Betty's Tips 10/12

Dear Fellow Writers,

Well, writers, a lot has happened in the publishing world this year and I wanted to follow up on an earlier post. A court ruling dealt with the remaining big six publishers who had not yet settled with e-tailers about book pricing.This article helped me make heads or tails out of the legal fallout. HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group, and Simon & Schuster were given 30 days to begin the process of reaching new sales terms over e-books with their e-tailers. See here how HarperCollins was the first to reach a deal with terms that “are consistent with the final judgment.”

On a brighter note…

While away on vacation, the garden grew rampant and the kitchen is now overflowing with baskets of tomatoes, peppers, onions, and herbs in preparation for canning. Between pickling peppers and ducking tomatoes falling around my feet, I realized November is fast approaching and with it National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo is a month-long global writing event whose sole goal is to encourage us to write a fifty-thousand word (or more) novel. The competition challenges us to work against a thirty-day deadline in carving out a rough draft fictional novel from scratch - no pre-writing, no head starts, no nonsense. (Okay, maybe some nonsense...and perhaps an outline.) It all begins on November 1st.

Last year my NaNo attempt was a fantasy, and through the grapevine, I’ve heard that Harper Voyager is accepting unagented science fiction or fantasy book manuscripts for two weeks in October. Don’t take my word for it…check out their submission requirements.

After returning from the sandy Florida beaches I dusted off the manuscript, reread the story, and noticed the first line was lacking. There were several blogs dealing with ways to overcome a saggy start, but found this one most helpful in clarifying how to produce a catchy phrase. Using that and 5 Grammar and Style Lessons has helped me craft an opening scene that is ready to hook an editor.

Then I happened upon this article and had second thoughts whether my prose could stand up against the fierce competition in the writer world. How could my work compete…who would want to represent me? Once again,Janet Reid, in her snarky---take it like a writer---blog, gave me the face-slap that returned me to my senses.

After my finger hovered over the button for ten seconds---okay, 20 minutes, but who hasn’t experienced apprehension when submitting their work?---the submission is sent. Now to follow the mushy red trail left by Mr. Tomato in his Escape from Hell’s Kitchen. Wait…that is a catchy title. This might work for the next NaNoWriMo.

Happy writing, everyone!

Betty Wryte-Goode

Betty Wryte-Goode is a writer, mother, and wife who lives in the Lehigh Valley. Her passions include writing, reading, shopping, gardening, and exploring the internet. Betty is always looking for writing tips, so if you have any you would like to share, please send them to her through our Submissions/Contacts page.