If it’s not on the page; it doesn’t exist.

(Similar to Angela’s Law of Getting It Done: if it’s not written down, it won’t happen.)

Let’s say that your heroine is compassionate. You understand this. As part of the prep for the book, you’ve written 20 pages of this woman’s life story so that you could understand her.

You know she’s a member of Amnesty International, she’s “adopted” a lizard at the local zoo, and she ushers spiders gently out of the bathroom, rather than swatting them with a rolled-up newspaper.

It’s not enough, however, for you to know it. You’ve got to show your heroine acting in a compassionate way on the page.

A major part of a first revision is getting all the material out of your head onto the page. (Don’t worry about it in your first draft. Just make a note on the typescript: “Show compassionate streak”, so you don’t forget later.)

dBusinessNews :: Daily Business News Delivered to Your Desktop reports:

“Amazon.com received nearly 5,000 qualified submissions for the contest. From November 2007 through January 2008, Amazon Top Reviewers and editors generated over 10,000 unique ratings and reviews to determine the 836 semi-finalists. ‘Publishers Weekly’ then provided a full manuscript review of all semi-final submissions. Using reviews and ratings from ‘Publishers Weekly’ and Amazon Top Reviewers, as well as input from Amazon customers, Penguin editors now will begin the process of choosing the top 10 finalists, to be announced on March 3, 2008. Amazon customers will then vote on the 10 finalists to select the winner of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, to be announced April 7, 2008.”

If you entered, good luck.

Publishers are always looking for the next book sensation, and they realize that new writers aren’t aware of how publishing works.

So they’re scouting blogs, hoping to find their next bestselling author.

It’s even happening in India.

Penguin, HarperCollins scout blogs for book ideas reports:

“And there are others chasing your favourite blog that could be the next bestselling paperback. Harper Collins India is keeping an eye on some bloggers as they find extraordinary pieces of writing that are of wider interest.

Says Saugata Mukherjee, senior commissioning editor, HarperCollins Publishers India, ‘I believe that blogs are a great way of discovering an author’s capabilities and although we have not made any offers yet, our first blog book is a possibility sooner than later.’ “

I’ve just published Blogging for Beginners on my Writing Hacker site – discover how you can use blogs. Blogs are amazing instant-publishing tools.

Your Blog: Your Vital Sales And Promotions Tool For 2008

Gotta blog? My ebook, Writing Success with Blogs by Angela Booth, helps you to take the first steps into the new world for writers: instant publishing on blogs.

Your writers’ blog is your must-have branding tool. It also has a very practical use – it’s a writing portfolio. From the ebook: “Before editors will pay you to write, they want to know that you can write. They want clips – copies of material you’ve published. This seems like a Catch-22: you can only get published if you’ve been published. Your writing on your blog can be in lieu of clips. Your blog lets editors gauge your abilities and style, before they put down the cash.”

The book helps you to create your own writer’s blog.

There’s a storm in the romance novel world, concerning romantic novelist Cassie Edwards. I haven’t been following the story, but apparently the plagiarism issue was raised by the site Smart Bitches who Love Trashy Books.

From the AP story, a comparison between Ms Edwards’ novel and her source.

Nora Roberts says peer lifted material – Yahoo! News: “From ‘Savage Longings’:

‘The women who belonged to this society created ceremonial decorations by sewing quills on robes, lodge coverings, and other things made of the skins of animals. Snow Deer had told Charles that the Cheyenne women considered this work of high importance, and when properly performed, it was quite as much respected as were bravery and success in war among the men.’

From ‘Cheyenne Indians’:

‘Of the women’s associations referred to the most important one was that devoted to the ceremonial decoration, by sewing on quills, of robes, lodge coverings, and other things made of the skins of animals. This work women considered of high importance, and, when properly performed, quite as creditable as were bravery and success in war among the men.’”

Always attribute your sources, whatever you’re writing

The AP reports Ms Edwards said: “Edwards, interviewed earlier this week by the AP, acknowledged that she sometimes “takes” her material “from reference books,” but added that she didn’t know she was supposed to credit her sources.”

This is undoubtedly so. A romance novel isn’t a feature article in a magazine. If you were writing a magazine article, you’d send your sources with the copy, so the fact checkers could look over it.

However, even if you’re writing a novel, if you’re using reference material, you should always make a clear distinction between the sources you’ve used, and your own words. The above example is pretty close to the original – Ms Edwards should have used a little creativity to make the information her own, so to speak.

If you’re relying heavily on a source, as Ms Edwards obviously was, then it’s only polite to attribute at the end of the novel, with a “Thanks To” or “Sources” page. Many novelists do this, in many different genres. It’s a commonly accepted practice. It’s also polite and courteous to do this.

The fact that her publisher didn’t request this, really doesn’t absolve Ms Edwards; she owns the copyright of her novel (I assume) and if so, she’s responsible for what’s published under her name.

So if you’re using sources for your novel, do remember to include a “Sources” page, whatever you call it. It saves hassle – and most importantly, it’s polite to do so.

Books (fiction and nonfiction) are sold on proposal. That is, three chapters and an outline, plus some ideas on how you’re going to market the book.

It’s vital that you get this information before you send off your typescript. Some publishers will only accept submissions from agents, so if you want these publishers to consider your book, you’ll need to get an agent first.

Check publishers’ Web sites for their submission guidelines

Most publishers have submission guidelines. Here’s Tor’s guidelines for example:

Your submissions packet should include:

1. The first three chapters of your book, prepared in standard manuscript format on white paper. (If your chapters are really short or really long, or you don’t use chapter breaks, you may send the first 40-60 pages of your book, provided you stay under 10,000 words.)

The submitted text must be made up of consecutive pages and should end at the end of a paragraph, not in mid-sentence.

Standard manuscript format means margins of at least 1 inch all the way around; indented paragraphs; double-spaced text; and Courier or Times Roman in 10 or 12 pitch. Please use one side of the page only and do not justify the text.

Important – complete your novel before you submit a proposal if you’re unpublished

Here’s a vital tip: while you should never complete a nonfiction book before you start looking for publishers, it’s vital that you complete your novel.

If you’re unpublished, querying publishers before you’ve completed your novel is a no-no. If a publisher wants to see your novel, the editor expects that it’s ready to send – she may have a hole in her list she needs to fill, so she wants your book right away.

Need help writing your book? Get your book on bookstore shelves.