AWARD NOMINATIONS

I've nominated both STUMP by Michael B. Sessions and THE OLD MAN WHO TALKED TO THE TREES by Diana Baird for the Idaho Book Award. Both are set in Idaho and of high quality. It will be exciting to see how they fare.

Other exciting award stuff includes my critique partner's nomination for the Christy Award. This is one of the highest honors for Christian fiction, and the book actually has my name in it. Yep. I'm listed in the acknowledgments. What a thrill to know I contributed to a book of such high caliber.

I see this as just the beginning. Please give me a call here at Borderline if you need any direction in getting your dreams into print.

READY, GET SET, SUBMIT

A good way to publicize your book is to sell an article to a magazine. It's also a great way to build your bio. So how do you do it?

You need a query letter: Start with a hook, include the pertinent information on your story (i.e. word count), tell why it will appeal to the readers of that particular magazine or why you think such a publication is a good fit for your work, then end with information on yourself and why you are the right person to write such a story.

Enclose/Attach: In the top left hand corner of your manuscript, include your name, address, email, and phone number. Word count goes on the top right. Then, halfway down the page, type your title in all caps. You'll also need the title/your name in the header on the left. Page number goes on the top right.

When you find the publication you want to submit to, make sure to check their guidelines online. Some prefer printed submissions through the mail, in which case you will want to send a self-addressed stamped envelope. Others will have an email address and either want you to attach your file or include it in the body of the email. Whatever you do, make sure to follow particular submission guidelines.

A good place to start is actually Chicken Soup for the Soul. They let you know which editions are looking for stories, and you can submit right there on their website. Pays $200 a story. You'll also want to check out our IDAhope Anthology.

SIX MAJOR PLOTS

So I went to a writer's workshop this weekend where I learned so much that it feels like I knew nothing about writing before. A little overwhelming, but fun at the same time. Here's something fun I learned...

All novels fall into one of these basic plots:
1) Overcoming the Monster--Star Wars, The Pelican Brief, Ferris Bueller's Day Off
2) Rags to Riches--Cinderella, My Fair Lady, Pretty Woman
3) The Great Quest--Raiders of the Lost Ark, National Treasure, Saving Private Ryan
4) Home Again, Home Again--Wizard of Oz, Sweet Home Alabama
5) Beast to Beauty--The Sound of Music, Gladiator (A tragedy is a takeoff of this without the happy ending, like in A Beautiful Mind.)
6) See the Light--Devil Wears Prada, Return to Me

My novel coming out in December is a Home Again, Home Again. Which plot fits your writing?

QUOTABLE QUOTES

Book launch party tomorrow night for 90% Right can be 100% Wrong at Eagle Nazarene from 7-9. I've enjoyed working with Dr. Todd Bennett and learned a lot from the many lines that stand out in my memory. Here are a few:

The easy path will always take us away from the right path.

People don't change when they see the light, they wait until they feel the heat.

Ego stands for "Erasing God Out."

Now look at your own writing. What are some lines that readers will remember from your book? Whatever you do, make sure your manuscript is hard to forget. Do you have any lines people might want to use as their status on facebook? Anything that people would repeat like "Here's looking at you, kid" or "There's no place like home"? If not, your story can be stronger.

HOOK 'EM

One of the biggest words used now in the book publishing world is "brand." Here are the purposes of having a brand:
1) Create emotional velcro
2) Build a perception of higher quality
3) Offer a little "something special" that no one else has

For example, people don't buy a Nora Roberts book because it sounds like a story they want to read. They buy a Nora Roberts book because they like Nora Roberts. And when Nora wanted to try writing in a different style, she wrote under a pen name that has a whole different brand to it.

I don't have a brand yet because there is not a large audience that has read my work and expects something from me. But I'm thinking about what my brand should be since my book comes out this December.

My stories are pretty light-hearted, and I've been told that I have the gift of making tough situations entertaining. So I want everything with my name on it to give such an impression. I've made my website fun. And now that my cover is being designed, I really care that it conveys my brand. The desinger told me that the cover is beautiful with a wedding dress and boquet. My response? "Can't she be holding flip-flops instead of a boquet?" Now that little bit of quirkiness would fit my brand.

If you want to learn more about cover design and how to hook your readers, join Borderline for writing workshop session #4 this Saturday, April 24 at A Novel Adventure from 10-12. For more information, visit the events page on our website.

PATH TO PUBLICATION

Tomorrow I get to speak at the Pacific Northwest Association of Church Libraries. I'll be talking about my journey of becoming an author, as well as the journeys of the other authors here at Borderline.

Most authors didn't have the headstart I did. Because of my mom's passion for writing, I had my picture and stories about me published in magazines when I was little. (Yes, that really is a photo of me with the Dorothy Hammil haircut.) So submitting my own stories to magazines when I wrote them was a natural next step. And it's a great first step for anyone interested in writing.

I always recommend to authors that they submit excerpts or articles to magazines to help promote their books. It's like getting paid to advertise. And it looks good in your bio.

What is a magazine that you could submit to? Which magazines do you read? Which would be interested in the subjects you have experience with? Look up their submission guidelines and give it a try. Writing an article is definitely good practice for writing your book.

MAKE IT MATTER

I am in the stage of getting ready for an intense writing workshop in Portland next weekend. Had to fill out a survey for the manuscript I have due to my publisher May 1. This is the question that stumped me at first:

Why does your story matter?

Ooh, can't it just be a fun story? Can't it simply be entertainment? An escape? It's a silly romance, for Pete's sake. But as the author, I should want it to matter.

So I dug deep. And I found a meaning that is connected to my very core. It's a theme that runs through everything I write. It's a lesson I have to remind myself of repeatedly. And I do want it to affect my readers.

Can you find the deep meaning in your writing? Try this...

Write down what your book is about. Then write: "So what?"

Answer the question. Then write: "So what?" again.

Repeat until you find the reason your book matters.

SERIES SUCCESS

Finished editing book two in the Boardunders Club Series. And I couldn't wait to tell my 10-year-old son Jordan about it. So last night (way past his bedtime) we giggled and speculated over the four main skateboarding sleuths and their heroic bulldog.

It was a great memory-maker for us--a time when Mom is actually kinda cool. And this is the whole purpose for author T.A. Smith. The Boardunder Series is only one faucet of a new ministry designed to educate and support mothers of teen/tween boys. Smith has 15 years experience working in a boys home, which revealed to him an area of great need.

BAM (Boys and Moms) will be launching this spring and includes workshops to be hosted in churches, events like the performance from professional freestyle skateboarder Tim Byrne scheduled for August, and give-aways of action/adventure trips for mother and son. You can catch Smith at the CHOIS convention June 3-5 or visit him on his website www.christianactionadventures.com. And you will definitely want to get a copy of the first book in his series, Puzzle Bones.

AMAZING GRACE

Today I'm working on marketing materials for this amazing author. Phyllis Vavold survived a head-on car accident with two teenagers joyriding in a stolen vehicle and traveling at 130mph. Her husband and the teens were not so lucky.

Phyllis's story of strength is sure to inspire you as it has done for many through her speaking ministry and radio testimony. Visit her new website to see how you can invite her speak for your church or women's ministry and come meet her at her book launch Saturday, May 29 at Karcher Nazarene in Nampa from 3-5.

SELLING NON-FICTION

People do judge books by their covers. First the front cover. Then the back cover. Then, if it's fiction, they read the first page. Or if it's non-fiction, they read the table of contents.

Having been told that I have the gift of taking a good idea too far, I like the titles of each chapter to have a common theme. Try putting one together for yourself. What is the topic and what is the theme of your story? See if you could come up with a package that would sell.

For more ideas on creating a whole package that hooks the interest of prospective customers, join cover designer Brian Cox for the fourth session in our writing series. The workshop will be held at Nove Adventure downtown from 10-noon on April 24.

BE IN IDAHOPE ANTHOLOGY

Borderline Publishing is putting together an inspirational anthology--like a local Chicken Soup for the Soul. We need 15-30 encouraging stories that will touch the hearts of others in our community. If you've ever thought your life should be written about in a book, this is your chance.

Submissions are due by August 31 and must be 12 point Times, double spaced. Length should range between 500-2,500 words. Please send as a Word attachment to angela@borderlinepublishing.com.

The authors of the stories selected will be notified by September 15, and the books will come out October 15. All that is required in the publishing contract is for the author to agree to buy ten books at wholesale cost. Authors can then in turn sell the books at retail price to make some extra money or to use as a fund-raiser for a charity.

If you have any questions on this opportunity, feel free to email me. More information to come.

COMMUNITY ED CLASS

Another perk with having an in-house printer is that I get to write my own workbook for the upcoming WRITE YOU OWN ADVENTURE class and have it bound like a composition book. That's what I'm working on today. Would have loved to take a class like this when I was just starting out. It will include:

1. The Not-S0-Basics
2. Plot and Structure
3. Self-Editing
4. Branding

Idaho Author Fun Fact: Deborah Donnelly came up with the idea for her wedding planner mysteries while taking a class like this. She didn't realize that the class she had signed up for continued from a previous class where everyone had already started their novels.

So not having any idea about what to write on, she was surprised when the teacher pointed to her and asked, "What does your protagonist do?" Deborah had been planning a wedding with her best friend, and she automatically responded, "She's a wedding planner." Then the teacher asked, "Where does she live?" Deborah had recently been on a houseboat and so she responded, "She lives on a houseboat in Seattle."

Thus her series was born. Death Takes a Honeymoon is even set in Sun Valley, Idaho. (Same place where my first novel will be set. Tee-hee.)

Back to the class...If you are interested in getting your words into print, please let me help you out. All you have to do is sign up here.

CONFERENCE CALL

For the first time I will be attending the Oregon Chrisitan Writer's Coaching Conference as a member of the faculty. In the past I've made great connections with editors and agents and even gotten endorsements for my work from authors like Melody Carlson. So I'm very excited to give back.

This year I'll be representing Borderline Publishing as well as selling books by our Christian authors. Books like:

1. Grace for the Raging Storm by Phyllis Vavold--about her growth through the tragedy of learning to walk again after the head-on collision with joyriding teenagers that killed her husband.
2. Domestic Diva by Debbie Bridgewater--on how to live Proverbs 31 in the 21st century.
3. 90% Right can be 100% Wrong by Todd Bennett--outlining the core principles for finding your full potential.
4. The Boardunders Club Series by T.A. Smith--middle-grade mysteries with four skateboard sleuths.

I love working with our Christian authors, and I hope to find some more.