How Ripe are You?

Not in the sense of ever being over-
ripe. Forget that! We writers can go on forever can't we?

When I first began writing a novel - after writing lyrics for songs and scripts for five-minute Christian radio programs- I was bright green.

I had no idea so much help was out there. I just wrote my story. THEN, and only then, I discovered I needed a lot more "how-to's" just to hone the craft. And online courses with ACFW was an eye-opener.

I began to color up to a nice pinkish shade. Then came the advice on how to write a book proposal, plus more guidance on the dreaded marketing side of things. Well, I suppose after I'd worked on these necessary skills I'd ripened to a decent light red.

Now on to cutting scenes not needed and editing unnecessary verbiage.  By now hopefully I'm a nice ripe story-teller of a luscious purple hue. But what's that? I need a big dish called Platform to be acceptable to US publishers? Huh? Doesn't matter how well I sell my books here Down Under, I can't do book signing or take speaking engagements in the US.

Never mind. I gather my ripe berries and cook up a nice pie called INDY PUBLISHING! Sure, it costs at first, but it's working. I choose my covers, my titles, my formatting and my paper.  All my profits go to Christian work in various countries of S.E. Asia to smaller organizations needing help. So I see the Lord's Hand in all this and I am blessed.

These are books I and II of the Victoriana trilogy. As they're identical twins separated at birth from their mother and each other, I needed the same model. Although a stand-alone novel, A Parcel of Promises ties up any loose ends. Roseanna M White designed both covers  and I am delighted with the feedback.

PayPal is a great help and early next year my print books will also be available as e-books.

To find out if they appeal to you, early next year, check   www.ritastellapress.com/read-more

Are there some ripe berries out there wondering how to take the next step toward publishing?