It is my pleasure to share a guest post author Gina Conkle, who shares...
Three Rules I Learned on the Way To Publication
by
Gina Conkle
The path to publication is a
bumpy one…even for self-publication. You’ll have moments of euphoria and the
next day you’ll be down in the dumps. Being published is not for the faint of
heart. You’ll toil alone on a story you love only to receive one rejection
after another. You might enter contests believing, “This will be my break…” but
sadly the scores say otherwise.
Yet, something drives you to
keep revising that one story. Or to put a brand new one on the page.
I’ve had all of the above
and more. I didn’t put myself “out there” with many queries, but I entered a
few contests. My son giggled about one in particular. Mom’s score was 50%. He
was seven at the time, and after the upset wore off, we both laughed over
“Mom’s story got an F grade.”
Did I let that stop me? No!
I listened to the good advice and dumped the bad. If you’re honest with
yourself, you’ll know how to separate the wheat from the chaff. But, you’ve got
to be ready to hear the truth.
It took about ten years of
writing and learning the craft of writing. On the way, I learned a thing or two
or three. Here they are for you:
#1 Believe in Yourself
Why? If
you don’t, no one else will. Take yourself seriously and honor your writing.
Make it a practice you do on a regular basis…have fun with it by showing up at
the same time same place. Your brain will know you mean business and follow
suit.
Ask yourself this: Is my
writing a hobby or a profession? If it’s a hobby, no problem. Show up when you
can. Play with it when you can. If you said it’s a profession, then act like it
(even if you’re not getting paid).
#2 Work for Continuous Improvement
I have five published books
with two more releasing this year, a mix of traditional and indie pub. Guess
what? I’m still learning. I still take classes. I read craft books (some of
them over and over again). Excellence isn’t cheap. The cost is time and
sacrifice and a few frustrations.
#3 Be a Professional
The year I found my agent
was a tricky one. My husband announced in January of 2012 that he wanted to
quit his job and start a business.
I said, “Maybe one of us
should have a regular paycheck kind of job” since there was no telling what
would happen with his business.
His response floored me.
“You’re a writer. I think you should write.”
You see the month before we
both talked about my writing (see the second half of #1). It was write or go back
to work at one of two professions I’d had before my boys were born. And then he
dropped his January bomb.
My husband had such
conviction we ended up moving forward with these new plans. It felt
crazy-shaky…like going out on a tightrope without a safety net, but we did it.
He quit his job and started a business. I quit being half-hearted about my
writing and started being an author.
This is what I did:
1) I saved money little by little to hire a professional
web designer to create my website.
2) I made a list of agents and got busy querying
3) I developed a new series and started working on it so
I’d have more than my one series finished and one half-finished manuscript to
offer.
By
October of that year I signed with my agent. In November she sold a Viking
romance series and three months later, I finished that half-done manuscript (a
Georgian romance) which my agent sold three weeks later.
Remember
that series I developed while agent hunting? It’s now in the publishing
pipeline. So believe in yourself, keep writing and growing, and be a
professional. When the time comes, you’ll be ready.
Happy
Reading and Happy Writing!
Gina
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Contemporary
Romance
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BLURB:
(Two stories
in one Book)
Proper Care and Feeding of a Broken Heart
Proper Care and Feeding of a Broken Heart
Bookstore clerk Abbie is off-the-charts nervous her first night moonlighting in a sex-for-hire job. If she only kept her mouth shut…but nothing goes as expected, including the intense blue-eyed surfer who walks through her door. Mark wants to work out a few kinks —and leave the lifestyle for good. Past mistakes still haunt him, but sweet Abbie turns Mark’s plans upside down, and two broken hearts discover honesty is the hottest aphrodisiac.
Anything But Safe
Former trophy wife Jennifer wants to thrive again, but when her new life hits a speedbump, her unlikely hero is rough working man AJ. The woman he rescued is out of his league, but the two together are magic. Jennifer smooths his hard edges, and when she’s with AJ, her true, quirky colors show. A surprise threatens to derail the two who quickly learn…love is anything but safe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
Anything But Safe
Hot sun beat down on the
rest of the world. It was August. Standing under the pepper tree, AJ was a
tall, cool drink of water. Stained coveralls didn’t put her off nor did his
tattoo and the rough cadence of his speech. Under the gruff exterior was a real
man with a good heart. He visually devoured her every time they’d crossed paths
around town, and last night was no exception. But, could she be content with a
sex only fling?
“Well, that’s a relief.”
Faint sarcasm edged his last word.
“What is?”
His steady gaze never
wavered. “I thought you might be going in a different direction.”
She cocked her head. “Did
you think I was about to give you the ‘let’s be friends’ talk?”
“I thought you were about to
give me the ‘let’s hook up for sex only’ talk.”
“Oh AJ,” she said around
hiccups of laughter. Her cheeks burned. She shook her head, a little dazed.
“I…I don’t know what to say to that.”
“It’s not the first time a
woman like you propositioned me.”
Eyes rounding, she laughed
at the absurdity. “I’m not propositioning you.”
“Good because my answer
would be no.”
She’d come for lunch and
conversation of the talking variety. A kiss or two was more than welcome, but
they needed to slow down, let things simmer. AJ’s forbidding frown told her
some of Hidden Valley’s well-shod women had dallied with him, and he was having
no more of it. The town was an eclectic mix of gated communities, small
farm-to-table co-ops and wineries. A lot of working class people had lived here
long before it was hip.
Hurt bloomed in her chest at
the idea of any woman taking advantage of AJ’s goodness. Or his body. His past
was likely more colorful than hers, but his flat out refusal to hook up
intrigued her. He’d messed around in the past. What made him change his mind?
Buy Links
The book will be
on sale for $0.99.
Kobo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Gina Conkle writes Viking and Georgian Romance with a new
dip into hot Contemporary Romance. She grew up in southern California and
despite all that sunshine, Gina loves books over beaches and stone castles over
sand castles. Now she lives in Michigan with her favorite alpha male, Brian,
and their two sons where she’s known to occasionally garden and cook.
Social Media Connections:
Newsletter for Free Reads
FREE BOOK! Listening
to Her, free on Instafreebie: https://www.instafreebie.com/free/pVnGx
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The tour dates can be found here
