Category Archives: Writing-Related Posts

Tired And Blocked! :-(

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I’m working on a novel now and my mind is blocked…I guess it’s writer’s block. Any suggestions that may help unlock my mind?

Also, I read two really great books recently, but I’m too tired to post about them: A Passion Redeemed by Julie Lessman and Only Uni by Camy Tang. I will post full reviews for both of these soon, but I just don’t have the energy to do that right now. I did enjoy both books, especially Julie’s! Julie’s books are always a joy to read and I understand she has a new series coming in September!

I have a self-imposed deadline to have this book in proposal format by the end of the month. I know it’s weird to say this, but, it’s kind of a blessing that this book is not under contract…if it were, then the pressure of unblocking my mind and getting it done would increase…ten-fold!!

I have a couple of other books that I was supposed to read and review for this blog. I’ve already contacted those authors, letting them know that reading their novels and reviewing their books will have to be placed on hold for awhile until I can complete this project.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Double Rejection! :-(

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I received two emailed rejections yesterday about an hour apart for this project! I’m starting to feel like this book will never have a home! I still have it floating around someplace, so it is still being considered elsewhere. On one of the rejections, the editor stated that she wanted to talk to me because they weren’t interested in publishing Southern Comfort, but, they did want to see some more proposals and she wanted to talk to me about that. She wanted to set up a time so that she could call me. I plan on emailing her back soon. Also, I was very
bummed-out when I received this rejection since my proposal had gone to committee.

Changing the subject, I have jury duty today. I’m so NOT looking forward to that!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Question From A Writer

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Hi, Cecelia,

I am really blessed by your blog…

I recently got a rejection letter from a Christian publisher(who will remain nameless) for a manuscript query. Anyway, is it wise to submit a second query for a different story to the same publisher once you have submitted one that has gotten rejected in the past? Do publishers treat each query individually?
Signed,
A.P.

A.P., you most definitely should submit again! Publishers get so many submissions that they’ll barely remember you…seriously! If all writers stopped at one rejection, never submitting to that same publisher again, then it’d be safe to say that about half of the commercially published books in America would never exist in bookstores!

For both of the publishers that published my titles: Steeple Hill and Barbour, I submitted to these houses several times, over a period of YEARS before I was able to get an offer from them.

So, keep submitting to that publisher! Also, be sure your story fits with the stories that they’re publishing. Can you see your book as part of their line? It’s something else to think about. I know I’ve heard editors state at conferences that the number one reason they reject books is because people submit novels that don’t fit within their guidelines or their lines.

Also, don’t toss that manuscript yet! You need to go fishing…there just might be another publisher out there who thinks your story is perfect for their house! 🙂

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Too Much Back Story

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I’m judging entries for ACFW’s Genesis Contest now. I’ve noticed that some new writers have a terrible problem with putting too much back story in the opening chapters. Remember, it’s best to sprinkle back story throughout the book sparingly…kind of like using salt on food, a little goes a long way. Nobody wants to start a book off by reading a character’s internal thoughts which gives a history of their life! Make something exciting happen, and give back story later, in bits and pieces! 🙂

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Rejected! :-(

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I’ve been going fishing with this project off an on for about a couple of years now. Although the project was not completed initially, I searched for an agent, anyway. I completed it last November and I continued my agent search. I’ve also been able to submit to a few publishing houses (The publishers took agented submissions only, I was able to submit because I’d met the editors at a writers conference). Anyway, I received the rejection from one of the publishers today! Bummer! They said (I’m paraphrasing):
We haven’t had success in presenting stories that have a main character who is blind, so I don’t think we’ll be pursuing this.

But, there’s still hope! I do have it elsewhere, so I just need to wait and hear what they say about the project!

On a lighter note, I did manage to go to the Walmart in Laurel, Maryland and I saw my book on the shelf!


There were two copies! I “sold” both of them. One lady started browsing in the book section shortly before I took my pics. I told her about my book and she said she would purchase it for her sister! She also said she was an aspiring author and she wanted advice about how to seek publication. We talked books, authors, writers organizations, etc. for close to a half hour!
Another woman came into the book section and I boldly told her about my book, presenting it to her from the shelf. She said, “Did you really write this book?”
I said, “Yes!” I flipped to my bio page. “See, that’s my picture right there.”
She said, “That is you!” She asked me to sign the book and she said she would send it to her preacher sister in South Africa.

Am I kooky or what? I think the exhileration of having a book in stores and in Walmart is going to my head! If I have time and energy, I’ll continue to visit stores when possible and take pictures of my book on the shelf! Also, if you have time, and if you’re in Walmart, Barnes And Noble, Family Christian, Borders, or any other bookstore and happen to see my book shelved, I’d appreciate your taking a picture with your camera and e-mailing it to me so that I can share with other blog readers!

One of my Facebook friends took this pic at the Woodland Texas Walmart:

As I promised in an earlier post, I’ll be back to blogging about regular stuff soon. I recently finished Mom’s The Word by Marilynn Griffith, and I’m almost finished with Plain Perfect by Beth Wiseman. I also have The Manual by Sherryle Kiser Jackson in my TBR pile, and I just received This Fine Life by Eva Marie Everson in the mail today (this book has a very appealing cover!).

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Question From A Writer

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Allison wrote to me with the following question. I’ve edited the question for clarity:
I have a story now in my brain and have written it down, first couple of chapters, but how do you know that God is calling you to write? I have experienced one rejection, well two. One agent responded and said I was involoved with an important work, but said she couldn’t take it due to health reasons. This agent is now taking proposals, but I’m not sure if I should submit to her. The other one said no because he thought it would be a hard sell in this market. So he said he was gonna pass. Should I listen to them? What am I doing wrong?

This is an open-ended question that I could answer in a few blog posts. All I can do is speak from my writing experience. I’ve never had an agent, so I’m probably not the best author to ask about advice as far as agents go. I’ve searched for an agent off and on for about two years now, and so far, no represenation.

However, what you really should do, is figure out what type of book you’re writing. If you go into the bookstore, where would you imagine that book shelved? Then, you need to figure out how to approach editors (and perhaps agents) that represent that particular genre.

I’ve read romance novels since I was a teenager. When I was about twenty-eight, I was at my desk at work during my lunch break. I had no romance novels to read, so I started writing a book, and I’ve been writing ever since. I joined Romance Writers of America because I knew I wanted to break into that genre of fiction. I attended local RWA meetings, as well as yearly national conferences. These conferences placed me in front of people who were looking to sign on new authors. Plus, I learned oodles of information from the workshops and I made a ton of friends! Since I’ve gotten married and had a child, I don’t go to conferences as much as I used to, but I still go when I can. Since I write Christian fiction, I now attend the American Christian Fiction Writers conference when I’m able to do so.

I started off writing secular romances, but, I was throwing a message in there without realizing it. If you have time you can listen to this interview to hear more about my publication journey. Just suffice to say that I was rejected more than two times…I was rejected dozens of times, I’m not sure how many rejections I got before I received my first contract but it was a lot. It took five and a half years of attending conferences, workshops and networking before I got a book deal. Even after that first book contract I still had trouble getting other contracts. It’s hard.

I have heard that having a good agent can make things much easier, and that’s why I’ve been searching for one. It’s probably best to look for an agent because in the Christian market, most publishers will no longer look at submissions without your having an agent. I have been able to submit on my own to the few who do take unagented submissions, plus, if I meet an editor at a conference, he/she will usually allow me to submit, even if they only take agented material.

How did I know that God was calling me to write? When I found out about the Christian fiction market, it just felt like something I wanted to do. My love of books and reading has always been strong, and once I knew I wanted to get published, the desire to see my novels in print never went away. I just knew I wanted to do this, and I worked hard at it, having a strong feeling that it was what I needed to do.

You might want to check out this recent post on Literary Agent Chip Macgregor’s blog. Gina Holmes shares her publication journey. She also tells about how she found her literary agent…all I can say after reading it is…it wasn’t easy, and she was persistent!

I hope that answers your question! If anybody else has any other questions about writing or publishing, send them my way! I’ll do my best to respond!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Genesis Contest For Unpublished Authors

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Occasionally, unpublished writers will email me, asking for advice about how to get their novels commercially published. I mention joining a writers’ organization such as ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) or RWA (Romance Writers of America). I also mention entering their manuscript into a contest. This is a great way to gain feedback for your novel. If you place (or win) the contest, you may gain the attention of an agent or an editor.

ACFW recently opened up their Genesis Contest for submissions. This contest is for unpublished Christian fiction writers. I’ve helped to judge this contest for the last few years. If you have a Christian fiction manuscript that you’re trying to get commercially published, then you might want to consider entering the Genesis. Rules and regulations are outlined in the link above!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Release Your Creativity!!!

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I hope all of you had a Merry Christmas! On Christmas Eve, my husband and I were out shopping, looking for a gift for his grandfather. In the mall, I saw a Lego store, so I stopped and went in. Over the years, Legos have changed a lot! When I was a kid, they didn’t have these small kits that only build one thing, like a car or a helicopter. We just had piles of bricks and we’d build houses and buildings, take them apart and put them together again!

Nostalgia swept through me when I saw those same colorful blocks, the way I remembered them, in the back of the store! They had piles of blocks, separated by color, in bins that were set in the wall! You’d see a bubble of color and you could select the bricks you wanted and pay about fifteen dollars for a whole large cup of blocks. I was walking around, looking at the different kits that contained lots of blocks. I finally said, “We should get this for CJ (our son) for Christmas.” Hubby said, “That’s a good idea.”

I stood there looking at kits, blocks, talking about large base plates to build my house before hubby said…”Can we get out of here now?” I finally settled upon a set of Lego bricks in a large, bright blue plastic tub and a green base plate to set my house.

Anyway, on Christmas day, while everybody was opening presents, laughing, having a good time, I was sitting on the floor, playing with my “son’s” gift. He said, “Mommy, I’m going to knock your house over with this car.” (CJ’d gotten a remote control car for Christmas, actually he’d gotten 2 cars.) I was building a nice big house, but, alas, I ran out of bricks! The kit I’d gotten was only about half full of bricks, so there was room for more bricks in the bucket. When we got home from our Christmas trip, I went to Lego.com and ordered another set of bricks. I want to build, build, build…and CJ can help me if he wants too.

CJ did play with the Legos a little bit on Christmas day. You know, I hear about writers doing collages, coloring, painting, doing all sorts of things to release their creativity. I don’t really do the above-mentioned activities very much…maybe building with Legos will help me release my creativity? It doesn’t hurt to try… 🙂

~Cecelia Dowdy~