Release Day Blitz, Guest Post and Giveaway –> As Is by Rachel Michael Arends

Title and Author: As Is by Rachel Michael Arends
Print Length: 203 Pages
Publication Date: May 13, 2014
Language: English
Genre: Contemporary Romance


Blurb:

Guest Post–> Author’s Experience of writing her book in her own words & her tips for aspiring authors! 

Thanks for inviting me to guest post about my experience of
writing a book, as well as my tips for beginning writers.

As Is is being published as my debut novel, but it’s actually the second novel I wrote. Since I think there’s more to learn from hearing about how my first novel, SETTLING, was created, I’ll start there.

Here were the simple, straight forward steps I took when writing SETTLING, complete with tips:

1. Wrote until I thought I had something worth sharing.

2. Bugged friends to read. (Tip: If you do this, pick your bluntest friends. You do not need sunshine blown anywhere, you need the cold hard truth.)

a. Rewrote based on their feedback.

3. Continued 1-2 above until I had a completed draft.

4. Hired a freelance editor to read. (Tip: Many writers utilize writing/critique groups instead.)

a. Rewrote based on his feedback.

5. Queried agents.

a. Rewrote based on feedback from agents who read and shared insights. (Tip 1: Use agent query.com to find agents. Tip 2: Appreciate any feedback agents offer—remember, they don’t owe you anything.)

6. Hired another freelance editor to read.

a. Rewrote based on her feedback.

7. Queried agents again.

8. Landed my first agent.

a. Rewrote based on her feedback to get it ready to pitch to editors.

b. Held my breath while she submitted to editors.

c. Cried when the last of the rejections came in.

d. Wished my agent the best when she quit agenting to get an MBA.

Elapsed time from 1 through 8: approximately 3 years. Easy, huh? What could be simpler? And so far, completely pointless.

Somewhere within number 8 above, around the b-c stage, I saw the writing on the wall and knew I’d likely need a new agent soon. I’d read that you can’t query agents with material previously pitched to publishers, so, I wrote AS IS. Here’s how that process broke down:

1. Wrote in a desperate sprint for seven weeks straight, pausing only to meet the basic needs of the children and household, and not showering much. (Tip: I don’t recommend this approach.)

2. Queried agents.

3. Landed my second agent.

a. Held my breath while he submitted to editors exactly what I had sent him, with nary a revision. (Tip: Though they seemed endless and painful, all those rounds of revisions on my first novel taught me to see flaws that I had previously needed other readers to point out.)

b. Cried when the last of the rejections came in.

c. Wished my agent well when the next novel I wrote didn’t turn him on. (Tip: Don’t burn bridges! Stay professional, even when your ego is bruised. And your ego WILL get bruised—it’s part of the process.)

4. Celebrated three years later (yup, three years), when my fourth (yup, fourth) agent sold As Is to Diversion Books.

5. Guest blogged on this site when As Is, as my debut novel, launched in May, 2014.

About the Author:

Follow the Author:
Website: http://www.rachelmichaelarends.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rachel-Michael-Arends/438817039551662
Twitter: http://www.twiter.com/RMArends
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/RachelMichaelArends