A Must Have for Writers on the Elusive Agent Hunt!

Authoress, the anonymous champion of all aspiring writers, has done it again! Her latest endeavor is a no nonsense guide to starting that agent hunt and the tools to avoid pitfalls that so many of us fall into.

Many of you are familiar with her blog http://misssnarksfirstvictim.blogspot.com/ and her Hook the Agent contests. She also has many crit opportunities for her blog followers.

Over-all, she's just one of those really helpful people that try and make a difference by sharing her time, words of wisdom, and giving other's a chance to get a leg up in the elusive agent hunt. That being said, her new e-book release is now available:

This can be purchased for $9.99 on Authoress's blog (the link is above). It is an e-book, so talk about instant gratification!

The resources that she gives you are priceless. You could spend months and months researching these things on the web, read books on getting published (which are certainly not going to be cheaper), and would still be left wondering where to start.

Authoress has given you the tools, the lists (I so love lists), and the places to go so that you can too can find an agent, and then how to go about getting an agent that is right for you.

If you have written, are writing, or even thinking about writing something, this is a tool that you NEED. Go visit her blog, look around, and order her book. I promise you won't be sorry!

Oh yeah, and tell her Terri sent you...not that I get a kick-back, but I have a secret fantasy that maybe she's Nora Roberts, or JK Rowling, or Diana Gabaldon and I'd like to have brownie points!

Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

The biggest lesson that I have learned from Authoress's latest contest is this:

DON'T OVER-EDIT!
That was a big one. I had what I considered a really good scene, but when you submit 250 words, it only shows an itty bitty part of that scene. So what did I do? Try and squeeze as much as I could into 250 words, editing down until I completely messed up the flow of the story. STUPID! Note to self...don't do that again!

Since I have now stopped banging my head on the desk, I will also add that I learned more from the contest, as I usually do. You can really tell the difference between people who crit your work by what they read and/or write.

The comments from those unfamiliar with Historical Romance really made some false assumptions based on a "preconceived notion" that characters and plots were all the same. They aren't...just like with any other genre, they vary according to the writer. I had one comment that stated:
"Why is it that half of the historical fiction out there focuses on a girl behaving unseemly? The men are wealthy, rakish, and handsome and all the girls just dying to kick their knickers off."

Now, while I appreciate the time this writer spent to read and give me feedback, it's hard for me to understand how he/she could make that assumption. If a girl crawling around a garden, at her OWN home, trying to repair damage that she inadvertently caused by a practical joke gone awry, means that she is "dying to kick off her knickers", I missed something. Of course the men are handsome and rakish...it's a romance novel! Wealthy? Not my guy...another wrong assumption. They shouldn't be PERFECT!

I don't want to appear ungrateful, because I love feedback, even when I don't agree with it. It makes me look at the writing to see how that assumption could be made if it's inaccurate. On the same token, I'm not going to sweat it if a few people don't "get it" or flat out don't like the work. ***Not everyone will think I am the creative genius that I claim to be!

So back to revisions again! Another benefit from these contests...MOTIVATION!

***If you didn't receive the email, newspaper clipping, or see the billboard by the highway...SORRY! I will tell you now...I am freaking brilliant! (j/k)

:) Terri

New Hook The Agent Contest!

Over at Authoress's blog http://misssnarksfirstvictim.blogspot.com/, she has another agent that has volunteered to judge her "Hook the Agent" contest. I LOVE these contests, not because I think I'll win, but because of all the GREAT feedback you get.

The last contest was quite an eye-opener. Who knew cliches were so BAD? Uh, I guess every writer EXCEPT me! That is pretty darn good info to have, if you are pursuing writing as seriously as I am, heck, even if you write for fun I suppose that's good to know.

This time around, I used the first page (revised, edited and edited again, of course) of chapter one, instead of the prologue. Now any of my regular "blogger friends" will know immediately which post is mine (hint: I was REALLY anxious and sent that puppy in FAST...they are numbered in the order she received them), as it will have the title (which I have mentioned more times than I can count on my blog) and also that it is a Historical Romance.

The submissions will be posted tomorrow (Wednesday), and if you guys want to stop by, there are some really great writers that submit (only 25 this time), and they all LOVE these things as much as I do!

:) Terri

I am in a contest!!!!

Okay, I sent my first page of The Crichton Heir in to Authoress's blog http://misssnarksfirstvictim.blogspot.com/ for a contest. It is being judged by "SECRET AGENT". Comments will be posted on each submission (There were 113 submissions). I am # 78, although the submissions are anonymous. The name of the contest is "ARE YOU HOOKED". When leaving comments, you start out with a YES or a NO (answering whether you are hooked, cute, huh?).

I will be like LiteralDan who unabashedly begged for votes for his blog when he was up for "Best Daddy Blog", which he won BTW (I only voted EVERY day throughout the WHOLE contest...ahem One-Eyed Dan, I'll trade in my tote bag for a REALLY nice comment on #78).

But seriously folks, this is another great learning tool. Please be honest when posting ANY comments. The judging won't be based on comments, the "SECRET AGENT" picks the winner based on his/her own criteria, I'm sure, so feel free to give me any and all constructive criticism!

:) Terri