I have the pleasure of a guest post by author Colleen J. Shogan, who shares her answer to...
ELF: What was the most difficult
thing to overcome on your path to becoming a published author and how did you
conquer it?
CJS: There are at least two
distinct components in the life of a reasonably successful, published author.
The first is writing. Authors need to tell interesting stories that readers
want to consume. That is a necessary, yet not sufficient, condition for
success.
The second part, which is no less
important, is learning about the publishing industry and process. This is where
most aspiring authors get tripped up. The “business of publishing” is a whole
other world distinct from knowing how to write well. I’ve met many writers
along the way who have written very good or even excellent manuscripts. But
those manuscripts will remain unpublished unless the author decides to learn
more about the world of agents and publishers.
I was in a similar boat. I’d
written my first novel, Stabbing in the
Senate. But I wasn’t doing anything with it because I’d had a few
rejections from agents and didn’t know how to move forward. I also work a demanding job at the Library of
Congress and had to restrict my devoted writing time to writing to evenings and
weekends.
Two things happened which
propelled me forward. First, I went to a book talk at the Capitol Hill Bar
Association given by Allison Leotta, who writes a great crime series based in
Washington, D.C. During her talk, Allison talked about how she sold her first
book while she was working as a federal prosecutor. She inspired me to keep
trying to sell Stabbing in the Senate. That day, I vowed to dust off my manuscript
and get moving.
Second, I found out about a
terrific event scheduled in Washington, D.C. organized by the Washington
Independent Review of Books. They offer an annual one-day event about the
business of writing. Agents are
available to hear pitches in all genres, and panels comprised of writers,
editors, and publishers provide helpful advice. By the end of the day, I
understood exactly how to find an agent, how to pitch my book in a cover
letter, and how to contact smaller, independent publishers. As a bonus, I had several concrete leads for
representation. This experience
eventually led me to my current agent, who sold my book about six months after
I signed with her.
I am a political scientist by
training. I didn’t study creative writing or earn a MFA. I didn’t hang out with
fiction writers or know much about the publishing process when I wrote my first
novel. But if I hadn’t learned about the business of the industry, I’m
confident that Stabbing in the Senate
would still be sitting on my computer hard drive, and Homicide in the House would have never been written.
Homicide in the House
by Colleen J. Shogan
by Colleen J. Shogan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
During a government shutdown, Kit’s congresswoman boss is found standing over the dead body of a top staffer she tangled with in front of the press. The police are about to name her as the prime suspect. The weapon was the Speaker’s gavel, an item entrusted to the congresswoman the previous night. The killer knows Kit is on the case. Can she solve the mystery in time to save her job and her life?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
Smartphones
are great time wasters. I fiddled with various apps as I waited. The next level
of “Angry Birds” was within my grasp when I heard footsteps and voices across
the hallway. I got up and stood in the doorway to greet my boss.
From
the look on her face, she was not pleased. She charged like a linebacker to the
exit of the Speaker’s lair with Jack Drysdale on her heels.
“Stop,
Congresswoman Dixon. You’re not listening to reason!” From behind, Drysdale
placed his hand on Maeve’s left shoulder in an attempt to prevent her from
leaving the suite.
Maeve
had impressive reflexes. She turned her body toward him and grabbed his wrist
with her right hand. “Don’t touch me! Is this how the Speaker’s staff treat
members of the House?” Her voice was loud and filled with vitriol.
The
gaggle of reporters who had been relaxing inside the anteroom trailed behind
me. This was better than a boring pen and pad session. One of them murmured, “I
think that’s Dixon from North Carolina.”
This
was not a good development, but Maeve didn’t know that the press had a front
row seat to her implosion.
Maeve
clutched Drysdale’s wrist for several seconds until she let it go. Apparently
her physical assault didn’t intimidate him. He ran ahead and stopped directly
in front of her.
Stretching
his arms out wide to slow her down, Jack made his last stand. “I apologize. I
shouldn’t have done that. Please come back in the office so we can sort this
out. You’re a valuable part of this caucus and the Speaker wants to work with
you on this deal.”
Maeve
shook her head. “You guys in House leadership are typical politicians. You
can’t take no for an answer. I’m not ready to make a decision. Now get out of
my way.”
Unmoving,
Drysdale locked eyes with Maeve. She didn’t look away and squared her
shoulders. I could almost feel the tension around me as the reporters anxiously
waited for the outcome. What was Maeve going to do? Knee him in the groin if he
didn’t back down?
After
a moment that seemed like an eternity, Drysdale gave in and stepped aside. I
breathed a deep sigh of relief and hurried into the hallway to catch up with
her. As we exited the corridor, I glanced back to the doorway where I’d been
standing. Every reporter was on his or her phone, ostensibly calling in the
most salacious story of the shutdown thus far. A junior member of Congress and
the Speaker’s top aide had nearly come to blows in the Capitol. A high school
reporter could make that story fly.
Amazon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Twitter: @cshogan276
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The tour dates can be found here
