Meet The Author ~ Synithia Williams

Synithia Williams has loved romance novels since reading her first one at the age of thirteen. It was only natural she would begin penning her own romances soon after. But it wasn’t until 2010 that she began actively pursuing her publishing dream. She completed her first novel, You Can’t Plan Love, in the fall of 2010, which published September 2012, and is now working on edits for book two.

The Writers Buzz online magazine featured her short story, Weekends, in October 2011, and she is a member of Romance Writers of America. When she isn’t writing, this Green Queen—as dubbed by the State Newspaper—works to improve air and water quality, while balancing the needs of her husband and two sons. For more information on Synithia and her writing, visit her website where she blogs about writing, life, and relationships.

You can read about Synithia's new release, You Can't Plan Love, here.

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Meet The Author ~ MJ Kane:

“Writing is not to be taken lightly. It's more than putting words on paper. It's the art of seducing your readers into your world.” – M.J. Kane

I am an aspiring author with big dreams. As an only child, I spent a lot of time exercising my imagination by acting out short stories with my collection of dolls. As I got older, I turned to reading books as a way to escape the boredom and keep my mind active. My favorite genres were Sci-Fi, Drama, Mystery, and Suspense. Very rarely did I dip into a Romance novel. And to think, when I decided to start writing, Romance was the genre I chose.

My love of Romance novels started by accident. I was at work on my one-hour lunch break and halfway through, I finished reading the final book in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Return of the King. A co-worker noticed, dug into her desk, and loaned me a Nora Roberts book. I wasn’t excited about reading a sappy romance novel but decided it was better than being bored. Thus, my love of the genre began.

Four years later, as a stay at home mom, I once again found myself bored. One day, my husband reminded me of a short story I had written, a fan fic of the show Lost, and suggested I continue to write it. I tried but realized I didn’t want to continue writing something that someone else created. I wanted my character to experience more. Before I knew it, I was at the library reading books on writing and the romance genre. My desire to write began.

Over the past two years, I’ve gone through the ups and downs of learning the art of story telling. Frustrated, I’ve put down my pen and paper for a while and gave up. But a month later, my character was knocking down the door, begging me to tell her story. And tell it I have.

The genre I have chosen – or rather has chosen me – is Multicultural Romance / Women’s Fiction. Rather than approach telling my characters stories in the tradition of the romance genre, I have created The Butterfly Memoirs, a collection of stories told by the characters themselves—a diary if you will.

Butterflies have long been a symbol of dynamic change in people’s lives. This dynamic change is what each of my characters—both the heroine and the hero—go through in their story. My goal is to not only entertain my readers but also to inspire, encourage, and bring hope to those who can relate. My characters do not live in the world of make-believe, they are like you and me, facing everyday hardships, trials, and heartbreak, yet they manage to find the moments of joy and happiness that keeps them going.

The first book of the series, A Heart Not Easily Broken, is about an interracial romance between Ebony Campbell, a black woman who is determined to reach her goal of becoming a veterinarian technician and Brian Young, a white man who is an up and coming musician. Despite their racial differences, it doesn’t take them long to realize they have a lot in common and support each other in ways others from their past did not. Ebony finds herself carrying a secret that could not only destroy her newfound relationship with Brian; it could also ruin the life of her best friend, Yasmine Phillips. Ebony must choose. Does she keep her secret and let life go on around her? Or will she expose the truth and deal with the consequences of her decision?

Sample First Chapter

A Heart Not Easily Broken is available now!

To learn more about my writing journey and me, visit my blog: This Writer’s Life

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The Process of Self-Editing:

A publisher once told me, she tells her authors to “puke it out.” As crass as that sounds, I agree. Don’t try to edit as you go along; get the story out of your head while it’s fresh.

When I edit, I read the entire novel without touching a finger to the keyboard. I download to my Kindle and simply highlight. It allows me to read as the prospective reader. My mind remains focused on the story, not the editing process. And, something I might have suggested the writer remove, might make sense once I’ve read the entire manuscript.

Next, go back chapter by chapter and add the emotion and action you may have missed on the first run through. Then, read again, preferably aloud. The moment something stumps you, stop and edit accordingly. If you, as the writer, get tripped up, imagine the reader. They don’t know the characters as intimately as you do.

Another good technique is to make a list of common, rookie writing mistakes. They’re easy to find. Follow some of your favorite agents' blogs and Twitter accounts, and believe me, they’ll tell you what they hate (I’ll do that here in a second). Add to your list commonly misspelled and misused words, again this is not difficult to locate. You’ve all read books and blogs that the author didn’t see the need to edit properly. What bugs you? Head hopping, the use of passive statements, the overuse of words such as very and hopefully. Too many dialog tags is one of my peeves, and sometimes, “he said” is sufficient. The tag is only there to remind the speaker who’s speaking. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Let the characters' words and actions speak for themselves.

This process should put you minimally at three self-edits, but don’t think for a minute you are through. Nope, now you need your Beta to read your masterpiece. When she’s finished and has made her suggestions, rewrite, and read again. Don’t want to upset you, but you’re still not finished. Now, you need a professional editor, or if your work is clean, a proofreader will suffice. But wait, there’s more. After you receive your manuscript back from your chosen editor, you need to accept or reject her recommendations, and yep you guessed correctly, read through your work one final time. So, Darin Calhoun, you are correct. My suggestion is at least six to seven read-throughs before you are ready to query or self-publish.

Anything less and you’ll just be a blip on the screen.

At what point do you throw in the towel OR self-publish?

Stop! Read that title again before you freak out.

If you misread my title as self-publishing is throwing in the towel, read it again. I said, “At what point do you throw in the towel OR self-publish?” Self-publishing is not giving up, and I truly do not feel that is the case. The only way you give up is if, as I said, you throw in the towel on querying and refuse to self-publish. Now that that is clear let’s continue.

However, like it or not, it is the way many view the act of self-publishing. After all, who writes a manuscript with the initial thought, “I’m going to write this book and self-publish it?”

The answer: no one. Not unless they’ve been through the querying gamut before and decide they’re not even going to bother this time.

Be honest. Doesn’t every author originally have dreams of grandeur, thinking they wrote the next Gone with the Wind, only to watch their dreams crumble as their inbox fills with one rejection after another?

I have spent years watching aspiring authors pour their heart and soul into a novel, heck two novels and in many situations three and four. They keep typing away, waiting for that gem that will eventually land them on the New York Times® Bestsellers List.

After every novel, they start anew the querying process. Usually they query the same agents who rejected them before, with the attitude: This is it! This is what the agent’s profile says she wants. Only to be rejected again.

So, what does it take? It’s not just a matter of having a well-written manuscript; I’ve certainly seen my share of horribly written novels. It cannot be just that it’s lacking originality. I’ve seen a plethora of the same story until I want to puke, example: vampire and werewolves...sorry, no offense.

So what is it? What does it take to have an agent or publisher notice you?

Again, I apologize; I wish I had the answer. Unfortunately, I do not.

But, here’s what I can tell you. If you have written a novel, have had it read by several beta readers (not just friends and family), and have had it professionally proofed for errors, not necessarily edited, just checked over for errors and you are still not getting a request to publish… Why not try self-publishing? Stories abound of Indie authors who took a chance and that chance paid off. They let the readers decide, and guess what?

The readers said, “Yes!”