So You Want to Publish That Novel!

Like most writers, I don't want to write, I must write. I feel compelled. Often I'm uneasy in my skin until I've had a chance to put my thoughts on paper. Writing gives me relief, clarity, and new ideas for more to write about. And when I do set my journal aside, or call it quits on my computer, I come away feeling lighter, happier. Like the awesome Gloria Steinem, "Writing is the only thing that when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else."

RedAdeptPublishing.com

But why publish? That's simple. After putting so much time into my novel, I had to try! And boy did I try. At first I queried agents. Fellow author Shawn Keenan has an agent, and he writes a very insightful blog about what that's like. http://www.errantauthor.com/ 

Many people suggested I self-publish, and friends Diane Skelton and Rebecca Pappas followed that path. Diane's beautiful memoir is The Gumbo Diaries: Mississippi and Beyond.  Rebecca's fun cozy mystery is Homicide at Harmony Bed & Breakfast. Check them out on Amazon!

I'm happy for my friends and what they've done. I'm also glad Red Adept Publishing and I found each other. I will get into "print" as part of a small publishing team, a remarkably organized team, with fifty or so fellow writers from all over the country who support each other and have fun along the way.

It doesn't really matter how people get their work published. It all ends the same way. When the fun's been had, we all go back to our desks and write some more, because there's really nothing we'd rather be doing.
Visit www.Redadeptpublishing.com for some great books by some wonderful authors!

I'd Like to Thank the Academy...

The content edit for my book has begun! An editor at Red Adept Publishing is going over the arc of my story to make sure it's the best it can be. She will dismantle it and together we will reassemble it. I'm steeling myself -- and clearing my calendar -- for the work that lies ahead. But don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled! It's an honor to have her professional help.
It's a little nerve-wracking, though, so to keep myself entertained I've been thinking about the one page in my book that won't be edited: the Acknowledgements Page. There are so many people to thank! There are the critique group members who helped me strengthen my writing, and the friends who watched my kids so I could go to the critique groups. There's my dear family, who put up with a ridiculous amount of talk about a bunch of non-existent characters, and there's the wonderful Red Adept Publishing who took a chance on me. There's the content editor shining up my little story, and then there's you, dear reader. I can't wait to thank you all.
The link for "The 25 Best Author Acknowledgements Ever Written" is here:       http://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/the-25-best-author-acknowledgements-ever-written/