Flirty Friday

It's Flirty Friday. I'm sitting and watching the same Queen documentary again. Yes, again. Hey, that Freddie Mercury is charismatic. And even with the moustache, he can really work the mini skirt.

Ok, so flirts...

I got my vid for Ever Fallen In Love yesterday and yes, I love it.


Cool, huh? Goddess Fish does the best work. Lurve them. Really, I do. Want to know more about Ever Fallen In Love? Here's the blurb:

Tucker lost the love of his life once, but this time, he’s not taking no for an answer.

Once a driver, always a driver...

Racing consumes Tucker Poston’s life. Until he sees her again. Megan Rodney. She’s the one person to come between him and his ride. She’s the only woman to understand him. The only woman he’s ever loved. Circumstances tore their love apart. Now he’s determined to show her the contents of his soul, even if it means losing his heart.

Being a driver doesn’t warm his lonely nights. Too bad she’s not interested.

Megan’s not about to fall for his smooth lines and slick image. She’s got a good life as a team owner for a stock car team. Still, memories of their love affair burn bright in her mind. What’s a girl to do when the man of her dreams, the man who pushed her away, wants a second chance at forever?

Contains a little spanking, anal play, and domination shared between former lovers, but no one’s complaining. For good measure, there’s the sizzling use of a Camaro hood for outdoor pleasure.

Available now for preorder and releases on August 15th!!!


So what else is on the docket?

I've been working with Megan to get her most recent sub done. It went out last night so fingers crossed.

I've got the stripper story, When You're With Me, almost done. One more scene to finish. The rest has been by CP so....we'll see.

I'm waiting to hear from CP on the Greek I gave a second chance to. I hope it's in decent shape.

Megan got a challenge, so I'm going to help crit and work with her to get that one done.

And I will look at Gypsy's story...wander past, think about it, look at it again, and probably keep strolling...I am so bad.

I'm still on the fence about my ghost story. I ended with a cliff hanger of sorts. It doesn't seem to have found it's niche and I am wondering if I should continue the two book series. Thoughts?

Let me know. I am listening.

Friday Flirts....on Saturday!!!

Ok, so the TEB sale is over...I know, I'm sad, too. I mean, who doesn't want to get stuff on sale? Anyway, I hope you got in on the fun and nabbed a few books you didn't have otherwise. I should've written a Friday Flirt yesterday, but I got a little excited. I mean, it was a sale!

So...what's happening...

I've gone back and revisited a few of my older WIPs. Yep, I've got some stories that are literally sitting on the hard drive...sitting. So, I happened to be talking to my CP about them. One of them said, you wrote a stripper story...why haven't I seen it? and the other CP says, yeah, and why am I not critting it? It's done. It should not be sitting. They both had a point. I mean, stripper is a side story to the Right and PRM books. 9k more and it'll be the same length. I sent it to CP. She gave me some food for thought and I'm working on that. In case you're wondering, Stripper is tentatively titled When You're With Me and is about Detective Drew Alwyn and Jude Nelson. I've been kicking it around for over three years, so yeah, it's been around a while.

The other WIP that I got back out is one that's from Ancient Greece. Now, this one I snipped a bit out and used for a short on Whipped Cream. It's titled Addicted. Will I keep that title? Dunno. But it's a nice and short story with lots of heat. We'll see what the CP thinks of that one. So far I've been told it grabbed her from page one. Shrugs.

I've got news to share but I'll wait til Monday since it's Saturday and I want to be certain before I share.

Still waiting to hear about a couple of subs, so we'll keep our fingers crossed.

Happy Saturday, stay cool, since it's blazing hot here in oHIo, and happy writing.

What the? Wednesday...The Scariness of Submission

Submission. I know where your mind went. In some ways, you're right. There's a little of that in this post. And there's a little of a different kind of submission.

I'm working my heart out on a couple stories right now. One has to do with a menage. Yup. That one. Still not done with it. Not always a good thing. It's due by the end of the month. So if I want to sub it, then I need to get my buns in gear. That one has some fun submission and some yummy manlove. Yes. Megan convinced me to write some more m/m/f. And I liked it.

And then there's this other story. I've got a story I subbed last summer. Pitched it in person and everything. Needless to say, it was given a R&R. Revise and Resubmit. That would've been fine, had I not oh, I don't know...let it sit for more than a month. I worked my tail feathers off on it and then passed it on to a CP. Problem is, she kinda forgot about it...between forgetting about it and then finding out it was really not in shape...I haven't bothered to resubmit it. It's not that I don't want to. Far from that. I'd LOVE to resub it. I just didn't realize how bad off it was when I'd subbed it in the first place.

Hence my scared-y-cat-ness. I get all excited when a story is close to being ready but the queasiness that accompanies actually submitting...strikes every time.

Ugh.

I've got a sub in right now. It's a favorite of mine. So if it gets shot down, I'll be honest, it'll be a bit painful. Why? It's the polished and rewritten version of my very first MS. I call it the 6YOMS (6 year old manuscript). We'll see. And have fingers crossed.

You ever experienced the "I really need to ralph because I sent in a sub" feeling? Share your story. I'm all ears. Or eyes. Whatever. Let me know.

And Don't Forget to Check out These Awesome Authors: Megan Slayer, Kealie Shay, Menagerie Authors, Jessica Jarman, Devon Rhodes, Ashley Ladd, Linda McMaken, Cheryl Dragon, Marianne Arkins, Anne Rainey, KA Mitchell, Mychael Black, and Jenika Snow!

Flirty Friday...and a Little Down in the Dumps

I don't have much to report today. I spent the week hammering away at my resub. CP said it was ready to go and that I'd fixed my problems in it. I dunno. But I do know that if I had piddled with it much longer, all I'd succeed in would be more procrastinating. So I bit the bullet and turned it in. I'm waiting on a WIP to come back from the CP from the second time around crit. Might be able to send that one in some time this weekend. I don't know.

Crazy, huh. A lot of 'I don't knows' in there.

But I'm working with Megan to get her story done and I'm still hammering at my NASCAR story. I will get that one pubbed and it will be fantastic (and If I don't keep convincing myself it will get done and be worth reading, I'll never finish it.)

I'm having a 'little engine that could' moment and feeling like I'm just not making the grade. Do you ever get those moments? I'd love to know what you do to bring yourself up. Sure, I've got chocolate, good friends, and great reads to get lost in. And I will for a while. But I'm open for thoughts.

And Don't Forget to Check out These Awesome Authors: Megan Slayer, Kealie Shay, Menagerie Authors, Jessica Jarman, Devon Rhodes, Ashley Ladd, Linda McMaken, Cheryl Dragon, Marianne Arkins, Anne Rainey, KA Mitchell, Mychael Black, and Jenika Snow!

Friday Flirts

I'm sitting here jamming to old Billy Joel tunes and working on revisions/edits/WIP's... Yeah, I'm a busy girl. Megan came over for a while to work on her WIP. I looked it over and I think once she gets this particular pivotal scene done, she'll be pretty good to go. Me? Not so much. I chattered with C for a while, too. She teased me about having one too many irons in the fire and setting the bar a bit high. Duh. I don't know what to do with myself if the bar isn't way over my head and more or less out of reach. Story of my life.

In the planning stages:
Rhett's part of You'll Think of Me. He's still in the rough stages. I mean, I know what he wants to do, but I want to put him in a situation he thinks he can't handle. I mentioned something to him about twins. He was receptive...I don't think he has any idea *how* I want him to end up with said twins. Hee hee.

In the works:
Still chugging away on the NASCAR story. I have the lawyerly parts done and right. The rest needs to come into focus.

In revision:
I have two here. I sent What Might Have Been to the CP, got it back and have one scene to finish. I *think* I have a handle on it, but as I know all too well, my having a handle on things isn't always what I think it is.
Also, I'm working hard on the resub. I spoke about that one yesterday, so not much to report as of right now. But hey, I feel a lot better about it than I did on Wednesday. Will it be the fresh, original, creative thing my editor expects? I have no freaking idea...and I'm scared it won't live up to standards.

In edits:
I should be getting the first round edits on Careless Whisper. I always get the feeling of dread knowing the edits are coming. Why? Cuz...I do. I dunno.

Releasing Monday:
Tangled Up releases from Total-E-Bound. Grab your copy!

Back to the grindstone, plus the song changed. Yes, I'm listening to a-ha and I like it.

And Don't Forget to Check out These Awesome Authors: Megan Slayer, Kealie Shay, Menagerie Authors, Jessica Jarman, Devon Rhodes, Ashley Ladd, Linda McMaken, Cheryl Dragon, Marianne Arkins, Anne Rainey, KA Mitchell, Mychael Black, and Jenika Snow!

Thank You Thursday

I haven't done this recently, but I thought I'd say thanks to more than a couple people. My WIP and resub have been giving me fits. More than a few. I want to get them right, not just done. I've seen what happens when I get things "done". It's not pretty and usually ends up with me in tears. (Insert here: Rejection/Resub) There's been more than a couple things concerning the works that I cannot, to save my life, wrap my mind around.

Thus the thank you.

I have some great CP's. I do. Even those who aren't there step by step, I've got some great people to help me figure things out when my brain just doesn't want to work. For example, my dear CP has been going through "Please Remember Me" and really doing a fantastic job. I'll be honest, I'm the one falling down on the clock with it. She's been patient and explained things, but I've not understood. Another CP, who just looked a small passage from same part explained what I'd been missing in the exact same way. Brain still didn't get it. Then she said, look at it this way: there is a moment right here where I want to know what she's doing to get him to think this.

Talk about DUH moment.

If I hadn't had both of them helping me, I'd still be lost and more than a bit frustrated. Did it help with the rest of the resub. Sure it did. I'm looking at it way differently now. There's the same words, but now I have more of an idea what I'm missing. Was one way better than the other? Nope. Both were effective and both were resources I'll use later on (like in the next story), but *I* had to get my brain in gear. N, M...thanks.

Now I can't recall what article/blog I saw this on, but I'd been getting really down in the dumps about my WIP and resub. I felt like I wasn't 'getting' it and wasn't doing justice to the stories. I like to read blogs and sites and such, and started to think, well, gee, these people are getting in gear, I should be, too. Then I read an article where the author put it this way: You write at your own pace. Sure, lots of people will be around you getting contracts and having release days. If you make it into a competition, then you're not setting yourself up to be successful or healthy. You'll end up frustrated and worse, your writing will suffer.

Boy was she right. So to whomever said that, and granted, there is more than likely a ton of people who think that way, thanks. Made me feel better and jazzed me up to work on one of the many other WIP's while I sort out the resub and edited WIP.

Thanks, you all rock.

And Don't Forget to Check out These Awesome Authors: Megan Slayer, Kealie Shay, Menagerie Authors, Jessica Jarman, Devon Rhodes, Ashley Ladd, Linda McMaken, Cheryl Dragon, Marianne Arkins, Anne Rainey, KA Mitchell, Mychael Black, and Jenika Snow!

Friday Flirts

I should be doing something other than watching old Ghost Adventures episodes on Netflix, but hey, everyone needs a stress reliever. Plus, I can blame Megan for getting me hooked on it. Darn her and her love of all things dark and strange.

So, Friday Flirts...

Please Remember Me is still sitting with the editor. I haven't heard anything and well, I'm kinda relieved. Odd? Maybe a little. I'm of the theory of no news is better than bad news. Of course, good news would be fantastic, but hey, there's a certain safety in not getting ye ole hopes up.

What Might Have Been came back from one CP. Waiting for it to come back from the other. Once in hand, I plan to work on it so I can sub it in February. (Yes, I am a masochist.)

Ever Fallen In Love is the NASCAR one. It had a different name, but since I've changed my decision as to which pub to sub it to, I felt the name wasn't right in it's prior form. Plus, I've got a lawyer aquaintence...I love that line from The Goodbye Girl...this lawyer friend is helping me deal with the legal parts of the story. I mean, I can't use a John Grisham tactic if I have no clue what I'm doing. I'd hate to show complete ignorance.

No rest for the wicked. I'm in the process of helping Megan get her MM story ready for submission as well. She's aiming for March. I hope things work out for her. She's worked really hard on her story.

Okay, enough for now. I've got stories to write and GA to turn off. Soon. Maybe.

And Don't Forget to Check out These Awesome Authors: Megan Slayer, Kealie Shay, Menagerie Authors, Jessica Jarman, Devon Rhodes, Ashley Ladd, Linda McMaken, Marianne Arkins, Anne Rainey, KA Mitchell, Mychael Black, and Jenika Snow!

Friday Flirts - Last Post of 2010...

No it's not the last post of my blogging career. (I hope you aren't sad about that.)

But it is the last blog post of 2010 for me. Sniffle, sniffle.

So for my final post (of '10), I'm going to leave you with a yummy pic and a little update.

Update: I started working on the NASCAR novella I wrote over five years ago. Same characters, but slightly enhanced plot. If you've read Monday Moans, you've met the driver and the owner (hero and heroine). I'm really excited to get moving on this story and hope to sub it in early 2011.

I gave my high school reunion story to my CP and should get that back soon. I have no idea if it's even near submission ready. Guess I'll find out. But it's a favorite (aren't they all), so I'll give it my best when I get it back.

I'm going to finish my menage story this coming month. I've put my mind to it.

That's it for the updates. Now for the hottie.



Happy, Sexy New Year!!!!

Friday Flirts

Ah, it's that time of the week again. Friday Flirts. YAY!

Yeah, I'm actually pretty excited about it. I have a ton of work in progress, but I decided there were a couple things that needed said. Yessir.

First: Tangled Up came back for first edits. Not too bad which made my day. Turned back and waiting for second round.

Farmer. Oh, how I had high hopes for you, dear story. But there also comes a time when one has to step back and say, yanno, this just isn't working. (Doesn't hurt if one has this blugeoned over one's head more than once by a very tenderhearted, but honest CP). So on the shelf you go.

I decided since he went on the shelf, one of my shelved stories was coming back out. Last year, I penned a tale of high school reunion. Seeing as my 15 yr is coming up soon, I thought it was a great story. Is it? No clue. I put it in the hands of a couple CPs. We'll see. (Fingers crossed it doesn't suck.)

Jade/Marlon have been submitted. And that's all I'm gonna say about them.

That's all for now. I have to get working on a couple other WIP's. The characters get cranky when they think they've been ignored. (Which, in their minds, is often.)

Friday Flirts

Friday Flirts.

I wanted to have something fantastic to post today. I did. I feel sometimes like I'm falling a tad short.

Ok, so what am I working on?

Still have the NASCAR book in the works. I want to get farther on it. We'll see. Time is a minimum.

Halfway through the menage story. It sorta got kicked to the back burner. I'll get there.

Got PRM sent to the editor. I won't even hazard a guess on that one. Lest time I did, I fell flat on my face. What have I learned? Mum is the word. :)

Farmer is with CP, so he's at a stand-still. No worries.

I think that's all right now.

Friday Flirts

I know, most of you are out shopping. Well, I'm not. I'm not one for the crowds, being shoved to get a cheap tv or parking out in BFE. I can't see the point in sitting in the snow/wind/rain/cold just to be the first in line for an iPad.

But that's just me.

I'd rather do my shopping online or later or (if I had my way) way early. Yes, I'm one of those irritating people who has their shopping done by Halloween. (If I don't, I chafe. Really.)

So, because I'm a derelict and forgot to mention my NEW RELEASE on RELEASE DAY. (Long story...needless to say, it was forgotten in the shuffle of life).

Get your copy of You'll Think of Me.
Not only did I get a fantastic cover, but at a little over $5, it's a steal (but don't really steal it - cuz that was another hurdle from this week).

Cade is one of my favorite characters and it's a story near and dear to my heart.

The man of her dreams finally came home from the war, but is he still the man she remembers or have his demons changed him forever?

Melanie Roberts loved her best friend more than she could ever imagine, and for longer than she wants to admit. Though once lovers, she's resigned herself to being no more than his best friend and roommate. On the eve of his return from deployment in Iraq, in order to keep her heart from breaking, she decides she's moving on—after one last sexy night.

Cade Nicholson has come to a decision. As he comes home damaged in both body and soul from his latest deployment, all he wants is to find comfort in Melanie's arms. Unsure and unsteady in expressing his love to the only woman to hold his heart, he has to find a way to convince her of his true feelings.

Can two best friends overcome their demons to prove their love for one another before past decisions come back to haunt them and it’s too late?

Reader Advisory: This book contains anal and outdoor sex.

Get your copy today!

And in other news:
Remember me talking about Please Remember Me? For all of you who read Cass and Logan's story (Right Where I Need to Be), well, PRM which is Marlon and Jade's story, is back from the CP and **I think** all the kinks are worked out. I'm writing the synopsis little by little (since they are so not fun) and hoping to have it to editor within two weeks. Am I scared? Heck yeah. Submissions are never my strong point. Stomach ends up in knots and I'm scared the editor will hate it (even after the CP's, beta readers, and everyone else whose helped in the revision/polish process has given it the go-ahead.)

So wish me luck and grab a copy of You'll Think of Me.

Ta for now! (I've got a synopsis to write.)

Friday Flirts

I know, I'm a little later than normal in posting this post. I have a great excuse. I tend to write my posts the night before. Why? Cuz that's when I have the moment to do it. This time? I had a mini date night with DH. We watched IronMan 2, which was great and yes, I have a soft spot for Robert Downey Jr. The story was good. Not as great as 1 but, hey, you can't make everything fantastic.

So Friday Flirts... Megan's been asking me for help and I've been helping her.

But I've also got another fantastic CP whose been invaluable in helping me with Jade and Marlon's story. Did I mention this one? Ah, I might not. Jade and Marlon's story is the follow up to Right. I wrote it over a year ago, but I just hadn't had any drive to get it fiddled with. Why? Because I had other things to do, and it needed about 10k worth of additions to make it print length. Right is in print and IMHO, the following ones should be, too. She's helping me see the things that needed added, the parts that are strong and the parts that are, well, they need help. Which is what a CP is for. Fingers crossed, I plan to have it subbed by December 31st.

I'm planning on doing NaNo this year, too. Yeah, I'm a glutton for punishment. I've got about three other stories going or in my head. Oh, and I plan on working on Farmer here real soon, too. I've got lots on my plate and sorting it out that's gonna kick my butt.

Oh well. If I wasn't busy, I'd be hunting things to do.

Later!

Flirty Friday

Today's the day of the week where I decided to share a little of the in-progress stuff I have going on.

I turned in the submission for Arran's story, Tanged Up. This (I think), is the final story in the group. I could be convinced to do one more, but it all depends on response. If I'm asked to write a story for one of the secondary characters, I'll give her her story.

So what's on the horizon?

In My Immortal, my PI has a sister who is screaming for her own story. It just so happens that she decided to finally TELL me her story. When I get five minutes to sit down and write it, I think it'll be a good story.

Do you remember my story You'll Think of Me? It's one of my Air Force stories. It was picked up by Total-E-Bound and should come out this November. There is a wise-cracking secondary character named Rhett. I've had plenty of people ask me for his story because they loved him and wanted to know what he's up to. Well, fear not. Rhett is as talkative as Gypsy, but he's not quite so joyous right now about how things are playing out. I think he'll be happy in the long run, but he can't have everything he wants--right now.

I am going back to my farmer and getting him in shape. Funny how every time I think he's ready to go to a publisher, it's not quite right. It will be. (I hope.)

And one of these moments I am going to get back to my reunion story. Tanner and Macy really want me to give them their say. Ah, but that means bugging the CP, too. :)

I also have an idea for a menage story for this spring. Music and threesomes. We'll see. I can't tell you everything.

So there's the flirts. You know things are in the works and coming together.

So That One's Off the List

I am happy to admit I finished the first draft of my reunion story. I even came up with a title I like. (What Might Have Been). I gave the story to two of my trusted CP's since the third currently has my farmer. Yeah, he got a serious 25k trim.

But my issue is that I tend to have three or four stories going in my head at any given time. One is done (WMHB), one is marinating, one is halfway there, and one is still rolling around in the cavern known as my head.

So since I haven't much to say today, why not leave you with something nice to look at?



Thought you'd like that.

I did.

So I Have This Story...

You may nor may not remember me talking about my farmer story. I subbed him and then got a reality check that knocked me on my behind.

BUT

I realized that the story I thought was SO GREAT... was really hiding within a huge story that was more junk and fluff than anything.

So what did I do?

Well, I cut the thing down. You see, I had a wonderful CP tell me, hey, this is written like a short story, but it's a full... what if you cut it down a bit? At first, I blanched. Cut my masterpiece down? Blasphemy! I had three other CPs look at the story and tell me it was ready to sub... um, not quite.

I thought about it a bit... yeah, it really did need cut down. Soooooo I went through with the proverbial red pen. I have no idea how much I chopped off, but I know it lost 6 chapters at least. We'll see. Among other things I did to make it better, was I had my Dh who hates to read (Romance is like asking him to eat his foot) to read it. And yes, he's found things in the slash-and-burn version that needed help, but he's also good at being blunt and honest. Funny, he's never worried about hacking my ego to bits BUT it helps. Really.

So I plan to send it to my trusted CP and then once it goes through her inspection, then I"ll resub it. At least the editor said, yeah it needs help, but send it back, I'll be happy to check it out again.

So back to my bat cave.

Toodles.

Thankful and Sad but Happy at the Same Time.

I know, that sounds like a silly and somber title for a post.

It is.

Over the past year, I've met some great friends, learned A LOT about reading, writing, and editing. I learned what HTML is and that it's not just some strange binary code or something. I felt the joys of editing because I got a contract, and the lows of oh hell, the editor didn't want it, please send again or better yet, never. I've read more ebooks than I ever thought possible. And I managed to drive my family crazy on more than one occasion.

Highlights:

February - I joined LASR/WC. (PS - I love it.)AND I saw Clint Bowyer at the Auto Show!
March - saw Gary Allan in concert where he played Right Where I Need to Be.
April - a whole lot of reviewing went on.
May - I got the contract for my first novel - Right Where I Need to Be through The Wild Rose Press. I also subbed a short story that got shot down at the editor level.
June - went to the Lori Foster Get Together and got a crash course in promotion
July - more reviewing and editing for the novel
August - see July
September - got the contract for my erotic short story Learning How to Bend through Total E Bound
October - worked like a dog on a couple of ideas for novels and short stories and did reviews
November - the craziness of NaNo, but I won!
December - more reviewing, writing, editing, and critting, and writing a short or two for WC (well, five on the year). (Did I mention I have a new CP? Yup and I'm making headway!)

And I have the edits for yet another novel idea done for the moment. I love it when things come together and work out. For a little while I lost a little faith in my writing abilities, but a kick in the pants from a couple of CP's got the ball rolling.

I have some sorrows, but they can wait until later.

Toodles.

Random Thoughts

Well, I actually came to the end of one of my WIPs. Yep, I finished one I had on the back burner for a bit. It's an erotica piece and goes after my erotica piece contracted with Total E Bound. Will they like it? I hope, but it still needs some edits and to see the CP, but hey, it's written and, to me, that's half the battle.

At the same time, I have a contemporary WIP that's with the CP. We're half way through it and I think it's got a good chance of being contracted somewhere, but I'm not tooting my own horn. I just really like the story and have a soft spot for farmers.

So, now it's back to the vampire story. He's been neglected for a while and well, he's not complaining about where he's at... but I'm sure he'd like to get his HEA.

And there's a pesky Ancient Greece story floating around in my head that would love to be told. Ah, but I need time to do that. Someday.

So that's all for now.

Toodles.

Any Snow?

Some days it feels like I'm being snowed under and I don't mean that fluffy white stuff outside.

I have a great set of Cp's. I love them, really, I do. And I love working with them.

But they aren't the problem.

Nope. It's my overactive imagination. Do you have one of those? I do. I have one of those little (actually three or four) notebooks to write down my ideas. But my issue is that I want to work on those ideas. I want to see them go from just an idea on a page to a full story, to published...

Seems like there aren't enough hours in the day.

But, my holiday shopping is done. Yup. I finished two days after I started. Oh, I love to shop--don't get me wrong--but I knew what I wanted and planned where to get it. And most of what my loved ones wanted wasn't on sale on Black Friday.

Oh I have I few little things extra to get...stamps...a secret Santa gift...a teacher gift...but that's easy peasy...

But right now, I have about five ideas fighting for attention in my head and a DH who's complaining I need to 'pencil him in'... geesh...

How's things with you all? I'd love to know.

Toodles.

How do you know when it's done?

One of my pals asked me, "When do you know the MS is done?"

I furrowed my brows. "What do you mean?"

She sighed. "When I finish my MS, I'm never sure that its done. It seems like there is always more I should do, more I should say or something I missed."

This made me think. When I submitted my novel Right Where I Need to Be, I just sent it. Okay, well I actually sent it, obsessed that I wasn't ready, and freaked that the editor would hate it. Yes, I obsess on my MS's.

What did I tell her? "It's never really done until you and the editor sign off on it and even then, you may go back and see things that needed fixed. It's a matter of what you feel comfortable with."

Once I told her this, I realized that it's a matter of opinion and a matter of quality. If you want quantity without quality, then you may breeze through changes that really need to be made. Then again, you can obsess on a change until you've run out of time. You have to find that balance that works for you.

What do you think? How would you have answered my friend's question? Let me know.

Toodles.

Now What Do You Do?

Okay, so the manuscript wasn't quite what the editor wanted. She's asked you to resubmit after you've worked "really hard". I know it's an ego crush to hear your baby isn't good enough.

But think about it this way: no one really gets it right on the first try.

Where would scientists be without experiments? Where would dancers be without practice? Do you really think actors just walk on set and get the scene in one take every time?

Ummm, no.

There are some out there who think writing is a get rich quick scheme. I hate to break it to you... it's not. Yes, there are writers out there who sell LOTS of books and there are those who make the NYTimes Bestseller list. They have also worked their behinds off to get there. And the book on the list, more than likely isn't their first ever book.

Now I'll be honest, there are some who do strike it rich on the first book. I'd be willing to bet that that book wasn't their first foray into writing. Many writers start out BLOGGING, writing articles for the newspaper, or in freelance journalism. In other words, they wrote before they wrote.

So back to the resubmission... I've been there a few times myself. It is frustrating, but if you get past the frustration and personal pain of rejection, you'll find that the changes are things that will HELP the work.

Are you worried that the editor will change the flavor of your work? Or change your voice? It might, but I doubt it. Your book will sound like the voice you gave it if you stay in command of the manuscript. A good editor will keep what you have built and help you to build on that foundation to make the work stronger. I promise.

Well, enough of my soapbox for today... I need to find some eye candy.

Toodles.