Being a REAL Writer is Tough Work!

That title might annoy some people...but it says what I want to stress. Being a real writer isn't as easy as writing a book. And I am not saying that it applies to anyone but me. However, since I am the only person I can speak for, it is true for me.

I started calling myself a professional writer in 2000 when my first novel was published. I was quite proud to finally be able to claim that title after all the years I had wanted it.

For the next twelve years I considered myself a professional writer...

But it wasn't until three years ago that I actually started acting like it.

I have talked about this before, but it bears repeating, because it is a lesson that can't be stressed enough. You aren't a real writer unless you write.

And it isn't enough to write. You have to do something with what you write. You can't just pop it in a drawer and expect to be famous someday.

I've told you about my rejection challenge. First year three hundred rejections, last year two hundred.
Trying to meet this challenge gave me incentive to write more than I ever had in my life. It taught me that the more you write, the easier it is to be polished, and the quicker a polished draft appears.

This year, I've upped the game. It didn't start out to be a thing, but after I got started on this year's challenge, it has become a point of honor. This year, I have challenged myself to make a submission a day.

Now, I know what being a writer really is. It's exhausting. It means writing a LOT. It means making connections. It means perseverance. It means not letting a rejection bother you--but looking at it as an opportunity to get another submission out the door.

And, as a side benefit, the piece you get rejected today might be perfect for the next market you send it to. I've almost hit the absolute bottom of my orphan pieces. Stories that had been out four, five, six times finally found the perfect home.

Set what looks/feels like an impossible goal. Work to achieve it. Nothing feels better than making that goal. And even if you don't make it, as long as you are working to achieve it, you are working. And that is what makes a REAL writer. :)

If you want to see how my personal goal is going this year, follow me on Twitter at @RieSheridanRose and #howlongcanitgo

So far, I've made 62 submissions this year.

First Impressions

What's the most exciting thing for a new author? Having your first short story accepted by a professional publishing agency. To say I couldn't stop smiling for thirty minutes straight is not exaggeration. I'm unbelievably excited to be one of the authors in Mocha Memoir's upcoming Toil, Trouble, and Temptation series, and thought I would introduce myself a bit and talk about my story, how I came up with it, and what it was like to write.

One of my best friends told me I have an overactive imagination. He was more right that he knew. I'm the kind of author who will literally come up with ideas out of the blue. I once came up with an idea walking to Walmart, listening to music, and thinking two words sounded cool put together. I write best when I let the ideas flow like this, naturally and without effort. Once I know what sort of idea I want to explore, I can't let go until it's a completed piece of work.

As soon as I saw the submission guidelines, I knew I wanted to participate. At first I was forcing out ideas, trying to think of something to write and coming up with half-hearted, unoriginal ideas. Nothing I knew I could have fun with or experiment with or test myself with. So I took a step back, and just didn't think about it. Two days later, that little lightbulb in my head flicked on, and this is what shone through:

A necromancer summons an assassin for the mob. Here's a more detailed description:

Tessa Sterling is a necromancer having a bad night. She's kidnapped and confronted by the most powerful gangster in Boston, then ordered to resurrect his most ruthless contract killer. When those she cares about are threatened, Tessa has no choice but to comply.

But the spirit she raises quickly uncovers the truth about his death, and his rage is insatiable. Hell is about to break loose, and Tessa is the only one who can put the spirit back in his grave, if he doesn't put her in one first...

What could be more dangerous than an undead assassin with anger management problems? The trickiest part for me was the setting. For some reason, all the gangsters I pictured were dressed like they'd just walked off the set of the Godfather. The first idea was that Tessa would be a poor girl from that era and dragged unwillingly into the crime life, finding out that her mother had been murdered by the very people she was working for. I liked that idea and really tried to make it work, but I wasn't as in love with the concept as I originally thought. So I changed things around, went with a more modern setting, and it flowed a lot better. I was writing so hard I thought my fingers would fall off.

The funnest part for me was deciding on how Tessa's gift work, what she needed to do physically and spiritually to summon a spirit from the grave. I think I came up with a really unique concept, and maybe that was part of the reason Call From The Grave was selected for the Toil, Trouble, and Temptation series by Mocha Memoirs Press.

I had a great time writing this little story. The more I think about it, the more proud I am, and I can't wait to see how the final product is received. Hope you all enjoy it, and have a terrific Fourth of July weekend!

Amy

Seven Questions with SJ: Alexandra Christian

Welcome back with another round of seven questions with Selah Janel! This month my victim is the lovely Alexandra Christian. I've known Lexxx for a while and am always in awe of how well she mixes romance with horror, erotica with smart characters, and sassy humor with everything. Here's what she had to say...

SJ: What author, living or dead, do you just want to punch in the face and take their place? Who has so much talent that you just can't stand it?

AC:Most definitely Stephen King.  If there was a demonic force that would allow me to switch evil genius brains with him, I would be hard pressed not to take him up on the offer.  King’s gift for description and characterization is something that I both envy and strive for. He’s what I measure myself and other authors by.  …but no pressure…

SJ: It’s your funeral, and the only thing people are talking about is your writing. What kind of creative legacy do you hope you leave behind?

AC: I would hope that people would say that I brought legitimacy to the erotic romance genre.  That my stories were not only sensual, but also smart, funny and well-crafted. 

SJ: Since you focus on erotica writers, do you think they're perceived as being really down-and-dirty, or all y'all just human like the rest of us?

AC: I think that there’s this fantasy that all erotic writers are one of two things.  Either we’re all these smoldering sexpots that write fictionalized versions of our own sexual escapades OR that we’re all crazy cat-ladies writing dirty books on our lunch breaks from our jobs at the local library.  I like to think that most of us are like me:  somewhere in between.  I am highly imaginative, sexy, flirty, smart, classy, goofy and generally a nice girl.  I think that if you write erotic romance or erotica, it’s kind of your responsibility to act like an intelligent, classy and talented author so that all of us will be taken seriously.  I have witnessed an awful lot of authors who put this “down and dirty” image out there and then get upset when they 1—get treated like a bimbette who is writing garbage and 2—get disgusting propositions from creepers on social media sites.  If you want to be taken seriously as an author then you have to project an image of being a serious author. 

SJ: If you were stranded on a desert island with three characters you've written, who would you: 1. want around to help you survive 2. want around to populate the island with 3. want around in case you need to resort to cannibalism.

AC: Hmmm…. I think I’d want Sascha from Beast of Burden to help me survive.  She’s such a strong and ingenuous person that I think she could help us slaughter animals for food and build a bamboo hut.  When I got ready to repopulate, I’m not sure who I’d pick.  I’ve written so many sexy heroes that I’d be hard pressed to choose.  Andre from the Strange Bedfellows series and Seth from Sanguine Kiss are amazing lovers with their vampire stamina, but of course, they wouldn’t be much good for repopulation.  And then Jack Leannan from Second Skin could help me spawn a race of Selkies that would take over the island.   As for resorting to cannibalism, Saraqael from my first novel, Hellsong, would be the best choice.  Duh—he’s an angel.  He’s got wings.  He could fly us right outta there….

SJ:What genre do you really want to write in that you haven't gotten a chance to yet?

AC: I’d really like a high fantasy.  Something straight out of Lord of the Rings with elves and dwarves.  I think the world-building would be so much fun.  Of course, for me the hardest part would be keeping the romance out of it…

SJ: What author do you feel is the hidden gem in the world today?

AC: You, of course, Selah! Seriously, I think that all of my writer friends are amazing talents that haven’t been fully realized by the world just yet.  I always gravitate toward people that are incredibly talented storytellers.  Tally Johnson, Susan H. Roddey, Crymsyn Hart, Selah Janel, Stephen Zimmer and Lucy Blue are among my favorite “unknowns.” 

SJ: Why MMP? What's your favorite part about working with them?

AC: I met the publisher at MMP, Nicole Kurtz, at a convention a few years ago.  She had such a clear vision about where she wanted MMP to go and the types of authors she was looking for that I immediately wanted to help her on the path to world domination.  She had a great business plan that was about being profitable for everyone, but also helping to nurture good authors.  My favorite part about working with MMP so far has been all of the wonderful people I’ve met who are so helpful and supportive.

Three to Tango      His Phantom Caress 

To learn more about Lexxx's different titles, check out her blog!

Five Ways to Change Your Life...Right Now

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"C'mon turn, turn this thing around

Right now

It's your tomorrow

Right now."

 - Van Halen, Right Now

Everyone gets stuck in a rut.  You might be in a rut right now.  Though I may not know your specific situation, I know that moaning and groaning about it isn't going to help anything change.  Change comes from you. 

It's easy to change your life...and you can do it anytime, anywhere.

1.        Eat the dirt cake - in small bites. 

If I were a superhero, my nemesis would be a messy house.  With three little ones and a dog, who are all totally cool, the house is never, ever clean.  There's spills, there's dog hair, there's ...something on the kitchen floor.

By the time I bundle them off to school, all I want to do is have a cup of coffee and write.  But I can't do that or else I'd be sledding out of the kitchen on dishes.  So, I promise myself five minutes in the kitchen.

 Not as fun as seven minutes in the closet, but it's amazing what I can accomplish in that small window of time.  Sometimes (only sometimes) I set the timer for another five minutes to see if I can top what I did in the first five minutes.  By doing this, I'm not overwhelmed by a dirty kitchen  and it's a bit of a challenge. 

2.        Appreciate the small things in life.

Too many times we look for large "things" to make us happy.  How about appreciating that great cup of coffee, a fragrant breeze or just the time to sit and hear your own thoughts.  Don't be too busy to take the time to smell the roses, or dark roast.  I'm fortunate enough to have birds hang out around my deck, and many times I'll spot a lovely bluejay or a robin.  One time I saw a beautiful red headed woodpecker!

3.        Stop reliving the past.

See what Van Halen says? (Because I always turn to them for advice.)   It's YOUR tomorrow.  Grab it, make use of it.  Turn your face toward the future, stop mulling over  "what could have been".  All of us have something to let go of.  Let it go.

4.        Raise your Awareness

After you finish reading this blog post (smile) sit back and close your eyes .  What do you hear?  How do your clothes feel against your body?  How does it feel to breathe deep, really deep?  What do you smell? 

Take sixty seconds to be fully aware.  Feel, hear, smell, look outside (if you can).  Really sense what is going on in the world around you.  You might be surprised at what you experience.

5.        See yourself in others.

We are all human and have faults.  We're not perfect.  So when we see something we don't like or agree with, we do tend to point fingers and judge.  Having been a teacher for years and seeing parents come and go, I know how easy it is to do.  But before you point those fingers, can you see yourself in this person?  If so, step away, keep the bitter, blaming words back.  Give someone a break.  They may have the occasion to do the same for you in the future.

Choose change!