Squee worthy ANNOUNCEMENT, and an Editing Giveaway

GUESS WHAT?!?

I'm bursting out of my skin today because it's finally time to announce my debut novel, MOONLESS, will be released November 13, 2013 by Raybourne Publishing. Yippee!!! Who wants to celebrate by eating cheese with me?

Better yet, who is so incredibly awesome that they'll help me spread the word?

Sign up for the blog tour or cover reveal HERE. (Please?)


And now to the business of our Writerly Wednesday Truth and Lie game. *rubbing hands*

As part of last week's major giveaway including multiple awards, I offered a free ebook ($5 gift card to Amazon) for one lucky person who shared their favorite cheese and took a stab at guessing my random number.

Well, there were a number of awesome (and brazen) guesses, but the magic number was actually 49. Nice try people!

And the winner is:

...DRUM ROLL...

Carol Riggs

Congrats, Carol!

On to today.

So, you've written a really great book. Everyone says so. (Your mom, your brother, your friends.) You want to publish it, but there's a nagging sensation at the back of your mind, a little voice that whispers, "You're not ready. It's not good enough. No one will want to read this."

How do you silence that voice?

The answer for me was acquiring an editor. Understand, I have the most amazing critique partners, and such fabulous beta readers. I've even been blessed to work with a writing coach who handled slush pile entries at a small publishing house, and many years ago, a wonderful literary agent friend.

But that voice rarely dims below a scream in my head.

So an editor. I received recommendations and researched probably fifty of them, searching for someone who specialized in ALL of my genres--someone who would be a personality match for me/my writing. This couldn't be just any editor. It had to be THE editor. You know what I'm talking about? The person who loves your work like you do, the person who strives to help mold your story by YOUR vision, the person who energizes you when you're ready to throw in the towel?

A synergist.

Narrowing it down to 10 editors who worked on books I adored, I started the "interview" (email) process. I had some wonderful and very professional discussions with several editors. There are so many fabulous ones out there, but I knew when I found the one. Her enthusiasm for the project was enough to silence that screaming doubt at the back of my mind.

Dead. Silence.

And it went that way for the entire duration of our exchanges.

It's with great pleasure that I recommend Bethany Kaczmarek at A Little Red, Inc. I can't say too much good about this woman--and the selfish monster sitting in my brain wants me to shut up right now so I can keep her all to myself, but that would be wrong. (Or would it?)

Bethany kept me laughing while editing, and sought to preserve and cultivate my vision for the characters/plot. Her communications were regular and timely. Her feedback came in pieces so I wasn't overwhelmed by the immensity of the entire project. These interactive edits left me feeling 100% certain I could stop listening to that voice at the back of my head permanently. And let's talk timetable here: this woman is wicked fast.

So, why do I tell you all that? Because if you need an editor (and you do), you have to find the one that's right for you--but you can't do better than Bethany. No, seriously.

And, lucky for you, Bethany is offering a free 5 page edit to the winner of our Truth or Lie game today!

So here we go! Can you guess the lie?

     1. Bethany tore her ACL watching a Steelers game. On her couch.

     2. Bethany has been bitten on the hand by a flamingo.

     3. She learned to drive stick on the dirt roads of a little place called Hell Hole Swamp.

Alright human lie detectors, which is the lie? And have you signed up for my blog tour yet? *batting eyes*