Inspirational Editor

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 18:50:00 +0000

Announcing the release of Miralee Ferrell's Love Finds You in Sundance, WY (and free stuff!):

I’m so excited and I just had to share this with you! My new book, Love Finds You in Sundance, WY is releasing in just under two weeks. You’ve been so supportive of my writing, and I’d like to do something nice for you this time around. I put together a little ‘thank you’ package of four gifts for buying my book….. first…what are they?

1. A four page epilogue for the new book. We were running tight on word count and I wasn’t able to write an epilogue to show what happens in the future. Yes, the book ended fine, no problems there, but I LOVE an epilogue that wraps up little details I always want to know about, don’t you? So I wrote one just for YOU—My reader friends who support me.

2. A fun page of 80 boy and girl baby names in the order of popularity used in 1889, when Angel Ramirez was riding the range near Sundance, WY. You can check it out and see if your child, grandchild, or your name was popular 120 yrs ago!

3. A Sneak Peek at the full first chapter of the current book I’m working on, another historical romance. Yep. You will be the ONLY ones in the general public who get to read this chapter before it comes out. It won’t be available anywhere else.

4. FIVE pages of my favorite recipes! Some are older ones that my mother and grandmother used, some more current, many are desserts, a couple of ones for canning, and a couple of bread recipes. Yummy!

PLUS----If you take part, your name will be entered in a drawing for a $5 Starbucks card and a $10 Amazon gift card….you could win both, which will repay you more than the book cost. Not bad, huh?

If you’ve already pre-ordered my book let me know, I’ll still give you the gift package. Or if you get one from me personally but want to help spread the word, that would be a huge help. Maybe you can pass this email along to your email list as well as FB and your blog?

So how do you get all this? Simply mark your calendar for August 1^st. Anytime that day go to Amazon and purchase my new book, then send me (to this email addy, miraleef@gmail.com) a copy of the receipt you got from Amazon.

Would you like extra entries in the drawing as well to increase your chance of winning? Go to my blog and post a comment on any of the posts about the purchase of my book (one just posted today) at www.miraleesdesk.blogspot.com and let me know you plan to take part.

That gives you one extra entry.

Follow/subscribe to my blog and let me know you did. That gives you another extra entry.

Blog about what I’m doing, or post it on Facebook with a link back to my blog. That will give you yet another entry!

Now, here’s the summary of my new book, with the link below it to Amazon. But BE SURE you wait to order until Aug 1^st to qualify. I’m hoping to get a BIG bump on Amazon ratings by everyone buying the same day. Here’s the Amazon link:

Click here for Love Finds You in Sundance, WY

Angel Ramirez is tired of living a lie. But can she live like a lady?

On the run from a dangerous outlaw, Angel works her way across several states disguised as a boy and working as a varmint tracker and horse wrangler. After taking a job on a Wyoming ranch owned by a bachelor and his widowed sister, she finally reveals her true identity and must fight to prove her worth as a ranch hand while somehow discovering her role as woman.

Hiring a woman doesn’t sit well with Travis Morgan, and the dark-haired beauty is causing a ruckus among his cowboys. Just as Angel decides she’ll never be able to please her boss, an unexpected surprise arrives from across the ocean and makes trouble on the ranch. Will Angel leave with the person who’s come so far to claim her?

Miralee Ferrell

www.miraleeferrell.com

Love Finds You in Sundance, WY—

4 1/2 Stars Romantic Times

As always, happy writing! ☺

Love Finds You in Tombstone, Arizona by Miralee Ferrell

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:26:00 +0000

Per my statement about not reviewing books I've edited, this post is not a review, it's simply me talking about a book that I like and have edited.

Love Finds you in Tombstone, Arizona by Miralee Ferrell

First impressions:

The cover has a nice historical feel. It looks a little brighter on my computer screen than it is in real life, where there's a bit of blur that gives the impression of dust in the air.

Don't you just wish you had a twirly, lacy parasol? I do.

Inside the book, every page has a postmark stamp with the location and year. Brilliant move on the part of Summerside Press! I can't tell you how many times this has saved me from flipping back to the first page to remind myself of the year the way I tend to do every chapter or so in every historical novel I read.

There's plenty of extra material detailing the author's research and her visit to Tombstone, AZ as she was researching the story, and it's just as fascinating as the actual novel is.

The pages are a nice off-white that's easy on the eyes, and the type is well spaced. I read a lot, and this stuff is important to me. The publisher respects my eyes.

The characters:

Christy is a heroine you automatically love. No matter what's going on around her, she cares about the people she's with. But she also has lines she won't cross. She's caring, but she has an inner strength that makes her a very appealing heroine. She also used to be a saloon girl, which gives her a well-rounded outlook on the world.

Nevada just can't get a break. He's a gunslinger who hates what he does, but every turn he takes, he has no choice but to draw his weapon. Watching him struggle to leave his past behind him is both entertaining and poignant.

The takeaway value:

If you want a solid plot, engaging characters, and a faith journey that's powerful without being preachy, you'll find it in Love Finds You in Tombstone, Arizona.

As always, happy writing! ☺

This Doesn't Count as a Microsoft Word Document

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 19:15:00 +0000

I know "my" authors would never do what I'm about to describe, but maybe you can help me get the word out—because it appears some people still haven't heard.

It's bad. It truly is. It will not endear you to anyone in the publishing industry.

Ready?

Scanning a physical copy of your manuscript/book and saving the images with a .doc extension does not, in any conceivable way, make the resulting file suitable to submit to an editor. Do not do this. Ever.

Please pass it on.

As always, happy writing! ☺

The Chicago Manual of Style 16th Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 20:49:00 +0000

The eagerly awaited The Chicago Manual of Style 16th edition is here. As in right here on my desk, showing off the shiny little gold 16 on its spine.

Excuse me for a moment while I swoon . . .

A couple notable changes from the previous edition:

Web site is now website. One word, just like it's written in the real world.
Multiple-word adjectives describing color are now hyphenated before a noun, which is more in line with CMOS's typical hyphenation guidelines.

I normally would've gone straight to Amazon.com to buy my new CMOS, but a friend sent me a link to an online bookseller I'd never heard of before: Book Depository (thanks, Peg). A quick Google check indicated it's a legitimate company, and the prices are comparable to Amazon's, so I thought I'd try it. The book was delivered in about a week, with free shipping (all the way from the UK). Pretty nice.

As always, happy writing! ☺

Lynne Wells Walding

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 19:02:00 +0000

I'm excited to announce that Inspirational Editor client Lynne Wells Walding has sold her debut novel, a poignant tale of transcendent love and gritty (and often funny) spiritual warfare, to Sheaf House Publishing.

Lynne is a brilliant new voice in Christian fiction.

As always, happy writing! ☺

Creativity in Revisions: fixing repetition

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:22:00 +0000

Sometimes when I'm editing and I run across repetitive use of a word, I'll type in a suggestion for alternate wording. Other times I simply highlight the repeated words.

Either way, choosing the new wording is completely up to the author.

What I've noticed, though, is that when given a specific suggestion for wording, authors will accept the suggestion more often than not. But given just the highlight to indicate there's a repeated word, they'll come up with a unique turn of phrase that enhances the scene on several levels.

As an editor I can't completely refrain from suggesting wording to illustrate a concept an author needs to convey. But starting today I'm sticking with using only a highlight to indicate repetitive wording. The result is so worth it.

Happy writing!☺

Simultaneous Submissions

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:44:00 +0000

Some writers, especially newer writers, don't like the idea of publishers forbidding simultaneous submissions. Response times, after all, can be several months. The writer's thinking is that by giving each of, say, ten publishers an exclusive reading period, she could easily have five years' waiting time invested in a single manuscript. That sounds horribly unfair, right? Maybe not.

Acquisitions editors transfer from publisher to publisher. Agents become editors and vice versa. People in publishing generally have excellent memories, and one thing that's sure to stand out for them is falling in love with a story only to be told, "Sorry, I know your guidelines clearly forbid simultaneous subs, but I chose to be unprofessional and I ignored them."

How do you think that editor is going to view future submissions from that author? Not so positively, hmm?

So what can you do to mitigate the wait times for submissions? Write. Write the next story, and the next and the next. Make a list of suitable publishers for each story you write so that if a story is rejected, you know where to send it next (it'll keep you motivated). If you get a personalized rejection with feedback, use it to strengthen the story, then immediately send it to the next place on the list. Keep a submissions log so you know exactly where each manuscript has been and where it is now.

With five, ten, or more manuscripts circulating at all times, and more in the works, you won't have time to obsessively check your e-mail for editors' responses. You'll be too busy doing what a writer does—writing.

As always, happy writing. ☺

Laurie Alice Eakes Finals in the 2010 Carol Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:37:00 +0000

Congratulations to Laurie Alice Eakes for being a finalist in the 2010 Carol Contest (formerly the ACFW Book of the Year Contest) for her short historical novel The Glassblower (winners will be announced Sept. 10 at the ACFW conference).

Rosemary Trible: Fear to Freedom

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:02:00 +0000

I had the honor of working with Rosemary Trible on her nonfiction book, Fear to Freedom, an account of her journey to forgiveness and freedom after a horrifying attack.

"Does fear hold you back from living with freedom and confidence? Does anxiety rob your joy? Rosemary Trible was a successful young woman, a television talk-show host with a husband on his way to becoming a U.S. Congressman, when she was savagely raped at gunpoint. Even though she recovered physically she found that her attacker had not only brutally violated her, he had stolen her joy and her ability to live without terror and fear. Her book deals with sexual assault, terror, forgiveness and healing. It's about big dreams, the death of dreams and becoming bold enough to dream again and make a difference in the world for good. It's about growing out of cultural boxes, moving into racial reconciliation and building friendships that only God could make possible."

Today CBN aired an interview with Rosemary that will touch your heart (it's in the second half of the show embedded below).

To learn more about Rosemary, see her bio.

Kelly Irvin's TV Interview: A Deadly Wilderness

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:50:00 +0000

Edited: The embedded video was upgraded to a digital version.

I know I've been talking about Kelly Irvin's A Deadly Wilderness lately, but oh my goodness, it's so exciting to see a friend's book do so well. Currently the book is in its third printing, and it was released less than a month ago. Kelly's getting loads of great reviews, and now she's on TV. I couldn't be prouder. Check out her interview. : )

Laurie Alice Eakes: More Sales

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:00:00 +0000

I'm tickled to announce three forthcoming titles by historical author Laurie Alice Eakes.

Bride of the Mist:

A young midwife mourns her lack of spouse and children and spends too much time wandering along the seashore imagining a man she can love will step out of the mist. But when one does, he is a better candidate for villain than hero.

Revell, Sept. 2011

New sales:

Bride of the Sea

In 1813, a midwife determines to protect her friend and patient; the expectant mother determines to free her husband from an English prison; two men determine to get revenge for past wrongs.

Revell, Sept. 2012

Bride of the Land

A young woman trained as a midwife to follow family tradition doesn’t want to practice, so takes a position as governess in the Virginia mountains. Instead of the peace she seeks, she finds herself in the middle of a deadly family feud.

Revell, Sept. 2013

Another Great Review for A Deadly Wilderness

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:47:00 +0000

Kelly Irvin is racking up great reviews for A Deadly Wilderness.

"Début author Kelly Irvin captures our attention instantly with a terrifying prologue that draws her readers into a suspenseful tale of intrigue, murder, greed and passion."

You can read the rest at Single Titles.

Moderated Comments: What do you think?

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:36:00 +0000

The Inspirational Editor blog has had a few off-color comments, which I promptly delete. But one reader pointed out that if you're signed up to receive comments via e-mail, you're likely to get the icky ones before I can delete them (thanks, Peg).

So I'm leaving it up to you, dear readers. Should I leave comment posting the way it is or set it so you need to enter a captcha in order to comment?

The Killer Gene: Kelly Irvin on Murdering Characters

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:47:00 +0000

Release date for romantic suspense author Kelly Irvin's A Deadly Wilderness: T minus seven days. And Kelly's back for another guest post to get you in the mood for murder and mayhem. Take it away, Kelly!

As a romantic suspense writer, I often contemplate the problem of the soggy middle in my work—and the work of others. The recommendation frequently tossed about for this ailment is to kill someone off. It works quite nicely if you can find a reason for the knife in the back or the bullet to the head that propels your plot forward. In my case, the victims are generally secondary or even tertiary characters in whom I’m not really invested or the reader hasn’t had time to really get to know so it’s not going to break their hearts or mine. A book I read recently made me ponder if I’ve been cheating readers out of a truly mind-blogging emotional, visceral experience by not allowing myself to consider the death of a major character.

I’ve written lots of murder scenes, but I wonder, do I lack the killer gene? I rarely read outside my chosen genre, but anytime Allison Pittman has a new book out, I rush to buy my fellow San Antonio novelist’s work. Her latest novel, Stealing Home, broke my heart—in a good way. I won’t say much because I refuse to be a spoiler, but suffice it to say, a tragedy occurs that I didn’t see coming until it hit me between the eyes. I found myself grieving over it even after I finished the book. As an author and writer, I was astounded by Allison’s fortitude in writing it. She says she agonized over the necessity of the death. She looked for ways to avoid doing it. But she realized it was necessary to allow the other characters to reach their destinies.

I searched my memory banks, but I could recall only a few other novels where the death of a character affected me so deeply. Karen Ball’s novel, Shattered Justice, comes to mind. Dan Justice suffers a tragedy that is unbearable for me to think about even years after having read the book. But it caused me to ask myself what I would do in Dan’s situation. Would I forsake the God I believe in? Would I seek revenge? Would I lay down and die from the sheer agony? In Dee Henderson’s O’Malley series, the death of a major character is from natural causes and not unexpected, but still devastating. Again, it forced me to consider whether I can continue to believe in God even if He doesn’t answer my prayers in the way that I think He should.

I wonder if I could kill off a character I love in order to allow a story to ring true and stands up for what it believes. It may be time to find out.

Romantic Times 4 1/2 Stars for Miralee Ferrell

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:33:00 +0000

Congrats to Miralee Ferrell for her 4 1/2 star review from RT for Love Finds You in Bridal Veil, Oregon!

Writing—What I Learned Along the Way

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:49:00 +0000

This is debut romantic suspense author (and awesome critique partner) Kelly Irvin's third guest post. Kelly's novel, A Deadly Wilderness, is earning rave reviews. Check out what Publisher's Weekly, Bruce Judisch, and Harriet Klausner have to say.

The closer I get to having a published copy of A Deadly Wilderness in my hands, the more I seem to reflect on how it happened. One minute, like the refrain goes, I’m wishing and hoping and dreaming, the next I’m looking at an advance review copy that has my name on it and my words in it. An overnight success? Hardly. So I’m looking back at the circuitous road that brought me here and sharing with those of you who are still jogging out there some thoughts on how to get across the finish line.

It started with six years of butt-in-chair in front of a laptop, tears, rejections, rewrites of rewrites, and more than one attempt to quit. I discovered I couldn’t quit. No matter how low I got, I still kept writing. And that’s where I start my advice to other writers still looking to be published. Don’t quit. Unless you can. If you can, stop torturing yourself. If you keep writing, allow yourself the joy of writing for itself. Yes, most of us want to get published, but we shouldn’t let that rob us of the sheer joy of getting the story on paper.

The next stumbling block in the road for many of us is time—the time to write. Not many of us can quit our day jobs. I’m a public relations professional which means I work 40-plus hours a week. I also do contract proofreading for two district court reporters. And I have a husband, two teenage children, two cats and a tank full of gold fish. When do I write? At six in the morning before work, for an hour at lunch (as I’m doing now), and whenever I can on nights and weekends. I’ve learned to sit down at the laptop, put fingers on the keys and simply go. Take advantage of whatever time you have. Do this every day until you have a finished manuscript.

I thought once I finished my first manuscript, I was ready to hit the big time. After a few rejections, reality set in. Just because I could put words on paper, didn’t mean they were good. I had to learn to embrace the rewriting process and seek ways to improve my work. A critique group is an absolute necessity. Without Peg and Susan and Angela, I would still be waiting for a contract. Writing conferences are helpful. Contests can be helpful. Anything you can do to improve your writing, do it. Finish the book and then polish it. Lovingly and thoughtfully and carefully.

The next step is to seek an agent. Today few publishers are accepting unsolicited manuscripts. I found my agent through on-line research. I queried her, she asked for fifty pages and a synopsis (have one ready to go), then she asked for a full manuscript. A few months later I had a contract. An agent gets your work in front of publishers. That’s the bottom line. The only time you can do that is at conferences when you get a fifteen minute pitching slot. Agents can do it year around.

Now I have a publisher. All done? Nope. It’s a one-book deal. Yes, I’m thrilled that A Deadly Wilderness has been reviewed favorably by Publisher’s Weekly. That bodes well for sales and has even resulted in film rights being sought in some cases. It’s all very exciting, but in the meantime, I’m still sitting down at my laptop everyday and writing. Because that’s where the real joy is. So enjoy the journey. See you at the finish line!

Susan says: I'm preordering A Deadly Wilderness at Amazon. ☺

Interior Monologue—the tool writers love to hate

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:07:00 +0000

Romantic suspense author and my good friend and critique partner Kelly Irvin is back for another guest post. Today she discusses interior monologue. Her debut romantic suspense novel, A Deadly Wilderness, is now available for preorder on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. You may want to arrange your schedule so you finish reading it before dark. I'm just saying.

Take it away, Kelly.

I used to think I hated doing interior monologue. I mean all that stumbling around inside a character’s head. It’s hard enough figuring out what the people you know and love think. Now they want us to know what cold-blooded assassins are thinking or the guy who cheated on his wife (I think we’ve pretty much got that one figured out) or the mother who just lost a child.

With more than a half-dozen manuscripts under my belt, I’ve come to realize that interior monologue is a writer’s goldmine. We are fortunate as novelists to have at our disposal a weapon that filmmakers and TV script writers can’t use. We can usher our readers into the minds of our characters and let them eavesdrop.

Why is that so important? Because it develops our characters. We can show their motivations and their internal conflict. We want our characters to be realistic and people don’t go around baring their souls aloud to just anyone—especially men. I’ve been guilty of making my guys do a lot of talking. Wishful thinking, I guess. Just because they don’t say it, however, doesn’t mean they aren’t thinking it. Being able to show their angst is a gift for a writer trying to make readers understand and care about their characters.

It’s also a very cool plot tool. The readers gets to drop in just as a character realizes something new, puts clues together, reacts to a situation, all of which could lead to the character doing something different, altering his strategy.

That doesn’t mean you want pages and pages of oozing emotion to the detriment of moving the story along. That’s the part readers skip. And readers are smart. They get it the first time, so don’t repeat four-hundred-fifty times the fact that your heroine loves the hero but she can never be with him because she thinks he loves someone else. We get it and I’ll be very tempted to put the book down or throw it against a wall.

My other pet peeve is when writers use their characters to espouse their real world personal opinions. If your character is a Texan who drives a monster truck, hunts deer, and has a gun collection that fills his living room, then yeah, he can argue in favor of concealed guns being allowed on college campuses while drinking a beer from a mason jar in a bar where you throw the peanut shells on the floor. The former cheerleader soccer mom from Massachusetts—not so much.

If you want to experience great use of interior monologue, read Julia Spencer-Fleming’s I Shall Not Want. (It’s also a great study in multiple points of view). Another good one is Earlene Fowler’s Steps to the Altar.

One more thing. I hate to state the obvious, but just in case: Don’t put interior monologue in quote marks. It’s thought, not spoken.

Bottom line on interior monologue, if it doesn’t contribute to the plot or your character’s development, hit the delete key. Done right, it gives the reader a deeper, richer experience that makes them remember characters long after they shut the book. And they’ll be much more likely to pick up the next one they see with your name on it. Happy emoting!

Voice: Just listen. You’ll know it when you read it

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:42:00 +0000

Please welcome guest blogger Kelly Irvin as she discusses voice. Kelly's debut novel is a spine-tingling romantic suspense set in San Antonio, A Deadly Wilderness. Publishers Weekly calls it a "solid romantic suspense debut" with a bad guy who's "all too chillingly real."

Here's Kelly . . .

At the last meeting of my local writing group, we talked about voice. One of the members looked around, her face puzzled, and said, “Can I ask a stupid question?” Being assured that there are no stupid questions among friends, she asked, “What’s the difference between voice and point of view. Character, in other words.”

It’s a tough question. I know voice exists because I know it when I see it. I would know Janet Evanovich’s work even if her name wasn’t on it. Same with James Lee Burke with his rich rolling thunderous passages of narrative that pick me up and slap me down right in the middle of New Iberia, Louisiana, or the filthy, ugly back streets of New Orleans. No one writes alcoholic binges or criminal intent like he does. Each one of his characters is distinct and gorgeously drawn. Every time I read one of his books I say to myself, I want to write like that.

Those of us at the table who have written published novels all agreed that we have distinctive, if still developing, voices. One author says she has a rather masculine voice, and her editor is always asking her what her characters are thinking and feeling because it rarely shows up on the page. I’m the opposite. My characters emote all over the place. But that’s really not my voice. My voice is in the words I choose to use. For example, in A Deadly Wilderness, there’s a time when a hung-over alcoholic cop takes a drink from a water bottle “like there isn’t enough water in the great state of Texas to slake her thirst.” Now others wouldn’t have said it quite like that. Some might have said she sucked it down greedily or gulped it like she couldn’t get enough. Or any number of other ways. Yes, I had to think about whether my POV character, the protagonist, would think like that. Now Ray is a vociferous reader, a theologian, and a bit of philosopher. So, yeah, I can get away with having him think the word slake.

The important thing to note here, is I didn’t sit down and try to come up with this particular phrase. It just came in the throes of the writing, as do the metaphors, like Ray watching Deborah work as a cop and thinking she was like a ballerina driving a bulldozer. You would’ve said it differently. Because your voice is different.

The bottom line, I think, is that you cannot teach voice. A writer’s voice is her own. In Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Rennie Brown and Dave King conceded that a strong, distinctive, authoritative writing voice is something most fiction writers want—and something no editor or teacher can impart. It is . . . something any writer can bring out in himself or herself. But oddly enough, you can’t bring out your writer’s voice by concentrating on it.”

Members of our group struggled with that. They wanted to make lists of phrases used by other authors and use them in their WIPs. They wanted exercises they could do that would bring out their voice. The best way, Brown and King agree, to bring out your voice, is to write. And listen. Listen to your words, the rhythm of your sentences, the vividness of your verbs, the colorful way you bring that fictional word to life. Without impeding the story, mind you. The story is paramount. If you’re really pleased with a particular turn of phrase but it brings the reader out of the story, strike the phrase. And remember, when you’re in a particular character’s head, whatever he’s saying or thinking has to be in character. Stay in character. Don’t worry about your voice, it will come.

How to Impress Your Agent and Editor

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:03:00 +0000

I’m usually pretty easygoing, but recently I got to thinking about guidelines and how they help streamline the publishing process—and how much difficulty it causes everyone else involved in publishing a book when we decide guidelines don’t apply to us. And so I came up with a list of behaviors to avoid.

Though every item on this list has happened in real life, none of my lovely clients or blog readers would dream of doing such things.

Warning: sarcasm ahead.

How to Impress Your Agent and Editor

Submit a final draft that includes notes to yourself to “look this up later.”
Format your MS with oversized, fancy fonts. Add a shadow effect if you think it looks pretty.
Paste lots of photos into the MS. Ideally, this will bump the file size up so it takes an hour to download even with high-speed connection. Grainy family snapshots are best.
Divide the MS into one chapter per document.
Where asked to add a sentence or two for clarity, add an entire new chapter.
Never make changes to the file your editor sends you; her corrections would remain in the document that way. Instead, revise a different version entirely and send that one. Later, ask her if she’d mind combining portions of the two versions for you.
Turn off the tracked changes when you make your revisions so your editor has to double-check every word instead of just what you’ve changed.
After your revisions are approved, go ahead and rewrite several chapters and resubmit them; do this several times per manuscript if you have the time. Remember to keep the tracked changes turned off.
Don’t bother to double-check your revised MS for accuracy, logic issues, spelling, typos, etc., before returning it to the publishing house for typesetting.
When you get your proofs, provide an extensive list of material to be inserted/deleted/changed. Anything goes at this stage. Heck, go ahead and rewrite the entire book.
If anyone mentions that it’s too late to make major changes, contact your editor privately and offer to pay her a few dollars extra to make it happen for you.

End of sarcasm.

As always, happy writing. ☺

Dialogue Tags and Action Beats part 2: Punctuation and Capitalization

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:58:00 +0000

We talked a while ago about punctuation and capitalization of dialogue that precedes action beats. But what if the dialogue comes after an action beat?

A common error is to string everything together with commas, but that creates logic issues, and often, unintentional humor.

Incorrect (and unintentionally humorous):
Bart sucked air through his teeth, "I don't date extraterrestrials."
What's really going on in this example? Bart is simultaneously sucking air through his teeth and attempting to speak. Try it: speak while inhaling, with your teeth clenched. Nearly impossible and pretty silly, isn't it?

Correct:
Bart sucked air through his teeth. "I don't date extraterrestrials."
In this example, Bart first has a reaction that physically shows his discomfort, and then he speaks. The reader digests one idea at a time, and the story flows smoothly.

Also correct but less desirable, since the speech tag is unnecessary:
Bart sucked air through his teeth, then said, "I don't date extraterrestrials."

So when you're checking your manuscript for the capitalization and punctuation of dialogue, remember these two rules:
A complete sentence starts with a capital letter (there are exceptions involving colons).
Avoid splicing an action beat and a line of dialogue together with a comma.

Happy writing! ☺

A Deadly Wilderness

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:31:00 +0000

Disclaimer: (Really? This is necessary?) I have received no compensation for the opinions I've expressed in this post.

My good friend and critique partner Kelly Irvin writes romantic suspense best read before dark. I've read Kelly's stuff for several years, so I know this to be true. Seriously, folks, Kelly Irvin will scare the peanuts out of you. You've been warned.

Here's a taste of her picante debut novel, A Deadly Wilderness.

An idyllic wilderness hike turns deadly when homicide detective Ray Johnson tumbles into a ravine and lands on a corpse.

Not just any corpse, but the son of a prominent citizen that turns the case into a political hot potato.

Ray teams up with his troubled partner and their boss to solve the murder before city leaders bump them from the case and out of their jobs. And before the twin temptations of alcohol and lust can derail his colleagues.

Their determination to find the man’s killer leads them from the wealthiest enclaves in San Antonio to the city’s dark underbelly inhabited by a drug cartel and paid assassins.
At a crisis hotline center, a frantic anonymous call propels counselor Susana Martinez-Acosta smack into the center of the investigation and into Ray’s arms. Exactly where she doesn’t want to be. Following the tragic death of her husband, she’s struggled to build a safe haven for herself and her son. That new world doesn’t include hit men and persistent detectives with dangerous jobs.

As the pressure builds to solve the case, Ray finds himself with multiple missions: solve a murder . . . save a partner from career suicide and another from matrimonial destruction . . . and win a woman’s heart.

And stay alive to enjoy happily ever after.

A Deadly Wilderness is a romantic suspense novel that will take the reader along on a tumultuous journey as the consuming need for material wealth drives a deadly wedge among family members who haven’t learned when enough really is enough.

The journey ends where it began—in a deadly wilderness. Not everyone will survive the trip.

Motivation and Reaction: Proportion

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:48:00 +0000

When you dig deep and get emotion on the page, be wary of going too far with the character's reaction and making it cartoonish and unbelievable.

Say an old flame enters the room, and your heroine passes out from the shock of seeing him. Unless he's a serial killer she's been fleeing and she has extremely low blood sugar, fainting is too strong a reaction. The balance is off. But assuming he's not a serial killer and her blood sugar is fine, she might choke on her drink or jut out her chin, while noticing her hands have become moist.

A combination of subtle, preferably conflicting emotional reactions (à la The Fire in Fiction) is much more believable—and interesting to read.

Happy writing. : )

Developmental Editing Expert

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:40:00 +0000

Sometimes editors need editors, too.

I recently had the chance to polish some of my own writing by working with author and editor Nikki Arana's expertise in high-level structural/developmental edits. I knew my plot was solid, but I wanted a second opinion. And since I respect Nikki's storytelling ability a great deal, she was my first choice of editors.

Nikki pinpointed exactly what I needed to change in order to take a decent manuscript and make it a whole lot stronger.

My hat is off to you, Nikki. ☺

CROWN Promotion Network

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:14:00 +0000

Here's a new promo opportunity organized by Kathy Maher and Debbie Lynne Costello. The idea is based on authors helping authors.

Announcing CROWN:

Civil War,

Reconstruction and

Other historic

Writers

Network

CROWN is a network of writers whose focus and passion is creating God-honoring fiction set in 1800’s America, who share marketing opportunities to promote one another.

Our purpose for CROWN is to create a viral network of quid-pro-quo promotion and influence for our genre and individual books. Participants of CROWN enjoy an internet buzz over their new releases via author interviews, blog tours, reader discussion/review campaigns, forum participation, and social networking. In addition, grass-roots campaigning at local bookstores and libraries, speaking engagements, and book signings.

Imagine the power of numbers working for you.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CROWNfictionmarketing/

or contact us:
mahereenie@yahoo.com (Kathy Maher)
debbielynnecostello@hotmail.com (Debbie Lynne Costello)

Three-Book Contract: Laurie Alice Eakes

noreply@blogger.com (Susan Lohrer) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:52:00 +0000

A big congratulations to Laurie Alice Eakes!

Laurie Alice Eakes has just signed a three-book contract for a Regency historical series for Baker/Revell. Once Widowed, Twice Shy; Fool Me Twice, and Three Times the Charm are her ninth, tenth, and eleventh books to go to contract since December of 2008, seven of them with CBA publishers.