, and we had a lot of fun. This year, I met up with old friends, made new friends, and learned a lot. I can’t wait until next year when I can do it all again! Hope to see some of you there.
This weekend marked the return of one of my favorite annual events… and of course I don’t mean the loss of an hour of sleep. One look at the bags under my eyes and you would know that’s not something I yearn for. Nope, Saturday was Northwest Arkansas Writers’ Annual Writers Workshop. I anticipate this event for a number of reasons:
It’s yet another chance to hang out with my friends.
I get to network with writers and other professionals in the industry.
Information is always presented in a fun and low key way.
It’s the only conference I know of that’s completely free to attend.
This year was no exception. I sat with my two partners in crime (one of whom was actually mistaken for my sister, which is hilarious because she’s a blonde with blue eyes and I’m brunette and brown) and we met some really nice people. We also heard some great information, the highlights of which I’m going to pass along to you here.
There’s a group of five women in the NWA Writers Group who call themselves The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pen. Unfortunately one of them, Claire Croxton, was sick and couldn’t attend (however we’ve been promised a blog post from her regarding getting book reviews). The other four put on an excellent presentation.
Pamela Foster began the day discussing sense of place. Frequent readers of my blog might recognize Pam’s ability to set a mood—she’s guest posted for me before. Her ability to construct a scene is second to none. She defines a sense of place as nothing more—and nothing less—than the world you create for your characters and all the methods through which they experience it. It is not and cannot be separate from point of view and internalization, because it is through point of view and internalization that the character shows the reader the world.
She then introduced another “sister,” Ruth Burkett Weeks. Ruth discussed document formatting. It’s a standard assumption in the industry that if a writer is sloppy with formatting, she’ll be sloppy with writing, so she spent a few minutes covering industry standards. Then she pulled out the big guns—Ruth is all about the bling. There’s no point in writing if you’re going to be boring. She likes words that sizzle and pop. She gave us a long list of lazy words to avoid and examples of ways to avoid their usage and strengthen those passages. She ended her presentation with a word of advice about the glitz—a little will make your work shimmer; a lot will make it bruise. Avoid purple prose.
That brought Jan Morrill to the podium. You might recognize Jan from a recent guest post she did here utilizing a strategy she actually discussed at length at the conference. Jan discussed ways to get to know your characters and make them memorable. She covered interviewing them, having them describe artwork in their voice, writing a scene over from a different character’s point of view, and writing a letter from one character to another. Jan gave us examples of the strategies she used from her published book and her work in progress and then gave us time to work on our own character interview. Many people learned new things about their characters.
Jan introduced Linda Apple, who is referred to as the Mama of the group. Linda covered reasons why writers don’t write and offered solutions to their problems. She really nailed them all, too—editing as you go, having no ideas, feeling drained, spending time on other writing activities, sabotaging yourself, managing your time ineffectively… And like a true mama, she had excellent advice for conquering all of the issues. She left us with a poignant thought: There’s only one guarantee in writing… if you don’t write anything, you’ll never be published.
If you get a chance to hear the Sisters speak, I highly recommend it. I just took a six week course they taught at the Fayetteville Public Library, and they did a phenomenal job. You won’t be disappointed.
After lunch, one of the founding members of NWA Writers took her turn offering some advice. Velda Brotherton talked to us about promotion efforts. Contrary to what many writers think/wish/hope, promotion doesn’t start after the contract is signed or the book is published. In fact, you may not get the contract if you haven’t started connecting with readers long before your book is even written. The first thing an agent or editor will do is Google you, and if your name doesn’t pop up, your novel won’t get picked up. Velda strongly recommended having a presence on Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest, in addition to a webpage and a blog. Her research shows that Google+ may overtake Facebook in the not too distant future, because Google+ allows you to choose who views your content where Facebook decides for you. Above all else, she stressed that a social media presence is about connecting with readers, not about hawking your books. We’re here to make friends and help people, not scare them away by being nuisances.
The afternoon ended with the other co-founder, Dusty Richards, giving us a writing tutorial. It was twice as nice because he used many examples from his own books. He covered everything from the importance of writing short stories as well as novels to how sequels must stand on their own as well as in their place in their series. Dusty is an expert storyteller, and he engaged the audience from the first piece of advice to bidding us farewell. He already has the room reserved for next year’s conference (March 8, 2014) and I know I’ll be attending. I hope I’ll see some of you there. Like I said, it’s a great day to hang out with your friends, network with people in the industry, and learn valuable information. Mark your calendars now so you don’t forget!
I spent the weekend in Eureka Springs, Arkansas learning about writing, publishing, and platforming at a fabulous writers conference put on by Ozark Creative Writers. This was their forty-fifth annual conference, and while it was my first time in attendance, I can’t imagine they’d ever put on a better one.
Thursday evening began with President Dusty Richards hosting an informal discussion group welcoming everyone and discussing different writers’ journeys from novice to published author. Later, a reception was held and writers had the opportunity to read a few pages of their work to their peers.
Friday was a full day. After opening remarks, keynote speaker Cherry Weiner addressed the group. Ms. Weiner lives in New Jersey and is an agent who works closely with the Big Six publishing houses in New York. Rather than giving a prepared speech, she immediately opened the floor for questions, and boy did we have them. We learned about query structures (everyone has a format, but a general rule to follow is one page, four paragraphs: first is the genre, word count, and if it’s a single title or series; second is the storyline; third is any publishing credits; fourth is a thank you, followed by a request for instructions on how to submit if interested). We learned that the Big Six will only give an author six weeks on the shelves, and if the book doesn’t sell it gets pulled. That means an author must market. We learned that these days, series are preferable to single titles because it means that the author will have more books coming along. We learned that formal prose is likely too stiff, but that doesn’t excuse poor grammar and excessive colloquialisms. Manuscripts still need to be polished when they are submitted, because editors aren’t going to “edit” anymore. In short, we learned a lot.
After the break, Susan Swartwout from Southeast Missouri University Press talked about hooks in first lines and first pages. In addition to all writing needing to be tight and full of action, there are certain rules that will improve first page hooks.
Avoid starting with dialogue. There’s too much mystery when readers don’t know the characters. They don’t know who’s speaking.
Avoid straight description for too long. It will bore the readers.
Start with an action or a compelling statement and then fulfill the promise. If you start with something exciting or an interesting statement but the action isn’t resolved or the statement isn’t explained, you’ll lose the reader’s attention.
Think short and simple. Don’t begin with word play puzzles. The reader isn’t vested yet, so he or she won’t care enough to try to figure it out.
Don’t try to write the hook first thing. Just write; then edit and make a great hook.
After lunch, Johnny Boggs spoke about the YA market. Mr. Boggs has successfully written for adults and teens, and he offered tips for writing for a younger audience.
Girls will read about either gender, boys are really only interested in male protagonists.
A great hook is essential.
Language needs to be about two years older than the protagonist.
Kids are more sophisticated than we were; be age appropriate.
The missing parent is a typical plot device; it lets the kids be the heroes. They need to face life alone in some way.
Nothing is off limits anymore. Death, abuse, drugs, sex, violence, profanity… if it’s handled in an age-appropriate way, it can be written about.
After a quick break, Ms. Weiner returned with New York editor Daniela Rapp to do a “single page book buy.” Authors submitted one page of their WIPs and the agent and editor listened to them and offered comments, sometimes even saying they’d like to talk to the writer further after the session. This was by far the most helpful session, as we all got to see and hear firsthand what agents and editors look for in manuscripts, and what they reject.
We ended the day with the choice of attending a session by Poet Laureate Peggy Vinning or CEO of 2 Rivers Communications Dianna Graveman. I attended the session with Ms. Graveman to learn more about platform building. As expected from a social marketing guru, she spoke fast and covered a lot. While she did mention the usual Twitter and Facebook topics that social media experts have to cover, she also delved into blog tours, speaking gigs, Goodreads, eventbrite and speakerfile. I had explored the first three briefly on my own, but I had never even heard of eventbrite and speakerfile. The customization options of the two were quite impressive and worth exploring.
Saturday began with Ms. Rapp discussing what kinds of things she looks for when deciding what to publish. She says it’s more than just a quality judgment, books should come to her polished and ready and must meet three criteria: They must tell a story. She must love at least one character. They must be different in some way from every other story. If they pass those tests, the author should keep these seven points in mind:
Research the industry – Know what’s going on and what’s changing.
Research the market – Know the genre.
Don’t be motivated by money or fame – Most authors don’t ever make a living writing.
Marketing isn’t a necessary evil; it’s the way books are sold today – You have to do it today if you want to sell books tomorrow.
Getting published takes time – Contract to shelf can take two years. Be patient.
Writing is a career, not a one-off – Know what other projects you have coming up and be working on them so you have something else to pitch.
Be an expert in your area – Research you genre, the authors in your genre, the time period in which your books are set…
After a break, Susan Swartwout discussed contracts. She recommended getting an agent, because an agent’s job is to get a writer the best deal possible, and an agent will understand the contract better than even a lawyer, and certainly better than the writer. Even so, she brought along a sample contract and pointed out some key areas of note. One thing that isn’t usually in contracts is cover control. Try to get some say over the cover design (at least veto rights), as that can make or break a novel. Also check that the copyright is in your name, not the publisher’s. And lastly, confirm who has international rights and film rights. Those are things agents can negotiate for you.
After lunch, Dianna Graveman hosted a session on selling an author’s work. Running concurrently was a session by the Board. Lou Turner, Dusty Richards, Beth Bartlett and Johnny Boggs took questions from the audience and discussed their careers. We got some valuable information about how to query a small press (and how not to nag them afterward), how to write dialogue and internalization using different voices and how to tag (also how not to tag), and how joining online organizations and being a good “netizen” can help drive up book sales. Listening to four such accomplished professionals was an honor.
The next session was by Ms. Weiner and Ms. Rapp. They put on a little skit showing how a manuscript goes from agent to editor to publication. This section was full of valuable information regarding timeframes, agent and editor roles, and publishing house functions. I now understand why it can take two years for a book to hit the shelves. I still don’t like it, but I get it. The manuscript goes through so many hands and so many revisions, plus cover design, marketing and sales… Not to mention, it’s not the only one they’re working on. It’s daunting. No wonder the publishers want our patience and our help promoting. We are our number one cheerleaders.
The conference “proper” ended with a toot-your-own-horn segment, where people could talk about their successes. There are a lot of successful people there. I hope to join the ranks soon.
I missed the awards banquet; I had to get back to town. A friend emailed me that I took second place in one of the writing contests and I won the Cherry Weiner raffle (for her to look at and critique some of my work), but I won’t believe any of it until I actually see it for myself. I mean, my first conference and to take second place in a contest and win a raffle! That’s too good to be true. Plus I picked up an anthology while I was there that I was published in, and I have a blurb on the back cover (Bigfoot Confidential – High Hill Press). If that’s not a great first conference, I don’t know what is. I can’t wait until next year’s! Hope to see some of you there.
I know. I think I’ve set a record for posting this week. But I have exciting news, and it’s a limited time offer.
