Start to Publish…

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Good Tuesday morning! I hope all is well with you. As for here in Georgia, it may be Spring, but someone forgot to tell the weather. It’s chilly again…

As for my writing, things are going well. I have several manuscripts in various stages of production. You might ask, what stages are you talking about? Well, here’s a simple guideline that I follow as I bring a manuscript full circle into publication.

1: Of course, first things first, the idea. Sometimes the idea for a book can happen months before I even start the first page of the manuscript, but when the idea comes, I put it down on paper, if not I’ll lose the excitement of that moment. I have a small notebook that holds my story ideas, some have come to be and others have incorporated themselves into other stories.

2. As you know from previous posts, I do an outline. It’s basic, but it leads me through the story, the bones, so to speak. I’ve told you before, most stories come to me in whole, or large lumps of information. The quicker I get that outlined, the quicker the story can come alive.

3. Now it’s time to schedule it into my calendar. Right now, I’m scheduled through the end of the year with stories flowing over into 2017. This way I know in the back of my head what I need to finish on this manuscript in the future, like blurbs, covers and such.

4. Once it’s time to start the manuscript, I sit down with my outline and notes from thoughts I’ve had along the line. Even as I work on other books, things pop up in my mind that would work with other works. That’s when I pull out the outline from my portfolio and jot down the thought for future reference. That way I don’t lose the moment.

5. It’s time to write. This is when I get in the structure and bones of the story, fleshing out the outline points and filling in the characters as I go. This is also when Scrivener is my best friend. All of the characters are lined up down the left of my screen, reminding me of names and people involved. This part of the writing is fast and unedited, very unedited. It’s the write by the seat of my pants, knowing I’ll go back later to correct.

6. Ok, so I have my rough, rough, rough draft ready, now it’s time to go back and fix the many errors, misspelled words, horrible grammar and left off punctuation that leads my editor to want to plot my murder. Now it’s ready to go to her for the red pen, this is the scary part!

7. As I wait for the edited manuscript to come back, I’ll work on covers, blurbs, advertising and setting up the pre-order for the book that’s being worked over.

8. Now the manuscript is back, needing some work and ready to be corrected. I input the changes, make additions and get it formatted. I add the front and back matter, then scan back through to make sure I’ve checked everything. Oh, and just for giggles, I go back through, doing a spellcheck. I’m human, I forget stuff.

9. Wow, it’s now ready for publication! This is the moment an author sweats profusely, hoping you haven’t left off anything major, forgotten to correct something and hope upon hope that your readers love the book you’ve poured your heart into.

This is why most people that say, ‘I could write a book and publish it, it’s too easy’, they don’t ever publish a book. A book doesn’t just appear when you have the thought, it’s a process, one that needs to be taken seriously. So many authors don’t take it seriously and when they hit send, it’s missing something or hasn’t been thought through. Take it seriously, it’s your reputation as a writer.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

P. S. Don’t forget Lily comes out the 27th. Get your preorder now…

Lily Release ad!

Word Counts, Outlines and Covers…

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Good Friday morning! It’s been a busy week and it will only get busier. Tax season is in full swing and my calendar is getting full, but that’s a good thing. I included a nice, warm picture for all of you caught in the polar vortex and to those of us that just want to walk down that dock and plunge into the water, washing the everyday stress away. AHHHH… As as writer I can imagine it…

I’m often asked how I keep up with my word counts during tax season. To be honest, it can be really hard, but I manage somehow. As you know, I do an outline for each book. With each line of the outline, I try to do a certain amount of words, according to the final length of the book that I have in mind. The outline keeps me focused while my mind is scattered with thoughts of tax returns, numbers and deadlines, both book and tax.

Of course and I’ve said this often, writing is how I stay sane when it’s busy. Writing takes the stress out of my mind and takes me to another place, sometimes another time. When I’m finishing my work day, thoughts of putting words into a manuscript fill me and make the stress start slipping away.

Right now I have a rather high word count daily, but it’s supposed to be less. I originally had figured into my daily writing for tax season, only 2000 words a day. If I do more then good for me, if I do less, well, that has to be carried over to the weekend writing sprint. With my brain going over so much paperwork during the day, sometimes I just have to do something creative, other than with words. That’s when I start

With my brain going over so much paperwork during the day, sometimes I just have to do something creative, other than with words. That’s when I start working on covers for upcoming releases and preorder releases. Here lately, I’ve been struggling with the cover for a historical romance that’s coming out at the end of April. But it will come to me soon, just right now, it’s giving me the hiccups 😉

How’s your week been? Have you kept up with your word count? (I’ll catch up on mine over the weekend, I hope!)

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Just a little note… Seaside Beginnings came out Wednesday and it’s been a great success. I’ve received some of the sweetest messages about it. I’m so excited and awestruck at the response for this book about an over forty woman starting over.

Word Counts…

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Word count, the eternal question for a writer… I’ve been asked this question so many times that I’ve lost count. How do you know how many words your manuscript should be? How do you forecast it?

Words form themselves in a manuscript and if you’re a writer, you totally understand that statement. Now with preorders available on many book sites, the first thing they ask is what will be your word count, you have to ask yourself that very question. Do you know? Any round about figures?

Here’s how I figure the word count or where it should be by the time I type The End.

Well, as most of you know, I do an outline for almost all of my books. As I do the outline, each part of the outline is a chapter and each chapter should have an average of as little as 1200 words and as many as 2000 words. (That’s my figuring, not a science 😉 )

Then of course, when I finish the outline, I go back and figure up the chapters times the average chapter length. My outline helps me to make sure the story can go the length of the book. If I can only get to number 10, then it will be a fairly short novella, but if it can go the distance to around 20 or more, well, I have a good size book on my hands.

You may be asking how I know it will go the length I’ve figured, well, in outlining, each section should have a good position. Meaning you should be able to make at least a chapter out of that one section. If not, then it will be shorter than expected. When I do my outline, I think deeply over each section and make sure the story can carry enough gusto to finish the chapter.

So, how do you figure your word count? Ever figure too short or too long? It happens, but if it’s not published yet, don’t sweat it…

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Don’t forget to go by and preorder “Seaside Blessings” at many ebook retailers. It’s available at several sites…

Monday morning!

It’s Monday morning and my weekend was way too short, but exciting. Saturday was my book signing in Zebulon. It turned out really well and I’m excited about the future events that could spin off of it.

Now to add to my excitement, today the article I wrote for Southern Writers Magazine’s Suite T blog is available on their website. Here’s the link for you to go by to read and share: http://southernwritersmagazine.blogspot.com/2015/11/lining-story-up.html. The article goes over the way I line up a story before I write it. I do hope it helps other writers.

My manuscript that is on Wattpad is still racking up the votes and reads. The comments are really good and I hope that helps with the stories success. It’s still in the hands of Harlequin, so fingers crossed that it does well.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Outlines, good or bad…

I’ve been telling you about my surprise manuscript for a couple of weeks. As I sit here enjoying my coffee and the morning sun, I’m going over the outline for the new work. It’s a complete outline that goes to the words ‘The End’.

Some writers say they can’t work from an outline and others, well they can’t work without one. I’ve written several books using a outline draft, but it sometimes changed through the process. My new work is coming along well with the outline. This outline seems to flow with the way I see the story in my head. But I wonder if it will stay the same.

Here are some good points to using an outline…

1. The outline keeps you focused on the story and where it’s headed.

2. Outlines are not written in stone and can change.

3. If you have a detailed outline, all you need to do is make a chapter out of each line.

Since my outline goes to number 29, that means it’s looking to be a really long book. The details are there, all I need to do is pull each chapter from the lines I’ve written. With this outline I was able to pull the story that’s running around in my head out. When a story comes into my head, usually the whole thing comes in a rush and I can’t wait to get to the end. With my outline I was able to get the story on paper so that I’m free to fill it all out.

So, do you work with outlines? Have you ever tried? What was your experience?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Word Count & Scrivener

Good Saturday morning! Here in Georgia it’s simply gorgeous with the sun shining and the temps comfortable. Makes me want to go outside and sit the rest of the day writing. But my house needs an overhaul 😉 That doesn’t mean that I won’t end up out there with my laptop.

I’m working on two manuscripts at the moment. Of course ‘Chase’ is one of them and then I’m also working on a new Christian Historical Romance, but that one will be discussed at a later date. As for writing, I’ve been trying to get in my daily word count and then some. Since the stories are flowing pretty steadily lately, it helps me to stay focused.

One thing that is helping with my writing lately is a program that I’m trying out. Have you tried out Scrivener yet? Several authors have suggested the program to me, but until now I’ve been using word mostly. So about a month or so ago I decided to test the waters and I’ve not looked back yet.

This program incorporates my trusty outlines and character lists into the same screen as my manuscript. I can keep it all at my fingertips at all time. Better yet as a new character is created I can simply add them to the list and never skip a beat. I’ve even got the outlines typed out for a couple of story ideas for later in the year.

What’s fun is with my 5 Oaks Ranch series I can copy my character list over to the next book. That way I don’t have to keep going back to the books before and search out a character. Let’s just say I love this program and highly suggest trying it out. They offer a trial version so that you can make sure it fits in with your way of writing.

Well, I better get back to mopping my kitchen and doing laundry because it won’t do itself. Also the sooner it’s done, the sooner me and my laptop can head out to sit on the deck and get lost in another world, if just for a while.

So, what are you up to today? Hope it’s fun…

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

The story, do you know how it end?

Good Friday morning! I’ve been working long hours in my accounting office. Of course that’s expected during tax season. But the funny thing about this job is I know the main tax season will end on April 15th. I have a good idea after almost 20 years of how it will go, but with writing do you always know how it will go? Well, not always.

Many of my books came into my head mostly whole, but not always. Even some that come to me feeling whole turn out different in many ways as the stories unfold on paper. Take for instance my latest release, Ridge. In the back of my mind I had a clear vision of how it would go. I could see it unfolding before I ever type Chapter 1. But with some of my other books I wasn’t completely positive.

Safe in the Pirate’s Arms was one of those that I thought I had it completely figured out before I started, but the characters took over and many things changed. Sometimes we know where we want the story to go, but once you’re into the story it just doesn’t work. As with the book in question, I knew after I started in the planned direction that something wasn’t quite right. Something needed to change and once I changed directions of the story, well it just clicked. Usually when you have that ‘aha’ moment things started moving right along at a fast clip, well at least for me it does.

One of my manuscripts took such a sharp U-turn that I went back and changed some of the aspects of the beginning. But when I typed the end it totally made sense. I was proud of the changes that I made. It felt good and made me feel complete. I know that many of you have read my many posts on outlines and I do truly believe in them, but some of the time even the best outline needs to change slightly.

Is it mandatory as a writer to know the whole story? No way are we held to that standard, but we do have to make sure the story flows correctly. Of course we do have to know some of where the story will go, but the whole story, not happening most of the time, even when we think we know the end, it’s not always clear.

So, do you always know how it will end, truly? What’s your writing process? Do you outline and if so, do you stick strictly with it?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Don’t forget to go by my website and check out my March Madness Sale at stephaniehurtauthor.com

Quilting a story

It’s Friday people! Have you figured that out yet? So have another cup of coffee, sipping it slowly while you take a deep breath and say ‘I got this’. Ok, now on to the reason for the picture of the quilt above…

This is a quilt that I inherited from my grandmother. I lovingly put it out every winter on the back of the couch in the den. It’s really old, but well made. Of course I have several of her handmade quilts and actually several of her mothers, but this one just speaks to me. Maybe it’s the wagon wheel design, I don’t know, but it’s the subject of today’s post.

As when my grandmother started this quilt more than seventy years ago, she had to have an idea of where she was going. Then she had to pick out the colors, the patterns of material and just the right backing. It’s the same when you sit down to start you books. You need a direction to go in. If you just sit down a write down words well it’s not going to mesh into a story.

Just as you would do with a quilt you do it in steps. Here are some of the steps:

1: Idea for the story. Usually it takes you by surprise… so be ready.

2: Just an idea doesn’t make a story, you’ve got to have an idea of the bones just as a quilter has a pattern or idea of how they want it to look.

3: Gather your materials. This means, put down an outline and character write up. Make sure you have most of what you need to quilt your story together.

4: Piece them together with pens. This is where you put the parts together. Don’t put the wedding before they meet. It never works out that way. Some days I write part of the story that won’t even happen until several chapters later, but I write on the top of it where it fits in. That way when I get to that part, it’s ready to sew in.

5: Once you’ve got these parts down, then write to your hearts desire. That’s the way a quilter does. They get the supplies together in usually a organized way and then they start putting it together, piece by piece. Each piece should fit just right to make it come out correctly at the end, because who wants to get to the best part and realize they left out some of the pivotal pieces that would make it come out even.

Well, that’s my take on things. Of course there’s so many more steps to putting your book together, but these are just a few of the ways to quilt your story together. Make sure each masterpiece you create is the best you can do and don’t skimp on the middle to get to the end. Every quilt needs a good, well placed middle.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Monday morning rain!

Monday mornings are tough, but when you wake up to the sound of rain on the roof, well, it just sets the mood for the day. Of course here in Georgia it’s cold and rainy. The temps are hitting a high at lunchtime and then going down from there. So it’s turning out to be a dreary, cold, sweater wearing day.

Right now I’m curled up on the couch, sipping coffee, watching the Today Show and catching up on my posts. This is what I call my special time of the day. My son is at school, hubby is at work and I have about two hours before I need to get ready to walk across to my office. This is also my writing time.

This morning I’m working on Ridge. I know, I’ve been talking about this book for several weeks, but I’m excited about this book, well actually the whole series. Of course you know I love a cowboy romance and this will turn into five. Each main character is special and has so many facets of their personalities.

Someone asked the other day if I have anything else in the works, along with the Five Oaks Ranch. I have to say that a book came into my mind about two weeks ago. I’m playing with an outline, but mostly working on Ridge. As you know me, I do have several books on the back burner. Funny how you get into a story and then something happens and your attention spans steers off in another direction.

What are you doing this morning? Is the weather good in your area?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Starting with a good foundation

Writing a book is not as easy as it looks. There are so many steps to making a readable novel. Of course you can just write a story and publish it without following the needed steps, but I don’t recommend it. Make sure what you put out to the public is the best it can be. As I stated in my post about polishing it up, take the steps to make it the best it can be.

This starts with a good foundation. You don’t want to build your house on shifting sands, so why build your story on a whim. Writers are full of stories, it’s the way we’re made. A story line comes to us and we immediately start writing, but in many cases we need to sit down and make sure that the story line is strong enough to hold up a novel to the end. If you can’t make the story line hold up the whole book then you might want to rethink the process.

Sit down with the story idea. Think it out. See where the story goes in your mind. Most of the stories that come into my head actually keep poking at me until I do this. You all know how I am about outlines and yes, I know some of you are groaning, but they help keep the story in line or somewhat in line.

Also, you need to make sure that the story idea will keep a reader involved and interested throughout the middle part and the ending. If the story does not have enough backbone to hold out to the end, you might want to rethink it. Sometimes when you sit down and really give it some thought you can make it work. A writer has a way of making the story come alive and evolve. That’s what your story line idea has to do, evolve.

Using an outline can help build the foundation of the story. You can sway some from the outline, but make sure that the story stays consistent so that it follows neatly behind the leader. Don’t forget the reason for the story, the backbone of the story. That’s what builds the foundation on a sturdy foundation, not a sinking sand foundation. Make your book the best it can be, so start off right. Do your homework. Writing a book takes work, so give it your all.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…