Okay, not really but it is time that I embrace my new identity. I haven't gotten alot of visitors on this blog, but I do appreciate those who have stopped by. I've built a new web site for my new pen name, Shelly Ellis, at shellyellisbooks.com. There I talk about my upcoming book series about the Gibbons Golddiggers with the first release slated for May 2013. I also have a new blog where I talk about my adventures in the industry and BEING PREGNANT WITH MY FIRST BABY!
See you there!
- L.S. Childers
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
OMG! I got nominated for an award!
So I found out I got nominated for 2012 African American Literary Award in the romance category for my book "A Love Built to Last." When I was scrolling the lists (after seeing another author's request on Twitter to vote for them) I was shocked and honored to see (OMG! OMG! OMG!) that I -- lil' ol' LaShell -- was on the list. And not only was I on the list, but so were romance heavyweights like Brenda Jackson, Francis Ray, Gwynne Forester, and Adrianne Byrd. So not only do I have a new contract with an awesome publisher but I got nominated for a highly respected award for African American authors! I don't care that I probably won't win. 2012 is turning out to be a great year!
Another thing that crossed my mind seeing my book title and name on the list: I'm so proud of the lead characters of the novel -- Melody Cannon and Clayton Reed. I think any author will tell you that when you write a story, you become so engrossed with the story that the characters start to take on a life of their own. I know the overall plot, but the characters tell me what they would say in what instance and how they would interact. I'm glad that these characters were able to come to life enough that it helped the novel and made it worthy of an award nomination. I enjoyed writing them. Glad they're getting their brief moment in the sun. :)
- L.S. Childers/Shelly Ellis
Another thing that crossed my mind seeing my book title and name on the list: I'm so proud of the lead characters of the novel -- Melody Cannon and Clayton Reed. I think any author will tell you that when you write a story, you become so engrossed with the story that the characters start to take on a life of their own. I know the overall plot, but the characters tell me what they would say in what instance and how they would interact. I'm glad that these characters were able to come to life enough that it helped the novel and made it worthy of an award nomination. I enjoyed writing them. Glad they're getting their brief moment in the sun. :)
- L.S. Childers/Shelly Ellis
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Don't call me L.S. Childers... call me Shelly Ellis!
So I posted last year that I was trying to find an agent. Well, the update is after more than a year of trying, I still haven't found an agent. (Boooooo!) But I found a publisher. (Yeeaaaaaaah!) I'm happy to announce that I was offered a three-book deal with the wonderful publishing house, Kensington Publishing Inc. I lucked out. This is one of the few big publishing houses that still accepts unagented submissions and I am forever grateful to my new, wonderful editor Mercedes for digging me out of the slush pile. I feel like I just won American Idol (*sniff, sniff). Two of the books are slated (for now) to come out in 2013 - the first will appear in summer 2013 under the penname Shelly Ellis. Yes, its happened very quickly but I'm hella excited! The waiting around period can be brutal so I'm glad it worked out. (*sniff, sniff)
The new project focuses of the lives and loves of a group of scandulous sisters. I've had a blast writing the series and I'm still cracking myself up as a plow through the rewrites even now. I hope you guys enjoy it too.
I'll have more updates about the book later this year as well as my new web site. :)
The new project focuses of the lives and loves of a group of scandulous sisters. I've had a blast writing the series and I'm still cracking myself up as a plow through the rewrites even now. I hope you guys enjoy it too.
I'll have more updates about the book later this year as well as my new web site. :)
Saturday, April 21, 2012
I'm on Twitter!
Okay, so I started a Twitter account, not because I think my Tweets are that interesting, but to cyberstalk agents, writers and publishers I find interesting. LOL Here's my twitter account if you want to follow me:
http://www.twitter.com/ellissromance
http://www.twitter.com/ellissromance
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
How to become an urban romance writer
I noticed that alot of people who have stumbled upon my fair bloggidy blog aren't coming to learn more about me or my work (*sigh LOL) but how to get into writing urban romance. (And by "urban", I mean black, African American, "brown complected"! This is very different from "urban lit", which I don't write. If there's is a "wifey", "mamas", or a surperfluous "Z" in the title somewhere then you've probably picked up an urban lit novel.) Well the simple answer is getting into urban romance is much like getting into any other literary genre. Those steps include but aren't limited to:
1) Read, read, and read some more. Specifically, read books that are in the genre in which you wish to write to get a true feel for the genre and the market. Believe it or not there are rules for this stuff. (Who knew?!?) If you've gone to enough writers' blogs or workshops, you'll see that there is a basic format for romance, chick lit, horror, mystery, etc. -- at least those that fit commercially within these genres. If you want to make your work marketable, I suggest you stick to these formats as close as possible but give it your own creative spin (which is the true talent of a good writer).
2) Write, edit, rinse and repeat. Very few writers can pen a stellar manuscript in the first draft. Once you've finished writing your manuscript, now comes the task of editing it for grammar, syntax, consistency, character development, etc. I like to edit every few pages as I'm writing, and then once the full manuscript is completed, I do a few more edits, looking at the book in its entirety to ensure consistency. (Did I make sure I spelled the character's nickname the same way throughout the book? One character doesn't have a Texan accent that completely disappears by Chapter 12, does it? Is it raining at the beginning of the scene and then it's suddenly sunny by the end of the scene?)
3) Get a good, HONEST sounding board. Have someone else read your work, but make sure you pick someone who likes and is familiar with the genre in which you're writing. Having a second, third, or fourth pair of eyes on your manuscript can never hurt. Sometimes feedback can an eye-opening (or painful LOL) experience, but I consider it invaluable.
4) The dreaded "wait and see". Now you've written your book. You've done your edits. You've gotten critiques from fellow writers or a trusted friend who you know will be honest with you. You've done more tweaks based on their feedback. Now maybe... just maybe, your manuscript is ready for submission to agents and/or publishers. Wait! Actually, thanks to modern technology and the free market, you can entirely skip this step. All hail to the Createspace and Smashwords of the world! Now you can upload your masterpiece and sell it directly to consumers. But for those who wish to work with traditional, New York based publishing houses, you'll probably going to need either an agent or to submit to the publishers who are willing to accept unagented work.
I've done both: submitted to agents and to publishers. So far, I've had better luck with submitting to publishers directly. (That's how I had two short stories published with the Arabesque line of BET Books back in 2001 and 2003 and had two novels published by Genesis Press last year.) But I wouldn't discount agents entirely.
This submission process usually follows a gauntlet of 3 steps: 1) the query letter, 2) the partial manuscript submission and synopsis, 3) the full manuscript submission. At either of these steps you could get a rejection from an agent or a publisher. (And frankly most writers do.) I'll go more into the gory details about the submission process in my next post.
I hope this post helps to those interested.
1) Read, read, and read some more. Specifically, read books that are in the genre in which you wish to write to get a true feel for the genre and the market. Believe it or not there are rules for this stuff. (Who knew?!?) If you've gone to enough writers' blogs or workshops, you'll see that there is a basic format for romance, chick lit, horror, mystery, etc. -- at least those that fit commercially within these genres. If you want to make your work marketable, I suggest you stick to these formats as close as possible but give it your own creative spin (which is the true talent of a good writer).
2) Write, edit, rinse and repeat. Very few writers can pen a stellar manuscript in the first draft. Once you've finished writing your manuscript, now comes the task of editing it for grammar, syntax, consistency, character development, etc. I like to edit every few pages as I'm writing, and then once the full manuscript is completed, I do a few more edits, looking at the book in its entirety to ensure consistency. (Did I make sure I spelled the character's nickname the same way throughout the book? One character doesn't have a Texan accent that completely disappears by Chapter 12, does it? Is it raining at the beginning of the scene and then it's suddenly sunny by the end of the scene?)
3) Get a good, HONEST sounding board. Have someone else read your work, but make sure you pick someone who likes and is familiar with the genre in which you're writing. Having a second, third, or fourth pair of eyes on your manuscript can never hurt. Sometimes feedback can an eye-opening (or painful LOL) experience, but I consider it invaluable.
4) The dreaded "wait and see". Now you've written your book. You've done your edits. You've gotten critiques from fellow writers or a trusted friend who you know will be honest with you. You've done more tweaks based on their feedback. Now maybe... just maybe, your manuscript is ready for submission to agents and/or publishers. Wait! Actually, thanks to modern technology and the free market, you can entirely skip this step. All hail to the Createspace and Smashwords of the world! Now you can upload your masterpiece and sell it directly to consumers. But for those who wish to work with traditional, New York based publishing houses, you'll probably going to need either an agent or to submit to the publishers who are willing to accept unagented work.
I've done both: submitted to agents and to publishers. So far, I've had better luck with submitting to publishers directly. (That's how I had two short stories published with the Arabesque line of BET Books back in 2001 and 2003 and had two novels published by Genesis Press last year.) But I wouldn't discount agents entirely.
This submission process usually follows a gauntlet of 3 steps: 1) the query letter, 2) the partial manuscript submission and synopsis, 3) the full manuscript submission. At either of these steps you could get a rejection from an agent or a publisher. (And frankly most writers do.) I'll go more into the gory details about the submission process in my next post.
I hope this post helps to those interested.
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