Add Spice to Your Writing

April 28, 2019May 13, 2021 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 4 Comments

It’s been a while since I walked across the fields of the Cow Pasture. Words have alluded me. Some days it has been like sitting at the keyboard and forgetting how to spell. Other times words run through my mind at warp speed at the turn of events in my life – not words I should repeat here. Although laced with emotions, they are lazy words, meant only for my catharsis.

We rarely get the results we want when we spew words into the universe because it feels good or is quick and easy. Like a recipe without flavor, it’s lazy and boring.

Words are the spice of our stories. Write with purpose and choose words that bring your story to life and leaves the reader with a lingering taste for more.

Check out this article by Jerry Jenkins, 249 Strong Verbs That’ll Spice Up Your Writing and spice up your writing.

Free Writing Summit

February 17, 2019February 17, 2019 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / Leave a comment

I’ve always wanted to attend a writing conference, retreat, or classes. Unfortunately, I could never quite manage the time away or the expense. Well, here’s a chance we can all “buy” into from the comfort of our homes and best of all – it’s FREE.

The second annual 2019 Women in Publishing Summit, sponsored by Thinkific and hosted by Alexa Bigwarfe. Live events will be broadcast on the Women in Publishing Summit Facebook page. The summit begins March 4 – 8, 2019 – tickets are Free.

On the agenda, The Value of Highly Contentious Topics in Fiction and how these hot topics sell books. Additional topics covered include:

Day 1: The Big picture of Your Book.
Day 2: Your Path to Publishing and Mindset.
Day 3: Production, Distribution, Legal, Editing, Design, Taxes, Copyright, and so on.
Day 4: Book launch Strategies and Marketing
Day 5: Tools and Resources for Writing, Publishing, and Marketing Your Book.

Check out all the participating speakers and register here.

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story. I’m all ears and look for me on Facebook Page att SheilaMcIntyreGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilamgood, Contently, and Instagram. You can follow my reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.

What I’ve Learned About Querying

October 27, 2018 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 6 Comments

Querying tips

I’ve been as invisible as a ghost over the last month because I entered the maze of querying agents for my manuscript, Hello Hell. Let me tell you, it can be a scary place if you don’t know what you’re doing or follow the process as outlined by every, single, agent. So, here’s a few tips, I’ve learned aloong the way. Feel free to share your own.

Pick your resources: Writer’s Digest, MSWL, Querytracker, or Writer’s Market.
Identify those agents open for submissions and who are requesting manuscripts in your genre.
Publications don’t always tell the whole story related to a specific agent, so do your reasearch.
Make a list. Note siginifcant specifics about each agent.
Read the agents profile, website, Twitter account and any other site they provide to get a good feel for whether he/she might be a good fit. For example, a profile may list they are interested in womne’s fiction but when you did deeper, there is a very specific type of women’s fiction they are interested in. Unless your manuscipt fits within that narrow scope, mark them off your list.
Read through the agency, research all the agents listed, the books they have published, and their submission guidelines.
Perfect your query again and again. Don’t write one and think it will serve all. Some agents are very particular regarding what they want to see in a querying and the layout. So, be prepared to have numerous versions as you gothrough the process.
Keep track of each query sent to each agent. This is important because you can’t querying more than one agent within an agency. So, pay attention to your list. I use Query Tracker which provides valuable insight into an agent: response times, genre reports, percentage of responses, and the number of negative and positive responses.
Setup reminders to followup (nudge an agent) or to mark a query as closed. Some agents specify that after x number of weeks, “assume we have reviewed your work and are going to pass on it.”
Understand querying is a process. It’s takes time, patience, and a thick skin. Whether an agent likes your work or not is often subjective. So keep things in perspective and don’t take a rejection personally.

Hope these tips help and if you have a tip, please share with us in the comment section. Good luck.

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story. I’m all ears and look for me on Facebook Page at SheilaMcIntyreGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilamgood, Contently, and Instagram. You can follow my reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.

Tidbits and Nuggets – Beats

October 2, 2018September 13, 2018 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 2 Comments

Beats: bits of action interspersed through a scene which tie dialogue to your setting and characters, and provide bits of imagery that guide your readers’ imagination.

“When you describe every bit action to the last detail, yo give your readers a clear picture of what’s going on, but you limit their imagination… Enough detail and you alienate them in the process…Far better to give your readers some hints and allow them to fill in the blanks…”

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers
Renni Browne & Dave King

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story. I’m all ears and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilamgood, Contently, and Instagram. You can follow my reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.