Chances of the Heart Cover

I saw the cover of my new book this week. With very few tweaks, the romantic street--complete with the rolling hills of Tunkhannock--created the look I'd hoped for. Makes me think about a cover for my next book--whenever that will happen. I realize even more now the importance of a cover plays in the making of a book. A cover is what the reader first sees--before they turn it to the back and read that important blurb. Then come the first few paragraphs and maybe a riffle through the middle. Hmmm . . . will my cover make someone take the next step? Will it draw them to flip the book over or open to the first chapter?

The Aaah Factor

We've all done it--set a book down and breathed "Aaah." We got it. The writer allowed us to take more from their story than a break from life.

When I write a story--I want it to become more than a good read. I like to roll my words around in my head and discover that little glimmer--what I call the Aaah factor. It usually means I need to dig deeper -- below the surface. It means I have to inflict enough human emotion into my story that it moves the reader to keep reading long enough to discover what I did in that writing process.

Look around you. Isn't there an Aaah in something about today? When you attended church this morning and the preacher read from the Bible about Easter and why we celebrate it--didn't that feeling begin to bubble up in you--again--even though you've heard the same sermon in one way or another for years? You whispered aaah again and when you stood to exit your pew--you were thinking about it. That's the gold.

Answered Prayers

Sometimes what we pray for--we don't always get. I won't say what I've been praying for the last seven months but I will say it's one of those BIG ones. You know the kind--the ones that wake you in the middle of the night and you need to talk to God right then. It's the kind that has you on your knees in the middle of the day when the tears won't stay put or the words in your head become too much.

But I'm waiting. I'm waiting with the knowledge that my Lord and Savior hears me and knows what it is I really need. He also knows when, where and how He'll answer even though I might have a few ideas of my own. But when that big day happens--I know I will have the most wonderful story of how God sustained me through a time I thought impossible to get through.

Sometimes that's where our best stories come from--from our own experiences with God and how he holds us up despite our circumstances. I can't wait to share more but for now I can say God sustains me . . . blesses me and cares for me no matter how my day is going and no matter what the world brings. Who else do we have to turn to?

Long Wait

I've been on a waiting list to hear if one of my stories made the final cut into a book by Adam's Media. I got the e-mail today ---Yay! The book won't be out for another year but that's fine. I've been given the opportunity to share with others a story very close to my heart.
That's what writing is all about for me. I love to take a moment in life and present it in such a way that others can feel that moment too.

GOAL To write stories that touch others. To keep my stories meaningful and filled with real characters, emotions and motive. To take the life experiences God has gifted me with and share.

Never Give Up

I woke this morning to my third email about a book that wasn't going to be published after all. I knew this information last fall. I knew it again this winter and now I know it again. Sometimes rejections can bring up old feelings of rejections - that maybe your work wasn't good enough for anywhere. Your day can be ruined.

# 6 Writing Goal- I try not to allow unforseeable changes and rejections to waste a perfectly good day of writing. I read somewhere that a famous writer once wrote a story a week for a year so that he could get all the kinks out of his writing before tackling a book. I did that with Faithwriters and am pleased I did. The feedback I received during that process helped me accept the feedback I get now from editors and publishers.

Staying thick-skinned is one thing--not falling apart when the mail brings gloom and doom is another. Don't let it make you give up!

Why I love Goals

I'm always excited to meet new writers. The sharing and encouragement that takes place during those times is invaluable--not only to my spirit but to how I can be a better writer.

Next week, several women writers from my area hope to meet for tea and discuss our writing goals. I've listed a few of my own that have made all the difference.

#1 Set goals. If I didn't have a weekly goal for what I wanted to accomplish with my writing--I doubt I would have anything published.
#2 Submit . . . submit some more. I keep a running log of who - what - and where I send. Regularly.
#3 Turn rejections into acceptances. I mourn my rejections for about two hours. Then I commit to finding that piece a new home within a few days. If that means a rewrite or a different market - that's my next priority.
#4 Look back. Occasionally, I look up some of my first stories. Groan - I know - they might really stink but it always encourages me when I see what I've learned. But it that same breath, it makes me realize how much still I have to learn!
#5 Read the writers journals - I always order The Writer and Writer's Digest. I would never stop ordering them. I read them cover to cover and try to take away one new lesson.

Next time - I'll add a few more of my personal goals but I have another goal I try to accomplish each day too - spend time with my family!

Maggie Mae surprise

Quite often I write for a women's magazine out of Mt. Dora, Florida. Yesterday, I received in the mail two copies of their Girlfriend issue. I was pleased to discover the editor had used my story Paper Hearts In it. It is a story I have told several times about a group of stay-at-home moms who met on the Internet and flew to Baltimore one weekend to celebrate the love of a friend who eventually died from cancer. Actually, it was this event in my life that opened the doors for me to be published and pursue my writing career. I think of Lori each time I get another piece published--her encouragement with my desire to write and the way her love for our group and Jesus changed my life.

Updates

I got an update this morning on my email--one I was hoping to come. I sent a story this past fall to an anthology and my story has made the second cut. If I get a contract this month, I'm in . . . if not . . . I'm out. Part of me likes knowing my story has made it this far, but somehow the wait to know makes it even tougher. Would it have been better to be out right at the beginning or be given this nugget of encouragement only to be far more sadder later?

For now, this method tells me quite a lot. My story is good enough to compete with some so I guess I've improved. The story can always find a home elsewhere if not in this book. And finally, I've learned a new aspect of submitting--sometimes you wait even longer.