By Frank DiBianca
I decided to present the history of my debut fiction novel, Laser Trap, because I hope you will find it informative and helpful.
My pre-retirement writing career started with a 9,000-word short story entitled The Love Coach about an insecure engineering grad student doing research with lasers and his platonic love coach. During the period 2013-2019, my mystery-novelist wife, Kay, and I attended half a dozen writers conferences, almost all of which were Christian. At these conferences, I presented synopses of The Love Coach and a few other short fiction pieces. None of these pieces had been professionally edited. The many editors and agents I met with liked the premise of The Love Coach and encouraged me to expand it to a full novel. But the many teaching sessions I attended discouraged me. I had so much to learn. I decided to put my short stories aside and move straight to writing a full-length novel.
So, I wrote a 120,000-word cosmic fiction novel called The Centaur about a runaway asteroid. I outlined it at a Christian writers conference to a publisher. He liked the premise very much and told me to send it to him. So, I emailed him my creation. Months later, he emailed back that he and an assistant editor were still trying to decide where to slice into my manuscript, but he’d get back to me. They never found an opening. Now I know why.
Disappointed but unwilling to give up, I decided to return to The Love Coach and, after expanding it to a 15,000-word novelette, took a preliminary book proposal for it to a writer’s conference in 2018. Several professionals I spoke with said they liked it, but it still wasn’t long enough. The same story I’d heard before but hadn’t been listening. Now I would listen. I worked hard and successfully on turning the story into a novel.
Back at the same conference in 2019, I scheduled meetings with acquisition editors representing five publishers. The morning of my meetings, I learned there was a prayer room. I went to it and prayed to the Lord for help in finding just one interested acquisition editor. By late that afternoon, four of my meetings resulted in acceptances to receive my proposal after it was finished. Praise the Lord!
I went home and was blessed to engage three outstanding editors, Mel Hughes, specializing in developmental editing, Barbara Curtis, copy editing and proofreading, and Jeanne Leach, book proposal development. For over a year under their direction, I wrote, removed, and rewrote chapters in the novel, adding copious amounts of suspense material to make it more exciting. I also wrote and modified a new book proposal. And finally, in late 2020, I sent the finished proposal to the four acquisition editors.
Surprised and thrilled, I received two publication contracts for my new novel, and through the efforts of Managing Editors Darla Crass and Karin Beery, I signed with Iron Stream Media (ISM) in February, 2021. The agreement provided that the suspenseful romance would be rebalanced into a suspense with romantic components, which I enthusiastically embraced. The new title of the novel is Laser Trap, to be published by Iron Stream Fiction, an Imprint of Iron Stream Media.
Over the next sixteen months I first worked closely with Ms. Crass on the rebalancing. After that phase was complete, I worked with ISM editors Sally Shupe and Denise Loock to make numerous further improvements per their recommendations. This period was challenging, but throughout the rebalancing and further editing, everyone thought the book kept getting better and better. And that’s what everybody wanted.
Laser Trap is scheduled for release on June 7.
Writing should be a labor of love, not a love of labor. @fdibianca #ACFWBlogs #writetip #critiques #ACFWCommunity Click To Tweet
Frank A. DiBianca is a fiction writer and retired university professor. He received a Ph.D. in high-energy physics from Carnegie-Mellon University and later worked in biomedical engineering. Frank lives in Memphis with his author-wife, Kay, an award-winning mystery author. His debut suspense novel, Laser Trap, is scheduled for publication by Iron Stream Fiction, an imprint of Iron Stream Media.
Comments 20
Congratulations on the very soon release day of your book! Frank is such an inspiration in his writing journey–with his persistence in never giving up, his dedication to learning the craft, and his faithfulness in following the Lord through this (very!) long journey. May God’s blessings be upon you.
Hi, Barbara!
Your comment is itself an inspiration!
You are right that it has been a “(very!) long journey.” But at every turn, the book got better. And the Lord has been teaching me many things along the way!!
I’ve read the draft and the final version will be just as amazing. Can’t wait to get my copy.
Thanks, Sarina,
The site was down here for a while so I’m just getting this.
I appreciate your kind words. One week to book release!
Frank
Hi Frank! What a ride so far, right? And the real fun is just beginning. Congratulations on your debut novel, Laser Trap. I loved it, but I gotta say that runaway asteroid sounds intriguing too. Godspeed, my brother!
Lisa,
Not sure where my previous reply went. I appreciate your thoughts. Can’t wait for the real fun to start 😊
Right now the asteroid is still outside the solar system.
Cheers
Ingenious and patient tolerance knack in your time balanced and very thoughtful, insightful wit in seasoned compositional fiction writing.
Well done.
Can hardly manage the final short waiting room experience for a very successful and promising product resulting from many many years careful consideration and teamwork.
Keep up the very great finished work effort with and alongside your obvious clarity and sincerity of ambitious present-day literary thought, sir.
Thank you, Ej. Your comments are encouraging and welcome. If you are a new writer, study, learn, but most of all, WRITE.
Hello Frank! What a wonderful beginning story about the birth of your first novel! Your writing journey is one of determination and hard work that sets the stage for your talent-all of it coming together at just the right moment.
Cheering you on for a great launch!
Thank you, Beth.
Yes, cheering me on and encouraging me. Glad you liked the story in the blog. All good things come from the Hand of the Lord!
Hi Frank! Im excited about your book! It has held my interest well. Always wondering about the next event to present itself. Loved the comment early in book about Venus ( you’re fired!) Bravo to you for your persistence! Wishing you much success!
Thanks so much, Barbara,
It sounds like the tablet is still working. Glad you’re enjoying Laser Trap.
You ought to write a book—at least a short story. 🙂
Hello Frank! What a wonderful story about the beginnings of your first novel. Your determination to pursue your craft allowed your talent to shine! Cheers to a great launch!
Yes, Lisa, it was quite a ride. I’m anxiously looking forward to the real fun you mentioned.
I may get back to the asteroid one of these days, but I have to see about the Quincy U Series first.
Thanks for your comment!
Frank, your book did take a long and winding road (if I may quote the Beatles) to arrive at its current state, but you grew so much as a writer because of it, so it had to be a good thing. I, too, am anxiously awaiting “The Laser Trap” and wondering if there’s anything I’ll remember from the old “Love Coach” days. 🙂
Mel
Well, Mel, if it is true that I grew as a writer, you had a lot to do with it as my first editor. By the time you finished pruning my limbs, we had enough mulch for a banana plantation! And worry no more, all the good stuff from “The Love Coach” is still in it, plus more suspense. Your and Barbara Curtis’s fingerprints are so etched on this book, they will never be removed.
Hi Frank! I’m so glad you persisted until you were ready to present your book for publishing. It was an enjoyable read and I appreciated how you wove your scientific knowledge into the story as well as your faith. And maybe some of your own trepidations with the opposite sex?? Hope you don’t wait 10 years for the next book!
Thanks, Chris,
Just seeing your comment. Thank you! And on June 7 no less – Book Release Day.
Your persistence and perseverance really paid off in a remarkable first novel. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Laser Trap and I especially appreciated the scientific context of your story. It was just enough information to validate the story but not so much so that it would lose me in deep water. Your characterizations were richly developed and very engaging. I especially appreciated the honesty and simplicity of the occasionally articulated prayer. Overall, Frank, very impressive and very well done!
The perseverance it took for you to write “Laser Trap”; your growth as a writer; and the relationships you built along the way are admirable. Interestingly, those same traits, seem to be captured in your portrayal of the book’s two lead characters.
Can’t wait to read the book again since I see persistence, commitment to growth, and relationship as necessary survival skills for living in today’s world.