Julie Bogart of Bravewriter has written this helpful post at her blog.
Sharpen Your Pencils will give writers a good start and direction for the new year.

Good luck!

The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing

A friend directed me to this book and I found it at my library:

The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing by Tom and Marilyn Ross

It really should be titled "The Complete Guide to Publishing" because it covers so much more than self-publishing. It is "everything you need to know to write, publish, promote and sell your own book" no matter which direction you go towards publishing it.

It is Finished!

The Catholic literature book is finished and is fixing to be sent to the editor. Please keep this book in your prayers, that the final product is what Christ wants it to be.

I will have a grand celebration tonight, not only for the New Year, but for the completion of a book that took a year to write...and was finished despite a hurricane and despite a mother's commitment to her family first.

The Long and Short of It

2006 promises a multitude of things that I hope will bear much fruit on the creative side of life. I've listed them in order of priority:

1) This week (Dec. 31, to be exact) I have a book due at the editors. It is a literature book for Catholic parents. Under contract, I had a year to write it and it is written, but I'm still tweaking and grinding and editing and still not completely satisfied. By week's end I will just give up and hope that the editor can do something with it. I leave it in God's hands.

2) I have in my hands a contract from Hillside Education for the Catholic Mosaic study. This is basically a Living the Liturgical Year Through Literature type study. The publisher promises to have the cover image sent to me shortly. I look forward to sharing it with you. We're hoping to have it finished end of January and published in spring (I'm hoping). I leave it in God's hands.

3) Plans are to finish The Lacemaker's Shop (a devotional book centered around the mother of St. Therese of Lisieux, her home, and lacemaking shop) this year and have it published. I have had many publishers interested but no contract commitments. One has asked me to check back with them in spring '06. If it is complete, I might. Again, I leave it in God's hands.

4) I'd also like to ask prayers for this publishing intention. The long and short of it is I wrote a picture book about Rose Wilder Lane (daughter of famed children's author Laura Ingalls Wilder) and sent it to Pelican Publishing in New Orleans. I waited. They were interested and asked if I could rewrite it into a middle grade reader. So I wrote the first two chapters, rewrote the outline, and submitted a marketing ploy, which they requested, and sent it to them. And I waited. I was notified that I was to deal with one specific editor and that my manuscript was being reviewed by the board. Again I waited. Then Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. I anxiously waited for word, and found out that the Pelican building had been spared massive damage. Then Hurricane Rita hit and we were evacuated for a month. The next month was full of getting back to living. I finally received word from the editor at Pelican which read in short:

"Dear Cay: I'm glad you are well. We are recovering and making little progress in acquisitions. We have been deferring decisions, especially with children's material. Right now your sample is 7th inline for evaluation, and we are doing no evaluations at the moment. I have no idea when we can resume. Possibly at the start of 2006."

And so I continue to wait...and hope...and trust...and leave it in God's hands.

Maureen Wittmann did recently share good news with me. Sophia Institute Press will be coming out with her book The Catholic Homeschool Companion to which I am a contributing author. That book will come out in early 2006 so we joyfully await that release.

Ad maiorem Dei gloriam (AMDG): To the greater glory of God

Catholic Mosaic

I think I've got a publisher for Catholic Mosaic (a literature study of illustrated books). All that's left is the contract.

I mailed the booklist this morning with the author/publisher information for her to look-over, and the blurb so we can get permission from the publishers to use the book covers art in the study guide.

I'm really excited about this project and hope to have it finished by the end of January.
There will be 36 books featured. I've gotten 11 of them written plus the Introduction.

Please pray for this project and check back here for updates.
Happy Reading!

Writing Statics

Shared by a fellow writer on an eloop for writers:

Nadia Cornier recently posted these stats on her blog:
95% of Americans talk about wanting to write a book
only 30-something % start to write a book
only 3% actually FINISH a book
(and I won't give the publishing statistics, because right now, I think alot
of us just need to focus on finishing, not on getting published)

Update

Received rejection on children's storybook on Friday.

Finished 2 chapters to untitled Catholic literature book last night.
Twitched the booklist a bit.

Let me know if you have any children books that are a must-read, so I can make sure they're on the list. These books don't have to be Catholic, as long as they're excellent books.

One down...

I sent a children's story out again to August House.
I'd adore some prayers that maybe...just maybe...it'll be extracted from the slush pile (or the burn pile) and accepted for publication.

It's had a *professional* look at it and edit it. She liked it. Her children liked it...or so she told me. Of course, she's a friend so she might be prejudice; or doesn't want to hurt my feelings. ;)

My daughter loves the little book so much that she has promised to illustrate it when she grows up, that's if it's still in slush piles worldwide.
She begs me to read it to her almost every night. That's good enough for me.

I hope to share it with all of you and your children...one day soon...

Writing Tips

Writing Tips

Writing Tips of the Month:

1) Always carry a notebook with you – you never know when inspiration will hit.

2) Always type your work. Publishers, theatres, or TV companies will NOT accept handwritten material. Ever.

3) Always have someone read your work before you send it out- but not your mother, best friend, or partner. Try a work colleague or someone who is relatively unbiased about you.

4) Keep a record of where you send your work and what date. This will make it easy to determine when to follow up and resubmit if necessary.

5) Be persistent. Most projects are rejected, often by a number of publishers, before they are accepted.

6) Keep circulating your proposal.

7) Be teachable. Learn all you can to hone your writing skills. Constructive criticism is a great gift that will make your project better and help you grow as a writer.

If you'd like to share a writing tip of your own,please email us at: newsletter@momwriterstalkradio.com.