I’m so glad you dropped by here. This page is very new, having a start date of January 2012, so it’s a work in progress. If you have a general writing question that isn’t listed below, I’d like for you to send it to me by visiting my Contact Cindy page.
Here are some commonly asked questions:
- May I send you my book ideas or partially written manuscripts?
- What advice do you have for a person trying to become a fiction writer?
- Do you have any recommendations for writing seminars/workshops?
May I send you my book ideas or partially written manuscripts?
Your story may be a true winner and one that would capture the readers’ hearts. Unfortunately, I cannot accept book ideas, notes, or partial or completed manuscripts. My agent has wisely advised me against any of these types of offers.
If I listen to or read your story idea, even if I never use it or if I already have a similar story under contract, I’ve opened myself up to a lawsuit if you feel any of my novels contain “your” storyline. This can be true of something I write twenty years from now.
If we tried to turn your work into a novel as a collaborative work, we could hit a thousand snags of creative differences, and then I will have time poured into something I can’t finish it, and neither of us can get a payday. Those are just a couple of reasons. There are many, many others.
When I started writing my debut novel, I wrote all I could on it, but I couldn’t get it to fit together and work well as a novel. I came to a point where I would have sold it to anyone I thought could finish it decently. But what I eventually realized is that it wasn’t the story of someone else’s heart. It was the story of my heart, and I had to figure out how to get it written.
The solution for you is to either tuck the story away as a hobby you enjoyed or pursue learning how to turn your ideas into a completed novel or series. Whatever your decision, I hope the very, very best for you.
What advice do you have for a person trying to become a published fiction writer?
For me, taking my writing seriously began after I made contact with a professional author who told me about American Christian Fiction Writers. I attended their conference and my eyes were opened to the publishing world, and I’ve been learning and honing the craft ever since. You can find out about ACFW at ACFW.com Another great writing conference is in Northern California Mount Hermon.org. If you can’t go to conferences or aren’t ready to attend just yet, many writers’ conferences offer audio recordings of their classes after the conference is over.
The best piece of advice I can offer is to do all you can to make sure your manuscript is ready for submission. The percentage of manuscripts that are rejected by agents and publishers is high, but most of those rejections are due to the author submitting before the manuscript was ready. Before sending your manuscript to a publisher, you’ll want to have it read by someone who can give you an unbiased opinion. A husband, sister, or friend may offer some good insights, but their relationship to you can hinder them from seeing your writing objectively. My hubby is great at brainstorming with me and being a first reader, but his love for me keeps him from being the stringent set of eyes I need.
A better option is to find a good critique partner or critique group. You will learn from the opinions of other seasoned writers as they read your manuscript. You will also learn by reading their manuscripts and commenting on what you see as the strengths and weaknesses.
One way you can learn writing techniques is to read books about writing. A few of my favorites are Stein on Writing by Sol Stein and Goal, Motivation and Conflict by Debra Dixon. James Scott Bell has a series of how-to write books that I really enjoy. The best way to view all of his how-to write books plus other helpful tips is to go to his website JamesScottBell.com and click on the link “writers page.” You can also find lots of writing tips on many writers’, editors’, and publishers’ websites. As an aspiring author, I found great tips on the website of Steve Laube, literary agent. (He’s now my agent! 
)
Depending on where you are in your writing journey, you may be ready for a more professional opinion of your manuscript. If that’s the case, you may wish to hire a freelance editor. A copyeditor will clean up all the punctuation, usage, grammar, and spelling issues that can mark your manuscript as amateur right off the bat. But you’ll want to get more than just a basic copyedit, because if your story/writing isn’t strong, you will be turning in a polished copy of a poorly written manuscript.
A mentoring-type editor is your best bet. Writing mentors go beyond fixing technical problems; they’ll work with you on your story arc, characterization, plot structure, overall tone, development, consistency, pace, smoothness, ease of readability, and marketability of your concept. They will point out where your story line gets confusing or ambiguous or where your writing needs to be tightened. They look for words and phrases that might be offensive to certain readers, and advise you of the legal guidelines for appropriate use and permission of any quoted material you may have. But hirer beware. Some freelance editors are very skilled and others have “hung out a shingle” without having any credentials or track record. Bad advice is often worse than no advice.
One way to find a freelance editor is to look in Sally Stuart’s Christian Writer’s Market Guide.
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