HOOOOOOOO-RAY!

I’ve been doing a snoopy tail wag the past week or so. I want to make sure before I said anything, but…

I got another acceptance. This one is with the ICL Newsletter. ICL is aka ‘The Institute of Children’s Literature’ and I’m a current student there. They have a newsletter you can subscribe to that’s always filled with interesting articles and great market information.

And now I’m going to be included in those pages… W – O – W!

I don’t have a timeframe of when it will appear yet, but it’s in there inventory folder and will be coming. So now that I know for sure -I got my check, YES it was a payable piece wooooohooooo- I’m ready to get moving.

Everyone has got to get up and snoopy dance with me now. *haha*

Hope you hear some good news too.

~Cheers!~

Many writers DO NOT like to revise. But as most of my friends know… I’m weird. So I like to revise almost as much as I like getting a new idea down. ***almost, haha.*** The way I look at it isn’t as much as ‘revising’ but as toning my text up. Giving it some elbow grease to make it shine, kind of thing.

How I go about revising is a process I go through thoroughly. The first thing I do is go over the manuscript in my head. I will read over it one or two times. If anything jumps at me I mark it on the paper. Then I’ll go over it another time, slower. I’ll read a sentence at a time. Then a full paragraph. Again, marking as I go. Once I get to the end of my manuscript, I’ll go and make changes (usually on my computer). Then I’ll read it one more time—this time A LOUD! I’ve found that to be the key. When I’m reading silently my brain tends to fill in gaps and gives some fru-fru of its own. BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT when I read it a loud, there’s NO mistaking. I may stumble or stutter over a word or a sentence won’t ring true with my ears. So, guess what I do???? I make changes as I go. I’ll reread the text again— A LOUD and see if it sounds right. Yeppers, you’re getting the picture. I’ll repeat these steps until it sounds right to my ears.

When I FINALLY get the story ’sounding’ good then I’ll save all my changes on the pc. I usually don’t go over the other text I had saved though. I save it as “The Best Story Ever b” or something to that effect. I learned not to save over the other text the hard way. I had done that and then decided I like the way it was before better, but guess what!?! I couldn’t pull it back up because I had saved my changes over the other text. *WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!* A little help from your friendly neighborhood writer here folks… save changes as a different copy. Then I’ll print it out and set it aside for a week or two.

I think that’s the hardest part of revising. Setting your ‘polished’ manuscript aside and not touching it for a week or two. JEESH! I don’t ask for much, but it feels like a lot. My fingers itch to go over it again. My mind will think of different ways I could change a sentence or two and make them better. OH THE AGONY. But then time passes and I get to lay my hands on it again. *whew! I was sensing a major breakdown there. haha* Now here’s my test… Does it still sound good and feel right when I read it. So with a big deep breath I begin to read my story A LOUD one more time…

If it sounds right still I’m ready for the next step… my critique group. heeeheeeeeheeeee. Bless them. If it doesn’t. Well, it’s wash, rinse, repeat for me. Yep, I go over all those steps above til I get it right. THEN it goes to my critique group. See, they never get away. *ahahahahahahahahaha*

It sounds like a lot of work. Doesn’t it??? ***ya hear that all you peeps who say writing for children is e a s y. pppphhhhhhhhhhhhhhhllllllllllllllllt!*** Ok, sorry. Let me get off my soapbox here. Well actually it is a lot of work. I think that is what makes revising as rewarding as finding a new idea in your haystack! The time and energy you put into a manuscript does come across easy.

But that’s when you know you’ve done your job. ;^D

Happy writing!
~~~T

I’ve been asked all the “who, what, when, where, why” questions and now you get an idea on the low-down from me. All that is my reason, my opinion and it will vary from one writer to the next. That’s what makes us different with our writing and how we approach a topic and how it develops and where it will take us and where it will end. *WHEW!*

But seriously, when you have an idea do this simple step:
!!!GET IT DOWN!!!

Don’t worry if it sounds right. Don’t worry if it’s not in chronicle order. Don’t worry if all your characters don’t have names. Don’t worry about anything, but getting your idea in writing. Just write.

Some of my best ideas come from snipets that I write down. I have a folder (named: IDEAS) and I keep all my confused thoughts *hahaha* in there. Some of them have been there for a while, others not so much. BUT all the same, they may come in handy one day and I’ll use them in a story that I write. Or I might use those ideas for the basis of a story.

Ideas are just that, a jumping off point. Where you’ll go next is up to you. Fiction, non-fiction, short story, mid-grade, magazine piece. See? The possibilities go on and on. The main thing is to always be open to those ideas and when they strike… catch them.

A fellow BlueBoarder of mine has put up a great video on youtube:

 

It’s all about how ‘easy’ most people think it is to get published. This had me from the first notes!!! ***no pun intended;^)*** Gotta love her spunk and cleaverness.

Good luck to all of us out there who believe in magic *~\/~*~\/~*~\/~*~\/~*

Hey everyone.

I have a writing friend/critique partner/buddy that I would like to give a shout out to…

Jennifer Gladen, is one special lady that I know. HEY JEN!!! She has a new e-zine (online magazine) called MY LIGHT Magazine. She sent me a blurb and I wanted to forward. If you can help THANKS!!! If you want to read more about Jennifer, you can find a link to her blog under my ‘writers’ links on the right side of this blog.—> —> —>

Best to all,
~~~Tracey

 

Hey everyone,

 Below is a blurb and a link all about iSearchiGive.  When you select My Light as your cause and begin using the iGive search engine, My Light earns cash. In less than a month – with just me –I’ve earned over $1.00 – I know, I know. It’s not much at all, but it could be more if other people searched along with us. That’s why I’m sending the link and the blurb.  So here it is:

We invite you to begin using iSearchiGive.com every time you search the web. Each search means $0.01 for our cause and while the numbers may seem small at first, we all search the web hundreds of times every month, and our combined efforts can truly add up. And since it’s powered by iGive.com (a site that has been helping causes raise money online since 1997), we know it’s not just a flash in the pan!

Try it today – it’s free! http://www.isearchigive.com/?s=28&c=47177

___________________________
Jennifer Gladen,
Editor, My Light Magazine
http://mylightmagazine.com
http://mylightmagazine.stblogs.com
http://www.igive.com/MyLight
http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/mylight
Author of A Star in the Night (Guardian Angel Publishing Summer 2008)

 

That my friends is a question for the ages. My best answer to that is WHENEVER YOU CAN!

The first 5 years of my writing, I was a stay-at-home mom. I wrote in between naps, dr. appointments, and the usual chores and running around everyone has. It was a juggling act. But when I found myself with 5 or 10 minutes of free time- I WROTE! And if I got to squeeze in 30 – WOW!

Once all my boys were in school I was in uncharted territory for me. I learned to put the extra time into writing and research. I looked up publishing houses and thoroughly checked out their catalogs. I went to the library and got my hands on magazines. I found some topics that I wanted to write on and explored them too.    I still had to learn some tricks though.

I work part time now. So I get some of my writing done in the morning, after hubby is off to work and the kids aren’t up yet. Then I might write some more while I’m waiting for the older twos’ practice to be over. And sometimes I’ll go back to whatever at night, when the kids are in bed.

That’s the trick! WRITE WHEN YOU CAN. No, I don’t write everyday. There are times when I don’t write anything for a week. Don’t sweat it though. There are writers that have to write everyday. Find out what works best for you and stick to it. That’s part of what being a writer is all about. If you want it bad enough, you’ll get it.

Here’s to finding the time for you and me and our writing.

Wow guys!!! I wasn’t planning on posting this morning, but I had to share with you that I’ve been nominated for the

“Brillante Weblog Premio
2008 Award”

Margot Finke nominated my Blog:

Margot’s blog gives great advice and she is a very talented writer.

!!!THANKS MARGOT for choosing my blog!!!!

As a nominee, I must also choose some super blogs to
nominate for the award.

drum roll please…….

Danette Haworth

Alice’s CWIM Blog

Cynsations

Mona Pease

Rules for next recipients of the Brillante Weblog Premio
are as follows:

1. The award may be displayed on a winner’s blog.
2. Add a link to the person you received the award from.
3. Nominate up to seven other blogs.
4. Add their links to your blog.
5. Add a message to each person that you have passed the award on in the comments section of their blog.

So go check out those blogs and have fun writing everyone!!!

Although this could be covered under the who section, I think “what” could delve deeper.

What could be your inner voice. Your voice is what age level your ms come across as. Some writers have a fixed voice… me for instance. I’ve been learning to grow up a bit (hahaha, only a bit though) and find an older voice to write with.

Again this bounces back to the who you are writing for category. If I’m writing a picture book aimed at 5-6 year olds (kindergarten or 1st grade tops) my voice or WHAT I’m writing about will sound different in my writing then when I’m writing for 10-12 year olds (4th-6th graders). I could be covering the same subject mind you, but WHAT I write in the text would be dictated by the age I’m targeting and my voice would be different for each.

I am also going to pass on some old but tried and true advice…

“Write what you know.”

Seriously. It’s one thing you’ll hear over and over and over again with writers. I’ve seen WHAT I’m writing about change as my life changes. Mostly by what my kids are going through. hahaha. They tend to be my inspiration a lot. When I started writing my oldest was 7, the middle one was 5, and my youngest was just born. Now I have two teenagers and the little one will be 9 in a month. YIKES!!! But see how much time has elapsed and imagine just WHAT all I’ve experienced with my children in those few short years. WHAT I learned and know about now has definitely changed. And so has my writing in several way.

What I write about and what you write about are two separate animals. No one writes the same, just as no two people take away the same experience from something they’ve shared together. That’s the beauty of writing to me. WHAT I write… even if we had the same idea… and what you write will be totally different.

Have fun discovering WHAT you are writing about. I do.

I enjoy writing my first draft on paper. I guess I like the feel of the pencil scraping across the paper.
Sometimes I might go through a few drafts on paper. But eventually my writing makes it to my pc. Once it gets there it more than likely goes through a few more revisions before my critique group will see it. If I make any major changes once I have it in the puter, then I will actually create a folder and save them separately. You never know when that first idea might be what you want to go back to. I learned that the hard way of course. ;P

Now as far as the mechanics of how I write. It really depends.
If I’m writing a story (pbs here) I want to get the beginning and ending down pact. I usually know my ending first with some sketchy ideas for the beginning. I used to go helter-skelter, but now I’ve learn the importance of having a outline to go by. And yes, it doesn’t always work. But it does give me a nudge to where I want my story to go, and the pacing and the flow that I want is there and stays on track.
My articles pretty much have an outline no matter what. Your word count is usually less for these and I want to make sure I make the most of them. Non-fiction articles are the ones I depend on my outline the most. I like to squeeze in the most facts and get the best pop for my story I’m writing.
Now with longer pieces… I’m still struggling with those. BUT I’m learning. Being a pb writer you learn “not to do the illustrators job”, where as with a mid-grade or even a chapter book you have more room to be descriptive with your writing. I like reading a book that is rich with description, but I amazed to see just how much work it was to bring that into your text.

Now matter HOW you write, go with what feels right to you. But at the same time be open to other ideas and opportunities to learn HOW to write better. In the end, I think I’m a better writer by seeing, listening, and doing what others have shown me.

Good luck!
~~~T

Hello all.

I’m pleased to post my first interview. I have the privilage to be working with Lynda as she is my editor.
Guardian Angel is an online ebook publishing house. You can purchase their books by visiting http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com. You can also down load their stories on you iPhone or iPodTouch at http://www.fictionwise.com .

I want to send a big THANKS to Lynda for being my first guinea pig… er, I mean guest on my blog.

enjoy!

 

INTERVIEW:

Lynda S. Burch, Publisher

Guardian Angel Publishing

A Glimpse into an eBook Publishing Company

 

Q::: Could you give us some background on you as a person?
A:::I am an author, an editor, a publisher, a mother, wife and a grandmother, in order or importance. I have experiences in so many jobs that you would think I’m a flake. But I like to think I’m well rounded. JI feel sometimes like that old Sinatra song “I’ve been a puppet- a poet- a pawn and a king.” My Dad made the mistake of saying I could be anything I wanted so I took his advice. I was offered music scholarships but turned them down. I sang, played the piano, organ and three clarinets; alto, Bb and the tiny soprano which I’m not sure they even make anymore.
I started out as an English major in college but switched to Biology and Chemistry and started my first job at a large chemical company in research and development. They sent me for training in Pathology at Washington University Medical School then I moved into biological research in environmental health. Since then I have been a photographer, talent agent, in real estate for over twenty years and a R.E. broker since ‘93.
I’ve finally landed where I’m meant to be.

 

Q:::A writer?
A:::I always wrote stories and won contests and had stories tumbling around in my head for years and finally decided to put the words on paper. When I sent my son off to college I took over his computer and taught myself how to use it. I killed it in a storm with a bad surge protector. And set one on fire since then.  I wrote my first 130,000 word suspense novel (Edge of Paradise) in three months and over polished it for the next year. 
I had always made up songs for the kids and started writing them down with the computer so I wouldn’t forget them. The kids’ songs turned into books when I began shooting photos for them and turned into my musical kids books for the computer. I still have over a hundred of them to publish when I get the timeJ over 20 of them are published now at Writers Exchange and GAP.

 

Q:::An editor?
A:::I had done some editorial work over the years and wrote lots of SOP manuals for the lab work so the editing came easy for me although punctuation has changed considerably over time.

 

 

Q:::Why did you decide to go into eBook publishing?
A:::Basically, because no one knew what to do with my musical eBooks. I’d created a genre of kids’ books that the traditional publishing houses knew nothing about. They thought eBooks were a flash in the pan. I got great responses for the creativity of my “unusual” books but “Duh. We don’t know what to do with them” So I learned how to market them myself.

Q:::Can you tell us a little bit about Guardian Angel Publishing?
A:::I incorporated Guardian Angel Publishing in fall 2004 as a sole owner privately held company. I wanted to know the business in every aspect so I built and maintain the website, learned how to market, how to format the books in the various forms they are sold in. I started taking on other authors and artists in Fall 2005 and the progression of company development grew from there. I started with eBooks, added CDs for computers, then print books and now DVD book videos where the author reads the book that can be played on TV.
Our eBook downloads have grown from HTML, FLIP, PDF, Mobipocket, LIT, Palm

Q:::What is the process of being accepted by G.A.P.?
A:::I only take emailed submissions. (No paper; for ease of commenting and editing.) The story has to really grab me. Most poetry doesn’t work for me unless it is exceptional. I can usually tell before finishing the first page if it will work. Nice tight writing, good paragraph structure, educational or moral example teaching will always get my attention. Sometimes we read to kids or if they can read we have them read it.

Q:::What is the process writers can expect once accepted? 
A:::Once a book is accepted and polished until it shines, it sits in queue waiting for an artist. I assign artists one story at a time so they are not overwhelmed and I make sure that the artist can “see” the story and the author appreciates the artist’s style when matching them up. It might take up to a year, maybe less to see the work finally published.  I usually have 12-15 completed books in the ready to publish stack that are complete with art.

Q:::Illustrators?
A:::Our illustrators are the lifeline of the publishing industry for children. They make the words come to life in often spectacular ways. I turn away five times as many artists as I take on. 

Q::: How many titles does Guardian Angel Publishing currently have?   
A:::I think somewhere around 65 and we are publishing 4 a month this year.

Q:::How many are coming out?
A:::That’s a harder number to come up with since we have contracted with so many series books. One series alone has the potential for 60 books and we’ve contracted for 12 of them.

Q:::What do you believe is the best writing advice you can give someone?
A:::I believe everyone has a story they can tell and the best place to start is write the words. Put it on paper (or computer) but write it down.

Q:::What do you think the future is for eBooks?
A:::I think the future is with eBooks. I’ve thought so from the beginning for me since about 1996. Paper books will go away with advent of technology- its just a matter of time.

Q:::Where do you envision Guardian Angel Publishing eBooks going in 5 to 10 years?
A:::I think GAP will be doing great things in the future as we continue to grow and develop and I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish.

Q:::Is there anything else you would like to add?
A:::Guardian Angel Publishing and its authors and artists are an inspiration. I feel blessed to have begun this journey with this great group of “Angels”.