***Originally posted 9-25-13
Quite a while back I signed up for a website called oDesk upon the urging of a friend who saw a radio script writing job available through that website. I got that job and several other radio writing jobs. I didn't really do much with the website, but every now and then I would get an email saying I was "invited" to interview for one job or another. If I was interested, I would comment on that invitation. If I wasn't, I wouldn't.
One day, I got an invitation to interview for a company that wanted short 30,000 words novels. I loved to write fiction so I answered the invitation. They wanted a writing sample. I sent it. They liked it. They asked me to pitch some ideas to them so I gave them a few I had and they chose one I was calling "Taxi Delivery." I then went on to write the short novel in about two weeks or so. At that time, I had no idea what would be done with the story. I just knew that I was getting paid for it upfront. Once I turned it over, I asked what they would do with it and after a few days, they sent me a link to the book. The company was Blue Ribbon Books and they published my story as an e-book. It was really neat to see the cover and I was excited that it looked so real!
Getting paid to write fiction was really fun and I had an old novel that I wrote a year or so ago and I didn't know what I was going to do with it, so I pitched the idea to them. They liked it. So I turned over "God in the Kitchen."
I then went on to write a two book series..."Mending Fences" and "Mending Hearts." I was enjoying being paid to write fiction instead of the other articles I was used to doing. And it was fun to see people review and comment on the books. It is actually because of these stories that I started my author facebook page. I was hoping it would lead somewhere someday.
After watching the reviews and seeing what worked and what didn't, I feel like I learned things as an author as well. All of the stories were of the Christian romance variety, though "God in the Kitchen" has much more to do with it than that.
However, I only made the upfront money for these novels and never any royalties so once I got a deal with The Writer's Coffee Shop for my manuscript "Wrong Place, Right Time," which will come out in December 2014, I decided not to do any more stories for Blue Ribbon Books. I informed them of that and they wished me luck.
A while later, I got an email from the company saying they were in the process of making "God in the Kitchen" and "Taxi Delivery" into real paperback books. I was shocked. I didn't really know what they were doing with the stories in the first place. Once I saw the ebooks, I was excited about those. Now that they were going to be real paperbacks? Wow! I gave them an author bio and dedication and the other things they requested and waited.
The books are now out in paperback and I ordered several copies of each. They look awesome! I have yet to read through them, but I hope to soon. I don't make any additional money from them and I have to pay to buy them myself, but I still love the stories. So if you are looking for a good, clean, cute little love story type book, grab "Taxi Delivery." If you want something that also speaks to how you might want to act in your life, "God in the Kitchen" may be a story you would enjoy.
Overall, as I always say about my writing, I just hope that people enjoy reading it half as much as I enjoyed writing it. God in the Kitchen was a story I felt I HAD to write. Taxi Delivery was a little more forced, but I still really enjoyed creating it. Ebooks are great, but I've always been one who liked having books in her hand. To see them in paperback with my name on the front is just too cool. I can't imagine how I'll feel when "Wrong Place, Right Time" comes out.
Quite a while back I signed up for a website called oDesk upon the urging of a friend who saw a radio script writing job available through that website. I got that job and several other radio writing jobs. I didn't really do much with the website, but every now and then I would get an email saying I was "invited" to interview for one job or another. If I was interested, I would comment on that invitation. If I wasn't, I wouldn't.
One day, I got an invitation to interview for a company that wanted short 30,000 words novels. I loved to write fiction so I answered the invitation. They wanted a writing sample. I sent it. They liked it. They asked me to pitch some ideas to them so I gave them a few I had and they chose one I was calling "Taxi Delivery." I then went on to write the short novel in about two weeks or so. At that time, I had no idea what would be done with the story. I just knew that I was getting paid for it upfront. Once I turned it over, I asked what they would do with it and after a few days, they sent me a link to the book. The company was Blue Ribbon Books and they published my story as an e-book. It was really neat to see the cover and I was excited that it looked so real!
Getting paid to write fiction was really fun and I had an old novel that I wrote a year or so ago and I didn't know what I was going to do with it, so I pitched the idea to them. They liked it. So I turned over "God in the Kitchen."
I then went on to write a two book series..."Mending Fences" and "Mending Hearts." I was enjoying being paid to write fiction instead of the other articles I was used to doing. And it was fun to see people review and comment on the books. It is actually because of these stories that I started my author facebook page. I was hoping it would lead somewhere someday.
After watching the reviews and seeing what worked and what didn't, I feel like I learned things as an author as well. All of the stories were of the Christian romance variety, though "God in the Kitchen" has much more to do with it than that.
However, I only made the upfront money for these novels and never any royalties so once I got a deal with The Writer's Coffee Shop for my manuscript "Wrong Place, Right Time," which will come out in December 2014, I decided not to do any more stories for Blue Ribbon Books. I informed them of that and they wished me luck.
A while later, I got an email from the company saying they were in the process of making "God in the Kitchen" and "Taxi Delivery" into real paperback books. I was shocked. I didn't really know what they were doing with the stories in the first place. Once I saw the ebooks, I was excited about those. Now that they were going to be real paperbacks? Wow! I gave them an author bio and dedication and the other things they requested and waited.
The books are now out in paperback and I ordered several copies of each. They look awesome! I have yet to read through them, but I hope to soon. I don't make any additional money from them and I have to pay to buy them myself, but I still love the stories. So if you are looking for a good, clean, cute little love story type book, grab "Taxi Delivery." If you want something that also speaks to how you might want to act in your life, "God in the Kitchen" may be a story you would enjoy.
Overall, as I always say about my writing, I just hope that people enjoy reading it half as much as I enjoyed writing it. God in the Kitchen was a story I felt I HAD to write. Taxi Delivery was a little more forced, but I still really enjoyed creating it. Ebooks are great, but I've always been one who liked having books in her hand. To see them in paperback with my name on the front is just too cool. I can't imagine how I'll feel when "Wrong Place, Right Time" comes out.
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