Christina Hollis: How To Submit Your Writing...

From This... (Pic via Pixabay)

Whether you’re sending off your novel, or entering a writing competition, the first thing to do is RTFM. That’s customer-service-speak for Read The Flipping Manual.

As part of my day job, I’m a Reader of Manuscripts. I love helping other writers—especially the ones who make my job easier by following the rules for submission. These are designed to ensure a writer's work is easy to read.  

Generalisation is usually a bad thing, but after reading hundreds of  manuscripts in my time here's one I've found to be true:

People who can't be bothered to follow instructions can't be bothered to write a good book.

Well-presented work suggests a writer who pays attention to details. They're more likely to put into practice the things they've learned from writing workshops, courses, and how-to books. 

Make sure your Reader smiles rather than groans when they pick up your work by following these tips!

Overture and Beginners

Once your work is as good as you can make it, go through it again. You want to be absolutely sure there are no spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. 

Then check the requirements of its destination, whether that’s going to be a publisher, agent, or competition. Remember—these are instructions, not an invitation to improvise. 

You’d be amazed how many people see clear instructions as a challenge, rather than rules. Their online entries are deleted straight away. If they’ve sent in a paper copy their work will be shredded without being read, unless they’ve included return postage. The same goes for those who either forget to include their contact details when submitting to publishers or agents, or conversely make their competition entries identifiable. That’s tough, but fair on all those who have taken the time and trouble to do as they were instructed. 

...To This! (Pic via Pixabay)

Be the One in Ten...

...who gets it right. If a competition has a thousand entrants, up to 90% of them may have sent in work that’s unreadable, poorly formatted or exceeds the required word count. No matter how brilliant their work, it won’t be considered.

That means a perfectly-presented piece will make it straight into the Top 100 before any judge has picked up their marker-pen. 

Give yourself the best possible chance of being on that initial long-list by using an easily-readable font and type size (Times New Roman 12 Point is a good starting point). Unless otherwise instructed, give your work a good margin all the way round, and use double line spacing. Whether you’re submitting on paper or online, number the pages consecutively. 

There—with hardly any effort on your part, you’ve made it onto a professional reader’s desk. How much further you get depends on your writing talent, and that one little thing nobody can guarantee.

Luck!

Christina Hollis writes contemporary fiction starring complex men and independent women. She has written more than twenty novels, sold nearly three million books, and her work has been translated into twenty different languages. When she isn’t writing, Christina is cooking, walking her dog, or gardening.

You can catch up with her at https://christinahollisbooks.online, on Twitter, Facebook, and see a full list of her published books at christinahollis.com

Michelle Styles:Polishing the Clock Face

Writing a historical romance can feel like juggling three balls with one hand while simultaneously keeping three plates spinning in the air with the other and balancing a few objects on your head for good matter. Yes, it is your circus and those are your monkeys and you can lose your focus very quickly and end up writing a different sort of story than the one you had planned. The more you know about the majestic craft of writing, the more you realise that part of its appeal is that it can never be fully tamed and there is always something more to learn.

There are plot points, character conflicts, world building, and writing into the mist. There is learning to revise while still believing in the essence of your story. Your ultimate aim is to create an emotionally satisfying story which has the reader turning pages at great rate.

It took me a long time to realize that I write for the readers who get my writing. I can’t write for my eldest son, the recent recipient of a history Phd who considers historical romance beneath him (the poor dear – we all have our crosses to bear and one of his is having me for a mother). Neither do I write for my husband who prefers angsty detective stories with disillusioned male protagonists. Or indeed my youngest son who prefers fantasy and natural history but knows when to keep quiet about his mother’s work.

 I write in part for myself but mostly for readers who enjoy the sort of historical story I tell – ones with a strong female protagonists who eventually find love and an equal partnership with a strong male. It took me a long time to realise who I wrote for and that I didn’t have to change the way I write for anyone (not even my eldest whom I love dearly).  The realisation made bad reviews easier to take and I didn’t have to retreat to my bedroom with a bottle of gin (or indeed listen to helpful suggestions about my manuscripts or my career path for the male members of my household).

However, one of the compacts  I make with my readers is that I strive to get them the possible Michelle Styles I can produce at any given time. And this means that I always have to keep working on my craft. Craft is such a big topic that I prefer to concentrate on little pieces and work my way around. Thus sometimes, I feel like I am rusty on plot or character and at others on setting. Sometimes it is emotional response. Sometimes it is creativity as a general topic (aka refilling the well). (Have I mentioned that I love books about writing?) Twyla Tharp in The Creative Habit  suggested the clock face metaphors as a way for dancers to concentrate on their craft. I feel it is also a metaphor which works for authors.

I am self-taught author – basically I have a degree in Economics (with an emphasis on historical econ) and have never taken a course in writing. A friend is currently doing her Masters in Creative Writing – we have been talking. I lent her one of my favourite books on Point of View and Character (Orson Scott Card’s Characters and Viewpoint). I think she was pleasantly surprised that it was actually very good and full of useful tips.

Because I am waiting on my agent to get me her notes about how I can improve  my latest Viking before submitting it to my editor, one of the things I have been doing is reading Donald Maass’s latest  The Emotional Craft of Fiction about  creating emotional responses in the reader. It plows the same trench as Orson Scott Card and Karl Igleias Writing for Emotional Impact but approaches in a typical Maass sort of way (including a few snide remarks about romance authors). Like any writing craft book, there are parts which speak to me and parts which don’t.  I have tried out some of the exercises and it is interesting to look at my manuscript in a different way (currently I think something does not quite work – among other things, it keeps hitting the same note) But what is interesting is that some of the exercises I go to do them and then think – hey I have already done that because it is good practice to have your reader engaged with your protagonist. Backing myself and my writing ability is something I should do more often – even when I am trying to polish the clock face.

IN OTHER NEWS:

This last month has brought my cover for The Warrior’s Viking Bride – both the Harlequin Historical version and the Mills and Boon one. I love them both. The new look Mills and Boon covers are utterly fab, particularly for historicals. The ampersand between Mills and Boon is the combination of a heart and a kiss.

Harlequin Historical version

MIlls and Boon version

I am really proud of this book and am so hoping that my readers enjoy it. (I have not bothered asking the peanut gallery of the male members of my household for their opinion – my daughter approves of the cover though…)

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance in a wide range of time periods for Harlequin Historical. Her latest The Warrior’s Viking Bride will be published in March 2018. You can learn more about Michelle and her books on www.michellestyles.co.uk

Susan Sands:  Writing and Golf

My husband is a scratch golfer and often has our television tuned in to the Golf Channel. Now, I admit to using it as fine background for a Sunday afternoon nap, but rarely spend time actually watching it as I would another sport.

I've taken a few golf lessons and played a scramble here and there, but it's really not something I've taken to enough to pursue. I have, however come to appreciate the time, training and skill the players employ to achieve that level of game. As a writer, I can't help but compare it to the dedication and creation of a fully formed and well-crafted novel.

When a player tees off, she has to take sharp aim, hit straight, long and be mentally ready for whatever lies between her and the flag stick. She has a plan, especially if the player is familiar with the course. When a writer begins a novel, she has to begin strong, plan for the long journey, understanding the complicated course ahead.

The shots that follow a golfer's tee shot might be approaches, lay-ups, chips, slices, and finally the all-important putts to get to the hole. (Romance writers, stop laughing) As writers navigate the crafting of a story, so many possible pitfalls come into play. We have our own brand of water hazards, sand traps and doglegs to maneuver. But hopefully, we end up with an exemplary product, and thus, a successful outing.

All the classes, the craft books, the writing, writing, and more writing we do is what prepares us for the next round. Too much golf going on at my house? I think so.

My new Southern romantic women's fiction novel, Love, Alabama, will be released April 13th by The Tule Publishing Group. It's currently available for pre-order.

Happy Spring!
Susan Sands

Connect with me!

http://susansands.com

https://twitter.com/SusanNoelSands

https://www.facebook.com/susannsandsauthor/

Growing a Story : : Anne McAllister

A couple of weeks ago I finished what I hope are the last revisions on a book that has seemed to me to be the veritable redwood of books. It grew and grew and grew. And then it got pruned, cut back nearly to its roots, and grew again. And grew and grew.

I pruned it back again, determined to get what was probably an 80,000 word story into a 50,000 word format.  Eventually it cooperated. To say that it is spare in some places is apt. But it had a backstory that needed to be front and center to make sense of what was happening in the now -- and why it had such an impact.

These are things I didn't think about when I was setting out to write the story.  I almost never think about things like that because, well, because that isn't how story comes to me. It comes via characters, via little details in a conversation that goes on without me while I am pondering . . . what if . . . 

It rarely comes with a plot built in. It almost never comes with a "promise" attached (see editorial guidelines if you don't instinctively know what that means).  It just happens . . . which is not very satisfactory from an outcome standpoint on occasion.

That is when rewriting is king, when you strip back the story to its essence (having written it, you now know what it's all about. You hope.) and see how you can bring it to life again without all the stuff you wrote to figure out where it was going in the first place.

Let me assure you that it's do- able. But it's not something you want to do a lot of.  And you never know when you start out that it's going to happen. Trust me, if you knew, you wouldn't start!

So . . . here I am again . . . starting out.  While I was rewriting the last one I wrote another book in the middle that took six weeks start to finish. Go figure. I could use another one of those -- not another one of the redwoods.

So I'm preparing the ground for the seeds -- reading, thinking, jotting notes.  Trying to get my characters to say something so I can learn more about them.  I know more about the hero than the heroine. At least he's had a name -- Clint -- for a while. She just got hers last night.  I tried at least fifty which she summarily rejected. Why? Who knows. They weren't 'her.'  

But this is her -- she's called Ramona.  Why? I don't know that, either.  But while I was trying to think of names, suddenly she seemed to simply tell me her name, as if she was tired of waiting for me to try to guess it.

I think that's a hint of her character. She's impatient with people who don't get things done as quickly as she wants them done.  She doesn't faff around. She cuts to the heart of the matter.  Somewhere along the line she decided she had to make decisions for herself; no one else was going to make them (or do a good job if they did).  I think Clint is going to have his work cut out for him!  

I'm getting excited now, thinking about them.  Like Ramona, I'm getting impatient. But if I start too soon, I might end up with another redwood.  One per forest is enough.

When the redwood has a title and a definite pub date, I'll let you know.  Right now it looks like probably autumn 2015. If so, there better not be more revisions necessary!  It's an Antonides book -- Lukas's story.  Trust Lukas to have needed to learn patience, too.  

At least this is a good time of the year to be planting story seeds and watching them take root and start to grow.  There's still snow on the ground here, but I've started some seedlings inside -- and I've got Ramona and Clint going as well.

And Clint's brother, Cole, who was the hero of my Last Year's Bride, is not only out as an ebook, but also as Love Me, Always, a trade paperback with Sarah Mayberry's Great Wedding Giveaway book, too. 

Images:

1. "Sequoia sempervirens Big Basin Redwoods State Park 8" by Allie_Caulfield from Germany - 2012-02-04 02-05 Capitola, Big Basin 118 Redwoods State Park. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sequoia_sempervirens_Big_Basin_Redwoods_State_Park_8.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Sequoia_sempervirens_Big_Basin_Redwoods_State_Park_8.jpg

2. "Arnica montana MHNT.BOT.2011.18.5" by Roger Culos - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arnica_montana_MHNT.BOT.2011.18.5.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Arnica_montana_MHNT.BOT.2011.18.5.jpg

:Michelle Styles: Christmas and a review of a new writing craft book

This autumn I became an empty nester when my youngest went off to St Andrews to study zoology.  So Christmas is particularly special for me as all my children will be back home. And I don't know for how many more Christmases I will have like this with all my children home. After all I left the US for the UK when I was 24 and my eldest is now 23. And to think when he was 6 weeks, I thought I had forever until he went off to school at age five! You have to enjoy the time allotted to you...

So I am determine to enjoy every moment of my very special Christmas.  When my daughter arrived home on Thursday, we went out and chose a tree. It is not perfect but it works. The non-breakable ornaments are on the lower branches as my cat who often displays editorial tendencies loves to rearrange the ornaments. However we have to guess where he wants the ornaments. He just knows where he doesn't want them. Once the tree is to his satisfaction, he loses interest and finds something else to edit. Cats!

 

I like getting new ornaments every year. This year I  found the sled and skis. They were supposed to go on the tree but they work better with the Kachina dolls which once belonged to my father.  I had put them there is see if my dh even noticed!  My dh added the polar bear which my sister gave me many years ago to see if I would notice that he had noticed! Sometimes men!


As some of you know I can be a bit of a writing craft addict person. I love learning about the whys and wherefores. However earlier this year, I decided no more craft books. I felt like they were undermining my confidence and that I should just go back to the older craft books to refresh my memory rather than seeking some new insight. HOWEVER when Cheryl published her book, I knew I had to get it. I have loved Cheryl's writing for many years and I know that she does emotion very well. Plus she is a fellow Harlequin Historical writer.

I'm so glad that I downloaded the book and took the time to read. It is a book that I wish had been written years ago. Cheryl relies heavily on Dwight Swain as his earlier book The Techniques of the Selling Writer taught her about craft. I love Swain. I discovered him when I was in high school and rediscovered him when I became serious about my writing. BUT he is dated and some of his explanations don't exactly work.

Cheryl builds on his work and provides exercises for the author to use to enhance her own work. She also uses movies and tv series to illustrate her examples. Personally I find it easier to see technique in a film because if the author is doing her job correctly, I am utterly immersed in the Story World.

Cheryl's book is divided into several sections Conflict, Feelings, Setting, Tension, Dialogue and finally Drawing Emotions from Characters. Cheryl is a very character-driven author and so this book is aimed at other authors who are character, rather than plot driven. It is not a book about how to plot but rather how to create characters who leap from page and compel the reader to keep turning the pages. Reading is all about the emotional tensions that the reader feels.

The book is destined to be a classic. I personally preferred her take on Goal, Motivation and Conflict to Debra Dixon's. It is interesting that Dixon owes a great deal to Swain as well. The exercises are clear and helpful.

I can whole heartily recommend the book. Capturing the hearts of your readers is so vital and this book gives a detailed explanation of how to go about it. How to really ratchet up the tension and keep your reader involved. It is definately worthy of inclusion on any romance writer's  craft bookshelf.

It is availabe in both print and ebook and is published by Writer's Digest. You can learn more about Cheryl on her website http://www.cherylstjohn.net/ She also has a blog http://cherylstjohn.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Currently Amazon.co.uk  kindle have one of my books HATTIE WILKINSON MEETS HER MATCH on super special discount of 59p. I can't see the US pricing. But I  thought I would highlight it as I always like knowing about bargain books.

My next Harlequin Hisotrical release is in May 2014 --The Return of the Viking Warrior.

You can learn more about my books on www.michellestyles.co.uk

A Year in the Life of an Author - March

This is the time of year--three months into the year--where I start to say to myself, "Good heavens, where has the year gone?" That and I start panicking about school letting out in about two and a half months. Yikes.

If you haven't been following this series, I am writing a monthly blog here at Tote Bags 'n' Blogs, giving you an inside look at the working year of an author. My first two recaps can be found here:

• January
  
• February

March revolved around two things: writing as many pages as I could and going to Philadelphia for the Public Library Association Conference (PLA). Like most trips, especially when you are going from one coast to another, you lose days just in travel--but I try to make my flights count. I spent the time doing the final read through of an e-pub version of a short story I wrote several years back for the Mammoth Book of Regency Romance.

The nice part about being an author is that a lot of your work is portable. I take notebooks with me everywhere for scene planning, and with the short story, I had it loaded on my ereader. Two cross-country flights gave me the focused time to get Cynders and Ashe ready for publication and I am happy to say it is now available on Kindle and Smashwords. Nook should be available this week.

So it was off to Philadelphia--where I spent a whirlwind day speaking and signing. Three different signings--giving away advanced copies of Along Came a Duke (lucky dang librarians!) and Lord Langley is Back in Town. So you are thinking--two full days of travel crossing the continent for one day of work? Yeah, I know. Crazy. But really fun. The librarians I met were a kick in the pants and I fell in love with Philadelphia. Loved it! What's not to love about a city that embraces its history on every corner. Loved, loved, loved the place. Blogged about my visit here.

And in between all this jet setting, I was writing. Full on, get your pages running, writing. I am now past my difficult part--every writer has their difficult part to a book, whether it be starting, editing or finishing. Mine is the first seven chapters--and from here on out it is a dead run to the end. By the end of Chapter 7, I find that I finally really know my characters and stories. Instead of having the story trickle out, it becomes a river of words rushing toward the ocean. In the late afternoon and evening, I map out with a paper and pen my scenes for the next day, and the next morning, I lay out my notes and just start story telling. I love this part of the book.

After months and months of writing, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and the first draft should be done in about two or three more weeks. And then comes April. But we'll talk about that next month.

Oh, hey! If you are bummed that you aren't a librarian and didn't return from PLA with an extra suitcase of books and ARCs, Mondays find me giving away books over on my blog, and if you are looking for a great deal on my new book, Along Came a Duke, the e-version is currently $4.99 on preorders.

See you at the end of April!