Keeping the faith through the (sometimes long) agent hunt, asking the right questions, working with a developmental editor, finding patience during the submission process, and what to expect from your agent or editor. Novelists Rita Woods and Nancy Crochiere offer their experience and wisdom about the journey.
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For thirteen years, Nancy Crochiere chronicled the ups and downs of family life—including her obsession with George Clooney—in her humorous newspaper column, “The Mother Load.” Then her children grew up and left home, and she ran out of material. This left her no choice but to try fiction. Quitting her job in educational publishing, Nancy took courses at GrubStreet and graduated summa cum lucky from the Novel Incubator program in 2019. Her debut novel, Graceland, a comic road trip involving three generations of women, will be published by Avon/HarperCollins on May 30, 2023.
Rita Woods was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. She received a BS in Microbiology from Purdue University before graduating from Howard University College of Medicine. She completed her training at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska and currently serves as Medical Director of a Wellness Center that provides care for members of one of the largest Trade Unions in the nation. Rita lives in suburban Chicago with her family, where she also serves as Trustee on her local library board.She loves magic, books, history, coffee and traveling, not necessarily in that order. She is the author of the award-winning novel Remembrance. Her newest novel, The Last Dreamwalker, was published in September 2022.
Day 16: Authors Journey: Getting to Yes with Rita Woods & Nancy Crochiere