Inspiring You - Days 9 & 10

It's been a busy week...

Hubby has been away on a fishing trip he claims is a lot of work. Yeah, right....

Hon, you are fishing, something you love to do. It may be a lot of work, but it isn't work.









I've been doing a lot of work, at work, and managing to do some laundry here and there while somehow managing to get the kids bathed, homework done and gulping down coffee at certain intervals of the day to keep myself going...

Have I done any more writing?

NO!

And this has got to stop!!!

No proposals or contest entries have been mailed out.


I do not like all work and housework days with no writing involved.

This week, I plan to turn over a new leaf. I must rise early. I must stop emails/blogging/facebook/twittering at a certain time so that my time can be put to good use. No more wasted days. No more feeling sorry for myself that not only did I get a rejection from writing this week but also one at my place of business.

I refuse to put my head down.

The chin will remain up and I will continue onward.

Rejection is simply God's redirection and His plan is a whole lot better than mine.

So here are my stated goals for this week:  1) Mail off the proposal to the Agent who requested it from this year's conference.  2) Finish the synopsis/story draft for this book (I'm not writing chapters, I'm trying to outline the book from start to finish... should be doable).  3)Possibly mail off the Golden Heart Entry.
4) Possibly apply for PRO with RWA.

My possible goals may not be accomplished this week. Items 1 and 2 are most important.

What about you? Where are you and what are your goals for this upcoming week.  Let's make Saturday our new week...

Inspiring You Day 8

Today I received a rejection letter in response to one of the manuscripts I submitted. I must say, receiving this agent's kind, "No, thank you," to the project was an easier pill to swallow than the ones I used to get when I was simply mailing out blind queries. On those query letters I would describe my book and offer it to the agent or editor I was targeting. The responses I received on quite a few were simply form rejection letters. However, I will never forget that one agent simply wrote his/her response on my letter and mailed it back saying the story was "too contrived, melodramatic. I'll pass."

A good way to view that rejection is that the agent was already trying to conserve paper and figured he/she wouldn't waste a tree on something she could say in a few words on my recycled letter. That was about 10 years ago. That person was way ahead of his/her time.

With this current rejection and the one from the past, I know that God has a plan for my projects and that He will find the perfect person to represent my work when the time is right.

And, with that said, I will continue to pursue requests and continue to work on new stories.

I also wanted to add, that when I was mailing the queries, I never felt that path was a secure path to offer my work to an agent or editor. Only years later when I joined writer's organizations did I find a more organized way to network in this field and learn more about the craft as well as marketing me and the book. I am still working on all of this, of course, and have no certain answers, but at least, I am making contacts, good contacts, that will certainly last through my career.

If you are still sending out queries by following a Literary guide or gathering names out of Writer's Digest of the agents that are accepting new clients, I would say to continue doing this. Nicholas Sparks says his success started by a query of his getting pulled from the slush pile. If it happened to him, it can happen for you. But I would also recommend joining local writers organizations... finding a group that writes what you like to write... and begin to participate in their activities and volunteer. If you are serious about pursuing publication, this is the best advice I can give you that I have experienced first hand.

Earlier, I mentioned working on a new story. Well, today was another unproductive day. I think my new challenge is helping me be accountable and post my progress, one word at a time.

So, what's new in your writing world?

Embers of Love by Tracie Peterson

This week, the


Christian Fiction Blog Alliance


is introducing


Embers of Love Bethany House (October 1, 2010)


by Tracie Peterson





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tracie Peterson is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 85 novels.

She received her first book contract in November, 1992 and saw A Place To Belong published in February 1993 with Barbour Publishings' Heartsong Presents. She wrote exclusively with Heartsong for the next two years, receiving their readership's vote for Favorite Author of the Year for three years in a row.



In December, 1995 she signed a contract with Bethany House Publishers to co-write a series with author Judith Pella. Tracie now writes exclusively for Bethany House Publishers.



She teaches writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects such as inspirational romance and historical research.



Tracie was awarded the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for 2007 Inspirational Fiction and her books have won numerous awards for favorite books in a variety of contests.



Making her home in Montana, this Kansas native enjoys spending time with family--especially her three grandchildren--Rainy, Fox and Max. She's active in her church as the Director of Women's Ministries, coordinates a yearly writer's retreat for published authors, and travels, as time permits, to research her books





ABOUT THE BOOK

The logging industry in eastern Texas is booming, and Deborah Vandermark plans to assist her family's business now that she's completed college. Unexpectedly, her best friend, Lizzie Decker, accompanies her back home--fleeing a wedding and groom she has no interest in.



Deborah, the determined matchmaker, puts her sights on uniting her brother and dear friend in a true love match. Deborah soon meets Dr. Christopher Clayton, a much-needed addition to the town. As their lives intersect, Deborah realizes that she has a much greater interest in medicine and science than the bookkeeping she was trained in.



But when typhoid begins to spread and Lizzie's jilted fiance returns, Deborah wonders if true love can overcome such obstacles...for those dearest to her, and for herself.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Embers of Love, go HERE.

Inspiring You Day 7

Day 7 was not so lucky... no progress made on the book - Uh!

However, if I am not going to write, I need to mail that proposal out and mail out my entry and enter the Golden Heart. Anyone with me?

Inspiring You - Day 6

Oh, Monday, Monday, Monday...

It was a good Monday, overall, but not a good Monday for writing on the manuscript. I managed to squeeze in less than an hour before work, but no work was done on it outside of my thoughts for the rest of the day.

My combined word count for this draft, including a GMC chart is 3,119 words. I'm impressed that I have that much and must have written more this weekend than I realized.

We have some who have started new stories and some who are revising existing stories. Some of you we have not heard from, but I know you are with us in spirit!  The key is to keep your head up and keep moving forward no matter where you are in the process of writing.

If you all will remember, just a few short months ago, I was pushing hard to finish a manuscript I'd worked on far too long. It was hard work and I had many road blocks, but each road block helped me reach my final destination.  My ultimate goal was to finally submit it to a publishing house that had requested it a year or so before.

Don't despair if you have reached a huge wall and are unable to write. If you are blocked in a scene, try to go back from the beginning and read your story, for enjoyment. Mark places you are bored or that you feel you are trying to skip over. This will indicate the place where your pacing is off. Call your friends and talk out the story.


Sometimes, though, you need a break from it. Take that break and enjoy the life around you. The story will be there when you return. It will be published all in God's time. He may have planned this break just for you.

Where are you in your writing journey today. If you're frustrated or tired, bring those forth. We're here to support you and move you through the valley.

Look, just ahead! Look at the promises waiting for you on the horizon!

Don't give up!

Snow Day by Billy Coffey

This week, the


Christian Fiction Blog Alliance


is introducing


Snow DayFaithWords (October 11, 2010)


by


Billy Coffey





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

When you’re raised in small-town Virginia by a redneck father and a Mennonite mother, certain things become ingrained. And when you marry a small-town girl and have two small-town kids, all you want to do is pass those ingrained things along.



Like believing the best life is one lived in the country enjoying the pleasures it provides—summer nights beneath the stars, rocking chairs on the front porch, deer grazing in the fields. And believing that no matter how iffy life can get sometimes, there are some things that are eternal and unchanging.



But above all else, believing that in everything there is story waiting to be told.



That’s where I come in.



Billy Coffey was raised on stories. The first ones came on the front porches of relatives, tales laced with local charm and deep meaning. Then came the stories from people like Max Lucado and Robert Fulghum, who write with a charm and deep meaning of their own.



Billy lives with his wife and two children in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. If you drive by his house, you’ll probably spot him on the front porch. If you do, give him a wave. He’ll wave back.



ABOUT THE BOOK

In this debut novel, Peter is a simple man who lives by a simple truth--a person gains strength by leaning on his constants. To him, those constants are the factory where he works, the family he loves, and the God who sustains him. But when news of job cuts comes against the backdrop of an unexpected snowstorm, his life becomes filled with far more doubts than certainties.



With humor and a gift for storytelling, Billy Coffey brings you along as he spends his snow day encountering family, friends, and strangers of his small Virginia town. All have had their own battles with life's storms. Some have found redemption. Others are still seeking it. But each one offers a piece to the puzzle of why we must sometimes suffer loss, and each one will help Peter find a greater truth--our lives are made beautiful not by our big moments, but our little ones. (2010)



To read an excerpt from Snow Day, go HERE.

Inspiring You Day 5

I can't believe we're on day 5 already! 

Unfortunately, I didn't get much writing done today. I enjoyed the day playing with my children and helping my husband on a project. We started the day at church. I was amazed by the passion our pastor conveyed when he shared about a new outreach he's leading us toward. It's all about helping those that are in our neighborhood... those just beyond our backdoor. Very eye-opening.

My daughter sat with us in "Big Church" today and did really great. She was well behaved, colored during the sermon and stood and sat when the rest of us did. She's only 5, but I can tell a huge change in her. Still, I look at her and I'm amazed at how fast she's growing up.

Back to writing... I'm continuing to think through the story. I decided that I may go ahead and write a major scene that's been on my mind. This is jumping waaayyyy ahead, but I must remember I can perfect the scene in revisions that come later.

I hope you all got something accomplished today. My word count remains the same. As a matter of fact, I didn't even open the document today.  I know Dianna is feeling under the weather. I pray she's back behind the keyboard soon.

This week, along with writing more on this new story - I hope to have a proposal completed and mailed to a perspective agent on a prior story. What about you, anything you'd really like to finish this week?