Going fishing. That’s the term I use for submitting my rejected manuscripts to other houses. It’s been awhile since my last book was published, but life kind of got in the way. I got married and then I had a baby. My baby is now eighteen months old and can amuse himself to some extent while I try and get some writing done. Also, since I work full-time, it’s hard to devote much time to writing when I have familial duties to take care of.

When I started sending my rejects out to various houses, my husband said, “Maybe one of them will bite.” That’s when I came up with the brilliant idea of calling this re-submission process ‘going fishing.’

I encourage all of you who have been rejected to go fishing. My next book, tentatively scheduled for a March 2008 release date, was sold to a publisher because of my fishing expedition. I still have others floating around out there, searching for a home while I work on my current project.

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

I attended the ACFW Conference last week in Dallas! I had a truly awesome time! When I arrived on Thursday morning, I spoke with a few people on the shuttle. When we entered the hotel, we were told that our rooms were not ready, so me and a few other conference-goers enjoyed a tasty pasta-bar lunch before check-in.

After lunch, I picked up my registration and went to my room. There were a lot of people who who a part of this conference. I’d heard there were over four hundred, which is an awesome number since the membership is about 1,200. So, roughly, about one-third of the members came to this conference.

On Thursday night, there was a welcome reception. We had chicken, rolls and vegetables while we got acquainted with one another. The editor and agent panel was also great. Many people in the audience asked questions of the editors and agents and they responded. Barbour Publishing also awarded letters of intent to those unpublished authors whom they are planning to publish.

I also attended a late-night chat about blogging.

Friday, after a continental breakfast, I attended the professional track with Chip McGregor. He shared some really great information about the publishing business, and he also gave tips about budgeting your cashflow over time. He also have some statistics about the publishing world.

Liz Curtis Higgs was our keynote speaker during most of the conference. She’s really a humorous lady and she definately has a deep faith in the Lord.

I also had a few appointments with editors and agents this weekend. If I couldn’t get an appointment with an editor or agent, I would learn to find that person to speak with him/her.

All in all in the conference was a great experience. I also purchased the following books from the conference bookstore:
Family Guardian by Laurie Alice Eakes
Murder, Mayhem, and a Fine Man by Claudia Burney
Made Of Honor by Marilynn Griffith
Fresh-Brewed Love – a novella anthology by Barbour Publishing

Also, we received the following books as freebies:
Sands of Time by Susan May Warren
Embrace Grace by Liz Curtis Higgs
The Wedding Caper by Janice A. Thompson

I know the details about my trip are pretty sparse, but I have LOTS to do as a result of the outcome of my editor and agent appointments at the conference. If you want more details about a certain event at conference, feel free to email me or place your comment on this blog.

Until next time,
Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com
www.blackchristianfiction.com

I had a writers’ meeting today with a local group in Bowie. We did a free write before we started the meeting. We wrote things that used the five senses. I think it’s important to make your reader feel what you’re writing through taste, touch, smell, etc. It was fun doing the exercise and if you are familiar with my writing, you may guess that I chose to write about food. I described the following three desserts (some of my favorites) in such vivid detail that the other members wanted some: chocolate cake, lemon pound cake, and chocolate chip cookies. I have a couple of my favorite recipes on my website if you want to take a look at them:

http://ceceliadowdy.com/_wsn/page8.html

Also, I’m reading Ain’t No River by Sharon Ewell Foster right now. I haven’t had time to finish it yet, but so far, I’m enjoying it. As soon as I finish this book, amidst taking care of my one-year-old son, running my household, spending time with hubby, going to worship services, etc., I’ll be sure to post my thoughts and praises about it on my blog.

Until next time,
Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com
www.blackchristianfiction.com

I had the pleasure of attending the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference on Saturday, August 12, 2006. Although this was a three-day event, I only attended for one day. After staying Friday night in the nearby Radisson hotel, I started Saturday off early with breakfast in the campus dining room of Philadelphia Biblical University. The food was bland, but the fellowship was great! I met a table full of wonderful women, and one lady in particular spoke with me a long time. We connected since both of us were targeting the same publishing house. I was able to tell her a few little-known facts about this publisher, and the news I was able to relay to her made her happy. She hopes to publish soon, and I told her that I hoped she did too. Since I spent a great deal of time socializing Saturday morning, I missed the Worship and Prayer and the Bible Study in the campus Chapel.

The first session I attended was a Book Editor’s Panel in the Chapel. A group of book editors answered a variety of questions from attendees, including: Why does it take so long for you to respond to submissions? If we submit something to you, can we say that it’s requested material since we’ve met you here? Does it help to have an advanced degree in order to get our manuscript published?

Since I did not take notes during this session, I can only paraphrase the responses. Most of the editors agreed that they are NOT overstaffed, so it will take awhile to get a response to the myriad of submissions they receive. Also, they are working with their contracted authors, which takes a great deal of their time.

A few of the editors and agents did agree to allow us to submit to them as requested material since we’d met them at the conference.

One of the editors/agents responded that he only had a high-school education and a VERY low GPA, so having an advanced degree wasn’t necessarily required to submit to him, or to make it in this business.

After the Book Editor Panel, I had an editorial appointment with Cynthia Ballenger of Moody’s Lift Every Voice imprint. Since my submission had already been received by the publisher, we spent time talking about the changing Christian market in general, and about Moody as a publisher.

I had lunch with a group of other attendees in the cafeteria. We talked about our writing, and although the food was bland again, I did enjoy the delicious cookies they had for dessert! My favorites were chocolate chip and peanut butter!

After lunch I attended a workshop called What’s Love Got To Do With It given by Jennifer Peterson. Jennifer Peterson is part of the Peterson Ink group, which consists of her mother(Tracie Peterson), and her father(Jim Peterson). Up until recently, Peterson Ink handled the acquisitions for Barbour’s Heartsong Presents line. She gave a basic course on what consists of a romance novel, and she also gave examples of great works of fiction, and we had to tell her if we thought the examples could be considered romance novels or not. Although the workshop was basic, I felt it was perfect for those who are very unfamiliar with the romance genre, especially the Christian romance genre.

The next session I attended was a Continuing Session. Since I did not attend the conference Thursday and Friday, I can only comment on the last segment of the continuing session that I attended. I chose to attend Book Proposals That Sell given by W. Terry Whalin, editor of Howard Books, a division of Simon and Schuster. He basically focused on marketing tactics that authors can use to promote their books. It was interesting, and someone even asked if he could give an amount as to how much a book earns out. He said he could not since it varies from author to author. Someone else also asked what could be considered great sales numbers for a novel. He said if a novel sells about 25,000-30,000 copies, it could be considered a decent selling book.

The last segment of the day was the worship and awards. There was also an inspirational sermon given by Cec Murphey entitled Living and Proclaiming The Way, the Truth, and the Life. Afterward, there was prayer, and we were told to make our commitments, write them down, and place them into the basket in front of the chapel.

Overall, I was quite pleased with the one day that I attended this conference. I’d highly recommend the GPCWC to all, and sometime in the future, I might go back for the entire three days.

Stay blessed,
Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com
www.blackchristianfiction.com

I realize a lot of writers out there have never attended a writers conference. Currently, the annual Romance Writers of America conference is taking place in Atlanta, Georgia. I was not able to attend that conference this year, however, since the conference is now in full swing, plus there are other conferences going on this summer and this fall, I thought I’d post a few conference tips that I’ve learned over the years.

If going to a conference for the first time, be sure to meet as many people as possible! Exchange business cards, and if your manuscript is complete, be sure to make appointments with editors and agents to pitch your work. Making these kinds of contacts is very important within this industry. You can also network outside of conference hours. Meet other conferees for lunch, dinner, or late-night get togethers! Just chatting with other authors and writers makes your career feel less lonely.

When you meet with your editor or agent, be prepared. Perhaps have a business card handy to give to the editor or agent. You may want to write the name of your book on your card. Just be sure to relax and not be nervous while pitching your book. You may even want to practice your pitch several times before your meeting. Some people usually start practicing weeks before they meet with the editor or agent.

If you are interested in attending an upcoming Christian writers conference, here are a few that I am aware of:

American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) Conference:
http://www.americanchristianfictionwriters.com/conference/

I’ve been a member of American Christian Fiction Writers for close to five years, however, I have yet to attend their conference. I plan on attending for the first time in September, and I’ve heard nothing but positive feedback about the fellowship, workshops, etc. to be experienced at this conference. Based on others’ recommendations, I’d highly suggest attending this conference. After I attend, I plan on blogging about my experience at my first ACFW conference.

Another conference that I’ll be attending shortly is the Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference:

http://www.writehisanswer.com/Philadelphia/

I’ve never attended this conference, either. However, the brochures, and the information on the internet, make this conference seem to be worthwhile. I’ll be blogging about my experiences at this conference, also.

I will be posting other conference tips periodically throughout the next couple of months.

Until next time,
Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com
www.blackchristianfiction.com