Presenting Emma Lai

I'm very excited to have Miss Emma Lai at my blog. She is one of my critique partners and a super awesome writer. Her characters are so vivid and rich I wish I could crawl between the pages and stay awhile. So with no further ramblings from me, here's Emma.

This week, I’m marking the two year anniversary of the release of my first published story, His Ship, Her Fantasy: Mates of the Guardians, Book 1, in a couple of ways. 

First, I’m contemplating re-branding and offering a $25 gift certificate to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or The Wild Rose Press--winner’s choice--to one lucky commenter who leaves a helpful suggestions or comments at my blog under the post “It’s All in the Branding” (http://emmalaiwrites.blogspot.com/2011/08/its-all-in-branding.html) 

Second, I’m offering winner’s choice of one of my published stories as well as ARCs of upcoming releases to random commenters this week at any blog at which I am a guest, including this blog, or the host (Emma Lai Writes).

Now, onto the topic du jour. As I contemplated what to write, I covered a broad range of ideas: synopsis of my career to date, analysis of time invested, and commentary on publication process. However, all of these things are completely subjective. Every writer has their own process, their own speed of writing, and their own ups and downs on the road to publication.

So, today I’m going to share with what I believe to be virtues that benefit authors...

Courage: It takes courage to put your work out there for others to criticize.

Humility: While it is important to celebrate accomplishments (like releases and anniversaries), it’s also important to remember those who helped you reach your goals. A good critique partner, an excellent editor, supportive family members and friends, and the ever important readers, who grant you your success.

Integrity: Everyone gets helpful hints or ideas from somewhere, so give credit and acknowledgements where appropriate. (This also means don’t plagiarize or pirate others’ works.) 

Respect:  Not everyone shares your opinion. People may not like your plot, your character, your writing style, or whatever. That’s okay. They have the right to their own opinion and it should be respected, no matter if they don’t show respect in return.

Patience: It takes time to craft a quality story. It takes time for critique partners to critique. It takes time for editors to respond. It takes time for the entire publishing process. (Disclaimer: While I think patience is beneficial to have, it’s not one of my virtues. :) )

Now, for those of you who like puzzles, you might have realized my list of virtues is ordered to spell C-H-I-R-P. Why is that? Because I want you to sing out the virtues you find important. Remember, I’m giving away prizes to people who leave comments!