What I’ve learned this last year . . .

What I’ve learned this last year . . .

#1 Never underestimate the power of editing. Editing will make or break your book. And for most of you writers out there, you probably already know this. For me, this has been quite the process of learning and growing. I’m not great at editing but I bought a fantastic book by Annette Lyon that has helped tremendously. Not to mention the invaluableness of Beta Readers! I’m getting better as I go and I’m learning a lot. J

#2 Never give up! I gave my MS to 3 different Beta readers and did many, many long, agonizing revisions since last May. And let me tell you, there were times where I wanted to give up. I really did. I kept thinking. “Is it worth it?” The answer is YES! You’re a writer because you love to do it! You’re a writer because it is your passion. You’re a writer because it lives within you. Don’t ever give up on yourself. The road to writing a book is LONG and HARD but it is worth it. Even if it’s only for the self-satisfaction of knowing you completed it!

#3 Push aside your self-doubt aside! During this long process of getting my MS ready to submit, I began doubting myself. Saying things like: “I’m not sure if anyone is going to like this.” “Maybe I should go over it one more time.” “What if it is crap and I get rejected?” I’m shaking my head right now because those same doubts still linger within me. BUT I have learned to push them aside. How will I know if my book is any good if I don’t put it out there? How will I know if it is crap or not, if I don’t at least try to get it published? I’m a shy girl admittedly and I have a very hard time putting myself out there but writing is my passion. And passions are not something you give up on. Will I ever get the amazing chance to become a published author? Shrug. Who knows? But one thing is for certain, you can’t say that I didn’t try.

#4 Writing is a craft AND a constant learning process! Through my experiences, great advice from other Authors, and by reading my very first Stephen King book (Lol. I never thought I would say that. He is an amazing author. I just don’t care for horror stories, if you know what I mean?) I have learned that writing is something you have to work at. Learning and growing as you go. It requires a lot of hard work, dedications, and many hours reading books of others. Yes, reading other books! It is the single, most heard, piece of advice I have received this year. Reading helps you grow and transform as an Author. It helps teach you what works and what doesn’t. It helps you learn what to do in writing and what not to do. You get more ideas, and your own creativity grows. It pushes you and inspires you to grow as a writer. Writing Conferences and classes, Critique groups, and Reading are all things publishing companies will ask you if you are doing. They want an Author who is honing their craft and constantly working to make it better.

#5 You have to use Beta Readers! Do you know how many mistakes and plot holes/errors my Beta Readers found? Lol! It was incredible. But I loved seeing all the red. I helped me know what I could fix. What worked with my story and what didn’t. When I first started letting my Beta readers have my MS last summer I thought to myself. “I think it’s ready to submit. I just want to know if the Beta readers like it.” By the third Beta reader, I was thinking “I hope she catches anything I might have missed. AND I hope she likes the story.” Because from the first Beta Reader to the last, my perceptions of my story had changed drastically. It needed work. Undoubtedly it needed work. I am not a great editor, not in the least! And boy did it show. Thankfully my Beta readers took the time to point out things to me and mark up my MS. Thank goodness for Beta Readers!

#6 Read your story out loud! You will be so surprised at how many errors you will catch just by reading you book out loud. And sometimes when you are really into it, you will catch yourself re-wording things because it sounds better a different way. J Reading your book out loud can be fantastic fun and so very helpful. Lol!

Well I suppose those are some of the greatest thing I learned as a writer over this last year. Hopefully it helped some of you too.

Have a fantastic day! And Keep On Writing!
Nikki

A weekend filled with lots of reading, sounds like Heaven to me . . .

So here’s the latest in my writing/ reading world! I have had the privilege of reading two amazing books this weekend and because of it, little writing got done. BUT I’m told by many a successful Authors, that reading is a very important tool in honing your craft of writing! Sounds like a good excuse to me J So what amazing books had me reading for 2 days straight, you ask? Glad you asked. Glad you asked my friends. These two books are written by two of my favorite authors, Annette Lyon and Sarah M. Eden.

Without spoiling the story for you, I will just share my quick review of them. And hopefully you will want to read them too! Okay here goes.

Lost Without You is an incredible story about love, faith and commitment. Once again Annette Lyon has woven a story that instantly pulls you in and keeps you hooked until the last page. Her characters reactions and emotions are so real, they grip at your heart strings, leaving you cheering for them until end. There were so many times while I was reading this book where I felt like I was actually there and when I was forced to put it down the story stuck with me until I could get back to it. What I love most, is the real life issues that are dealt with in the story. Things that stop and make you think “Wow. That would be really hard. I wonder what I would do?” I would definitely recommend this book to anyone, but especially those who love a faith inspiring story. You most certainly will not be disappointed! Well done Annette! Well done.

 

Longing for Home: Hope Springs is the amazing conclusion to Sarah M. Eden’s book Longing For Home. After waiting for nearly a year to read this sequel, I can tell you that I was not disappointed in the least. Woven with a deep history of the Irish and many of the hardships they endured, the tender love story grips at your heart and make you read page after page just to find out what will happen next. The characters inside the pages of this book come alive and you become so invested in the story that you will feel like you are actually there. For anyone who loves reading book set in a time when this country was still young, you will love this book! But seeing how it is a sequel, I highly recommend that you read the first book before reading this one. But if that is the case, be prepared to read this book immediately after because the first book as just as good as this one and it will leave you wanting more. Thank goodness Sarah wrote this one! Thanks for creating another amazing book Sarah! I enjoyed it thoroughly!

I’ve included the links to these book below. So go read them! I promise you will not be disappointed!

http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Without-You-Annette-Lyon-ebook/dp/B003VIX1IG/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-7&qid=1392612644

http://www.amazon.com/Longing-Home-Book-Hope-Springs/dp/1609078101/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1392613719&sr=8-1

Until next time, keep writing and reading!

Nikki

There is some Exciting Writing Stuff going on right now . . .

So it has been quite a while since I've blogged, and honestly I am a big enough person to admit that I'm not the greatest blogger BUT I have some very exciting things to share with you all! So here we go with my first post! Keep checking back over the next few days OR weeks (Lol) to see what else I have going on in my writing life.

#1~ The LDStorymakers Conference is coming! I went to this last year and it was so fantastic. Not only did I rub shoulders with some of the greatest Authors of all time BUT I learned ALOT and made so many new friends!

So what's the LDStorymakers 2014 Contest? Here's a brief summary, but you can find out more details on their website. The 2014 LDStormaker writers conference will be in Layton, UT, on April 25-26, with Bootcamp and the Publication Primer on April 24. This is the writing conference you can't afford to miss.

Keynote: Orson Scott Card

Agents/Editor

Melissa Frain, editor at Tor

Eddie Schneider, VP of JABberwocky Literary Agency

Daniel Lazar, senior agent at Writer's House

Josh Adams of Adams Literary

Laurie McLean, Foreword Literary

Other noteable guests: Heather B. Moore, Sara M. Eden, Annette Lyon, Brandon Sanderson, Brodi Ashton, Carla Kelly, Janette Rallison, Matthew J. Kirby, Elana Johnson, J. Scott Savage, Sara B. Larson, Kristen Chandler, Renee Collins, Tess Hilmo, Peggy Eddleman, Kimberly Griffiths Little, Natalie Whipple, Julieanne Donaldson, Chad Morris, Robison Wells and more!

 

 

#2~ One of my all time favorite authors and a wonderful friend, that I had the privilege of meeting last year at Storymakers, Heather B. Moore, has one of her books in an incredible boxed set that is now available to by! And the kindle version is only .99 right now. So exciting! And let me just tell you, although I haven't had a chance to read all of the books in this set yet, I have just finished one of them and it was so good I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to read the others. So if you are in need of something fantastic to read, go get these books! I promise you won't be disappointed.
http://www.amazon.com/Romance-through-Ages-Book-Boxed-ebook/dp/B00HFD5OEM/ref=zg_bs_45_1

 

#3~  Also, Krista Lynn Jensen is doing another countdown contest for her new Novella that is coming out, With all my Heart. I tell you I can't wait to read this one. So go on over to her page and enter the contest. It's easy and fun. Who knows maybe you will win a free copy of her new book. :-)
http://kristalynnejensen.blogspot.com/2014/02/with-all-my-heart-is-out-triple-romance.html

#4~ Last but certainly not least, please hop on over to this page and help out an Amazing Author Robison Wells who is struggling with the horrible crippling effects of Mental Illness. Let's face it, at some point in our lives we have probably all dealt with this in some form or another and we know how hard it can be, especially when trying to provide for your family. To help Rob get through this, you can help contribute to his fundraiser right now by going to this site and either donating (even as little a $1, every little bit helps) or by buying one of his books, and then you will be entered into an raffle to receive some pretty amazing prizes. So go check it out!

http://kashkawan.squarespace.com/novembrance/2014/2/2/give-a-little-bit.html