Q&A with Sheila Dalton discussion

... so be my guest!

Hey Sheila,

I finally made it. :) With your first book, how did you know you finally had a project worth putting your name on?

At first with a project, I'm excited about it. Then I work on it, finish but when I put it aside or start the editing process, I feel like the base just isn't good enough.

So then I start a new project.

How do you know when what you've written is ready to to be 'seen'?

Tirzah

Tirzah wrote: "Hey Sheila,

I finally made it. :) With your first book, how did you know you finally had a project worth putting your name on?

At first with a project, I'm excited about it. Then I work o..."

Hey, Tirzah! How's my favourite, brilliant trailer-maker?
I think what I would do if I were in a similar situation, is not start a new project, but put the old one up on a writing critique site and get feedback from others.
But you may already have done that?
In which case, I'd revise according to the criticism I got, THEN put it away for a while - maybe a month or two. Then take it out again. You may be surprised to find you like it, or, failing that, you may see more clearly where you think it needs to be "fixed".
I never know for sure when a project is ready to be seen in the sense of sending it out to publishers. But I found TNBW helpful that way. People liked what I wrote, plus gave good criticism. I used the criticism, then I went over it a few more times because I'm a perfectionist and, maybe like you, I find it hard to let go of something, to say that it's done.
But eventually I did get to the point where I thought I couldn't do anything more, even if it wasn't perfect and, bolstered by positive feedback from friends who had read it and from two writing sites (Yes, I had it critiqued on two separate sites), I decided to take the plunge and send it out.
So that's not really an answer; but writing is like that. Nothing is set in concrete. There are no real rules. It's a process that is different for everyone.
But it sounds like perhaps you have a problem with your initial concept or idea, rather than your writing style, or the structure of what you've written - that you come back to it and don't like the original concept? If that's the case, can you give me a specific example? I might be able to comment more helpfully then.

So Sheila is it based on a true story at all? It is very realistic!

Hi, Sandra
First of all, thanks for reviewing the book on your blog. People can go here to see it:
http://jeanzbookreadnreview.blogspot....

And, yes and no, in answer to your question! Big help, huh?
The actual story is a product of my imagination, but it was based on many true events. For instance, I went to Guatemala during the Civil War. My friend and I traveled on second-class buses which were stopped, and Mayan men were taken away, never to return. We heard from locals of the churches "converted" to jails.
I did know a psychoanalyst with a big heart, but he was much older than Jerry, and never rescued anyone from Guatemala. I've known bad analysts, too, but none so bad as Michael.
And I've read many accounts of feral children, and also of cases of children like Inez, who are damaged in some way, and kept under lock and key by their parents in third world countries, mostly because of lack of mental health care.
But Inez and what she did, and what became of her - it's all fiction.

I still loved it! Definitely recommend it as a MUST read!

Sandra "Jeanz" wrote: "I still loved it! Definitely recommend it as a MUST read!"

That's really wonderful, Sandra. It means a lot when someone likes your book. It kind of knocks me out, in fact!

I'm still shocked by how much it costs in England!!

I don't know why its the case I have spoken and become friends with another author Cheri Schmidt and she has the same problem and if I am honest the price is a large factor too when buying a book. Cher has her books on Bookdepository.co.uk too and still no matter what she does they seem to turn out expensive. I will say with her books (not sure if this is the case with yours) that her books are a large size paperback? I think books in general seem to be expensive these days anyway even some on kindle seem highly priced!

Sandra "Jeanz" wrote: "I don't know why its the case I have spoken and become friends with another author Cheri Schmidt and she has the same problem and if I am honest the price is a large factor too when buying a book. ..."

Of course, price is a factor when buying books. It is for me, too. And, personally, I wonder whether anyone in the U.K. will take a chance on an author they don't know at that huge price. It's a shame, because I would love to have U.K. readers.
My book, as you know, is 382 pages long, so it's a "fat" book! It's also a trade paperback, which means it's slightly larger than the usual pb. But still, it costs too much.
I'd advise people in England to wait for the ebook edition, but I don't know when it will be available, or how much it will cost.

Sandra, I just discovered that The Girl in the Box is listed on Google ebooks for 7.99 in Canada. I'm not sure about the U.K., but it's worth checking.
Here's the link for the Canadian site:
http://books.google.ca/ebooks?id=tq4i...