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| 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
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| 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.
Contact Information:
Website: www.colleenscottfiction.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ColleenRScott
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/colleen6643/
