How To Take Your Career From Whine to Shine

Feeling frustrated that your career isn’t where you want it to be? Do you wonder why with every passing year you don’t seem to be any closer to success? How can you turn that frustration into a win?

I encounter other writers who share your frustration. Here are 6 things I believe will help you take your career from “whine” to “shine!”

1.    Define your goal.

Be as specific as possible. What is it you want? If you don’t define your goal, if you don’t know exactly what you want, how can you expect to get it?


When I was starting out as a writer, my goal was to have a career as a novelist. I wanted to write books for a living. I didn’t want to write as a hobby, I wanted a career. I discovered the basic steps: write great novels, sign with a good agent, get published, etc. But as I worked through the steps, I never, ever forgot the original and ultimate goal, which was a career as an author.

2.    Be single-minded, a.k.a Count the cost.

This is where I see so many writers—good, talented writers—steer themselves wrong and delay the attainment of their goal. Being successful requires focus. Laser focus. The focus of a heat-seeking missile. It requires asking oneself hard questions. It requires tuning out voices giving you bad advice. 

One of the pieces of advice that is like nails on a chalkboard to me is: “You gotta get your name out there.”

What does that even mean? I recently had a conversation with a fellow published author. When I asked her why she was writing short stories and novellas and self-publishing them, she said, “To get my name out there.” I asked her what was the goal of getting her name out there, and she said, “To drive readers to buy my book.” 

“Is that working?” I asked. The look on her face answered my question. “No.” 

If you want readers to discover your books, you need to write more books. If you want to have a career writing novels, you need to write more novels. If you’re agreeing to write novellas for novella collections with other authors, and writing those novellas is keeping you from writing more novels, you need to ask yourself the hard question: “Why am I doing this?” “Is this helping me attain my goal?”

I had a similar conversation with another writer friend who announced she was starting a blog and she was going to set herself a strict schedule of blogging three times a week, because that’s what gets followers for one’s blog. This writer friend had been trying to get the same book published for years and had not written any other books. I asked her why she was writing a blog instead of starting on her next book. She said it was to get her name out there.


Sigh. If you want to get your name out there, write more books, and work at getting them published. Ask yourself, “How is having a blog going to help me accomplish my goal?” If you can’t definitively answer that question with anything other than, “It won’t,” then skip the strict blog-writing schedule. Skip anything that keeps you from writing the next book and getting it published. Let me repeat that. Skip anything that keeps you from your goal.

My point is that you have to count the cost of anything you decide to do, because when you divide your time doing things not directly focused on your goal, then it’s just going to take you that much longer to reach your goal. Know your goal, and know your limitations. 


3.    If what you’re doing is not working, try something else.

If you’ve been working on your craft, practicing said craft by writing several books, and trying to get published, but no traditional publishers are interested in the kind of books you write, it might be time to go indie and publish your own books. Thankfully, we live in an amazing day and time when such a step is a viable option. Many writers have done quite well for themselves by self-publishing. And I love that we have that opportunity and that today’s technology makes it possible to have great success as an independent.

Work hard but work smart.

4.    If success is eluding you and you can’t figure out why, read a book.

But not just any book. I just finished 9 Things You Simply Must Do to Succeed in Love and Life. It’s by Dr. Henry Cloud of Boundaries fame. With points like “Make decisions based on how they’ll affect the future,” and “Don’t make decisions based on your fear of other people’s reactions,” it’s definitely worth reading, and it might help you identify ways you are sabotaging your own success.

5.    Ask yourself the hard questions.
 
 Am I making excuses?   Am I burying my talents by not pursuing my dream?   Am I doing “busy-ness” instead of fulfilling my purpose in life?   Am I spending too much time with marketing and promotion? Is what I’m doing helping me or hindering me from reaching my goal?   Am I praying about each commitment before committing?

 6.    Pray about everything.

I mean it. Ask God to make clear to you what your goal should be and what you should be doing with your limited time and energy and finances. Pray for success. Pray before you accept that offer to become the church librarian. Pray before you agree to write a novella to contribute to your friends’ anthology. Pray before you sit down to a marathon viewing of an entire season of “Blue Bloods” instead of working on your WIP. And pray before you agree to write a blog post for that blog that has only three followers. (Sorry, but let’s be real.)

Be humble. If contest judges and critique partners (or reviewers) have given you constructive criticism, really look at what they’re saying and try to make the changes that will improve your writing. And don’t be jealous of the writers who are getting the things you always wanted. Easier said than done, I know! But take a hard look at whether you have jealousy in your heart, and surrender it to God. 

And while you’re at it, surrender your writing to God. I can remember the day I held out my hands and, with tears streaming down my face, surrendered my writing to God, telling him I was okay with whatever he decided to do with it. It was not long after that that things started happening and I got my first contract.

Realize that success may not be exactly what you expected it to be. I thought being a successful author would make everyone love me. Boy, was I wrong! I lost more friends the more successful I became, and the rejection I felt from those friends, alongside some one- and two-star reviews, was nearly crippling. I also know published authors whose expectations of income have been dashed. When you do attain your goals, you may still end up disappointed. 

So don’t set your heart on success. Set your heart on the One who is able to give you what you need.

And really listen for God to speak to you. David inquired of the Lord before making decisions. Why should we not do the same? Be diligent in prayer. God is faithful. If anyone asks for wisdom, he should believe and not doubt that God will give it to him. If we seek him with all our hearts, we will find him. Knock and the door will be opened to you. Ask and you shall receive. 

My favorite parable starts like this: “One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.” Luke 18:1 

Keep on praying! Never give up!

So now it’s your turn. If you have reached your goal, what do you think has been the secret to your success? If you feel less than successful, what is something you need to change in order to attain your goal? 

Leave a comment today for an opportunity to win a copy of The Noble Servant. Winner announced in the Weekend Edition. Melanie is generously giving away THREE copies of her release. Thank you, Melanie!

 

The Noble Servant

 She lost everything to the scheme of an evil servant.

But she might just gain what she’s always wanted . . . if she makes it in time.

The impossible was happening. She, Magdalen of Mallin, was to marry the Duke of Wolfberg. Magdalen had dreamed about receiving a proposal ever since she met the duke two years ago. Such a marriage was the only way she could save her people from starvation. But why would a handsome, wealthy duke want to marry her, a poor baron’s daughter? It seemed too good to be true.

On the journey to Wolfberg Castle, Magdalen’s servant forces her to trade places and become her servant, threatening not only Magdalen’s life, but the lives of those she holds dear. Stripped of her identity and title in Wolfberg, where no one knows her, Magdalen is sentenced to tend geese while she watches her former handmaiden gain all Magdalen had ever dreamed of.

When a handsome shepherd befriends her, Magdalen begins to suspect he carries secrets of his own. Together, Magdalen and the shepherd uncover a sinister plot against Wolfberg and the duke. But with no resources, will they be able to find the answers, the hiding places, and the forces they need in time to save both Mallin and Wolfberg?
 

 Melanie Dickerson is the New York Times bestselling author for whose success she gives all the credit to God. Her two favorite time periods are Medieval, which she has combined with her love of fairy tales, and Regency England, which stems from her love of Jane Austen. She earned her bachelor's degree in special education from The University of Alabama and has taught children with special needs in Georgia and Tennessee, and English to adults in Germany and Ukraine. Now she spends her time writing novels like a highly motivated woman on a mission, and being with her husband, two daughters, and two guinea pigs near Huntsville, Alabama. Visit her on Facebook and at http://www.MelanieDickerson.com.

Top 9 Reasons to Read the Seekerville Blog Every Day

with guest Melanie Dickerson.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SEEKERVILLE!!! 

It’s always fun to be a guest in Seekerville. Thanks, Tina, for the invitation! And yay to the Seekerville ladies for another year of greatness!

I consider Seekerville to be a wonderful resource for learning about how to be a better writer, as well as how to learn the ins and outs of this business, whether you wish to be published by a large traditional publisher, or you decide to go it on your own and be an indie author. And that is why, when someone asks my advice on writing, I always send them to Seekerville. It’s also at the top of my file entitled “Writing Websites” that I hand out when I teach writing. And here’s 9 reasons why.

1. Friendly, helpful experts.

Learning to be an author of novels is a lot of work. There’s a big learning curve. It’s like doing the coursework for a four-year degree without the benefit of a college or classroom. It sure would be nice to find a panel of friendly experts with whom you could converse and ask questions. And in the Seekerville comments section, you can!

2. Articles on every aspect and subject about writing novels.

 Sometimes when you’re learning something new, you don’t even know yet what questions to ask. Seekerville can help with that too. Just start reading Seekerville’s archived articles. There’s even a list of subjects on the right side of the screen if you scroll down. The helpful topics include things every writer needs to know about:  

POV
Character Arc
Backstory
Scenes
Conflict
Editing and Revising
Critiques
Emotions
Show Don’t Tell
Foreshadowing
GMC
Traditional, Indie, Self-pub, Hybrid
Proposal
Black moment/Climax
Hooks, and lots more. You can go right now and read multiple articles on each topic. Isn’t that exciting? And it’s all FREE! So it’s even better than a college degree! Unless you want to be a neurosurgeon. Then the college degree is better.

 3. Contest Updates.

A writing contest can be extremely helpful to writers, not only for the feedback and learning opportunity it provides, but it can even help you get published. Seekerville keeps unpublished writers abreast on contests that are coming up. Once a month there’s a Contest Update, listing the contest, its deadline, and the judges, such as when an acquiring editor from a major publisher is slated to be the final round judge. This is helpful information. 

Seekerville also lists contests for the published author, which is great for someone like me who is allergic to spreadsheets and is unorganized and never remembers contest deadlines but does remember to check the contest updates on Seekerville.

4. No bad language and lots of wholesomeness. 

 I feel perfectly safe sending all my young teen writers to Seekerville. I know all the posts will be profanity-free and safe for all ages. I often have 13-yr-olds who write to me and ask for advice on what to do when you’re stuck or have writer's block, and I tell them about Seekerville, where they can read great articles to help them and find supportive people. And with the healthy spirituality of people like Debby Giusti, who will pray with you at the drop of a hat and are always so uplifting, wise, and kind, I know they are in good hands.

And while it is true that Julie Lessman’s kissing scenes and advice might be slightly on the PG-13 side, I know she will just as quickly show them God’s way of doing romance, so it’s all good. 

5. Holiday awareness.

For the very, very oblivious writer who rarely pokes her head out into the real world and therefore rarely realizes when it’s a holiday, Seekerville can keep you from making a dry run to the post office, since Seekerville is closed on major holidays. 

6. Making new friends.

 You might make a friend in the comments section of Seekerville, like Carol Moncado, Patti Jo Moore, and many others. And certainly, the Seekerville ladies will consider you a friend just for commenting, especially if you comment often, and will sometimes give you a shout-out when you final in a contest or get your first contract! And let’s face it. Being an author can be very solitary and lonely, so it’s nice to make friends you will likely meet face to face someday at a writers’ conference!

7. Giveaways. 

Seekerville gives away something for every single new blog article, which is several times a week, as well as on Saturday on the Weekend Edition. So you can win books, gift cards, and other goodies—even a critique! This is valuable stuff. So you definitely want to comment often.

8. The Weekend Edition.

The Weekend Edition lists links to important information from around the internet that can be helpful to any writer. Stay informed!

9. The daily comradery.

The comradery might be the best thing about Seekerville. It’s a safe place full of genuinely kind and helpful people. And it’s funny to read the friendly jabs between Mary and Ruthy especially. You know they are both really sweet people, so when they insult each other, you don’t feel guilty for laughing. And guilt-free laughter is my favorite.

So there you have it. The Top 9 Reasons to Read and Comment on Seekerville EVERY DAY. Do it. Read it. Every day. Because it’s good for you and it tastes better than broccoli.

Now tell me your favorite thing about the Seekerville blog, and if you can’t keep it to one thing, go ahead and tell me two. I will give away a hardcover copy of The Silent Songbird, which releases November 8th, to three select commenters.

Melanie Dickerson is the author of fairy tale retellings set in Medieval Europe and a new Regency Romance series. Her books have won a Carol Award, two Maggie Awards, a National Readers’ Choice Award, and two Christy Award finals. She lives in north Alabama with her teenage daughter (the other one is a college freshman) her husband, and two guinea pigs, Cecily (named after a character in The Importance of Being Earnest) and Ellie (short for Eleanor, I am told, from Sense and Sensibility). She enjoys watching movies based on Jane Austen’s books, and she literally has no other hobbies, as she’s always writing. Or editing. Or a combination of the two.

SILENT SONGBIRD

Evangeline is gifted with a heavenly voice, but she is trapped in a sinister betrothal until she embarks on a daring escape and meets brave Westley le Wyse. Can he help her discover the freedom to sing again?

Desperate to flee a political marriage to her cousin King Richard II’s closest advisor, Lord Shiveley—a man twice her age with shadowy motives—Evangeline runs away and joins a small band of servants journeying back to Glynval, their home village.

Pretending to be mute, she gets to know Westley le Wyse, their handsome young leader, who is intrigued by the beautiful servant girl. But when the truth comes out, it may shatter any hope that love could grow between them.

In this loose retelling of The Little Mermaid, more than Evangeline’s future is at stake as she finds herself entangled in a web of intrigue that threatens England’s monarchy. Should she give herself up to protect the only person who cares about her? If she does, who will save the king from a plot to steal his throne?

Writer Unplugged: Facing My Own Fears

with guest Melanie Dickerson.

Recently in a post on Seekerville, someone, I won’t say who, (Mary Connealy) said she didn’t really have any fears. For a moment I was stunned—and a little jealous too, truth be told. 

Because I am riddled with fears. Fear could be my middle name. But success is gained by overcoming fears, and I have overcome—or at least tamed—a lot of fears. 

God did not give us a spirit of fear, but He did give us a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7). If we put our trust in Jesus and are Christians, we have victory. We only need to open our eyes to see it. And we need to tap into that spirit of power, that spirit of love, and that spirit of self-discipline to fully appreciate the victory we have.
What I’m about to say I don’t think I’ve ever shared before. But a year before I started writing again, I was having some issues, and I went to see a Christian counselor. I talked for about 40 minutes. Then he smiled and said, “You’re easy.”

Um . . . okay.

“Your problem is that you have low self-esteem.”

I thought the guy was cracked, and I wasn’t sure I would go back. But he was right. Low self-esteem was definitely a problem for me, even though I hadn’t realized it and didn’t even believe it at first. He helped me to overcome my low self-esteem to a great extent, but I still struggle with this. I have to go to God and ask for confidence, since I want God’s confidence, not just my own.

What does this have to do with success at writing and overcoming your fears? Well, if I had not gone to this counselor and sought help to gain confidence in myself, six months later, when God nudged me to start writing, I never would have listened. I would have said what I’d said before: Getting published is too hard. It will take too much time. What do I have to say that anyone would want to read?

But I didn’t say that when God nudged. I said, “Yes, I want to try that.”

1.    Fear of trying
Without at least a modicum of confidence in ourselves, we will not fulfill the purpose God has for us. We need confidence, or we will never be able to weather the struggles to accomplish our dreams. We will either quit when things get hard, or we’ll never even start. So the fear that we aren’t capable of writing a book or of being published or being successful at writing, is the first fear I had to—and you have to—overcome. Ask God for the confidence to try, to give it your best, especially if you know that the desire to write is coming from Him. I recommend a great book called The Confident Woman by Joyce Meyer. It is not unbiblical to be confident. In fact, it is very biblical, and God is the giver of Godly confidence.

2.    Fear of the unknown
When I was told that I should go to a writing conference, after I completed my first manuscript, I found the perfect conference while searching online—the ACFW Conference, and it was coming up in just three months! And it was practically in my back yard, in Nashville! So I signed up and paid my conference fee.

The day arrived for me to go to the conference. I was terrified. I was a stay-at-home mom and former special education teacher. I’d never gone to a conference like this in my life. I didn’t know a soul, except my conference-appointed mentor, Mary Connealy, and my roommate, whom I’d only met online. I was packed and dressed and ready to go, but I was stalling, hanging around my house. Finally, I couldn’t put it off any longer. I had paid that money! I had to go. So I got in the car and drove.

While at the conference, I was so nervous and uptight I couldn’t sleep. I took an over-the-counter sleeping pill the second night. The next morning I was having a reaction to the sleeping pill, and in the middle of breakfast, I fainted.

Believe me, this was traumatic, partly because I missed an appointment with an editor while at the ER. The bill we got was even more traumatic. Did you know that some insurance companies won’t pay for an ambulance and ER visit out of state? Me neither, but now I do. 

So the next year, when conference time rolled around, I had another book to pitch. I really wanted to go to the conference. But I was terrified. I kept reliving the trauma of that fainting incident. But even though I was scared, I went anyway. That’s how I overcame my fear. I just went to the conference anyway, scared. And of course, it was a great conference, and it was worth facing my fear.

3.    Fear of failure
By the time I had written four books and was still trying to get published, the economy had tanked, and my husband was hearing rumblings that he might lose his job. I knew, in the case of my writing, he was frustrated with money going out and none coming in, which was understandable. But I also knew that I have never been an energetic person. I’m not the type-A personality who always needs to be moving and doing. And even though I am well aware that some novelists have full-time jobs and still write very prolifically, I knew myself well enough to know that I was not going to be able to do that. But finally, under the pressure (fear) I was feeling about our finances, I took a part-time job. 

I cried every day for the first two weeks of that job. 

I had young children, and every night after I came home from the job and cooked dinner and tried to be a good mom, I was too tired to write. I felt my dream of becoming a full-time novelist was over, or at least put on hold. My drive to get published had kept me going through more than 32 rejections, but my drive was not working now. The job killed my drive.

I’d been working that job for a month or two when my then-agent, Mary Beth Chappell, called and woke me up from a nap. I’d been doing my lesson from my Beth Moore study in bed, then crying and praying that if a certain publisher decided not to publish my book, that I wouldn’t get too depressed. When Mary Beth told me they had decided to publish it, the only thing I could say was, “What are the possibilities that this will fall through?”

She explained, it’s possible it could fall through, but not likely. Finally she said, with a touch of irritation in her voice, “Aren’t you excited?” Honestly, I was too terrified it would not work out. But I must have had some faith in it, because I immediately quit my job.

4.    Fear that the success achieved will all disappear
Through the years since getting published, I’ve been through various circumstances and moments of fear that everything would all go south, especially when, after giving me contracts for four books and those books doing pretty well, my publisher refused to give me an answer on the 3-book proposal we’d sent in. For fourteen long months, I did not know if they were going to publish another book from me. I wondered if I was done. Was I ever going to get another contract or publish another book? 

But God gave me a new publisher, who gave me two contracts instead of one, for five books instead of three. How good is God? He is very, very good.

(I’m skipping the part about my husband losing his job the same month my first book released. He was out of work for 3 and a half years, and there was a lot of fear, and ample time and opportunity for me to wonder if I should go back to school to renew my teaching license and try to get a job teaching. Was it impractical and selfish to keep writing, when writing was not paying the bills? But after a few years, I can happily say that it eventually became more profitable to stick with writing. Writing turned out to be practical after all.)

5.    Fear of burn-out
I have another example of the fact that even when you are succeeding, you still may encounter fears—more fears than ever, in some cases. When I was already writing two books a year for Thomas Nelson, my amazing agent, Natasha Kern, gave me the news that my Regency series, which she’d been trying to sell for almost a year, finally had an offer. Could I really write more books on top of the ones I was already writing? I was afraid of over-commitment, afraid I wouldn’t meet my deadlines, and afraid the quality of my books would suffer.

Soon after, I was having lunch with my friend Regina. I told her, “I don’t think I’m going to accept this new contract. I’m barely able to write two books a year, and three books might be too much. I don’t want to overcommit.”

“Of course you will accept this new contract!” said my perpetually positive and enthusiastic friend Regina. “This is wonderful! God is blessing you! This is a wonderful opportunity from God! I’m so excited for you!”

I sometimes argue with Regina when I think she’s going overboard. (She’s kind of my opposite.) But this time I didn’t. I overcame my fears, figured out how to work three more books into my schedule, and signed the contract. I might not have done it, but the first two Regencies were already 50% written. I just didn’t want to waste an opportunity if it was from God. 

I’m still facing my fear of burn-out and over-commitment. But I honestly think I’ve written some of my best books during this season of over-commitment. Ha! So take that, fear!

 I don’t know where you are on your journey or what your fears are. I’m not sure we ever fully conquer our fears while on this earth. But sometimes we just have to “Do it afraid,” as Joyce Meyer says. And just remember this one thing: 

If you are a Christian, you already have victory over every fear. 

Even when we don’t understand and aren’t realizing it, Jesus has overcome every single thing we could ever be afraid of, and He has given us victory. In Jesus we have victory over the fear of trying, the fear of the unknown, failure, losing everything we’ve worked for, and burn-out. We are victorious. “But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.” 

Christian writer, God is using you, and using me, “to spread the aroma of the knowledge of Him everywhere.” How beautiful is that? It’s worth every struggle, and we already have victory.

In the comments, tell me your fears that you’re dealing with. Tell me how you plan to tap into the spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. Focus on the fact that Jesus is giving you victory. Sometimes you just have to open your eyes and see it. Congratulations to those of you who joined Speedbo! There’s power in doing something in community, working alongside like-minded people, encouraging each other. Take every possible opportunity to stir up your own motivation, and Speedbo is a great one!

Melanie Dickerson is the author of Historical Romances, and her two favorite time periods are Medieval, which she has combined with her love of fairy tales, and Regency England, which stems from her enduring love of Jane Austen. She earned her bachelor's degree in special education from The University of Alabama and has taught children with special needs in Georgia and Tennessee, and English to adults in Germany and Ukraine. Now she spends her time writing, hanging out on facebook, and taking care of her husband, two daughters, and two guinea pigs near Huntsville, Alabama. (Truth be told, her family mostly takes care of themselves and the guinea pigs, and she mostly writes and edits and hangs out on social media.) Visit her on the web at http://www.MelanieDickerson.com.


 Melanie is generously offering one paperback copy of her February release from Waterfall Press, The Spy's Devotion (The Regency Spies of London),and an MP3 audiobook of A Spy’s Devotion...AND a hardback copy of The Golden Braid.  Three winners.

Leave a comment to be entered. Winners announced in the Weekend Edition.

In England’s Regency era, manners and elegance reign in public life—but behind closed doors treason and deception thrive. Nicholas Langdon is no stranger to reserved civility or bloody barbarity. After suffering a battlefield injury, the wealthy, well-connected British officer returns home to heal—and to fulfill a dying soldier’s last wish by delivering his coded diary.

At the home of the Wilherns, one of England’s most powerful families, Langdon attends a lavish ball where he meets their beautiful and intelligent ward, Julia Grey. Determined to maintain propriety, he keeps his distance—until the diary is stolen and all clues lead to Julia’s guardian. As Langdon traces an evil plot that could be the nation’s undoing, he grows ever more intrigued by the lovely young woman. And when Julia realizes that England—and the man she is falling in love with—need her help, she finds herself caught in the fray. Will the two succumb to their attraction while fighting to save their country?

Find Speedbo Details here.

Anatomy of an Edit

with guest Melanie Dickerson.

Before I was published, editors seemed to be these mysterious beings who held sacred knowledge about writing and story and revision. I could hardly wait until I had my very own editor to glean from, someone who would love my story as I did and would help make it even better.

Now that I’m published, I haven’t changed my beliefs about editors very much, because from my (albeit limited) experience, they truly do have amazing abilities when it comes to seeing a story as a whole—the forest AND the trees—and knowing what would help to make it better.

But lately I’ve had a few people tell me that they don’t intend to ever try to get traditionally published because they don’t want an editor telling them to make changes on their books. They stated that it would be too stressful, and others said they didn’t want to give up control over their book or any aspect of it. Once they finish it, they plan to self-publish. Period.

So, I thought I would explain what really happens at publishing house when it comes to edits, and why an author would actually WANT to submit to this process. I’ll be giving examples from the three types of edits we did on my new Medieval romance, The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest, in partnership with my wonderful editors at Thomas Nelson.

There are basically three types of edits. 

1. Content edits, also known as macro, substantive, and developmental edits.
2. Line edits
3. Copy edits

Some might consider line edits and copy edits the same thing, but in my experience, the line edits were more in-depth, and copy editors proofread after the main edits were done.

The first edits an author receives are from the content editor, your main point of contact, with whom you also communicate about the cover, the back cover copy, and various issues that come up. This editor looks at the big picture of your novel and every aspect of plot and characters. They put their observations in the greatly anticipated “editorial letter.”

In this letter you may be asked to change characters, eliminate characters, to make changes to your plot, to eliminate a subplot, or to create one. But all these changes are usually stated as suggestions, not forced changes set in stone. Your editor will tell you what the problem is and allow you to decide how to fix it, while giving you some ideas about how you might do that. Ultimately, it’s up to you how to fix it, and even, in most cases, whether you even want to or not. You get to choose. It’s your book.

I will give an example from my editorial letter for The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest. This was my first time writing for Thomas Nelson, and also my first book geared toward an adult audience rather than a Young Adult audience. I really wanted this book to be as “clean” as my YA books, but at the same time be a little more appealing to adult readers.

In my editorial letter, my editor, Becky Monds, stated that The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest “reads too young.” This was one of her main concerns about the novel and the one I’ll give examples about. And since I didn’t want this story to “read too young,” I listened.

(BTW, Dina Sleiman just shared a great post earlier this month about what constitutes YA fiction.) [Link: http://seekerville.blogspot.com/2015/04/so-what-is-ya-fiction-anyway.html]

Becky made a few suggestions about how to “age up” the story, and especially the heroine, Odette. The controlling stepfather made Odette seem more like a child than a mature woman of twenty years old. She suggested I eliminate the overbearing stepfather, Rutger, and the heroine’s passive mother, and make Odette an adult orphan who is independent.

As Becky said in her letter, if I were to make this change: “Odette becomes a much more active heroine. She is the one setting the terms for her poaching. She isn’t being manipulated by anyone.”

I mulled it over and knew Becky was right about Odette seeming too young and needing to be more in control of her life. However, I didn’t think I could make her totally independent and living alone. It wouldn’t be authentic to the Medieval time period. So instead, after talking to Becky on the phone, I decided to make Odette an orphan, as Becky suggested, but I replaced the controlling stepfather with an easy-going uncle-guardian who would allow her to make her own life choices, and he would retain the name Rutger. This would help Odette seem older and more mature but still preserve the historical authenticity. I was very happy with this change.

But now I had to do the work. I would have to change Rutger’s role in the story, as he had been the evil villain. I had to figure out who would do the bad stuff that Rutger had done. I used a combination of people, including Rutger, but from different motives this time. It actually worked very well and didn’t take that long to figure out.

I had to change every single conversation the heroine had with Rutger, as his personality was now the very opposite from what it was before. Sometimes this was surprisingly easy, but other times . . . not so much. I also eliminated the mother, which wasn’t hard since she was so passive and actually served no real purpose.

But I liked the changes. It worked very well and achieved my goals for the story. Also, on Becky’s suggestion, I made changes to Odette’s best friend. From Becky’s letter:

“I love the role that Anna plays as a confidant for Odette and eventually the ultimate confidant when she tells Anna that she is poaching. But Anna acts very young herself. If Anna is married with perhaps a child or two, it will help Odette feel older, even if she has never married nor had children. As it is now, when Anna and Odette get together and talk about Peter and Jorgen, it feels like two giddy teenagers. Putting Anna in a more mature stage in her life will elevate their conversations to a more mature level.”

So that’s what I did. It was also a more believable scenario for the time period, to have a 21-year-old woman married with children.

All of these changes had lots of repercussions. I had to do a LOT of work. But I believe it was worth it, and it all paid off. I think it’s a much stronger story, and the changes I made to Rutger’s character made him much more complex and set the story up for a really big plot twist near the end that I thought was much better than the way I originally ended the story. Yay! I love surprise plot twists, and even more when they surprise me!

Now on to line edits.

The second stage of editing is the line edits. My line editor for The Huntress was Julee Schwarzburg. She helped me with all kinds of things, like smoothing out awkward sentences, eliminating unnecessary and repetitious words, and lots of other things that editors are known for.

As an example, on the first page of Chapter Two of The Huntress, Julee deleted two unnecessary commas in the first sentence. She deleted an unnecessary speaker attribution. (These were all optional deletions, made in Track Changes, so that I could accept or reject the changes as I wished. But I usually accept, as I usually like the changes.) She also made this comment in the margin: “Somewhere in this chapter can you describe what Odette’s dress is like? For example, is she wearing a kirtle with a scooped neckline? Or whatever is appropriate for this time period and Germany.”

Since I know I am too sparse in my descriptions in my first draft, it was a good suggestion. I always find myself adding descriptions of dress and setting at this stage, and a good line editor will remind me to do that.

On the second and third pages of Chapter Two, Julee highlighted a large portion and said, “This is great information, but I think we need to move this to ch. 1 so we know what the stakes are when Odette is first seen poaching.”

Another great suggestion, which I complied with. We went through the entire manuscript together three times, making changes on practically every page, fixing our inevitable mistakes on the second and third passes from when we copied and pasted or deleted, and also catching other mistakes and awkward wordings, etc.

And I think that gives you a good idea of what a line editor does and how much work it is for both the editor and the author, but also how much it improves the writing.

Lastly, I believe I had at least a couple of copy editors on The Huntress who looked over the entire manuscript and made minimal changes and suggestions, including a couple of grammar issues. Mainly, copy editors fix the things the other editors and author miss.

For instance, there was a sentence that read: They were going about their normal daily chores and shopping, not knowing that just above them a young girl’s life was hanging uncertainly, doomed to a sordid, ugly life.

The copy editor said: As written, the clause "doomed to a sordid, ugly life" modifies "young girl's life," but it is Kathryn, not her life, that is doomed. Can it be reworked?

Of course. I reworked it. 

And there you have it, examples from the three types of editing from The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest. This is why I appreciate my editors so very much. Editing a book is a ton of work, for the editor as well as the author, but it’s worth it. I believe the book is much better for the editors who worked on it and all their suggestions—and all the HARD WORK I DID! (Haha! I had to add that!)

So, questions for you. What do you think of having an editor suggest changes to your work? Do my examples help you see how helpful editors can be? And/or, What are some of the most major changes you ever did to one of your books? Come on, make it good, so I won’t feel like I’m the only one who ever had to make major changes! And I’ll put you in a drawing to win a copy of The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest. (Winner announced in the Weekend Edition)

Melanie Dickerson is the author of fairy tale retellings set in Medieval Europe, including two Christy Award finalists and a Carol Award winner. She lives in north Alabama with her two teenage daughters and all their angst, and her husband, who is the sole male in a house where even their two guinea pigs are females. She enjoys watching movies based on Jane Austen’s books, and she literally has no other hobbies, as she’s always writing. Or editing. Or a combination of the two.


 

 

The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest

A beautiful maiden who poaches to feed the poor. A handsome forester on a mission to catch her. Danger and love are about to unite in Thornbeck Forest.

The margrave owns the finest hunting grounds for miles around—and Odette Menkels spends her nights poaching his deer to feed the hungry orphans of Thornbeck. By day, Odette is a simple maiden who teaches children to read, but by night this young beauty has become the secret lifeline to the poorest of the poor.

For Jorgen Hartman, the margrave’s forester, tracking down a poacher is a duty he is all too willing to perform. Jorgen inherited his post from the man who raised him, a man who was murdered at the hands of a poacher.

When Jorgen and Odette meet at the Midsummer festival and share a connection during a dance, neither has any idea that they are already adversaries.
The one man she wants is bound by duty to capture her; the one woman he loves is his cunning target. What becomes of a forester who protects a notorious poacher? What becomes of a poacher when she is finally discovered?

7 Things I’m Glad No One Told Me about the Writing Life (Or I Would Have Quit)

with guest Melanie Dickerson.

 
How awesome to be in Seekerville to celebrate the 7th birthday of this blog, which is so helpful and informative and friendly and just plain THE BEST. But when Tina invited me to write a post, I warned her that I was on a tight deadline, I’d been doing some really tough editing, which always makes me emotional, and not in a good way, and in the mood I was in, my post could be classified as “dark humor.” But she said she was game anyway. So, here it is. Read at your own risk. (Don’t say I didn’t warn you.)

7 Things I’m Glad No One Told Me about the Writing Life (Or I Would Have Quit)

1. Some days the words just will not flow, no matter how much you want them to.
When I first started writing, I thought that after a certain period of time, I would really know what I was doing. I would have perfected my techniques, and I would be able to churn books out like Barbara Cartland or Nora Roberts. But alas, as I write my 10th book, I don’t think I’ll ever be a Nora Roberts. I still have days when the words don’t flow. I still, quite often, feel like I have no clue what I’m doing.

2. I would get 1- and 2-star reviews that would make me feel icky inside for days.

This was in the days after my first two books were out. Since then, I’ve pretty much gotten over that icky feeling. Now I usually either don’t read them, or I shrug and say, “Oh well. Can’t please everyone.” But it took me a couple of years at least to get over it. 

3. I would have 3 different agents in 5 years.

And that’s all I’m going to say about that, so don’t ask me.

4. Once you get that first contract, or that second or third or fourth, you aren’t guaranteed you’ll ever get another one.

I’ve had a contract canceled because the publisher decided to stop publishing fiction, and I’ve spent time wondering if my career was over and if anyone would ever buy another book from me again. It’s a tough business. There are no guarantees.

5. How much money I would make.

 I recently saw an Amazon review on one of my books with the heading “You make too much money.” So I absolutely couldn’t resist reading the rest of the review to find out if they really know how much money I make. Nope. Turns out, this reviewer is under the mistaken notion that I make a lot of money. Me. Little me, with my four books released in four years. All I can say is, Ms. Reviewer, you are grossly misinformed. Or should I say, uninformed?

6. That I would still have to clean the toilets and cook the meals and clean the house (and heaven knows there’s not much cleaning going on).

I used to think that if I could just make enough money by writing to hire a housekeeper to come in one day a week, I would be happy with that. Well, I still don’t have a housekeeper, but that subject is too depressing, so don’t ask me about that either.

 

7. Most of my early writer friends would quit writing and I’d have to make new writer friends.

They’re still my friends, but they’re no longer writing. They’re pursuing other important things, and that’s great, but it was very sad when we stopped communicating as much. I guess the bottom line is, Writing is a permanent sickness for some, and others get over it pretty quickly.

And the #8 Bonus is my favorite: It’s not really about me at all.

I used to think I was doing this writing gig for myself, to make money, to do what I loved, to get that housekeeper I desperately needed, for personal fulfillment. After I got published, I realized I was totally wrong. It’s not about me at all.

It’s about the girl who just wrote to me and said, “I am a Christian and struggling with my faith but these books have inspired me to be a better person and to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Thanks to you I have witnessed to 3 people at my school. I really appreciate the difference you have made in my life.”

It’s about the mother who wrote to me and said, “Your books have been such a Godsend for [my daughter], as it is difficult to find books that are morally pure for a 13 year old.”

It’s about Debbie, who said, “Your books have offered me a wonderful escape from a very painful chronic illness.”

It’s about the teen girl who said, “I love how I was able to find a Christian book series I could read and that would give me strength through my first year of high school. I believe that I needed Jesus more than ever this year, and I believe He helped me find these books to keep me going and to pursue my goals.”

It’s about another teen who said, “I love to read your books because they help to push myself to not be ashamed of my faith in Jesus Christ.”

It’s about the girl with the Muslim-sounding name who wrote and said, “I'm a huge fan of your books! Not only are they packed with adventure, but they convey wonderful messages of love, goodness, piety and faith in God Almighty that even non-Christians such as myself can relate to.”

So even though there have been a lot of tough things about being a writer, and even though I might have quit if I’d known just how tough it would be, I’m glad I didn’t know. Because I’m glad I didn’t quit.

And now I’d like to hear your biggest gripe about the writing life. Go ahead, vent. Get it off your chest. And then tell me the reasons why it’s worth it to you. And if you leave a comment, you’ll be in the drawing to win one of 3 copies of my newest book, The Princess Spy.

The Princess Spy

Margaretha has always been a romantic, and hopes her newest suitor, Lord Claybrook, is destined to be her one true love. But then an injured man is brought to Hagenheim Castle, claiming to be an English lord who was attacked by Claybrook and left for dead. And only Margaretha—one of the few who speaks his language—understands the wild story.


Margaretha finds herself unable to pass Colin’s message along to her father, the duke, and convinces herself “Lord Colin” is just an addled stranger. Then Colin retrieves an heirloom she lost in a well, and asks her to spy on Claybrook as repayment. Margaretha knows she could never be a spy—not only is she unable to keep anything secret, she’s sure Colin is completely wrong about her potential betrothed. Though when Margaretha overhears Claybrook one day, she discovers her romantic notions may have been clouding her judgment about not only Colin but Claybrook as well. It is up to her to save her father and Hagenheim itself from Claybrook’s wicked plot.

 And exciting news today in Seekerville!

Leading up to the release of The Princess Spy, my publisher is putting all my previous books on sale for $1.99. So if you are missing any of the books, now is a great time to get them! Also, you can pre-order The Princess Spy for $5.99. Thanks! 

Melanie with Mary Connealy

Melanie Dickerson is a two-time Christy Award finalist, a Carol Award winner, and the author of five Medieval fairy tale retellings, from Sleeping Beauty to The Frog Prince. When she’s not experiencing the emotional extremes of being a published author – from the euphoria of a plot breakthrough to the despair of believing her current manuscript is the worst book she’s ever written – she is spending time with her two daughters, two female guinea pigs, and the lone male in the house, her husband.

Photo via Crestock.com

More fun today with Melanie! Seekerville is hosting fairy tale day TODAY! Change your profile picture to your favorite fairy tale. Think Disney, Mother Goose, or the Brothers Grimm. Or make up your own. All fairy tale profile picture guests will have their name put into the princesses crown for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card.  Winner announced in the Weekend Edition.

Theme: How can I use it for a more powerful reading experience?

With Guest Melanie Dickerson. 

Theme has always been one of those ethereal aspects of story that I wasn’t too sure I even understood, let alone something I could plan and/or harness to make my story more powerful. Lately I’ve been realizing that theme is something I should be paying a lot more attention to. But what is theme?

Here is the definition I like best from Merriam-Webster: Theme is an idea, ideal, or orienting principle that is dominant or persistent.

In other words, theme is a dominant principle that shows up persistently in a story. The more stories I write, the more I want each one to stand out and to make a powerful impression on my readers. And I’ve been wondering if I might be able to intentionally weave theme throughout my story.

But how?   

Now, I’m still figuring this out. In fact, the reason I volunteered to write my blog post on theme was because I wanted to learn more about it and figure out how to do a better job of incorporating theme into my stories.

I’ve been reading a book called Writing Subtext: How to craft subtext that develops characters, boosts suspense, and reinforces theme by Elizabeth Lyon. I realize that most of the things she talks about I am already doing, but not intentionally.
To be honest, I was never very good at figuring out the theme and underlying meaning behind poetry or classic novels. I guess I tend to think in literal terms. And it makes me upset when “experts” interpret a poem or story to mean something I don’t think the author ever intended—or when reviewers read something into my own novels that I never intended. So how can we make sure our readers don’t miss the theme of our novels, experience it in a deep and meaningful way, and yet, avoid beating them over the head with it?

James Scott Bell and Donald Maass, both a lot smarter and more experienced than I am, have talked about the fact that, if you do the work of developing your characters and your plot, theme will naturally emerge. But what can you do to reinforce it? And should you even try?

In my Beauty and the Beast story,The Merchant’s Daughter, one of the themes that naturally emerged was the theme of inner beauty and that it was possible to love someone in spite of their outward appearance. The main characters and plot epitomize this theme, as the hero was disfigured in an accident when he was younger and didn’t believe any woman, especially a beautiful woman, could ever love him. 

But I also had a secondary character who reinforced it. Stephen was the heroine’s good friend from childhood, and she loved him. Her friendship type of love was not hampered in the least by Stephen’s cerebral palsy, which caused him to walk in a way that was noticeably different from everyone else. But if I had wanted to be even more intentional about reinforcing the theme, I might have spent a little more time exploring Stephen and his experiences and interactions with other characters. I also could have had one of the characters mention the theme in dialogue.

I came up with three ways theme might be reinforced:

1. Subplots

2. An object that symbolizes the theme


3. Metaphors

3. Dialogue

However, I also got to thinking that this sort of reinforcement of theme could easily become overdone and seem heavy-handed. My conclusion is that, as the author, I need to be aware of the theme of my book, whether it’s while I’m writing the first draft, before I even start writing, or after I’m done, when I’m revising. During the revision process, I need to reinforce theme, but I should be careful not to overdo it. Let the story itself convey the theme, let the characters come to grips with the theme, but don’t preach the theme to the reader.

Two principles of good writing: 1. Trust the reader to “get it,” and 2. Resist the Urge to Explain (RUE).

Another theme I have used in my novels is that we allow social status to affect our identity and feelings of self-worth, but our self-worth should be based on how God sees us. Looking back on some of my books, I think I could have focused in on this theme and made it more impactful if I had been more aware of it. I might have highlighted this theme through the use of subplots and secondary characters struggling with this issue. I might have had a character make a statement in dialogue that would have encapsulated the theme so succinctly that it would have been an “Ah-ha!” moment for both the POV (point of view) character and the reader.



I’m still figuring out how to reinforce my themes, but I do think, from now on, I will definitely try to identify my theme as early in the process as possible. In fact, I recently identified the theme of my three-book series that I’m still plotting. I haven’t even started the first draft of the first book, but already I’m excited about the ways I’ll be able to highlight this theme, and the variations of the theme that will emerge with each of the three books.

Discussion time! Have you identified the theme of your current writing project? What are some ways you might reinforce this theme to create a powerful “ah-ha” moment for your characters and your reader? How can we avoid “preachy-ness” and still enhance theme?

 
 Bio:
Melanie Dickerson is the author of Young Adult fairy tale retellings set in Medieval Europe: The Healer’s Apprentice, The Merchant’s Daughter, The Fairest Beauty, and The Captive Maiden. Her fifth novel, The Princess Spy, releases in November. Published with Harper Collins Christian Publishing, she is a two-time Christy Award finalist and winner of the Carol Award in the Young Adult category and the National Readers Choice Award for Best First Book. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Special Education from The University of Alabama and lives in north Alabama with her husband, two book-loving daughters, and two cute-but-incontinent R.O.U.S.s, also known as guinea pigs, named Cecily and Rue.


 You can connect with Melanie through facebook, https://www.facebook.com/MelanieDickersonBooks, twitter, https://twitter.com/melanieauthor, and her website, www.MelanieDickerson.com.

Today Melanie is generously giving away a copy of The Captive Maiden to one Seekerville commenter. Winner announced in the Weekend Edition.  And here's a special treat..CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO OF MELANIE reading from The Captive Maiden.

 The Captive Maiden by Melanie Dickerson.

Happily Ever After …Or Happily Nevermore? 

Gisela’s childhood was filled with laughter and visits from nobles such as the duke and his young son. But since her father’s death, each day has been filled with nothing but servitude to her stepmother. So when Gisela learns the duke’s son, Valten---the boy she has daydreamed about for years---is throwing a ball in hopes of finding a wife, she vows to find a way to attend, even if it’s only for a taste of a life she’ll never have. To her surprise, she catches Valten’s eye. Though he is rough around the edges, Gisela finds Valten has completely captured her heart. But other forces are bent on keeping the two from falling further in love, putting Gisela in more danger than she ever imagined.

It's not too late to Speedbo...