“Writers write, but authors publish.” ~ Janet Harris PhD
Anyone can write, but not everyone will get published. So how do you become an author? If I could give you the answer to that right here in my lowly little blog, I’d be a magician or a genius. (I like to think I’m a little of each, but you know better.) What I can tell you is, while you need to listen to your heart, you also need to listen to as many other authors as you can. The more you listen, the more you learn.
This afternoon, I had the pleasure of going to a lecture in the Texas Writers and Words Series at the Heard Craig Carriage House in McKinney. The speaker was the very knowledgeable and humorous Janet Harris from Brown Books Publishing Group. I scribbled down a few notes in between amusing anecdotes and useful tips.
Ms. Harris shared with us the importance of the opening sentence of a book grabbing the reader, enticing them to want to read more. Did my opening sentence intrigue you? Writers write… Here’s a brief video explaining the concept of the opening sentence. Also, one of her pet peeves was the word “it.” If we avoid using that word, our writing will improve. (I could have said, it will improve your writing.) Great tip…but now I’ll have to rewrite all my work. Dang!
The hour lecture flew by, but a few of us stopped to chat afterwards. I asked Janet if she was stopping for lunch, and she was. So, four of us walked over to Snug on the Square and had a great lunch and even a greater conversation. How often do you have the opportunity to hear an inspiring lecture and have lunch with the speaker?
I’m one lucky writer! But, now I have a lot of work to do. What could “IT” be?
Toni Andrukaitis 
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