How to Get Your Novel Published

When Gina Holmes published her debut novel, Crossing Oceans, she received high praise from prolifically published authors and won awards. From her website we’re told this novel “was a Christy and Gold Medallion finalist and winner of the Carol Award, INSPY, and RWA’s Inspirational Reader’s Choice, as well as being a CBA, ECPA, Amazon and PW Religion bestseller.”

Sound like a dream come true? Yes.  But a dream that came with a price. A price she was willing to pay.

Gina Holmes personifies patience and diligence.  If you’re holding onto that dream you’re going to be discovered as a writer and be immediately launched into fame, sit down right now. This news will be hard for you to take. She had to work at her writing.  Yes, she is gifted, talented and called to write, but she says it took ten years to get her first novel published. Notice I said first novel published.  It was the fifth novel she wrote. Learn from her experience in this video below.

(Click on picture to watch video on YouTube.)

Dreams happen while you’re sleeping.  Dreams come true when waking moments are filled with the sweat equity required to perfect your abilities.

Athletes exercise.
Scholars study.
Scientists experiment.

Why do writers think we can write right on the first try? As Gina pointed out, it takes four years to get a college degree, shouldn’t it take at least that long to learn the craft of writing?

I made it easy for you to follow Gina’s advice.

  “Get yourself to a writers conference!”

• • Colorado Christian Writers Conference
    Estes Park, Co – May 14th-17th, 2014
  • Northwest Christian Writers Renewal
    Redmond, WA – April 11-12, 2014
  • Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference
    Blue Ridge, GA  – April 4-5, 2014
  • Write! Vancouver
    Vancouver, BC, Canada – May 23-24, 201
  • Wisconsin Romance Writers of America (WisRWA) Relax and Renew Conference
    Oconomowoc, WI –  May31-June 1
  • Write-to-Publish Conference
    Wheaton, IL – June 5-8
  • Write! Canada
    Guelph, Ontario – June 13 – 15
  • International Christian Retail Show
    St. Louis, MO – June 23-26
  • Great Lakes Get Away
    Duluth, MN – July 19-21
  • Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference
    Philadelphia, PA – July 31-August 1st
  • Realm Makers 2013
    St. Louis, MO – August 2-3
  • Oregon Christian Writers Summer Conference
    Portland, OR – August 12-15
  • American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) Conference
    Indianapolis, IN – September 12-15
  • Writing for the Soul Conference
    Colorado Springs, CO February 13-16, 2014
  • Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference
    Felton, CA – March 20
  • Inland NW Christian Writers Conference
    Spokane, WA – March 21-22, 2014

(This is not a completed list.)

Gina’s Recommended Books:

• Self-editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself into Print by Renni Browne and Dave King
• Making a Literary Life by Carolyn See
• Creating Character Emotions by Ann Hood
• Word Painting by Rebecca McClanahan
• On Writing by Stephen King
• Techniques of the Selling Writer by Duane Swain
• Writing the Popular Novel: A Comprehensive Guide to Crafting Fiction that Sells by Loren Estelman
• The Modern Library Writer’s Workshop: A Guide to the Craft of Fiction by Stephen Koch
• Another great source for studying is Gina’s blog, Novel Rocket

Although most writers desire to be published, that isn’t our main purpose for writing.  We long to encourage and help people with the words birthed through our own pain and experience.

“Darkness hates light and by sharing our experiences even under the guise of fiction, we are able to minister to those who are travelling the path we’ve already come down. By exposing our own sins and secrets, we are able to understand and sympathize in a way those who haven’t gone through what we have can. More than that, we are allowing others to share their struggles and find healing and support.” Gina Holmes

To have our healing words read, they have to be published.
To be published, they have to be written.
To be written, we have to put our butts in that chair.

We’re only one page a day away.