Here in her own words is Anne B. Cole as she describes her publishing process
I love the blog by Aussie Owned and Read
I love the blog by Aussie Owned and Read
and here’s
why…
Three years
ago, I found myself without a book at my kids’ swim meet. I love watching my
kids swim, but this meet was over five hours long. In between their events, I
turned the heat sheet over and jotted down ideas for a story. What started as a
hobby grew into an addiction. I carried composition books everywhere, writing a
chapter here and there until I had my first draft.
I did some
research and became a member of Romance Writers of America. Through RWA, I
entered four writing contests in 2012. Even though I did not final in any of
the four, I received invaluable feedback from the judges. One suggestion by two
different judges caught my eye; “Get a critique partner.”
In January
of 2013, I posted on a ‘find a critique partner’ site. It worked. Deborah
contacted me, and we connected right away. The third member of our critique
circle, Joan, joined us soon after. The three of us spent winter and spring
reading, critiquing, and sharing thoughts about writing. We also shared life’s
ups and downs and became very good friends.
In June,
Deborah emailed, asking if it would be okay for her to enter a pitch of my
story in the “Pitch your Mate” contest by the Aussie Owned and Read Blog. She
had already made it to the editors round with her story in the “Pitch-A-Rama”
segment of the contest. Needless to say, I was thrilled when my story, Maledicta, was selected as a finalist
and went to the editors’ round.
A day later
I received my first two requests; one partial and one full. To say that I was
thrilled is an understatement. Two weeks later I received my first rejection
from the partial request. Two weeks after that, I received an email from Soul
Mate Publishing saying they liked my book so much they wanted to publish it!
More good
news came the following month when Deborah received a contract from a different
publisher. Together, with Joan cheering us on, we released our first novels in
April 2014. Three Wishes by Deborah
Kreiser on April 15th and Souls Entwined
by me, Anne B. Cole, on April 30th. Yep, my title changed but the story didn’t.
My advice to
aspiring authors…Enter Aussie Owned and Read’s Pitch-A-Rama contest held each
year in June. And if you have a critique
partner…Pitch Your Mate. They will forever love you for it. It worked
for me. It can work for you!
To follow Anne’s publishing journey and connect with her, check out her website and find her on Twitter and Facebook.
BUY LINK
and make sure you pickup your copy of The Phoenix Blade: Project Justice: http://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Blade-Project-Justice-ebook/dp/B00J2HG2H2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400788203&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Phoenix+Blade
And remember to rate and review the books on Amazon.com. Everyone has a voice; let it be heard.
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