Cover me.
I’m going under cover.
Cover your mouth when you sneeze?
Okay, fine. I was trying to be unique and not do the standard announcement, but…
Jul26
Tag Archives: fiction
Jun25
Bookblock and book cover
The email from the publisher began:
“We have now begun the production cycle for your book, Wish I Was Here. Your submitted final manuscript has been professionally formatted into a custom PDF bookblock and attached here for your review.”
I had been texting with a coworker when this email popped up, prompting me to hastily exit that conversation and clock out of my day job.
The cover was also attached. Naturally, I began there. Oh, how I wish I could show you the cover, but it’s still a work in progress. When I saw it, I didn’t hate it. But I didn’t love it.
I sent it to my Faithful Few for feedback. (Isn’t it wonderful when alliteration happens naturally?) I got varied responses:
Mar6
Okay, you writer types. Let’s talk editing.
A funny thing happened when I got feedback from the “kick-start editor” for my debut novel, Wish I Was Here. She checks the first 20 pages of your manuscript to give you an idea of stuff to look out for in the rest of your book. Mainly, it was all about the commas.
This cracked me up because commas were Mark’s primary concern when he did a run-through also. I specifically remember him adding a comma before “then” somewhere.
This lady? “No commas before then unless what follows is a complete thought.”
I understand the mechanics of that, sure, but what about when there’s a natural pause where the comma would go?
I’d love your guys’ take on The Great Comma Debate. Here are two examples. Please vote 1 a or b and 2 a or b.
Jan25
This is real stress
The deadline looms for turning in my final-final manuscript of Wish I Was Here to the publisher. The feedback I’ve gotten from beta readers has been good, but that’s mostly been men in their fifties. Clearly, I need to expand my friend group.
But the harsh reality is, I should get the reaction of my target audience: teenage girls, especially ones who are well-read.
Gulp.
I needed to let my own children read this thing.
Dec1
Early book reviews and utter craziness
You may or may not have noticed I’ve done some site upgrades, including a new title to reflect the blog content, new about/contact (which is sort of funny), and a page called My book.
At My book, I have the synopsis and a few early reviews from kindly fellow authors. One guy wrote me in October saying he would read the book in December. A few days later, he wrote, “Got hooked. Will finish it this weekend.” The next day, he wrote, “What a fun read. Loved it. I think you have a hit on your hands.”
I didn’t mind that.
My kidlit author buddy, Mike Allegra, is currently reading it and said, “This book is fast-paced and fun!” He has been emailing as he goes, making predictions, which is both great and frightening, depending on how close to the truth he gets. I’m gratified that his guesses at plot twists are not the same as another reader’s.
This other reader emailed with subject line, “Wow,” followed by:
Oct9
The birth of Ilsa Rey
I know I’m supposed to do My Birthday Month, Part 2, but something came up.
Months ago, I was chatting with one of my favorite thought-provoking blog buddies, Endless Weekend, about the novel I was working on and what author name I might use should this project come to fruition.
I was considering using a pseudonym to distinguish my fiction from my three non-fiction books. Today, I confirmed that decision with a little thought, a little prayer, and a coin toss. (Best way to make all major life decisions, really. My husband would still be single if not for me flipping heads. Kidding, kidding.)
Endless Weekend helpfully sent me a link to every derivation of my name used throughout the world. I sloughed through a TON of names, nearly giving up before sitting up straight at the sight of “Ilsa.”
Writing and Martial Arts 