SOLD! To The Wild Rose Press

Hello Fellow Writers!
I'm thrilled to announce that I've sold a light BDSM erotic romance titled Taste of Candy to The Wild Rose Press. The story will be released in their Scarlet Rose (erotic) line and is a "Rosette" (short).

I tell ya, 2011 is looking up! I can't believe January isn't over yet and I've already got three books scheduled to come out this year, with three different publishers. Hollywood Spank with Ellora's Cave, The Wooden Pony in the Agony/Ecstasy anthology with Berkley Heat, and now Taste of Candy with The Wild Rose Press.

There's more books in the works, too. I've been staying up late every night after my son goes to bed and writing, so I've got three more books written that I'm hoping to do something with, and I've got two short stories out on submission for anthologies (although I don't expect to hear back till August or September on those).

One of the books I wrote is full length (75K) so I'm going to polish it when it comes back from my beta-reader and try to get an agent to represent it. I've been following a few select agents on Twitter and have a very short list of agents who I will query when the manuscript is ready.

I'm looking forward to meeting all the other Wild Rose Press authors on the loops and online. I've heard wonderful things about this publisher from several of my multi-published author friends, so I'm very excited.

And that's my big news :) SQUEE!

How Beta-Readers and Critiques Make my Writing Stronger

Hello Fellow Writers!
I'm loving my beta-readers right now. I write a lot, and I try not to overwhelm any one person, so I utilize the help of several authors before I dare submit anything anywhere. In exchange, I beta-read and line-edit their manuscripts as well.

It's so worth the time I put into it. So, so worth it. Not only do I get a chance to read a hot story before it gets published, but I get to hone my own editing skills by applying them to another author's work. It's easier to spot problems when you're not too close to a piece. That's why there's only so much I can do with self-editing.

I may think I've polished something to perfection, but every single time I get a manuscript back from a beta-reader I learn something new. When I take the advice my manuscript gets stronger. There might be little things I disagree with, and that's fine. I don't need to do every thing they say. But a lot of times I do.

To beta-read/line-edit a manuscript, I do a Save As and rename the document - Title_ShoshannasNotes. Then I turn Track Changes to On and go through the manuscript carefully, line by line. I make comments when something stands out - whether a certain bit is so funny I LOL'd or so hot I squirmed in my seat, I let the author know. I also make comments (using, in MS Word, the Review, New Comments) when I have a question or think something doesn't work. I also fix typos, grammar, etc.

Right now I've got two full length books out with two different beta readers. I just got back a short story from a third, and after revising I'll probably submit it to an anthology tomorrow. It may get rejected, it may not. At this point I've decided that when I get rejections it isn't meant as an insult to me personally. Of course, I prefer contracts to rejections any day of the week :)

In conclusion - yes, I said in conclusion (the 9th grade essay writer in me just made an appearance) if you're getting rejections and you're not sure why, find another writer whose work you admire and ask them to critique your manuscript. Don't get offended by anything - use their comments to make your writing shine!

Computer Word Count Vs Traditional Word Count

Hello Fellow Writers!

I have been driving myself nuts lately trying to figure out if all those word counts we hear about are referring to computer word count or traditional word count. Traditional word count meaning 250 x the number of pages in your manuscript when you use Courier New 12 point double spaced with one inch margins and 25 lines per page.

Why, you ask, am I driving myself nuts? What's the big difference? In my current WIP, the difference is about 13,000 words. Yikes.

One agent blog I follow wants traditional word count. But there was an #askagent on Twitter today (which means you ask a question followed by the #askagent hashtag, and agents answer! Very cool), and three agents all replied that they want to see computer word count. A few days ago I randomly Tweeted about it, wondering if anyone knew, and the overwhelming response was also computer word count.

So there ya have it. Give them computer word count unless they ask specifically for something different.
Hope this helps anyone going through the same confusion as I went through. :)