Happy Halloween!

On Halloween evening, National Novel Writing Month draws near. Participants across the world are gearing up for 30 days of coffee, no sleep and sore fingers.

big interview

I was so nervous yesterday I could hardly breathe. I scored an inteview with a major figure in the publishing industry. I called him up and could barely choke out a greeting! Turns out, he was incredibly friendly and helpful. He answered my questions and then some. I was thrilled over the contact I made and it gave me confidence to keep searching for good interview subjects.

A Late October Sale

After weeks of no response from several editors, I found luck this week! Yay for a query letter success! I'll spend up to two weeks writing a 1000 word article on NaNoWriMo and will see it in print late next year. I have developed a rapport with a wonderful editor at a top-notch teen magazine and am excited to keep writing for her. Nothing compares to the email that says "yes, we love your query." Satisfaction at last. :)

The state of publishing

Been thinking about the recent bouts of highly touted plagiarism and falsifying of literature. Is there a sudden increase in authors being dishonest or are they now being caught more often? We’ve had the James Frey incident (look out for Oprah’s wrath!) and then the Harvard student’s “accidental” plagiarism. People who dupe publishers and get caught are ruining it for the rest of us. If I went to a publishing company tomorrow and offered my memoir, would they believe it was true? Doubtful. Maybe a few years ago publishers would have accepted my word that the memoir was true but now all authors are under a cloud of suspicion. Let’s keep the playing field fair for all and stop poisoning agents and publishers against authors who have an honest tale to tell.

Ah! Creation!

I've finally gotten on board with the blog scene...it's about time! More to come soon.