IN THIS ISSUE:
My monthly column update
Book Happenings
Q & A Time


Happy Independence Day!

Has it been only 227 years since the first Fourth of July? You start to wonder if Great Britain feels rejected and longs to take us back. (Probably not.) But rejection can really hurt. (See this month’s question and answer section.) What’s this got to do with our national holiday? Not much! It’s just my attempt to segue into this month’s Every Day Is Mother’s Day column topic. You ever wonder what it takes to become a “best-selling novelist”? Read on and find out how showing off your lingerie in public can go a long way toward achieving your writing goals!

Every Day Is Mother’s Day for July: “Taking the Madonna Route” now online at:
http://pages.sbcglobal.net/cynthianna/momsday_index.html
(You may have to copy and paste the above URL into your web browser to get it to work.)

And, as always, I appreciate your feedback.

“I think that you are an exceptional writer. Keep up the good work.” Debi

Thanks for the compliment, Debi. Are you interested in become my press agent by chance? ;-)

One of my other writing “hats” is writing the occasional book review for Fearless Book Reviews (www.fearlessbooks.com/reviews). I even get the occasional “fan mail” for a book review I’ve written, too:

“I wanted to write and thank you for the review you did of A Tree on Turtle Island. It's so rewarding for a writer to have an insightful and appreciative reviewer. Again, thanks, and best regards to you.”
Sheila Seclearr
http://www.atreeonturtleisland.com

Thanks, Sheila. If you enjoy a “literary time travel” novel that makes some interesting parallels from 18th century America to today’s society, check out Sheila’s book.

“Thank you very much for your review of my book The Princess and the Pekinese at Fearless Reviews! I really appreciate your having reviewed the book in such a thoughtful and enthusiastic way. Anyway, thank you again for your wonderful review, and we wish you the best of luck on your writing career.”

Best wishes!
Trisha A. Howell
www.howellcanyonpress.com

Thanks, Trisha. If you love “dog tales” featuring adorable Pekinese pups, check out Trisha’s web site and her book, The Princess and the Pekinese.


~~BOOK HAPPENINGS~~

I know “rejection” is sort of the theme of this month’s column/newsletter question, but I’m grateful that I haven’t received any major rejections of my myriad of manuscripts bouncing around in editorial-land. At least not yet. In fact, I finished my non-fiction manuscript adaptation of my writing talk, “The Curse of the Manuscript-Eating Slush Pile Monster” and queried a couple of publishers. They both wrote back within days and said to send it on in.

Of course, this doesn’t mean either editor will buy my book, but you have to risk rejection to get one step closer to a sale. I figured either the editors both loved my book’s idea or I write one heck of a persuasive query letter! This has inspired me to come up with the title for my next non-fiction guide/talk, “The Attack of the Killer Query Letter (or how you too can lure an unsuspecting editor into begging for your manuscript).” Catchy, huh? :-)

Another “killer query” got a fiction editor interested enough to request another one of my contemporary romance manuscripts entitled, PREACHIN’TO THE CHOIR. The fate of this manuscript should hopefully materialize by summer’s end. I wish I could say the same for my book BEAUTIFUL DREAMER, but, alas, I cannot. As of July 2003 it has been fifteen months and counting as BEAUTIFUL DREAMER sits “on an editor’s desk” at Dorchester/Leisure Books. Maybe one of the editorial assistants will take my manuscript to the beach to read over the Fourth of July weekend and get back to me soon? We can only hope.

Luckily, people are still reading my two contemporary romance novels currently in print. Here are a couple of quotes from the latest reviews from The Romance Studio (http://theromancestudio.com/reviews.php):

“Cynthianna Appel’s The Fixer-Uppers leads the reader through an uplifting dose of what real life could be like. Her sort of real life is laced with humor, old pain, hope, new and recurring issues, love, families that pass along expectations through the generations, and friendship. Somehow the happy ending feels just right.” -Chas Ridley for for The Romance Studio

THE FIXER-UPPERS (ISBN 1-59088-984-3)
Wings ePress http://www.wings-press.com
(trade paperback and electronic editions)

“How would Dave ever find a secure place in Ronnie’s heart? How would Ronnie ever find the courage to admit even to herself that she loved Dave? Cynthianna Appel’s Country Boy, City Girl answers those questions and more within the context of a friendly country neighborhood.”— Chas Ridley for The Romance Studio

COUNTRY BOY, CITY GIRL (ISBN 1-58851-918-X)
Publish America Inc. http://www.publishamerica.com
(trade paperback edition—available at Amazon.com, BN.com, Wal-Mart.com and other online booksellers. Electronic formats available at Wings ePress.)

Now, it’s time for everybody’s favorite—

~~Q & A TIME~~

Q: If a person has received about fifty photocopied “standard rejection letter” replies from agents and editors saying that “your work doesn’t fit our current needs” does that mean he simply can’t write and should give up?

A: Only fifty rejections? That’s a pretty good start. I’d safely say he’s got at least another 10,000 or more to go before he really should be concerned.

But if this person is into writing for “the money” or “the instant fame”, then, yes, it’s time for him to hang up his spurs. He’s going to find himself disappointed—repeatedly—even if he does manage to attract the eye of an agent or editor one day. A writer should never approach writing as a method to receive “positive reinforcement” from strangers to boost one’s ego. Uh-uh. It’ll never happen. You gotta write cause you love it and can’t stop yourself no matter how crazy people think you are. So, tell this person to re-think his motives for writing. If he decides he can’t think of NOT writing ever again, then he’s the genuine article whether or not he ever gets a publishing professional to agree with his assessment of his talent or not.

In the meantime, this writer should try to learn more about the art and business of writing from his rejections. Perhaps the editor/agent is genuine when he/she says “your work doesn’t fit our current needs”. Many times publishing houses are flooded with “clones” of successful books all at once, and they can’t possibly publish all of them no matter how well written a particular manuscript may be. Take the current interest in fantasy fiction courtesy of a couple of blockbuster Hollywood adaptations of “The Lord of the Rings” and the “Harry Potter” series. Just how many fantasy manuscripts involving boy wizards and elves and magic are coming across your typical fantasy editor’s desk nowadays? Make a wild guess then double it. You can see why editors have to send out those photocopied standard rejection letters sometimes, can’t you?

My advice to all struggling writers is to continue studying the markets and search for a closer “match” in both the timing and the place where you submit your book manuscript. And continue to read, study and become involved with a local and/or online writing group. The more you polish your prose—and your approach to publishing professionals—the more likely you are to receive “the big call” someday.

More about manuscript submission “dos and don’ts” can be found in my talk, “The Curse of the Manuscript-Eating Slush Pile Monster”. Feel free to e-mail me if you’re interested in having me come speak to your writing group sometime.

In the meantime, if you have a question--any question, related to writing, publishing or whatever--email me at cynthianna@hotmail.com.(Do not hit "reply" to this newsletter--your email will bounce.) Results guaranteed or double your money back. ;-)

**Editor’s note: My Writing Tips page containing questions and answers from previous newsletters has been updated. Check it out online at: http://pages.sbcglobal.net/cynthianna/writingtips.html

Until next time, have a great Independence Day weekend and mid-summer. (And a Happy Canada Day to all our friends north of the border.)


God bless!
Cindy
(a.k.a. Cynthianna Appel)
My web site: http://pages.sbcglobal.net/cynthianna

P.S. Feel free to forward this newsletter on to an email friend or ten. You'll be glad you did. (But if you do forward this, please forward the entire contents and not just bits and pieces. Thank you.)