Vogts’ book giveaway

Fellow Kansas writer Deborah Vogts has an author event coming up at the Gridley Public Library (Coffey County) on Saturday, October 23, from 10 – 11:30 a.m.

Deborah writes Christian romance novels based in the Flint Hills. So far, she has published Snow Melts in Spring and Seeds of Summer and is working on a third book which is set in autumn.

Just for fun, I’m going to hold a drawing to give away a copy of Deborah’s “Seeds of Summer.” Just post a comment below.

Names of everyone who comments will be assigned a number and one number will be selected by a random number generator.

Deadline to sign up is noon on Sat. Oct. 23.

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For those interested in writing, Deborah talks with another interviewer about her writing practice and the business of writing.

Q: Do you have any suggestions for the aspiring writer?

A: Write what is on your heart and don’t be discouraged. Read LOTS of books (especially those in your genre), join a writing group and/or a critique group. Write, and continue learning the craft. Be open to criticism and helpful advice. Never give up.

Q: Which books on writing have been the most helpful to you and why?

A: My top three books would probably be:

Stein on Writing by Sol Stein

Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell

Word Painting by Rebecca McClanahan.

These are all easy reads and full of helpful advice for the beginning and/or advanced writer. They are books I continue to go back to for reference and learning.

Q: Where do you write?

A: I used to write in my kitchen but in recent years, I moved my office to our bedroom where I can shut the door on noise. I have allotted 1/3 of this room to my office with a comfy chair as well as a desk and shelves, file cabinet, etc. All I need for working. When I’m really trying to get my word count in, I’ll work on my NEO by Alphasmart, which has a small screen and allows me to write without editing. Some days I’ll take my Neo and work outside under our awning.

Q: What’s your favorite part of the writing business? Least favorite?

A: My least favorite part is writing on a deadline. My most favorite is “Fan mail.” This is something I never equated into the “author picture.” I LOVE getting letters or emails from my readers. That has been such a huge blessing to me.

Q: What are your favorite writing conferences and why?

A: The American Christian Fiction Writers Conference. If you write Christian fiction, this is the conference you should attend, with the largest number of agents and editors in the business. Not only do they offer top-quality workshops by best-selling authors, but it’s a wonderful opportunity to fellowship with other Christian fiction authors.

Q: What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

A: I’ve had to learn to be disciplined with my writing time—and I’m still trying to learn how to do better—and how to convince my family that my writing is a real job. I’ve been fortunate that my books have been slated a year apart, but with everything that goes into the writing process and then the marketing, the months go by so fast!

Q: Has anything surprised you about the publishing life?

A: I’ve been surprised at how much time marketing takes. As aspiring authors, we’re told that you have to market, and yes, that it takes a lot of your time, but oh my goodness . . . I never quite expected it to take so much time from my writing schedule. I had always thought that I was good at multi-tasking, but when it comes to marketing and writing, I have to do one or the other—I haven’t figured out a good way to do them both. Maybe the best idea is to set aside one or two days a week to do “only marketing.” I’m not sure…I’m still working on that one.

Q: Do you plot out your story ahead of time, or do you dream it up as you go?

A: When I begin a new book, I like to start off with my characters. I will interview them and create character worksheets for them. It’s a fun process and really helps me to get to know them. After that, I’ll start working on a plot outline, which may be very vague at the beginning. From there, I’ll form a short and long synopsis of the story that will be used for marketing. Once all of these steps are done, I’ll start writing. The plot might change, and the characters may go through transitions along the way, but it’s always fun to see how the story progresses and eventually ends.