Inspirational Quote

“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”  ~Henry David Thoreau

A New Must-Read Blog

Recipe for Golden Heart Success today at the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood blog.

http://www.rubyslipperedsisterhood.com/rss/index.php
 
They also give away daily prizes and critiques, but at the end of their first month, they are giving away a critique and the winner gets to choose which Ruby sister does the critiquing!

If you haven’t discovered this wonderful website and blog hosted by the 2009 Golden Heart finalists/winners you really must add it to your feeds.  These ladies rock!

Happy writing!

Lis’Anne

Golden Heart® to Golden Heart®

Golden Heart® Finalist, Autumn Jordan, interviews Golden Heart® Finalist, Rita Henuber on Wednesday, August 26th, 2009.  Please stop by Autumn’s blog @ http://www.autumnjordonsnotes.blogspot.com/ to read about Rita’s writing journey and how it felt to be a GH finalist.

Under the Gun

I’m up for a quick breath of air.  I’ve been working hard on my medieval paranormal romance in preparation for entering this story in the Golden Heart®.  Thank heavens I have the invaluable support of my Inkplots and Writivators.    A special thanks goes to Miss Rita Henuber.  That lady really knows how to force you to make each word count!

Happy writing, everyone!

Lis’Anne

Taking a Breath

I wanted to let you all know I didn’t fall off the edge of the earth.  I’m here, but down in my underwater writing cave.  I’ll come up for air from time to time.  The story I’m working on now is unbelievably awesome and requires so much of my imagination I haven’t room in my brain to think of anything else.

I hope everyone is hunkering down with their keyboard and words are flying across the monitor. 

I’ll be back to let you know how I’m progressing.

Lis’Anne

Today’s Interviews with Valerie Bowman & Rita Henuber

Thank you so much, Ladies!  We appreciate your insightful answers to our questions.

Valerie and Rita will, of course, answer any questions that may straggle in–but only in their “free” time.  As agented authors, I can only imagine how carefully they’ll have to parcel out their time in the future. 

Happy writing, all!  Thanks for stopping by!

Lis’Anne

Interview with Golden Heart® Finalist Rita Henuber

Rita Henuber

Rita Henuber, Romantic Suspense Author, tells us how she signed with Jessica Faust of BookEnds Literary Agency, LLC.  Thank you for sharing your story with us, Rita!

Lis’Anne:

What was your first step after completing your manuscript?

Rita:

1.  Made a plan to get an agent.

2.  RESEARCHED, RESEARCHED, RESEARCHED agents.

3.  Developed an excellent log line, query, and synopsis.

Lis’Anne:

How did you choose which agents to query?

Rita:

I began with Query Tracker. There you can input the genre you write and it displays agents who rep it.  Query Tracker offers cross checks with Agent Query, PublishersMarketplace and Predators & Editors. In many cases it gives the agent’s web page. I also like 1000 Literary Agents.

Next, I spent many hours every week reading agent blogs. This industry can change daily. Agent blogs tell you what is going on, what agents are looking for in a query letter and story. My favorites are Jessica Faust, Nathan Bransford, Kristin Nelson and Query Shark.  The last is, IMHO, a must if you are struggling with a query letter. It may not tell you how to write yours, but it sure as heck tells you what not to do. Searching is hard, but well worth the effort if you want that perfect agent.

Lis’Anne:

Why query agents rather than going straight to editors with your manuscript?

Rita:

I don’t know enough about negotiating, contracts, or the inner workings of publishing to represent myself. This is an agent’s job.

Lis’Anne:

How did you handle rejections?

Rita:

Rejections?  No–those are not rejections.  Those are no thank you notes. Those are RSVP regrets to come to my party.  That will be the party I have when my book is published.

Okay, I sent out 43 query letters. I was frustrated when each no thank you came because it meant I had to keep looking. I wanted it right then. I would have really liked to have an agent knock on my door and ask if I had anything I wanted published. That was soooooo not happening.

I made a rule. When a ‘no thank you’ came I sent out 2 more party invitations. A couple of times I sent out 5.  Geesh! I was becoming a query junkie. It got to the point if I wasn’t sending out queries I had the shakes.

Lis’Anne:

What did you do when you received your offer(s) of representation?

Rita:

Wowzer! What a day. The agent was really great and enthusiastic. I would have probably told her yes on the spot, but I had 3 full and 3 partial manuscripts out with other agents.  I knew each was in the process of reading.  I thanked the agent profusely, explained the situation and immediately sent out emails.  In a couple of days I had offers of representation from three other agents.

Lis’Anne:

You had several agents vying to represent you!  How on earth did you make your choice?

Rita:

One of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make. Every one of the agents is great, fantastic, and I mean that. I have no doubt each would do a spectacular job.  How did I choose? How do you choose anything?  You make a choice. It killed me to call the agents and say no thanks, I’ve chosen someone else. And, no, the irony of turning an agent down is not lost on me. I do have to tell you the whole time I was speaking with them there was a voice screaming in my head. “What are you doing? You’re turning down an agent, you ninny.”

Lis’Anne:

Now that you have an agent, what’s the next step?

Rita:

My agent will review the MS again and make suggestions.  When we think the manuscript is as strong as it can be, she will submit to several publishers. One will offer me a million gazillion dollars.    I will accept. About a year after I sign a contract with the publisher my book will be on the store shelves.

Thank you for having me here, Lis’Anne!

Lis’Anne:

Thank you so much for taking the time to come by and give us these great tips!

If anyone has any questions for Miss Rita, please ask.  She’ll be with us until 5p.m. today.

Interview with Valerie Bowman, Historical Romance Author

Valerie Bowman

Valerie Bowman tells us the path she took to “wowing” Kevan Lyon of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.  Thank you for sharing your story with us, Valerie!

Lis’Anne:

What was your first step after completing your manuscript?

Valerie:

This is a good question! The first thing I did after completing my first manuscript was write another one! I wanted to make sure I had it in me to produce more than one manuscript before I even thought about getting published.

Lis’Anne:

How did you choose which agents to query?

Valerie:

I wanted to make sure that I was querying the *right* agents so I asked a published friend about it and she sent a message out to the PAN RWA loop asking the published authors which of their agents really liked historicals. I write Regencies and I wanted to ensure that my queries had the best shot at capturing the agents’ attention. I got a list of about 6 agents who really love historicals and were actively acquiring and selling and went from there.

Lis’Anne:

Why query agents rather than going straight to editors with your manuscript?

Valerie:

I wanted to stay out of the slush pile and have the best shot at a sale with an editor. I believe an agent is the best way to go about doing that. Plus, I figured if my writing wasn’t good enough to capture an agent’s attention, I needed to work on it more.

Lis’Anne:

How did you handle rejections?

Valerie:

Rejections are tough, no question about it, and they always seem to arrive in your mailbox on the day your dog dies or you’re sick or something, don’t they? But for me, they’re part of the challenge that makes the path to publication that much more enjoyable. No one ever said it was going to be easy!

Lis’Anne:

What did you do when you received your offer of representation?

Valerie:

I said, “Yes, thank you!”

Lis’Anne:

Now that you have an agent, what’s the next step?

Valerie:

I’m currently working on the revisions to my manuscript that my agent has requested. After those are approved, my agent and I will work on the proposal letter to submit to editors. This is an exciting new step in the journey and I cannot wait to begin!

Thank you so much for having me, Lis’Anne!

Lis’Anne:

You’re welcome here anytime!  Thank you for showing us the steps you’ve taken on your road to publication.

Please feel free to ask Miss Valerie any questions you may have.  She’ll be here until 5p.m. today.

Special Author Interviews Sunday 6/14/09

How to Attract an Agent:  Interviews with Golden Heart® Finalist Rita Henuber and Historical Writer Valerie G. Bowman

Greetings!

Coming this Sunday 6/14, I’ll be interviewing Golden Heart ® Finalist Rita Henuber, Romantic Suspense Author, on the fascinating and instructive steps she took to achieve her dream of landing top literary agent Jessica Faust of Book Ends Literary Agency, LLC.

Following Miss Rita’s interview, Valerie G. Bowman, Regency Romance Author, will stop by and give us the low-down on her whirlwind signing with agent Kevan Lyon of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

I’m sure both authors’ answers will help point us unpublished writers down the right path to “agentdom” and publication.  The ladies will be available to answer any questions you may have after noon on Sunday only.  If you’re already agented/published, then just stop by to say hello if you’d like!

We hope to see you there. 

Lis’Anne

Inspirational Quote

“Every great work, every big accomplishment, has been brought into manifestation through holding to the vision, and often just before the big achievement, come apparent failure and discouragement.”  ~Florence Scovel Shinn