A Dash of Words with Loleta Abi Romance Author

Three Links 10/9/2020

Loleta Abi

Writing:

1. https://stevelaube.com/how-do-i-know-it-is-ready-to-submit/ “As an agency, we don’t represent articles, so I’ll confine my remarks to books. The best way to see if your book is ready to be submitted is to write the book proposal. I wrote a series about this on our blog. Here is the link:
https://stevelaube.com/category/book-proposal-basics.

As you can see from filling out each category, you’ll tease out problems and find holes that might keep the book from selling to a publisher.

Of course, the best proposal has to be backed up with a fantastic manuscript, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction.

To develop the book, write it. The. Entire. Book. Authors who gain contracts based on a blurb or even the possibility that they may write a book have a proven track record earned over years of writing extensive proposals and complete manuscripts on speculation. Your goal is to become one of these writers. But until then, write the book.” Good advice.

2. https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/the-link-between-your-storys-first-plot-point-and-third-plot-point/ “I often talk about cohesion and resonance as being two of the most important qualities of great stories. Many factors are involved in achieving these effects, but one of the subtlest and yet most powerful is found within the structure of story itself. This is the hidden “circle” of story structure, in which all the important beats in the first half can be seen as foreshadowing for their “partner” beats in the second half.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been examining the idea that story structure can be viewed not just as an arc but as a circle.” Great stuff here! Do you see the threads of the story coming together?

3. https://rubyslipperedsisterhood.com/rethinking-success/ “How do you measure success?  When will we feel successful?

I know we’ve had this conversation before here at the blog.  It seems to keep circling around – and that only makes sense, because success is often a moving target.  We work toward one goal..and as soon as we reach it we’re working toward the next, sometimes even forgetting to celebrate the fact that we conquered that one goal.

I’ve been thinking a lot about success and that ever-changing destination this past week as I have a new book out, a book that marks a new point in my career.

Last week my first mass-market paperback released with a major New York publisher.

There are so many moments we work toward, moments when we are sure we will feel successful.  The first time you hold your book.  The first time you see it in a bookstore.  The first time you hit a list or get nominated for an award or are able to pay a certain bill with your royalties.

I started out in ebooks over a decade ago.  My small press did print releases a year after the ebook releases, and some of them made it into bookstores, so I had held my books, seen them in bookstores, but my sister still asked me when I was going to write a “real” book.  (She was not impressed when I began self-publishing.)  I was lucky enough to have books nominated for awards.  Then I had a book out with Hallmark last year.  Another trade paperback, widely available, big name company, even if the publishing arm is small and new. Is that real enough?  Have I made it yet?  Or is this book, mass market, Big Five publisher, what will finally make me feel like I’ve reached Real Author status.  Will I ever see myself the same way I see other authors?”

Research & Fun Tidbits:

1. https://www.suecoletta.com/men-they-couldnt-hang/ “If a prisoner survived three trips to the gallows, should he be set free? That question plagued the public when faced with men they couldn’t hang. These are their stories. < cue Law & Order music >

Men They Couldn’t Hang #1: John “Babbacome” Lee

Miss Emma Anne Whitehead Keyse lived alone in “The Glen,” with her servants, Jane and Eliza Neck, Elizabeth Harris, the cook, and her brother, John Henry George Lee. In the early hours of November 15, 1884, authorities found Miss Emma’s lifeless body with three knife wounds to her head. The murderer also tried to set the corpse on fire.

John “Babbacome” Lee had worked alongside his sister at the The Glen since leaving school. In 1879, he joined the Navy. A medical discharge sent him home to Torquay (United Kingdom) to work as a footman. But he stole from his employer and got caught, convicted, and sentenced. Upon his release from prison in 1884, he returned to work at The Glen.

As the only male in the household at the time of the murder, police zeroed in on Lee as the prime suspect. Along with other circumstantial evidence, an inexplicable cut on his arm sealed his fate. But did the police have the right man?” Egads, can’t imagine!

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Some Things More Serious:

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Teaser Fiction & Poetry:

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Book Reviews, Cover Reveals, & Author Interviews:

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