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Jessica Ferguson

Author, Writing Coach, Speaker

IWSG Day: Shelving Your Work

June 1, 2021 By Jessica Ferguson 28 Comments

Welcome to June, and another IWSG meeting. We appreciate Alex J. Cavanaugh and his gang who make certain IWSG runs smoothly. IWSG posts the first Wednesday of each month. Find the entire list of participants here. 

Our purpose is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

The awesome co-hosts for this June 2 posting of the IWSG are J Lenni Dorner, Sarah Foster,Natalie Aguirre, Lee Lowery, and Rachna Chhabria!

Our optional question this month is:

For how long do you shelve your first draft, before reading it and re-drafting? Is this dependent on your writing experience and the number of stories/books under your belt? 

I sometimes shelve my work for years but I don’t think that is actually shelving. That’s probably closer to procrastination or losing interest. But to answer the question, for me every story is different. I guess my answer depends on how excited I feel about the story, how rough a draft it is, and if I’ve written it for a publisher, a magazine or a contest. Maybe it’s even a gut feeling thing.

As mentioned in a previous post, I have a series of four novellas that I wrote several years ago in quick succession. I haven’t looked at them since. I even made a Pinterest page for each one. I’m sure if and when I get back to them I’ll be appalled at the convoluted mess, or excited for the challenge. I’m hoping for the latter.

When it comes to revision, sometimes I’ll revise as I go, and then I’ll put the story aside for a few weeks.

I call myself an intuitive writer. Some of my books and stories spill out of me while others require an outline. Don’t ask me why. I think each story sort of has a life of its own and “tells” me how it wants to be treated. That sounds weird, doesn’t it, but I’ll bet some of you know what I mean.

I come from a journalism background so I’ve taught myself to write pretty fast. There usually isn’t a lot of “shelf” time when you write for newspapers or biweekly magazines. That’s helped my fiction writing, but it usually means more revision. Writing fast is great for just getting the story down.

For the past several days, I’ve been playing around with plottr. I think I talked about it in my previous blogpost. I’m really enjoying “constructing” my newest book and plottr is helping me pull together the middle where I often flounder.

If any if you have a manuscript that took off on so many rabbit trails that you lost your way, I encourage you to give plottr a try. I’ll bet you can get that novel back on track using their 30 day free version. And then, you’ll want to buy!

Now, a bit of good news I want to share: I entered a “hook” contest that Books and Such Literary Management sponsored in celebration of their 25th anniversary. The hook had to be 25 words or less. Today I learned I’m one of 25 semifinalist out of 317 submissions. I won a $10 Starbucks gift card and I’m invited to send a proposal based on my hook to them by June 15th.

How fun is that?

I’m curious: do you submit to contests? If so, what kind?

Filed Under: IWSG Tagged With: Books and Such Literary Management, contests

The Last Daughter – A GREATER DETROIT RWA 2014 BBA FINALIST!

June 14, 2014 By Jessica Ferguson Leave a Comment

The Greater Detroit RWA 2014 Booksellers Best Award announced the finalist for their annual contest, and guess what! The Last Daughter is one of them! If you remember, in my previous post, I wondered if I would ever write again so this is just the shot of encouragement I need to MAKE time. Sometimes it seems like too much of a challenge between the wedding planning, retired hubby, church work, renovation and decorating. Surely I don’t have a touch of laziness! Surely not!

I’m not really familiar with this contest. Every month or so, we RWA members get our trade magazine that lists contests and conferences and I decided to enter The Last Daughter in the novella category. I chose this contest because of the judges. They’re booksellers. That makes being a finalist even more special to me. I had to print out several copies of The Last Daughter and have them bound for the judges. It was time consuming and at times I wondered if I was wasting a tree, but now … I’m so glad I took the time. I’m flattered and honored, excited and  super-pumped, even though I’ve got some wonderful competition in the other five contestants.

 
Winners will be announced at the RWA National Conference in San Antonio, Texas.

  
In no particular order, the following is a list of finalists. Those listed with an asterisk are also nominated for Best First Book.  When I see contest winners, I’m always curious about the publishers and editors so if you’d like to know who they are, go to the Greater Detroit RWA 2014 Booksellers Best Award link.
 
Congratulations! Congratulations! Congratulations!
TRADITIONAL
Last Chance Proposal Barbara DeLeo
The Courage to Say Yes Barbara Wallace
The Cattleman’s Ready-Made Family Michelle Douglas
First Comes Baby Michelle Douglas
A Marriage Made in Italy Rebecca Winteres
Crashing into Tess Lilly Christine
SHORT HISTORICAL
The Witch Finder Blythe Gifford
Before the Larkspur Blooms  Caroline Fyffe
Lachlan’s Bride Kathleen Harrington
Surrender to the Earl Gayle Callen
At the Highlander’s Mercy Terri Brisbin
SINGLE TITLE
Mystic Cowboy Sarah M. Anderson
The Time Between Karen White
Home to Whisky Creek Brenda Novak
Lost Melody Dolores W. Maroney
The Pieces We Keep Kristina McMorris
SHORT CONTEMPORARY
The Rancher She Loved Ann Roth
*Doctor, Soldier, Daddy  Caro Carson
Conceal, Protect Carol Ericson
To Tame a Cowboy Jules Bennett
His Southern Temptation Robin Covington
LONG CONTEMPORARY
Kidnapped Cowboy  Lindsey Brookes
Out of his League Cathryn Parry
A Kiss to Die for Gail Barrett
The Cowboy’s Christmas Baby Carolyn Brown
Seduced by his Target Gail Barrett
PARANORMAL
Midnight’s Kiss  Donna Grant
Omega Susannah Sandlin
Allegiance Sworn  Kylie Griffin
Fire of the Dragon Lori Dillon
Tempt Me Tamara Hogan
The Reunited Shiloh Walker
INSPIRATIONAL
Vanished by  Irene Hannon
Cozy Christmas by Valerie Hansen
Shenandoah Nights by  Lisa Belcastro
Wedding On the Rocks by Rose Ross Zediker
Healing the Forest Ranger by Leigh Bale
LONG HISTORICAL
*For the Love of A Soldier  Victoria Morgan
The Hunter  Monica McCarty
Lady Vivian Defies a Duke  Samantha Grace
Love’s Price Cheryl Holt
What a Duke Desires Sabrina Jeffries
YOUNG ADULT
Camp Boyfriend J.K. Rock
*Running On Empty  Colette Ballard
Briar Rose Jana Oliver
Dirty Little Secret Jennifer Echols
*Playing Tyler  TL Costa
EROTIC
On her Masters Service Lexi Blake
Unforgettable Alison Kent
Avoiding Mr. Right  C.J. Ellison
* Masque   Lexi Post
Too Fast  Alexia Haynes
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
Trapped  Irene Hannon
Ashes, Ashes, They All Fall Dead Lena Diaz
Til’ Death Sharon Sala
Hard Target Kay Thomas
Pieces of You- A Snowy Creek Novel Loreth Anne White
NOVELLA
Christmas At Copper Mountain Jane Porter
Outside the Lines Kimberly Kincaid
The Last Daughter Jessica Ferguson
One True Love  Lori Wilde
Take Me, Cowboy Jane Porter
A Cowboy for Christmas Katheirne Garbera
 

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Booksellers, contests, Greater Detroit RWA 2014 Booksellers Best Award, The Last Daughter, Uncategorized

Markets, Markets, Markets

August 6, 2012 By Jessica Ferguson Leave a Comment

Harlequin’s new Kiss line will launch February 13, 2013.  Check out the guidelines HERE 
For FAQ’s and guidelines for other Harlequin lines, go HERE.

____________

Kristine Katherine Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith plan to launch a new fiction anthology series, Fiction River beginning in April 2013. Each issue will be devoted to a theme, with stories from a variety of genres and both well-known and new authors.  Get more details here and visit their Kickstarter page here.

____________

Story Brewhouse is seeking submissions for an anthology of creative fiction about beer. A Six Pack of Stories will publish in 2013, in both digital and print, with stories that “feature beer in meaningful ways.” The editors are looking for all genres of stories. There are no length limits, though they warn that anything over 10,000 words may have a tough time finding a home. The deadline for submissions is October 26, 2012. Find the details here.

____________

Still Moments Publishing publishes a wide variety of romance fiction from 20,000 to 100,000 words. Find the submission details here.

Still Moments is also seeking submissions for several anthologies:

Unexpected Bumps — stories with a baby or pregnancy theme. 5,000 to 15,000 words. Deadline November 30, 2012.

A Twist of Tales – fairy tales with a unique twist. 5,000 to 15,000 words. Deadline October 31, 2012

Frost Bite – stories about shape-shifters in winter. 5,000 to 15,000 words. Deadline October 15, 2012

Winter’s Kiss – winter romance stories, 5,000 to 15,000 words, Deadline October 1, 2012

Christmas Magic – holiday romance, 5,000 to 15,000 words. Deadline August 18, 2012

Find details guidelines for all these special calls here.

_________________

First Crime Novel Competition

The 2013 Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition is now open!Read the rules carefully and guidelines carefully before submitting your entry. This contest is sponsored by Minotaur Books & Mystery Writers of America.  

For previous winners, go HERE.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: contests, guidelines, markets, Uncategorized

Monday Markets and More

May 14, 2012 By Jessica Ferguson Leave a Comment

Thought I’d share some markets and contests today, as well as a conference I attended last year.

Killer Nashville is a great little conference for mystery writers and it’s coming up in August. They hold a contest too but the deadline is fast approaching–June 1st. If you place or win, your book will be considered by Five Star. The editor is the finalist judge. One of the perks of this contest is that you don’t have to attend the conference to enter the contest, but certainly you’ll want to if you learn you final.  The Killer Nashville conference is small, intimate and has great sessions. Even if you don’t write mysteries it’s a fun conference. They stage a crime for you to solve and they have some interesting speakers–some of them REAL law enforcement officers. Take a look at their blog HERE. To learn more about Killer Nashville, go HERE and tour the site carefully. I hope I see you there!
Here’s a novel contest I learned about from friend Linda F. Todd.  The 2012 prizewinner will receive a publishing contract with a $7,500 advance and a $5,000 marketing budget. The winning novel will be published in the Spring of 2013 in a hardcover or trade paperback edition by Counterpoint/Softskull Press and distributed to the book trade by Publishers Group West.  The deadline is June 15th and  there are no fees to enter.

Pill Hill Press has a lot going on these days. Check out their website. They’re inviting recipes for a cookbook and some stories for anthologies.  Look at their opportunities for publication HERE.

Do you write essays or creative nonfiction? Consider contributing to the Easy to Love series of books.  CURRENT CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Easy to Love but Hard to Teach and Easy to Love but Hard to Treat

Here’s a market for women writers over 60.
There are markets, contests and conferences everywhere. Do you have any favorites?

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Contest and Markets, contests, Killer Nashville

Flash Fiction Contest – 159 Words! (CLOSED! CLOSED!)

October 24, 2011 By Jessica Ferguson Leave a Comment

The contest is closed. Thanks to everyone who entered my Flash Fiction contest and signed up to follow my blog. I had eleven entries and they’re all so much fun to read. A couple made me laugh out loud. One made me cringe in pain. Some made me look over my shoulder when I was in the house alone.

I’ll be shooting them off to the judges and will get back with you soon. I hate, hate, hate choosing just one winner, but those are the rules. 


Winner will be posted soon — I hope!
Jess

I’ve enjoyed reading (and writing for) the new Southern Writers Magazine . The pages are packed with encouragement and advice from voices of experience. The articles and interviews share secrets of success by experts in book marketing, promotion, branding, blogging, screenwriting, songwriting, conferences and more—all with a touch of Southern hospitality, of course. I want you to sample this great magazine so I’m hosting a writing contest. The winner will receive the latest issue of Southern Writers Magazine—a print issue because I want you to see just how wonderful it is. The color is vivid. The pages are thick. The print is comfortably readable.

Contest Rules:

“I’ve had a wonderful time, but this wasn’t it.”

Using the Groucho Marx quote above as your first line, write a story in 159 words or less. (The quote serves as the first nine.) No profanity because I don’t like it. No erotica because you need to keep that good time to yourself. Put your name and email address below your story then post your 150 words in the comment section. There must be a minimum of ten (10) entries and you must add yourself as a follower of my blog. Deadline: October 31st.

All entries will be judged by selected members of my Bayou Writers lunch bunch. Sorry, only one winner will be chosen. The winning entry will be posted on my blog with gushy, flattering comments from the judges.

I repeat—in a nutshell:

You must add yourself as a follower of this blog if you aren’t already.

Your first line should be: “I’ve had a wonderful time, but this wasn’t it.” (No modification)

Story must be 159 words max. Any kind of story—romance, western, scifi, fantasy, horror, etc. No profanity/No erotica.

Post your story in comment section with name and email.

A minimum of ten entries or contest is cancelled.

Deadline: Midnight, October 31st

Winner announced November 4th (or shortly thereafter)

Winner will be published on my blog and receive the November issue (print copy) of Southern Writers Magazine. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email me at jessy31writer (at) aol (dot) com

This will be the first contest I’ve hosted — hope it’s fun!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: contests, Southern Writers Magazine

Reality Faith.
Reality Fiction.

"As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Acts 4:20

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