I'm so thrilled to tell y'all about a great new book by my friend and fellow My Book Therapy staffer, Lisa Jordan.She wanted to write, buckled down, did the hard work, learned, wrote and rewrote, and finally landed her first contract earlier this year at Harlequin's Love Inspired. Way to go friend!
A Recipe for Success
My oldest son loves to cook. In fact, after three years of college, he has decided to transfer to a culinary arts program at a different school. His biggest concern was losing his passion for cooking.
When Scott started cooking, he experimented. A lot. Some of his experiments turned out terrific—his barbecue sauce was yum. His taco lasagna, on the other hand, would have been much better had he put the lettuce on top after it had come out of the oven, instead of baking it in. I see those wrinkled noses.
When he moved into his first apartment near campus this past fall, I gave him a Better Homes & Garden Cookbook—you know the one with the red plaid cover, which covers everything in the kitchen. He loves the cookbook, but still wanted to make some of his own recipes. I told him he needed to learn the basics and then experiment once he had the fundamentals down.
That’s how it is for writers—writing rules are more like guidelines put in place to help us learn the craft. Once we’ve prepared the base, we can experiment to see which craft ingredients work with our stories.
During this blog hop, I’ve been asked what writing advice I’d share with other writers. Even though I’m so guilty of it, I suggested writers shouldn’t rush the process. Cranking up the oven to 400 degrees to bake the cookies in 5 minutes will not produce the same results as baking them 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees.
Take time to study the craft. Read quality writing craft books. Join reputable writing organizations. Read novels to see how published authors keep their readers turning the pages. Learn what works for your voice and for your story. Listen to those who have gone before and shared about their mistakes and triumphs. I know it’s hard waiting to be published—I’ve been there. But submitting that manuscript before it’s ready may be a recipe for rejection. Savor the process to create a recipe for success!
Visit my Lakeside Reunion Contest page for more information.
The token for this blog is a cookbook.
Bio:
Heart, home and faith have always been important to Lisa Jordan, so writing stories that feature both comes naturally to her. She has been writing contemporary Christian romance for more than a decade. Her debut novel, Lakeside Reunion will be released in November by Love Inspired, followed by her second novel, Lakeside Family, in August 2012 by Love Inspired.
Happily married for twenty-two years, Lisa and her husband have two young adult sons. When she isn’t writing or caring for children in her in-home childcare business, Lisa enjoys family time, romantic comedies, good books, crafting with friends and feeding her NCIS addiction. Visit her at www.lisajordanbooks.com to learn more about her writing.
Lakeside Reunion: Bed-and-breakfast owner Lindsey Porter prays she won’t run into Stephen Chase when she returns to Shelby Lake.
Five years ago, the cop jilted her to marry another woman, and Lindsey fled town. But no sooner does she hit city limits than Stephen pulls her over for a broken taillight. Despite the past, he’s still able to stir up Lindsey’s old feelings for him. Now a widower and single dad, Stephen recognizes a second chance when he sees one. And he’ll do anything to make Lindsey trust in God and take a risk for love—again.
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Read an excerpt of Lakeside Reunion
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3 comments:
Your advice is perfect. My mistake in the past has been submitting too soon before the book is really ready, hoping and agent wouldn't care that it wasn't totally the best I could send.
Not this time. I am following the recipe to the letter!
I have so much to learn from you, Lisa. Thanks for sharing about the lessons your son is learning about cooking. You're right--writers also need to learn the fundamentals before "experimenting."
Lisa,
I love hearing the story of your writing dreams come true -- and you deserve it! You've worked hard and along the way, you've encouraged so many other writers (me, included!)
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