Come see me at the beach!  🙂

This weekend, I’ll be attending the Silken Sands Writers’ Conference in beautiful Pensacola Beach.  On Saturday, I’ll participate in a huge multi-author signing that is open to the public. So if you happen to be in the Pensacola Beach area and you’d love to get some autographed books, come on by!

Here’s the address:

The Hampton Inn–Silken Sands Room

2 Via De Luna

Pensacola Beach, FL

See you at the beach!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!! Since I’m feeling semi-Irish…

May you be in
Heaven a half hour before the
Devil knows you’re dead!

🙂

And may you find a pot of gold today! (Then share that pot of gold with me!)

For my Write On! segment today, I thought I’d share 10 ways to become a successful writer:

1. Write. Yeah, I know, this does seem obvious, but I had to put it on my list. A lot of people talk about being a writer, but they don’t actually write. You have to sit your butt down in the chair and *write* to be a writer.

2. Read. Another obvious one.  If you want to be a good writer, then you need to read–a lot. And you particularly need to read in your genre. See what’s selling. See what’s hitting all the lists. See how other authors handle tension and pacing and character development. Just read.

3. Set realistic goals. Don’t decide to jump into this writing business with the immediate goal of completing a book in a month and then making the NYT list within a year.  Sure, it could happen. But why not put a little less pressure on yourself and set goals that are a little smaller? Like…write a chapter a week.

4. Learn everything you can about the industry. The Internet is a wonderful tool.  You can follow agents and editors on Twitter–you can see what they are hoping to acquire.  You can go to conferences and attend publisher spotlights.  You can join writers’ groups. Knowledge is power, don’t ever forget that.

5. Don’t compare yourself to other writers.  Jealousy can be an ugly thing.  Just focus on your story and write the best tale you can.  Don’t worry about what your buddy is doing or the deals she is getting.  Be selfish and focus on yourself!

6. Always know that you’re not perfect.  Or, rather, your writing isn’t. We can always learn more. We can always improve our craft.  The goal is to keep improving. Always–improve.

7. Celebrate your successes. You need to stay positive in this business. So celebrate!

8. Know when to step away from the keyboard. If the scene isn’t coming, maybe you need a break. If you’re really writing crap, go take a walk.  Don’t keep pounding away until you’ve had a chance to clear your head.

9. Don’t dwell on the negative. Did you get a rejection?  Ok, that sucks. No doubt. But keep writing. Keep going forward.  Cry a little if you’d like. Then go forth and make a better, stronger story.

10.  Don’t give up. Ever. If you stop, then how will you sell?

If you’ve got more advice to offer, please do! And enjoy your St. Patrick’s Day!!

Great news!  Two of my stories finaled in the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence Contest.  In the paranormal category, IMMORTAL DANGER was named a finalist.

And in the novella category, “In the Dark” (from BELONG TO THE NIGHT) made it to the finals.

Thanks very much to all the judges! And congrats to all of the other finalists!  (You can see a full listing here.)

My apologies for not getting this post up sooner. 🙁

Today, I want to talk about different publishing opportunities that are out there.  When I started to write, the first story I sold was to Chicken Soup For the Soul.  I didn’t want to throw myself into the deep end of the writing pool with a 80,000+ story right away (80,000 words can be pretty intimidating).  So, I started short. (Or, rather, with a shorter word count.)

Writing short stories can be a great way to build writing your resume–and the more you build that resume, the more confidence you’ll gain in  your writing. And there are LOTS of short story markets out there.  I’ve always enjoyed the Chicken Soup books, so I tried my hand at those tales first.  The Chicken Soup folks are always looking for stories; here–check out this list of upcoming titles from them.   You could also try writing for Cup of Comfort.

And, hey, don’t forget the magazine market! There are so many great magazines out there–and those magazines are looking for writers.  The next time you’re in the bookstore, take a glance at the magazine racks. Consider those magazines as your publishing options.

Selling short stories or articles can definitely be a great way to break into the publishing industry.  So, go ahead, test those publishing waters. If you want to write, give it a try.  You don’t have to start with a full-length novel.  Why not start with a smaller word count?

Good luck!

I thought I’d post some publishing info today.  🙂

Juno Books is looking for some good submissions.

The ladies at Southern Sizzle Romance recently interviewed Literary Agent Elaine Spencer (of the Knight Agency) and they also   interviewed literary agent Joyce Holland of the D4EO Agency.

With conference season upon us, Casey Crow offers Do’s and Don’ts for Conference First Timers.

And Writer’s Digest has a list of  “24 Agents Who Want Your Work” posted on their site.

Got any industry news to share? Helpful links? Post away!