Guest Author: Amanda Richardson

My guest today is Amanda Richardson, author of the debut novel Whisper of Hope, which will be the first novel of the Kingston Hearts trilogy. Please join me in reading more about Amanda’s writing journey on her very first novel experience!

If you are interested in participating in the program, you can submit here.

Amanda Richardson

1. Tell us your name, and a link to where we can find you (blog, Facebook, etc).

My name is Amanda Richardson.  You can find me at ramanda429@wordpress.com, www.facebook.com/authorkeeney , and follow me on twitter @ramanda429

2. How many books have you written? This can include both published and unpublished works. Describe each of them in 1-2 sentences apiece (if published, feel free to include the links as well).

I have not gotten any completely written though I have 2 in the making and a third in the thoughts. I am working hard to be published by the beginning of next year. Sooner if possible.

3. Tell me a little bit about your current WIP.

My current book is called “A Whisper of Hope”. It is my very first NaNoWriMo project as well as my first novel.  Though I have what I call the “NaNo Draft” completed, which means I have the concept of the whole book, now it’s time to get down to business and actually work. I also am making character profiles too, and have one of the main character’s first draft and basic sketch done. All in all I am on a roll, and totally loving what is to come.

4. What does writing preparation look like for you? Do you do full outlines and character profiles, or do you just start with a general idea and write?

Well, at first I did a very minor outline. It seemed to work until I got deeper into knowing my characters and wanting my readers to know them better. I am planning on turning it into a full blown outline which will then help the editing process. I have always been the type to do everything in steps and be incredibly organized. For once I wanted to go outside of my comfort and just go with the flow on this first project, and it worked. Now it is time to tighten up and get organized.

5. Editing is a challenge for many writers. Give us some of your tips for editing efficiently and well.

I haven’t edited my novel, but when it comes to the few short stories I have written I found that after the initial edit if you read from the very end sentence to the beginning sentence (backwards) you can catch more mistakes. My aunt actually told me about that. I was surprised by how many mistakes I found this way. You don’t want to do it for the first edit though.

6. Research is another challenge writers face, but is an important part of the writing process. What are some of your research tips?

Bookmarking pages is great, but if you have too many they can be tough to find, unless of course you have separate folders, I like to use a word document, find a site I like bookmark it, but also copy the link into the document with a description on why it is being used that way you can just hit the ctrl button and mouse to go straight to the site. This has worked for my research for this project I am working on as well as college research papers.

7. if you have been published (self or traditionally), what type of marketing did you find worked the best for you? What was the least helpful?

Have not been published…yet, but I can say I would love to be able to market myself by doing book signings in different places. It will let people from all over get to know me as a person, plus I am finding that finding resources online work too. Blogging about it before it is on the market, and finding other authors who are willing to market you as well. You have to be able to sell yourself to others and convince them to sell you to their virtual base. It’s a huge chain. But I will be doing self-publishing.

8. What genre do you write in? What are some of the challenges to writing this particular genre well?

I am writing in the New Adult Genre, I choose this because my novel is a mixture of romance and suspense. But the book focuses on the maniac and romance about 50/50. The biggest challenge was figuring out how to pick what genre my novel went under.

9. What advice would you give to a writer who is starting out?

Don’t give up the second it gets tough, and I would recommend the NaNo way of writing, don’t edit until after. The reason why I think this is a good strategy is because the more you focus on mistakes and editing the more likely you won’t get to the finished product. From my own experiences anyways that was the case. I tried and tried to write novels in the past and failed because I tried to perfect everything as I went. Well, obviously it backfired out I would be published more than once. I finally got a finished draft by participating in the NaNoWriMo challenge. It gave me the motivation to keep moving. And I did it in 15 days. Also, advertise yourself from the beginning. Get social and get people interested in you and your book in advance, plus finding other writers are helpful because some are kind enough to give advice to you get to where they are.

10. What are your writing, editing, marketing, and research goals for 2013?

For 2013 I will edit my current project, “A Whisper of Hope”, participate in NaNoWriMo in July writing the sequel, “A Leap of Faith”. I really hope to have to have my first novel published by Christmas. Then I’ll be doing NaNoWriMo in November, which will be writing book three of my series called “Dancing with Danger” And if all goes as planned I will at least start the editing process of the sequel. I also am getting myself known on the web; made an author page, joined twitter, and blog on WordPress. I am marketing myself while meeting new authors and learning from them.

11. Pretend I am from a publishing house and you are looking for me to take on one of your books. Pitch it to me in 1-2 paragraphs.

My book is called A Whisper of Hope, it is the first to a series called Kingston Hearts.

Sage Collins is finally about to become an adult after spending most of her life in the foster care system. Graduation means a chance at a new life for Sage, who has spent many days and nights living in fear that the man from her past would make good on his promise to find her and hurt her.
After she receives a terrifying email, she takes a chance with the local authorities. Detective brothers Ryan Randall and Jeremy Alton surprise her with their eagerness to help and she starts to feel like she might finally be safe. Detective Randall pursues her case with the dogged determination of a man who is seeking redemption, and his brother Jeremy because he believes Sage is the other half of the soul he has been missing. The two begin to grow closer as the investigation moves forward.
Sage’s first instinct is to run away, but when tragedy strikes, she finds herself running straight into his arms. He vows to protect her at all costs, but when Sage suddenly disappears, he and his brother realize that if they want to save her, they will have to operate outside the law that they hold so dear.

12. Finally, is there anything else you would like your readers to know?

Let’s see, I would be willing to promote anyone who is going down the same path as me. Like Sarah, said “Pay it forward”. I love to read and will be an honest critic, and give advice if anyone should want me to; for anyone inclined to ask, you can contact me from my “contact page” on WordPress or any other way listed from above. Happy writing everyone, hope you would like to follow my path to success… hopefully!