PATHS TO PUBLICATION - MARTA PERRY

Final Justice_Marta PerryFinal JusticebyMarta Perry.

Goodness, that was a long time ago! I always knew I wanted to write, but it seemed so impractical, so I trained as a teacher instead. But the desire never went away. I was teaching a Sunday school class for six-year-olds when I read the story in the take-home paper and thought, I could do that. I approached it very methodically, studying a lot of examples before trying my own story.

When I thought I had something that had a success at selling, I searched through the Writer's Market in the library and made up a list of all the possible markets. The first place I sent it to returned it with a form rejection. The second sent a form rejection with a handwritten note of encouragement on the bottom. The third place bought it for the magnificent sum of $25 or so. I continued writing for those papers, eventually branching out into writing for teen and adult religious publications. Eventually I moved into mainstream magazines, both fiction and non-fiction, and then into book publishing. Each time I approached a new market I followed the same procedure--reading a lot, studying and dissecting published works until I felt I understood what made them saleable.

I started focusing on book-length fiction in the 90s and had some success, but nothing that led to a long-term career at a particular house. Lines kept dying on me! I kept at it because I was born with a persistence gene, I guess, and when the founding of the Love Inspired line was announced, I felt convinced that was the place where I was meant to be. My first submission to them sold, and I've been with them since 1998.

-Marta Perry
July 2008

Check out Buried Sins, also by Marta, and visit her online at www.martaperry.com.


, , , , , ,

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

EVENT: Staying Home, Staying Creative at AllAccessCon

Image
EVENTS Jason and I are going to help you get into flow during the breakout sessions for the Staying Home, Staying Creative Workshop at All AccessCon on Thursday, April 23, 2020 (4:00 - 7:00 PM ET) . Are you feeling "stuck" at home in more ways than one? Many of us always said that if only we could stay home we'd finally write that novel, learn a new writing skill, or revise that story or article and get it into the submission process. Now that we aren't being given a choice about staying home the situation isn't optimal and might even cause us to lose whatever creative momentum we had to begin with. Join our panel of experts for a frank discussion about staying focused, creative, and successful in our new home environment, followed by a series of breakout sessions. This virtual workshop is presented by AllAccessCon at a reduced price to accommodate those economically impacted by COVID-19. ABOUT THE PRESENTERS Matt Betts Ohio native Matt Betts is a
Read more

VIDEO: Heidi Ruby Miller "Write the Book They Can't Put Down"

Image
VIDEOS "Write the Book They Can't Put Down" is based on my article "The Shifting Grail" from the international award-winning writing guide Many Genres, One Craft , which I co-edited with Michael A. Arnzen . This video captured the version I presented for MGOC's publisher Headline Books and their Zoom Into Books series on April 8, 2020. Using examples of well-known movies and literature, I show how character motivation can dictate pacing and suspense, making your book one readers can't put down. I've also taught an extended version as a class for Seton Hill University's MFA in Writing Popular Fiction program.
Read more