Creating a Swoon-worthy Leading Man

by Elizabeth Ludwig, @ELudwig_Author

I was in Michigan recently attending the graduation ceremony of a much beloved nephew. While there, I got to see one of nature’s most amazing miracles…the hatching of a robin’s egg. Those little critters sure are ugly when they’re born! Still, there’s something magical about witnessing the struggle and determination this tiny life displays as it pecks and pokes and pries its way free of its shell. Unfortunately, not everyone was happy about my standing by while it happened.

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Feeding Your Readers’ Interests

by Elizabeth Ludwig

My husband and I recently made a trip to Sugarcreek, Ohio, to visit the setting for my latest series of cozy mysteries from Guideposts. One of things I loved about the experience was sampling the authentic Amish cooking. I even found several Amish cookbooks to add to my treasure trove of books. Unfortunately, if you’ve ever used one of these cookbooks, you know that many of the recipes can be very vague—a “pinch” of this, a “smidge” of that. LOL! Apparently, the authors of these recipes assume you know what temperature to bake a pie or exactly how much of each ingredient to add. I assume it’s because many of these dishes have been passed down for generations, and the cooks in the family know exactly how something should taste.

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Making the Most of a Diversion

By Elizabeth Ludwig

I found myself stranded in Bentonville, Arkansas recently, when the plane I was on from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Dallas, Texas, was diverted mid-air, to a tiny regional airport in Northwest Arkansas. Not only was this a little nerve-wracking, it felt a little bit like a “Hotel California” moment, with delay after delay keeping us grounded inside this tiny airport.

You’re singing the song now, aren’t you? Well stop. That’s not the point of this article.

Anyway, I finally decided to go ahead and spend the night in Bentonville and try reaching Dallas the next day. With time—and the keys to a rental car—in my hands, I struck out to see what I could find.

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5 Keys to Finding Your Focus

by Elizabeth Ludwig

My prayer when I first started out on this writing journey was simple—Lord, please help me to get published, and let my words touch someone’s heart.

Oh, how that prayer has changed over time! After my first book contract, I quickly discovered how unpredictable the publishing industry can be (an article for another time). The joy of holding my first published book disintegrated when I learned that the subsequent two books in the series would not be published as had been promised, and I added this line to my prayer—Lord, please help me to get published, and let my words touch someone’s heart, and let there be another contract.

Proving His love and faithfulness, God did provide another contract. I remember celebrating with thanksgiving the upcoming Christmas novella that would allow me to tell the story of my walk into adulthood. But then the book cover came, and I realized that readers would need a microscope to read the teeny-tiny letters of my name beneath the big, bold letters of the lead author, and I added this line to my prayer—Lord, please help me to get published, and let my words touch someone’s heart, and let there be another contract, and someday, Lord, let my name be the prominent one on the cover.

Since then, I’ve added many lines to that first simple prayer. Weights like good sales numbers, positive reviews, and contest awards now encumber what was once a sincere desire. God reminded me of this during a dark period of wrestling with Him over the path I was to follow. I knew I would have to refocus, and that meant developing five keys:

Key #1: Practice loving God. Everything else will follow

 I always thought there should be an eleventh commandment, and it would read something like this—Thou shalt live thy life with thanksgiving and remember the good that God has done. Later, I realized that this was a commandment and it was connected to the first and greatest—Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. (NIV)

Key #2: Do like Facebook and “share”

Hello, my name is Elizabeth Ludwig, and I love facebook. There, I’ve said it. Unfortunately, things like social media, while intended to bring us closer, end up making us rivals. How can we help but be competitive when we’re doing nothing but reading about the successes of others? Still God instructs us to rejoice with those who rejoice, and follows it with a command to mourn with those who mourn. This means taking our eyes off ourselves and focusing on where our friends are.

Key #3: Take up a memorial stone

My writing journey has been filled will all sorts of highs and lows—good reviews followed by bad reviews, new contract followed by poor sales numbers, encouragement followed by discouragement. I realized it was very easy to lose my focus when the only thing I was concentrating on was the lows, but in the back of my mind was a story from the Old Testament. Remember Joshua and his instruction to the Israelites to “take up a stone”? This was to serve as a reminder to the people about God’s intervention in helping them cross the River Jordan, and it can serve as reminder today—about where He has led us and where we have yet to go.

Key #4: Remember God’s plan and cling to it

Writing a book requires quite a bit of time and a whole lot of dedication. On top of the initial commitment, writing something readers will love means pouring a good bit of myself into the work—my pain, the things I’ve learned and lived, even a smidgeon of honesty as I reveal my own personal struggles and vices. When at last the time comes to write “The End”, the finished product can feel very personal—almost like an extension of myself—which is why having a book be unsuccessful can be so excruciatingly painful. Yet God’s word says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (NKJV)

Key #5: Follow God…even if He leads you away from the one thing you thought you couldn’t live without 
Remember this saying? If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. It’s from a poem by an unknown author, and it was brought to mind recently when I was struggling to remember why I even began this writing journey in the first place. Along with all the typical highs and lows, I was facing deadlines, trying to meet promotional and marketing demands, and juggling commitments at home and work. I’m ashamed to admit, this led to an extended period of self-pity, typified by the one question repeated over and over in every situation—why? Well, God had an answer for Job when he asked that question, and He had an answer for me—you didn’t get where you are by yourself. I brought you here, I will lead you on. Follow Me.

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Elizabeth Ludwig is the award-winning author of No Safe Harbor and Dark Road Home, Books One and Two in the popular Edge of Freedom series from Bethany House Publishers. Her 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.

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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.

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My ACFW Conference Take

By Elizabeth Ludwig

I was privileged to attend the 2015 American Christian Fiction Writer’s Conference recently in Dallas, Texas. This is an event that I’ve attended before. In fact, I’ve only missed a couple of conferences since I started writing for publication back in 2002. The math on this one is pretty simple…that’s fourteen conferences over a span of an equal number of years (give or take a year when life got in the way). 

On paper, the conference hasn’t changed much. The focus has always been directed toward teaching aspiring authors the craft of writing and inducting them in the intricate, and often treacherous, world of publishing. To accomplish this, the staff at ACFW do quite a remarkable job of scheduling informative workshops and speakers with a heart for authors. They also put together an impressive list of industry professionals—editors, agents, book reviewers, and media—for authors to meet and talk to about their respective writing projects. 

At one time, this was a very valuable experience. In 2002, as an unpublished, un-agented author with a dozen different writing projects and no clear sense of direction, what ACFW provided was instruction and guidance. Several years later, with thirteen book titles to my name, including a Carol Award Finalist, an ECPA bestseller/SELAH Award Finalist, and a Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence Finalist, I have to admit that the conference no longer holds the same allure. In addition, I honored to say that I am represented by one of the most respected agents in the business. 

ACFW 2015: Beth Adams, Elizabeth Ludwig, Susan Downs

So what is the takeaway for an author in my position? Why would I bother spending the money to go to a conference that I’ve attended at least twelve times before? 

If I’m honest, I struggled to answer that question before arriving in Dallas. I justified the expense with some inane excuses that sounded good but held very little validity. And then, I looked over my schedule. Along with the appointments I remembered, I had signed up to serve as an appointment monitor.

For two hours!

Two hours of doing nothing more than standing outside a door and holding up my hand to signal when the time on a fifteen-minute appointment expired (insert whine here). Two hours of pacing in bored stupor while the workshop I really wanted to attend went on without me and other people went in to speak with people I hoped to meet but now would not be able to…or so I thought. 

What really happened was that I stood outside the door and chatted with a representative from RT Book Reviews for almost all of those two hours. Shortly thereafter, we were joined by a representative from Library Journal who asked about my books, my career, and eventually my publishing history. Please understand…I have never, ever had the chance to rub elbows with such prestigious industry professionals for such an extended length of time. With my very best efforts, I could not have coordinated such an opportunity! 

In addition, I renewed old contacts as I walked editors and agents to their seats, introduced them to their respective appointments, and volunteered my services as timekeeper, hostess, and overall gopher. 

That, my friends, is the takeaway from a conference such as ACFW. It’s not always about the scheduled appointments. Sometimes, it’s about the chance meetings that only God can orchestrate. It’s about the friendships that happen over coffee, and the kinship that comes with shared prayers in crowded hallways. Finally, it’s about stepping out in faith, without an organized agenda but with a heart for service—even if that heart started out whining, and ended up being incredibly and unbelievably blessed. 

Elizabeth Ludwig is the award-winning 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. 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.

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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! 

 

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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.

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What I Wish I’d Known When My First Novel Came Out

By Lisa Wingate

Writing is the ultimate learn-on-the-job career. It’s challenging. It’s demanding. It’s busy. It can be unforgiving and maddening. It can also be unbelievably rewarding and filled with moments of story and human connection that are nothing short of bliss. With my twenty-third book, The Story Keeper, hitting shelves, I can honestly say that my career has been filled with surprises. That’s probably because I knew almost nothing about the business when I started out. If I could, I’d go back and tell myself a few things:

Wingate Book Signing

1. Write because you love it.  I know everyone says that, but it’s true.  If you really want to have a long career, you must figure out how to produce book, after book, while managing promotion, production edits, multiple forms of communication, and life in general. Set a manageable daily page quota or daily writing hours, and hold yourself to it.  One of the hardest things about writing is time management. 

2. Finish your first manuscript and write another.  It’s almost impossible to sell on a partial in fiction if you’re unpublished.  Polish your manuscript and send it out, because as much as we’d like them to, editors won’t come looking in your desk drawer.  While you’re waiting for news, write another book.  If the first one sells, you’ll be set for a two-book deal.  If the first one doesn’t sell, you will have eggs in another basket.  Be tenacious, be a thick-skinned as possible, keep writing while you wait for news.  

3. Rejection stinks, but it happens. Rejection isn’t anything personal; it’s just part of the business, and it’s to be expected.  Your project isn’t bad just because it gets rejected.  It may not be that editor’s (or agent’s) cup of tea, the house might not be buying right then, they may have another author under contract whose work is similar to yours, and so on.  There are so many reasons a book can be rejected, and the real trick is to look at the rejections as a tool and then move on.  Don’t make sweeping changes based on one opinion unless there’s an imminent sale involved.  Conversely, if you receive the same criticism from several editors (or agents), consider pulling out the red pen and getting to work


          

4. You probably won’t hit the NYT immediately. In fact, few writers ever reach this coveted level. Be careful how you measure success. Setting lofty goals is a good thing… right up until you feel like a failure for not achieving them. Myriad factors determine which books get the “perfect storm” of great cover, great market timing, and heavy publisher promotion. Some of it is just luck. Write the very best book you can. Do what you can to promote. Stop obsessing. Write another book.

5. Find your creative tribe. On any given road, you’re never the only traveler.  Others walk in shoes like your own and shoes that are different.  Find them. Critique one another’s work, brainstorm together, give creative criticism, take creative criticism, and learn from one another. Give back more than you get.

6. Cheer for other people. One of the best promotional avenues available to writers today, yesterday, and tomorrow remains cooperative promotion. Find authors whose work is similar to yours. Cross-promote with one another. Cheer one another’s successes, awards, and new releases. Your readers will thank you for the tips and you’ll feel good about doing something positive for someone else. You’ll also have that warm feeling when others do the same for you.

Above all, while you’re walking the writer-road, be aware, be in the moment, don’t close your eyes even for an instant.  You never know when you’re going to turn a corner and find, right in the middle of an ordinary day, the idea for a story. Wherever you go in life, there are always nuggets of story along the trail.  Sometimes you see them coming; sometimes you stumble over them.  Pause long enough to pick them up and examine them.  Your writer's mind can take it from there. A nugget can become an entire goldmine.  That's where the joy is, that's when the magic happens, and there is no magic like the magic of story.

Lisa Wingate

Selected among BOOKLIST'S Top 10 of 2012 and Top 10 of 2013, Lisa Wingate skillfully weaves lyrical writing and unforgettable Southern settings with elements of women's fiction, history, and mystery to create stories that Publisher's Weekly calls "Masterful" and ForeWord Magazine refers to as "Filled with lyrical prose, hope, and healing.” Lisa is a journalist, an inspirational speaker, a reviewer for the New York Journal of Books, and the author of over over twenty novels and countless magazine pieces. 

Tyndale, 2014

 Her books have held positions on many bestseller lists, both in the U.S. and

internationally. She is a seven-time ACFW Carol award nominee, a Christy Award nominee, an Oklahoma Book Award finalist, a Christianity Today Book Award nominee, an Inspy Award nominee, a two-time Carol Award winner, a LORIES Best Fiction Award winner, and a Utah Library Award winner. Recently, the group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa along with Bill Ford, Camille Cosby, and six others, as recipients of the National Civies Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life. Visit Lisa at her website: www.LisaWingate.com.

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A Day in the Life of Author, Melissa Jagears

by Elizabeth Ludwig

Melissa Jagears

Melissa Jagears is a stay-at-home mother on a tiny Kansas farm with a fixer-upper house. Her passion is to help Christian believers mature in their faith and judge rightly. Learn more at www.melissajagears.com. 

Hello, Melissa! Welcome to Novel Rocket. Since this is your first time to visit, why don't we start by letting readers know what encouraged you to start writing? 

The need to actively use my brain. Staying home with my first baby, keeping house, and reading required little intellectual exercise. I decided to write before my brain atrophied, and boy, I didn’t realize how much mental exercise I was getting myself into! 

LOL! I understand. So then, what is the most difficult part of writing for you, or was when you first started on your novel journey? 

The rough draft. I hate the worry that nothing I’m going to write will be worthwhile. I procrastinate so badly with this part. I have no idea why though since after I get going, I get in a really nice groove and I generally like everything I write. I think it’s plain fear. Being in the #1k1h Facebook group helps during rough draft times though, because I KNOW I can easily write over 1000 words an hour. So if I post that I’m writing and I come back with nothing because I decided to look at some stupid buzzfeed article on which celebrities looks like their dog (or something else that stupid) I look like a failure—and I hate being a failure. So do I choose to be a failure with word count or failure with a story???? Word count is easier to win at—tricking myself into productivity. 

Do you put yourself into your books/characters? 

My Meyers-Briggs personality is the rarest female personality, so I often find out exactly what I /think that others think “no one would do” when my critiquers flag something my characters do that they think is strange…..it’s almost always something I pulled from my own character! But yes, I do it sometimes on purpose, sometimes on accident. 

At what point did you stop juggling suggestions and critiques and trust yourself (as a writer)? 

At first, when I was in a critique group, I took every suggestion because I realized I didn’t know enough. I know people say “you’ll lose your voice” doing that, but really, what voice did I have to lose with stinky craft skills? It’s not like a voice can truly disappear, though it’s muted in the beginning process. It’s like learning to sing. You follow the notes on the page first and learn to do that, then realize there are other directions for things such as dynamics and so you add those, then you get familiar enough with music you can sight read without the help of an instrument or a conductor. Once you have the ability to sing music as expected without much prompting and know the underlying music principles and are familiar with a range of compositions, one day you’ll realize, “I should be able to cobble something together myself that’s new and different, but skillful.” But just because you sing by rote and under instruction for years doesn’t mean your voice is like everyone else’s, and once you have down the basics of music, then you can create your own style. 

My first book I abandoned halfway through the critique process because after months of critting, I learned so much I realized I needed to write it all over again with all those new skills I learned. But I also decided to abandon that genre, so I wrote another book and did better, but I still took almost every suggestion because I had a lot to learn. The third book was when I felt like I came into my own enough to start ignoring things if it didn’t fit my vision. I did go back three novels later and rewrite that second book once I figured I had the skills to save it. That’s what sold. 

Tell us a little about your latest release.

Bethany House, 2014

My newest comes out in September. This whole series is about mail-order bride mishaps. Not necessarily between the hero and heroine, but there were so many “fun” problems I read about in historical accounts, I wanted to highlight how very rarely mail-order marriages worked. So this one is about a mail-order bride who comes willing, but finds that things beyond her control keep her from marrying as soon as she steps off the train….and Eliza doesn’t like being out of control! 

How do you think reading the work of others helps you as a writer? 

I learn what I do and do not like! Before as a reader, I might have just thought “I didn’t like that one so much” but now I can dissect it. So if it’s really good, I dissect it for “why did that impress me so much” and once I discover why, I jot it down or if it’s something I really don’t like, I figure out why it bothered me. Then in future plotting work, I take a look at those notes and make sure I don’t do what I don’t like because it’s “easy” or if it fits the story, I work to add in those things that were impressive. 

Do you have any parting words of advice? 

Find an honest and “harsh” critiquer who’ll follow you into publishing land who won’t let you get too big for your britches. I’ve read works by favorite authors that I wonder how they got away with stuff that wasn’t great—if favorite authors can turn out something that’s not very good, there is never a point I’ll be assured of never doing it either. I sometimes wonder if publishers allow things like that to go through because of schedule, “they’ll buy it anyway,” and not wanting to ruffle feathers. I’d rather my critique partner tell me ahead of time I’m working on a dud. 

Melissa's novella, "Love by the Letter", is always free, but right now, in the month leading up to A Bride in Store’s release, A Bride for Keeps is on sale for 2.99 – Don’t miss it!

Elizabeth Ludwig is the award-winning author of the EDGE OF FREEDOM series from Bethany House Publishers. 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.

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