Tag: romance

It’s Official

by eileentroemel, posted in Writing
I’ve published my first book!  This morning I spent four hours finishing up the prep for submissions to Smashwords.  It was complicated, frustrating, and exciting.  Secret Past by Eileen Troemel is out there for sale on their site!  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/426548
I’m only three months later than I planned but it is finally out there and available.  Please go look and buy if you feel inclined.  Vicki was the first one to buy a copy. 
You would think publication would be the end of the road for a book. I have to market the book through social media and however else I can.  Also this is an electronic version and the next step is to see how much it will cost to do a paper version.  Once that comes out, I’ll have to do more marketing. 
For right now though, I’m going to bask in getting my first book published and the momentary sense of accomplishment!  

Contest

by eileentroemel, posted in Uncategorized

I just submitted my 100 word blurb and 5000 word entry for a romance novel on www.soyouthinkyoucanwrite.com.  If you have a romance novel done (or near done), then check it out.

I’ve had this novel done for a while.  I’ve been meaning to submit it to Harlequin but never gotten around to it.  Now I’ve gotten around to submitting it for a contest.  All the first chapters are going to be posted for people to vote on.  The top 25 will be advanced with 3 more being selected by the editors. 

Now it is a wait and see thing.  Fortunately I won’t have to wait long as they will notify the winners by October 12.  Then there is another round where editors review and only three end up finishing.

I’m nervous about this but at the same time I know if this doesn’t work then I’ll figure something else out or just submit it again, and again, and … you get the picture.  Or I might actually figure out how to go through and self-publish. 

Wish me luck and let’s hope I get lots of votes…

 

Editing…

by eileentroemel, posted in Uncategorized

For a long while I’ve been working on editing a manuscript.  I’ve spent a lot of time just rereading and tightening up the story.  Tonight (or should I say this morning really) I spent an hour putting those edits into the file.  I got four chapters done. 

It felt like no time passed at all.  How can something so simple be so enjoyable?  I know this makes me a geek.  I’m embracing my geek.

When I finished off the editing part, I said now I just have to put it in the electronic version and make a chapter summary.  Well I’m doing both at once.  I have my spreadsheet open to summarize the chapters, including keeping a word count. 

The romance genre publishers look for manuscripts about 50,000 – 75,000 words long.  Mine manuscript was at 100,000 plus.  I’ve got it below 94,000.  I have a long way to go.  However, I decided I wasn’t going to dump large chunks before I did the chapter summary. 

I’ve only worked through 4 chapters but there may be a whole chapter I can get rid of.  This will be about 650 words.  If I’m looking for big chunks than this might be one place to do it.  I’m hoping this weekend I can get a lot of this editing and summarizing done. 

The next step – at least in my mind – is to save the longer version.  With a copy of it take and hack the heck out of it.  When I’m done, see how the story tells itself.  If it still makes sense then get rid of it and hope I’m more in the range for the genre.  I’ll have to see how it goes….