That Magic Moment (when your setting comes to life)

By Elizabeth Ludwig

I’ve always dreamed of traveling to New York City. Ever since I set my Historical Romances there—Edge of Freedom Series (Bethany House Publishers)—I’ve imagined what it must have been like to walk the streets a hundred years ago, to see the ships sail into the harbor and witness the eager faces of the people as they stepped into America from Ellis Island. Alas, life intervened, and the trip I’d thought to take was pushed to the back burner.

The desire to travel to the places I wrote about stayed with me, however, which is why I was so excited when my husband offered me the chance of a lifetime…the chance to choose where I wanted to go on vacation. Anywhere. Just the two of us. A second honeymoon, of sorts.

While I appreciated the offer, I really couldn’t believe that my hubby was going to let me choose our destination with entirely no input from him.

“I get to pick?” I asked, a trifle skeptically. “Anywhere at all?”

“Absolutely,” he said. “Anywhere you want to go.”

With a broad spectrum of places to choose from spread out before me, I found I didn’t even hesitate. I knew where I wanted to go. I was writing about it in my newest series.

“I want to go to Sugarcreek, Ohio,” I said.

My husband stared back at me unblinking. “You want to go…where is Sugarcreek, Ohio?”

I have to laugh, thinking back on the expression on his face as I write this. For those who aren’t familiar with it (like my poor hubby), Sugarcreek lies in the heart of Amish country. It’s nestled amidst rolling hills and acres of farmland…basically it’s about as far away socially from New York City as you can get, but I was determined to see it and experience for myself the sights and sounds and people I’d only written about.

And so, with surprisingly little argument from my husband, we packed our suitcases and headed north to the Carlisle Inn, a gracious little gem perched on the outskirts of Sugarcreek. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend you visit. It was by far the most beautiful, restful place we’ve ever stayed, and the staff were both friendly and accommodating.

Carlisle Inn

Once in Sugarcreek, my husband and I picked up a handful of maps and set off to discover what there was to do in Amish country on a Sunday afternoon. Don’t laugh…we actually found the drive through the acres and acres of carefully maintained farmland to be quite enjoyable and relaxing! More importantly, I got to see with my own eyes the things my character, Cheryl Cooper, saw when she first came to Sugarcreek in my book Where Hope Dwells.

Afterward, my husband and I popped into Park Street Pizza for a delectable bite of their famous Rueben Pizza—the same pizza Cheryl nibbled on with her date, Levi Miller, in At Home in Sugarcreek. I have to admit, I probably looked pretty silly gawking about the place, imagining where my characters sat, what they said, who they saw. I was also honored to do a book signing at the Honey Bee Café, another one of Cheryl’s favorite places to eat. It was all quite surreal, and very much a dream come true for this author gal.

Of course, I couldn’t leave Ohio without snapping a picture against the giant billboard that first welcomed me—and Cheryl—to Sugarcreek. It will forever serve as a reminder of that magical moment when the places I’d written about sprang to life, and when I could, however briefly, step into the pages of my very own books. I hope you’ll join me there!

Elizabeth Ludwig is the author of No Safe Harbor and Dark Road Home, books one and two in the popular Edge of Freedom series. Book three in the series, Tide and Tempest, was recently named a finalist for the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence. Elizabeth was also named a finalist in the 2015 Selah Awards for her novella “One Holy Night”, part of the bestselling anthology collection, Christmas Comes to Bethlehem, Maine. Currently, she is working on a series called the Sugarcreek Amish Mysteries available from Guideposts. She is an accomplished speaker and teacher, often attending conferences and seminars where she lectures on editing for fiction writers, crafting effective novel proposals, and conducting successful editor/agent interviews. Along with her husband and children, she makes her home in the great state of Texas. To learn more, visit ElizabethLudwig.com.

Read More

Understanding Work-for-Hire

By Elizabeth Ludwig

I started a new project last year…one that I have been fairly quiet about as I learned the ins-and-outs of the subject I was about to tackle. You see, for the first time in my career, I was undertaking an Amish cozy mystery (see below for a preview of my new book cover!). And it was a work-made-for-hire project for Guideposts. Two things I had never before done! God has certainly been stretching my boundaries and making me see beyond what I thought was possible. 

But what exactly is a work-made-for-hire, and why did I agree to do it?

Weighing Work-for-Hire

A work-made-for-hire (sometimes abbreviated as work for hire or WFH) basically just means that the author agrees to create a work as part of their job and that both the author and the company they are writing for agree in writing to the WFH designation. The author does not own the work, but is contractually obligated to submit the work on the same basis as they would any other standard publishing agreement.

I should also note that in standard publishing agreements, the person who actually creates a work is the legally recognized author of that work. According to copyright law in the United States and certain other copyright jurisdictions, if a work is "made for hire", the employer—not the employee—is considered the legal author.

Confused yet?

Where Hope Dwells, 2015

So then, what are the benefits to WFH? I admit, there is some disagreement over this. For me, the benefits were simply signing on to work for a major publishing house and everything that entails, IE: access to marketing, promotion, readership, networking, etc. It also enabled me to expand my publishing credentials, earn valuable writing experience, and finally, to “get my foot in the door with an attractive publisher”, for lack of better explanation. All of these swayed me in favor of the idea of a WFH project.

 Others would disagree and say that they are not willing to give up ownership of a created work, especially if they were not going to get credit for the work by having their name printed on the cover (which can also happen, but didn’t in my case).

Both views are arguably correct. I suppose the bottom line would have to lie in the heart of the author and what they are attempting to achieve. What do you think? Is a work-made-for-hire something you would ever consider? I’d love to hear what you think! 

 

-->

Elizabeth Ludwig is the bestselling author of Christmas Comes to Bethlehem, Maine and the highly successful Edge of Freedom series from Bethany House Publishers. Her popular literary blog, The Borrowed Book, enjoys a wide readership. Elizabeth is an accomplished speaker and teacher, often attending conferences and seminars where she lectures on editing for fiction writers, crafting effective novel proposals, and conducting successful editor/agent interviews. Along with her husband and children, she makes her home in the great state of Texas. To learn more, visit ElizabethLudwig.com.

Read More

Overcoming Health Issues for Amish Aliens

Now that's a headline I've always wanted to write! And the coolest thing of all is that I didn't have to make it up. Really. Read on...

Author Marlayne Giron is a prize fighter. She duked it out with a chronic illness and gained the achievement of publishing 3 books. Here's her story:

I suffered with increasingly severe ulcerative colitis beginning in 1984 and culminating with surgery in 1988. It was a very debilitating disease which, had I not had my colon removed; would surely have resulted in colon cancer a few years down the road. My hospital stay was to have been only 10 days but due to an obstruction (that could have killed me) I ended up having a 2^nd surgery and was in the hospital for a total of 30.

I began writing my first book, The Victor, in 1981 on a typewriter and got it onto computer somewhere in the mid 1980s. Because of my illness, surgery, then infertility and eventual adoption of my only child, I shelved all my dreams of ever seeing it published for a good 15 years until 2007, when I picked it up again and submitted it to a publisher. The Victor was released almost 30 years later during Holy Week of 2009; a very appropriate date when you take into account that The Victor is a medieval retelling of the Gospel.

And after The Victor, you took the Amish craze to the next level—Amish science fiction. Tell us about your latest release In Plain Sight.

I was challenged by my agent to write Amish fiction. Being from Southern California; my experience with Amish folk has been limited to visiting Lancaster County, PA as a tourist three times and owning an Amish quilt. I wanted to do something completely different and got the idea from a Writer’s Conference workshop where an editor was talking about the “buggy and bonnet” fans and how he would be more interested in speculative fiction that featured “Amish vampires from outer space”. Of course he was saying this tongue in cheek but when it came time to write my Amish novel; I thought, why not? I wrote the back teaser first which gave me the “seed” for my storyline and then just started typing. What I didn’t figure on was the “spiritual inspiration” I would get for the plot halfway through; resulting in quite a surprise for the reader on the last page (no peeking!).

The plot basically centers around two brothers who come from another world to Lancaster County, PA, on their own version of Rumspringa. One of them, Seth, falls in love with an Amish girl, Rebecca, and she with him. There are three ongoing conflicts: 1) the conflict between the family and their Amish community because of the weird things they do; 2) the conflict with the outside world in the form of a female reporter who is investigating leads in the belief that aliens are hiding “in plain sight” in Bird’In-Hand, bringing unwanted attention from the Englisch press; and 3) the conflict between Rebecca and Seth when she discovers too late that he and his brother have no real concept or “need” for a savior where they come from and are not really “Christian”. As the story progresses, Seth’s overwhelming feelings for Rebecca put at risk his entire world for if he chooses love for her over his obedience to their king; he will be the first to “fall”.

As the eyes of the world are drawn by the strange phenomenon, the peacefulness of the Amish community is threatened by the queries of a reporter, Jessica Lynch, who believes she has stumbled upon the "scoop" of the century.

Marketing-wise, what’s worked for you and what hasn’t?

Advertising sure hasn’t. I’ve wasted a good chunk of money on that. Word of mouth and also social networking are really the only things that seem to work. I have also had a lot of success in building interest through the book trailer I created for In Plain Sight. It’s short but it leaves you with a tease that makes you want to know more.

You’ve published with Tate and CreateSpace. How have your experiences been? What are your thoughts on self-publishing versus a traditional big house?

So far I can’t compare my experience with a traditional publishing house because none of my books have been published by one. It is easier to get book signings because of The Victor having been published through Tate but I still have to do the bulk of all my own promotion, marketing, social networking, etc., and pay for all my own expenses.

Parting inspiration for wannabe authors?

If you get an idea, write it! Don’t give up after just a few chapters. Just try to get it all down on paper first no matter how mediocre you think it might be then go back over it and fine-tune it over and over until you’re happy with the end product!

Thanks for rocketeering with us today, Marlayne. And don't forget to follow Marlayne on her blog.

Read More