Of course, I could have just said that means that the Bony Blithe Gala is coming up quickly! That however would have taken all of the fun out of that intro! If you don't have your tickets yet, please don't wait! This is a limited, ticketed event. For more information head on over to ticket page on the website
Also, we are pleased to announce that on the evening of the gala, A Novel Spot will be setting up a mobile bookstore full of the shortlisted titles so that you can not only add them to your library, but have them signed by the authors as well! This will be CASH ONLY.
Write about it Wednesday is all about Elizabeth Duncan this week. Not only is she an accomplished journalist and teacher, but she's a pretty phenomenal novelist as well! Her first published book, The Cold Light of Mourning, won the William F. Deeck - Malice Domestic 2006 Grant for Unpublished Writers and the 2008 St. Martin's/Malice Domestic Award for best first traditional mystery.
Elizabeth was shortlisted for the Bony Blithe Award for her book, A Small Hill to Die On (Minotaur).
And now, I present to you, Elizabeth J. Duncan!
The path to publication sometimes runs smooth
The phone call that changed my life came on a dreary,
grey afternoon in March, 2008. I was faced with a stack of student papers that
needed grading and pondering whether to put the kettle on and make a start on
the marking or take a nap. I was leaning toward the nap when the phone rang.
“This is Ruth Cavin calling from St. Martin’s
Press,” said the voice on the other end. I didn’t hear much after that. “Malice
Domestic competition … winner … contract … publish your book….”
And when I put the phone down, I had gone from being
one more would-be author to someone who had been offered a book deal by one of
the most respected and influential editors at one of the most prestigious
publishing houses in New York.
How? By entering and winning a competition.
This was the second major prize my manuscript
had won under the working title Dead Posh and it would go on to be nominated
for two more awards (Arthur Ellis and Agatha) after it was published in 2009 as
The Cold Light of Mourning.
Two years earlier, I’d been taking a nap on the
Sunday afternoon of Oscar night when the phone rang. That time, it had been
Harriette Sackler, ringing to tell me that my manuscript had won the
William F. Deeck-Malice Domestic grant for unpublished writers. http://malicedomestic.org/grants.html
Winning this award was a huge boost to my fiction writing career.
The competition is judged by people who know and love the traditional mystery
genre and they created the grants program to support and encourage emerging
writers. They send a powerful message to the writers they choose to receive
their grant: you’re on the right track. Keep going. We believe in you and your
ability to produce work at a publishable level. They are also saying, in a
subtle way, that they expect you to at least finish your manuscript. So now there’s
no turning back. You’re committed.
Both competitions are administered by a
convention called Malice Domestic http://malicedomestic.org , held
annually for the past 25 years in the Washington, DC area. And if you love the
traditional mystery, either as a writer or reader, I urge you to attend the
conference. It’s great fun and you’ll learn a lot.
And of course, sooner or later, an author needs
a good agent. Finding an agent can be a challenge, but in my case, I’d already
done the heavy lifting -- got a publishing contract – so that opened a door or
two.
After I had won the St. Martin’s-Malice
Domestic award I signed up for the agents meeting at Bloody Words, the Canadian
conference for crime writers. I was randomly assigned to meet for 15 minutes
with Dominick Abel, a New York agent. We turned out to be a good match. He
knows all the editors and decision makers at St. Martin’s Press and to my delight,
agreed to represent me. One look at his stellar client list, which includes
Elizabeth Peters, Ian Rankin and Peter Robinson, and I knew my fledgling career
was in very good hands. He negotiated the first contract with St. Martin’s and
every one since.
So my path to publication was smooth and easy.
I took the direct route. I have no piles of shabby manuscripts languishing in a
bottom drawer and no soul-destroying emails from editors or letters of
rejection from agents. In fact, before The Cold Light of Mourning, I had never
written so much as a short story. That book was my very first attempt at
fiction writing.
So I’m thrilled that my fourth novel, A Small
Hill to Die On, was shortlisted for the Bony Blithe competition. Because
competitions don’t just launch careers, they sustain them. Winning a
competition at any stage of your writing career is a very good thing. And so is
being nominated. Being nominated can be leveraged to generate publicity, revive
a sagging career, renew interest in you and your work, and tell you that you’re
still on the right track and that people still want to read what you’ve written.
If getting published in the traditional manner
is your goal, I hope my story inspires you. Here’s my advice: get in with the
people who are doing what you aspire to do (go to conferences and conventions)
and enter competitions.
Success is often a delicate balance of luck,
timing and talent. So to give yourself a competitive advantage on your path to
publication, make sure your manuscript is as polished and professional as it
can possibly be.
And try to write better than everyone else.
The Cold Light of Mourning, which won the William F. Deeck- Malice Domestic 2006 Grant for Unpublished Writers and the 2008 St. Martin’s/Malice Domestic Award for best first traditional mystery, is her first work of The Cold Light of Mourning, which won the William F. Deeck- Malice Domestic 2006 Grant for Unpublished Writers and the 2008 St. Martin’s/Malice Domestic Award for best first traditional mystery, is her first work of.
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