This week, the Craftie Ladies is honoring one of its own: Cara Putman. As I sit here thinking about both her and her book, I keep coming back to the "What it Takes?" And, I have one answer: time.
It's 6:44 at my house, and I'm up writing. Writing because right now I'm not on contract and I want to be. Not being on contract could mean sleeping in. But, if it meant that, then subliminally, I'm telling myself that the next contract is a chance, a maybe. I've never believed in taking that route. I know in order for me to get a new contract, I've got to have proposals in. To have proposals in, I have to devote time.
Cara, too, knows the value of time. She put time into writing Deadly Exposure. How much time, Cara? My first LIS Pursuit of Justice took about seven years to write. Not because I wasn't willing to write on it everyday, but it seemed that every time I started working on it - and it was so very different than what I was selling to Barbour - I sold something new to Barbour. The next two LIS took four months each to write.
So, Cara, how much time did you take writing Deadly Exposure? And, what is your next LIS and did it take the same amount of time or different?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Christian Romance Authors with Fictionalized Tales of Intriguing Edginess
2 comments:
Hey, Pamela. Great question. Deadly Exposure was my first book once I started writing in the summer of 2005. The first draft took months -- I probably sent the first requested proposal out in about May 2006. At that time it was an 85,000 word manuscript. It got rejected -- and wasn't ready yet, so I rewrote it to LIS's requirements since Krista had invited me to send it to her. I got the contract in July or August of 2007. And I'm waiting to hear if she's going to buy the sequel and book three. Book two highlights Tricia Jamison, Caleb's sister, and book three will have Logan as the hero. Can't wait to wrtie those!
Hi Everyone,
It's amazing how much time we spend on those first books, isn't it? But no time is wasted, and of course, early in a writing career there's so much to learn. Hmmmm? The reality is that at every stage of a writing career, there's so much to learn. I don't think any writer worth her "salt" ever says she's finished learning. There are always new challenges, a bigger book to write, perhaps a new genre to tackle. Yet the first book usually takes the longest and, for me, was the most fun to write. I didn't know any of the rules so I was free to do my own thing . . . of course, that book will never sell, but I treasure it nonetheless.
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