Author Heather McCorkle

Today is release day for my friend William Bernhardt's book, Capitol Offense. Capitol Offense is a thrillers about attorney Ben Kincaid. Ben is approached by a man who asks for his defense for a murder that hasn't happened yet. The man is beside himself with grief over the horrible death of his wife and wants to kill the detective involved. That same day, someone shoots the detective down, killing him. Against good advice, Ben decides to defend him. This proves to be yet another riveting thriller from William Bernhardt, no doubt packed with gasping moments and page turning nights. Think of a cross between Stephen King (without the supernatural) and Tom Clancy and you're getting close to how great he is. Bernhardt will shock you and change the way you think about legal thrillers in a very good way. Check it out: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Capitol-Offense/William-Bernhardt/e/9780345502995/?itm=2&usri=C Bernhardt's site: http://williambernhardt.com/

While I'm not yet among them (fingers crossed), I wanted to get this info out for those of you lucky writers who are. However, for those of us who haven't joined those prestigious ranks yet, it might not be a bad idea to follow their journey and see what their books are about. Following anothers path of success can help point you in the right direction. There is a community of 2011 debut authors being put together as we speak. So why should you join a community of other debut authors, aren't they your competition after all? No! They are your comrades. Success is not achieved alone nor is it an easy feat. Take a few friends of mine for example. They met on line and started a community of 2009 debutants, a great group of female writers who debuted this year. They support each other, blog about each other, and have even done some touring together. That kind of support is priceless in this industry! The fantastic Alice Pope from Writers Digest is looking for 2011 debut authors ...

It would be great if I could give you a magical formula or link that would map it all out, but with most things in writing, it isn't that easy. There are a few tips and tricks I've learned that help make it less of a mystery though. The first thing you have to achieve is identifying your audience. A page turner is different for everyone. Some people enjoy Shakespeare while others like Stephen King. Know who your writing for. There are as many audiences as there are books, young adults, children, men, women, thrill seekers, fright seekers, adventure lovers, the list goes on and on. After identifying your audience you must get to know them. How in the world are you supposed to do that? Look at what's on the shelf in your genre, that will give you a good idea of what's hot which gives you a good idea of what people like. Don't forget to read the books that are hot. Now you're starting to get to know them! Now comes the hard part, your actual writing. Writing a page...

Every writer dreams about achieving this goal. But do you really know what it means? How do you become one of these elite and how does it really effect your career as a writer? We'll start at the beginning. New York Times bestsellers are based off how many books are ordered in by the booksellers, not by how many are sold. But if they order more in won't they sell more? Not necessarily and here's where it gets tricky. If a bookseller orders a bunch of your books in and they don't sell, they get sent back. You could still make the list but may not even make your advance back for your publisher! This decreases the chance that your publisher will want another book or could mean you'll be getting a much smaller advance the next go around. There is good news. If your publisher gives you a large advance they are going to do their part in making sure you get a lot of publicity to increase the chance of your book selling very well. They want to make that advance back and th...

Since I've managed to land an agent twice now everyone has been asking me what my secret is. I wish I had a simple answer to that question but as with everything in the writing industry, it was anything but simple. I'm a firm believer that the first agent I landed was a complete fluke. He must have seen the glimmer of a talent to be beneath the layers of soot of my manuscript. Unfortunately at the time he picked me up I just wasn't at the stage I needed to be and he wasn't really sure how to get me there. We have since parted ways but I will be forever grateful for the kick in the computer he gave me. I learned a lot about self editing while working with him. I kept writing and working to improve my writing. Since getting that first agent I've completed five books and am working on the sixth. Never stop, that's the most important thing. I've attended the Hawaii Writers Retreat twice and their conference once. Because of it my writing is at a completely diffe...

I was painting a fence yesterday with black roofing goo (it's the only thing my horse won't chew on!) when I heard the distant ring of a phone. Dropping the goo-covered paint brush into the bucket, I ran for the house. After an athletic feat of leaping over the dog, tripping up the stairs, and dropping the phone, I managed to pick it up before the answering machine. Expecting yet another solicitor (even though my number is unlisted!) I was shocked to hear a nice woman From Atchity Entertainment saying she was calling about my novel. A moment later I was connected to Ken Atchity. At this point my heart was in my throat and I was trying to remember my own name. It was The Call. You know the call I'm talking about. It's the one every aspiring author dreams about. And Ken said all the things I've dreamt about, so naturally I figured, I must still be asleep. Who doesn't paint fences in their sleep right? My husband reassured me I was definitely awake because in a dre...

This was a huge mystery to me when I started submitting. I had no idea what came after, 'we'd like to offer you representation.' I just read an article in Writer's Digest that reminded me of the whole terrifyingly wonderful process. Having now been through a portion of it, I shall demystify it a bit for you. First, here's one myth I'll squash: Agents expect you to sign a contract with them right away. Wrong! Some will, some won't. Especially if you're a first time author they may not want to tie themselves to you until they know they can sell you. That way if things don't work out they aren't saddled with a book they can't sell or a client they can't work with. Don't panic if they don't expect you to sign a contract immediately. If you did your job right to begin with and researched them, checked their clients, made sure they were a member of AAR (there are reputable one's who aren't a member, just tread those waters cau...