Monday, May 19, 2014

Creating Something New Out Of Dust Bunny Manuscripts

It's Monday and a new week begins. Gail Gaymer Martin here, welcoming you to the Love Inspired authors blog.
www.gailgaymermarting.com


With spring finally peeking out all over the nation and finally here in Michigan, I'm excited to see the burst of flowers in my yard and the lovely blossoming trees.  The neighbor's tree is bursting with color and my lilacs (right) are lowering in my backyard.




Yet spring also reminds me of the spring-cleaning my mom did every year. Cobwebs, smudges, new paint, and sparkling windows gave us a new perception of life.  As I began to look back at my many novels tucked inside my files collecting cobwebs, I realized that these books might use a spring cleaning too. They don't have to remain buried. Many traditional novels are becoming hybrid and finding new ways to bring out their books that don't fit the traditional lines. Though I love seeing my novels in stores and sold through direct to  customer services, such as my latest release Rescued By The Firefighter,  if the ideas, book length and format doesn't work for the line you love, then you still have opportunities to share them.



 
But that's not the easiest thing to do. It means reworking old stories to

meet your honed craft after selling many novels, it means hiring a proofreader and editor which is provided by our traditional publisher at no cost, and it means creating a cover idea and paying someone to create it for you. All of these expensive hit the author. The major benefit is having a large group of readers who enjoy your novels. Is it worth it?  I'll let you know.

View at: http://www.gailgaymermartin.com/books/treasures-heart/

1 comment:

itsajungle@gmail.com said...

Cute title. I recall a published author once saying in a speech to a room full of teachers that he had a drawer full of manuscripts that would probably never see the light of day. He said he didn't regret never submitting them for they had served their purpose - to write something else. I have often wondered what stories lie hidden in those drawers. Could they have been reworked or revised or even submitted as they were? I think sometimes we are own worst critics. Or could it be our editors are own critics? Anyways. good for you for having the courage to look into your "drawer of could-haves or should-haves" and rework your stories. Certainly, the passage of time that serves to "cool down" a book can give us a better view of something that we have written. Good luck with the hybrid thing.