I expect to make several posts on this subject in the coming weeks and months. Not that I KNOW I’ll be published anytime soon. One can’t know that until a deal is signed. However, I have managed to make a huge step in the right direction so I’m feeling far more confident then a few weeks ago at the prospect that some day, perhaps if I’m lucky, I will see my mystery in print.
What was the huge step?
I now have an agent! I’ve been working that into conversation when I can…my agent. My AGENT! It’s pretty darn exciting.
But I’m getting a little ahead of myself.
I first wrote a book. Sounds like a simple concept, but apparently there are folks out there who think they can sell an idea for a book. For non-fiction that may be true.
If you’re trying to sell a novel, you need to have written a novel. Until you finish step one, you’re not going to get published.
So, I wrote a book. I had many folks read the book. Some of my readers were writers, some were friends (more on that later) and some were family (also more to follow on that topic). I took much of their advice, passed on much of it and worked until the final product barely resembled the 1st draft. I’m pretty darn proud of how it turned out.
For several days, I sort of enjoyed that accomplishment. I had written a book!
Then I got to work.
BTW, if you're interested, you can read a portion of the 1st chapter of the book here: The Lethal Frame - a Mystery Chapter 1
M. L. Doyle has served in the U.S. Army at home and abroad for more than two decades as both a soldier and civilian. Mary is the author of The Desert Goddess series, an urban fantasy romp consisting of The Bonding Spell and The Bonding Blade. She has also penned The Master Sergeant Harper mystery series which has earned numerous awards including an IPPY, a Lyra Award and the Carrie McCray Literary Award. Mary is the co-author of two memoirs; A Promise Fulfilled; the story of a Wife and Mother, Soldier and General Officer (Jan. 201) and the memoir, I’m Still Standing: From Captive U.S. Soldier to Free Citizen—My Journey Home (Touchstone, 2010), which was nominated for an NAACP Image award. Mary's work has been published by The Goodman Project, The War Horse, The WWrite Blog and The Wrath-Bearing Tree, an online magazine for which she serves as a fiction editor. A Minneapolis, Minnesota native, Mary current lives in Baltimore. You can reach her at her website at mldoyleauthor.com.
