SPOTLIGHT AT I HEART YA BOOKS!

Hey All!!!
My book has been featured at I Heart YA Books!

This is one of my favorite sites for picking out great YA and NA books. You can find the post here.

Happy reading and writing!

I'M GOING TO BE A PUBLISHED AUTHOR!

Hey All!!!
So, you may have noticed the wonderfully fancy button that I've recently added to my blog. And I can confirm that I will be officially published with Evernight Teen! I'm not sure as to the date yet, but I'm excited for you all to be able to read Cursed in the very near future.

I'll be putting together a post with all the details in the next few days.

Until then...happy reading and writing!

GREAT POST ABOUT THE TWO THINGS AN AGENT IS NOT!

Hey All!!!
I was searching the blog-o-spere and found this post by Janet Kobobel Grant, an agent with Books and Such Literary Agency. It's very easy, as a writer, to think that agents have all the answers - that they are the guardians of the gilded doors to the literary industry, so to speak. But they are people too, and can only do so much for you.

I've always said that being a shrewd business person or leader doesn't require a person to be the smartest in the room, as long as he or she is smart enough to surround his or herself WITH the smartest people they can. If traditional publishing is the route you're taking, you have to learn to work with and trust in the agent you have.

Happy reading and writing!

VOTE FOR CURSED TO BE PUBLISHED!!!

Hey All!!!
Voting for the Yummy but Brainy Writing Contest for CBAY Books has opened. You can vote for Cursed to be published here.

I hope you all will see Cursed published very soon!!!

Happy reading and writing.

CONTEST BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD!!!

Hey All!!!
The finalists' books for the Yummy But Brainy Writing Contest are now available here!!!

You can read the first sixty pages of my novel, Cursed, and on June 1st voting opens.

I hope you all like it!

Happy reading and writing.

DIET COKE VS. PEPSI

Hey All!!!
In the past week I've had two different responses to my story from editors for independent presses. These got me thinking on just how subjective this whole writing business is.

On the one hand, an editor decided to pass on my work. The email was full of praise for my writing ability and skill, but the editor didn't fully connect with my main character. She felt that Jazz was a bit too reckless for her liking and not well-rounded enough. All in all the email was a good one. I mean, if you're going to get rejected you want to hear that you're doing good job at your craft while experiencing it. But in the end it still was a no.

Not even twenty-four hours later I got notes from a different editor.  In this case, I'm a finalist in a contest for Children's Brains Are Yummy books and a part of that process involves having one of their editors do line edits on your entire manuscript before posting a portion of it to be voted on by the public. At the beginning of my editorial letter, one of the first things he said was how he enjoyed the fact that Jazz was such a well-rounded character and how he could relate to her conflict.

Two editors.

Both specialize in Young Adult/Middle Grade fiction.

Both read the same book.

Two differing reactions to my main character and the conflict she faces throughout my story.

When it comes down to it, a large part of making it in this business is being lucky enough to find the editor or agent who can understand the particular song you're singing. Sure, having the talent and a killer storyline is also key, but that lucky meeting with someone who can see your story for the awesomeness that it is...well, that's like finding a long buried treasure.

So when you get those rejections don't fret. It may having nothing to do with your actual writing ability - and everything to do with the fact that you sent the editor/agent a story that was Diet Coke, when s/he prefers Pepsi.

Happy Writing!!!

MOVING FORWARD

Hey All,
For those of you who don't know me, recently my life had been turned upside down. I'm serious...it really went to shit for a while. I moved back to Texas (both a good and bad thing, depending on how you see it, but it definitely wasn't in the plan). As of today's date, I've found a new job (thankfully, because the market is definiately a beast). And I'm having to re-sketch all of the plans I thought had been finalized in my life. During that time of intense change and re-evaluation, I was forced to deal with an idea that I had hoped and prayed I wouldn't have to deal with - the idea of moving forward, of making a decision to strive for something more and leaping into the void to get it.

It's a topic that I think interconnects with many aspects of life, including writing.

There's that moment when you look at a manuscript and think, "Where do I go from here?" There's the constant fear of it never being good enough, and always, always, always cornering yourself in revisions, trying to smooth out every single hitch in the plot. There's the time when you think it's great, and someone else reads it and tells you it's shit!

When you come across these moments, it's important to be able to see the bigger picture - to be able to look outside your fear and make a calculated decision that goes in line with your overall goals. Now, I know that this is much easier said than done, but we all have to push through these moments. I, myself, have to get off my butt and finish reading through my first manuscript and be brave enough to begin sending it out...again. It's hard to decide if a story is good enough - to know that you'll be rejected time and time again...and to still press on. But you have to do it!!!

So, make the decision. Move forward with your goals. Send out that manuscript that you've revised over and over again. Because though you might've been pushed down and beat up many times, this may be YOUR time.

Happy writing!!!

THE SEARCH FOR PERFECTION

As I'm coming towards the end of my edits for Fated, I'm starting to think more and more on whether or not my manuscript is truly ready for submission.

I read a lot of agent and editor blogs and one of the most common pieces of advice they give is to not rush things and to make sure your manuscript is in tip-top shape before sending out your query. And while most writers have this problem, there are some who deal with the issue of dragging their feet with querying, trying to wait for perfection.

I'm sure it's not the worst problem to have. At least the writer will know that every agent looking at their story will see something that's well written and polished. But if you keep putting the querying process off, you may end up looking back wondering what would've happened if you'd gone with your gut and put yourself out there.

My best advice is to work as hard as you can, put together the best story you can, and throw yourself out into the void. You never know what you've got until you get some feedback. Now, that doesn't mean that you send to agents/editors without having someone look at your work - critique partners and groups are a vital part of the process, and should never be ignored - but once you've written the story, had others look at it, and edit it many times over, then it's time to take a chance on the work you've done.

Now if I could just take my own advice and get on the ball.

Happy writing and good luck to everyone!