My Success Story by Julie Lessman

Both Dawn and I have hosted today's guest on our individual blogs, but more than that, we have become friends with Julie. She inspires us, supports us, prays for us, and we return the favor. May her story of publication and winning awards encourage you this Fortifying Friday.

My Success Story
Julie Lessman

God, help me … when Scarlett seared Rhett with a look on the winding staircase of Twelve Oaks, I was a goner. You see, Gone With the Wind captured me like no other book had done, and at the age of twelve, I immediately set out to write what I hoped would be “the great American novel.” Obviously my dreams of grandeur didn’t go anywhere, but I did write 150 pages of a story that became the basis for my debut novel, A Passion Most Pure.

Fast forward some forty years later—I’m sitting in a beauty parlor reading a Newsweek magazine cover article about how Christian books, movies and music were on the threshold of exploding. My heart jumped, and a little voice said, “It’s time to finish your book.”

So I did. Uh … unfortunately the “little voice” forgot to mention how difficult publication would be. Those who attended the 2005 American Christian Fiction Writers Conference (ACFW) may remember the poor slob who waved her hands wildly in the back of the room when asked who had the most rejections in a year. I won hands-down with 19 and went on to garner a total of 45 in six years. Even my agent, Natasha Kern, blanched a bit when she signed me, realizing after the ink was dry just how many times I’d been rejected. I believe the word she used was “daunting.” But apparently not too daunting for her—she landed me a 3-book contract six months later.

When A Passion Most Pure won Debut Book of the year at the ACFW conference this year, I may as well been stunned by a Taser. There was no way I expected to win, but it certainly drives home a powerful message for every aspiring author out there—although 45 publishers/agents may say “no” … it only takes one to say “yes.”

The Bible says to take it “one day (or one step) at a time, so here are the steps I took on the road to publication. May they help you in your dream to write for Him.

1.) Join ACFW, FHL (Faith, Hope & Love) and RWA (Romance Writers of America) both to connect with like-minded writers and to learn your craft.

2.) Take a fiction-writing class or attend a writing seminar or conference.

3.) Join a critique group (you can do that through ACFW).

4.) Study writing books like Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King or Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass, AND invest in a great thesaurus like The Synonym Finder by Rodale Press (my writer’s bible!!).

5.) Enter contests for feedback, growth, confidence, to network and to get your name out there.

6.) Frequent websites/blogs that deal with writing/getting published such as The Seekers.

7.) Go for an agent first, publisher second.

8.) Last but not least? PRAY your heart out … then put it in God’s hands.

Julie Lessman is an award-winning author whose tagline of “Passion With a Purpose” underscores her white-hot passion for both God and romance. Winner of the 2009 ACFW Debut Author of the Year, Julie is also the recipient of 13 Romance Writers of America awards and resides in Missouri with her husband and their golden retriever. She is the author of The Daughters of Boston series, which includes A Passion Most Pure, A Passion Redeemed, and A Passion Denied. You can contact Julie through her Web site.

Be Courageous

Thursdays - Devotions for Writers

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.
Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged,
for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
(Joshua 1:9 NIV)

I know a young woman who has a beautiful voice. She loves to sing. In the car, around the house, during worship . . .

She’s an extrovert who doesn’t fear meeting new people - or speaking to a crowd.

But this same woman will never sing in front of a small group of people, let alone a large one.

Do you want to know why?

When she was a little girl she was given a solo to sing during the Christmas production at a large church. The evening of the program, the worship center filled with hundreds of people. She’d been excited for weeks to play the role of Mary and sing the lullaby, but while kids got into custom, many of them asked if she felt nervous. When the time came for her to sing, she was terrified. During the song her voice cracked while hitting a high note, and following the performance, several kids teased her.

She’s been afraid to sing alone in public since that night.

We’re products of our past. Our history plays a significant role in how we perceive ourselves and what we can accomplish.

We all probably have memories of at least one failure. One thing that makes us cringe inside every time we allow ourselves to think about it. An event or person who made us feel small, or not good enough.

Our writing life can also be affected when we allow past failures or hurtful comments to paralyze us.

It may take all the courage we have to write the story of our heart, allow a critique group to read it, and then submit it to an editor or agent.

But remember this . . .

You’re a child of God. You have a personal relationship with a King! And He loves you.

You’re special. And He’s bestowed a passion and gift for writing upon you because He has a purpose for you and what you create.

Be courageous enough to follow your calling.
God is with you wherever you go.

Dawn

Domain Names: Picking the Right One by Jim Rubart

If we want to be successful writers, we need to be involved at some level in marketing our work—whether we like it or not. So during the month of November, our Writer’s Journey Wednesdays have been dedicated to a four part series on the subject. Jim Rubart is an author and professional marketer. Please welcome our friend as he shares his expertise with us.

Marketing Series
Part III

Domain Names:

Picking the Right One

http://www.ewegottaluvthissightcauseibuiltit4u.com/

Do you know what makes an ad jingle effective?

• It’s short.
• Anyone can sing the melody.
• It’s easy to remember.

The same three criteria apply to picking domain names.

1. Short - The longer your domain name, the harder it is for people to remember—and the greater chance for mistakes when typing. My author domain name is http://www.jimrubart.com/ My marketing domain name is http://www.barefootmarketing.com/ Each are two words. One word is even better. Amazon. Hulu. Nike. Your author domain doesn’t have to be your name, but it if isn’t chose something short.

2. Anyone can say it in the most common vernacular. In other words, it’s easy to spell. “Hike for Hope” works. http://www.hikeforhope.com/ “Hike 4 Hope” doesn’t. http://www.hike4hope.com/ (Both are real domains.) Uncommon spellings are trouble also. Love is fine. Luv isn’t.

3. It’s easy to remember. I can remember “Advanced Fiction Writing.” http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/ (Editorial comment- excellent site for fiction writers.) It’s hard to remember http://www.ifyouwant2beagreatadvancedfictionwriter.com/ Also, when people think Web addresses they think .COM. Not .NET, .USA, .ORG, etc. It’s similar to toll free numbers. Even though 888 and 866 have been around for years, people still dial 800, even with 866 or 888 staring them in the face. Same thing with domains. If at all possible get .COM. It’s what people will go to first.

One more tip: if you can, buy every variation of your domain name. My friends know me as Jim. But on my novel coming out this April it says James L., http://www.jameslrubart.com/, .net, org, and http://www.jamesrubart.com/, net, org, which automatically forward to http://www.jimrubart.com/. (I also own http://www.jimrbuart.net/, and .org.)

Bottom line? Make sure your domain name keeps the hoops to a minimum. The more hoops you make people jump through to get to your site—or back to your site—the fewer hits you’ll get. A simple test is to tell friends the name of your new site, then ask them a few minutes later what the name of your site is.

If they remember, odds are the rest of the world will too.

Jim Rubart is a professional marketer whose clientele has included ABC, AT&T/Cingular, and Clear Channel Radio. He is also a professional speaker, and writes recurring columns for Christian Fiction Online Magazine. His first novel ROOMS comes out this April from B&H Fiction. http://tinyurl.com/yj7pp2l Jim and his wife and their two teenage sons live just outside Seattle, Washington. You can catch up with him at http://www.jimrubart.com/ and http://www.barefootmarketing.com/

Creative Best Series - Part Six

Net's Notations Tuesdays
Creative Best Series - Part Six

Here’s the next line in our Scripture: (Galatians 6:4, MSG)

Don’t compare yourself with others

Walking the halls at a well-attended writers’ conference is enough to give you an inferiority complex, if you let it. You read the nametags of those you pass and right away accusations come to mind. “What are you doing here? Do you think you can write as well as ----? Who are you trying to kid?”

Ugh!

Reading can bring the same hazard. Pick up a book by your favorite author. She writes in your chosen genre. And she’s fantastic! You don’t read her books, you savor them. You devour them again and again. Her prose inspires you. But accusation comes: “I could never write that well! What am I thinking even trying?”

See how destructive comparison can be? Devastating.

Comparison results in two things:

~ Pride (if you think you’re writing better, which is rather subjective and therefore unsubstantiated)
~ Insecurity, which often leads to defeat

So why bother with comparison?

Sure, learn what you can from others’ work. Learn the craft. Study what they’re doing right and perhaps even investigate things you think they did wrong. But compare yourself with them? Nope. Forbidden.

Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original. (Galatians 5:25, MSG)

Just as you differ from others, your calling differs from another’s calling—even if they are called to write for God. You’d be comparing apples to oranges if you held up your work against theirs. It’s folly.

God knows what He’s doing. He calls us to all run this race of our Christian life. But all faithful servants of God win! Don’t waste emotional energy on comparison. Just be your creative best!

Characterization by Randy Ingermanson, Part 3

Please welcome author Randy Ingermanson as he concludes his series on characterization this Manuscript Monday.

Part Three of Creating: Your Characters Aren't You*
by Randy Ingermanson

It's perfectly OK to inject a bit of yourself in your characters. In fact, I recommend it for every character, even your villains. Give each of your characters some little snippet of yourself, whether it's your tight-trigger temper or your obsession with stamps from Zimbabwe or your amazing skill at juggling buffalo chips.

You have plenty of interesting quirks and character traits to go around for every character you ever write. Your characters are like your children, and each of them should get some bit of your DNA.

My rule of thumb is that none of my characters should "inherit" more than about a third of their traits from me. I have no idea how much inheritance is too much, but I prefer to be cautious, so I try not to go over a third.

I've written several major characters who were physicists. Another was a software engineer, another an archaeologist, another a novelist. All of them shared a major interest with me. But I never thought of any of them as "me plus a little extra," because I've always started with somebody who was fundamentally different from me and then added chunks of myself. I think of my characters as "somebody I'd like to hang out with, because we have a major shared interest."

Now here are some questions you might want to consider for the novel you're working on right now:

* How much does your lead character resemble you? Will your readers wonder if that character is secretly you? Is it possible that this character is more nearly your clone than your child? Does your character have some trait that makes it clear that he or she can't possibly be you?

* How much of your DNA does your villain inherit? Is there nothing in your villain that you can relate to? Is it possible that you might be better able to empathize with your villain by giving him or her some valued trait of yours?

Fiction is a pack of lies that masquerades as truth. Don't risk spoiling your carefully crafted lies with too much truth -- or with too little.

Randy Ingermanson earned a Ph.D. in physics at U.C. Berkeley, which is a wretchedly lame excuse for his friends to have dubbed him a “Mad Genius,” but life isn’t always fair. He is the award-winning author of six novels and one non-fiction book. Randy publishes the world’s largest electronic magazine on the craft of writing fiction, the FREE monthly Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine. His ultimate goal is to become Supreme Dictator for Life and First Tiger and to achieve Total World Domination.

*Award-winning novelist Randy Ingermanson, "the Snowflake Guy," publishes the Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine, with more than 17,000 readers, every month. If you want to learn the craft and marketing of fiction, AND make your writing more valuable to editors, AND have FUN doing it, visit http://www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com.

Download your free Special Report on Tiger Marketing and get a free 5-Day Course in How To Publish a Novel.

My Success Story by Liz Johnson

Dawn and I met Liz at the recent ACFW conference in Denver and immediately connected. While we sat together at a meal, we discovered she's newly published. Dawn asked her if she'd like to appear on the blog and share her success story. This Fortifying Friday, please welcome new author Liz Johnson to Seriously Write. And may you be encouraged by her story.

My Success Story
Liz Johnson

My first novel, The Kidnapping of Kenzie Thorn, is all Kelly Blewett’s fault.

I met Kelly in the fall of 2006 when I moved to Colorado Springs. We worked together as publicity assistants, and as we spent an inordinate amount of time together, I found in her a kindred spirit, another book lover. We spent hours together talking about our favorite stories.

And then one day in the office workroom, I mentioned that I’d started working on a novel. Well, actually I was just playing around with it, but Kelly demanded to know what my story was about. I was hesitant to tell her too much. After all, writing a real novel had always seemed like an unattainable dream. Sure I loved to write. I just didn’t have the skill to really put a book together or the discipline to complete it.

Kelly begged to differ, so I told her about a woman named Kenzie who taught a GED class in a prison and the prisoner who kidnapped her. The details were still fuzzy, but the characters spoke to my heart.

I told Kelly I didn’t have the time or energy to write. I worked full-time and was still trying to get settled into a new city. She disagreed. Despite my excuses and doubts about my own abilities, she became my accountability buddy. “Did you write last night?” was her daily greeting. I couldn’t let her down, so I found myself setting up a calendar and writing at least three nights a week.

After three months, I looked up to discover a completed manuscript. In October of 2007 I sent off my unsolicited proposal to Steeple Hill. My chances were slim. I knew that, but I still held my breath, and Kelly held my hand as we waited to hear back.

In December I heard back. They couldn’t accept my manuscript. There was a major plot point that didn’t meet their guidelines.

But I could fix that.

So I sent a thank you note saying that I was willing to make the required change.

Two weeks later came a letter requesting to see the full manuscript. Oops! I still had to make that change. So I disappeared for a couple days until the problem was solved. Or so I thought.

The editor at Steeple Hill liked it. But not enough to offer a contract. Would I make more changes? I was happy to.

We went back and forth like that until July 2008, at which point I was so tired and just wanted a resolution. I was in Orlando on a business trip with Kelly when I received a voicemail from my editor. Would I call her back right away? Waiting for a spare moment to return that call was one of the longest days of my life.

When I was finally able to make that call, I sat on the floor with my knees up to my chin, hands shaking so badly that I almost couldn’t read the notes I was taking.

A year later, my first novel hit the store shelves. And in that book is a little, white dog named Henry—just like Kelly Blewett’s own pup. I added Henry to the book to thank her in some small way for speaking truth into my life when I couldn’t see passed my own doubts.

Without Kelly I would never have written the story God placed in my heart. So, you see, The Kidnapping of Kenzie Thorn is all her fault.

Liz Johnson writes about love and such from her home in Colorado Springs. By day she’s a full-time book publicist. By night she’s a writer, ice skater, and lover of the theater. She enjoys making frequent trips to Arizona to dote on her nephew and nieces. Her first novel, The Kidnapping of Kenzie Thorn, is available now from Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense. Her second novel, Vanishing Act, is due out in September 2010. Visit her online at www.lizjohnsonbooks.com.

It's Not About You

Thursdays - Devotions for Writers

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient,
bearing with one another in love. (Ephesians 4:2 NIV)

Annette and I have attended various writer’s conferences together over the years. Some were held locally, while others required traveling a distance. All have offered wonderful opportunities to learn and grow - and not only in the areas of craft, marketing, or the publishing arena.

Here’s an example.

It’s custom for editors and agents to be assigned a table during lunch during the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) conference. It gives writers a chance to ask a few questions and share their latest project with the host.

At one of these conferences, Annette and I sat together, waiting for a particular editor to join us. Before the editor arrived, a multi-published author spent a considerable amount of time talking about her books and other accomplishments, never once inquiring about anyone else’s work. Upon arrival, the editor sat in the seat saved for her, next to this author, who monopolized the editor’s time for almost the entire time allotted for lunch.

I watched the people around the table. It was obvious they didn’t want to be rude and interrupt the author, but it was also clear they were anxious, and getting more so as lunch progressed, nervous they wouldn’t have a chance to speak to the editor, themselves. Finally, during the last few minutes, the editor was able to devote attention to the rest of people sitting around the table.

Stunned that a known author would be selfish enough to take that much time away from writers trying so hard to break in, I pulled myself back. I didn’t know what was going on in this person’s life. Perhaps her boldness was a sign of insecurity in a publishing world that has grown more and more competitive.

At this same conference, Annette and I were able to spend enjoyable time with a writer we’d met the previous year. It wasn’t until I discovered three of her books in the conference book store did I realize she was published. She’d never mentioned it. Nor did she initially confess to being represented by one of most coveted agents in the CBA market.

Instead, this author spent time getting to know us. She asked about our work, our lives. We laughed and joked around together. There was a genuine interest in developing friendship.

Wow. What a contrast.

You see . . . it isn’t about “us.”

It’s about who we serve. And if we’re truly serving God by offering our gift of writing, then it’s about Him. It’s about ministering to the reader. It’s about providing an experience that touches and changes lives.

Many writers get that.

Annette and I have been blessed by many authors who have been willing to share their knowledge with us – not only at conferences, but here. On this blog. With you.

They don’t have to. They have plenty to do, believe me. But they understand that the bottom line is that we’re all in ministry together.

We need to be confident enough in our writing that we’re willing to share it. And marketing ourselves and our work is an important part of the business.

But we also need to walk that fine line of being humble and knowing where our success comes from.

Cause it isn’t about you. It isn’t about me.

It’s about Him.

Keep the focus, dear friends.

And have a great week.

Dawn