I Finished my 3rd Manuscript!

Finally! I'm done. Now comes the fun part of editing and preparing for submission. Plus I have to build up my self esteem for all those nice rejection letters. Every one seems to want the same thing, so I don't think it will take me too long to prepare the Query and the first three chapters, it's the damn synopsis that is the hardest! How in the world do I take 135,000 words and break it down into 2 pages. But that's not the only hard part...no...I have to make those two pages GRAB the attention of the editor! It's the hardest thing for me to do. In fact, I'd rather write a whole book than a synopsis. I'm happy with the way the manuscript came out, lets just hope SOMEONE thinks it's worthy...please God. I already tried my hand at Baycrest Books (which is where I really thought this book would work), but they had different ideas...sigh. Now that I've re-written the Prologue, Chapters 1, 2 and 3, I might just try them again. I've bought every book on "The Perfect Query Letter" and nothing seems to work. I don't want this manuscript to take YEARS like my first two just to have someone actually read it. What in the WORLD is the trick??? Oh well, I'll give it ONE more try.

Between MacGregor's Curse, writing, and working full time, I think I'm starting to hallucinate from sleep deprivation. At this point, I'd make a great study subject for a sleep clinic.

I keep chanting the song from "Finding Nemo" in my head..."Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..." only mine is..."Just keep writing, just keep writing..."

I can do this! (I think)
Goodnight all!

Julie Palella
MacGregor's Curse
ISBN: 1413724582
www.juliepalella.com

Finding the time to write

Now that you are marketing, how do you find time to keep writing? This has been a major problem for me. Writing my first manuscript was easy. I'd wait for my family to go to bed, sit down at the computer when all was quiet and let my fingers do what they do best...type. The story just seemed to flow, the characters came to life, and the next thing I knew, it was 4:00 in the morning and I had written ten pages.

After that book got published, things began to change. Now I find myself constantly marketing. The stories I'm working on are sitting in cyperspace waiting to come alive. The minute I start to write, a new E-mail pops up...someone from a writing group has a question...or worse yet, Yahoo Instant Messenger pops up: U there? (Dang, I forgot to turn that off again). Now, they KNOW I'm here. Ah well, I'll chat for a bit, keep marketing and write in a little bit. Next thing I know, it's 4:00 in the morning again, and I haven't written a damn thing.

It's a catch 22. If I don't market my first book, what's the sense in writing my second? So I decided to make a schedule. At 10:00 at night I sit down, answer my Email, chat for awhile...and shut down at midnight. This gives me only 2 hours to market, network, answer Emails etc. Then I take the rest of the time to write. Sometimes I'm just too tired and do none of that. Other nights the sun peeks through my office window and I know it's going to be a LONG day at work. With four hours of sleep as it is, I don't need to be hallucinating from lack of sleep.

Then comes the age old question: Am I just wasting my time? The answer to that is probably yes. I'm obsessive and I always will be. So at 3:00 in the morning, when my eyes are drooping and my book is going nowhere, I throw myself into the next story. Hey, my characters have something to say whether people want to read about them or not...there's no harm in that right? (Don't ask my husband that question).

Julie Palella 

MacGregor's Curse 

Marketing Your Romance Novel

Whether you've been published through Bantam, PublishAmerica or published yourself, marketing is, and always will be, the hardest obstacle to conquer for a new author. I've learned this through my own experience with my book "MacGregor's Curse". I thought after the book was released it would be an instant success...silly me. Marketing has been a struggle and much more time consuming than I could have possibly imagined. For those starting out, I thought I'd share a few short-cuts that have helped pushed my book sales along.

Networking
Most of us belong to writing groups. This is absolutely one of the best ways to network. I've met people I never imagined I'd meet (including Mary Higgins Clark, Nora Roberts and John Grisham), through writing groups. I was able to ask them some questions, get a feel for how they struggled and what eventually set them on their way.

Networking locally is also crucial in establishing some sort of name for yourself. Check out the groups in your local town through the Better Business Bureau. Ask local book-stores about readings and "Local Author" day. (Most actually have that once a month). Talk to people at the grocery store line, have your children pass out bookmarks at school. Networking locally will help you tremendously and will give you that extra "push" you will need.

Internet Marketing
Probably the easiest way to sell yourself, but not always the cheapest. Many places on the internet will advertise your book for free (if you can find them). Again, this applies to networking. Most writing groups through Yahoo, AOL, etc...have some sort of Electronic Magazine or know someone that does. Request them to add your book to their site. I've yet to have someone say no.

Link your website to others. Look for authors just starting out, like yourself, and ask if they would like to link their website with yours. Add a Romantic Times banner to your website, and they will link your site to theirs.

Word of Mouth
Sounds simple right? It's not easy to sell yourself. I'd much rather market someone else, anyone else, than myself. Co-op with another new author. I have a friend that was just published, she markets me and I market her. It's much easier to rave about someone else. Now if I could just get myself to walk into a bookstore and request them to carry my book....

Those are my thoughts for the day...anyone else have any ideas?

Julie Palella
MacGregor's Curse
ISBN: 1413724582
www.juliepalella.com