Entertain!

What's the point of reading? To take a break from your own set of problems - Right? To feel something, laugh, cry or get angry. In order to accomplish that ... readers need to be compelled by your characters. Either love or hate but they have to be relate-able. Personally, I really like books that make me laugh. And I don't like to read about things I watch on the evening news. Every writer has a different approach ...

So, what do you like to read?

– Kate

Things I Didn't Know

I didn't know how tough it would be to get published. I knew it would be difficult but I wasn't ready for the complete rejection. Sending query letters out almost daily and getting response from maybe half. And the responses I did get were slips of paper, cut from 8.5 X 11, saying 'not at this time'. For awhile I changed the chapter, the query letter - I reviewed, enhanced and would receive another letter saying it was too enhanced, too reviewed.
Discouraging.
I know it sounds trite but you've got to grow a thick skin and let someone else read the rejections. Keep the one (and you only need one) positive declarations of all your hard work. An agent that gets personal with their rejection isn't someone you'd want to work with anyway. Truly the writing is only a small part of the puzzle and there is so much more afterwards. Another thing I didn't know.
Someone told me that writing was 5% of the process and though I would raise that to at least 60% there still is that 40 that is killer!
Have confidence. Tell yourself daily that it is possible and keep writing.

Kate

Bad Advice I Recieved

So, like any novice author - I took a 'getting published' class at the community college. Being slow on the curve I went after I thought I was done with the book. I had written 60k words - imagine surprise when the instructor stated that 80k was the average. Okay, that isn't the bad advice. The bad advice was that he suggested that writers stop being readers as they are working – reasoning ... was not to be influenced by another's style. I took it to heart and stopped reading - which is difficult for someone who loves to read. Two years I walked away from bookstores. Then I couldn't stop myself and picked up The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. It was awesome and gave me more than a moments – Uh, oh! I cannot do that!!
Putting my insecurities aside – I continued writing and reading. And because I had learned my people so well - reading didn't influence my writing in any negative way. If anything - it made it better.

As a side note - I was able to catch up on 24 missed months or reading and loved almost every page of it!
Kate

The only way I was able to finish Living Lies was because I liked the story. It was something I would read.  There is just too much work to do if you and if you aren't interested in your characters – who will be? When I got bored I figured everyone else would be bored too and I shook it up. Even if this meant I discarded an entire chapter – whatever it took. There were scenes that were difficult to delete but for the sake of the story I had too. I can still imagine Trish using her physical therapy skills on Melanie – it was funny but in the end it had to go, it isn't about me.
In the end I think you should write what you would read – then you'll always have at least an audience of one.