May is the month for best-selling author Brenda Novak's extraordinary on-line auction that benefits juvenile diabetes. If you haven't checked it out before, this is the year you should do so. Cumulatively, she's raised more than $1.3 million for juvenile diabetes research and she hopes to break $2 million with this year's activities.
The auction includes such wonderful items, many of particular interest to writers, both published and not yet published. There are things of interest to readers as well. I've donated a manuscript critique again this year as well as a couple of hours of my legal services to review a publishing contract or help an author out with a copyright or publishing question. There are hundreds of items from authors, agents, and others, so definitely check it out. You only have until May 31st.
As I said, all proceeds go to benefit juvenile diabetes research. Diabetes of all types has become such an epidemic in this country, but to me juvenile diabetes seems the harshest. My heart goes out to the families with young children struggling to manage this disease.
So 'tis the season to look beyond ourselves and see what we can all do for others. Let Brenda's auction get you started. To help you out, the link to her auction page is here.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Point of View.
One of the most important choices you have to
make early on in developing your manuscript is who is telling the story. Is
there a specific character narrating everything with only knowledge of what
they can see or a third-person narration aware of everything that’s going on?
Who is the voice that will relate the rest of the characters and the plot and
the setting to your audience?
You can draw someone in from the first page with a clear point of view or a unique perspective. You can also lose them just as quickly with a voice that is not very interesting or is difficult to follow. Make sure you are part of the first group and not the latter.
Be consistent. If you choose to tell the story from the point of view of one of your characters, decide whether they are relating the events as they happen or reflecting back on something that has already passed. Don’t let them tell the reader anything they wouldn’t actually know. There are few things more distracting in a story than inconsistencies in voice.
Be compelling. Even in a third-person narrative it is important to have a strong, clear sense of who is telling the story. It doesn’t matter if the story being relayed is the most simple, mundane task or the most exciting event to ever happen, the way it is told and who is telling will make or break whether someone reads on.
Most of all, don’t be afraid to start over! If you realize halfway through that your story really would have been better served with a third-person narrative and you’ve been writing from the point of view of your main character, switch it up! The time it takes to rewrite those pages will be well worth it in the end if you have a more polished manuscript with a more compelling voice when you are finished. Don’t become so invested in your point of view that you let it ruin the rest of the story.
As always, good luck!
Intern Emily.
You can draw someone in from the first page with a clear point of view or a unique perspective. You can also lose them just as quickly with a voice that is not very interesting or is difficult to follow. Make sure you are part of the first group and not the latter.
Be consistent. If you choose to tell the story from the point of view of one of your characters, decide whether they are relating the events as they happen or reflecting back on something that has already passed. Don’t let them tell the reader anything they wouldn’t actually know. There are few things more distracting in a story than inconsistencies in voice.
Be compelling. Even in a third-person narrative it is important to have a strong, clear sense of who is telling the story. It doesn’t matter if the story being relayed is the most simple, mundane task or the most exciting event to ever happen, the way it is told and who is telling will make or break whether someone reads on.
Most of all, don’t be afraid to start over! If you realize halfway through that your story really would have been better served with a third-person narrative and you’ve been writing from the point of view of your main character, switch it up! The time it takes to rewrite those pages will be well worth it in the end if you have a more polished manuscript with a more compelling voice when you are finished. Don’t become so invested in your point of view that you let it ruin the rest of the story.
As always, good luck!
Intern Emily.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
New Release: Download Drama by Celeste O. Norfleet
Some people stand back when problems crop up. Kenisha Lewis steps up. And there's a lot that needs fixing, from her family's money worries to the run-down dance studio where she works part-time.
When the promo she makes for a dance studio fundraiser goes viral, Kenisha can't believe the response. Who'd have guessed she'd become the latest YouTube sensation--or be asked to star in a video with rapper Taj? And now Taj wants Kenisha to become her protegee, promising money and fame. Problems solved, right? Not quite. Her exciting new career is taking time away from school, family, friends and her boyfriend, Terrence. Kenisha is sure she is this close to having what she's always wanted. But how much is she willing to give up to get it?
Download Drama, Celeste Norfleet's latest in her young adult series is available from Kimani Tru for preorder now!
Be sure to also check out Celeste O. Norfleet's previous Kimani Tru releases: Fast Forward, Pushing Pause, and She Said, She Said.
Friday, March 23, 2012
If you Love books
It is so very easy in this business to get swamped by the day-to-day minutiae.
Reading queries, partials, fulls.
Researching the market.
Talking with editors.
Making and following-up on submissions.
Waiting for contracts.
Negotiating details.
And on, and on, and on.
The details are often so all subsuming, that one can lose sight of the purpose, the goal, the reason for being in this business. I didn't realize how lost I may have become until today when I stopped to smell the roses, (well they were actually hyacinths), but you get the idea.
Call it spring fever or taking time to restore one's soul. Not only did I enjoy the blooms of spring, but I also took out a few minutes from the work day to look at the Oscar winning animated short, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. It is delightful. It made me happy, but more importantly it restored my faith in the power of books. All those flying words brought such joy to all the people they touched, that it was impossible not to see books as an essential part of life. It felt good to think that authors and agents play a part in that joy and to remember why my love of books got me into this business in the first place.
If you haven't watched the video on U-tube, you really should. I'd love to hear if it brings a smile to your face as well.
Reading queries, partials, fulls.
Researching the market.
Talking with editors.
Making and following-up on submissions.
Waiting for contracts.
Negotiating details.
And on, and on, and on.
The details are often so all subsuming, that one can lose sight of the purpose, the goal, the reason for being in this business. I didn't realize how lost I may have become until today when I stopped to smell the roses, (well they were actually hyacinths), but you get the idea.
Call it spring fever or taking time to restore one's soul. Not only did I enjoy the blooms of spring, but I also took out a few minutes from the work day to look at the Oscar winning animated short, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. It is delightful. It made me happy, but more importantly it restored my faith in the power of books. All those flying words brought such joy to all the people they touched, that it was impossible not to see books as an essential part of life. It felt good to think that authors and agents play a part in that joy and to remember why my love of books got me into this business in the first place.
If you haven't watched the video on U-tube, you really should. I'd love to hear if it brings a smile to your face as well.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
New Release: Sex, Lies and Valentines by Tawny Weber
The agency is excited to announce another new release: Tawny Weber is back with her latest for Harlequin Blaze, Sex, Lies and Valentines!
Con artist Gabriel Black just got busted. By a babe. Drool-worthy (and clearly sneaky) FBI agent Danita Cruz is forcing Gabriel to choose between hard time and scamming his own family for an undercover sting. Now he has to present Danita to his family as his girlfriend. And it's the perfect opportunity to get wickedly even with her...
But Danita has some tricks of her own, and Gabriel's control begins slipping away as raw sexual energy takes over. Their sham relationship starts feeling a lot like...well the real deal. The Big Question is, will overwhelming desire be enough to make a liar go legit?
Make sure to pick up a copy today! And while you're at it, be sure to check out Sex, Lies and Mistletoe and Sex, Lies and Midnight--two more in the Harlequin Blaze line by Tawny Weber!
Con artist Gabriel Black just got busted. By a babe. Drool-worthy (and clearly sneaky) FBI agent Danita Cruz is forcing Gabriel to choose between hard time and scamming his own family for an undercover sting. Now he has to present Danita to his family as his girlfriend. And it's the perfect opportunity to get wickedly even with her...
But Danita has some tricks of her own, and Gabriel's control begins slipping away as raw sexual energy takes over. Their sham relationship starts feeling a lot like...well the real deal. The Big Question is, will overwhelming desire be enough to make a liar go legit?
Make sure to pick up a copy today! And while you're at it, be sure to check out Sex, Lies and Mistletoe and Sex, Lies and Midnight--two more in the Harlequin Blaze line by Tawny Weber!
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