This week we're talking about opportunities afforded us by becoming Indie writers. I've published both ways (through Harlequin) and on my own. I've seen being published from two viewpoints, and let me tell you the view from here (Indie) is a hell of a lot better. Why?
1. Plot: Most people don't realize this. I know I didn't. But writers do not just write what they want and have it published. Editors don't just edit for mistakes. Editors (also agents) put their two cents in about the story. If you're a beginner, you either say yes and rewrite it or forget about getting published. My editor changed the title of my first book to something I absolutely hate, and she changed EVERYTHING about the second book. Seriously, I think the only thing she liked was the general one-line hook I wrote on the book. She hated the mc's name, wanted her to live in the country, changed the guy's occupation, and basically everything about it. She did, however, love my title for that one.
Now, as an Indie writer, I do the books I want to do. No one changes them. If the majority of my beta readers hate something, I will change it. Otherwise, the books stay the way I want them. Of course, if people hate something then, it's all on me. :)
2. Cover: I get to make up my own covers now. It's been a blast. Although a lot of people would disagree with my choices, I'm fairly happy. It's fun and addictive to create your own covers. In the past I had to wait to open the box of books shipped by my publisher to get my first idea of the cover. By that time it's too late to do anything about them. If you have a good agent and really hate the cover, Nathan Bransford says the agent can do a 'freak out' on the publisher and sometimes get it changed.
3. Number of Books: Publishers don't want to flood the market with author's books, so they like to release them maybe a year apart. Stephen King used a pen name for a while just so he could publish more often. Indie authors can put out as many books as they can write. Of course this also has a down side. Some writers are putting out a book practically every month that they supposedly just wrote in a few weeks time. Makes me wonder how good they can be. It takes me several months to write, rewrite, revise, and edit my books. Not to mention I have to give beta readers time to read them and get back to me.
4. Time: It takes publishers usually two years to release a book once they've found one they want. Indie writers can turn them out in a shorter period of time.
Well, that's all I've got to say on the subject. Check out the other Carnies. Some of them aren't putting a post up this week. You can find them and other information on the Carnival here:
YA Author Club
Friday, November 30, 2012
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Black Friday Sale!!!!
On Friday (only) you can download CRUSHED for .99 with coupon code at Smashwords.
Here is the link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/73251
Coupon code is: NY37A
The Noah sisters rule Titan High with their beauty, brains, and magical powers.
Each year they play a secret game: Crushed. The girls pick their targets carefully and blow enchanted dust into the boy’s faces, charming them, but this year Kristen makes a grave mistake. She chooses the wrong boy and almost dies that same day. Coincidence? Maybe.
But something isn’t quite right about Zach Bevian. He doesn’t behave like a boy who’s been Crushed. He goes from hot to cold, from looking at her with contempt to asking her out on a date. She doesn’t know what to think. Does he hate her or is he truly falling for her? Is he trying to kill her, or is he trying to save her?
Here is the link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/73251
Coupon code is: NY37A
The Noah sisters rule Titan High with their beauty, brains, and magical powers.
Each year they play a secret game: Crushed. The girls pick their targets carefully and blow enchanted dust into the boy’s faces, charming them, but this year Kristen makes a grave mistake. She chooses the wrong boy and almost dies that same day. Coincidence? Maybe.
But something isn’t quite right about Zach Bevian. He doesn’t behave like a boy who’s been Crushed. He goes from hot to cold, from looking at her with contempt to asking her out on a date. She doesn’t know what to think. Does he hate her or is he truly falling for her? Is he trying to kill her, or is he trying to save her?
Friday, November 16, 2012
How to Write a Love Triangle
This week's topic at the Carnival is all about Love Triangles. I haven't written one of these yet, so I'm going to have to bow to other people with experience. The most famous triangle I can think of at the moment is in Twilight. Meyer got rid of the main love interest (Edward) for a while in book 2 and put Bella with Jacob. I guess it worked because it started the whole Team Edward/Team Jacob debate. Personally, I don't like love triangles. If your main character has to wonder if they should pick this guy or that guy, they obviously don't love either one. Maybe they should find a third choice.
To make a love triangle really interesting I think both choices (male or female) need to be equally good. If one is a complete ass, why bother? The main character should see through it and grab onto the good one with both hands. While writing for Harlequin I didn't have these problems, because Harlequin wants there to be a clear choice from the beginning.
My current WIP, the one I am writing for NaNo, Bait, is going to eventually have a love triangle, sort of, but not until the second or third book. First I want to have two awesome main characters, drawn to each other even though their love is forbidden. Then later, after things have come between them, I can add a potential mate for her. There is actually another guy in Bait, a potential, but she doesn't have feelings for him. He isn't even on her radar.
Anyway, check out what the other Carnies have to say.
To make a love triangle really interesting I think both choices (male or female) need to be equally good. If one is a complete ass, why bother? The main character should see through it and grab onto the good one with both hands. While writing for Harlequin I didn't have these problems, because Harlequin wants there to be a clear choice from the beginning.
My current WIP, the one I am writing for NaNo, Bait, is going to eventually have a love triangle, sort of, but not until the second or third book. First I want to have two awesome main characters, drawn to each other even though their love is forbidden. Then later, after things have come between them, I can add a potential mate for her. There is actually another guy in Bait, a potential, but she doesn't have feelings for him. He isn't even on her radar.
Anyway, check out what the other Carnies have to say.
Friday, November 9, 2012
YA Indie Carnival: VOTE
This week at the Carnival we are putting up polls for you to vote on. Come on, share your thoughts with us. Here is my poll:
1. Sam or Dean (for those who watch Supernatural)? Which is your favorite?
2. Rowling or Meyer? Which is your favorite of these two?
3. Contemporary or Fantasy? How do you like your YA? Modern and real or a fantastical journey that takes you away from your everyday life?
4. What is Your Favorite YA of All Time? Do you remember the first one you read? Is it your favorite or do you have a newer book you can't get enough of?
5. Series or Single Title? Are you sick of series or do you want more of them? How hard is it to say goodbye to a favorite character?
Please answer the poll in the comments section beneath my answers and check out the other Carnies.
1. Sam or Dean (for those who watch Supernatural)? Which is your favorite?
2. Rowling or Meyer? Which is your favorite of these two?
3. Contemporary or Fantasy? How do you like your YA? Modern and real or a fantastical journey that takes you away from your everyday life?
4. What is Your Favorite YA of All Time? Do you remember the first one you read? Is it your favorite or do you have a newer book you can't get enough of?
5. Series or Single Title? Are you sick of series or do you want more of them? How hard is it to say goodbye to a favorite character?
Please answer the poll in the comments section beneath my answers and check out the other Carnies.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
AWESOME Offer from Smashwords
Smashwords has joined the NaNo craze with a special offer. You can download and read works-in-progress including mine for FREE. Of course you have to keep in mind these books are rough and have not been edited that well yet. If you don't care, you can read some books as they are being written. Be the first of your friends to find out why Bay-Lee doesn't want to fall in love and why Nick Gallos doesn't have a family. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/252449
As I add more chapters to the book, you can download more. Then, when the book is finished and I upload the entire thing you will still be able to get it for free. Sound good?
I would also love to hear what you think. This is an important stage in the book's development. You could have a hand in how it plays out. :)
As I add more chapters to the book, you can download more. Then, when the book is finished and I upload the entire thing you will still be able to get it for free. Sound good?
I would also love to hear what you think. This is an important stage in the book's development. You could have a hand in how it plays out. :)
Monday, November 5, 2012
NaNo Writing
NaNoWriMo started five days ago. It's been hard writing every day. I'm not used to it. If I'm going to be honest (and I am), I do not write every day in a typical week. Life gets in the way. That's one reason I was so hyped about doing this. I am hoping to make it a habit. As of now I have a little over fourteen thousand words. I'm still optimistic about finishing my novel this month. The only thing that could possibly stop me... distractions.
1. Family and Friends: I am constantly interrupted by family and friends. They want to ask me a question or tell me something. If someone comes into the room and sees me writing, they don't seem to have a problem with talking to me. To them writing is a hobby, something I am doing for fun. They wouldn't like it if they were at work and I was constantly bugging them. I've tried pointing out that I'm busy. They either get mad or act like I hurt their feelings.
2. Social Media: This has been one of my biggest distractions. I play a couple of games on Facebook and don't feel like I can put them aside for a whole month. People are relying on me to send them gifts, click on their posts, and be a good neighbor to them. Then I have Twitter to keep up with and Goodreads and, of course, this blog. It's hard to go cold turkey. Even if my online friends understood why I can't do these things, I don't want to give them up.
3. Life: As I said above, life gets in the way of writing sometimes. There are things I have to do in an average week, places I need to go.
Anyway, those are some of the things distracting me from working on my NaNo book. It's still great fun to try to write each day. I'm getting closer to being done, closer every day. I'll keep you informed. :)
1. Family and Friends: I am constantly interrupted by family and friends. They want to ask me a question or tell me something. If someone comes into the room and sees me writing, they don't seem to have a problem with talking to me. To them writing is a hobby, something I am doing for fun. They wouldn't like it if they were at work and I was constantly bugging them. I've tried pointing out that I'm busy. They either get mad or act like I hurt their feelings.
2. Social Media: This has been one of my biggest distractions. I play a couple of games on Facebook and don't feel like I can put them aside for a whole month. People are relying on me to send them gifts, click on their posts, and be a good neighbor to them. Then I have Twitter to keep up with and Goodreads and, of course, this blog. It's hard to go cold turkey. Even if my online friends understood why I can't do these things, I don't want to give them up.
3. Life: As I said above, life gets in the way of writing sometimes. There are things I have to do in an average week, places I need to go.
Anyway, those are some of the things distracting me from working on my NaNo book. It's still great fun to try to write each day. I'm getting closer to being done, closer every day. I'll keep you informed. :)
Thursday, November 1, 2012
YA Indie Carnival: Work in Progress
This week at the Carnival we are offering you a sneak peek at our newest published book or a work-in-progress. I've chosen to go with the WIP because I am working on a book for NaNoWriMo. Smashwords is allowing NaNo's to upload their currents works in progress on their site so you can read along as we write. Most, if not all of them should be free. Mine will be free. So here it is, your first look at Bait.
Summary: Monsters in the closet are real.
.
When a Reaper crosses over using Bay-Lee's closet to issue her a warning, she knows she's in trouble. She's spent her life moving from town to town, a new idenity in each, fleeing from the monsters determined to kill her. Now one gives her a warning? Something is not right here. The next day she's given early admission to Van Helsing's school for hunters. This is it. Her plan is set in motion. Soon, she will have her revenge... if she lives long enough.
.
Someone with power is using wraiths to kill hunters on their birthdays and hers is coming up.
.
Excerpt: At some point during the night a stranger crawled into Bay-Lee’s bed while she snored softly, unaware. The mattress springs squeaked. He reclined on his side and stared down at her face in the moonlight. It bothered him that she continued to sleep. After all the stories he’d heard about this girl, he had expected more from her. Shouldn’t she be able to sense danger by now?
.
This was Van Helsing’s daughter? She looked insignificant, vulnerable beneath the green sheet. He could snap her neck so easily—and maybe he should. The world would continue on, undisturbed, but the dark cloud hanging over his life would finally dissipate.
.
Only a fraction of moonlight filtered through partially open curtains. It didn’t matter. Although he couldn’t see her clearly now, he’d seen pictures of the girl in Van’s office. Her features were burned into his retinas. Every time he went into the office he tried not to look at the photographs, but his gaze inadvertently drifted to them. He tried to tell himself it was done out of curiosity, that it was because she was Van Helsing’s daughter, but there was more to it.
.
There was something about her, something unsettling that inevitably pulled him back to stare at her reproduced image. She looked like an average girl. A pretty face was framed by dark hair, parted in the middle and layered. Her eyes, the darkest of browns, nearly black, hid a mountain of secrets. The girl had attitude to spare, and the camera caught it, freezing it for all to see. She wore a ‘bite me’ expression that would drive any vampire crazy.
.
Fortunately, he wasn’t a vampire.
.
Her mouth bothered him the most. The full lips haunted his dreams with a secretive smile curving at the ends. Her bottom lip begged to be nibbled on. Sometimes, when he wasn’t carefully controlling his thoughts, he wondered what she would taste like. In his dreams he kissed her again and again. He wondered what would happen if he kissed her in real life. Would it stir something in his soul? Would the prophecy come true? Would the world end?
.
Something huge lodged in his throat. He tried to swallow. It was a near miss, so he swallowed again. Kissing her shouldn’t even be a blip on the radar. This girl was the reason he didn’t have a home or a family. It was her fault he’d grown up on the outside looking in, her fault people whispered about him, and her fault he was destined to die young.
.
Bay-Lee stirred in her sleep. Mumbling, she pushed against his chest with one hand. “Go ‘way.”
Cute, like a box of kittens, for a second he forgot to hate her. His heart momentarily softened—not for long. The new sensation was enough to wipe the smile from his face. Delivering a mental kick to his brain, he reminded himself this girl was the last person in the world he could let his guard down around. She was worse than trouble. If he wasn’t careful, this seemingly harmless meeting would lead to total destruction.
.
Ready to wake her, he leaned in close to her face and whispered her name, her fake name. Like him, she was forced to live under an alias. Michelle.
.
Check out the other Carnies:
.
When a Reaper crosses over using Bay-Lee's closet to issue her a warning, she knows she's in trouble. She's spent her life moving from town to town, a new idenity in each, fleeing from the monsters determined to kill her. Now one gives her a warning? Something is not right here. The next day she's given early admission to Van Helsing's school for hunters. This is it. Her plan is set in motion. Soon, she will have her revenge... if she lives long enough.
.
Someone with power is using wraiths to kill hunters on their birthdays and hers is coming up.
.
Excerpt: At some point during the night a stranger crawled into Bay-Lee’s bed while she snored softly, unaware. The mattress springs squeaked. He reclined on his side and stared down at her face in the moonlight. It bothered him that she continued to sleep. After all the stories he’d heard about this girl, he had expected more from her. Shouldn’t she be able to sense danger by now?
.
This was Van Helsing’s daughter? She looked insignificant, vulnerable beneath the green sheet. He could snap her neck so easily—and maybe he should. The world would continue on, undisturbed, but the dark cloud hanging over his life would finally dissipate.
.
Only a fraction of moonlight filtered through partially open curtains. It didn’t matter. Although he couldn’t see her clearly now, he’d seen pictures of the girl in Van’s office. Her features were burned into his retinas. Every time he went into the office he tried not to look at the photographs, but his gaze inadvertently drifted to them. He tried to tell himself it was done out of curiosity, that it was because she was Van Helsing’s daughter, but there was more to it.
.
There was something about her, something unsettling that inevitably pulled him back to stare at her reproduced image. She looked like an average girl. A pretty face was framed by dark hair, parted in the middle and layered. Her eyes, the darkest of browns, nearly black, hid a mountain of secrets. The girl had attitude to spare, and the camera caught it, freezing it for all to see. She wore a ‘bite me’ expression that would drive any vampire crazy.
.
Fortunately, he wasn’t a vampire.
.
Her mouth bothered him the most. The full lips haunted his dreams with a secretive smile curving at the ends. Her bottom lip begged to be nibbled on. Sometimes, when he wasn’t carefully controlling his thoughts, he wondered what she would taste like. In his dreams he kissed her again and again. He wondered what would happen if he kissed her in real life. Would it stir something in his soul? Would the prophecy come true? Would the world end?
.
Something huge lodged in his throat. He tried to swallow. It was a near miss, so he swallowed again. Kissing her shouldn’t even be a blip on the radar. This girl was the reason he didn’t have a home or a family. It was her fault he’d grown up on the outside looking in, her fault people whispered about him, and her fault he was destined to die young.
.
Bay-Lee stirred in her sleep. Mumbling, she pushed against his chest with one hand. “Go ‘way.”
Cute, like a box of kittens, for a second he forgot to hate her. His heart momentarily softened—not for long. The new sensation was enough to wipe the smile from his face. Delivering a mental kick to his brain, he reminded himself this girl was the last person in the world he could let his guard down around. She was worse than trouble. If he wasn’t careful, this seemingly harmless meeting would lead to total destruction.
.
Ready to wake her, he leaned in close to her face and whispered her name, her fake name. Like him, she was forced to live under an alias. Michelle.
.
Check out the other Carnies:
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