Attention All Baby Boomers! Out of the Spotlight by George Green Book Giveaway

I"m excited to share with you that one of my consulting clients, George Green, is going to kick off his, OUT OF THE SPOTLIGHT, book campaign on June 4th at 9 AM (Pacific Time) on Los Angeles radio station KRLA 870 AM.  He will be the guest of Dennis Prager. Almost every radio market has a Salem station in it. To find your local Salem Channel, Google Salem Radio Broadcasting.

George Green worked for KABC Radio starting in 1960. It was the first all talk format radio station. George worked his way up until he hit the top and became the President and General Manager. Under his leadership, KABC became one of the largest sales revenue stations of America’s seven-thousand properties, and a marketing machine that commanded an audience of over one-million listeners. In 1996 he left KABC and started his own media marketing company called George Green Enterprises.   

George believes   ‘You’re never too old to make things happen.’  Now, at age 84, he's setting his sights on being an author. You can pop over to his website to see all of his books. 

Have you ever wondered what happened to "stars" once their series ended or they were no longer in the limelight? 

Were you a Golden Girls fan? What about Different Strokes? Did you think the Sinatra family walked on the moon? What about the Reagan's? These are just a few of the fascinating people interviewed in George Green's book Out of the Spotlight. The interviews show how so many former stars have found a new spotlight in their lives.

Each interview includes a lovely drawing of the interview subject, a short bio, and then an interview focusing on where they are now. (Some of the people in the book have passed away.)

George has graciously offered to give away a copy of his book to one of my lucky readers, so make sure you leave a comment! Random.org will pick the winning comment on June 26th.  If you aren't the winner you can pop over to Amazon and purchase either the hardback copy or the paper back copy of OUT OF THE SPOTLIGHT.

Agent Research and Querying, plus an Awesome Giveaway...

Sometimes, you think a book is so valuable that you buy two copies....Which gives me the opportunity to either go through the hassle of trying to return it, or having an awesome giveaway. So you guessed it...

I'm giving away one copy of the 2015 Guide To Literary Agents.

If you know me, you know I a HUGE proponent of doing your research, no matter what it's for.  For the past month or so I've been researching agents. Before I began, I created a list of the places I would look at to research each potential agent. My checklist looked like this:

AGENT RESEARCH CHECK LIST:

• Agent’s name and agency website
• @twitter
• Writer’s Digest Blog information
• GLA (Guide to Literary Agents)
• Publisher’s Marketplace likes and dislikes
• Blog accounts
• Facebook 
• Interview information
• Editors and Predators, Writer Beware and Absolute Writer (the Water Cooler)
• QueryTracker.com
• Do a Google Search

Feel free to copy and paste my list, so you have it for future reference...

I created a document with the above information. Once each agent checked out,  (and not all of them did) I personalized the query, based on my research, and copied their submission guidelines and email address into their query/document. Being organized is key here! Whether you do it on paper, in a spreadsheet or on a file folder. Keep track of who you query and when you query them (leave space for a response, too). 

Every agent has specific guidelines you have to follow. Don't fool yourself into thinking it won't matter if you send them the whole manuscript, when they ask for ten, fifteen or fifty pages... It does matter. The rules are there for a reason. Be sure to follow them to the very best of your ability. This is your introduction to them. Show them that you are paying attention to what they want.

I would suggest if you are querying a novel or a non-fiction work, that you make several submission packages, so that you can easily adapt to each agents requirements. Some agents accept attachments and some want your letter and your submission in the body of an email.  So pay attention to HOW they want to see your work. 

Putting your best foot forward is like having the perfect handshake. Not too soft. Not too strong. Not too sweaty. Just right...

If you would like to win a copy of the 2015 Guide to Literary Agents, please pop over to my website,  click on one of the social media links and say something about my services or my site and leave a comment on this post. 

For my non querying friends....Our babies are happy and loving the new house.

Please come back on March the 6th to see who won the copy of the 2015 Guide to Literary Agents and to join in on a discussion on rejections.

And The Winner Is...

Connie Arnold was chosen by random.org to win a copy of Martha Ramirez's book BROKEN HEART. Congratulations, Connie!

If you didn't win a copy and would still like one you can go here to purchase a copy.

From a broken heart to... a BROKEN HEART and a giveaway

Do you remember when Angela Ackerman asked us to help her friend Martha Ramirez? She was going to have heart surgery for a birth defect. Angela asked us to send her cards or heart things, or just send her some words from your heart.

Because Angela is such an amazing caring woman, a large number of us responded to her request.

After Martha recovered from her surgery, she reached out to me (maybe more than just me) and we became friends.

I had the privilege of helping her working on her book, BROKEN HEART this past year. I think it is a wonderful book, for if you have a sibling or even a cousin in the hospital for any disease or illness. It has coloring pages at the end of the book, lots of links for information about heart diseases and disorders. It even has a spot for the child to write or draw about his or her special memories.

I'd love to see this book in pediatric and cardiologist waiting rooms. Such a helpful book.

I'm going to give away a copy of BROKEN HEART on January 30th. (PS: I'm in the acknowledgements! If you are looking for a freelance editor my site is: http://www.themanuscriptmaveneditor.com/)

Did you join in in Hearts for Martha? Did you connect with her afterwards? I feel so blessed to have her as a heart. Though she had a broken heart, she has a very tender caring, now fixed, heart.

If you would like to win a copy of BROKEN HEART please join my blog and please tell me of a time you had a broken heart...

If you don't win a copy and would still like one you can go here to purchase a copy.

Happy 2015! I hope all your dreams come true!

Ta Da! Plus Three Critique Prizes!

 I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm trying to look a little more businesslike.  There's a reason for that...

If you'll recall, I spent a lot of time this year critiquing/editing/and coaching writers. I seriously considered working for a literary agency, but one of the things I learned is that literary agents never have an ending point. Yes, when they sell a book and it gets through the publishing stage they only have to worry about marketing that book, right? Well, not exactly. They do an amazing amount of work.

Here are just a few of the things I observed:

• Reading submissions (invited submissions and slush)
• Evaluating submissions
• Connecting with writers
• Recruiting submissions via social media
• Critiquing
• Editing
• Coaching authors on social media, marketing, book tours
• Networking with other agents
• Networking with editors
• Trying to find the right editors for the right manuscripts
• Negotiating contracts
• Marketing books and authors
• Speaking at Conferences
• Marketing themselves
• Keeping current with the market 
• Advising and communicating with current authors

I'm sure there are lots of other things that I wasn't privy to. It was an overwhelming amount of work. So, if you have an agent be grateful for all of their hard work and if you are looking for an agent, be patient and understand the amount of work they are doing. It is NOT a 9-5 job!

I did gain some perspective, along with a lot of new writing friends. I LOVE LOVE LOVE editing and critiquing. It's a great feeling to help someone move their manuscript forward or to help them write a query that catches someone's attention. I love having a beginning and ending point with each project I undertake. Not that I don't continue thinking about people's manuscripts. I don't know how many times I've sent someone an email starting with: I was just thinking about your manuscript....

This experience led me to where I am today. I'm launching my own website offering my services for manuscript critiques, line edits, query critiques, and general coaching. I hope you will pop over and check out The Manuscript Maven. If you have any feedback or suggestions to improve my site, please leave them in the comments.

To celebrate, I'm offering one free picture book critique or line edits and critique for one chapter of your novel or one query critique. The winners will be picked by random.org on December 19th. Please leave what genres you write in the comments.

Thanks for stopping in and I hope you are having a lovely Fall!

(If you are inclined, I'd appreciate it if you would share my good news...)