Category: HOLD ME Countdown

13 Days To Release Day!

Today I thought it would be fun to have a special celebrity guest star on the blog.

Writing a book is hard, but editing somebody else’s book has to be even harder.  With skill, wit, and infinite patience, the editor can help the writer uncover her true story.  Then she helps her polish it up all nice and pretty so other people can actually understand what in the heck is going on.  In other words, a good editor ROCKS.

I was very, very fortunate because HOLD ME was acquired by a really terrific editor at Carina Press – Rhonda Helms.  Rhonda is great at what she does and is just an all-around wonderful person.  I asked her if she’d mind answering a few questions about editing and Carina Press for the blog today, and she graciously agreed.

Here we go!

1.  How do manuscripts get to your desk?  In other words, how does the Carina Press submission process work?

—Two ways: we have one main inbox where submissions come, and then Angela disperses them to us. Or, authors can send me submissions directly (including my current authors).

2.  What attracts you to a manuscript? What do you think makes a manuscript really work?

—Oy, this is a big question, haha. The biggest thing that draws me to a manuscript would be characters who pull me into their world. We can work on plot issues, but it’s much harder to make a lackluster character shine.

3.  What common mistakes do you see?

—The biggest issues I see are too much info dump (especially at the beginning), characters who are dull or unappealing, or a story that is technically clean but doesn’t have any spark to it. The latter one is the most painful to reject, because I can see it’s clean and well-written, but doesn’t draw me in.

4.  Do you always read the whole manuscript?  Or do you cut your losses after a certain number of pages?

—I start by reading up to the first 3 chapters. If it has me hooked, if I see potential, then I read the rest. But there are times I don’t finish the whole manuscript if it falls apart. Some stories I only make it through the first few pages before rejecting.

5. What’s your favorite part about being an editor?

—Ooooh, one of my fav parts is telling my current authors we want to acquire their manuscripts. Also, I love the content editing process.

6. I know you are also a multi-published author of YA and adult fiction.  Does working as an editor make working on your own fiction harder?

—Oh wow, good question. I’ve learned SO MUCH about writing from being an editor, about characterization, plotting, etc. But the drawback is, I’m really hard on myself. When I draft, I have to give myself permission to let go and write utter crap. I can always go back and revise later.

7.  Carina Press publishes all genres of adult fiction over 15,000 words.  What are you looking for?  Are there any areas where you or Carina would love to see more submissions?

—I love romance, but I acquire in pretty much every genre. For me, strong characters sell the story. I’m not looking for perfection–I’m looking for that spark. I’m happy to work with authors if the story pulls me in. I do have a fondness for steamy romances, futuristics, historicals and genre blends (e.g., western fantasy).

Thank you, Rhonda!  I can’t tell you how much I appreciated you taking the time to answer a few questions.

You can find Rhonda at: http://www.rhondastapleton.com, http://www.rhondaedits.com/, on Facebook and on Twitter.  She’s also in charge of the Carina Press Facebook page. And reading her posts often makes me laugh very loudly.  Which can be a little embarrassing if I’m reading them on my smart phone at the mall.

Rhonda Helms is the author of STUPID CUPID, FLIRTING WITH DISASTER, and PUCKER UP, a trilogy about a teenager who becomes a cupid, using PDA technology to make love matches for her high school. Out now with Simon Pulse! The 3-in-1 version, STRUCK, will be out in December.

She also writes adult romances. SUPER ZERO, a superhero romantic comedy, is available in ebook!

Rhonda works as a freelance editor for Carina Press, Harlequin’s e-publishing imprint, and she freelance edit manuscripts.

15 Days to Release Day!

The day a writer gets “The Call” saying that somebody wants to acquire your book is a day about which many dream.  And if “The Call” is to say that an editor wants to acquire your first book, well, then the future just opens up, does it not?  It does!  When receiving such a call, the writer holds the phone receiver cradled to her cheek while, through eyes drowned with tears, she gazes into a sky filled with rainbows, and moonbeams.

So, here’s how it happened with me.

I had submitted HOLD ME to Carina Press and, after a month or two, I got an email from an editor named Rhonda with a “revise and return” request.  I about lost control of my bladder in excitement.  I had made call-backs!

It took longer than it should have, but I made the changes and resubmitted.  Then I settled back to wait for the ultimate rejection.

I’m a little insecure, okay?

I don’t think it ever really occurred to me that I’d get “The Call.”  When I let myself consider that my book might be accepted, I figured I’d get “The Email.”  Everything else had been handled through email up to this point, so I thought the acceptance would be as well.

So it didn’t dawn on me that I should actually answer my cell phone when it rang one afternoon in the Fall of 2010.  The caller’s number was unfamiliar, and I was at work.  I think there were people in my cubicle talking to me.  Besides, I’d been getting a lot of phone calls offering to lower my interest rates, and I thought it was one of them.  I looked at the incoming call, sneered, and sent the unknown caller directly to voice mail.

I was surprised when I actually got a voice mail message, because those salespeople don’t usually leave one, but I ignored it.

The next morning, I checked my cell phone and saw the voice mail message light.  “Oh, yeah,” I said.  “Maybe I should just delete it.”  Then I thought, “No.  Might as well listen.”

I dialed into voice mail and there was this woman’s voice:  “Hello, this is Angela James from Carina Press…”

What?  I listened to the message again.  Then again.  And every time I listened, it said the same thing.  Angela James, the Senior Editor from Carina Press was calling me to tell me that they wanted to acquire my book, if I was still interested.  She said that she’d sent an email.  I checked, and there was indeed an email saying basically the same thing as the voice mail.  They wanted my book.  They really did.

And then…I screamed.  And almost lost control of my bladder.

Yes, one of the most important moments in a writer’s life.  The first editor offering to acquire my first book.  The moment many writers dream of.

And I sent “The Call” to voice mail.

That’s just the way it goes sometimes.

But I did get to save the message and listen to it over and over again.

18  Days to Release Day!

First let’s do the important stuff.  Who won the Amazon gift certificate?

I chose the name in a very scientific manner.  I had 12 comments – remember it didn’t matter if your answers were right or wrong, anybody who commented was entered to win.  Anyway, I wrote everyone’s name on a piece of paper, crumbled them all up, shook them well, and had the name drawn by a non-participant (all stages of the process were documented).

And the winner is:

Cristina Genna!

Congratulations Cristina!  Send an email to betsy AT betsyhorvath DOT com to claim your prize (and let me know the email address where it should be sent). Many thanks to everyone for playing, and I hope you all had a good time.

Okay, now on the answers to our quiz.

1. When was the FBI founded?

A – 1908

B 1929

C 1935

The FBI was originally called the Bureau of Investigation and was founded in 1908 during the presidency of William Howard Taft.

2. The FBI motto is:

A First, Best, and Invincible

B Deal Fairly, Bear Witness, and Investigate

C – Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity

The motto is on the FBI shield logo

3. How many field and satellite offices does the FBI have?

A 50 field offices, 420 satellite offices

B – 56 field offices, 400 satellite offices

C 60 field offices, 450 satellite offices

There are also some foreign liaison offices, but I didn’t count those

4. How many FBI Special Agents are there?

A 11,000-12,999

B – 13,000-14,999

C 15,000-16,999

There are currently 13,948 FBI special agents (not as many as you’d expect)

5. How many FBI Special Agents are women?

A – over 2000

B over 2500

C over 3000

A vast improvement, but perhaps there should be more.

6. When was the first female FBI Special Agent hired?

A – 1910

B 1945

C 1972

 The first female agent was Emma Jentzler.  Now that I look at the reference again, it says “1910’s”, and it sounds like she was employed around 1917.  Her husband was a special agent as well.

7. How many female agents were employed at the FBI when J. Edgar Hoover died?

A 25

B 10

C – 0

Yeah, there’s a shocker.  Apparently there were three female Special Agents at the Bureau when Hoover took control in 1924.  He forced two of them to resign immediately.  The third resigned in 1928.  After that there were no female Special Agents until after Hoover’s death in 1972.

So there you go!  Some fun facts about the FBI to share with friends and loved ones.  Thank you all for playing, and I hope you had some fun.  And once again – CONGRATULATIONS CRISTINA!

Here are references for the answers in the quiz:

• Simoene, John and David Jacobs, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the FBI, Alpha, 2003
• http://www.fbijobs.gov
• http://www.quora.com/How-many-FBI-Special-Agents-are-there
• http://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2008/12/early-women-in-fbi-some-notes.html

20 Days to Release Day!

Today on the countdown we’re going to see how much you know about the FBI.   Luc Vasco, the hero of HOLD ME, is an FBI Special Agent. Since his work gets him and Katie into a lot of trouble, it’s only fair that we learn a little bit about the history of the agency that employs him.

I’m going to give you some multiple choice questions.  Give me a list of your answers in the comments below. And, just to make it more fun, I’ll pick a random commenter to win a $25 Amazon gift certificate.  All comments received before noon (EST) on Thursday 8/18/11 will be entered, not just the ones with the correct answers.  Yeah, I’m easy.  Besides that gets me off the hook if I have faulty information. 😉

So, okay. Here we go!

1.  When was the FBI founded?

A     1908

B     1929

C     1935

2.  The FBI motto is:

A     First, Best, and Invincible

B      Deal Fairly, Bear Witness, and Investigate

C     Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity

3.  How many field and satellite offices does the FBI have?

A     50 field offices, 420 satellite offices

B     56 field offices, 400 satellite offices

C     60 field offices, 450 satellite offices

4.  How many FBI Special Agents are there?

A     11,000-12,999

B     13,000-14,999

C     15,000-16,999

5.  How many FBI Special Agents are women?

A     over 2000

B     over 2500

C     over 3000

6.  When was the first female FBI Special Agent hired?

A     1910

B     1945

C     1972

7.   How many female agents were employed at the FBI when J. Edgar Hoover died?

A     25

B     10

C      0

Okay, the challenge is on!  Leave a comment and let me know what you think.  I’ll tell you the answers and the winner of the $25 gift certificate on Thursday.  Remember – everyone who comments before noon (EST) on Thursday 8/18/11 will be entered to win, even if they don’t have the correct answers.  That’s just the kind of girl I am.

And if nobody comments, I’ll just keep the gift certificate myself and go shopping.  Win! 😀