CoolStuff4Writers.com

Posted by Susan in Book Blog Entertainment and Pop Culture.

Meet Sandy Young. Her publishing credits include a short romantic story in the 1999 anthology Romance Recipes for the Soul, greeting card copy, newsletters and nonfiction pieces as a freelancer.  She writes women’s fiction and recently completed a novel-length manuscript, Falling For Autumn.

Fellow writers and readers, Sandy’s also the editor of the monthly newsletter for Cool Stuff 4 Writers, which she owns and operates.  The site was named one of the “101 Best Web Sites for Writers” by Writer’s Digest Magazine in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

I had the wonderful opportunity to chat with Sandy, about everything writing… I’m sure you’ll enjoy her words of wisdom, and perhaps you’ll relate to her adventures in seeking publication… I certainly do, just as I relish perusing her fabulous site during my cubicle-job lunch.

Sandy’s submission strategy for Falling for Autumn; and the story, from inspiration to final revision.

I queried a few agents this past year and either received rejections or no response at all.  At the end of the summer, I sent a query to a fairly new agent and received a request for a partial.  They’re very behind on their reading and I’m still waiting to hear back!  Even if I receive a rejection, getting the request for a partial is a step forward.

The story has been in my head for a few years.  I wrote a time travel romance, but decided to try my hand at women’s fiction. I definitely want romance in the story, but feel I do better with other themes as well.  With women’s fiction I can go a bit beyond the boundaries of a traditional romance.

 

About Sandy’s first place in the Celtic Hearts Romance Writers annual Golden Claddaugh contest.

I joined the Celtic Hearts Romance Writers in the beginning of this year.  I hadn’t entered a contest in a long time and wanted feedback on the manuscript I had just completed.  To my surprise, I made the finals.  A couple of months later, I found out I’d won first place.  I was thrilled and also excited to learn the agent who had judged my entry asked for a query on my next book.  I write humorous women’s fiction with a twist of romance and suspense so the category I had entered was “Novel with Strong Romantic Elements.”

My best friend, Debra Mullins, who writes historical romances for Avon, sent me a huge bouquet of flowers for winning the contest.  We’ve been friends and critique partners for 15 years.  I had stopped writing for a long time, but Deb’s constant encouragement and unconditional support always keeps me going, so I owe this win to her! Thanks, Deb!

How Sandy started the newsletter; and her inspiration for doing so.

I purchased Cool Stuff 4 Writers in 2005.  The woman I bought it from had been sending out a bi-weekly newsletter.  I kept it going, but changed it to once a month.  I also added a monthly contest to the site, so the winner is published in both the newsletter and on the site.  I love doing the newsletter.  I’ve made many friends from all over the world and receive wonderful words of encouragement from them.  I have a Cool Announcements section and welcome authors to send their news about publishing contracts, contest wins, etc.  Writers work so hard and deserve kudos for their successes.  I enjoy helping people, and this is one way I can support fellow writers.

The greatest challenge of the newsletter; and the greatest benefit.

The greatest challenge is getting it out on time.  I try hard to send it out by the 15^th of the month, but sometimes there’s drama in the house – I have 4 kids, 4 dogs, 5 cats and a job – and it doesn’t get done by the target date.  It’s also a lot of work making sure all the links are active, the html codes are correct, finding articles, etc.  I go over it so many times to make sure I have everything in order and that alone can take a few hours.  I’m a bit neurotic – LOL

 

What Sandy’s working on now.

I just entered the 2009 Golden Heart contest sponsored by Romance Writers of America.  I’m also starting a new book that stars one of the sisters of the heroine in my last book.  I have a third book planned for the third sister as well.  All three are named after the seasons – Autumn, Summer and Spring and the titles have their names in them.  The first book, that won the contest, is called Falling For Autumn.

About Cool Stuff 4 Writers.

The site has evolved since I purchased it in 2005.  My husband has redesigned it twice and is currently working on a third design.  We’re always thinking of ways to improve the site, but finding time seems to be the enemy.

Over the past three years, we’ve added feature interviews with authors, editors and agents.  I’ve added the “Cool Announcements” section and “Cool Links’ as well. We also have articles and the “Ask The Book Doctor” column written by Bobbie Christmas of Zebra Communications.

Of course there’s our Cool Stuff.  We sell t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, books, bookmarks and other fun stuff just for writers.  My husband prints the t-shirts and we’re working on new ones that will be available soon.

We’ve also been voted one of the “101 Best Web Sites for Writers” by Writer’s Digest Magazine in the “Fun” category in 2006, 2007 and 2008.  Every year that we make the list, I hold a raffle for our CoolNewsletter4Writers subscribers to win a one year subscription to Writer’s Digest.  It’s a great way to celebrate and show our appreciation for those who nominated us!

You can visit Sandy at: www.coolstuff4writers.com or by e-mailing sandy@coolstuff4writers.com.

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