Amanda Stauffer’s gorgeous voice had me by about line three of the interview I received from our Author 18 collective. She is fresh and funny and I can’t wait to read Match Made In Manhattan. Amanda’s book is Women’s Fiction, and is published by Skyhorse Publishing. It hit the shelves late January which means I am a bit tardy with…
Tag: publishing
Author 18 – Paying It Forward
I belong to a Facebook group called Author 18. (Made up of traditionally published debut novelists of 2018) I used to belong to 17 Scribes (when I thought my book was coming out last year hahaha) I was bumped to 2018 after some editorial delays (but rather a polished book than a slipshod, one, right?) And here we are with…
The Pantsters guide to NaNoWriMo2017
National Novel Writing Month is around the corner, people. (Strictly speaking it is InterNational Novel Writing month, but no alliteration is boring right?) You don’t need to be a writer to participate, but I can assure you that you will be one afterward. The point of NaNoWriMo is to get in a writing routine (because you are forced to) and …
When you feel like giving up, hold on.
On Friday I decided to quit. No more surfing for me. It’s too hard. Maybe it is because I watched the JBay Open where the surfing was at the level of the gods and showed me where I was on a scale of zero to poop. Or maybe it was because my leash got snagged between my toes just before…
Writing and Publishing are like Apple Pie
Don’t get me wrong. Writing and publishing are not as easy as pie. Nothing could be further from the truth. But writing a book can be like baking apple pie for a tea party. The crowd at the event are the publishers and agents. High flyers. You buy ingredients and you slave over a hot stove. You produce a great homemade pie.…
Between the books with Pamela
I’ve just read Things Unseen, a compelling psychological thriller by Johannesburg based author, scriptwriter, vlogger and Tweeter extraordinaire, Pamela Power. It is published by Clockwork Books. I loved the book, it kept me up at night and guessing right till the end. You can catch up with my review HERE on Goodreads. I caught up with Pamela during the week.…
#PitMad 2016
I entered #Pitmad (and #PitchWars) in 2014 with another manuscript (that I thought was AWESOME). I tweeted, I queried, I cried and I begged, but it was to no avail. So I did some thinking, I took the lessons learned from the contests and the gems gleaned in the rejection letters and I polished them up, nice and shiny so…
10 things I learned in the query trenches
I’m super stoked that I have signed a publishing contract with Literary Wanderlust (a Denver, Colorado based traditional publisher) for my manuscript, A Fractured Land. But the process was not easy. I learned some lessons along the way. If you are in the query trenches, these might help you Twitter is important. The writing community there is warm and…
So, How did I do in Pitch Wars 2016?
I wasn’t chosen. But don’t be sad, because I am not. Not being chosen to be mentored unveils the lovely part about Pitch Wars: Winning isn’t everything. Those who participate are still in the race. But more on that in a moment. I submitted a 250 word pitch and the first ten pages of A Fractured Land to four talented mentors I chose from a…
Feeding the Spark
Breakups hurt more when they are done nicely, don’t you think? For example, if a guy breaks up with you in a mean way it’s easier to cope. If he says horrible things and behaves badly, then you really WANT to walk away. But when he lets you down gently, politely, and is kind and complimentary, then it feels too much like a near miss.…
Melissa A Volker 