New Look, New Focus, Yet Still the Same
This week’s theme is changing your mind. I’ve been changing mine about several things lately.
Changing My Mind
What have I been changing my mind about? It’s a woman’s prerogative, isn’t it?
Last week, I entered my novel in another contest. To do that, I had to chop 14,000 words. I didn’t think I could do it, but I did. I thought more, then thought some more.
First, I changed my mind about cutting another 10,000 words from my novel, Meghan’s Choice. Soon, I’ll post a scene from my unpublished novel for you all to look at and tell me what you think.
Second, I changed the look of this blog. I love the color blue. It’s always been one of my favorite colors. Because I stepped out and am going to be attending the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) national conference in St. Louis in two weeks (eeek!), I felt I needed to upgrade my web image to a bit more professional, and I got business cards that are blue, too.
My Novel Process
Process is process. I’ve said it here in different ways, but I’ll say it. When we writers write, it’s a process, and we have to be patient. It’s taken me a year and eight months to get my novel ready for a publisher…a royalty publisher to even look at.
One of the reasons I’m attending the ACFW conference, is because I hope to meet with an editor and an agent. That’s my next step. Because writing is a business, and as a business, it needs to have a business plan. My plan was to pursue royalty publishers first. That’s what I’m doing now.
If that doesn’t work, maybe I will cut another 10,000 words to see if I can get Harlequin’s Love Inspired line to consider my work. But one of the things about having to cut so much is that I had to cut most interactions with one character. And he’s a great character. Maybe I’ll have a talk with him. I’ve given him hope for an expanded role in the second book in my series.
Now all I have to do is get the first one published.
I’ll be publishing again this week, because I was challenged with the “Bookshelf Challenge.” Watch for it in a couple of days.
What do you think of my new look? Leave a comment and let me know.
Donna L.H. Smith 