What It Takes to be Published and Some Links You Might Like

 

Congratulations, Patty! You won a copy of BURNING SKY. Lori will be in touch with how to get it. ;-)

 



Nearly every time I say I'm a writer and that I'm nearing the end of a complete rough draft of my first novel, someone says, "Oh, that means we'll get to read it next year, won't we?"

Er...no. But I also know that when we read books like eating popcorn, we don't have an appreciation of what it takes behind the scenes to get the story into our hands. I know I didn't, but I do now. Here's the best explanation of what it takes that I've ever read. The author is Joanna Bourne, a RITA-winning historical romance writer who knows how to write well and has the ability to teach and explain the craft behind the words. Check out her recent post at her blog post, What to do when you've done what you do. [BTW, if you like historical romance, be sure to check out Jo's Spymaster Series. I promise you'll like them.]

So in answer to my friends' questions on when they can read FRIENDLY FIRE, it will be a while. ;-)

Here's another great post for writers who are having trouble taking the oft-said advice to "Write everyday."  This is from SARK (Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy) at Red Room--There Are Only Two Things to do Every Day. Susan's excellent advice is for all writers, but especially for those who have gotten themselves tied into knots with unrealistic expectations. [Thanks, Cody, for that lovely link.]

And now for the last bit of wisdom I have to share today...In the last couple of years there has been a concerted effort by bloggers to steer away from the copyrighted images that flood the internet. This is from Lara Lancombe [whose debut book, DEADLY CONTACT comes out on November 1] who suggests:

After you run a search on Google images, click the wheel icon on the right of the page.  Then click 'Advanced Search.'  Scroll down to the bottom of the page, and you will find 'usage rights' as the last option under 'Narrow your results by.'

Click on 'usage rights' and you can tell Google to only show you images that are 'free to use, share or modify, even commercially.'

And that's what I did to get the great image for today's blogpost. ;-) [Thanks, Lara!]

And two for the road... The Writing Tools of 20 Famous Authors and Handy Advice. Enjoy! ;-)