On Being a Freelance Writer, an Interview with Christine Rice

Prior to going the self-publishing route did you do the multiple send outs to traditional publishers and agents?

Near the beginning of my writing career (2006), I queried literary agents for my first book idea, so I have had the experience of writing a full book proposal, sending it out, and waiting for responses. But all four of my books are self-published. As a self-published author, I like the involvement and control I have over all aspects of my books, the speed of publication, and my fair percentage of royalties.

What other types of publishing credits did you have prior to publishing your first book?

In the beginning of 2007 I published several pieces of writing on Writing.com and Helium.com before I published my first book, Poetry for the Heart. In April 2011, I became a full-time freelance writer. From that date until my one-year anniversary as a freelance writer in April 2012, I did online article writing, ghostwriting, book writing, blogging, and book reviewing.

The only type of writing in my book, Freelance Writing Guide that I did not experience directly was writing for magazines; however, I read a lot of books on the topic, including Writer’s Market 2012.

Once you decided to go the independent publishing route, what did you do to research the market for the types of books you wanted to produce?

The books I write are more based on my passion for the topics I write about, not the market. But for Freelance Writing Guide, I did do some research into choosing the title and found that there weren’t many freelance writing guides published, and none that covered solely the first year of a freelance writing career.

Are you actively involved in any writing groups? If so how have they helped you in the process of putting together your books?

I am a member of the Writer’s Digest Community, Goodreads, and Book Blogs. The members gave me advice on self-publishing eBooks; the forums, blogs, and groups gave me platforms to effectively market my books; and the communities, as whole entities, provided social support and interaction with other writers that I needed as a writer and author. I am grateful to have online writing communities to turn to.

One of your books is a group of essays. How did you decide what length it should be?

Initially, I published Essays for the Soul only for myself using a print-on-demand company. I wanted to put all of the essays I had written during 2006-2008 into a book and be able to have a copy to keep at home. But then I decided to make it public, and later I added more essays to it in a second edition. I didn’t decide on a certain length for it. Instead, I just included all of my writings and self-published it.

What has been the most frustrating aspect of the publishing part of the book?

The most difficult part of self-publishing my books is formatting the interior and exterior for publication. I publish with several online publishers and each requires a different interior format and cover size. In the process of publishing my books, I save many different “versions” of each book and corresponding cover, depending on the publisher’s requirements. It is very time-consuming and a little confusing, but it’s all worth it.

What do you wish you had learned earlier?

Nothing, really. I feel I learned everything when I needed to learn it and, therefore, was ready to apply the knowledge. During the first year of my freelance writing career, I did a lot of online research and asked a lot of questions on my social networks and of my colleagues. I had to be persistent and assertive to get my questions answered fully.

What do you do to promote your book?

When one of my books is first published, I post the news to my social networks and post links of where it can be purchased. I do not post the same information twice. But I do update people when there are new book editions, new book covers, and new events for the books. In the past, I have designed business cards for my career as an author and handed them out to people I met or displayed them at local establishments. I also made postcards with a picture of each of my books on a separate card and mailed them to friends and relatives to let them know about my books.

I have also set up a display of my books at a local cafe with a sign that said, “autographed books from a local author,” and left the display there for the employees to collect the money from the book sales and reimburse me later. I’m always coming up with new ideas to promote my books and I stick with the methods that work the best.

Do you do any print runs of your book or are they only POD or eBooks? If so how successful have you been in ordering the right amount?

I only do print-on-demand and eBook publishing. However, in the past I ordered fifteen copies of my books from my print-on-demand publisher, which was when I had displayed them at the cafe. Seven books were bought at the cafe, a colleague bought three copies, I gave three copies to my mom, and the last two copies I gave to winners of a giveaway.

I wasn’t sure how many books would sell at the cafe, but I wanted to have more than enough available than not enough, and I wanted to be able to fill the display holder. I think I estimated well with the number of books I ordered, and I was able to distribute the remaining books, so it all worked out well.

You’ve also written an autobiography, My Not-So-Ordinary Life? What makes it not ordinary (if there is such a thing)?

 In My Not-So-Ordinary Life my experiences with homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction, and multiple times spent in a mental hospital are described. Those situations are not common among the public, and I’d like to think my readers find the events in my life to be interesting and motivational. From what I’ve been through, I’ve learned a lot, changed, and grown, and I hope my readers will see that it is possible to change for the better and improve your life.

Your current release is simply called, Freelance Writing Guide.  With all the other books out there on writing, what makes yours unique? Why would someone want to purchase it rather than one by a well-known mega-published author?

The full title of my book is Freelance Writing Guide: What to Expect in Your First Year as a Freelance Writer. The content of the book is based on the experiences I had during my first year as a freelance writer. The book is meant to educate and inform people who are considering a freelance writing career.

The book covers online article writing, writing for magazines, ghostwriting, book writing, blogging, writing book reviews, as well as many other subjects that freelance writers need to know. It includes two personal chapters where I share my experiences with and thoughts about being a freelance writer, and twenty-one informative chapters all about the career itself.

What’s the best advice you’ve received on writing or personally learned that you would like to pass on to other writers?

One of the most helpful pieces of advice I received was in the beginning of my freelance writing career, when a colleague told me that I don’t have to overly obsess when editing my articles, because a piece of writing will never be perfect (my interpretation of the advice). I used to re-read my articles a dozen times and it was very time-consuming and frustrating, because I was being a perfectionist and not changing much with each read-through. After I received the advice from my colleague, I gave myself some slack and felt better from that point forward. I suggest the same advice for writers who tend to be perfectionists or spend all day editing an article.

Christine Rice is the author of Poetry for the Heart, Essays for the Soul, My Not-So-Ordinary Life, and Freelance Writing Guide. Her books can be found at most online retailers and are available in paperback and eBook formats. To learn more about Christine and her books, you can visit her blog

Rebounding from Setbacks

Today I'm including a book review that is from a business standpoint that can also be helpful in the business of being a writer. The book title is Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success by Rick Newman. The review is done by Tara-Nicholle Nelson from Inman News
  

Markets crash. People die. Scary diagnoses are issued. Jobs are lost. Homes are lost. And for many Americans, it feels like the last few years have hit them with more than their fair share of these sorts of traumas, proving true the adage, "When it rains, it pours."

I've certainly been through a number of my own, personal worst-case scenarios, but have come out the other side with a vastly expanded understanding of my own inner resources and a great appreciation for life's possibilities.

Once you prove to yourself what you're really made of, as often happens in recovery from a crisis, you take that confidence, that knowledge and those problem-solving skills with you as you face life's incessant stream of incoming challenges.

That's resilience... And this quality -- resilience -- is precisely the subject of U.S. News and World Report journalist Rick Newman's new, hopeful and useful book, "Rebounders: How Winners Pivot From Setback to Success."

The book starts out with Newman's own transparent tale of his own life, family, financial and career struggles in the aftermath of his divorce, just as the traditional newspaper industry was being derailed by the advent of online news -- and the takeaways he gleaned from the experience, including that hard work doesn't always pay off without a strategic plan also in place.

But the meat of "Rebounders" is a series of detailed stories of figures in business, politics, philanthropy and culture -- stories of rebounders who experienced and recovered from all manner of devastating failures and traumatic disasters on their paths to achieving an assortment of heroics, from becoming our national heroes, like Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, to helming companies such as Pandora and Netflix.

Newman vividly tells these stories, then deftly uses them to surface dozens of nuanced insights with the power to spark and call forth the individual flavor of resilience within every reader.

That said, there are also some overarching themes around what it takes to be resilient that Newman sets out at the very start. Here are the four most pervasive insights he provides:

1. "Setbacks can be a secret weapon." Newman relates that the unanimous message of his interview and research subjects was that the lessons and skills they had acquired in the process of overcoming their setbacks were much more pivotal to their success than the moments when everything finally came together. In fact, in providing the precise definition of resilience, Newman points to the strength, smarts and durability that develop in the process of pushing past fear, failures and "quit points."

2. "Small adversities matter, just like big ones." Small disappointments and frictions, like getting stuck in traffic or having a chronic, but relatively mild, illness, can seem unworthy of our attention especially when compared to all the tragedies and chaos we witness on news reports. However, Newman argues that we can harness small failures and dramas to build our resilience muscles, giving ourselves what he calls a "stress inoculation" that will allow us to recover from much larger life upsets whenever they do inevitably arise.

3. "We're all addicted to alluring shortcuts and incomplete slogans." Newman points to example after example in which people get or stay on the wrong, failure-prone course because of their belief in pithy, partly true, but incomplete motivational slogans like "Do what you love, and the money will come." He points out that there are potential pitfalls to this reasoning, like that the work you love might be work many people love, rendering the field an uber-competitive one in which to make a living. Ultimately, these magical slogans are simply not enough to point you in the direction of success.

4. "Optimism is overrated." Optimism lives in the same bucket, in Newman's book, as these incomplete slogans, in that they both oversimplify what it will really take for most people to find success. Newman suggests that you trade both the slogans and overconfidence or optimism in for a strategic action plan that accounts, in advance, for pitfalls that are likely to be encountered, and is both heavy on the problem solving and flexible enough to allow for the adaptation and course correction you may need to do if things don't work as planned.

In this vein, Newman advocates something called "defensive pessimism," in which you envision your worst-case scenarios and prepare for them, in advance. Ultimately, this point of view is empowering and even calming, as it results in complete preparedness and, fortunately, our worst-case scenarios don't actually materialize the vast majority of the time.

Expect the Unexpected, an Interview with Award Winning Author, Angela Hunt

I am privileged today to be doing an interview with the much honored author, Angela Hunt. She has been the recipient of the Christy-Award, several Angel Awards from Excellence in Media, and the Gold and Silver Medallions from Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year Award. Romantic Times Book Club also presented her with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. To date her books have sold nearly four million copies worldwide (with more to come!) She has written everything from picture books, to biographies and novels. She also teaches writing workshops at schools and writers’ conferences. Today you don’t have to travel anywhere to learn from her, you just have to take a few minutes to relax and read the interview below.

I am in awe at the number of books you have written and how you can easily move from different fiction styles to biography. When did you publish your first book?

I started writing in 1983, but wrote "small" things for five years before I even thought about publishing a book.  I've met very few people who can write a polished book right off the bat--you have to learn the craft, and I learned it by writing for magazines, commercial copy, etc.  Fortunately, I was earning while I was learning. 

Part of your writing includes the romance genre. I’ve been reading contemporary romance for decades and the style keeps evolving. How do you keep the writing fresh and contemporary?

A romance is, by definition, a story in which the primary plot is concerned with boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins girl for good.  And actually, I've only written one romance:  Gentle Touch.  Most of my novels are women's fiction, and while there may be a romantic thread, the story is not really about the romance.  

At least two of your books have been made into Hallmark movies – The Note and The Note 2. Tell my readers about those stories.

 The Note is a story about a woman coming to grips with her past and her anger at her father, and it's all a parable.  (It's actually a new take on the Prodigal Son story, but this is a prodigal daughter.)  Yes, there's a romantic thread, but that's not at all the focus of the book. 

How did the movie come about? Was the book optioned for a movie or the movie rights just bought outright? Would you get residuals for that?

My book was optioned by a small film company and for five years they tried to raise the money to make it a feature film.  That didn't pan out, but one member of the team sold it to another group, who sold it to Hallmark . . . and the movie was nearly finished by the time I found out about all the ways the rights had changed hands.  The movie rights were purchased outright so I won't be getting any other payments

How much input if any did you have in the screenplay? Did you like how the movies turned out? Did the movies give a strong bump to the book sales?

As to the movie, I had very little input into the script.  I did like how the movie turned out, and I think the movie probably did help book sales, but not by a huge amount.  

Do you ever write stories and try to figure out who would play the characters in the movies?

And, LOL, while I do "see" my characters, I rarely think of the books as potential movies--other than the movie playing out in my head, that is.  From novel to movie is a looooooong shot indeed, and few novels make it. I'm amazed that one of mine did. Had to be a God-thing.

Several of your books are collaborations with other authors. How does that work? How are the writing duties handled?

Each of my co-written novels was a different experience.  Three of them were collaborations in which I did all the writing, but that isn't my favorite method.  

In all the others since, I've partnered with writers who actually do half of the writing.  And yes, one of us usually has to put on the editor's cap and meld the two halves together.  We outline together, then do our individual stories, then mesh the two. You almost have to work on a strict timeline and small cast of characters in order to keep from pulling your hair out.  Oh--and we almost always initiate the process, not the publisher.   

You’ve also done several biographies of people who have achieved a bit of fame and are given co-authorship with you. How do you gently walk through people’s lives and get a story that will resonate with the reader?

Everyone has a story, but celebrities with stories usually aren't writers, so the publishers buy the celebrities' stories and then the writer is contracted.  I'm hired after the fact.  Each book is different, but the subject and I usually interview for a couple of days up front, then I write a draft, then we get back together and revise/edit/polish/and correct.  

We're usually telling a single story, not writing a biography of someone's entire life.  You only include backstory as it relates to the story being told.  For instance, in my book with Mandisa, we focused on her American Idol experience. In my book with Deanna Farve, we focused on her bout with breast cancer. 

You’ve also written historical fiction ranging from the Old Testament era, to the Middle Ages and early frontier days of our country. Do you do your own research or do you have an assistant who does that for you?

I enjoy research--which is probably why I like writing historical fiction--and I have to do it myself, because I have to get the information out of books and into my brain and I don't know any other way to do it.  Plus, I don't think an assistant would feel that "zing" that tells me that's a great tidbit to work into a story line.  Have to feel that myself, too.  

Do you have one time period that you especially like to write in?

I like all time periods, because it's not the time that's important--it's the people who lived in that time.  People are basically the same no matter when they live, but when you take human nature and put it in a specific difficult situation--like a strong-minded woman during the Civil War, for instance--then you have the potential for an interesting story.  Stressful time plus human nature plus skillful writer equals good historical fiction.

Do you think there will always be print books? Or do you think it will all go digital?

I believe that print books are here to stay, but I also believe that "print runs" will grow much smaller as digital sales increase.  We'll just have more buying options.  And yes, the eBook movement has been revolutionary for the publishing industry.  It's great in one way because books now never go out of print, which means veteran authors like me can resurrect our backlist and actively sell it.  We can also write books we're passionate about for limited audiences (example:  my book on SNAPPING SHELTER DOGS, about using your camera to help shelter animals find loving homes, was just published on Kindle.  That book would have cost me a fortune to self-publish in paper because of all the color photography, but all it cost as a Kindle edition was my time and effort.   

How do you feel the digital market has changed the publishing industry for the better or worse?

The downside is that the market is now flooded with writing from folks who haven't studied the craft or polished as much as they should have, so there's a lot of not-so-good material out there.  At least we readers can usually get free samples before buying. :-)  

Since you’ve written for several different publishers, what would you tell new authors to expect from a publisher’s contract that they need to be aware of?

 Entire books have been written about that question, you know.  :-)  Basically, I'd tell them to have the contracted checked by an experienced agent.  There's no way a beginning writer could even begin to see or understand all the clauses and potential pitfalls out there.  Contracts are constantly evolving, so it's difficult to stay on top of things. Experience is the best teacher, but rather than learning the hard way, hire a good agent. 

You’ve received numerous awards for your writing over the years. Is there one that stands out with special meaning for you?

The Christy Award will always be special to me because I won in the award's inaugural year.  It's the only award specifically for Christian fiction, which often gets overlooked. 

What is some of the best writing advice that you’ve received or could give?

So many things . .  . let's go with this: 1) Read voraciously.  2) Edit mercilessly and  3) Avoid adverbs.  ;-)  

Angela has written over 100 books and I've just touched on a few here. If you would like to learn more about her writing, use this link to her website. 

Taking a Stand for Liberty

I've never used this blog before for a movie review but last night I saw a movie that I think is important to talk about. Our local radio station did an advance "free" screening for the movie and I got tickets for myself and my husband. I tried to encourage a few of our friends to go but even the concept of "free" tickets didn't even persuade them as they had not heard about the movie. I had seen a short interview and a movie trailer which was enough for me.

Now after seeing the movie, I would like to recommend it to others. It reminds us how our soldiers are willing to fight for us to have our freedoms yet we don't take a stand for them. Some people think they can't do anything on their own or maybe they're afraid of offending someone.

It's time to remember what our founding fathers were willing to risk - their lives for our freedoms that are expressed in the Bill of Rights. Each individual can make a difference and together we can stand for liberty.

Attached is a link to see the trailer... http://lastouncethemovie.com/trailer.php. I encourage you to see this movie and tell others to see it as well.

Lest We Forget

It has now been 11 years since the horrific attacks on our country on September 11, 2011. There are some in the media and political circles who think we should downplay those events as past history and not connect it to an attack of radical Islamic terrorism -- to merely terrorism to be more politically correct and less offensive. Yet would that not diminish the horrific act to just a random act of terrorism with no ties to those in the past by similar groups and those still being carried out?

...On the morning of September 2001, Al Qaeda terrorists boarded and hijacked four passenger planes. This was to carry out coordinated suicide attacks against the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Everyone on board the hijacked planes died as well as nearly 3,000 people on the ground. The fourth plane didn't hit its target as it crashed into a Pennsylvania field, killing all on board, after passengers and crew attempted to wrest control from the hijackers. Below is a chronology of the events of 9/11 as they unfolded. The times listed are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

• 7:59 am – American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767 with 92 people aboard, takes off from Boston's Logan International Airport en route to Los Angeles.

• 8:14 am – United Airlines Flight 175, a Boeing 767 with 65 people aboard, takes off from Boston; it is also headed to Los Angeles.

• 8:19 am – Flight attendants aboard Flight 11 alert ground personnel that the plane has been hijacked; American Airlines notifies the FBI.

• 8:20 am – American Airlines Flight 77 takes off from Dulles International Airport outside of Washington, D.C. The Boeing 757 is headed to Los Angeles with 64 people aboard.

• 8:24 am – Hijacker Mohammed Atta makes the first of two accidental transmissions from Flight 11 to ground control (apparently in an attempt to communicate with the plane's cabin).

• 8:40 am – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) alerts North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)'s Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS) about the suspected hijacking of Flight 11. In response, NEADS scrambles two fighter planes located at Cape Cod's Otis Air National Guard Base to locate and tail Flight 11; they are not yet in the air when Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower.

• 8:41 am – United Airlines Flight 93, a Boeing 757 with 44 people aboard, takes off from Newark International Airport en route to San Francisco. It had been scheduled to depart at 8:00 am, around the time of the other hijacked flights.

• 8:46 am – Mohammed Atta and the other hijackers aboard American Airlines Flight 11 crash the plane into floors 93-99 of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, killing everyone on board and hundreds inside the building.

• 8:47 am – Within seconds, NYPD and FDNY forces dispatch units to the World Trade Center, while Port Authority Police Department officers on site begin immediate evacuation of the North Tower.

• 8:50 am – White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card alerts President George W. Bush that a plane has hit the World Trade Center; the president is visiting an elementary school in Sarasota, Florida at the time.

• 9:02 am – After initially instructing tenants of the WTC's South Tower to remain in the building, Port Authority officials broadcast orders to evacuate both towers via the public address system; an estimated 10,000 to 14,000 people are already in the process of evacuating.

• 9:03 am – Hijackers crash United Airlines Flight 175 into floors 75-85 of the WTC's South Tower, killing everyone on board and hundreds inside the building

• 9:08 am – The FAA bans all takeoffs of flights going to New York City or through the airspace around the city.

• 9:21 am – The Port Authority closes all bridges and tunnels in the New York City area.

• 9:24 am – The FAA notified NEADS of the suspected hijacking of Flight 77 after some passengers and crew aboard are able to alert family members on the ground.

• 9:31 am – Speaking from Florida, President Bush calls the events in New York City an "apparent terrorist attack on our country."

• 9:37 am – Hijackers aboard Flight 77 crash the plane into the western façade of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., killing 59 aboard the plane and 125 military and civilian personnel inside the building.

• 9:42 am – For the first time in history, the FAA grounds all flights over or bound for the continental United States. Some 3,300 commercial flights and 1,200 private planes are guided to airports in Canada and the United States over the next two-and-a-half hours.

• 9:45 am – Amid escalating rumors of other attacks, the White House and U.S. Capitol building are evacuated (along with numerous other high-profile buildings, landmarks and public spaces).

• 9:59 am – The South Tower of the World Trade Center collapses.

• 10:07 am – After passengers and crew members aboard the hijacked Flight 93 contact friends and family and learn about the attacks in New York and Washington, they mount an attempt to retake the plane. In response, hijackers deliberately crash the plane into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, killing all 40 passengers and crew aboard.

• 10:28 am – The World Trade Center's North Tower collapses, 102 minutes after being struck by Flight 11.

• 11:00 am – Mayor Rudolph Giuliani calls for the evacuation of Lower Manhattan south of Canal Street, including more than 1 million residents, workers and tourists, as efforts continue throughout the afternoon to search for survivors at the WTC site.

• 1:00 pm – From a U.S. Air Force base in Louisiana, President Bush announces that U.S. military forces are on high alert worldwide.

• 2:51 pm – The U.S. Navy dispatches missile destroyers to New York and Washington, D.C.

• 5:20 pm – The 47-story Seven World Trade Center collapses after burning for hours; the building had been evacuated in the morning, and there are no casualties, though the collapse forces rescue workers to flee for their lives.

• 6:58 pm – President Bush returns to the White House after stops at military bases in Louisiana and Nebraska.

• 8:30 pm – President Bush addresses the nation, calling the attacks "evil, despicable acts of terror" and declaring that America, its friends and allies would "stand together to win the war against terrorism."   Source: History.com

Sci-fi and Fantasy and How to Blend Them: Author Interiew with Christine Amsden

If you like science fiction, you’re in for a treat today. My interview today is with Christine Amsden has been writing science fiction and fantasy for as long as she can remember (but not in a sci-fi way of back in the womb). Christine writes primarily about people and it is in this way that she strives to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.

Let’s start with the first book you released in 2007 called Touch of Fate. What inspired you to write it?

Touch of Fate was a story I came up with in my mid twenties while I took an online course on writing the mystery novel. Before that, I had been writing and rewriting for many, many years, often the same story over and over again (a science fantasy series that remains alive only on my hard drive). I finally took a good hard look at over fifteen years of writing, noting that I had nothing to show for it, and made myself a promise: Come what may, I would finish this book. And I did

Have you always been a fan of sci-fi and fantasy?

I have always, always, always been in love with sci-fi and fantasy. I've been writing since I was 7 or 8, and my very first story involved Cabbage Patch Dolls going to Mars. Even before I could read, I would make up stories about my picture books, and there was usually magic involved somehow.

I grew up watching Star Trek The Next Generation, and reread The Chronicles of Narnia almost as many times as I reread Harry Potter as an adult. (I know, I'm showing my age! I was in college when I first heard about Harry Potter.)

What do you like most about sci-fi and fantasy?

What I love about these genres is the whimsy and make-believe of it. I know there's an almost religious divide between some sci-fi fans and some fantasy fans. It has actually made promoting myself as an author difficult, because some books fall in one niche, and some in the other. For me, they're all part of the same imaginative umbrella I call speculative fiction...the genre that asks: What if?

Do you do any specific research for writing in this genre to make it believable?

Research depends entirely on the book. For Touch of Fate, I called the St. Louis PD and asked some basic questions about how homicide investigations worked. Most of the rest of it came from my own experiences. I know the city and county of St. Louis, having lived there until I went to college. I did case a parking garage at the hospital where my mom worked to help envision the murder that took place there.

 

How long did it take you to write your first book?

Ah, the how long did it take to write a book question! I never know how to answer this. When I work on a project, it's like an old-fashioned dance where we meet and then retreat. I may end up dancing with other partners (other projects) for a while, then come back to the first. This pattern was particularly pronounced when I wrote Touch of Fate. (I am developing more focus now.) Touch of Fate took years. Or maybe months, if you cut away all the time I spent dancing with someone else.

How many rewrites did you do prior to sending it out to publishers?

As far as rewrites, I did three or four major rewrites (not including minor revisions and editing runs). I no longer have a clear memory of that. I do self edit prior to sending my books off for publication. My publisher then hires editors before putting the book out in the world -- there was one content edit and two copy edits.

 

Once you wrote the book how did you go about looking for a publisher and or agent? How did you get involved with Twilight Times Books?

I didn't know what I was doing and got lucky. (How's that for honesty? :) ) Seriously, it's a rat race out there. I had a hundred people telling me to do this, or do that, or send it here, or send it there. Some people said to get an agent first, others said agents wouldn't talk to me without a publishing contract in hand.

I decided to query both at the same time and see what happened. I ended up using Predators and Editors to help me find reputable publishing houses, and queried a couple of bigger ones before I noticed Twilight Times. They're newer and smaller, but what struck me was that they seemed to be interested in those cross-genre works that aren't easily labeled. Touch of Fate is such a book. So I took a chance, and it paid off.

 

I see that between the first book and your new release you were a featured writer in How I Wrote My First Book: the story behind the story which was also released by Twilight Books. What was that process like?

There were guidelines and a word count, although the guidelines weren't strict and the word count wasn't a limiting factor for me. Actually, it ended up being pretty fun, once I got started. I wrote my article in just a few days, and thought getting started was tough, once I found an opening, the rest just spilled out. It's a pretty honest article, which I think is the best thing about it.

Your first book received an Honorable Mention in the 2011 Eric Hoffer Award for Legacy Fiction. Did you search out potential contests/awards to submit to?

I didn't enter any contests the year it came out, and I should have. By the time I realized it, the deadlines had passed. The only reason I entered Touch of Fate in the 2011 Eric Hoffer Awards was that I was looking into contests for The Immortality Virus, putting together a comprehensive list of possibilities (along with entry deadlines) so that I would not make the mistake again. I noticed the legacy fiction category, and thought, "What the heck?" (Somewhat ironically, The Immortality Virus did not win in the 2012 Eric Hoffer Awards, though it did win 2 others, and was a finalist in a third.)

Do you have tips for others in doing this and what to expect? 

#1 tip: Don't wait three years to send your book off to a legacy book contest! I made a lot of mistakes when it came to Touch of Fate. When people ask how the book did, I usually say, "It was a learning experience." It was. The Immortality Virus did much better, and I have high hopes that my new series will do better still. But with Touch of Fate, I didn't get it, and though I read some articles on marketing books, I was either reading the wrong ones or I wasn't applying them correctly.

How did winning an award help in book sales?

Awards are nice. They make you feel good about yourself, and then you get to say, "I'm an award-winning author." I don't know if they directly impact sales or not, especially since it can take a year or more from the release date to get the results, but indirectly, they are a help. I have a feeling the awards I won for The Immortality Virus will have an impact on the sales of my new urban fantasy series coming out next year.

Your next book, The Immortality Virus was released last year. Was that book easier or harder to write?

I wouldn't say it was easier to write, but having finished a book, I felt more confident writing it. I also think it's a better book, so I would say I learned things from the first experience that made the second more successful.

Did you have an advance contract for the book?

I did not have an advance contract for the book -- Twilight Times doesn't work that way. They do give preferential consideration to their published authors, but we have to finish the book, then send it along.

Now you are venturing into writing a series called Cassie Scot: Normal Detective. How far along in the process are you? I am working on a rough draft for the fourth (and final) volume in the series. I am hoping (knock on wood) to have the book finished (submitted) by the end of the year, although even if I miss my self-imposed deadline, the books will pretty much be coming out back to back.

Book one is tentatively coming out in February 2013, and book two (already contracted) is tentatively coming out in July 2013. I don't have a firm date for the third book, but the manuscript is in, and I expect it to be released at the end of 2013.

Is this book in a different style than your previous books?

This is a different style. For one thing, it's first person, and I've let my narrator (Cassie) have her voice. Each book has a mystery (something they have in common with the other two), but the series itself is primarily a coming of age story. Cassie Scot is the ungifted daughter of powerful sorcerers who has to come to terms with this fact, and learn that she is a capable woman in her own right.

A romance also spans the series. I did have a minor romance in Touch of Fate, but looking back, I think I was holding back too much. I've learned a lot since then, and read a lot, and I am particularly proud of the twists and turns the romance takes over the course of the series. I'm not into stories that artificially keep two people apart because it's inconvenient for them to get together yet -- I provide some darn good reasons for Cassie and Evan to be apart. 

What has frustrated you the most in the publishing process?

Selling books! I didn't get it when I published Touch of Fate. I really didn't. I sold it to the publisher, so that's it, then? Right? Wrong! Hundreds of thousands of books are published each year, and I have to convince the public to give mine a chance. It has been quite a journey, let me tell you.

What have you found the most rewarding – outside of seeing your book in print?

Seeing it in print isn't the prize. Having people read it is. I think it was last year when I finally realized what I wanted from my writing career. I don't need fame, or money, or even to be a best-selling author. There's as much luck as anything else going into those things, anyway. All I want is for people to read and like my books. There's nothing better.

What surprised you the most about the publishing process?

The amount of work involved.

What is the best advice you’ve received on writing? Or what is the best advice you could give other aspiring authors from your experience?

I don't know that any specific piece of advice stands out in my mind. Then again, the advice I would give others never really applied to me. My advice: Writers write. For me, I've always written, so it seems so obvious, but over the years I have talked to countless people who dream about writing a book someday, but never sit down to do it!

If you want to be a writer, then just like with anything else, you have to make it a priority. It's hard work, and for the first part (which takes years and years), you have to be internally motivated. 

To get you more interested in reading Christine's books, here's a link to an excerpt from her new book,  Cassie Scot: Normal Detective.Just click here to start reading.

And here's a link to her website for more on her books and her writing. 

Change - How Do You View It?

You're sitting at a red light waiting for it to turn green. Of course you could just put your foot on the gas and roar forward hoping to miss any cars that might be coming in the opposite direction. But most people would consider that foolhardy. And of course it's against the law. So we stay in place waiting the the change to come to us.

How do you handle change in your life. Do you wait complacently for a sign to show it is OK to move on to another level? Or do you analyze what is happening around you and then bring on change you can control?

Let's compare life to that stop light...

Folks who stay in the same jobs year in and out are like those waiting for the light to change. They will only move ahead if someone gives them the direction to go forward.  There is nothing wrong with that. They think it is best to play it safe and secure. But what happens if the light stops working? How do they then cope with a change that is thrust upon them?

Then there are those who see the other directional light turning red and are the first ones to get moving as soon as they see the change flash. These are people who see change all around them and anticipate it's occurrence and are ready to make a change when necessary. They are waiting for opportunities and seize them when they are available.

Lastly, there are those who want to avoid the stop light at all costs. They step on the gas when the yellow light flashes so they won't be stopped in their forward motion. And if they do come up to a red light they'll quickly make a right turn (legal in the U.S.) even if it is a slight detour. These are the entrepreneurs the ones who won't wait for something to happen. They are the driving force. Sometimes they may crash and burn in their plans, but they still get back in the car and move.

Now think of the light in terms of your writing.

Waiting at the red... Do you wait for offers to come your way and just dream about someday finishing that book but don't want to risk all the rejection?

Anticipating the green... Do you look for opportunities where you can submit your writing and move forward to that end?

Staying ahead of the yellow... Nothing is going to stop you from writing and sending out submissions. You constantly look around for opportunities to showcase your writing ability and if you have to make a slight detour by dealing with rejections it doesn't keep you down.

This is my delayed submission for my post for the monthly CW blog chain which is all about change. It should have been input the first of the month -- but I neglected to look at the CHANGE on my calendar! For others thoughts on change click on the links to the right.