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| Sandy Nadeau |
There’s so much to learn about writing and the publishing
business, it can often feel a bit daunting. Today, debut author Sandy Nadeau shares tips that
helped her while on her own journey to publication. ~ Dawn
Tips that Helped Me on My Journey to Publication
by Sandy
Nadeau
I sat back the other day to figure out how long it had been
since I first attempted to be published. I don’t want to tell you. I’ll tell
you this: the writing rules have changed several times. The way I figure it,
about every five years, the “rules” change on us. It’s hard to keep track and
it can be discouraging.
If your heart aches to write, then I know that God gifted
you in that area of encouragement and you need to continue to persevere. Some
days it may seem impossible, or like you’re beating your head against the wall,
or that everyone hates your writing. Not true. If you’re following God with all
your heart and soul and mind, how can you go wrong? You may be practicing as
God moves you in the direction He wants you to go.
I’ll tell you what worked for me. First and foremost, I set
time aside daily to read the Word. To spend that quiet time just with Him. Not
just Sundays, not every few days if I have time. Daily. I desired to see what
He wrote about. That helped more areas of my life than I would have guessed.
Next step: finding someone that can show you what’s lacking
in your writing. I needed specifics since my head tends to be on the thick
side. Critique groups are great. Writer peers if they have time. READ those
craft books and apply. Conferences, of course. Enter contests that offer you
the judge’s notes to find what’s lacking in your writing. That was a great help
to me.
My “break” came following three rejections from the same
editor. You see, God’s timing is everything. I’d learned a lot. I think I was a
pretty good writer, but I was still missing a couple “rules.” My editor
rejected me, but she also gave me a lot of help in my problem areas by pointing
out specifics. I rewrote and resubmitted—two more times. We have to be
teachable and not assume the “rejecter” is the one with the problem. Our
writing really might not be up to par. Mine sure wasn’t.
My biggest problem was in POV Viewpoint. What is that, you
may ask? Point of View Viewpoint. Think of it this way: close your eyes and
become the character in that scene. What can they see? What do they hear? What
can they touch? They can’t possibly know what’s in the other person’s mind,
only what they perceive. And they can’t see behind them. Nor can they tell the
future. Things like that. As you write, become that character in your head and
let it flow out onto the keyboard. I haven’t mastered it by any means, but with
terrific editorial help, my book was published. They made it into a much better
flowing story.
Get that story written and pray! Pray for guidance,
direction, and the right help. God’s got this. Just write!
Tweetables:
If you’re
following God with all your heart and soul and mind, how can you go wrong?
Click to tweet.
Get that story
written and pray! Pray for guidance, direction, and the right help. God’s got
this. Just write! Click to tweet.
Mandy
Phillips loves life with her husband running an adventure ranch in the Colorado
mountains, but when Mr. Shonee, their crotchety old neighbor, tries to stop
them from building a kid-size old west town their dreams of expansion are
crushed.
Is
Shonee just being a difficult neighbor, or is something more sinister going on?
A discovery on the property of Colorado's state mineral leads to more mysteries
for the ranch, and then a teenage guest finds herself thrust head first into
danger.
Mandy
will have to rescue her, but who will rescue Mandy? Her faith in God is her
only source to keep the guests safe, solve the mysteries surrounding her ranch,
save her neighbor from himself, and discover the secrets of the Red Gold.
Sandy Nadeau loves
to go on adventures, photograph them and equally loves to write about them. She
and her husband do a lot of four-wheeling in the back country of Colorado and
share those experiences with others by taking them up in the mountains. With a
background in writing a column about her community for a local newspaper, she also
has had several magazine articles published. She loves to write novels about
adventure, mystery, romance, but most importantly sharing God’s love. She is
currently a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and Vice President
of the ACFW South Denver Chapter.
Married for 37 years, she and her husband are loving life as
grandparents to their two grandchildren. Travel is their favorite thing to do
and they don’t get to do it as often as they’d like. Adventure awaits around
every corner, over every hill and mountain.
You can learn more and connect with Sandy by visiting these
online sites:
Twitter: @SandyNadeauCO
Facebook: Sandy Nadeau, Author
