Top 7 Publishing & Writing Tips, by Samantha Verant

First, I’d like to thank Jessica for reading (and supporting) my memoir, SEVEN LETTERS FROM PARIS. I’ve known Jessica “virtually” for almost five years now. (I can’t wait to meet her in person one day!)

Not only is Jessica a remarkably talented author and a great friend, she is the go-to gal for writerly advice. So, today, in keeping with theme of my memoir, and Jessica’s amazing blog, I thought I’d post my top SEVEN tips regarding the crazy world of publishing and writing. Some of this advice you’ve heard before. And some of it applies to how I actually sold SEVEN LETTERS FROM PARIS.

1) EARN YOUR RACING STRIPES!

Work on your craft. Connect with other writers. Learn the business, albeit traditional or self-publishing. Read in your genre. Build up your platform, your social connections. No matter how supportive she is – your mother is NOT a critique partner or a beta reader! And neither is your sister, spouse, or best friend. Put your work out there. Yes, with strangers. One of the best resources on the web to learn the business AND connect with other writers is http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums. Also, if you write middle grade or YA, check out Verla Kay’s “blueboards,” now located on The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators site: http://www.scbwi.org/boards/

2) REVISE. EDIT. REPEAT.

Unless you are extremely rare (or an alien from the planet Wordsmith), your first draft will most likely be a steaming pile of cr@p. But you haven’t wasted your time. The great thing about writing is you can always dust yourself off and turn the page. Revise. Edit. Repeat. It took me four drafts and many revisions before SEVEN LETTERS turned into a saleable manuscript.

3) DON’T LET CRITIQUES or REJECTION or BAD REVIEWS GET YOU DOWN.

Take critiques with an open mind and never get angry. Let advice simmer for a day or two before sending off a scathing email. Your writing partners want the best for your story. When critiquing others, I always apply the sugar, salt, super-sugar method. (What’s good about the story, what needs work, and what totally rocks). Separate yourself from the story, especially if you’re writing a memoir. We’ve heard this time and time again: publishing is subjective. It’s true. And I think we can apply the same principals to bad reviews. Remember, people aren’t critiquing you. (If you ever receive reviews attacking you personally, these people have severe emotional problems. And we can’t fix them.)

Note: A friend of mine recently offered this advice: don’t focus on reviews or book stats; write your next book. (I’m about to cross this bridge. I’ll let you know how it goes.)

As for rejection, the first ones buzzing around in your inbox sting like an attack of malicious killer bees. Just remember, although there is pain, you’re not going to die. You’ll know you’ve become a seasoned writer when you can actually laugh at rejection. In fact, I received a rejection from an agent I’d queried one year earlier...the day I sold my memoir to Sourcebooks. Ha-ha-ha! Instead of responding, I opened up a bottle of wine. Cheers!

4) HIRE AN EDITOR.

Whether you want to self-publish or ease (ha!) on down the traditional publishing road, I really can’t stress how important it is for you to hire a well-seasoned editor. I did. And it was the best decision I’ve ever made. My editor didn't change my voice, or fix grammar issues, or re-write my story. He asked me the hard-hitting questions. He suggested cuts. And additions. Things my alpha readers didn’t catch. I told him to “bring it on,” that I had thick skin, and could handle whatever he threw at me. We revised the manuscript again. We polished the book proposal up. Then, I enlisted an army of beta readers. Once I could no longer stand to look at my manuscript, I sent it off in the world, trying to land a new agent.

This didn’t happen.

It was then I decided to take my book into my own hands and I pitched SEVEN LETTERS to Sourcebooks. I figured if I didn’t sell the manuscript, I’d be in a much better position to self-publish. A few weeks later, the unexpected happened. Sourcebooks offered me a publishing contract, which I signed once I stopped doing a happy dance. A year later, they sold foreign rights to Random House Australia and, so far, translation rights to Lithuania and Bulgaria. So, yes, hiring an editor to fine-tune SEVEN LETTERS was worth every damn penny. But the work didn’t end there. My editor at Sourcebooks, Anna, and I revised my manuscript two more times before it was sent on to copy edits. Which brings me to my next point...

5) PREPARE TO WORK HARD! BE PATIENT!

It took me five books and seven (there’s my number) years to land a publishing deal. Now, I have two books coming out within two weeks of one another. (Tangent: I’m probably the only author with a romantic memoir and a middle grade about mutant kids coming out at the same time. Who needs a pen name? The truth? It always comes out!) Once an agent/editor picks you up or you make the decision to self-publish, the work doesn’t stop. If you thought writing a book was time-consuming, just wait until you enter the marketing phase. There are endorsements to snag, events to plan, guest posts and interviews, and more. Look at what our friend, Jessica, has accomplished with her White Lady tour! (She’s on my blog today, which brings me to point six...)

6) SUPPORT OTHER WRITERS!

Honestly, I’ve been in the midst of launching two books, so I haven’t been on the blog scene much. But I am here behind the scenes, offering my support to my network. I do what I can when I can. I buy books (when I have the money). I leave reviews. I sign up for blog tours. I critique my writing group’s manuscripts. There are about twenty-or-so people who I can call on when I need them, and, likewise, they can always call on me. We’re all in this together.

7) NEVER GIVE UP!

In sum, my publishing journey wasn’t easy and there were no short cuts. (Some people get lucky! We will lynch them later.) Along the way, I made many, many mistakes, and I broke a lot of rules. Alas, if you really want to be a writer, the most important advice I can give is: Never give up! Sometimes I call myself Seabiscuit. Thankfully, I found the right people who believed in me and pushed me forward. Now that I’ve earned my racing stripes, it’s off to the races. And, if I fall down, I’ll just dust off my knees and get back up. Giddy-up.

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SEVEN LETTERS FROM PARIS: A MEMOIR:

Twenty years, seven letters, and one long-lost love of a lifetime
 

At age 40, Samantha Verant's life is falling apart-she's jobless, in debt, and feeling stuck... until she stumbles upon seven old love letters from Jean-Luc, the sexy Frenchman she'd met in Paris when she was 19. With a quick Google search, she finds him, and both are quick to realize that the passion they felt 20 years prior hasn't faded with time and distance.

Samantha knows that jetting off to France to reconnect with a man that she only knew for one sun-drenched, passion-filled day is crazy-but it's the kind of crazy she's been waiting for her whole life.

Watch the book trailer:

Jean-Luc and Samantha in Paris 1989.

Praise for SEVEN LETTERS FROM PARIS

“A charming story, and a delightful tribute to the power of a good old-fashioned love letter.” ~ Peter Mayle, bestselling author of A Year in Provence

“Seven Letters from Paris is a real-life fairytale. You’ll be rooting for this bubbly American heroine and her prince charmant.” ~ Elizabeth Bard, author of Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes

“Enchanting. A captivating real-life fairytale romance that will have you reading slowly so you can savor every delicious word. Castles included!” ~ Janice MacLeod, author of Paris Letters

“Seven Letters from Paris is a celebration of l’amour across cultures and across decades…Samantha Vérant embraces France, and her French love, with an all-American enthusiasm that is nothing if not infectious.”~ Hilary Reyl, author of Lessons in French

Buy the Book:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository  | Indie Bound  | Target | Walmart

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Photo credit: Stephen Fisch 

Samantha Vérant is a travel addict, a self-professed oenophile, and a determined, if occasionally unconventional, French chef. She lives in southwestern France, where she's able to explore all of her passions, and where she's married to a sexy French rocket scientist she met in 1989, but ignored for twenty years.

Connect with Samantha:
Web | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

You’re invited! Join Samantha at her “virtual” book launch event on Facebook tomorrow, where she’ll be giving away copies of SEVEN LETTERS FROM PARIS!

CLICK HERE

  

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My Week in Facebook Faffing

Monday: 

"I just noticed you don't want attachments. I don't know how to copy and paste. Sorry, please withdraw my submission." Wha? How do you get through life without knowing how to copy and paste?

Tuesday:
Eeek! Have so many interviews to do and guest posts to write. They just keep piling up! I'd better get cracking ...

Wondering if I should set up a personal newsletter. Is it worth it? When I receive newsletters from lit mags and authors that I've subscribed to, I actually very rarely READ them. Unless they are my friends. Thoughts?

Just started reading a book that makes me feel totally talentless ... The Stone Gods, by Jeanette Winterson.

Wednesday:
REALLY annoyed that I can't publish to NOOK. I have to be a US resident! Wow, B&N are really limiting themselves. No wonder Amazon is getting the better of them! Sheesh, even KOBO allows foreigners to publish there.

I've been over and over and OVER these proofs and I STILL feel insecure about typos ...

One thing I notice when reading hundreds of poetry submissions, is that way too many poets are drawn to gardens ... why is it that flowers and suns, and moons and dreams, and tides and quiet breaths in the dark dark night, suffocate this form of written word until I need to come up for air and scream GIVE ME SOME FUCKING CONTROVERSY?

Thursday:
Kindle of Show & Tell in a Nutshell is available. Do I promote it before the paperback is ready? Decisions decisions ...

Author Struggle No.1: Tired of seeing so much book promo. Need to market own books. Catch 22.

Once upon a time there was a gal named Jess
who had an urge to write limericks upon your request
but she had to watch for names
that were damn hard to tame
or the limerick would lack the required finesse!

So it seems, Facebook tells my story ... this has the potential to be a weekly feature! How much of your life do you share on Facebook?

The Liberating Effects of Writing a Memoir. Please welcome Karen Walker, author of Following the Whispers!

Please welcome Karen Walker today to talk about the liberating effects of writing a memoir in celebration of her memoir, Following The Whispers, being released as an e-book!

Karen Walker is a writer who has published essays in newspapers and magazines, as well as an anthology series. After a 30+ year career in marketing and public relations, she went back to college to complete a Bachelor's degree and graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2005 from the University of New Mexico's University Studies program with a major emphasis in Creative Writing. She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with her husband, Gary, and their dog, Buddy. When she’s not writing, you can find her doing international folk dancing, singing at retirement communities with her trio, Sugartime, hiking, reading, or hanging out with friends.


Take it away Karen!

I wouldn’t have chosen to write a memoir if I felt I had a choice. Well, we always have choice. But I was compelled to write mine. I unexpectedly lost custody of my then 3 1/2 year-old son in 1978. It catapulted me into a deep depression; I was filled with self-hatred and despair. To save my sanity, I began keeping a journal. As a child, I’d fantasized about being a writer, like Jo in Little Women, but that’s all it was--a fantasy.

Keeping journals helped me process what was happening, sort through the complexity of emotions and feelings, and somehow make sense of my life. A seed was planted that someday I’d write about a nice, middle-class Jewish woman who wasn’t a prostitute or a drug addict but who somehow lost her child.

I had to wait until 1999, when my current wonderful husband offered me the opportunity to write full-time to begin that process. Probably the most difficult part of the writing was pouring through hundreds of journals, highlighting parts I thought were important, then typing them into the computer. There were times when I collapsed, sobbing on the floor, unable to continue as I relived my pain. It proved, however, to be extremely cathartic.

The memoir began as a story about losing custody, but after several drafts, I realized it was more about having grown up in a dysfunctional family, been sexually abused at seven years old, and how those kinds of events shaped the person who ended up divorced and without her child at 28.

Writing memoir is not for the weak. It takes courage to face your past--to look deeply at your life and the choices and decisions you made that may have hurt others and probably hurt you. And it takes even more courage to put those out for the world to see.

But memoir serves an important purpose--it shines a light on a life in a way that helps us look at our own lives and perhaps learn lessons we need to learn. That is why I was compelled to write my story. I knew there were others who suffered the same kind of pain for similar reasons. Mine is a journey towards healing and I am content now--something I didn’t think possible. And I think that writing my memoir played a key part in that happening.


Thank you so much for coming today, Karen. It's been an absolute pleasure!

You can find Following The Whispers here:

http://www.amazon.com

http://www.smashwords.com

In the Mirror, by Ann Best. I'm left with goosebumps and struck with utter awe.

This has to be one of the most extraordinary books I have ever read. Do not be fooled by the simple language. It  is stark and honest and just ... amazing.

I like to think of this memoir as a ballad. If you are familiar with this form of poetry, you would know that the content is often tragic, they begin in the middle of conflict, they contain brief lyrical moments, and that they are condensed. They are so condensed that, if well-written, the language often seems to not portray any emotion at all, but when they are read, the imagery is so strong and raw, and violent in its exposure, that one is often left with goosebumps and struck with utter awe. This is how I felt reading this memoir.

I literally had to force myself to put this memoir down at night. There is so much tension and ache and sometimes desperation woven between the minimalism of Ann's prose. And you don't even have to look that deeply. It just seems to pop out at you when you least expect it and leave you feeling naked.

As a writer of literary fiction, who tends to embellish prose with lyrical content to squeeze the utmost emotion out of my scenes, I am so impressed with this book. And I can confidently say that Ann has taught me the power of simplicity. Raymond Carver introduced me to it. Ann Best justified its worth.

What a wonderful experience to read this book. Ann, I take my hat off to you.

What books have you read recently that have left a strong impression on you?

It's difficult to write about the truth, isn't it?

As many of you know I'm trying to write a memoir. Not very successfully I might add. These are the problems I'm facing:

One: I embellish a truth so much that it ends up turning into fiction.

Two: I can't distinguish between the truth and my 'idea' of the truth.

Three: I cry out of frustration, grief, and memories that I thought I had gotten over, and then stop writing because it hurts. If this keeps happening I'll never get it written.

Four: I have a vague memory of some things but the details are so blurry I can't possibly write about them truthfully, but have to in order to tell my story properly.

Five: Are my opinions of the past valid? Or are they overreactions?

Six: Are some of my memories made-up memories that I created in order to overcome things as a child? Such as believing something someone did was more horrible than it actually was so that I was allowed to 'hate' them?

Seven: I am so used to making things shine in fiction, that I don't know how to use the same skills with the truth and they come out dry and bland.

So. There are my seven deadly memoir sins. Has anyone ever experienced the same thing? Very interested to hear opinions from Karen Gowen and Karen Walker here as they too have written memoirs.

PS: The Stray Branch, a literary journal, has just accepted my poem EMPTY for its bi-annual print publication in 2012, the Fall/Winter issue #10 Vol 7. Yikes! What a wait. But certainly very pleased! :o)

PPS: Um, I think I'm losing track of followers. I've also got a terrible feeling that I've neglected some of you - as in NEVER stopped by your blog to leave a comment. If that's the case, I'm SO SO SO SORRY! Also, if that is the case, please please please feel free to leave me a comment and tell me. Tell me to get my butt into gear and make my way over, ya hear? I want interactive blogging here, so neglecting people is just not my intention. So please speak up if I've lost touch! Thanks *curtsy*.