By Cindy Sproles @CindyDevoted "I hired a mentor. It was the best thing I'd ever done." Those words were music to my ears because I'd just done the same thing to help me content edit my novel. Why is a writing mentor necessary? Well, it's not NECESSARY, but it is…

By Cindy Sproles @CindyDevoted I’d like to say my claim to fame is humor – but it’s not. My claim to fame is “Queen of Angst.” I know! As much as I hate to admit it. This title is true. The stories I write are hard – and not hard…

By Cindy Sproles @CindyDevoted I know… "Whatttt?" Writers lie? We actually get paid to lie when we write fiction, as weird as it seems. Our stories take a character's truth and spin it in every direction. What fun it is – to lie and have permission.  It's safe to say…

By Cindy Sproles @CindyDevoted As a lead managing editor, one of my jobs is acquisitions. It’s the hardest part because I spend a lot of time saying no thank you. There are multiple explanations of why I am forced to pass on a manuscript. Rejections fall in many categories from…

By Cindy Sproles @CindyDevoted I recently corresponded with a writer who told me she attended a conference where pitching your work seemed to be “the thing,” but at the same time, there were no classes to help her learn how to pitch. This greatly disturbed me because, though pitching your…

By Cindy Sproles @CindyDevoted Three successful novels and now a fourth on the way. What if I disappointed this time? Fear rose, and my self-confidence hit rock bottom. Suddenly, I lost my ability to put a story together. The first chapter came to me but, after that – what? Other…