Are You Ready to Write a Big Sky Novel with Me? Are you passionate about writing sweet romance in a unique Amish community, with a meaningful faith arc for your characters? You might be a Sunrise author in the making!
Write a Big Sky Novel with Me
I’m so excited to announce that I’ll be the lead author in Season 4 for Sunrise Publishing! What a great honor and joy it is to join together with them to create new novels for my Big Sky Amish series. Each novel in Season in Sunrise Publishing’s Big Sky Amish Collection will each feature a separate romantic story based in my fictional Montana Amish community of West Kootenai, Montana. The stories will follow a hero and heroine (Amish or otherwise) who eventually find their happily ever after—though not without a little drama and trouble along the way.
I’ll be selecting three Draft Authors to write two stories each (making six total). Each Draft Author will have one book due in 2022 and one book due in 2023 (published in 2023 and 2024, respectively). Each story in Season 4 will be approximately 60,000 words.
Draft Authors may make use of characters and settings in my Big Sky Series and should consider how the story ideas they pitch will fit into the current stories I’ve written. If using a character from my current series as the main POV character, Draft Authors are free to develop backstories as needed.
Though each Draft Author will be given a two-book contract, those who are auditioning only need to submit ONE story idea/proposal to be considered.
Required elements of a strong story proposal are knowledge of Amish life and the elements of writing an Amish romance, as well as light incorporation of my characters and settings from the Big Sky Series.
Write a Big Sky Novel with Me
Curious about the Sunrise Publishing deadlines you’d need to adhere to if we agree to work together? Here’s a list of the most important ones for Season 4.
Submissions Close – May 16, 2021
Contracts Offered – June 15, 2021
In-Person Brainstorming Meeting in Minneapolis, MN – September 12-17, 2021*
First Chapter of First Book Due – October 2021
First Three Chapters of First Book Due – November 2021
Full First Book Due –Author 1: May 2022/ Author 2: June 2022 /Author 3: July 2022
*Please note: There will be two in-person brainstorming meetings total, one for each set of three books. However, the only dates that have been set are for Retreat 1. The second retreat will take everyone’s schedules into consideration and will most likely take place in the second half of 2022.
Along Wooded PathsAre you ready to audition?
An audition for Sunrise Publishing consists of the following information:
- Your contact information
- A small personal note as to why writing for Sunrise interests you
- A short note on your writing schedule and how you plan to meet the deadlines
- The proposed premise for your story and what you like about it. Please note, if you have more than one premise idea (not required!), you may include them all in one submission.
- A short resume of your writing history (e.g., stories completed and their status, courses taken, conferences attended, awards won, etc.)
- A sample of your writing (one scene, 1500-2000 words). Please note, this can be a scene of the proposed premise or not. However, if you are chosen to move on to the final round of auditions, you will be asked to submit a scene with your proposed premise.
In order to prepare the best audition possible, first carefully read all of the information under the For Writers tab.
Write a Big Sky Novel with Me
Sunrise Publishing was FB LIVE as they introduced me as the Season 4 Lead Author. I loved chatting with Publishing Director Susan May Warren about what we are looking for in our Big Sky Amish authors, the submission process, deadlines, and more.
You can watch our FB Live video below.
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