My Exciting Good News!

[Austruck]

I'm not sure how long this newsy item will stay on the web site, but I found out last week that my second novel, Do-It-Yourself Widow, placed in the top 3 runners-up in Operation First Book, sponsored by Jerry Jenkins' Christian Writers Guild.

Here is part of the email I got from Andy Scheer, managing editor:

Dear Ms. Parker:

I apologize for my delay in notifying you of the results of Operation First Book. Congratulations for Do-it-Yourself Widow finishing as one of four finalists out of more than 100 fiction entries! (Jerry [Jenkins] mentioned in one of our Thick-skinned Manuscript Clinics that your title was his favorite of all of them.)

You have shown tremendous promise. Some publishers have expressed an interest in seeing the work of the top finishers, so we’ll keep you posted should that occur. You are, of course, now free to submit Do-it-Yourself Widow for publication, and mentioning it was a contest finalist can’t hurt. . . .

--------

Go here for the link to the news story on their web site:

Operation First Book results (http://www.christianwritersguild.com/News%20&%20Events.asp)

So, this month I'm editing the manuscript (believe it or not, it was a FIRST DRAFT that I barely proofread before sending in!), and getting it ready to send off to various agents.

I just had to brag here. You know ... so you guys can say you knew me when... *koff*

Linda

[ash_is_the_gal]

I'm not sure how long this newsy item will stay on the web site, but I found out last week that my second novel, Do-It-Yourself Widow, placed in the top 3 runners-up in Operation First Book, sponsored by Jerry Jenkins' Christian Writers Guild.

Here is part of the email I got from Andy Scheer, managing editor:

Dear Ms. Parker:

I apologize for my delay in notifying you of the results of Operation First Book. Congratulations for Do-it-Yourself Widow finishing as one of four finalists out of more than 100 fiction entries! (Jerry [Jenkins] mentioned in one of our Thick-skinned Manuscript Clinics that your title was his favorite of all of them.)

You have shown tremendous promise. Some publishers have expressed an interest in seeing the work of the top finishers, so we’ll keep you posted should that occur. You are, of course, now free to submit Do-it-Yourself Widow for publication, and mentioning it was a contest finalist can’t hurt. . . .

--------

Go here for the link to the news story on their web site:

Operation First Book results (http://www.christianwritersguild.com/News%20&%20Events.asp)

So, this month I'm editing the manuscript (believe it or not, it was a FIRST DRAFT that I barely proofread before sending in!), and getting it ready to send off to various agents.

I just had to brag here. You know ... so you guys can say you knew me when... *koff*

Linda

oh my gosh! that is so neat...you must be so excited! congratulations....see i knew i wanted to get to know you better ;)

[Sexy Celebrity]

Oooooh, congratulations. Yeah, that's a very catchy title. I can see the book published already.

[Golgot]

Nice one Ausy :) Congratulations :yup:

[thmilin]

congratumalations!!!

[Austruck]

SC, HI! Long time, no see! Thanks. The book is about a woman who decides to kill her husband (duh), but then everything goes wrong. :)

Ash! Hey, I'm tryin' to hang around here more. We'll have to bump into each other more often. ;)

Golg -- Me wants kitties!! Me needs kitties!

[Austruck]

thmilin! ith nithe to thee you! :) thankth!

[Austruck]

For what it's worth, is it just me who finds it funny that mega-bestselling author Jerry Jenkins has read my novel ... and I haven't gotten around to reading any of his yet?

:D :D

[chicagofrog]

kudos from this pond here too! :)

[Caitlyn]

Oh wow.... congratulations! That is so cool and I'm looking forward to reading it when it's published... :)


You will autograph won’t you? :D

[speedbump]

Congrats - very impressive!

[7thson]

You must be excited, shoot I am excited for you.:) Very glad to see you having success in one of the toughest markets. It is almost impossible to even get a foot in the door. Hope you make it big...What was your name again?

;) :p

[Sleezy]

Many congrats! :yup:

[Eyes]

congratumalations!!!

ditto... or something to that effect :D ;)

[ash_is_the_gal]

i'm going to check it out when i get home from work....:)

[Sexy Celebrity]

SC, HI! Long time, no see! Thanks. The book is about a woman who decides to kill her husband (duh), but then everything goes wrong. :)

I'm stupid... I actually didn't even think it would be about that. But I didnt try to guess the plot at all. I wanna read it and find out how she tries to kill her husband. It sounds like a black comedy, but then I'm guessing there's also this religious theme going on as well since it was for a Christian Writer's Guild contest?

[adidasss]

I'm not sure how long this newsy item will stay on the web site, but I found out last week that my second novel, Do-It-Yourself Widow, placed in the top 3 runners-up in Operation First Book, sponsored by Jerry Jenkins' Christian Writers Guild.

Here is part of the email I got from Andy Scheer, managing editor:

Dear Ms. Parker:

I apologize for my delay in notifying you of the results of Operation First Book. Congratulations for Do-it-Yourself Widow finishing as one of four finalists out of more than 100 fiction entries! (Jerry [Jenkins] mentioned in one of our Thick-skinned Manuscript Clinics that your title was his favorite of all of them.)

You have shown tremendous promise. Some publishers have expressed an interest in seeing the work of the top finishers, so we’ll keep you posted should that occur. You are, of course, now free to submit Do-it-Yourself Widow for publication, and mentioning it was a contest finalist can’t hurt. . . .

--------

Go here for the link to the news story on their web site:

Operation First Book results (http://www.christianwritersguild.com/News%20&%20Events.asp)

So, this month I'm editing the manuscript (believe it or not, it was a FIRST DRAFT that I barely proofread before sending in!), and getting it ready to send off to various agents.

I just had to brag here. You know ... so you guys can say you knew me when... *koff*

Linda
wow, congrats!! and i didn't know proof readers had to proof read their own material?? don't you just do everything right straigh away?being a proof reader and all? proof reader, try saying that 5 times in a row real fast....:)

[Blister]

"congratulations, and celebrations"...........i don't know how the rest of that song goes :goof:

[Eyes]

Hey Austruck, could you attach the book to a post, or is it too big. I'd like to have a read :D

[Golgot]

Golg -- Me wants kitties!! Me needs kitties!

Try this page... (http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41325000/jpg/_41325301_kitten_reading203.jpg) ;)

[Austruck]

Kitties reading a book! YAY! :D

As for attaching/sharing the manuscript ... sorry, but not at this stage. I'm about to start marketing it, so you'll have to wait for the movie. (Ha ha.)

Also, SC, no, no religious theme to speak of. Which could actually be one of the reasons I didn't win, of course. No way Tyndale House would publish a book about a woman out to kill her husband. I'm going to market it to secular publishers first because that's where it would fit best.

And yes, it's a quirky dark comedy. I mean, c'mon ... this is me we're talking about here. :D

[Tacitus]

That's fantastic news! Well done. :D

[Ophelia]

Thats absolutely wonderful! Happy reward reaping!

[SamsoniteDelilah]

Fantastic, Austruck! Congrats!!! :D

[Darth Stujitzu]

Congrats, now if you need a sensitive Scottish Director for the film adapt.......

[Austruck]

I didn't realize Sean Connery did directing. Thanks for the tip. ;)

[Strummer521]

Congratulations. That's quite an accomplishment. Sounds like you're on the way to sucess.

[Piddzilla]

Congratulations, Austruck!!!

[susan]

congrats and good luck with it...can't wait to read it...

[Yoda]

Is it weird to be proud of your mom? :goof:

Yay.

[ash_is_the_gal]

Is it weird to be proud of your mom? :goof:

hell no! I'm proud of my mom all the time and she doesn't even do anything.

[7thson]

Is it weird to be proud of your mom? :goof:

Yay.


Actually it is kinda weird, Moms are for Thanksgiving Dinners and kissing boo boos...oh wait nm GJ MOM!!!! YAY!!!

[Austruck]

Is it weird to be proud of your mom? :goof:

Hell no. I'm proud of your mom ...

:p

[OG-]

Yoda's mom has got it going on...

Someone had to do it and I feel dirty that it was me.

Congrats in the most heartfelt way possible!

[7thson]

Hell no. I'm proud of your mom ...

:p

Me also............Seriously............if it means anything.?.......I am proud of you Chris's Mom. GJ.:)

[Austruck]

Thanks, Grandpa. :) Now let's see if I can swing this thing by an agent and attract any attention.

And why did that sound really filthy? Geez, Og, your post changes everything. Except that I only think of the minivan commercial when I hear that song now. ;)

[adidasss]

Is it weird to be proud of your mom? :goof:

Yay.
confuzzled i am...

[SpoOkY]

Great job Austruck, that's so amazing! :D :D Let us all know when it gets published ok. It sounds like a compelling story; what with the murder-plots and all. congrats

[Sexy Celebrity]

Also, SC, no, no religious theme to speak of. Which could actually be one of the reasons I didn't win, of course. No way Tyndale House would publish a book about a woman out to kill her husband. I'm going to market it to secular publishers first because that's where it would fit best.

You wrote a book - for a Christian Writer's Guild contest - about a woman who goes psycho and decides to kill her husband. You wrote a book about a PROSPECTIVE MURDERESS for a Christian Writer's Guild contest without any Christianity involved in the story and you came in FOURTH PLACE, beating out 96 other people!

:eek: :goof:

Seriously, tell all the agents that you accomplished that amazing feat. That is quite extroardinary. You must be a very gifted writer. The cover of this book should have a photograph of the woman's husband with a bloody knife stabbed through it - and a little sticker in gold on the cover that reads "4th Place In The Christian Writer's Guild Contest". Do-It-Yourself Widow. "The Instructions Are Inside".

[Aniko]

Hell no. I'm proud of your mom ...

:p

And you should be...I'm proud of your mom t...no wait...
...I'm proud of you too Linda.~ :D

Congratulations! You're so awesome. Good luck when you swing it around to an agent. I'm floating many good vibes your way. :)


...
adidasss...Austruck is Yoda's mommy. Is that what you were confused about?

[Sedai]

Wow...Congrats!

[Austruck]

SC, she doesn't go psycho. She's very rational about it. It's a comedy, so that might explain it a bit. The humor is precisely in her plotting and planning and then things going wrong anyway.

As for that "fourth place" comment, I'll have you know the three of us who are runners-up have no numerical placement (no second, third, or fourth). We're just all bunched together as three runners-up. (So there.)

Last time, some of the runners-up were approached by other publishers, and I know Jenkins said that the guy who came in third (they *did* place people in that contest) had a good shot of being published in the secular world. So, apparently I wasn't the first person to enter something not specifically "religious." We were judged on quality of writing, etc., but not necessarily how "Christian" it was.

Honestly? I used the contest deadline to force myself to finish the first draft. That's all. I literally didn't expect to hear anything after that. When my instructor casually asked if that was my name he heard at the winners' ceremony at their conference, I was sure he'd gotten it wrong. Took me nearly a week to find out for sure that he was right.

I hope to start agent-shopping next week. :D

[Sexy Celebrity]

As for that "fourth place" comment, I'll have you know the three of us who are runners-up have no numerical placement (no second, third, or fourth). We're just all bunched together as three runners-up. (So there.)

Sorry, sorry, sorry, all I remembered (didn't go back and reread the first post) was that there was a four somewhere. I figured it was more of a comedy, it's just that the idea of a non-religious book about someone who's planning to kill their husband being a runner up in a Christian writing contest was funny to me, thus my ideas spun off out of orbit. Nothing new.

[Austruck]

I was funnin' wit' ya. It might be better to think of it as a writing contest first, but also then Christian. Their main goal is to get Christian writers out there and to discover new talents, publishable talents.

Now that the novel's no longer under the restriction of the contest, I'll be marketing it to secular publishers first. It'll fit better there.

[Sexy Celebrity]

I was funnin' wit' ya. It might be better to think of it as a writing contest first, but also then Christian. Their main goal is to get Christian writers out there and to discover new talents, publishable talents.

Oh, okay. I don't know much about Christian books and all, but I wouldn't have thought a book dealing with someone who wants to kill somebody would work in such a contest without like a Christian message somewhere. I mean, perhaps you did get a message through in it, but, I dunno, I'd imagine it would have to have... I dunno, church scenes, God talk, Biblical references... something like in Diary Of A Mad Black Woman (which is NOT a good thing to compare your book to, I know - but Madea still rocks) but in that movie, a woman gets some serious revenge on her ex-husband while taking care of him after he's been shot and she does things like throw him into a bathtub real hard, hurts him up real bad like you know she just wanted to kill him, and then in the next scene they're at church, they're singing, a miracle is about to happen, that kind of thing.

[allthatglitters]

I'm not sure how long this newsy item will stay on the web site, but I found out last week that my second novel, Do-It-Yourself Widow, placed in the top 3 runners-up in Operation First Book, sponsored by Jerry Jenkins' Christian Writers Guild.

Here is part of the email I got from Andy Scheer, managing editor:

Dear Ms. Parker:

I apologize for my delay in notifying you of the results of Operation First Book. Congratulations for Do-it-Yourself Widow finishing as one of four finalists out of more than 100 fiction entries! (Jerry [Jenkins] mentioned in one of our Thick-skinned Manuscript Clinics that your title was his favorite of all of them.)

You have shown tremendous promise. Some publishers have expressed an interest in seeing the work of the top finishers, so we’ll keep you posted should that occur. You are, of course, now free to submit Do-it-Yourself Widow for publication, and mentioning it was a contest finalist can’t hurt. . . .

--------

Go here for the link to the news story on their web site:

Operation First Book results (http://www.christianwritersguild.com/News%20&%20Events.asp)

So, this month I'm editing the manuscript (believe it or not, it was a FIRST DRAFT that I barely proofread before sending in!), and getting it ready to send off to various agents.

I just had to brag here. You know ... so you guys can say you knew me when... *koff*

Linda

My mother is part of CWG. She was just recently at the conference in Colorado. ANyways, BIG congratulations. That's a very big thing.

The Christian writer's market is branching out. Frank Perreti writes almost gothic like horror novels, Francine Rivers wrote a book about a prostitute in which the prostitute was the main character and not an object of pity. I personally love the work of Bodie and Brock Theone who wrote a couplw amazing series on Europe before WWII, the Zionist movement and the creation of Israel. The first one si a prequel series called The Ziob Covenant. There's a big move in the market from Elizabeth Elliot's stuff to more contemporary and secular friendly work (which is a good thing).

[Austruck]

Wow, cool. That's the conference where it was announced. My instructor was there and thought he heard my name, and asked me later if I'd placed that high. I didn't have clue what he meant since I wasn't at the conference.

Apparently Jerry Jenkins mentioned my title in one of his Thick-Skinned Critiques as his favorite title of all the entries. :D Yay me.

Is your mom taking one of their courses? I'm at the Journeyman level and my instructor is novelist Doug Hirt.

[Austruck]

Sexy Celeb, I think the message I got through was, "Don't try to kill your husband unless you've seen at least three seasons of CSI."

;)

[allthatglitters]

Wow, cool. That's the conference where it was announced. My instructor was there and thought he heard my name, and asked me later if I'd placed that high. I didn't have clue what he meant since I wasn't at the conference.

Apparently Jerry Jenkins mentioned my title in one of his Thick-Skinned Critiques as his favorite title of all the entries. :D Yay me.

Is your mom taking one of their courses? I'm at the Journeyman level and my instructor is novelist Doug Hirt.

My mother has been doing the course for a while, about two and half years. She's very busy, raising four children and all that jazz. Her mentor is John Perrodin ( I am pretty sure,I'd have to go check our christmas cards)

[Austruck]

I agree with what you added above, ATG. I'm still going to market this piece in the secular market, though, because I think it fits there better. But the other two novels I'm working on would fit better in the Christian market. My dilemma is agents. I will probably start with secular agents and see how that goes.

Yes, John Perrodin is a mentor there, so unless you'd have heard his name for other reasons, he's probably your mom's mentor.

[allthatglitters]

I agree with what you added above, ATG. I'm still going to market this piece in the secular market, though, because I think it fits there better. But the other two novels I'm working on would fit better in the Christian market. My dilemma is agents. I will probably start with secular agents and see how that goes.

Yes, John Perrodin is a mentor there, so unless you'd have heard his name for other reasons, he's probably your mom's mentor.

Yeah I checked. Agents are difficult, especially when there is the possibility for cross-marketing in the future. I'll look forward to buying your book though!

[Austruck]

One thing I learned was that, if I want to eventually publish in the secular market, it's better to *start* there. It's apparently harder to start in the Christian market and then find success in the secular, than it is to start secular and meander into the Christian market.

Which is another reason I'm starting my agent search in the secular side. I've started jotting down names and should start my research in the next few weeks. First, though, I have to get this novel tidied up a bit. It's a mess. ;)