Welcome, ELF. What is your preferred beverage?
Pineapple Crush (which I can never find any longer, so I settle on Sunkist Orange soda.
No problem with the Camper fridge. Like Aladdin’s Lamp I’ll give a rub and make a wish…Here you go. One frosty Pineapple Crush. While I pour, why don’t you tell us about either your camping or favorite vaycay.
I’m definitely NOT a camper. I’m not sure I’d even be comfortable in an RV since I have mild claustrophobia. My favorite vacation was to Kauai, Hawaii, where I got to revel in the beautiful ocean views as well as savor all of the beautiful vegetation.
My camper has as much footage as a NYC apartment. Well maybe you would be claustrophobic. That’s really not a good comparison. Tell us about your your work.
I’m an editor as well as a reviewer, so I am usually reading four or five books at a time. I tend to push aside my favorite recreational books while I work on projects, but one positive thing about the pandemic has been my taking the time to get reacquaintanted with some of my favorite series (thank goodness for libraries that have extensive e-book collections).
In my imagination, if I was the only person left on earth, the Library is where I would live. Since you’re an editor, what would you like authors to know? How can they become better writers?
I think that authors need to analyze what they liked most about their favorite books and figure out how that was achieved. Great tension? Camaraderie? Quirky characters? Suspense?
One of the things I think that is most important to remember is that readers love to feel smart. We love to figure out things…whether that is solving a mystery, understanding why characters act the way they do, predicting how some sticky situation is going to turn out. It’s important to TRICKLE in details, not overwhelm the reader with all of the great facts you have learned in your research. Yes, there are intriguing details that the author should share with the reader, but in-depth information should probably be saved for a newsletter, a bonus material offering, a Pinterest or Tik-Tok page.
Oh, that’s great advice. Are there any resources you recommend?
I love browsing through the “Emotion Thesaurus” (when I remember, lol), and I just picked up “The Emotional Wound Thesaurus” because it was on sale. I subscribe to multiple newsletters that have articles on writing, and I refresh my knowledge or learn new techniques.
I always have my copy of the Emotion Thesaurus handy. It’s a great resource. I’m going to add the web links to both 2seasagency.com/writing-coach-becca-puglisi/ and www.scbwi.org/speakers/angela-ackerman so anyone interested can go directly to the sources. What traps or potholes do you think may affect authors from having an ongoing career?
I think that many authors fail to realize that they have to work just as hard at marketing as they do creating and polishing a story. There are so many stories out there that it is hard to just be discovered, and I keep reminding my authors that well-known authors still get out there and publicize their work, even though they have substantial followings.
That is so true. Writing is self satisfying for so many. But, if you want people to read your books, you have to do the leg work. What things do you look for when receiving a submission?
I start out by automatically analyzing the author’s voice and how the query is written. Are there spelling or grammatical errors? Are the format and content complying with the submission guidelines? If the author starts out being careless about the query, what does that say about how much care has been taken with the manuscript? Does the synopsis make sense? Does it tell me everything I need to know about the story? Remember, this is not a blurb to entice the reader to pick up the story, it’s a summary of all of the pertinent info about the story.
Next, does the opening paragraph grab my attention? Is some kind of puzzle presented or a situation described that makes me curious about what is going to happen next? If I start skimming, that means there are either horrendous errors/typos OR info dumping is taking place, and the author has lost my attention.
What is your favorite genre?
Science fiction romance, but I like most subgenres of romance, and I’ve been reading a lot of m/m romance lately.
Do you have a tagline or life motto?
We are who we are because of what we’ve experienced, and if we like who we are today…then what’s the point of crying over past events?
So true. Who are your inspirations? Or would you like to give a shout-out to anyone?
I love strong, confident women, whether in real life or in fiction.
Now the fun questions
- If you could only choose one song to play every time you walked into a room for the rest of your life, what would it be? The Main Street Electrical Parade theme
- If you could eat anything in the world right now, what would it be? Seafood crepes with bechamel sauce.
- Would you rather have unlimited international first-class tickets or never have to pay for food at restaurants? Unlimited international first-class tickets. There are so many places I figure I will never see, but I sure would like to.
- Did you ever win something? What? I win lots of things, but the most surprising was a trip to Brooklyn, Michigan to see the Nascar races. I figured I must have been trying for the runner-up prize (probably a large television, lol)
- What’s the most amazing natural occurrence you’ve witnessed? The lava caves in Hawaii (although their waterfalls aren’t too shabby!).
ELF, thanks for being part of the Campfire. I’m so glad you joined us to share such great information and give us a chance to know you better. And thanks for all the beautiful pictures from your garden.
thereadingaddict-elf.blogspot.com/
http://musingsbyelf.wordpress.com/ Oh, and look what I’ve got.
