Accolades & New Title for Sizzles, Great Links for Writers

The Okanagan Valley, BC

Just in case you haven't signed up for my occasional newsletter, here's the one I sent out today to my subscribers. Scroll down for new developments for me and my books, plus some links to great blog posts for writers and aspiring authors.

~ JODIE'S UPCOMING BIG MOVE

I’m busy selling my house and packing to move across the country May 1, so am cutting back on my editing until mid-May or June. I’m moving to the beautiful Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, Canada, to be near my family. I know I'm going to love the area, with large lakes, fruit orchards, and vineyards nestled among low mountains!


~ TWO AWARDS FOR SIZZLES

I’m thrilled to report that my writing guide, Style That Sizzles & Pacing for Power (soon to be retitled Fire up Your Fiction) has now won two awards, a Silver Medal in Sept. 2013 from the FAPA President’s Book Awards, and recently, Honorable Mention (third) in the 2013 Writer’s Digest Self-Published E-Book Awards. This is significant not only because it’s from the prestigious Writer’s Digest, but also because they only had two categories for this contest, fiction and nonfiction, so only a handful of awards.

Here’s a quote from the all-positive commentary from the Writer’s Digest judge:

“This book should be on the booklist for Master’s Programs in Writing for Publication.” 

Speaking of which, several college creative writing courses have added this book to their list of recommended reading for students. If you know of any college or continuing education courses that would benefit from adding my book to their lists, I’d love it if you could suggest it!

~ UPCOMING TITLE CHANGE 

And I’ve decided to change the title of Style That Sizzles & Pacing for Power to Fire up Your Fiction, so it’s instantly apparent what the book is about. And of course I'll make it clear in the description and the first few pages of the book that this is the same book, but with a new title.

                                             

~ THIRD BOOK TO BE RELEASED IN 2014

I’m almost finished the third book in my series, An Editor’s Guide to Writing Compelling Fiction. This one, called Immerse the Readers in Your Story World, is full of ideas and techniques for engaging your readers and bringing your characters and story to life on the page. Unfortunately, with my big move, the release might be delayed until around mid 2014.                                



~ ONGOING PRESENTATIONS AT WRITERS' CONFERENCES

I’ve also been busy presenting craft-of-writing workshops at writers’ conferences, most recently, the excellent SDSU Writers’ Conference in San Diego, Jan. 24-26, where I gave two presentations, “Engage Your Readers with Deep Point of View” and “Revise for Success.” Feedback from attendees was enthusiastic for both. Here are a few samples, with more coming that will be posted on my website at www.JodieRenner.com/workshops.

“Jodie Renner made my time a huge success at this year’s SDSU Writers’ Conference in San Diego. Her presentation on revision, titled “Revise for Success,” was thorough, informative, and succinct. ... Jodie Renner was a true find at the 2014 San Diego Writers’ Conference. I intend to stay current on whatever future projects include her.” ~ William Patterson, San Diego, Jan. 31, 2014

“Jodie Renner took 15 minutes to knock five years of bad writing habits out of me. Thank you.” ~ Lauren Monahan, Jan. 29, 2014

For a list of my past and future presentations to writers, as well as other comments from attendees, please visit www.JodieRenner.com/workshops 

~ RECENT RELEVANT, USEFUL BLOG POSTS FOR WRITERS:

Writers’ Conferences & Book Festivals in North America in 2014

Book Contests for Indie Authors 

Indie Publishing – Lessons Learned and Still Learning 

Fire up Your Fiction with Foreshadowing 

Using Thought-Reactions to Add Attitude & Immediacy 

Character Descriptions – Learn From the Pros! 

10 Tips for Attracting a Top-Notch Editor for Your Story 

10 Ways to Add Depth to Your Scenes 

Thanks, Amazon, for Promoting my Books for Free! 

Don’t Stop the Story to Introduce Each Character

Jodie Renner, a freelance fiction editor specializing in thrillers and other fast-paced fiction, has published two books to date in her series, An Editor’s Guide to Writing Compelling Fiction: Writing a Killer Thriller and Style That Sizzles & Pacing for Power. For more info, please visit Jodie’s author website or editor website, her blog, Resources for Writers, and find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Jodie also blogs alternate Mondays on The Kill Zone blog. Subscribe to Jodie’s “Resources for Writers” newsletter here.