Friday, August 21, 2015

How to Get Published in 3 Easy Steps by Colleen Scott




Colleen Scott
How many times have you heard a publisher or an agent express desire to work with authors who are willing to learn and take to heart well-meaning suggestions? Colleen Scott is that type of writer, and now she has an awesome debut novel coming out soon.  ~ Dawn



How to Get Published in 3 Easy Steps

Don’t you wish the title of this blog post were true? I do. I would follow each step carefully, then sit on my front porch and wait for my box of books, hot off the press to arrive. The truth is, each person’s journey toward publication is different.

There are no three easy steps to becoming published, but here are three things I did that helped me get my first contract.

Step One – Keep writing and submitting. Each rejection you receive is one step closer to a contract. Be willing to try any and all avenues. I’ve had friends who’ve won contests and went on to be published. There are others who were agented first, then offered a contract, and others still who submitted their manuscript to a publishing service and had publishers contact them.

Step Two – Be willing to listen to advice. The first draft of Misconceptions was written from five POVs. After meeting with an agent at the ACFW conference, I took her advice and trimmed it down to three.

After the revisions, editors and agents were very interested in the book. I’d get requests for the full, then receive a rejection. Unfortunately, none gave a reason as to why. I was stumped.

Then one day while I was scrolling on Facebook, I noticed a new Christian publishing company, CastleGate Press, was launching their business. They were looking for suspense novels that included a little something unusual. Perfect! I followed the submission guidelines, submitted a query, and received a request for my first three chapters.

Step Three – Be willing to try something different. After reviewing my first three chapters, the editor contacted me and offered some very helpful feedback. She said that my writing was “almost there.” Ahhh … that was what I’d been looking for. She suggested that I read up on deep POV and edit my manuscript, and she invited me to resubmit.

I researched deep POV and felt I needed some help. I contacted a close writing friend and asked if she knew any freelance editors with a good reputation. She referred me to Dawn Kinzer and assured me Dawn was good at what she did, and she was kind. Sounded perfect to me! I forwarded my e-mails to Dawn, and she said she understood what the editor was looking for. After making the revisions, I resubmitted to the editor at CastleGate. She loved the changes and requested the full manuscript.

Now I had a decision to make. Each year, I attend one writing conference. I save money each month to put toward this investment. After praying, I decided to take my conference money and invest it in a full-manuscript edit. I could have attended the conference and pitched the novel to more agents and editors, but I felt hiring an editor was a better choice.

It paid off. After implementing all of the edits Dawn provided, the editor from CastleGate contacted me and offered me a contract. She went the extra mile and recommended me to Linda Glaz from Hartline Literary Agency, and I signed with her that same week. Once things fell into place, I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

My debut novel will be coming out this fall. Click on the links below to follow me on Facebook, or sign up for my newsletter. When Misconceptions is available for purchase, I’ll give a big shout out!

Wherever you are in your writing journey, I encourage you to keep going. Take that next step. And don’t be afraid to try something different. It just may work out.




Misconceptions
Misconceptions

It’s mysterious. And she’s too curious.

In the near future, the birthrate in the United States has dropped precipitously…everywhere except a few small pockets. Posing as a social worker at a southern Ohio hospital, TV news reporter Dominique Sherwood aims to get the scoop and find out why.

Her investigation takes a radical turn when she meets Dr. Joseph Armstrong. His attention makes her heart flutter, but his theory about the birthrate decline makes her heart stutter. It’s too strange to even consider, but it’s her only lead.

Dominique follows the trail into the dangerous underworld of black-market adoptions as Joe and his family are unwittingly drawn into the web of deceit and murder. And when the truth comes out, more than just her story is on the line.



Colleen Scott is an active mother and wife and keeps busy homeschooling her children, directing plays for the local homeschool group, and playing endless fetch with her Border Collie. When not writing, Colleen enjoys reading, going for long walks, and spending time with her family and friends. She lives in the Midwest, and Misconceptions is her debut novel.

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