Dance and Sing

Dance and sing, clap your hands, leap for joy!  Fiorella's revisions are few and far between!  Yes, she has received the critique of WHERE THE HEART LEADS from her editor, and whole clumps of pages go by without a single red mark!

Now to tackle those pages that do have red marks on them.  And to consult the critiques her beta readers turned in.  And to finish writing COMFORT OF THE HEART, or whatever she's going to name the novella.  And to celebrate Father's Day and Husband's birthday.  And to clean up the house.  And to go through all the old photos and label them.  And to repair some old oil paintings,  And to get those little booklets made up for the NRWA conference.  And to revise and publish her short stories and her poetry,

Somehow, your Fiorella will work it all into her schedule.

Welcome to the World, Little Lamb

Methinks your Fiorella has come smack-dab up against the reality of a writing career, that it is a business, 180 degrees away from Fio's world of daydreams.

She went through all the steps--entering contests, winning contests, getting a great agent who got her a big publisher, working with a great editor.  But her book, for whatever reason, has not been embraced by the waiting world, as she had assumed it would be.  And now that the second book in the contract is at the publishers, her agent wants her to write a new book in a different setting.

Which leaves Fio is in a quandary about what to write that will be well-received by her agent, a publisher, and readers, yet contain the messages she wants to get out.   And--oh--be a story Fio wants to tell.

Bidelspach, Here Comes Fiorella!

Fio will submit WHERE THE HEART LEADS to Michele Bidelspach, editor extraordinaire, tomorrow, probably around noon.  The manuscript is not as perfect as Fio could make it, but that would take forever--literally.  Fio is never quite satisfied with anything she writes--or does--and circles back from time to time on voyages of improvement.

Besides, Fio is wiser about the role of editors now than the first time around.  They don't just point out stupid mistakes and accidental repeats--they provide a fresh viewpoint of the story, a viewpoint which can help the author make his/her theme more effective.

And reaching the reader is what we all want to do.

The Three Shocks of Fiorella

The road to becoming a published author is a learning experience--a rough one.

Fio's first shock was when her agent asked for revisions.  Revisions? Didn't Liza sign Fio on because the book was perfect?  After all, it had been written out of Fio's heart and soul.  But heart and soul don't always sell so Fio revised, and her book became deeper because of it.

Fio's second shock was when her editor asked for revisions.  Fiorella went into shock for two weeks before she even attempted to follow through.  But again, editors know what sells.  And Fio was not being asked to change the plot in the least.

Fio's third shock was when she leafed through the book after it had been published.  Ye Gods!  Why hadn't she noticed she'd used the word "children" in two successive sentences?  And that the construction of the sentence on the following page was so clumsy that she changed it when she was giving a reading?

Now you know why authors drink.

Pressure Time

Please pardon Fio if her blogs have been a little strange lately.  She's supposed to have her second book in to her editor by Monday, and she's very stressed out about it--writing twelve hours a day does that to you.  On the other hand, she's learned that she CAN write for twelve hours a day, that she really doesn't need a bath as often as she'd thought, and that it doesn't hurt to leave Christmas decorations up through February.

And she's lost five pounds to boot.

Christmas Frenzy II

One week till Christmas and, in traditional Fiorella fashion, our heroine is only halfway there. She worked on the cards last night and hopes to finish them this morning.  Then there are the outside snowflakes to hang on the little tree--still.  But after that, it's all inside--the wreaths, the swags, and the drapes.  And Minnesota Son and his lovely wife arrive on Saturday. Not that everything will be done by then, but Fio knows she can rely on them for help, especially with the can lights that need replacing.

My heavens, you say--all this, and you also have time to write on your second book?  Well--heh-heh--not quite, but Fio figures that if her editor can take a week off for Christmas, she can too.  Besides, whether Fio has her laptop open or not, the ideas keep popping out of her subconscious--and she always has a notepad handy.  

Whoopee!

Fiorella is counting down the days till the national Romance Writers of America conference this July in San Antonio.  She's got transportation and a roommate, has worked out her wardrobe, and bought herself a glamorous awards ceremony dress. Best of all, she'll meet with her agent, her editor, and attend both her chapter's party and her publisher's party.

Fio never thought she'd fly this high.

Revival

How well did Fiorella cover herself Thursday through Saturday? She doesn't like to let anyone know when she's distressed so she hopes nothing leaked through except her Shylock poem, which had been written earlier and shelved--its publishing date date crept up on her unaware (or maybe her subconscious took over).  Anyway, Fiorella went into a frenzy of physical activity for the aforementioned days, then collapsed on the couch Saturday afternoon.  Yeah, after two nights of sleeplessness, she bombed out.

The great thing was that when she awoke, she realized that during her walking coma, she'd packed away the rest of the Christmas decorations, cleaned the kitchen and bathroom, and thus allowed her brain to function again.  Onward and upward, Fiorella!

One of Those Days . . . .

Spent two hours in dog training yesterday, fell asleep after lunch and woke up with a pounding headache which I took grocery shopping with me, skipped supper to work till eleven on a family business venture, then wondered why I hadn't gotten any writing done on my novel--although I did jot down a few good notes.  Hope to work them into the manuscript today because my editor is calling at 10:00--but right now I've got to pick up the house before the maid comes.

Organized Possibilities

Okay, Fio will confess all.

Kinkaid House is now on a two-week exclusive with a top publisher.  One week has passed without comment, which means, in order of diminishing possibilities, (1) the editor hasn't read it yet, (2) she's reading it now, or (3) she's finished reading it and (a) will send her "I'll pass" tomorrow, or (b) needs time to mull the story over, or (c) absolutely loves it and the contract is in the mail.

No wonder Fiorella can't sleep.

Disaster in Georgia

Somewhere back when, Fiorella sent her vampire romance off to an adventuresome new publisher in Georgia and got THE CALL. An editor was assigned to her and Fio worked on revisions all summer, buoyed up by the promise she would be a published author by the new year. But such was not to be. Just before Christmas, Fio got THE LETTER, that the publisher had decided to drop her.

Fio was devastated--and also embarrassed. After all, she'd alerted everyone she know that her vampire was about to take wing. But Fio, being Fio, she didn't let things rest there. She tracked down her editor with the help of her cousin, who lives in Georgia and got a kick out of the detective work, and learned the editor also had been fired, along with most of the rest of the employees. The publisher was going under.

"Be glad you got away while you could," Fio's former editor said. "Your story is good. Someone else will pick it up."

No one else did, but if Fio gets Princess of Bosque Bend on the supermarket racks, you can bet she'll be updating the vampire story for publication. Her time will come.