Tag: publishing

Publishing Next Step is as Publishing Next Step Does

~ John W. Howell ~ 42 Comments

Wednesday is a good day. I am working to mail off the Galley pages for my novel My GRL to the publisher. I got them last Thursday with a request to get them back by today. As for most requests made of me by the publisher, I need to make the deadline. I still don’t have a release date as yet. The next step should be cover design and I think then we will be ready to go.

I don’t know about you, but when I opened the galley file and came upon the title page I almost lost it. I can hardly believe that after first thinking of the story many moons ago it is almost time to see that story in print. I know you vets are really used to this kind of thing, but as a newbie I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be near the point of publication. Once published the real work will begin, but I am ready for that next step.

Here is a screen shot of the title page. It is no coincidence that a star burst appears near the Martin Sisters Publishing name. They are divine.

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I started the book in April of 2012 and finished the first draft in August of that year. After a bunch of edits, I finally got the courage to start the query process. I began with agent queries and picked up a suitcase full of rejections. While I was trying to attract an agent, it came to me to try a different tactic. I subscribe to Writer’s Market so I punched in a search with the parameters set at publishers who accept un-agented work and are not vanity presses. http://www.martinsisterspublishing.com contacted me after I sent them a query and wanted to execute a contract. You can imagine how long I pondered the prospect. I signed the day it came in and have never looked back.

So now I wait for whatever is next and am still editing my second novel. It is sequel to the first and a story of the character John J. Cannon attempting to survive threats against his life and the security of the US. The second has more bullets and mayhem and prepares us all for the third book in the series.

Well enough of me and my book I hope y’all have an easy hump day.

Wednesday is as Wednesday Does

~ John W. Howell ~ 26 Comments
Slow Time in Wrist Watch on Dry Leaf
Slow Time in Wrist Watch on Dry Leaf (Photo credit: epSos.de)

 

Wednesday shows up faster and faster each week. It is quite amazing how that happens. Here we are mid-week and it seems like we just left the weekend. I heard tell by some old folks one time that as you get older time moves faster. I suppose that is true when I think about being a kid waiting for baseball season to start. It looked to me as if it would never get underway when I was growing up.. As an old fart I turn around and the World Series is almost over in what appeared to be a blink of an eye from spring practice. That’s how it goes I guess. Given this train of thought I decided to list some the things that move fast in life and those that move slow. This list is very subjective and I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to take exception to what I perceive to be the timing of these events. Also you may have some of your own so feel free to use the comments section for those. Don’t forget the blog is called Fiction Favorites so don’t be afraid to make things up. I do it all the time.

Here is the list of fast and slow time movers:

  • Waiting in the rain for a bus, taxi, or car pool ride and you are wearing wool. – Slow Time mover
  • Preparing for an agent pitch that begins in a half hour and you had four days to work on – Fast Time mover
  • The time between the last anniversary, birthday, or mother’s day that you forgot and the next – Fast Time mover
  • The time that the seatbelt light goes off on a flight after you realize the BIG GULP you had with lunch needs to go somewhere. – Slow Time mover
  • The pay raise that you were promised shows up in your check – Slow Time mover
  • The extra taxes that you have taken out of your check – Fast Time mover
  • Time between in law visits – Fast Time mover
  • The amount of time on the meter where you parked your car – Fast Time mover
  • The time it takes to get a table after you have been seated in the bar – Slow Time mover
  • The time it takes to check out of the supermarket in the ten items or less lane – Slow Time mover
  • April 15th (Tax day in the US) – Fast time mover
  • The time spent in the doctor’s office after your appointment time. – Slow Time mover.
  • The amount of time left for your team to catch up from behind. – Fast Time mover
  • The amount of time the opponent’s team has to catch up from behind – Slow Time mover
  • The time between when your airplane takes off after a delay and the time the pilot said you were going to take off after the delay – Slow Time mover
  • The time between the notification by HR that your bosses boss wants to see you and the time your boss comes into you cube. – Fast Time Mover
  • The time to lunch when you decided to skip breakfast. – Slow Time mover
  • The time to dinner when you had no time for lunch – Slow Time mover.
  • The effects of alcohol on your system when you skipped breakfast, lunch, and dinner. –Fast Time mover.
  • The trip to Disney World with three kids from the time you leave home until you get there. (hint: “are we there yet?”) – Slowest Time mover

Well you get the idea. Happy Hump Day Y’all.