Big Time Publishing

I had the pleasure of sitting in this morning as a spectator on a publishing panel for western publishers. Some of the publishers represented were from: Dorchester, Kensingston, OU Press, TrueWest Magazine, and so forth. They gave great tips on how to get your book looked at. Some of the suggestions were to have your first three chapters of your book ready at a minimum. If you approach them the best way to do so was through a query letter (written not emailed). They also explained why it is harder to go through email submissions (because once they read it by the next day it might have a hundred emails on top of it).

Most of the publishers seemed to want to be really helpful. They basically answered questions for two hours about the process of getting published and some of the inner workings. My recommendation for writers out there is to participate in events such as the Western Writers Convention (or whatever convention your genre is in). I believe there is a better chance to be published if you get to meet the people who are in charge of the whole shebang.

Good Luck!

Organize Your Thoughts

I can remember the very first book that I wrote. Ebony Marshal was a labor of love, but if I had it to do over again I would have followed what I have learned now. Organize your thoughts. In front of the computer, Ebony Marshal's first three chapters jumped out of my subconsciousness faster than I could pound the keys. There it was though. But the main question was where did I take it from there. I am still happy with the product that was eventually produced, but I would have taken more time to figure out what I would do with the character once the first book was over, because I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I wanted to write about this character over and over.

You can believe that when you see the Marshal once again that there will be a long thought process that it has gone through, and every decision hammered out with the hammer of Thor himself. It will be smooth, solid, and the most important thing-organized.