Good News! Bad News!

I have mentioned several times about all of the contest that book blogs offer. What most of the blogs do is have an interview with the author of a new book that is coming out. Then there is a request for anyone who is interested in winning a copy of the book to leave a comment about the interview. There are a lot of blogs so therefore there are a lot of contest to enter. I have won several books and it is exciting to receive a book from the author and it is usually a signed copy. This has introduced me to many new authors that I had not read before.

One such contest was a little different than usual. This contest consisted of buying a book by the author who was Linore Rose Burkard. I had not read any of her books before but I decided that I would like to do this. Anyone who ordered one of her books from the Internet could enter the contest and the prize would be a critique of your manuscript. I entered the contest never believing that I would actually win. However, I was totally surprised when I received an e-mail from Linore telling me that I had won. Of course, I was so excited -then again I was a little concerned about the outcome. My manuscript is a very rough first draft and needs much work. Like my blog says I am in the caterpillar stage as a writer as well as my book is in the caterpillar stage.

Well, the good news is Linore seems to think that my manuscript has promise. The bad news is is going to take a lot of hard work. But as she explained this is what it takes for any new author to learn the craft of good writing. I would like to copy and paste the e-mail that she sent me. What a thrill to receive this critique from such a great author. You can look at the archives and read about the book that I bought and read, "The House In Grosvenor Square". This is one that you do not want to miss.

Dear Debbie

I apologize for the long wait for this. I am not finished, but I have the first four chapters edited, which I'm sending back for you to have a look. BUT WAIT~!
DO NOT look until you read this short note.
Deborah, you are a talented writer, and I think your strengths begin to shine when you moved the story to the present.
I did a line-by-line edit of the first few chapters, until I realized that you really meant this was a first draft--meaning you haven't quite settled upon
how the story will go, yet.
DO NOT be daunted by the amount of red and yellow markings I put in the manuscript. I assure you, this is totally normal for a new writer.
You are better than many new writers whose work I've seen, so be encouraged. Also, when I'm editing, I don't usually think to highlight the good stuff,
so just take my word for it when I say that I like your idea, and I think you can eventually polish this up into a saleable manuscript; but you do
have work ahead of you.
I am enjoying the story, and will continue with content editing today.
I hope some of what I write in my notes will be useful to you, and again, don't be discouraged if it seems I "picked on" a lot of stuff. I wouldn't have bothered
if the work didn't have merit.
All the best,
feel free to ask me any questions if there's something I wrote that you don't understand.

Thanks and blessings,
I see a definite future ahead for you as a writer, so long as you put in the time and effort that we all have to!
Hugs,
Linore

--

Linore Rose Burkard

Inspirational Romance for the Christian Soul

Before the Season Ends, Harvest House

The House in Grosvenor Square, Harvest House

The Country House Courtship, Harvest House (Jan. 2010)