AND OUR WINNER IS…. Chassily Wakefield! Congrats Chassily
Hi everyone,
I am delighted to have here at Musetrack today, historical romance author Anthea Lawson aka writer couple Anthea and Lawson. They are kind enough to giveaway a copy of their first novel PASSIONATE to one lucky commenter so please comment away and ask questions!
FIVE ESSENTIAL STEPS ON THE PATH TO PUBLICATION
Getting a novel published can be a big challenge, but there are some things an aspiring author can do to increase their chances of seeing their work in print. Here are five essentials. If you’ve already done some of these, then you’re on your way!
1. FINISH YOUR BOOK
To sell your book, you must have a book to sell. It seems obvious, but it’s essential if you are serious about seeing your work in print. If you find yourself procrastinating, find some outside support: a critique partner who will hold you accountable, NaNoWriMo, or other external motivators. Many people dream of writing a book “someday.” Some actually start writing. A very few keep going all the way to the end. Put yourself among that select group of finishers.
2. GET SOME FEEDBACK AND LEARN HOW TO SELF-EDIT
The next step is taking your completed manuscript and making it good. There are a lot of exceptional writing craft books out there. One of our favorites is Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, by Browne and King. We went back to it over and over as we were working on our first novel, Passionate. Critique groups can be helpful for some, and writing contests provide valuable feedback. Accept that your manuscript will need work and polish if it is to find a home with a publisher. The internet is full of advice and instruction for writers. Keep learning and find what works for YOU.
3. FIND AN AGENT/EDITOR
A hidden part of this essential step is learning how to write synopses and query letters. There are whole books on this subject and some important conventions everyone seeking to sell a novel should take the time to learn. One of the most challenging tasks during this process is distilling your entire novel down into just a couple snappy sentences that will capture the interest of an editor or agent–it’s called “high concept.” Here’s an example — An ordinary boy discovers he has magical powers, and a powerful enemy, and is sent to wizardry school to learn the skills that could save his life—and the world. Harry Potter in a nutshell. Work on figuring out the nutshell of your story.
Here are some excellent online resources for finding an agent. Preditors and Editors includes listings of legitimate agents, as well as who NOT to work with, Agent Research & Evaluation provide information about the top agents in the various fields, and Publishers Marketplace features profiles on almost every agent working. Each year updated guides to agents and editors are published — check the writing section of your bookstore to find them.
Use conferences and contests to get your work in front of agents and acquiring editors, too. And keep trying. It only takes one person to love your work for that SOLD call to happen!
4. NETWORK AND CONNECT
Fiction writers are lucky to have some great writers organizations available. No matter your genre, you can find a network — Authorlink.com has a great comprehensive listing. One of the biggest (and best) organizations is Romance Writers of America (rwanational.org). RWA and its local chapters provide a wealth of support and insider information about the publishing industry. Consider joining RWA even if you don’t write romance. Best-selling author (and RWA member) Bob Meyer has said it’s an invaluable organization for any fiction writer to be a part of.
You can also connect with other writers by joining online writing classes, attending writer’s conferences, visiting blogs (like this one), writing your own blog — the key thing is to get involved with a community of other writers. From there, you may find a critique group or partner, share some of the tribulations along the way, and know that you’re not alone.
5. PERSEVERE
Accept that things move sloooooowly in publishing. Don’t give up, and celebrate every victory that comes your way. It is a great time to be writing. We live in a literate age, word processors ease the drudgery of producing a manuscript, the internet brings a wealth of writing resources right into your home, e-books are changing the landscape of publishing, and the world is as hungry as ever for great stories told with humanity and skill.
We hope yours will be one of them.
Anthea Lawson is the pseudonym for a husband-wife team who write spicy Victorian romance. Their debut novel, PASSIONATE, was nominated for a Best First Book RITA in 2009, and their newest book, ALL HE DESIRES, hit the shelves on November 3rd.
Comment below to win a copy of their first book, PASSIONATE. Tell us -What’s the best (or worst!) writing advice you’ve ever received?
Thank you so much Anthea and Lawson! Congratulations on the brand new release!
Number one–check
Number two–check
Number Three–uh-oh
Number Four–check
Number Five–check
Number three is always the serious stumbling block.
I think you forgot a couple of things: timing and luck.
Margaret
–still plugging along
Hi Magaret
Timing and luck are really important and I know in my case it gave me my break.
I see all these steps as being prepared for the luck to come
If we do all these steps, then when luck comes knocking on our door, we are read
Good for your to keep plugging along. Unfortunately, once you sell you still need to do that!
M-C (trying to get some writing done and shut down the internal editor!)
These are great tips! Thank you for sharing them.
Best advice? Nora Roberts about not being able to fix a blank page. Sometimes that’s the only thing that gets my booty in the chair, knowing I can’t go anywhere, can’t make anything good, if there’s nothing to fix.
Thanks for having us at Musetracks today!
Margaret — you are doing everything right – and yes, luck and timing play a part. Keep on getting your work out there in front of agents and editors, and most of all, keep writing!
M-C — I know – being published doesn’t magically make things any easier, does it? Hope you have a great writing day.
Jessica — Nora is such an inspiration, isn’t she? Thanks for sharing your favorite bit of advice.
Anthea,
I know you are really busy with your new release! Looking forward to read your work 
Thanks for visiting today
Jessica,
I love that piece of advice by Nora Roberts. I use it all the time to keep me going
Rules that should be carved in stone – for certain! Sage and straightforward advice and perfect timing to keep me on track. My experience with my writing and advice or comments I’ve received are bitter and sweet.
The worst comment I ever received (not advice, really) came from a close family member who told me I’d never finish anything. It was hurtful, and rather than being motivational (“I’ll show them!”), it led to a non-productive writing funk and the comment lurks in my mind whenever I’m having a tough go of it.
But the best advice I ever received, which came from several different books on writing and craft, was to NEVER talk about your project. As a very loquacious Gemini, I have a bad habit of doing that. And as predicted, every time I do, all the steam is lost and I lose momentum as a result. My current project, which I have not discussed with anyone? Going like gangbusters!
Thanks for the reminders of all the important things. Helps clear away the dross and keep me on point.
Best of luck with promo and sales of both books! Nothing better than spicy Victorian!
Hi to both of you, Anthea Lawson!
Great advice. I’ve bookmarked your suggested site references.
I’ve never had the chance to chat with a writing team. I’ve wondered how it all works. Do you collaboration on one project or do you each work on separate projects and tap into the strengths of the other for ideas and edits after a roughed scene or a completed manuscript? Are there ever differences? Wondering how two minds weave the story into a cohesive unit.
Distilling a story into a few sentences (or a one page synopsis) has always been my bane. There’s lots of books out, but is there one particular reference or online course that you’ve taken and found exceptionally helpful with writing these things? Please don’t tell me your a natural with this!
–John
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Lise,
What great advice, never to talk about project. I havea big mouth too (Gemini LOL) but I have to learn to only talk to John, Jenn and Candi about it.
Plus they are the only only who get truly excited!
I forget to tell Anthea the worse advice I got!
It was from someone close to me, not a writer.
The advice was, if you don’t sell until your fourth-fifth manuscript, why bother working so hard on the first!
Well, I worked hard on it with the assumption that I was trying to learn everything I could and that it would make my fifth so much better (yes I had that nb 5 in my head!)
I did sell my first manuscript so go figure! And I still believe there is so so much to learn!
Lise – Glad you’ve found what works for you! Sometimes there are a lot of hard-edged stumbling blocks along the path. Good for you for keeping going!
Hi John! We fully collaborate on our books – figuring out plot and character and story arc through lots of conversations. Then Anthea writes the first draft, Lawson dives in, and we go from there. (We’ve been doing lots of interviews recently that describe our process more in-depth. Check out our website for the links!)
We agree, writing that short blurb about our books is one of the hardest things! Going to a number of workshops at writer’s conferences about “high concept” helped, but unfortunately, there’s no one reference that stands out. Mostly we just tried different things over and over. It might help you to describe your story to a trusted friend and have them brainstorm it with you – like your Musetracks buddies!
Awww, you put in Harry. I’ve decided that was just for me.
Great article and tips, as always, Anthea! Thanks for the links you included, too. A couple of those were new to me, and I’m excited to check them out.
The best advice I’ve ever received is your #1 – finish the book. Still working on that one, but that is the key.
The worst advice? “Write what you know.” How boring would that be? I much prefer, “Write what you love.” That I can do.
I hope the sales of All He Desires are going like gangbusters! It’s a lush, gorgeous tale, I’m enjoying it very much!
Chassily
Dang! It’s always the #3 that trips me up! I’ve had numerous pieces published via e-pubs. To date, I can’t seem to attract an agent. So, will I see a book in print? Don’t know. It that’s the kingpin to victory, I’d say I’ve got a long road still to tread
Thanks for the info!
Hi. Great blog…concise information. The worst advice I ever got was from a family member (I also got the message: don’t talk about it, don’t show it) who read the first chapter I had started, threw it down and said, “Well, I suppose it’s not bad for a B novel, but why embarrass the family? You should write something decent. And by the way, you DO intend to use a pen name don’t you?” I put that, my very first chapter, away for years and didn’t write much (message here: whatever you do, don’t stop writing!). I write like crazy now, am very disciplined, don’t tell my family what I am doing and life is smooth. This year the very manuscript with my first chapter ever has finaled in numerous chapter contests and won some. Oh, and I do and will use my FULL name, thank you very much
One great piece of advice came from Susan Wiggs when she spoke to our chapter 2-3 years ago. When someone asked a question that about writing to the market vs writing the novel of your heart, she said something close to this:
I have lots of stories in my head. Why not pick one that sells?
Apologies to Susan if I didn’t get it quite right, but I loved this advice.
Margaret Mallory
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