One of the experiences that has most colored my life is the simple fact that I am a woman. I'm happy being a woman, and there are some things I really love about it, such as shoes like these and Coach purses. My love for Coach purses borders on obsession. But there are some things about being a woman that I wholeheartedly dislike, such as the constant pressure for our bodies to look a certain way, being told I'm good at something "for a girl", etc. I could make a whole list, but that's not the intent of this post.
For as long as I've been a writer, I've been a reader and a consumer of various other forms of media. One thing that has always disappointed me is the lack of female heroes, particularly when it comes to movies and television shows. Female heroes are easier to come by in books, but even in literature--even in literature written by women--it is a very common thing to find a female character who needs a man to defend her, to give her a reason to live, to help her define her life. I'll put it simply: I don't like this.
Now, I have one caveat to add here: there are times when having a weak female character can serve a specific narrative purpose. It's not that I'm against weak characters, male or female. But what I don't like is this deeply-ingrained assumption that women need to have a man in order to function, and that there are certain things men can do that poor, delicate women can't. I also don't like the assumption that women are one way and men another. I'm sorry, I just don't buy it. Sure, we may have different biology, but men and women are people, and we share many of the same personality traits, character flaws, hopes, and aspirations. Society wants us to believe that men and women are so profoundly different, but I reject that notion.
Long, long ago, I wrote a book called The Eye of the Beholder. That book was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but the twist I wanted to put on it was to also tell it from the beast's point of view. Along with writing from the beast's point of view, I wanted to write a Beauty who wasn't afraid to stand up for herself, so that's the sort of Beauty I wrote. When I published the book, I thought I'd sell maybe 100 copies in a year. Imagine my surprise when I passed the number by a factor of ten.
Since that book was so successful, I started thinking about writing other fairy tale reboots. Confession time: I've always loved fairy tales and princess stories. Always. I love the frilly dresses, the dragons, the handsome princes, and everything that comes with them. What I do not like is that warrior princesses are so much less common than warrior princes. So when I chose to put my own spin on Sleeping Beauty, I decided I wanted to shake that tale up a lot. Instead of magic, I wanted to have the captured party be drugged, that way I could also tell the tale from their point of view and have them interact with the villain. I also decided that, instead of a damsel in distress, wouldn't it be interesting if it were the prince who was captured and the princess who had to save him?
I liked this idea, but I decided that, in the world I was creating for Asleep, I didn't want there to be anything out of the ordinary about a princess who uses her weapons to fight for the man she loves. I didn't want her to be the exception to some sort of rule. In the world I constructed, some women are warriors and some men are. Some of the monarchs running their Realms are men and some are women. Sometimes it's the women who go off to wage war, sometimes it's the men. What I did, very, very deliberately, was try to remove gender roles and, instead, focus on who the characters were as people. So Jess is the warrior, the confident one who wears the weight of her responsibility easily. Dev is the one who's more of a tactician, who has problems with self-doubt, who isn't convinced he'll be good at reigning.
What's the result? Well, reception has been mixed. Some readers were thrilled to read about a warrior princess, while others were a little confused by it. Some readers didn't mind the lack of magic while others didn't like it. This is kind of what being a writer boils down to: some people will like your work and others won't, which is not only fine, it's cool. The world would be such a boring place if we all liked the same things. I'm a huge fan of variety, so I'm all for people having differing opinions.
But the gender question in particular has been interesting to me. Lately, I've been watching a lot of videos and reading a lot about how women are represented in media. For an excellent summary with tons of great links to things like book cover swapping, how men and women are portrayed in advertisements, the treatment of female gamers, and the Hawkeye Initiative, read this great article on Junkee.
I am a feminist and not ashamed to call myself one, but feminism for me means total gender equity. It means men can be sensitive and cry, can become dancers, can play with baby dolls without fear of censure from society, a society that currently tells men they must be macho. It means women can be scientists, warriors, and able to provide for themselves without living in a 50s scenario where it's the man who calls all the shots. The status quo is good for no one, regardless of whether you're male or female, or if you identify with a gender other than the one you were born into. I want to get away from the male/female dichotomy. Instead, I just want us all to be people.
That's why I did a gender flip when I wrote Asleep. I want there to be more warrior princesses, so I wrote one. I want there to be more male characters who aren't afraid to show their vulnerabilities, so I wrote one. I understand that not everyone will be on board with that, that it will make some people uncomfortable, and I'm okay with that. But I'm not going to stop doing it because I know I'm not the only one who's been longing for warrior princesses.
Showing posts with label The Eye of the Beholder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Eye of the Beholder. Show all posts
Monday, July 29, 2013
Friday, June 14, 2013
Book Launch Day: Asleep is now available!
In 2012, I decided to try my hand at self-publishing. I wrote Contributor for NaNoWriMo 2011, and it was a novel I wanted to get into the hands of readers rather than sitting on my hard drive collecting dust, which is where all my other manuscripts were. It wasn't ready for publication yet, though, so I decided that, in the meantime, I'd polish up a manuscript I'd written and loved but never thought would be considered marketable enough for me to try shopping it to agents. My goal was to sell 100 copies in the first year. With a great deal of trepidation, I clicked the publish button on The Eye of the Beholder.
Now, a year later, it's still my most successful book. I not only sold those 100 copies, I sold a lot more than that--more than ten times what I'd hoped to sell. I had no idea a Beauty and the Beast retelling would resonate with so many others. I've always loved fairy tales, but I was sure the book was something no publishing company would ever touch, so self-publishing was a huge boon to me.
Since publishing that book, I've published several others. I was a bit like a kid in a candy store. I love to read, love to write, and I wanted to just writing everything I could. Each of my books is special to me in its own way, but The Eye is extra special because it proved to be the little book that could.
Writing a bunch of different things in a variety of genres has been fun, but when NaNoWriMo 2012 rolled around, I wanted to get back to my fairytale roots, and I decided to go with a reboot of Sleeping Beauty. Asleep is the end result.
I won't lie: the book gave me some serious headaches. I had fun doing the world building, and I loved the characters, but I had a hard time wrestling the book into submission. There was much stressing as I tried to figure out a timeline that would work and as I wrote and rewrote chapters to try to make everything mesh together. Then, one magical day, things finally began to fall into place, and I'm quite pleased with the end result. I hope you will be too!
**Note: This book contains some mature content**
A reimagining of the sleeping beauty tale.
When her beloved Prince Devaran is abducted from her parents’ castle during their engagement announcement ceremony, Princess Jessmyn vows that nothing will stop her from bringing his abductors to justice. Rescuing Dev won't be easy, and Jess will have to form an alliance with the other Realms if she's to win the most important battle of her life.
Imprisoned in a forbidding tower, Dev tries to find a way to warn Jess of the perils she’ll face. Weakened by deprivation and by the drugs administered by the madwoman who kidnapped him, Dev drifts between sleep and consciousness. As he relives cherished moments spent with Jess, Dev wonders if he’ll ever again be with the woman he loves.
Asleep is available on Nook, Kindle, and Kobo.
Special thanks to the awesome SM Reine, who did Asleep's fabulous cover. If you think Asleep's cover is beautiful, be sure to check out the gorgeous covers she does for her own books. They'll look fabulous on your ereader! Happy reading!
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Book Launch Day: Committed, Episode 5 is now available!
When Ella Mikowski decided to plan her dream wedding, she had no idea what she was getting herself into. As if juggling her career and the millions of wedding planning details isn’t enough, it seems that anything that can go wrong does go wrong. Will Ella manage to make it down the aisle with her sanity intact?
Episode 5: Masato makes a deal with Ella: one date, no talking about the wedding. But some bad sushi turns their relaxing evening into an unmitigated disaster.
Committed, Episode 5 is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.
Psst: My book, The Eye of the Beholder, is currently on sale for 99c on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo! It'll be back to regular price soon, so get your copy now!
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Book Launch Day: Committed, Episode 3 is now available!
It's book launch day--in more ways than one! First, the new episode of Committed, my serial, is now available. Second, my exclusivity with Amazon has lapsed on all my books, and they are now all available in Kindle, Nook, and Kobo formats!
When Ella Mikowski decided to plan her dream wedding, she had no idea what she was getting herself into. As if juggling her career and the millions of wedding planning details isn’t enough, it seems that anything that can go wrong does go wrong. Will Ella manage to make it down the aisle with her sanity intact?
Episode 3: When storm damage leaves a supplier incapable of delivering the flowers Ella had ordered, she’s left with only five days to figure out what to substitute for the arrangements.
Committed is available in the Kindle, Nook, and Kobo stores.
I'm also pleased to announce that Phoning It In is now available in Kindle, Nook, and Kobo formats, and The Eye of the Beholder is also available for Kindle, Nook, and Kobo.
Going forward, I will no longer be exclusive to Amazon. I have five more episodes of Committed to release, and then I'll be releasing a new book under my Elizabeth Darcy pen name, this time a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty tale--with a twist. Stay tuned for a cover reveal.
And, lastly, I have a new cover for Contributor! I'll be revealing it next week.
Psst: If you haven't signed up for my mailing list yet, you may want to. I'm planning a spring giveaway for mailing list members, and members get exclusives like free books and announcements of new releases. Sign up below!
When Ella Mikowski decided to plan her dream wedding, she had no idea what she was getting herself into. As if juggling her career and the millions of wedding planning details isn’t enough, it seems that anything that can go wrong does go wrong. Will Ella manage to make it down the aisle with her sanity intact?
Committed is available in the Kindle, Nook, and Kobo stores.
Going forward, I will no longer be exclusive to Amazon. I have five more episodes of Committed to release, and then I'll be releasing a new book under my Elizabeth Darcy pen name, this time a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty tale--with a twist. Stay tuned for a cover reveal.
And, lastly, I have a new cover for Contributor! I'll be revealing it next week.
Psst: If you haven't signed up for my mailing list yet, you may want to. I'm planning a spring giveaway for mailing list members, and members get exclusives like free books and announcements of new releases. Sign up below!
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Announcement: Expanded distribution and my leg woes
As some of you may have noticed, I haven't been doing much blogging lately. This is due to my having torn a leg muscle in a very stupid way while exercising. Today will be my first session of physical therapy to help me recover from the injury, and I'll need physical therapy twice a week for four weeks.
The good news is that, while the injury will take a while to heal, I should eventually get back to normal, and it's not stopping me from working. The bad news is sitting in my desk chair results in a lot of pain when I have to get up and move around. Because of this, I've been limiting my desk time to concentrating on my writing, so I've been neglecting everything but that.
However, because I've been intensely focused on my books, I've been working hard to start extending my distribution now that my exclusivity clause is expiring, and I'm very happy to announce that Contributor is now available on Kobo and Barnes & Noble, in addition to Amazon. My exclusivity clauses on every book expire at various times throughout the month, so Phoning It In and The Eye of the Beholder will also be available at multiple vendors by the end of this month; I'll keep you posted as the books go live at the other stores.
Along with expanding the distribution for Contributor, I've also got a new cover design in the works. I absolutely love the original cover, but I think it may not make it clear that the book is a young adult book, so I'm going to try different cover art to see if that helps better convey its genre.
One last tip: last week I kicked off something fun that I'm calling Free Book Fridays. It means exactly what it sounds like it means: I give some of my readers free books. Tomorrow will be another Free Book Friday, so keep your eyes peeled. How do I decide who to give books to, you may wonder? Well, rumor has it that being on my mailing list could have something to do with it. Sign up here if you haven't yet joined--I've also got some member-exclusive promotions coming up down the line. I've also been known to drop in on Goodreads and take a look at those who have my books shelved. (And a note about Goodreads: as I expand my books into other markets, I'm also updating Goodreads to reflect this, so that the following editions are listed: Kindle, Nook, and Kobo.)
The good news is that, while the injury will take a while to heal, I should eventually get back to normal, and it's not stopping me from working. The bad news is sitting in my desk chair results in a lot of pain when I have to get up and move around. Because of this, I've been limiting my desk time to concentrating on my writing, so I've been neglecting everything but that.
However, because I've been intensely focused on my books, I've been working hard to start extending my distribution now that my exclusivity clause is expiring, and I'm very happy to announce that Contributor is now available on Kobo and Barnes & Noble, in addition to Amazon. My exclusivity clauses on every book expire at various times throughout the month, so Phoning It In and The Eye of the Beholder will also be available at multiple vendors by the end of this month; I'll keep you posted as the books go live at the other stores.
Along with expanding the distribution for Contributor, I've also got a new cover design in the works. I absolutely love the original cover, but I think it may not make it clear that the book is a young adult book, so I'm going to try different cover art to see if that helps better convey its genre.
One last tip: last week I kicked off something fun that I'm calling Free Book Fridays. It means exactly what it sounds like it means: I give some of my readers free books. Tomorrow will be another Free Book Friday, so keep your eyes peeled. How do I decide who to give books to, you may wonder? Well, rumor has it that being on my mailing list could have something to do with it. Sign up here if you haven't yet joined--I've also got some member-exclusive promotions coming up down the line. I've also been known to drop in on Goodreads and take a look at those who have my books shelved. (And a note about Goodreads: as I expand my books into other markets, I'm also updating Goodreads to reflect this, so that the following editions are listed: Kindle, Nook, and Kobo.)
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Announcement: Spec Fic Dollar Daze starts today!
Looking for some good books to read over the next week? Like bargains? Then you'll want to snatch up a copy of all 18 books in the Spec Fic Dollar Daze promotion. 18 indie authors are offering their books (including yours truly, with The Eye of the Beholder!) for 99 cents from January 30-February 3.
Psst, one last note. Wouldn't you like to have a free copy of Creators? I'd love to give you one! I've already made it free on Kobo, but Barnes & Noble, and Amazon require books to be priced at 99 cents minimum. However, Amazon will price match, so if you're so inclined, I'd be extremely appreciative if you report the Kobo price to Amazon so they'll price match. There's a link right under the product details that says "tell us about a lower price". Click it, paste the Kobo URL into the field (http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Creators/book-n_WmyRyEbkiBnVb2s6jDLA/page1.html?s=WYPb_KPjCU61EdwNUGVfLw&r=1), put a "0" for price and shipping cost, and click the button to complete. Free copies of Creators for all!
SpecFicDaily.com, T.S. Welti, and J.A. Huss have teamed up to bring you another MASSIVE Group Sale and Giveaway. This promo includes 18 book by 18 different authors - ALL books in this list are 99 cents from January 30-February 3rd.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Announcement: General News
I've been really lax about my blog this week, which makes me feel badly but the truth is, though I enjoy the blogging, it always falls by the wayside when I'm really busy with other things. So what am I so busy with? Well, how about the following:
1. Creators is now available from other retailers! You can purchase it at Amazon, Kobo, or Barnes & Noble! For now, my other titles are still exclusive to Amazon, but that exclusivity expires on all three of them in March, so throughout that month I'll be adding the books one at a time to Kobo and B&N.
2. I'm working on a romantic dramedy serial called Committed, which will be released under my Anne Wentworth pen name. It'll be 8 episodes long, and it centers around Ella, who is a week away from her wedding day and busy dealing with a disaster each day leading up to her wedding. I'm working with the awesome Carrie at Cheeky Covers on the cover, so some of my time has been spent looking at designs and stock art for the perfect cover. I have a couple of advanced readers lined up, but I could use more eyes. If you're interested, let me know on my Facebook page.
3. I'm planning on releasing paperback copies of The Eye of the Beholder, and I've been tinkering with Createspace, trying to get a feel for it. I'm extremely happy to say that I'll be able to keep the original cover, but I'll need to give the designer some additional information about the size of the book, number of pages, etc. so that a print version of the cover can be created. Before I can do that, I have to nail down the formatting, so I'm planning on doing some tinkering with that over the next week or so. I'd like to have the paperback out by February.
4. Lot and lots of promotions. I was a part of Elle Casey's anniversary giveaway, and am in the process of contacting the winners of copies of Contributor and Creators. I have another promo coming up at the end of the month, this time for The Eye of the Beholder (be sure to check my giveaway page--more details will be coming soon). I've also been scheduling some promotions for Phoning It In.
5. Setting up my mailing list. It's ready to go at last! Subscribing to the mailing list will give you access to the following:
So, as you can see, my plate is pretty full of lots of good stuff.
One last note: I now have 11 reviews for The Eye of the Beholder on Amazon, and some of them have made me so happy. Last night, I saw this new one, and I am flying high. Disclaimer: I don't expect everyone to love my book, but every review I receive helps me to become a better writer. Plus, I can't say how much it means to me to see readers taking time out of their busy days to not only read one of my books, but write a review of it. You, dear readers, are awesome!
1. Creators is now available from other retailers! You can purchase it at Amazon, Kobo, or Barnes & Noble! For now, my other titles are still exclusive to Amazon, but that exclusivity expires on all three of them in March, so throughout that month I'll be adding the books one at a time to Kobo and B&N.
2. I'm working on a romantic dramedy serial called Committed, which will be released under my Anne Wentworth pen name. It'll be 8 episodes long, and it centers around Ella, who is a week away from her wedding day and busy dealing with a disaster each day leading up to her wedding. I'm working with the awesome Carrie at Cheeky Covers on the cover, so some of my time has been spent looking at designs and stock art for the perfect cover. I have a couple of advanced readers lined up, but I could use more eyes. If you're interested, let me know on my Facebook page.
3. I'm planning on releasing paperback copies of The Eye of the Beholder, and I've been tinkering with Createspace, trying to get a feel for it. I'm extremely happy to say that I'll be able to keep the original cover, but I'll need to give the designer some additional information about the size of the book, number of pages, etc. so that a print version of the cover can be created. Before I can do that, I have to nail down the formatting, so I'm planning on doing some tinkering with that over the next week or so. I'd like to have the paperback out by February.
4. Lot and lots of promotions. I was a part of Elle Casey's anniversary giveaway, and am in the process of contacting the winners of copies of Contributor and Creators. I have another promo coming up at the end of the month, this time for The Eye of the Beholder (be sure to check my giveaway page--more details will be coming soon). I've also been scheduling some promotions for Phoning It In.
5. Setting up my mailing list. It's ready to go at last! Subscribing to the mailing list will give you access to the following:
- Members-only giveaways
- Extended excerpts
- A quarterly newsletter
- Notification of new releases
So, as you can see, my plate is pretty full of lots of good stuff.
One last note: I now have 11 reviews for The Eye of the Beholder on Amazon, and some of them have made me so happy. Last night, I saw this new one, and I am flying high. Disclaimer: I don't expect everyone to love my book, but every review I receive helps me to become a better writer. Plus, I can't say how much it means to me to see readers taking time out of their busy days to not only read one of my books, but write a review of it. You, dear readers, are awesome!
Monday, December 17, 2012
Monday Musings: Back in the saddle
While spending the last week on the couch did wonders to make me feel better, it really did nothing for my email inbox or any of my other online obligations. So I apologize for the disappearing act and will try hard to catch up.
Despite my sinus infection's attempts to beat me into a pulp, I did manage to remain productive last week, doing some more edits on my Kindle, so my schedule for Phoning It In is still a go. I'll be hitting "publish" by December 22, for sure. The closer it gets, the more excited I am, because I'm really looking forward to seeing what readers think of the novel. Depending on how it does, I'm even thinking about doing a sequel of sorts, though I'd focus on one of the secondary characters.
I've got some big things coming up over the next couple of months. First up, I'll be featuring an interview exchange with T.S. Welti. Early in 2013, I'll be participating in a group speculative fiction promo. During that promo, The Eye of the Beholder will be one of 18 books available for $0.99. I'm also looking at expanding my use of Google+, and setting up a mailing list so that I can keep fans up to date on new releases, as well as offer some extra goodies such as members-only giveaways, character naming contests, exclusive excerpts, etc. Stay tuned for more details on that.
So there's a brief post to bring you up to speed on what's coming up. Once Phoning It In has been published and I take a break from working on novels, the blog will return to regularly scheduled programming and will feature some book reviews, etc. I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things!
Despite my sinus infection's attempts to beat me into a pulp, I did manage to remain productive last week, doing some more edits on my Kindle, so my schedule for Phoning It In is still a go. I'll be hitting "publish" by December 22, for sure. The closer it gets, the more excited I am, because I'm really looking forward to seeing what readers think of the novel. Depending on how it does, I'm even thinking about doing a sequel of sorts, though I'd focus on one of the secondary characters.
I've got some big things coming up over the next couple of months. First up, I'll be featuring an interview exchange with T.S. Welti. Early in 2013, I'll be participating in a group speculative fiction promo. During that promo, The Eye of the Beholder will be one of 18 books available for $0.99. I'm also looking at expanding my use of Google+, and setting up a mailing list so that I can keep fans up to date on new releases, as well as offer some extra goodies such as members-only giveaways, character naming contests, exclusive excerpts, etc. Stay tuned for more details on that.
So there's a brief post to bring you up to speed on what's coming up. Once Phoning It In has been published and I take a break from working on novels, the blog will return to regularly scheduled programming and will feature some book reviews, etc. I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things!
Monday, November 12, 2012
Monday Musings: My characters have a life of their own
This NaNoWriMo, I'm noticing the same phenomenon I noticed during last year's NaNoWriMo: my vision for what the story would look like and the way the story began to take shape aren't necessarily the same thing. This is something I think most writers can identify with. Usually, I don't consciously realize a story would work better if I did it a bit differently. For me, it tends to be more unconscious. I'll write something, read it, and think, "Oh, that does make more sense, doesn't it?"
I think a big part of my anxiety over this project comes from the fact that The Eye of the Beholder has been a lot more successful than I'd imagined it would be. I'm thrilled I've found an audience, and I am very grateful for my readers. However, I'm also aware that having this audience may lead to expectations. When I wrote just for myself without ever knowing if anyone else would really read it, I didn't worry too much about the turns my stories took. I just let my characters do their thing while taking me along for the ride. But now I'm afraid that if I deviate a lot from the style I used in The Eye, I may let my readers down.
I didn't feel this same level of anxiety with Contributor or with Phoning It In, because they were different. I'm interested in a lot of genres, and I knew some of my readers might like one genre in which I write but not another, and that's perfectly understandable. It also frees me from having to worry about expectations, because I've already set up the expectation that what's coming is going to be different from what's already out there.
However, Asleep is meant to be my second in the Fairytale Collection, and it's shaping up to be a different book from The Eye. The Eye was my take, but it was still pretty much a straight up retelling of the beauty and the beast story. My inspiration for Asleep is the sleeping beauty story, but the tale I'm telling is far, far different from the Disney version. There are elements I've straight up left out--the fairies--and elements that I've inverted--the princess being the rescuer while the prince is the rescuee. So, while Asleep is also inspired by a fairytale, it doesn't stick as closely to the fairytale as The Eye did.
The major difference between this year and last is this: I'm having trouble letting go. When Contributor started to turn out a lot differently than I'd anticipated, I went with it and was happy with the result. I'm more nervous about Asleep because I've got something out there for it to be measured against. At the end of the day, I need to be faithful to the characters and the way the story wants to progress. I think any writer will say that if you fight this and try to make the story fit your original vision, the end result will be something that's not worth reading.
I'm gaining a new perspective on being an author with at least one published book. When I first plunged into the world of publishing, I worried what my readers would think when they compared my work to that of other authors. Now, I worry more about what my readers will think when they compare my previous novels to my newer ones.
I think a big part of my anxiety over this project comes from the fact that The Eye of the Beholder has been a lot more successful than I'd imagined it would be. I'm thrilled I've found an audience, and I am very grateful for my readers. However, I'm also aware that having this audience may lead to expectations. When I wrote just for myself without ever knowing if anyone else would really read it, I didn't worry too much about the turns my stories took. I just let my characters do their thing while taking me along for the ride. But now I'm afraid that if I deviate a lot from the style I used in The Eye, I may let my readers down.
I didn't feel this same level of anxiety with Contributor or with Phoning It In, because they were different. I'm interested in a lot of genres, and I knew some of my readers might like one genre in which I write but not another, and that's perfectly understandable. It also frees me from having to worry about expectations, because I've already set up the expectation that what's coming is going to be different from what's already out there.
However, Asleep is meant to be my second in the Fairytale Collection, and it's shaping up to be a different book from The Eye. The Eye was my take, but it was still pretty much a straight up retelling of the beauty and the beast story. My inspiration for Asleep is the sleeping beauty story, but the tale I'm telling is far, far different from the Disney version. There are elements I've straight up left out--the fairies--and elements that I've inverted--the princess being the rescuer while the prince is the rescuee. So, while Asleep is also inspired by a fairytale, it doesn't stick as closely to the fairytale as The Eye did.
The major difference between this year and last is this: I'm having trouble letting go. When Contributor started to turn out a lot differently than I'd anticipated, I went with it and was happy with the result. I'm more nervous about Asleep because I've got something out there for it to be measured against. At the end of the day, I need to be faithful to the characters and the way the story wants to progress. I think any writer will say that if you fight this and try to make the story fit your original vision, the end result will be something that's not worth reading.
I'm gaining a new perspective on being an author with at least one published book. When I first plunged into the world of publishing, I worried what my readers would think when they compared my work to that of other authors. Now, I worry more about what my readers will think when they compare my previous novels to my newer ones.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Woo Hoo Wednesday: True heroes
It's that time of the week, where I take some time to celebrate the small things that make life awesome. So what made you want to say "Woo Hoo!" this week?
First off, my readers have once again made me shout WOO HOO! After a slow start to the month, I had a couple of crazy, amazing days where my sales rose high enough for me to be in the top 100 in my subcategories. As of today, I have now had my best month ever for sales of The Eye of the Beholder. I want to sincerely, sincerely thank each and every person who has read the book, because you're making my dreams come true--really! Because of you, I feel I can actually make a job out of my true passion in life, and there really aren't words to express how happy that makes me.
My second woo hoo goes out to NaNoWriMo. I haven't taken as many days to prepare for it as I would have liked, because I've been so busy with edits to Phoning It In, which I want to have out by the end of this year. However, I've had a LOT of fun over the last two days making plans for Asleep--and I do mean a LOT of fun. I can hardly wait until tomorrow, so I can finally start doing some actual writing! Because The Eye of the Beholder is doing so well, I was inspired to take on another fairy tale reboot for NaNoWriMo, and I can hardly wait to start sharing samples of it with all of you. My readers ROCK!
However, all of this pales in contrast to the real news of the week, which is Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath. My heart goes out to all those who have lost loved ones, and all those struggling to rebuild and get their lives back in order. It's inadequate to say a woo hoo for those courageous first responders who have been rescuing people trapped by the flooding, who have been evacuating hospitals, who have been protecting citizens. These people put their lives on the line every day for the greater good, and I can't imagine a more heroic thing to do. If you ask me, our culture has a tendency to make heroes out of the wrong people. My heroes are those doctors, nurses, police officers, fire fighters, EMTs, and Coast Guard personnel who put themselves at risk to help the rest of us. Thank you so much for your service. You have proven to us time and time again that your courage is unshakeable, even in the face of terrifying disasters.
If you're able, please join me in donating to the Red Cross here. Monetary donations are so important, because they give the Red Cross the funds they need to buy supplies necessary to provide disaster relief. You can also help by donating blood, and more information on that can be found here. And another big woo hoo and thanks goes out to the Red Cross relief workers who go into disaster zones to help those affected.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Woo hoo Wednesday: I'm in the home stretch!
Welcome to another weekly installment of Woo Hoo Wednesday. Honestly, I love doing this. I have a tendency to be something of a stress bunny, so it's a fantastic idea for me to stop and take a minute to think about all the good things in my life.
The biggest woo hoo is that the end is in sight for Phoning It In! And by end, I mean the end of writing the manuscript. I'll still have edits ahead of me (and some parts of the manuscript are going to need a lot of overhauling), but it feels really, really good to be on the verge of getting another manuscript under my belt. I'm also very excited to send this one out into the world and see how it does.
Another woo hoo goes out to NaNoWriMo 2012. I'm really looking forward to working on the next book in the Fairytale Collection, and I'm just looking forward to NaNo in general. While I've been extremely fortunate to have found some great sources for networking with other authors, there's just something extra special about NaNoWriMo. I love feeling like I'm a part of something so big, and I love the kinship I feel with other participants. Writing can sometimes be a very solitary pursuit, so it rocks to have a whole month where I'm cheering on other authors, who are also cheering me on. I've got a few writing buddies already lined up, and I'm always on the lookout for more, so if you're participating and want someone to cheer you on, feel free to look me up. My username on the NaNoWriMo site is NCiacchella.
And now, a food related woo hoo. I did some shopping at Trader Joe's today and bought a box of their Pumpkin Pancake and Waffle mix. If you've never tried it, you should. It makes some crazy good pancakes. I was tempted to grab the box and hug it, but I thought that might make the other shoppers think I was kind of weird. I love the pumpkin time of year. Pumpkin ravioli, pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice lattes... I tell you, I cannot get enough of these things.
I also want to give a woo hoo to a couple of game-related Kickstarter projects.
The first is SHAKER: an RPG by Brenda Brathwaite & Tom Hall. Here's a synopsis of the project, from their Kickstarter page:
Shaker: An Old School RPG is a first-person perspective,
fantasy/sci-fi game set in a Bridge world between the future and the
very distant medieval past. Taking the role of operative James Connelly
(you may also customize your lead character), an employee of Shaker
Corporation, you are called upon to set right a deadly chain of events
that began millennia ago. You and your crew of 3 operatives will be
deployed to Antera, a medieval, fantasy world in the distant past.
There, under a feudal guise, you must unearth the very beginning of a
horrible chain of events and avert it, or the universe we know today
will cease to exist in a mere 100 years.
I know, right? How cool does that sound? And one of the things I really like about it is that the company working on the project, Loot Drop, is dedicated to remaining an indie company. Needless to say, I love indies. The project is about 21% funded as of this posting, and I hope more people will back it.
The other is Project Eternity by Obsidian Entertainment. Here's a description of that project, from the Kickstarter site:
Project Eternity
will take the central hero, memorable companions and the epic exploration of Baldur’s Gate, add in the fun, intense
combat and dungeon diving of Icewind Dale,
and tie it all together with the emotional writing and mature thematic
exploration of Planescape: Torment.
Combat uses a tactical real-time with pause system - positioning
your party and coordinating attacks and abilities is one of the keys to
success. The world map is dotted with unique locations and wilderness ripe for
exploration and questing. You’ll create your own character and collect
companions along the way – taking him or her not just through this story, but,
with your continued support, through future adventures. You will engage in
dialogues that are deep, and offer many choices to determine the fate of you
and your party. …and you'll experience a story that explores mature themes and
presents you with complex, difficult choices to shape how your story plays out.
We are excited at this chance to create something new, yet reminiscent
of those great games and we want you to be a part of it as well.
My husband, Jürgen, and I have been receiving e-mail updates about this game and they have some really ambitious ideas that I'm really excited to see implemented.
So why did he and I choose to back these? Well, what excites me about them is that they promise to be quite different from anything currently on the market. I'm an avid, lifelong gamer, and I've been really dismayed by how disappointing a lot of the recent RPGs have been. I wholeheartedly support indies who want to take risks and try making games that will elevate gaming. A really well-done RPG can make you feel like you've stepped right into the pages of the book, and it's tough for me to think of something I enjoy more than that.
Last, but certainly not least, an absolutely ginormous WOO HOO for this review of The Eye of the Beholder that Leonor posted on her blog. It is really exciting for me to get feedback from my readers, and nothing feels better than when a reader really connects with something I've written. I was seriously thrilled to see this, and I walked around on a cloud for the rest of the day.
That's it from me this week. Hopefully you're all having a fabulous week!
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Woo Hoo Wednesday: NaNoWriMo is coming!
Welcome to another installment of Woo Hoo Wednesday, where I take the time to celebrate the small bits of everyday happiness that make life so sweet.
My first woo hoo goes to my decision to return The Eye of the Beholder to the KDP Select program, which allows readers to borrow the book from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library. While I'm not so fond of restricting the number of outlets where my book can be purchased, the fact is that I get more lends than I did sales through other outlets, so it just makes sense to do whatever gets my book into the hands of the greatest number of readers. I've already lent enough copies of The Eye this month that one more lend means I'll have exceeded my best month on Barnes & Noble.
Another big woo hoo goes to my serious productivity as of late. I've been hitting the 3,000 words per day mark consistently for the past couple of weeks. I'm now entering the home stretch with Phoning It In, so if edits go well, I'll have that book out before the close of 2012. I'm looking forward to seeing how readers like my attempt at contemporary women's fiction. I have to admit, I'm very, very fond of some of the characters in Phoning It In, and I hope my readers will be too!
My family deserves a huge woo hoo. I am so lucky to be surrounded by such loving, supportive people. I thank them for putting up with me when I'm in one of my moods because I'm having trouble writing. They deserve a resounding woo hoo for making me feel loved and special every day of my life, even when I'm being rather unlovable.
And, lastly, a giant woo hoo for the fact that NaNoWriMo 2012 is just around the corner! I am seriously excited about it this year. I've done it for the past two years (Contributor was the product of last year's NaNo), and I enjoy it every year. I'm especially excited this year because I have writing buddies! If you've ever hemmed and hawed about doing it, I have this to say to you: DO EEEET! Trust me, hitting that 50k mark feel like a HUGE achievement, and you'll feel good about it for months on end. If you need someone to be your cheerleader, feel free to add me as your buddy and I'll urge you on. My username there is NCiacchella.
If you're looking for something to read this weekend, why don't you pick up a free copy of Creators, the prequel novella to my Contributor trilogy? I'm running a free promotion Saturday, October 6th and Sunday, October 7th, so be sure to get a copy. I'm very excited to see what you, my awesome readers, think of it!
Happy Wednesday and may your week be filled with many things that make you say, "Woo hoo!"
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Woo hoo Wednesday: Sales milestone met!
I am frankly beside myself with excitement today, because I've reached the milestone of having sold 500 copies of The Eye of the Beholder. As I've said on my blog before, I had hoped I might be able to sell 100 copies within one calendar year of publication, so to have met that goal five times over in the space of five months obviously exceeds every hope and expectation I may have had. I am so very, very grateful to my readers for investing both their time and their money in me. Every time I look at those sales figures, I'm encouraged to push myself harder, to make the next book even better, and to get it out as quickly as humanly possible. I am loving every minute of my self-publishing journey, and every day makes me more hopeful that I can make a career of writing.
Another big woo hoo goes out to the people who have given me good feedback about my books. Don't mistake me--I also appreciate the negative reviews because they give me an idea of my weak areas. But I have been absolutely overwhelmed by the number of people who have praised my books and complimented me on my writing. It took so long for me to get to a point where I'd even let someone take a peek at something I wrote that it lifts me straight off my feet when people like something I wrote. I'm not sure if this is a common affliction of writers, but I am so close to my work that I end up dealing with a lot of self-doubt. I'll write something that I think is awesome one day, but the next I look at it and want to tear my hair out because it suddenly seems so awful. To have others tell me that they like something I wrote, well, that's a kind of validation that's very hard to describe. I've always wanted to be good at my jobs, but since a piece of my soul goes into everything I write, it's exponentially more meaningful to be complimented on my writing.
Lastly, a big woo hoo for the progress I'm making on Phoning It In. The words have been pouring out of me and, though I know I'll have extensive edits to do of the first 1/3 or so of the book, I feel confident that I can get it out by the end of the year. I'm also excited because the cover is ready, and I think it's fabulous. I can hardly wait to reveal it, but that'll come when I've made further progress on the novel.
I hope you're all having a wonderful Wednesday as well. Be sure to check back on Friday for another sneak peek into Phoning It In!
(I also want to remind everyone that The Eye of the Beholder is no longer available on Barnes & Noble or Kobo. It is still, however, available DRM-free on Amazon, and I will be making it available through the Kindle Owners' Lending Library once again.)
Friday, September 21, 2012
Announcement: Unpublish date for B&N and Kobo
This is just a quick announcement to let readers know that, on September 26, I will be unpublishing The Eye of the Beholder on Barnes & Noble and Kobo. If you'd like to know why I've chosen to do this, you can find a post here that explains my reasons. I wanted to give fair warning to anyone who might want to purchase a copy via these outlets. I also want to emphasize that my book will remain on sale at Amazon, and that, like all of my current and future books, it does not contain DRM. I will be enrolling once more in the Kindle Select program, so the book should be available for borrowing as of October 1.
I'll write another quick announcement once I've unpublished, just to confirm to everyone. As always, I welcome feedback from my readers. You're the ones who make all of this possible, and your feedback really and truly matters to me.
I'll write another quick announcement once I've unpublished, just to confirm to everyone. As always, I welcome feedback from my readers. You're the ones who make all of this possible, and your feedback really and truly matters to me.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Business Decision: The Eye of the Beholder
Being a self-published author is really a learning experience. Even though I did a lot of research before going into this, spending hours pouring over posts by other indie authors and gathering the advice they so generously offered, I still often feel like I'm blundering around in the dark.
For instance, I still don't know which day of the week is the best for a free promo. I've done two for Creators so far this month (one is still active until midnight!), and I had pretty good results with the first one, which I ran on a Friday. Today's promotion, however, is proving to be far more anemic. The next time I run a free promo, I'll probably do it on a Saturday and see what my results are like. Maybe after that I'll be able to figure out which day of the week is best for releasing new books! (Hint: It's probably not Tuesday as that's the day the traditional publishers list their new releases.)
The other aspect of this whole business that I've been trying to pin down is whether it's best to remain exclusive to Amazon or to offer my books at as many outlets as possible. In principle, the idea of being exclusive doesn't sit all that well with me. I want my books to be available to as broad an audience as possible. Though I do not (and never, ever will) use DRM on my books, I think it's just more convenient for my readers if I can offer my book in multiple storefronts in various formats. So, when my Select period for The Eye of the Beholder expired, I decided to try selling via Barnes & Noble and Kobo.
Now that I have a few months under my belt, I feel I can make a more informed decision. The truth is, my sales at B&N and Kobo are ridiculously low. At Kobo, I have sold a grand total of one, count it, one copy of The Eye of the Beholder. On my best month at B&N, I sold less than ten. This is in comparison to the more than 160 copies I sold on Amazon last month. When The Eye was available in the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, I didn't have too many borrows, but the fact of the matter is that my number of borrows there was higher than my sales on B&N and Kobo.
Given this, I've come to the conclusion that it's not really worth it to continue to sell via B&N and Kobo. I don't come to this decision lightly and, as I've said, exclusivity doesn't really sit well with me. However, from the data I've collected, I find I have more of a demand from readers who want to borrow my book from the KOLL than I do from readers who want to purchase via B&N and Kobo. I'm not ruling out the possibility of selling my books on other venues in the future but, at this point, I've decided to stop selling via B&N and Kobo, return to exclusivity with Amazon, and offer The Eye on the KOLL. I will unpublish on B&N and Kobo at the end of the month, and I'll post another announcement here once I've done this.
As a writer, nothing is more important to me than my readers. Without readers, I wouldn't even be able to entertain the idea of writing as a career. I truly welcome feedback from my readers, and I try to make myself available on as many platforms as possible. You can hit me up on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, or here at my blog, and I will definitely listen to your feedback and suggestions. One of the things I like best about self-publishing is that it removes the barriers between me and my readers, so I can not only take your feedback to heart, I can act on it promptly.
For instance, I still don't know which day of the week is the best for a free promo. I've done two for Creators so far this month (one is still active until midnight!), and I had pretty good results with the first one, which I ran on a Friday. Today's promotion, however, is proving to be far more anemic. The next time I run a free promo, I'll probably do it on a Saturday and see what my results are like. Maybe after that I'll be able to figure out which day of the week is best for releasing new books! (Hint: It's probably not Tuesday as that's the day the traditional publishers list their new releases.)
The other aspect of this whole business that I've been trying to pin down is whether it's best to remain exclusive to Amazon or to offer my books at as many outlets as possible. In principle, the idea of being exclusive doesn't sit all that well with me. I want my books to be available to as broad an audience as possible. Though I do not (and never, ever will) use DRM on my books, I think it's just more convenient for my readers if I can offer my book in multiple storefronts in various formats. So, when my Select period for The Eye of the Beholder expired, I decided to try selling via Barnes & Noble and Kobo.
Now that I have a few months under my belt, I feel I can make a more informed decision. The truth is, my sales at B&N and Kobo are ridiculously low. At Kobo, I have sold a grand total of one, count it, one copy of The Eye of the Beholder. On my best month at B&N, I sold less than ten. This is in comparison to the more than 160 copies I sold on Amazon last month. When The Eye was available in the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, I didn't have too many borrows, but the fact of the matter is that my number of borrows there was higher than my sales on B&N and Kobo.
Given this, I've come to the conclusion that it's not really worth it to continue to sell via B&N and Kobo. I don't come to this decision lightly and, as I've said, exclusivity doesn't really sit well with me. However, from the data I've collected, I find I have more of a demand from readers who want to borrow my book from the KOLL than I do from readers who want to purchase via B&N and Kobo. I'm not ruling out the possibility of selling my books on other venues in the future but, at this point, I've decided to stop selling via B&N and Kobo, return to exclusivity with Amazon, and offer The Eye on the KOLL. I will unpublish on B&N and Kobo at the end of the month, and I'll post another announcement here once I've done this.
As a writer, nothing is more important to me than my readers. Without readers, I wouldn't even be able to entertain the idea of writing as a career. I truly welcome feedback from my readers, and I try to make myself available on as many platforms as possible. You can hit me up on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, or here at my blog, and I will definitely listen to your feedback and suggestions. One of the things I like best about self-publishing is that it removes the barriers between me and my readers, so I can not only take your feedback to heart, I can act on it promptly.
Woo Hoo Wednesday: It's fall!
Why am I so happy right now? Well, friends, I am not much of a sun worshiper. Sure, I love sunny days as much as the next person, but I really hate the heat and humidity of summer in Michigan. This summer was particularly horrible, and I feel like I spent the vast majority of it holed up in the house with the air conditioning cranked. Now that it's September, the weather has taken a turn for the decidedly fall-like, and I couldn't be happier. Bring on the 60 degree days! I've been able to actually open the windows and go outside to get yard work done! What's more, I can wear hoodies and jeans again. I'm sorry to rain on the parades of those who love summer, but I am all about this weather right now!
A big woo hoo for my new computer screen! I wasn't very happy about my old monitor dying, and it pretty much goes without saying that I couldn't function without one. I'd been wanting a bigger one for a while, so the good thing to come out of the hardware failure was finally getting a much larger screen. It's amazing how much more I can see when I'm working in full-screen mode on Scrivener.
Woo hoo number three is writing related! After some deliberation, I decided to put Infiltrator on hiatus for now and work on my contemporary women's fiction novel, Phoning It In, instead. As much as I love the Contributor series, it's nice to have a break and to work on something that has a completely different flavor. I've been extremely productive the last couple of days, cranking out more than 3,000 words a day, so I'm hoping to finish the manuscript by the end of this month and get some editing in before NaNoWriMo starts. My goal is to publish Phoning by the end of the year, which will bring me to a total of four books across three genres. I'm excited to see what the market is like for contemporary women's fiction, but don't worry--I'm not forgetting my other manuscripts. For NaNoWriMo, I'll be writing the next entry in the Fairytale Collection series, and then it'll be on to Infiltrator, book two in the Contributor trilogy.
Most exciting of all, though, is how well sales of The Eye have been going this month and last. I'm on the verge of a major milestone, and it looks like I'll hit it by the end of the month. It's so exciting to see something that I hoped against hope would sell 100 copies in a year do so much better than I'd ever dreamed! I'd like to get my other books off the ground as well, but right now I'm extremely pumped because, thanks to sales of The Eye, it looks like we'll be able to make a trip to Europe next year. This is huge because my husband is from Belgium and all his family lives there, so a 2013 trip would be the first time he's seen his parents, brother, and nephews in three years. I'm very close with my family and can't imagine having to go that long between visits, so it means a lot to me that my income is contributing toward making a trip home possible for him.
What's got you pumped this week, my wonderful readers?
Oh, and just because you're awesome and my last run went so well, I'm doing another free run of Creators today, September 19th, so get yourself a copy from Amazon! I'm really looking forward to seeing what readers think of both it and Contributor. Happy Wednesday!
(Psst! On Friday I'll give everyone a sneak peek of Phoning It In.)
Monday, September 17, 2012
Monday Musings: What to write next?
One of the biggest challenges for me as an indie author is deciding what I'm going to work on next. I have so many irons in the fire, so many ideas, that it's hard for me to decide which one to go with. When you couple this with the business end of things, well, it really gets messy.
Of my three books, The Eye of the Beholder is my best performer. It took off much more quickly than I'd expected. Frankly, I didn't think anyone would want to read a fairy tale retelling. I'm glad everyone who's purchased my book has proven me wrong! Its success has inspired me to write a second fairy tale book, which will be my NaNoWriMo project for this year, and which I hope to publish early in 2013. I love fairy tales, so I'm more than happy to write more now that I know there's a demand for them.
Creators and Contributor are proving much slower to take off. This is so funny to me because I was convinced that the reverse would be true. Just goes to show you that, when you do this self-publishing thing, you never really know how things are going to go. Sometimes I feel like I spend 99% of my time flailing in the dark, angsting over what marketing (if any) I should do, what genre might prove to be the most reliable, etc. I didn't go into this expecting to be a pro, but it is uncomfortable to feel like such an amateur at times.
My intention was to continue on with the Contributor trilogy, but now I'm really torn. I resurrected an old partial manuscript for a contemporary women's fiction novel, and I'm strongly tempted to finish it first and then work on the next Contributor book once NaNoWriMo is over. I'm very curious about how that book would perform, and having books across three different genres would probably also give me a better idea of what types of books are more successful. Then again, another part of me feels like I need to stick to one thing and then branch out later. I'm afraid if I'm spread out over multiple genres, I'll lose readers because, even if they liked one of my books, they might not necessarily care for the other genres I'm writing in.
Right now, I am leaning toward working on the contemporary novel. I had some more ideas for it this morning, and I'm anxious to tackle it. Maybe I need a little space from the Contributor saga. Either way, I'll be in front of my keyboard again tomorrow morning, working on my next novel. I've had a bit of a break and now it's time to get back to work.
I also want to announce that I'll be doing another free promo with Creators on Wednesday, September 19. I was excited about how successful the last promo was, and I'm hoping to reach even more readers with this next promo!
Of my three books, The Eye of the Beholder is my best performer. It took off much more quickly than I'd expected. Frankly, I didn't think anyone would want to read a fairy tale retelling. I'm glad everyone who's purchased my book has proven me wrong! Its success has inspired me to write a second fairy tale book, which will be my NaNoWriMo project for this year, and which I hope to publish early in 2013. I love fairy tales, so I'm more than happy to write more now that I know there's a demand for them.
Creators and Contributor are proving much slower to take off. This is so funny to me because I was convinced that the reverse would be true. Just goes to show you that, when you do this self-publishing thing, you never really know how things are going to go. Sometimes I feel like I spend 99% of my time flailing in the dark, angsting over what marketing (if any) I should do, what genre might prove to be the most reliable, etc. I didn't go into this expecting to be a pro, but it is uncomfortable to feel like such an amateur at times.
My intention was to continue on with the Contributor trilogy, but now I'm really torn. I resurrected an old partial manuscript for a contemporary women's fiction novel, and I'm strongly tempted to finish it first and then work on the next Contributor book once NaNoWriMo is over. I'm very curious about how that book would perform, and having books across three different genres would probably also give me a better idea of what types of books are more successful. Then again, another part of me feels like I need to stick to one thing and then branch out later. I'm afraid if I'm spread out over multiple genres, I'll lose readers because, even if they liked one of my books, they might not necessarily care for the other genres I'm writing in.
Right now, I am leaning toward working on the contemporary novel. I had some more ideas for it this morning, and I'm anxious to tackle it. Maybe I need a little space from the Contributor saga. Either way, I'll be in front of my keyboard again tomorrow morning, working on my next novel. I've had a bit of a break and now it's time to get back to work.
I also want to announce that I'll be doing another free promo with Creators on Wednesday, September 19. I was excited about how successful the last promo was, and I'm hoping to reach even more readers with this next promo!
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Woo Hoo Wednesday: Yay for less stress!
This week, I'm in a very good mood because I did something I've been wanting to do for some time: I hired a company to do some of my house cleaning so that I can have more time for writing! This will give me the chance to finally designate a very good chunk of each weekday to devote solely to writing, and that makes me very happy. It's been frustrating to have to try to cram writing in whenever I can, so freeing myself of the housework has really lightened my stress.
I'm also feeling happy, lucky, and grateful because I'm having a great month with regard to sales. I'm just amazed by how The Eye has been taking off in a way that far exceeds my wildest dreams. It's thrilling beyond belief that people are buying my book, and it makes me think that I just might be able to make a go of writing for a living, something I honestly never expected to be able to do. It feels better than I can express to finally be able to pursue my passion rather than do something "practical".
Another big Woo Hoo is due to the fact that I've finished my final edits on Contributor. Silly me--I once used to think that writing was the worst part, because there are days when I feel like I have to pry the words out of my brain with a crowbar. However, those days are nothing compared to staring at my manuscript until I go cross-eyed and can't remember if I've already done a search to see how many times I've used the word "gently". I've kind of developed an irrational hatred for that word now. So Woo Hoo for being done with the pain of the editing process! A few more finishing touches, and Contributor will be ready for publication.
Lastly, a big Woo Hoo for the mild weather we've been having for the last couple of weeks or so. I am not a fan of searing summer heat, so I've been incredibly pumped because I've been able to turn off my A/C and enjoy fresh air blowing through the house. On Monday, I sat outside enjoying the gorgeous weather while typing away on my laptop and it was bliss!
That sums it up for me this week. Just a reminder, if you haven't entered yet, you can still seize your chance to win a copy of Reinventing Claire by the super sweet Darian Wilk. See you for Feature Friday, where I just might post one last excerpt from Contributor!
Monday, August 20, 2012
Monday Musings: Writing is my business
I've been an aspiring writer pretty much ever since I learned how to write. I've always had stories in my head, a notebook in hand, and have spent countless hours scribbling and typing away. However, I also suffered from crippling insecurity that made me really loath to share anything other than papers I wrote for high school and college. I poured so much of myself into my writing that I was terrified of someone criticizing it.
It took me a long time to get over that fear. Along with that, I constantly reminded myself that writing wasn't practical, so I had a series of more practical jobs. Of those, teaching was the only one that was fulfilling for me, because I loved working with students. Still, there was something missing from the equation. I felt like I wasn't really getting out of life what I wanted to get out of it.
After much research and agonizing, my husband finally helped convince me to self-publish. I won't lie: a really strong voice in my head told me not to do it, to instead query agents and to try to find a publisher. I wanted the sense of validation that I thought a publishing contract would bring, and I also wanted to realize my childhood dream of standing in a bookstore next to a copy of my book. However, I had reached a point in my life where I knew I was going to need to start looking for another career, and I was tired of taking meaningless jobs just to pay the bills. I didn't have years to devote to trying to get a publishing deal, so I decided to take the plunge and self-publish. I wanted to see if I could make a go of writing as a career.
So far, the results of my self-publishing endeavor have exceeded my hopes and expectations. I thought maybe I might be able to sell 100 copies of The Eye of the Beholder in a year, so imagine my surprise when I reached that goal less than three months after publishing. Every time I see the book on someone's "to-read" shelf on Goodreads, or I look at my sales figures on Amazon, I have this sense of unreality. People are actually reading my book. They are actually spending their hard-earned cash on something I wrote, they are reading it, and they are taking the time to write reviews and/or rate it. That truly blows my mind. What's more, I wouldn't even have tried to shop The Eye because I'm pretty sure no publisher would have chosen to take a chance on it. If it wasn't for self-publishing, The Eye would have remained a book that only a few people had ever seen. Since it took me more than seven years to finish it (between the actual writing and the editing), it makes me really sad to think of it languishing on my hard drive.
The other thing I've realized about self-publishing is that I love having control over the process. I love that I don't have to completely redo a manuscript with which I am happy. I don't doubt that many editors can and do take works and make them better, but it hurts to think of being compelled to make changes to my story that I wouldn't really want to make.
Another huge plus for me is having complete control over my cover art. I can say quite confidently that I am the world's worst artist, so I've reached out to talented people to design my covers, and I love working with them and watching the cover take shape. I love being able to pick which elements I want on the cover. Had I been traditionally published, I would have had absolutely zero say in this part of the book's production.
But the real icing on the cake is my ability to write whatever I want. I don't have to be confined to any one genre, and that's a good thing for me. There's nothing wrong with being devoted to a single genre, but I want to dabble in several different ones. I love that I can write some fantasy, then some science fiction, and then maybe a mystery, all without being under a contractual obligation to deliver one type of book and one type only.
I'm not trying to say that self-publishing is all fun and games. It's also very stressful, and a ton of work. I hate promoting my work but, then again, even if I'd been published by a traditional publisher, I'd likely have been responsible for doing a lot of my own promotion. Still, I'd love to have experienced marketers on my side since I am seriously lacking in that area.
At the end of the day, though, hitting that "publish" button on Amazon was one of the best things I've ever done. Who knows if I'll ever reach a point where my writing provides a living wage. I hope it does, but what really matters is that I am finally able to share my stories with others, which is what I've wanted all along. Even if I do have to go out and get a practical job, I won't stop writing--and I won't have to. I have my readers to thank for that. There really aren't enough words to say how much I appreciate you. With every sale I get on Amazon, I'm more and more inspired to sit down and write, write, write. Thanks to you, I'm now a more productive writer than I've ever been in my life--and I'm also happier than I've ever been. So thank you for giving me the chance to truly live my dream.
It took me a long time to get over that fear. Along with that, I constantly reminded myself that writing wasn't practical, so I had a series of more practical jobs. Of those, teaching was the only one that was fulfilling for me, because I loved working with students. Still, there was something missing from the equation. I felt like I wasn't really getting out of life what I wanted to get out of it.
After much research and agonizing, my husband finally helped convince me to self-publish. I won't lie: a really strong voice in my head told me not to do it, to instead query agents and to try to find a publisher. I wanted the sense of validation that I thought a publishing contract would bring, and I also wanted to realize my childhood dream of standing in a bookstore next to a copy of my book. However, I had reached a point in my life where I knew I was going to need to start looking for another career, and I was tired of taking meaningless jobs just to pay the bills. I didn't have years to devote to trying to get a publishing deal, so I decided to take the plunge and self-publish. I wanted to see if I could make a go of writing as a career.
So far, the results of my self-publishing endeavor have exceeded my hopes and expectations. I thought maybe I might be able to sell 100 copies of The Eye of the Beholder in a year, so imagine my surprise when I reached that goal less than three months after publishing. Every time I see the book on someone's "to-read" shelf on Goodreads, or I look at my sales figures on Amazon, I have this sense of unreality. People are actually reading my book. They are actually spending their hard-earned cash on something I wrote, they are reading it, and they are taking the time to write reviews and/or rate it. That truly blows my mind. What's more, I wouldn't even have tried to shop The Eye because I'm pretty sure no publisher would have chosen to take a chance on it. If it wasn't for self-publishing, The Eye would have remained a book that only a few people had ever seen. Since it took me more than seven years to finish it (between the actual writing and the editing), it makes me really sad to think of it languishing on my hard drive.
The other thing I've realized about self-publishing is that I love having control over the process. I love that I don't have to completely redo a manuscript with which I am happy. I don't doubt that many editors can and do take works and make them better, but it hurts to think of being compelled to make changes to my story that I wouldn't really want to make.
Another huge plus for me is having complete control over my cover art. I can say quite confidently that I am the world's worst artist, so I've reached out to talented people to design my covers, and I love working with them and watching the cover take shape. I love being able to pick which elements I want on the cover. Had I been traditionally published, I would have had absolutely zero say in this part of the book's production.
But the real icing on the cake is my ability to write whatever I want. I don't have to be confined to any one genre, and that's a good thing for me. There's nothing wrong with being devoted to a single genre, but I want to dabble in several different ones. I love that I can write some fantasy, then some science fiction, and then maybe a mystery, all without being under a contractual obligation to deliver one type of book and one type only.
I'm not trying to say that self-publishing is all fun and games. It's also very stressful, and a ton of work. I hate promoting my work but, then again, even if I'd been published by a traditional publisher, I'd likely have been responsible for doing a lot of my own promotion. Still, I'd love to have experienced marketers on my side since I am seriously lacking in that area.
At the end of the day, though, hitting that "publish" button on Amazon was one of the best things I've ever done. Who knows if I'll ever reach a point where my writing provides a living wage. I hope it does, but what really matters is that I am finally able to share my stories with others, which is what I've wanted all along. Even if I do have to go out and get a practical job, I won't stop writing--and I won't have to. I have my readers to thank for that. There really aren't enough words to say how much I appreciate you. With every sale I get on Amazon, I'm more and more inspired to sit down and write, write, write. Thanks to you, I'm now a more productive writer than I've ever been in my life--and I'm also happier than I've ever been. So thank you for giving me the chance to truly live my dream.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
I'm a featured author.
I'm really excited to be a featured author today on Aside from Writing. It's a really great blog devoted to promoting indie authors, and each day you'll find features on various authors and books, along with giveaways. It's a great site if you're looking to discover some amazing new indie authors and books. I also can't say enough nice things about my experiences working with the blog's founders. They were sweet and absolutely a joy to work with!
Tomorrow, my Sample Sunday post will feature an excerpt from Creators, and I'm really excited to share it. Writing the Contributor trilogy is turning out to be such an amazing experience for me.
Lastly, I want to just thank all of my readers. Whether you've picked up a copy of The Eye of the Beholder or a copy of Creators (or both!), I just want you to know that you're helping me to live my dream, and that is priceless to me!
Tomorrow, my Sample Sunday post will feature an excerpt from Creators, and I'm really excited to share it. Writing the Contributor trilogy is turning out to be such an amazing experience for me.
Lastly, I want to just thank all of my readers. Whether you've picked up a copy of The Eye of the Beholder or a copy of Creators (or both!), I just want you to know that you're helping me to live my dream, and that is priceless to me!
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