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Michelle Stimpson.com

~ Where Writing and Faith Got Married

Michelle Stimpson.com

Monthly Archives: April 2016

Most Valuable Quotes of My Writing Career

12 Tuesday Apr 2016

Posted by michellestimpson1 in Books by Michelle Stimpson, For Writers, Uncategorized

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

african american christian fiction, authors, christian fiction, michelle stimpson, publishing contracts, self-publishing, talents, writing, writing books, writing fiction

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  1. “We need to talk!” As a new author, I was very unsure about the culture of the industry. But one day Tiffany L. Warren and I sat around after a book signing talking, chatting, and comparing notes. It showed me that authors need to learn to stick together and share what works.
  2. “You don’t need to write like anybody else.” Fellow Walk Worthy Press author Stanice Anderson told me this before I had even finished the first draft of my first novel. Her advice freed me to just write what the Lord had put on my heart and not compare myself to others.
  3. “Get up!” If you’re sitting at your book table/booth at an event, do not sit down and hide behind your books. Get up, pass out your bookmark and meet people! Advice given by the late Francis Ray. She was also the first author to tell me that, often, the advance is the only money a writer will ever see, so negotiate for as much up front as possible when you’re dealing with a major publisher.
  4. “The best way to promote books and build your audience is to write more good books.” I learned this from following J.A. Konrath’s blog. I have never met him in person, but his blog was an invaluable resource to me when I went indie back in 2012. While I think the landscape of promoting ebooks has changed, this was such a fire-starter.
  5. “Write the books and publish them!” Vanessa Miller was ahead of the curve when it came to independently publishing ebooks on Kindle. When she and I sat down and really talked strategy as well as money, it made all the difference in my career (see #2)!
  6. “Either you publish these short stories or I will publish them and you can sue me later.” A co-worker whose students loved my short stories pushed me to start WeGottaRead.com, where I’ve published over 50 short stories and been read by thousands of kids/teachers worldwide.
  7. “I’ll find some stock art for the cover.” Okay. This is kinda bad and kinda not bad. Here goes: I was considering hiring this guy to do a book cover for me. He said he was going to charge me $600 and that he would find “stock art” to make the cover. I thought $600 was quite expensive, so I didn’t hire him. But that term “stock art” stuck in my head because it sounded like something…well…”in stock.” So after our meeting, I Googled the term. A whole new world opened up to me, and I knew there was no way I was gonna pay somebody $600 to go find a $20 picture for me and slap some words on it. Granted, there’s more to making a book cover than this, but this experience taught me to do my homework before hiring folks in this industry. Experts do need to be paid for their time/effort, but in my book, $600 is exorbitant unless the designer is actually having a photo session with models and the picture will be exclusive.
  8. “Are you ready to write your next book?” When my first publisher, Denise Stinson, spoke these words to me, I was like, “Huh?” I honestly thought Boaz Brown would be my one-hit-wonder. I was gonna write one book, be able to call myself an “author” for the rest of my life, and be happy. While this book is still of my most beloved titles to date, I didn’t realize that it was only the beginning. Denise’s question made me think differently about myself as a professional writer.
  9. “Can you bring home some milk?” On the flip side to #8, this is the question my daughter asked me on the phone after I’d finished telling her that I had been nominated for an award. Kids don’t really care what you do, how “famous” we are, or if we’ve been called for Oprah’s book club. They really just want to know that Momma is there and will take care of them. Having a family in the midst of all this writing has kept me grounded.
  10. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…” Psalm 23:6. Somehow, some way, this verse spoke to me when I was about 23 years old. I just took it straight out of the Bible and made it mine. So when I wrote my first book five years later and sent it off to the first publisher who came to mind, I wasn’t deterred by the rejection letter. I just sent it off to the next publisher, and they wanted it. In fact, they published it in hardcover (I didn’t know that was a big deal at the time). I also didn’t know how hard it was supposed to be to snag a deal with a major publisher, particularly as an African-American in 2001. In retrospect, I’m GLAD I didn’t know. Had I focused on all the difficulties instead of Psalm 23:6, I might have thrown in the towel before ever trying. Because of His love and His Word, I expect goodness and mercy, and that has made all the difference in my life as a writer and beyond. He is good!

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Lines that Didn’t Make the Cut

07 Thursday Apr 2016

Posted by michellestimpson1 in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

As I write, I keep a file of “thrown out” lines and scenes that don’t work with the plot. When I have a strong outline, this doesn’t happen so much. But when I’m winging-it, I may end up throwing out an entire character. I tell writers all the time: Don’t be married to your first draft.

And yet, I know how hard it is to part with words. In fact, I still haven’t gotten get rid of the “thrown out” files on my computer. They are my friends. It’s like I’m a digital hoarder! I keep thinking, “Maybe one day I’ll use that line or that scene!”

Well, it seems today is the day. Perhaps someone can use them and/or learn from the reasons why there were cut to help make choices about their own drafts. (See – I knew I there was a reason why I couldn’t rid of them!)

FinalMamaBBook3From Mama B: A Time to Love (Book 3 in the Mama B Series)

When I tell you God was not happy about me askin’, I ain’t lyin’. I’m not saying He was mad. Just saying I got the feelin’ He didn’t like me pokin’ around in Frank’s past.

Why was it cut? I think Mama B did actually go pokin’ into his past a little bit!

MichelleStimpson_BoazBrown_800px

My first novel, Boaz Brown, had playground chants at the beginning of every chapter to open up the childhood flashbacks. But they were cut at the last minute because the editor felt that they were a distraction. I was too hurt! I really wanted to have “Down, down, baby, down by the roller coaster” in my book. In retrospect, I think my editor was right. But I’m still gonna make a coffee table book out of those songs one day!

fig2From Falling Into Grace

Ronald was right, too. Kyra didn’t need to pimp herself to people like John David who asked her to do stupid stuff like join churches so she could sing. But what if she hadn’t joined the church? What if she’s never joined the choir? She never would have met Ronald.

Why was it cut? Well, a person’s name was changed (Kyra became Camille). And “pimp” is a strong word for Christian Fiction (at least it was at the time).

From Last TemptationLAST TEMPTATION

He followed me back to the table and we began discussing Eric’s situation. The weight settled back in my chest again. When I had a job, there was no question in my mind that Eric would be getting all the care and services necessary to overcome his academic challenges. If I didn’t get a job in the next two or three months, I might have to make a choice—did I want Eric to be able to read or eat?

Why was it cut? I made this more of a “showing” than a “telling”.

cscropped2From A Forgotten Love (Book 1 in the A Few Good Men Series)

Why was Daphne trying to turn his world upside down?Maybe he should just leave her alone. Drop this whole relationship and find somebody he didn’t have so much history with.

Why was it cut? I moved it until later in the book, and by then he was too far in love to think these exact words.

 

 

 

From Stepping DownStepping-Down-Lessons-Part-1.jpg

None of them had done what the doctors described as “unimaginable”—keeping him pinned to his seat at the point of impact so that he didn’t go flying out the window. Only One God had done that.

Why was it cut? I can’t remember, but now I kinda wish I had kept it!

 

After writing more than 40 books, you can imagine that I’ve got plenty more lines sitting on the virtual cutting room floor. But this is what writing is all about – doing what needs to be done with words to convey a strong message. Sometimes, great words must be sacrificed on the altars of plot, consistency, and necessity. Getting rid of extra words, lines, scenes, or even characters will only help your writing become more succinct!

Be blessed!

 

 

 

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