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New Video: How to Assemble the Happy Sunflower Amigurumi
It’s been a couple of months since I’ve posted, so I thought I’d jump back in and share a new video I just put up on my Ink & Stitches YouTube Channel on: How to Assemble the Happy Sunflower Amigurumi.
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Getting a Literary Agent: Query Writing (Part Two)
Let’s get back to the submissions guidelines.
Every agency and publishing house is different. When I first started query writing, I thought that if I had the manuscript finished (a must before you start querying, unless you’re a writer of non-fiction), the query letter written (that could be catered to each separate agent or publisher), and a 1-2 page synopsis drafted, I would have all the tools I needed. I didn’t bother with an outline because I was under the impression that those were only asked for, for non-fiction manuscripts.
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Craft for Kids: Finger Painting
When my son was only about a year old, we went to a birthday party where my friend had organized a craft for the kids. She’d provided small (8×10) canvases and Crayola washable paint, and had lined her entire living room floor with butcher paper. Her hope was that the kids would use their hands to make paintings and there would be minimal mess afterward.
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Becoming a Beta Reader
I was invited to beta read by author, Dan Alatorre, for his upcoming book, The Navigators. This book is about a group of archeologists who stumble upon a time machine buried deep beneath the ground at a mine in central Florida. Relationships are tested. People get hurt. Questions are answered about what happens when something of such value is discovered by the masses. In this fast-paced read, Dan doesn’t let his reader’s minds wander. He keeps us running from one scene to the next, trying to help the character’s figure out the best way to turn.
This was my very first time beta reading for a fellow writer. With little time, I wasn’t sure that I should take on such a task. If I don’t finish one of my own projects, I have only myself to let down. Agreeing to beta read, means you have someone else counting on you to do what you’ve signed up to do.
For those of you that don’t know, beta reading happens at the point in the process where the writer has polished the manuscript and is just about ready to submit the work for publishing. Whether they are looking to find an agent, or are self publishing, beta readers can help a writer to see the last few things that may have been missed during editing: typos that went unseen, weird formatting issues, and a feel for general enjoyment of the book to name a few.
At the beta reading stage, writers have already sent the manuscript through their critique groups and have, no doubt, worked out many of the issues that were originally in the earlier drafts of the book. Now, you as the reader, should just be able to read for enjoyment purposes from start to finish.
If anything stops you along the way (i.e. the things I’ve mentioned above), that is what the writer wants to know about. If you are querying your manuscript, no doubt it will be seen and edited at least another time or two so the last few spelling errors or issues will be caught, but if you are self publishing, this is it.
Every period needs to be at the end of every sentence. All I’s must be dotted and T’s must be crossed. This is when accuracy and flow of the story matters most.
As a writer, beta reading is a great way to allow your readers to help you bring your story to fruition. They want to see you succeed and make your book even better. They are your pre-readers.
If you haven’t been a beta reader before, I highly recommend it. If you are a writer, this is a great way to network. Working with other authors can only help get your name out there. If you help them, they’ll want to help you when the time comes for your own books to be ready for publication.
This is a business where it helps to band together.
Writing may be a task done in solitude, but everything that surrounds it and comes after that first draft, is best done with a little encouragement.
Have you ever beta read for an author before? What was your experience beta reading? Would you recommend it?
If you didn’t get a chance to watch my interview with Dan Alatorre about his amazing YouTube show, “Writers Off Task With Friends”, click on the link above and take a look. Along with his co-hosts J.A. Allen and
Allison Maruska
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Happy Father’s Day from Ink & Stitches!
Today is the day we celebrate all of those amazing dads out there. Happy Father’s Day to each and every one of you!
We spent the afternoon over at my parent’s house at which point I finally got to give my dad his finished underwater illustration (see the progress from start to finish video here) that was over a year in the making (I really need to stop getting side-tracked). Let’s just say, he loved it!
He raised his arm into the air, acting like the fiddler crabs I had in the drawing, doing arm raises with their one big claw.
He pointed out the clown fish hiding in the corner. My mom said, “Hey, where’s Dory?” to which he explained that we didn’t want it to look like a Finding Dory picture, but assured her that I could put one of those in the next one I made for him. I promised I would make one more that would go with this one and the sea nymph illustration I had made my mom for a past Mother’s Day.
We talked about the third drawing I would make to complete the set. We thought to include perhaps an octopus (a tribute to my Ink & Stitches logo of course), a lionfish (my dad’s favorite fish), a Dory fish (Blue Tang for my mom), and a scuba diver since he used to scuba dive with my mom way back when. I have my work cut out for me!
My husband had a blast today. I let him sleep in til nearly noon, he got a nice gift card to Amazon, a lego set (Yes my husband still likes building lego sets. It was Star Wars, come on!), and our son was an angel for the better part of the day. Don’t get me started on how he was for Mother’s Day. Let’s just say, I’m glad he was in better spirits for my husband today. We went on a walk the three of us, and then went out to a nice dinner with my parents. All-in-all it was an amazing Father’s Day!
How did you spend the day with the dads in your life? I hope whatever you did, you had a blast and the dads had the best time of all!
If you haven’t gotten a chance to enter, my GIVEAWAY is still going on until the end of June! Enter in to win an amigurumi Floppy Cat (see Rafflecopter below), handmade by me.
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What I am Working On: Dad’s Underwater Illustration Reveal!
I finished my dad’s underwater illustration just in time for Father’s Day! I framed it and it is ready to hand over to him this coming Sunday.
I am so pleased with how it turned out and that when I set my mind to it, I was able to get it finished in time for his special day.
To commemorate the time and work that went into it, I wanted to do something a little different and post a video showing my progress of this illustration from start to finish. It is always a lot of fun to see the progression of illustrations.
It’s made me realize that I tend to work on exterior details first, then to the forefront characters, and last I finish off the illustration by doing the background color, whether it is for the sky, or in this case, the background water. I think I always worry that I am going to mess that part up, so instead of getting it over with, I save it until the end where it can make or break my illustration. No pressure there!
I hope you all enjoy watching this short video. Let me know what you think in the comments! What comes next? My next plan is to begin coloring in and getting the illustrations ready for my Middle Grade Fantasy book,
Adeline and the Mystic Berries
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Interview with Dan Alatorre, Co-host of the YouTube Show, “Writers Off Task With Friends” & GIVEAWAY!!
What comes after writing a book? How do people find time to write? What goes into getting published? Is it better to self publish or traditionally publish? Is social media necessary as a writer?
I see these questions come up a lot. So many fledgling writers want to know what to expect.
The hosts of Writers Off Task With Friends, authors Dan Alatorre, Allison Maruska, and J.A. Allen, address these questions and more, on their weekly video show.
What I like most about this show, is that it feels like friends casually talking about the business of writing, and sharing their experiences.
I sat down with Dan recently to discuss the new show’s unique appeal to writers.
You guys have certainly answered some of the “new author” questions, or touched on them in the videos you have already. One of my favorite interviews was with the three authors of, “Follow the Goose Butt, Camelia Airheart!” Hearing about the process of collaborating on book writing, and how they each added their individual strengths to the mix, was very inspiring. Wanting to illustrate my own book, I found everything they had to say very interesting.
Those ladies are amazing. I met Colleen through her blog, and when she said she was working on a children’s book with her friends, I wanted them on the show. They’re hilarious, but they are doing the things we all want to be doing—getting a book published and promoting it.
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What I am Working On: Moving, Getting Better, and a Bit of Everything Else
Sick. Sick. Sick.
This entire week I’ve been sick. Fever. Body Aching. Sore throat. I sound like I ate Minnie Mouse and a frog, and they’re currently doing battle in my throat. Normally, I would’ve just stopped to rest. I did here and there, but we’re also moving in about two weeks, and the boxes don’t pack themselves.
So, since I got both my son and husband sick as well, I packed boxes when I could (up to 30 packed now!), and when my son was napping or sleeping at night, I still managed to get a few things of my own done.
Vancouver, Washington awaits.
It’s just a hop over the Columbia river from Portland, Oregon. Vancouver is filled with lush green hills, beautiful houses, and a new adventure for us. Here are a few pictures I took the last couple of times I visited.
I’m looking forward to the ‘being there’ part, it’s the ‘getting there’ part that has proved just a wee bit stressful. Two more weeks or so and we’ll be saying goodbye to California. It is our friends we’ll miss the most. The drought? Not so much. High house prices? Never.
What else did I manage to do this week?:
Finished beta reading, The Navigators, by Dan Alatorre. More to come on my experience beta reading next week!
Finished my dad’s underwater illustration! Woot! I’m going to post a video reveal for this one next week as well!
Continued editing my book, Adeline and the Mystic Berries, as I get it ready to hand back over to my editor,Alison Williams
