But...But...But I Thought of It First

I was reading another author's blog and she hinted at the book she's currently writing. When I was finished reading her blog, I wanted to scream, "But I thought of it first!" LOL!

As anyone who's been writing for a while knows, there are not original ideas out there. It's all in the execution. So what I have to do is make sure mine's well written and has a lot of action with plenty of twists and turns to make it interesting enough for an editor to buy. That's how so many people can write the same type of hero and heroine along with the same plot and still be different.

Now back to work...

Heading For DC

Well, it's offical. I'm going to DC. When I first registered for the conference, I figured I would do so with the thought I would cancel if I don't get that special call, the GH one or THE CALL. Then several things fell into place and I believe I'll have a fun time there, no matter what happens. Though I'm keeping a positive attitude about it all.

When I went to my first and only national conference, I'd had major surgery only six weeks before and would tire so easily. So it probably colored a lot of what I felt about it. Plus I was so use to small conferences and how easy it was to talk with editors and agents. Hey, you're only competing with 75 to 200 people instead of 2000. Yeah, I know there's more editors and agents at National, but they also have clients/authors they're meeting with between workshops.

Okay. My first time to DC and I'm going to have FUN. See. Positive thinking.

2/1/09: Thanks to RWA for offering this conference!

And The Winner Is?

Unlike most authors, I don't have a problem naming my books. Though on occasion I'll change them and that's usually because 1) too many people tell me they hate the title (THE FEMALE CHAUVINIST) or 2) it doesn't suit the feel of the book (BAD, BAD TO THE BONE).

My latest book started off with the title of A SPY STORY because I knew the type of book it would be but not the "feel" of it. As I kept writing I realized the heroine is a really bad woman. I mentioned that at the last writers' meeting and someone said so she's bad, bad to the bone, huh? I liked that. So I called it BAD, BAD TO THE BONE. I kept writing on it and realized that title really didn't do it justice. BBTHB makes it sound kind of like a Stephanie Bond book. Nothing wrong with that as she's a wonderful author, but I always think of a humorous heroine, and my heroine isn't funny at all. She's more deadly than droll.

That meant going back to the title board and figuring it out. Then it hit me. She was coming out of the shadows into the bright light and a new world order (that is for her). So the new title is OUT OF THE SHADOWS. Tada!

Yeah, yeah, I know. The editor will most likely change it, but at least when she sees the title for the first time, she'll get a feeling of what the book is about.

Banging My Head Against The Wall

I received contest results back and I couldn't help but laugh. Better than crying, isn't it? One judge said I had too much backstory. Out of 25 pages I had three sentences of backstory she'd highlighted. And then another judge asked for more information (backstory). Another asked a bunch of questions that are answered later in the story and if I had placed in the first 25 would've been information dump for real.

The one that got me tickled the most was the New Yorker (she told me) who said, "One word that caught my eye is 'teetotaler' whereas it's said 'tatteltailer'[sp] from my world." I know they have dictionaries up there. Teetotaler is a person who abstains from alcohol. Tattletale is a talebearer or informer, esp. among children per Dictionary.com. Though I knew what a tattletale was, I thought maybe I was unaware of an additional meaning. Not! If you're plan to point out a "misused" word, look it up in the dictionary first and make sure YOU'RE correct. LOL!

Plus once again another judge said the mother in my entry wouldn't say a certain dialogue. This judge didn't point out the same dialogue as the other judge had, but it was from the same character. Considering I'm a mother and I say things like so and so is sexy all the time in front of my daughters and my husband, YES, Virginia, she will and did say that. Geez! See, the judges (two) are not saying the character herself (who I know better than they do) wouldn't say it, they say A MOTHER wouldn't say it. Wrong! And this mother is very open spoken. So why wouldn't she?

Like I've said, contests are good to get a well-rounded idea (some love them, some hate them) of how you're doing in a book. But don't depend on them being right. Especially the judge that said I needed a question mark where the hero was giving his deputy a command. Geez Louise!

Answer The Freaking Door!

I know you're going to get tired of hearing me say this kind of crap, but what the hey, it's my blog and where else can I say it.

The most important person in your life must believe in you. Who’s that person? Not your better half, not your children, not your mom or dad, and not your best friend. It’s YOU. Bet you saw that coming. If you don’t believe you can get that promotion, that new car, that special vacation or that publishing contract, then you won’t.

Yes. I’m a firm believer if you think you can do or get something, anything, and then you can. It might not come when you want it. It might not come exactly the way you want it, but it will happen as long as you believe in yourself and what you want. Yes. WANT. Not need. That is one of the neat things about being human. We can want. Animals need food and water to survive. To an animal, everything is need, not want.

Let me give you an example of what happened to me when I didn’t believe in ME. I was working for another company, and at the time, I enjoyed my job because I felt confident about what I was doing. Every so often I would work a couple hours over and during those times, one of the VPs had an occasional habit of stopping by and chatting with me and a co-worker. Then one day it was just the two of us, he asked me if I knew of anyone who would want my old boss’s job? My boss had left the company a few days earlier.

Stupid me, thinking there’s no way they would hire a woman for the job (the company was old school and this was like fifteen years ago), especially one that didn’t graduate from college, and I said, “No. I sure don’t.” Well, about two weeks later, the announcement was made. A woman was promoted from another department to be my boss. I nicely questioned the VP about his decision and he said, “Carla, I had hoped you were interested and when you said you didn’t know anyone, I figured you didn’t want the job.” Why he didn’t ask me straight out? I have no idea. Maybe it was his way of testing my drive to move up in the company. Whatever.

Needless to say, I kicked my butt for a long time for not having the guts to stand up and say I wanted it. Lesson learned. If opportunity knocks, ANSWER THE FREAKING DOOR! Better to find out they knocked on the wrong door than not to answer and lose out on that golden opportunity.

Continuing That Thinking Positive Thang

In my promise to myself of thinking positive, I'm looking foward to the following happening this year.

1) Getting "The Call" and contract
2) Getting an awesome agent who loves my writing
3) Having my book go to auction
4) Having a generous advance
5) Winning the Golden Heart
6) Having a book final in the Golden Heart
7) My friend's (Christy Reece) book hit the NYT extended list with her debut book, and the following two hit it too.
8)My friends, Diane Richmond and JoAnn Weatherly, get "The Call" too.
9)And my other friends, Pat and Patricia, get "The Call."
10) Oh, shoot, I look forward to all my unpublished writing friends getting "The Call."

I just couldn't stand leaving anyone out and wanted to share in my good fortune this year. LOL!

The Small Awards

Yesterday, at my writers' group meeting, our new Prez gave out little plastic/silk flowers for each accomplishment we did and then we tagged them with our names and placed them together as a bouquet. It was a big honking bouquet and I had four with my name on them! Talk about feeling good. It made me realize how much I was really doing toward becoming published.

She's a smart lady.

Hmmm, Another Book Trailer

This one is more than pretty pictures and words. Acting not great, but hey what could we expect for two minutes worth. The guy is gorgeous though.

Thankful Friday

If you read my post yesterday (the one with the celebrating potato, at least I think it's a potato), you know I finished adding the words I needed. Well, today, I finished fleshing out some scenes and clarifying some plot points I felt was missing. So I ended up with 750 more words than I needed. YEAH! So I'm thankful I'm finished and now the manuscript goes out to my readers -- these are sweet people who are not writers, just readers, and they'll willingly read it and let me know where I messed up.

I'm also thankful for my friend Diane Richmond. Hi, Diane! I enjoyed dinner tonight. It was so much fun talking about writing and seeing you again. Hugs. See you tomorrow at the meeting.

Words Left To Add To My Current WIP