Advice to Myself as a Newbie Author
June 22, 2008 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as Advice to Myself as a Newbie Author, Farrah Rochonby Shauna Roberts
http://ShaunaRoberts.blogspot.com
Today’s Guest: Farrah Rochon
A native of south Louisiana, Farrah Rochon’s debut novel, Deliver Me, garnered rave reviews. The second novel in her Holmes Brothers series, Release Me, was released in May 2008 by Dorchester Publishing. The third and final installment in the series, Rescue Me, will be released in June 2009. Farrah also has a Christmas novella, “A Change of Heart,” in the forthcoming holiday anthology The Holiday Inn (October 2008).
Farrah, if you could travel back in time to before you were first published, what advice would you give yourself?
I’ve had quite an education in the business of publishing since the release of my debut novel last spring, and there are a number of things I wish I’d known a year and a half ago. Here’s a list of the top five pieces of advice I would give the previously unpublished Farrah Rochon:
1. Be ready to promote, promote, promote. Not every writer who publishes with a New York house will get the royal treatment, but you’ll be expected to get a respectable sell-through, no matter what. Self-promotion will be a huge key to your eventual success.
2. Don’t be surprised when not everyone is as excited about your good news as you’d hope they would be. Remember that you cannot count on others for your happiness.
3. Keep your ears open for advice from those who have gone before you. You are lucky enough to belong to an organization of writers who share their wisdom freely. Listen when they discuss how to tactfully approach your editor about disagreements with her revisions and to deal with the other issues you will eventually encounter.
4. Take a class in time management. You’ll need it.
5. Remember to take a step back and enjoy this process. After all, you will be living your dream.
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To learn more about Farrah, please visit her Website at http://www.FarrahRochon.com or her blog at http://FarrahRochon.blogspot.com.
Her books are available at brick-and-mortar bookstores as well as online from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.
4 0 Read moreWriting Tip: Research Yields Glorious Inspiration
June 22, 2008 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as The Lone WriterDo you ever wonder why so many people want to be writers? There is the story telling aspect, of course. Throughout the ages bards have been some of the most sought after members of society. After all, there is no better way to forget you live in an age before deodorant was invented then to have someone tell a story and distract you.
In modern times, the storyteller is a hero(ine). Take me away from longest election cycle in the history of the world! I beg my favorite authors by buying books in stacks. I’m sure each of you have your own reasons.
But all of that is from the audience’s point of view. What is in it for the writer? Is it the glory? Maybe. Imagine seeing your name emblazoned on a book and archived in the Library of Congress. Even the IRS will forget who you are after you pass away but your books are archived in the Library of Congress!
Then there is the less academic reason: MAN CANDY.
Did you get caught raiding the internet for pictures of Gerard Butler? It’s research! Did your significant other do something really annoying just the other night and it’s bugging you? You can take comfort in the fact that the hero of your book would never do that. You might not be able to train your hubby, but you can edit your hero! And last but not least, lets not forget that once you combine research and photoshop the sky is the limit.
**Image caption: This is my friend Lillian Feisty who fell and broke her leg in three places on her first foray into the world of Roller Derby. See! Visual research is so much safer then the physical kind! This image is her in the emergency room (I wish I looked that great with a broken leg and no meds) photoshopped with the captain of international man candy, David Beckham. Get well soon Lil! Photoshop credit-Sabrina Brayden
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