Blog - Page 172 of 207 - Katie Ganshert

3 C’s – It’s Friday!

Posted on January 29, 2010 by Katie Ganshert

Cares:
My book recently went out to eight publishing houses (yes, eight!). This makes nine altogether, since we’re still waiting to hear from the house we originally submitted to in November. Now it’s a giant waiting game. Surprisingly, I’m okay with this. I’m not freaking out. It helps that I’m immersed in line-edits for my 4th book.

Concerns:
Sleep.

Must get more sleep.

Celebrations:
My book is out there! Wow, that ties my stomach into all kinds of knots.

I’m incredibly excited about my 4th book. It’s my best one so far.

After a horrendous night last Friday, in which Brogan screamed bloody-murder for two and a half hours, he finally ate his dinner. This is a celebration for three reasons: First, we didn’t break down and give him the cheese he kept pointing to amidst piercing screams. Second, I didn’t snap at Ryan (I have a horrible tendency to snap at him when I get stressed out). And third, Brogan’s been eating like a champ ever since.

Question to Ponder: What are your cares, concerns, and celebrations today?removetweetmeme

Q & A

Posted on January 27, 2010November 7, 2011 by Katie Ganshert

The lovely T. Anne asked: Do you need to run future story idea’s past Rachelle? I’m not sure how that works once you’ve got an agent, but I’d love to know!

What a fabulous question. I wondered the same thing before I had an agent. The thought of having somebody entrenched in the business guiding my steps, for me, was one of the most alluring aspects of representation.

I’m sure every agent-client relationship is unique. The answers are bound to vary. With that said, here’s my experience.

I submitted my third book to Rachelle. This was the one that led her to offer representation. I’d planned, from the very beginning, to make this book into a series. So soon after Rachelle officially became my agent, I emailed her the back cover blurbs for books 2 and 3. I have lots of ideas floating through my head. If these two books weren’t going to sell, why waste my time writing them when I have other ideas waiting to be told? I didn’t want to dedicate six months of my life writing a book that has zero appeal to publishers. Thankfully, she really liked both my back cover blurbs and gave me the confirmation I needed to move forward.

One of the biggest things I wanted in an agent was career guidance. Rachelle expressed during our phone conversation (the one where I rambled like an idiot and told her I had dreams about her) that career guidance is one of her favorite parts of agenting. After she said that, I was sold (like I wasn’t already).

I think, if you have an agent, it would be silly not to run future ideas by him or her. It’s nice knowing I’m working on a book that at least has a solid, saleable premise.

Question to Ponder: Do you have people you run your ideas by before you commit to writing the story?removetweetmeme

Purposeful Posts

Posted on January 25, 2010November 6, 2011 by Katie Ganshert

I’ve spent the last week thinking a lot about my blog. Thanks to Jody Hedlund’s post (here) I started questioning my blog’s purpose. What do I want my blog to accomplish? What do I want to accomplish with my blog?

Ahh…two very important questions.

My three-fold answer:

1. I want to connect with readers.

2. I want to share my journey as a Christian writer chasing publication.

3. I want to help and encourage other writers.

Hopefully these answers will bring some focus to my helter-skelter posts. Maybe narrow my hodge-podge of thoughts into something a bit more meaningful to both of us.

Here’s what I’m going to try out through the month of February (if it doesn’t work, or I don’t like it, I have the freedom to ditch the plan and reevaluate).

Mondays:

A post on the craft of writing. Some sort of tip or insight. Something that I’ve recently learned that has helped me grow as a writer. I’m always reading a craft book, so most likely the post will come from my latest read. Or maybe it’ll be something I thought up all on my own (insert laughing here).

Why?

I hope these posts will help writers grow (myself included).

Wednesdays:

Musings from an agented, full-time working, yet-to-be-published writer trying to live my life for Jesus. Two bonus points if I can relate my musings to Monday’s post.

Why?

It’s been said that a unique voice has the power to captivate readers. Well, in this life, my voice is that of a slightly frazzled, always questioning, hard-working, Midwest Christian gal playing house, teacher, and writer. Whether it’s unique or not is up for debate. Until the jury gets back to me on that one, I’d like to share my voice in an attempt to encourage, challenge, and maybe even humor you.

Why the bonus points?

I like when things have a theme. It makes my inner-teacher smile.

Fridays:

The 3 C’s, of course!

Why?

So I can connect with other readers and writers. So I can share the joys, triumphs, setbacks, and fears I face on this often frightening, slow-moving-yet-exhilarating journey. I hope you’ll continue to share your 3 C’s in the comment section. I truly enjoy reading them.

So now what?

I’m eager to get started. It feels good to have some sort of road map in place. I’m going to start next week (that sounds like something I say to my husband after I’ve devoured a pan of brownies and a carton of ice cream…only it’s usually in reference to healthy eating).

Until then, join me on Wednesday, when I answer T. Anne’s question: Do you run your future story ideas past your agent before writing them?

Question to Ponder: Why do you blog? Why do you read blogs?

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