God has blessed me beyond words with the opportunity to meet such an awesome individual like Shella. She appeared on Oprah twice and her novel The Loom was nominated for a NAACP award (and it was her first publication!) Funny how God works. We attend the same church here in Texas, and when I set my mind on my own work, that's who I run into.
Shella met with me to listen to the premise of my series. She was excited that I wanted to impact young girls and very enthusiastic about the vice at which I use to make a difference. I then told her about my entire vision around the project, and she has offered to help me get a good agent for publication. Shella is even reading my manuscript and giving me suggestions! Talk about going over and above to help someone.
I can't tell you how excited I am to have an author mentoring me. It's like I finally met someone who 'gets it' and has just as much energy about it as me. Sure, my friends and family are happy for me, but they don't show the same interest as she has, so I feel refreshed!
I'll share a few tips she gave me with anyone looking to become a published author:
1: Learn the Rules of Writing
Things like characterization, point of view, and the structure of fiction writing matters in this industry. Once you have these down, you know where you can bend the rules to your advantage, or lines you probably shouldn't cross.
2. Attend a Writer's Conference
They may be expensive, but allow you a chance to sit in front of editors and agents who will critique your work, give you useful advise, and who may even take interest in your craft. (That's partially how Shella got her big break.)
3. Perfect Your Pitch
Be able to talk about your book in 15 seconds. Enough to get the premise across but not tell the entire story, but at the same time make the listener want to read your first 5 pages. The first 5 can make or break you. And once an agent or publisher looks at you and your first 5 suck, there is no second impression.
Keep reading! Keep writing! Inspire On!
