Publisher Looking For New Talent!

You read the title right! Tag Publishing LLC is running "The Great American Novel Contest." Here is the e-mail I received regarding this great opportunity:

"Our publishing company is now accepting fiction. To get the word out, we are running the Great American Novel Contest. We would love for your readers to know about it and submit their work. If you have any questions, please let us know. http://www.tagpublishers.com/contest.html"

Okay folks, polish up your novels and get ready. I visited their website and read a little more information about the contest. To summarize here is the good stuff:

TAG Publishing is looking for the next Great American Novel! Our contest seeks the best unpublished work in 7 different areas of fiction and will award a top prize of $300 to the Best of Show and prizes of $75, $50, and $25 to first, second and third place in each category.

You will need to have your synopsis ready to enter this contest. I know but it's the price we pay to get found. Also included in this contest is the opportunity to be offered a publishing contract.

Visit their website for more information: http://www.tagpublishers.com/contest.html

Blessings in Disguise

What a week! I feel like it's been forever since I last wrote an article for the New Author. I know, it's only been a week but still...this was a long week.

My week got started with a busy Monday at work. It felt like a dog chasing its tail because of all the multiple revisions I did (and continue to do). All of you who follow me on Twitter know exactly what I was doing on Tuesday and Wednesday. My son had surgery on Tuesday and the doctor held him overnight. The thing is he forgot to come back to the hospital on Wednesday to discharge us. Fortunately his assistant was there and we were able to leave around 3:00 that afternoon. This, of course, was during a time when my wife and I got maybe five hours of sleep out of the forty eight. Needless to say, we were both mentally exhausted when we walked in the door.

Thursday was nothing short of a blur. I really don't remember much from that day. Why am I giving you a day to day run down? Even worse, I haven't mentioned writing one single time. I give you the day to day activities to validate my point.

When things are stressful and you feel like you've reached the end of your rope or you're so frustrated by something or just having a horrible day/week for whatever reason there are still blessings around you. This was a good week for me to look at those blessings. I would like to share some with you:

• Blessing number 1 - I have a job to be frustrated with. In this day and age we can't overlook this one.
• Blessing number 2 - I was in a hospital waiting room all day on Tuesday but my son came through the surgery with no problems at all.
• Blessing number 3 - I was able to use that time to write. I actually got a lot done on my revisions. I am currently on the last three pages. This was time well spent while I was waiting and writing kept my mind busy while waiting.
• Blessing number 4 - The joy we felt walking into our home and resting in our own beds.
• Blessing number 5 - This blog. Even though I was down about not posting all week I received this e-mail today and instantly felt better:

"I enjoy your blog. I have read a lot of the articles and they have helped me a great deal. I am a new author and just got a contract for my first book to be published, I am very excited. My publisher said start blogging. It’s about the books.blogspot.com I will link with you hope you do the same"

This e-mail really made me happy and made the day a lot smoother. The fact that this person is a new author with a contract to be published is another blessing for all of us because it gives hope.

I am thankful for all those blessings and the ones I did not list. I can't tell you how much help writing provided me. It was the ultimate example of escape. You would think that my mind would wonder and the writing would be disjointed but it was completely the opposite. I found my flow quickly and ran with it. Even when the nurses and staff came into the room I wasn't bothered. I made sure I knew what they were doing but soon after I was right back in it.

The ability to write is a blessing but even during those times when it is the source of our anger and frustration we are blessed with something to ease it. For example, your young child needed something from you or your significant other coming home from work in a good mood. Maybe it could be as small as watching a hummingbird feed.

You know what amazes me? Those times when we seem to be stuck in a bad situation but by the end it turns out to be a blessing. Take writing for example, we all suffer those times when we get stuck or a character isn't acting the way we want or the flow is off and we get frustrated. These are the times when we really dig deep and focus. We think through how we got in that situation and it happens; a new door opens, a new direction unfolds before us. We journey down that new direction. Not only does everything fall into place but the story is better and stronger than before.

The next time you get angry or frustrated take time to notice the small blessings around you. Don't be afraid to venture through the source of your frustration because you never know what is waiting on the other side.

Have you ever been in a bad situation that turned out to be a blessing?

Can You Have Your Cake and Eat It Too?

We are told time and time again that our writing must be tight, concise and driven. Each word should carry meaning and add to the sentence and scene. It is for this reason that we scrutinize our manuscripts during the revision and editing process; hacking away the words that don't carry their weight. Entire paragraphs are laid to waste with the single stroke of a red pen.

Once we have completed this task and tortured our poor manuscripts to the very edge of their existence we step back and admire the diamond we made from the lump of coal we started with. It gleams with a shine only the sun can match. We are proud of the work we have completed and the goal we have accomplished. After a bit of revelry we move on to the next task at hand; getting it published. This is when we discover an awful truth.

We worked so hard making our manuscripts sharp and polished only to discover through research, conversation or letter that it doesn't measure up. The truly painful aspect about this is that the story is strong, the characters have depth and the writing is solid but the manuscript is not long enough. What? How is that? I spent weeks honing my story only to find out it is too short. What is there left to do? What options are there for me to fix this? Your only option is to go back and add words. Be mindful that those added words need to be concise and add to the novel which is not an easy task at this stage.

I don't know if you have ever experienced this but it seems to be a paradox; a game of cat and mouse if you will. There are publishers out there that require your manuscripts to be a certain word count (typically a minimum of 60,000 words from what I've seen and this was for small publishers). There are agents who think you need to work on your skills if your book is not of a certain word count. In the case of the large publishers there are required word counts for each genre. Yes, that surprised me. Why is that?

I discovered that the large publishers set a standard for themselves. If readers buy books from them that are a certain length then that is what they want to deliver. They fear a shorter book will cause the reader to think they did not get their monies worth. Is this true? If your story delivers the goods will the length of it really matter? In a way I can see their logic in this thinking but is the word count something they should put this much emphasis on or is it something more telling about the story itself?

What is the accepted length (or word count) for genres? Keep in mind, since we are new authors I'm focusing on the word count for debut novels. Here is a general guideline taken from the Guide to Literary Agents blog post prepared by Chuck Sambuchino.

Between 80,000 and 89,999 words is a good range you should be aiming for. This is a 100% safe range for literary, romance, mystery, suspense, thriller and horror. Anything in this word count won't scare off any agent anywhere.

Now, speaking broadly, you can have as few as 71,000 words and as many as 109,000 words. That is the total range. When it dips below 80K, it might be perceived as too short—not giving the reader enough. It seems as though going over 100K is all right, but not by much. I suggest stopping at 109K because just the mental hurdle to jump concerning 110K is just another thing you don't want going against you. And, as agent Rachelle Gardner pointed out when discussing word count, over 110K is defined as "epic or saga." Chances are your cozy mystery or literary novel is not an epic. Rachelle also mentions that passing 100K in word count means it's a more expensive book to produce—hence agents' and editors' aversion to such lengths.

In short:

80,000 - 89,999: Totally cool

90,000 - 99,999: Generally safe

70,000 - 79,999: Might be too short; probably all right

100,000 - 109,999: Might be too long; probably all right

Below 70,000: Too short

110,000 or above Too long

Chick lit falls into this realm, but chick lit books tend to be a bit shorter and faster. 70-75K is not bad at all.

You may wonder where SciFi/Fantasy falls into this list; while it doesn't really. SciFi/Fantasy is the exception to the rule because they tend to run long. When it comes to this genre the target word count is 100,000 - 115,000. It is interesting to point out that Young Adults (YA) are popular and also has one of the shortest word count totals coming in at 55,000 - 69,999.

What does it all mean? Well, it means a couple of things. One, we must always remember that this is a business; when publishers and agents look at our manuscripts they are looking at the story, our writing skills but also at the length. If it is to long then it will cost more to publish; to short and we didn't give the readers enough. The cost of publishing is a big one now a days with the recession and economic problems. I believe the small publishers want that 60,000 to 80,000 mark because that is the comfort zone for giving the readers what they want and keeping publishing costs under control; a win-win sort to speak.

I found this to be helpful information but to be honest you have to write with your passion and what is in your head and heart. If that comes out to be 50,000 words then maybe you can take this information and expand your story but if it comes out to be 150,000 then you also know that you may want to cut it back. You can also stick with what you have and not change it at all. The decision is ours because we wrote the story. I will leave you with one final thought from Chuck on this topic:

You have agents like Nathan Bransford and Kristin Nelson who say that you shouldn't think about word count, but rather you should think about pacing and telling the best story possible—and don't worry about the length. Yes, they're right, but the fact is: Not every agent feels that way and is willing to give a 129,000-word novel a shot. Agents have so many queries that they are looking for reasons to say no. They are looking for mistakes, chinks in the armor, to cut their query stack down by one. And if you adopt the mentality that your book has to be long, then you are giving them ammunition to reject you. Take your chances and hope that excellent writing will see your baby through no matter (and I hope it does indeed break through).

Catching the Flow

I was looking for inspiration for my next article, which happens to be this one. I'm sure it is to everyone's surprise that I found this inspiration while reading a book.

I know all of you have heard, discussed and thought about the flow of your manuscripts but have you ever looked at the big picture when it comes to this very important aspect of writing? I have to admit that I did not. Actually, aside from my writing I never gave it much thought at all. This changed when I read a paragraph about flow yesterday.

Basically this book is talking about happiness, inner peace and self appreciation. No worries, I'm very happy but this book did catch my interest. I'm glad it did because it put the aspect of flow on center stage. By description flow is the feeling of being deeply absorbed in an activity. When we feel the flow it can be said that we are 'in the zone.' Does that sound familiar? I can't tell you how many times I've said that about work.

I know everyone has been in the zone or felt the flow while writing so we all know what I'm talking about here. The other aspect of flow is from the reader’s perspective. How many times have you been absorbed in a book and you check the time only to find that, instead of two hours passing, four or five have passed by? I love it when this happens. That is a sure sign that you are reading a really good book. This is the place we want readers to be with our books.

How do we get there? How do we ensnare their senses and allow them to catch the flow?

I believe it all starts with our ability to feel the flow and maintain it while we write. If our writing flows like water and feels like silk while we write then chances are strong this will be seen and felt when people read it.
We all know it doesn't stop there; our writing needs to be alive it needs to reach out and tantalize the readers. Think of it has hypnotizing the readers through your words. It is the structure of the sentence the twist of the plot.

A friend and I were discussing this last night. We were talking about our favorite books and how the best ones stick with you. We could recall characters and scenes but the one thing that held on the strongest was the fact that once we were done with the book we felt lost. We needed some time to digest all that the book gave us and then remember what our normal routine was. This is the prime example of feeling the flow while reading.

How do we feel and maintain the flow while writing?

This is a tough question to answer because everyone will have their own answer. I can say, to start with, we must be able to focus on one thing at a time. It is more than just focusing on our manuscript instead of what is happening around us. We need to focus on that one scene or that one character or even that one moment. When we clear our thoughts and focus only on this we have the first and most important piece of feeling the flow. Next we need to relax and allow ourselves to write. There are countless numbers of times when we begin to second guess or, worse yet, begin to edit or revise before we even finish our original thought. This will only slow you down and hinder the flow which will make for a rough time of writing.

If need be take a moment to inhale and exhale deeply. Remind yourself to just write your idea. That is all you are there to do. The revisions and edits will come later. Just write. Once you have come back to one thought start again.

I know we have all felt the flow while writing. I have thought many times - I wish I could write like that every night. While, maybe this is the first step to writing like that every night.

What do you do to feel the flow?

Ending The War With Myself - A Review

Title: Ending the War With Myself
Author: Anna “Micky” Land L.P.C
ISBN: 978-1-60477-269-2
Genre: Christian Resource
Pages: 134
Reviewed By: Brian Knight
Official Premium Promotional Services Rating:


Sometimes you are your biggest obstacle to overcome.

What started as a personal journey soon became a source of hope, inspiration and guidance for everyone. Author Micky Land has had the opportunity, due to her profession, to hear the trials and tribulations of others and to share with them the truths she has discovered in her own life. “Ending the War With Myself” is the culmination of those conversations and lessons learned while examining the emotions impacted by internal and external influences that surround our daily lives.

Through the use of poetry, thought provoking questions for readers, inspirational scriptures and exercises geared for self understanding “Ending the War With Myself” is a wonderfully crafted guide for both believers and nonbelievers. The in-depth look at the emotions triggered by the impact of influences of life will have you searching your own feelings from a new perspective. Through this journey of discovering the Lord you will find the answer to questions such as:

• Why don’t I feel connected to God?
• What effects do our childhood experiences have on our emotions?
• I’ve heard of self esteem but what is God Esteem?
• What is the Royale Rule?
• What is the good news of Jesus Christ?
• What does ‘saved by grace’ really mean?

Micky’s experience as a licensed professional counselor enables her to research and deliver her observations and thoughts in a professional yet tender manner that compliments her passion for the Lord wonderfully. With an analytical and honest writing style Mickey displays her quest and motivations with purpose and desire. Her ability to protect those she has counseled yet use the core meaning of their situations gives us a real life example that we are not alone in our struggles; there is hope. For that she is commended.

“Ending the War With Myself” is a powerful resource for both new and old Christians as we navigate not only this world but the battles raging within us.

“Ending the War With Myself” will encourage you to actively search out the Lord through the study of his word and everyday life. He is all around us; waiting for us to open our hearts and trust Him. Then we will see the true meaning of happiness through salvation. If you have asked any of the above questions I highly recommend this book.

Please join Micky on her blog and share your thoughts. HERE
Her book is on sale at Barnes and Noble.

Joining the Old with the New

Sometimes running a blog is a lot like taking care of a house; there is always something to do. I noticed my social networking buttons at the bottom of each post are broken. I have temporarily removed them but have no fear, they will be back soon.

Speaking of taking care of a house I began building an expansion on my shop this weekend. I need more room to store our patio furniture for the winter. Notice I said I need more room to store our furniture. Yep, my wife handed me this duty but at least I get to buy more tools. Anyway, if you've ever added on to a building or watched someone do it you know that not everything is as it seems.

You see, we want everything level and square and sturdy with a new construction but when expanding from an existing structure you hardly ever get that when you start. Often things will settle and become twisted or curved and it is our job to connect the old to the new in a way that is pleasant to look at and structurally sound. I know, you're thinking 'what does this have to do with writing?' Hang in there with me, I'm getting to that.

It occurred to me, while I was in the middle of a major revision on my novel, just how tough it is to merge a new idea to the existing storyline. It is critical that the new blends in with the old in a way that maintains the flow, energy and emotion of the story, plot, and scene. This is much like building an extension on an existing structure. See, I told you I would make the connection soon.

As tough as it is at times, inserting a new angle into the story is also exciting. It is a very fluid experience because we must always be ready to mold or shape it to the existing story. The great struggle is this - where ever we insert the new storyline, be it in the beginning, the middle or end, it will generate a ripple effect of changes throughout the remainder of the novel. It is a challenge but it is one that will cause you to look much more closely at your sentences and the story as a whole.

What should we pay attention to while inserting a new storyline in our story? The easy answer would be - everything but I have a list of a few critical items.

• Characters - if you have removed a character(s) due to your new addition it is critical that you make sure his/her name and comments are removed until that character reappears in the story. Also, make sure the references to this character(s) appropriately fit the scene and flow until you merge back into the original story.
• Emotions - If, by adding the new section, you increase the tension, anger, or any other emotion make sure you show this increase in the actions and words of the other characters.
• Duplication - I have found while revising my WIP that I will use the same words or words very close to those in earlier chapters of the novel. Be careful with this; we do not want to be redundant.
• The Ending - With a new angle or storyline new threads will be present at the end. It is equally important to ensure that these threads are tied up in a way that maintains the strength and delivery of your ending. 

The key, like any other revision, is to take your time. Move slowly through your manuscript and you increase your chances of catching many of the corrections that would otherwise slip through. I know, working slowly is something we are not accustomed to or enjoy doing but it will pay off in the end. I doubt we will or can catch all the needed corrections but getting ninety percent of them is a great start.

Have you inserted a whole new storyline into your project? What was your experience like? 

He Said, She Said

I know, I've been absent for a couple of days but I have a good excuse. It is that time of month, year, and week for deadlines to land on me like a ton of bricks. I'm also a leader at Vacation Bible School this week so that has me jumping as well.

Over the weekend I had the awesome experience of reading the second novel from a friend of mine. It is due to be released in October but the thrill of this read was two-fold. First, it was a really enjoyable read and second, the copy he sent me included all the comments and edits from his editor! When I saw that it was like a bar of gold fell into my lap. Finally, I was able to see what a manuscript looked like after an editor was done and also get to see how they think (at least with this one). It was a learning experience unlike anything else. What did I learn? I could probably spend a week answering that question; I might just do that too. One thing did stick out like a flashing red light in a pitch black room.

The editor pointed out a little issue with the manuscript but it implied so much about the strength of our words and how their placements can either add to the tension and flow of our story or take away from it. This is not a new concept but, for some reason, reading it really reinforced this idea for me. Every word, every sentence and the placement or arrangement of both are important to the overall feel of the story. What issue did the editor point out that brought on such an analysis on my part?

The ending tags of dialog sentences. Here is an example:

Julie grabbed her purse and moved for the door. With her hand on the knob she looked over her shoulder at Roy; still sitting in his favorite Lazy Boy recliner.
"Are you coming or not" she snapped.
"Geez, give me a minute" he replied and lumbered out of the chair.
"It's not like we're going to be late" he added.
"Whatever" she whispered as the door slammed behind them.

While writing a conversation we tend to add 'she said’, ‘he said' or similar words like replied or shouted. These words can help the reader understand who is talking and can also add emotion to the conversation. All of these aspects are good; however, like anything in life, too much of a good thing can be bad. If we use these tags in all of our conversations they can become a distraction and worse yet, they can take away the feel and emotion from the story. The trick is to use them wisely.

When should we use them? It depends on the situation and scene in the story. As the editor pointed out, you want to use these tags during important times in the story. When something important is being said or during a time of tension or other major emotion; this way you can show that emotion during the conversation. Some dialog is used for transitions and some are used to set up a future scene; these are the ones you try to limit your tag use. By not using the tags in this situation you enhance the flow which is good because it will get the reader to the next big scene faster.

What about multiple (more then 2) characters joining a conversation? This will get a little tricky but the same thoughts still apply. If it is important to the story then use the tags; if not then use them only to maintain who is talking to whom. Like I said, this might be a little difficult to do at first.

It is amazing to me how, by adding or not adding two words can add or hinder the flow, feel and emotion of a manuscript. Keep this is mind when you next write and see how it impacts your story.