A Saturday Nano Day 3 Quote

You don’t write because you want to say something: You write because you’ve got something to say.
— F. Scott Fitzgerald

Nano Day 2

Nano Day 1

Boo!!!

A little late, but I'm still without power. At my parent's house showering and charging everything up before it's back to the dark.

Hope to be up and running real soon! And I also hope your Halloween is more eventful than mine. Would love to hear about it in the comments!!!

A Writer's Journey

I wrote my first book four and a half years ago, sent out my first query soon after and received my first rejection not a few days later. Since that first query I have wrote nine complete manuscripts, queried five and received another 207 rejections. You can throw in some full request and partials but in the end they all added up to rejection. Giving up was never an option for me. Writing is my passion and whether I'd be able to find someone who believed in me or not, I wasn't going to stop.

Eventually I joined Ladies Who Critique and met Kelley. We exchanged manuscripts and from that moment on I had no idea how I ever thought I could make it without a CP. And now CP's.

On 11/11/11 I made a wish at 11:11. It was supposed to be the luckiest day of the year. I wished I would get an agent. Two hours later I got a request for my full and three hours later I was laid off from my job. The job I had been at for ten years. Two weeks later I got another rejection.

Unemployment gave me time to focus on my writing. Even though I hated the fact I felt like I wasn't contributing to society, I realized what I always knew. I wanted to write for a living. Unfortunately the rejections were still coming in and I needed a job.

In April I started my new job and then on June 3rd I got an email from Brittany Booker. She worked for an agent I had queried and was interested in my manuscript. A manuscript I loved so much but gave up on. I emailed her back letting her know I still was not repped and would love for her to take a look. Days past with no answer. On July 6th I emailed her to follow up. She never received my email and told me to resend. I resent and waited. Because you all know, a writers journey is filled with waiting. She was quick though.

On July 11th I got my 209th rejection. But wait. It wasn't actually a rejection. It was a rewrite resubmit with awesome feedback. I immediately threw myself into revision hell. I touched on all the points she mentioned, adding scenes, cutting out an entire chapter, amping up the chemistry. I sent it out to all my amazing CP's. I got all their feedback and jumped back into revisions. August 16th I sent it back with fingers crossed and a racing heart.

October 17th I was driving when I got this gut urge to read my email. I don't advise this. There in my inbox was one email from Brittany. I stared out the window, eyes on the road, too scared to look. I had been rejected 209 times, but this time was different. I stopped querying because I had a good feeling about Brittany. She basically picked me out of the trash. I took a deep breath and looked. Again I don't advise this. And there looking back at me was her answer.

She loved the rewrite and wanted to rep me. I banged the steering wheel, I cried, I laughed. I called my mom. Of course where I was I had no service and she could barely hear what I was saying, but she was able to make out I have an agent. On Friday I made it official.

I, Theresa Paolo, have an agent. I can't believe I can say that. But I can. And it's because I never gave up. I'm not going to lie, I got discouraged as I watched my friends progressing in their writing careers while I was stuck at a standstill. Thrilled for them, upset with myself. But even if I wanted to throw in the towel I don't think they would ever let me. I owe them more than they will ever know.

So please, don't give up. If you have strength and determination you will make it. As I like to say, sometimes you have to walk through the s%^& to get to the flowers.

Now it's time to change my bio from undiscovered to discovered. WOOHOO!!!!!

Oh and because It's official I made an author Facebook page. Please go like me.

Time to Talk Websites

I'm going to start off by saying, I don't have a website. Personally, I don't think a website is necessary until after you have a publishing contract or are ready to epub. You use a website to promote your book, and if you don't have one a reader can get their hands on, what's the point? Again totally my opinion and you can disagree and I encourage you to. I would love to hear what you think about it.

But let's say you have that contract and you are ready to start your website. Now the problem. What do you put on your site? You want a website that is inviting. Something that will entertain while also promoting your book and yourself at the same time. This is where you need to be creative. Think of your reader. Think what it is they want to see when they stop by.

Instead of going on and on about what you can do, I'm going to link you to some great author websites I have come across.

First up, Susan Mallery. For those of you who don't know Susan Mallery, she is a New York Times Best Selling Author. You can check out her website here.

Susan Mallery has just released book 10 of her Fool's Gold series and for readers who have become invested with the characters, they can go on her website and find out even more about them. She has a tab for this series that includes a who's who of Fool's Gold. It has pictures and bios of all the characters and little snippets of their stories. You can go on and see what Susan envisioned while she was writing the characters. She also has Fool's Gold postcards you can send to your friends. Among other fun things. Check it out.

Another author who has a pretty kick butt website is Simone Elkeles. What I love so much about her site is that she has a fan page. Here you can submit artwork and photos that you have created based on her books. How cool is that! You can check it out here.

There are so many more great author websites out there. Before you start your own take a look at your favorite authors sites. Never copy an idea, but get inspired.

Are there any author sites you frequent or like the concept/layout? Do you have your own website?

A Saturday Quote

To live a creative life we must first lose the fear of being wrong.
 ~ Joseph Chilton Pearce