I wrote a post once about libraries paying authors. It’s definitely worth mentioning again for United Kingdom and Ireland PLR systems. You can see my original post via LIBRARIES PAY AUTHORS?
P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Wishing all my family, friends, virtual acquaintances, and readers of this blog a Merry Christmas! Safe travels to everyone going out of town. I hope folks have plenty of food to stuff their bellies and joy to fill their hearts.
The holiday season can be very tough for some people, whether it’s a recent loss of a loved one, financial woes, illness, or some other unforeseen event. If it’s within your power, remember those less fortunate. Christmas should be about giving and less about taking. And prayers never hurt either! Send them out to those in need!
May you all be blessed with a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!
P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Although St. Patrick’s Day began as a religious holiday in Ireland, people across many nations now celebrate March 17, the day believed to be Patrick’s death. Here are some noted facts:
- St. Patrick was not Irish.
- Born a nobleman in Britain about 400 A.D.
- An atheist in his early years
- Kidnapped by Irish pirates at age 16
- A slave in Ireland for 17 years
- Rediscovered his faith while in Ireland
- Returned to Ireland as a missionary
- Legend states St. Patrick used the three-leaved shamrock to explain Christian Holy Trinity. (But it’s said no evidence proves he ever did.)
- Still unclear if St. Patrick died in Ireland
And for those who are Irish, know someone who is Irish, or just want to help celebrate for their own pleasure…put on your green clothes, green hats, green glasses, green everything, and have some green beer, or green cake, or green potatoes, or anything drinkable/edible green, but pah-lease don’t call me later when you are feeling oh-so green!
Be safe and have fun! And again, Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA Fiction
10 Minutes With An Expert via Manuscript Academy
If you’ve ever wanted to sit down with an agent or editor? Well now you can! Manuscript Academy has put together a day for authors to chat with the professional’s of the publishing world called 10 Minutes With An Expert. The time can be used to:
- Pitch your project
- Get instant feedback on your query or first page
- Ask about your unique publishing situation
- Ask any publishing question!
Meetings last 10 minutes and are first come first served. The cost for this invaluable access is $49 (US). To make the most of your time, have your questions ready. And have fun learning!
P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.
Encouragement for the Day!
The difficulties of writing a novel can be tedious and more difficult than some people think. Writers don’t just pound out perfection in one sitting the first attempt. It can take days, weeks, months, or even years to get the first draft done, depending on other work obligations. Most writers have a day job not involving their writing career and have to squeeze writing in any free moment they can.
After the first draft is finished, comes the editing, and editing, and editing. A writer then sends manuscript to critique partners (CPs) or beta’s to help find plot holes, voice problems, or anything else they spot helpful. Hopefully, the writer has already caught most grammar and punctuation errors, but if not, CPs and beta’s can help with that too. And behold…more edits, and edits, and edits! If a writer is lucky, they’ll have funds to hire a professional editor to help with their manuscript, but this can get very expensive.
When a writer thinks the project is at it’s best, they send off to literary agents. Sometimes these turn into requests for more revisions, so there is more editing involved. Now, I’m not going to get into the difficulties of landing an agent, or how long it can take to get a publishers to agree to publish EVEN if you have an agent. But, let me say, it can take years of writing new manuscripts and rejection after rejection before getting an agent or a publisher. And even after getting an agent or publishing contract, guess what? There are MORE edits! The process is loooooong! Writer’s know what I’m talking about.
What happens sometimes is a writer can get discouraged after so many rejections. Sometimes they want to give up. But, giving up is the only certain way to make sure a writer doesn’t succeed. The key is to surround themselves with like-minded people. The writing community is very supportive with each other. When they fell discouraged, they should reach out! But no matter what they do, DON’T GIVE UP! Let me repeat that…
DON’T GIVE UP!!!!!!!
Keep writing words to weave into fabulous stories. People want to read them. And they shall, if writer’s keep trying!
P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.
Manuscript Wish List
If you don’t know what Manuscript Wish List, you’re in for a treat. This fantastic blog was created by agent Jessica Sinsheimer for agents (and some editors) to let writer’s know what they’d like to see in their inbox. Yes, it’s that simple! So, before you decide to query that shiny new manuscript, check out the website to see if any agents would be a perfect fit. Even more exciting, they’ve created a sign-up for upcoming newsletters!
So when will the next one take place? On February 8th, 2017, tweeting of wishes will unfold on twitter using the hashtag #MSWL. But remember, this IS NOT for direct pitching. Please make a list of agents and/or editors stating your MS might be what they’re looking for. Then send queries as directed by the agent/editor. (If you have trouble locating the information, most can be found on the agency/publisher websites.
Then stay tuned to twitter on February 8th, 2017, as Jessica promises a BIG announcement!
As always, good luck!
P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Thanksgiving is a designated time to remember what we are thankful for in life. For many, it’s having our health to spend time with family and friends while gorging on amazing meals until our stomach feels like it will explode. But there are others who might be joyful they survived a fatal illness to be here celebrating with people they love. Or maybe, there are those thrilled to still have a job, maybe paid off a mortgage, or even happy because they got that iPhone they’ve always wanted.
As for me, I’d like to thank:
- My family and friends who’ve supported me with my writing. (And a special shoutout to Keith and Chris for donating on my GoFundMe page!)
- My daughter and grandson for bringing me joy in my life with their adventurous spirit.
- My readers. (Because without y’all, I’d have no reason to have a blog!)
- All my critique partners, beta readers, and anyone who has ever glanced at a few pitches/pages/chapters and offered feedback (I LOVE you guys!).
- Contest hosts for supplying fabulous opportunities with agents and mentoring, and for those who selected me at some point in the past, for one thing or another. (For example: Brenda Drake, Authoress, Michelle Hauck, Samantha Fountain, and Jessa Russo.)
- The mentors that participated in contests. Your feedback was completely awesome!
- All slush readers (agents, editors, mentors, etc.) are the bomb. We don’t send enough chocolate, and I apologize!
- The creator’s of Preditors & Editors, Writer’s Beware , Absolute Write Forums, Publishers Market Place, and QueryTracker. (I use them often.)
- All the authors that allowed me to participate in their book releases or cover reveals!
- For all the ARCs I received, because FREE BOOKS before their published is AWESOME!
- I have a job and I adore working with all my coworkers!
- And finally (but not last), to God for giving me the strength to get through each day.
I’m sure there are many things and other people I may have forgotten, and ask forgiveness if I have. Everyone in my physical and virtual life are very important to me. Y’all give me strength to become the best me. Thank you for being a part of my life!
Whatever your reason for being thankful today, I wish you the Happiest of Thanksgivings!
XOXO
P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction
HELP RAISE FUNDS FOR #EDITING
Okay, I’ve thought about this for a long time and it wasn’t an easy decision to make. No one likes airing their troubles. NO ONE! So, without whining about my various trips to the hospital over the past few years, my car breaking down, my daughters car breaking down, I’ll move right along to my purpose.
I received revise and submits from two different agents a while back and have been sitting on top of them because I don’t have the funds to pay a professional editor. (And this could be golden, but I need to edit before they forget about me.) Then, I thought about my other writerly friends who have had troubles with tumors, lupus, chronic depression (yes, this IS a disease folks), houses burning down, and the list goes on-and-on-and-on of things that can strap any of us financially. So, my thoughts were wouldn’t it be great to not only pay for my edits but have some giveaways for other writers to pay for THEIR edits too? (Oh, you know it would be!)
While beta readers and critique partners are great, they aren’t always available or they just don’t mesh with your style. There are various reasons this doesn’t always work out. So, I created a GoFundMe account to help raise money for my manuscript THIS SCARY MANOR BLOWS (and my other two manuscripts), as well to have giveaways for other writers. So, if you’re feeling generous, please donate to the GoFundMe account. Even the tiniest of donations can help myself and other writers.
And when you read the story on GoFundMe, you’ll notice that if I don’t get signed with the agents that requested the R&R’s, I’m going to spend some of the money on cover art and marketing to self publish. Which can always be an alternative route for those that will win the editing giveaways when I have them. After all, even literary agents recommend being hybrid authors. (For non-writer’s, this means to traditional publish and self publish.)
And lastly, for anyone wanting to know my writing style and if donating is worth it, I’ve decided to post my first chapter to THIS SCARY MANOR BLOWS. Go here to view it.
Please share this on twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, WordPress, and any other social media you may be on! Remember, this isn’t just for myself, I hope to pay this forward to other writers. It might just be YOU!
Thank you for reading and any donations that you contribute! And if you can’t contribute, then please-please, share on your social media accounts. Again, thank you!
P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.
My Daughter is on NBC!
Photo by Lance Tilford of Limelight Studios.
For those who don’t know, my daughter is Brienna Voice. She barely started acting a few years back when, um, she got herself knocked up. So she took a hiatus before she really got started. But my grandson was worth it!
Lil’ Dude with his momma!
Now she’ll be on NBC‘s Chicago P.D. Wednesday, March 23 at 9pm CMT (10pm EST) and was hand selected by the director. Okay, okay, so it’s a non-speaking FEATURED roll, but I’m proud of her for getting back into the swing of things. She has a dream, just like I do with my writing. And we all know, if you don’t start, you can’t finish! Whenever possible, I support her in every way (so click her IMDB page again). She’s grown into such a beautiful young woman and I believe great things are coming her way.
Thanks for letting me dote on my bbgurrl.
P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.
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