Tempus Blog Tour - Guest Post - Holly Lauren

  

How to get a book published.

Now that my first published novel is out and about (the most terrifying and awesome feeling ever), folks are getting curious.

How long did it take you to write it? (1 year to write, 1 year to edit)

Where did you get the idea? (A dream)

Where did you find the time? (Time isn’t change on the ground that you find, you make time)

Does it come in large print? (Not yet, Grandmother, but you’ll be the first to know)

But the main question people want to know, and one that I wanted to know before I had this opportunity, is how in the world does a person go about getting a book published.

My Story:

2006:  I wrote a book. It was terrible. I queried it and got rejected.

2008: I wrote a book. It was slightly less terrible. I queried it and got rejected.

2010: I wrote a book. It was bearable. I queried it, got a little interest, but no representation.

2011: I wrote TEMPUS. I queried it, got a little interest, but no representation. Something in me KNEW this book was worth fighting for. So in …

2012: I spent a year re-dreaming TEMPUS. I sent out manuscripts to people I trusted for feedback. I got a critique partner. I edited, cut down, edited, cut down.

2013: I queried TEMPUS again. This time, Kitty Bullard reached out to me and asked if I’d like her wonderful publishing house, GMTA, to publish TEMPUS. I was in bed. I pressed my face into the pillow and screamed for joy.

2014: TEMPUS was released .

Quick Tips:

-Tailor your queries so you’re sending agents/publishers ONLY what they ask for.

Agents almost always list what they’re currently looking for in their profiles. Do you fit in their niche? Do they already represent someone like you? Do your research and mention these things specifically.  I queried about 25 agents/publishers with TEMPUS, but I knew that each of them were looking for something like it, and believed I added to or complimented their current list.

-Join a good database like Writer’s Market to keep yourself up-to-date on trends and current marketplace needs.

This is also where you can get connected to agents, publishers, and other writers. I got nearly all my agent profiles off this page.

-Read good books to sharpen your usage and mind.

I learned a ton from reading books like WARM BODIES (Isaac Marion), The DIVERGENT Series (Veronica Roth), and THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS Series (Cassandra Clare). These people have “made it” so to speak, so watching what they do teaches you what gets published.

 -And, most of all, keep writing, keep writing, keep writing.

If I had given up after my first book, that would have been it. Rejection is hard. But I made myself a promise: I would keep writing until someone published my book. I was just crazy enough to believe it. And if you’re a writer, my guess is that you’re a little crazy, too. J

If you’ve been published before, I’d love to hear about your journey.

Available Now

 

Chapel Ryan isn't crazy. At least, that's what she's been trying to convince herself of for most of her life. But after being hallucination-free for three years, Chapel finds herself facedown on her English classroom’s gritty linoleum floor. When she looks up, everyone around her is suspended in animation. Mouths hang open mid-yawn, feet hover mid-cross, Ms. Freeman’s arm flexes mid-sentence diagram. It's another hallucination. Or, is it?

Chapel prepares to tear herself back to reality when something happens. Something that has never happened before in any of her hallucinations--someone moves. And not just any someone—it’s the new guy with a scar over his lip and a reputation as black as his perfectly styled hair. And all of the sudden Chapel's white-knuckle grip on her life has slipped, and with it, her assurance that what she's experiencing isn't real.

●      Genre: New Adult Fantasy

●     One Sentence Description: After she learns the true nature of her hallucinations, high school senior Chapel Ryan must decide who she can trust in a world where the rules of genetics do not apply

●      Available here: Amazon & Barnes & Nobles

Holly Lauren

Holly was born and raised in a small town in North Georgia. The third of four children, Holly grew up telling stories to get herself out of—and her siblings into—trouble. When she was eight years old, she penned her first publication: a newspaper called Sunny Dayz News. While she didn’t sell any actual copies, her sympathetic grandmother did peruse through the edition at least once.

When Holly isn’t dreaming up new plotlines for her next book, she enjoys breakfasting at Picnic Café in Dahlonega, Georgia with her (handsome) husband and their two (adorable) daughters.

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 NEWSFLASH!!!!!

Want a copy of the book Tempus by Holly Lauren?  Leave a comment with your email address or email me (brookbooks@hotmail.co.uk) your email address and I will pick 5 winners! Yes 5! Competition closes midnight 26th February!