As you may have noticed I have been reviewing children's books and posting them here. Now it's time to get back to what I originally started this blog for; writing about my struggles to find a balance between being an author and busy parent. Although I have loved the books so far, and look forward to reading the rest of my review stack, I don't want to become solely a review blog. I will continue to post more of my Children's Book Review Series, but they will now be posted only on the weekends. If you are a children's author and want me to review your book(s) contact me. You will be added to my review list and contacted when it is posted. I am hoping to keep this going all summer. I love being a part of bringing great new books to children and feel it is important to encourage them to continue reading through the summer. Reading is a way to exercise the mind and the best cure when they suffer from the "I'm bored" syndrome.
For all of you who are curious what I have been up to besides reviewing children's books; where do I begin?
I am still waiting for the film producer to pitch my book to the Lifetime Movie Network. It will happen some time this summer. In the mean time I am making a press packet to send to Beth, and doing everything possible to get more sales and attention for The Truth Lies in the Dark. The better my book is doing, the better the chance that the network executives will agree to sponsor the movie. If anyone has any ideas or advice on this please let me know. Having no agent to help me navigate this process, I could use all of the help and luck you can offer.
Speaking of agents, I am researching literary agents now. I am realizing that this is a lengthy venture. I had hoped to find one that could help me with the movie rights and increasing visibility for The Truth Lies in the Dark. This is most likely not going to happen. Today's agents are so inundated with queries, it would take something short of a miracle to find one willing to take on such an extensive project in such a limited amount of time. So, for now I will keep going unagented on this and continue seeking representation for my next book.
My current WIP (work in progress) is my contemporary romance, which I thought was finished. I had it under consideration at Avalon, a Christian publisher in New York City. They ultimately sent it back with some great advice. They also wanted some parts omitted and devoid of all hints of sex or foul language. I thought it was a very tame novel to start with, but took their advice to heart and starting rewriting. As my rewrites progressed, the story moved further from Avalon's standards.
This brought on a dilemma. Do I rewrite again, making sure to stay within their guidelines of absolutely no sex or curses? Do I continue following this new path and letting the character, and my own intuition lead the story? I chose the second; this means it's back to the drawing board for me as far as finding a new publisher. This was not an easy decision to make. I know, it sounds like it should be. Writers are always being told to write from the heart and be true to themselves, but there's always that insecure inner thought saying jump at any chance to publish. I am fighting that inner imp by reminding myself that this is not a race; not a competition to simply be published. (Although it feels like that at times.) This is the beginning of a long, and hopefully productive career. If I go into it not completely believing in what I put out there how am I going to promote it, or for that matter defend it when people hate it? And believe me, people will hate it. You just can't please everyone. If you're happy with your work that will help you deal with rejection and negative comments. It will also make those glowing reviews and positive comments all that much better.
Not to say that years from now I won't look back and say things like; wow I've learned so much since those first books, I can't believe I wrote that, or where were the punctuation police. Well, I better say things like that. Because if I ever get cocky enough to think there is no more to learn or no room for improvement I will be very disappointed in myself. I think everyone should know their faults. You don't have to point them out to the world; just know them and do what you can to make changes in yourself as you go. When you're done learning...you're dead!
That is basically what I've been up to with my writing life; my family life is another blog post entirely. I will keep everyone up to date on how the movie deal is going, my agent search, and my writing progress. Let me know what you've been up to.
Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to hearing from you.
Kristin : )
Showing posts with label movie deal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movie deal. Show all posts
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
I Got "The Call"
Hello. Hope everyone is doing well and you're still plugging away at your own goals in writing and life. If you are struggling and need a little inspiration I have just the story for you. As I posted shortly after my Virtual Book Tour, I was contacted by a producer. She asked me about my film rights and requested a copy of The Truth Lies in the Dark. Then last Friday she emailed me asking for my home phone number. Well, she called yesterday.
She wants to make my story into a movie!
This is great news and such an honor, but still in the early stages. She still has to pitch the idea to Lifetime and needs to compile a proposal package for the executives to consider. To help with this, I am digging up all of my reviews and my original synopsis to send to her. She has also directed me toward a larger publisher, who has published some of the books she has already made into movies. I will let everyone know how that is going when I know more. It's all a little overwhelming to think of it all at once.
I think the best part of this all, and the part I am so excited to share with everyone, is how this incredible opportunity could happen to anyone. I'm not going to say that writing, editing, publishing, marketing, and promoting are easy, or that everyone will get a film deal. I am still in shock and amazement that my book was even considered. I am saying it's possible; stay positive, try everything, and always, always believe in yourself and your work.
Your writing is the most important thing. If you are happy and can honestly stand behind it you are already doing better than someone who writes to please someone else, like an agent or an editor. Not to say you can't take criticism and make changes, just as long as you believe in the changes you have made. This belief is your backbone that will keep you steady when reviews and opinions start coming, and they are all not going to be as supportive and great as those from family and friends. Some are going to feel like personal attacks on you, like when someone wrote that my main character Amanda was too needy and annoying. At first it bothered me, then I realized that characters, for me anyway, should come alive in a story. For someone to become annoyed with Amanda, they are seeing her as a real life person also. So, that's not such a bad thing. It would be worse to have them say the book and characters did nothing for me at all. I am getting off point now, but you get the idea. Believe in yourself and your writing.
The next important thing is getting your work out there; the more you do the more opportunities you create to be seen. I recommend doing live book tours/signings if you feel comfortable with them and definitely do a Virtual Book Tour. If you're not sure how look in my past posts. I detailed how I did mine, and do I need to remind you of the outcome? :) My sales did not explode, but yours could. You never know who might notice your book. The fact that the producer found my book at all was a fluke.
I did interviews, was a guest, or was reviewed by 18 different book related blogs. Some had many followers and others just a few, but the one the producer noticed my book was all but missed by everyone. The host of the blog had an emergency and did not post my book on the day we had planned. Once she realized, she posted it late, and the producer just happened upon it. If that's not dumb luck or some kind of fate I don't know what it is. But nothing happens out of thin air, luck or fate can't find you if you're not out there. So do whatever you can (within limits of law and self respect of course) to get your writing out there, you never know when or where your big break could come from.
I am excited (and a little nervous) to have this opportunity, but I have to remind myself that whether or not my book actually becomes a movie I am thankful and honored that it is being considered. I hope that sharing this inspires you to keep writing and go after your goals and dreams. Life is too short to think you can't do something. What's the worse they can say?
As always, you're welcome to share your successes or frustrations about writing or life. We all have them. I think the only reason I haven't really freaked out over the movie news is the continued real life drama I live every day. My 11 year old crashed his bike and might have a hairline fracture on his wrist, but is now quickly learning that ouch means his teacher lets him get out of everything he doesn't want to do. Then he miraculously finds the strength to come home and play video games with both hands and try to play dodge ball with his sister. Next, my oldest came home telling us how he had to wrestle a cow to give it medicine (yeah I think that's funny too; he's no farmer). He also came home with a tick burrowed into his back. So we spent the night in surgery, well in the bathroom... three of us, hovering over my son with needles, tweezers, peroxide, etc. I swear, we could go a year without talking to the doctor and then in less than one week they know me by voice on the phone.
I would love to hear from you. Take care and keep in touch.
Kristin : )
She wants to make my story into a movie!
This is great news and such an honor, but still in the early stages. She still has to pitch the idea to Lifetime and needs to compile a proposal package for the executives to consider. To help with this, I am digging up all of my reviews and my original synopsis to send to her. She has also directed me toward a larger publisher, who has published some of the books she has already made into movies. I will let everyone know how that is going when I know more. It's all a little overwhelming to think of it all at once.
I think the best part of this all, and the part I am so excited to share with everyone, is how this incredible opportunity could happen to anyone. I'm not going to say that writing, editing, publishing, marketing, and promoting are easy, or that everyone will get a film deal. I am still in shock and amazement that my book was even considered. I am saying it's possible; stay positive, try everything, and always, always believe in yourself and your work.
Your writing is the most important thing. If you are happy and can honestly stand behind it you are already doing better than someone who writes to please someone else, like an agent or an editor. Not to say you can't take criticism and make changes, just as long as you believe in the changes you have made. This belief is your backbone that will keep you steady when reviews and opinions start coming, and they are all not going to be as supportive and great as those from family and friends. Some are going to feel like personal attacks on you, like when someone wrote that my main character Amanda was too needy and annoying. At first it bothered me, then I realized that characters, for me anyway, should come alive in a story. For someone to become annoyed with Amanda, they are seeing her as a real life person also. So, that's not such a bad thing. It would be worse to have them say the book and characters did nothing for me at all. I am getting off point now, but you get the idea. Believe in yourself and your writing.
The next important thing is getting your work out there; the more you do the more opportunities you create to be seen. I recommend doing live book tours/signings if you feel comfortable with them and definitely do a Virtual Book Tour. If you're not sure how look in my past posts. I detailed how I did mine, and do I need to remind you of the outcome? :) My sales did not explode, but yours could. You never know who might notice your book. The fact that the producer found my book at all was a fluke.
I did interviews, was a guest, or was reviewed by 18 different book related blogs. Some had many followers and others just a few, but the one the producer noticed my book was all but missed by everyone. The host of the blog had an emergency and did not post my book on the day we had planned. Once she realized, she posted it late, and the producer just happened upon it. If that's not dumb luck or some kind of fate I don't know what it is. But nothing happens out of thin air, luck or fate can't find you if you're not out there. So do whatever you can (within limits of law and self respect of course) to get your writing out there, you never know when or where your big break could come from.
I am excited (and a little nervous) to have this opportunity, but I have to remind myself that whether or not my book actually becomes a movie I am thankful and honored that it is being considered. I hope that sharing this inspires you to keep writing and go after your goals and dreams. Life is too short to think you can't do something. What's the worse they can say?
As always, you're welcome to share your successes or frustrations about writing or life. We all have them. I think the only reason I haven't really freaked out over the movie news is the continued real life drama I live every day. My 11 year old crashed his bike and might have a hairline fracture on his wrist, but is now quickly learning that ouch means his teacher lets him get out of everything he doesn't want to do. Then he miraculously finds the strength to come home and play video games with both hands and try to play dodge ball with his sister. Next, my oldest came home telling us how he had to wrestle a cow to give it medicine (yeah I think that's funny too; he's no farmer). He also came home with a tick burrowed into his back. So we spent the night in surgery, well in the bathroom... three of us, hovering over my son with needles, tweezers, peroxide, etc. I swear, we could go a year without talking to the doctor and then in less than one week they know me by voice on the phone.
I would love to hear from you. Take care and keep in touch.
Kristin : )
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