A very short post today, just to share my delight: just sold a mystery series to Mainly Murder Press — youpie! The protagonist, Trinity Pierce, is a college professor with a murky past, who lives and works in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The first book will be out in early 2013.
I wrote the proposal for this series nearly ten years ago, which goes to show that perseverence can indeed win out in the end. Remember that, and you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!
Before the holiday spirit has left you entirely, it’s time to think about using some of that joie de vivre and capturing that enthusiasm by writing a short story!
Here’s the full call for submissions:
Imagine your favorite holiday stories. Chances are good the protagonists are a man and a woman, possibly even with children. But where are the stories that feature men together, or women together, that will also warm our hearts at this special season? Are there no gay Christmas tales?
That’s where you come in. We’re collecting holiday stories for two anthologies,
one featuring male protagonists/couples/families, the other featuring female protagonists/couples/families, and we’d like to hear from you!
Your story should run between 2,000 and 4,000 words, contain no erotica, and be in a winter holiday setting. The only requirement is that it be historical fiction. We’re looking for tomorrow’s classics in time for next year’s holiday season!
Pay will depend on securing a publisher and will be negotiated at that time for accepted stories. Deadline is June 15, 2012, but the earlier, the better. Send Word docs to Jeannine Allard at jeannine@jeannineallard.com.
So there it is. If you’re gay, you know that the community needs more of these stories. If you’re not gay, then see how you can stretch your imagination … being able to put oneself in someone else’s experience is at the core of great fiction!
Try it out today, and you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!
Okay, you’ve probably been around the block enough to know by now that new year resolutions for writers generally entail something along the lines of: “get book published in 2012.” 
No matter where things stand with said book, it’s a goal that feels good. Moving forward in your writing career. Turning the next page.
The problem, of course, is that up until very recently, much of that resolution is/has been out of your hands. You may get the book into a literary agent’s slush pile; you may even get an offer to represent the book from the literary agent. But even that’s no guarantee of publication, this year——or any year.
The ebook revolution has made self-publishing a more viable option for many, though it carries with it a lot of caveats. Self-publishing is really for those who plan to behave like a publisher, and that includes spending money on outside professionals to edit, format, design, and create a cover for the book. So it’s not necessarily the easy way out, though it does offer the opportunity to be in charge of the process rather than sit and wait for the miracle to happen.
I’d like to suggest a different approach in 2012. You’ve probably heard of the SMART acronym for goal-setting: smart goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-based. And they are, at the end of the day, the only goals over which you’re going to have any control.
So how about breaking down that first resolution, that of getting your book published? If it’s really what you want to see happen, there are some components that will get you closer to it:
And so on. You see the difference. Your resolution might be more along the lines of interesting an agent or publisher in your book; but with a set of achievable, measurable goals like the ones above, you won’t be simply sitting around waiting for publication to fall from heaven in a Glad bag.
What are your writing goals for 2012? Can you fit them into the S.M.A.R.T. formet? I’d love to hear about them. Let me know, and you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!
