When One Thing Leads to Another by Judy Penz Sheluk

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I’m delighted to welcome Judy Penz Sheluk as my guest to talk about her new release: Finding Your Path to Publication: A Step-by-Step Guide. Because I’ve loved her two fiction series: The Glass Dolphin mysteries and the Marketville mysteries, I know this will be a valuable non-fiction tool for writers. See you next month!  —Debra H. Goldstein

When One Thing Leads to Another by Judy Penz Sheluk

I’m new at this. Oh, I don’t mean I’m new to blogging. I’ve been writing a blog for my own website for years, and I was a Stiletto Gang member for a time until life got in the way (thankfully, they invite me back every now and again, for which I am grateful).

I don’t even mean that I’m new to shameless self-promotion, though it never seems to get any easier (I can always hear my mother saying, “never forget where you came from,” “where” in our world being a very humble place).

What I do mean is that I’m not used to blogging about a how-to book. It’s not like I can be cutesy and write this from a character’s point of view or get all authorly and talk about the narrative arc. Hmmm…maybe I can talk about how one thing led to another.

Okay, that’s settled. It all started when I led a NaNoWriMo debriefing in November 2021 at my then-local library. I’ve attempted NaNoWriMo a few times but have never yet completed the 50,000-words-in-a-month challenge. The librarian thought that made me more accessible. I’d tried and “failed,” and yet I was a published author.

What I learned from that event was that the attendees were more interested in how-to get published and publishing options than whether I (or anyone else) had succeeded at NaNoWriMo. That led to the librarian asking if I might be willing to prepare a presentation on the topic. I remembered how much I’d learned since signing my first book contract in 2014, and not all those lessons came easy. In fact, some of them were downright painful.

The presentation—Paving Your Path to Publication—had record attendance, with more questions than time to respond. It also gave me an idea. What if I wrote a book based on it? I’m a total pantser when it comes to writing mystery fiction, but here, at least, I’d have an outline.

After months of research (I knew virtually nothing about social publishing platforms like Wattpad or Hybrid/Assisted publishers, and was surprised at how much I still had to learn about traditional and self-publishing platforms) and vetting every chapter with my front-line editor (also an aspiring author from a very different generation than mine), the result is Finding Your Path to Publication: A Step-by-Step Guide, which released on May 2 in trade paperback, large print, hardcover, and e-book. It’s the sort of book I wish I’d had back when I was starting out, but then again, I wouldn’t be where I am today without experiencing the highs and low of my journey as an author.

After all, one thing almost always leads to another. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Readers: Have you experienced “one thing leading to another” in your life? If so, how’d that work out for you?

 

About Finding Your Path to Publication: The road to publishing is paved with good intentions…and horror stories of authors who had to learn the hard way.

For the emerging author, the publishing world can be overwhelming. You’ve written the book, and you’re ready to share it with the world, but don’t know where to start. Traditional, independent press, hybrid, self-publishing, and online social platforms—all are valid publishing paths. The question is, which one is right for you?

Finding Your Path to Publication is an introduction to an industry that remains a mystery to those on the outside. Learn how each publishing option works, what to expect from the process start to finish, how to identify red flags, and avoid common pitfalls. With statistics, examples, and helpful resources compiled by an industry insider who’s been down a few of these paths, this is your roadmap to decide which path you’d like to explore, and where to begin your author journey.

Available in trade paperback, large print, hardcover, and e-book. Universal buy link: https://books2read.com/FindingYourPathtoPublication

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A former journalist and magazine editor, Judy Penz Sheluk is the bestselling author of two mystery series: The Glass Dolphin Mysteries and Marketville Mysteries, both of which have been published in multiple languages. Her short crime fiction appears in several collections, including the Superior Shores Anthologies, which she also edited. Judy is a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association, Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and Crime Writers of Canada, where she served on the Board of Directors for five years, the final two as Chair. She lives in Northern Ontario. Find her at www.judypenzsheluk.com.

 

New Year’s Resolution: Read a Short Story a Day

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by Paula Gail Benson

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope it has been healthy, comfortable, and prosperous for all.

Barb Goffman

If you are still considering resolutions and have any interest in short story craft, may I suggest a recommendation by well-known, award winning writer and editor Barb Goffman? Why not read a short story a day? Debra H. Goldstein has already made an excellent suggestion to get started: the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime’s latest anthology, Hook, Line, and Sinker. In addition, there are plenty of online and periodic publications to choose from, all featuring outstanding authors. Many of the Sisters in Crime Chapters have organized and released anthologies to showcase their members and give newer authors a chance not only for a writing credit, but also to learn how to promote their work.

Even if you are not interested in writing the short form, seeing how it is put together can help you strengthen skills for longer efforts. With a short story, characters, setting, and mood must be established quickly, in only a few carefully chosen words. It has to be wrapped up concisely, without leaving loose ends or unsatisfied questions. Those elements are important for novellas and novels, too. Figuring out how to develop a story and keep a reader engaged is a primary focus for shorts.

If you are interested in writing short stories, please consider the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable’s Annual Short Story Contest. This year, submissions must include a holiday element, from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day. They must be 2000 words or less and submitted as provided in the description of rules. An entry fee of $15 is required for each submission. The top awards are: First Place, $200 and publication in the Bethlehem Writers Group’s anthology Season’s Readings; Second Place, $100 and publication in the Bethlehem Writers Group’s online quarterly, the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable; and Third Place, $50 and publication in the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable.

Maybe the best news about the contest is that this year’s celebrity judge is Barb Goffman. Here’s a link with an interview where Barb talks about the most appealing aspect of writing short stories, how her careers as a journalist and lawyer have influenced her writing, what some of the most frequent mistakes she sees writers make, and what’s her best advice for submitting to an anthology or contest.

Start you New Year right: reading and writing shorts!

Mystery! Suspense! Thriller!

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When I pitched my first book to a publisher, I described it as a mystery. “Tell me about it,” said the acquisitions editor. After hearing the the storyline, she asked to see the full manuscript and gave me her card.

 Glancing at the card, I noticed that the publisher she represented specialized in romance novels. I repeated that the book I had written was a mystery.

“Sounds like romance is a substantial part of it,” she countered. “Send the manuscript and let us decide.”

Long story short, her company published The Body Business as a Romantic Suspense novel. Thus began my initiation into the wacky world of genre madness and the marketing issues that plagued the book for the duration of the publishing contract.

Fast forward to the day the contract ended. At last, I had more control over how, when, and where the book was advertised.

Thankfully, the new edition took off and led to the launch of the Samantha Newman Mystery Series. As published authors know, trying to slide your novel into the perfect preset niche that book retailers and other marketers require can be daunting. My books tend to cross genres, so picking a single category was like aiming a fistful of darts at one teeny tiny target and hoping the right dart would hit the bullseye.

Mystery? Thriller? Suspense? Which one suits the stories best?

Here’s a simple way to differentiate them according to best-selling, multi-award winning author Hank Phillippi Ryan: “I always think a mystery is ‘who-done-it?’ A thriller is ‘stop it before it happens again.’ And suspense is ‘what’s going on here?’”

These simple guidelines help me define the books in my series, even though each one fits into a different category.

Reviewers describe The Body Business as a “roller-coaster ride” and a “page-turner.” In other words, it reads like a thriller. As for The Body Next Door, some reviewers have called it a cozy. Like a cozy, there’s humor and a quirky character or two, but the absence of cats, crafts, or a charming village could risk the wrath of traditional cozy fans. It’s also been described as “full of suspense,” which is how I wrote it, straight-up.

Romance runs through the series as a subplot, due to my fiercely independent-minded main character, who continues to deflect the happy-ever-after ending romance readers crave. The romance continues into the next book, but the main plot is a true who-done-it.

To label a book as a mystery, suspense novel, or thriller is purely a marketing game. What an author really cares about is that people enjoy reading it. When our readers share a book they really like with their friends, they can describe it however they want.

Readers, do you rely on a bookseller’s categories to choose a book?

Writers, have you struggled with labels, too? Tell us about it.

Gay Yellen is the award-winning author of the Samantha Newman Mystery Series, including The Body Business, The Body Next Door, and the upcoming Body in the News.