Category Archives: The process

Tips from famous authors…

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If you do a google search for the best tips for new authors, you’ll be inundated with a ton of advice. Some suggestions will be good… others, not so much. Below are some of my favorite tips from famous authors out there:

  1. Be open to criticism – Be it from your peers, your beta readers, and most importantly your editor. You have to be open to listening to your editor! (Stephen King)
  2. Write for yourself, not the market – Write what you care about. Don’t try to write for the market or just to sell. If you aren’t writing what your passionate about it will never sell. (Neil Gaiman)
  3. Practice makes perfect – Writing is like a sport. If you don’t practice you’ll never get better. Just a little bit every day – a page a day – will make you better. (Rick Riordan)
  4. Ask practical questions – The moment you make a decision about your story, a character choice, a plot choice, etc. you need to ask yourself practical questions about it. How will that work? How will it affect the characters? When you start asking yourself those types of practical questions and finding answers then the unrealistic becomes realistic. It becomes possible. (Salman Rushdie)
  5. Teach yourself that everything is interesting – A common desire for new writers is to edit everything, and although editing is VERY important, you don’t want to edit yourself as you write. Put everything into your story – everything is interesting – everything is important. You can edit out what really doesn’t matter at the end, when you’ve finished your first draft. (Malcolm Gladwell)

Watch the Reedsy video here:

 

Author Interview – TM Blayte

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Being an indie-author is hard… amazing, exciting, and so much fun, but it is HARD!!! Getting your book in the hands of readers is often draining. So, for that reason and because I believe that we indie-authors need to help each other out, I welcome all authors to my blog as guests.

Front Cover

Therefore, I’d like to welcome TM Blayte, author of Until We Are Free, to my site.

  1. What is your name and where do you call home? My name is TM Blayte. I call Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa home.
  2. Do you have a pen name? Yes. TM Blayte is my pen name.
  3. What is the name of your most recent book and if you had to sum it up in 20 or fewer words, what would you say? Until We Are Free. It is about a teenage rebel, working against his organization’s enemies, and against his own organization, which is led by his father.
  4. Is the above book part of a series? Yes. It is the first in a planned trilogy.
  5. What or who inspired you to start writing? I liked history in school. Using stuff we were taught about colonial Africa, the Vietnam war, and the French revolution, I was inspired to add revolution elements to a mandarin vampire story. And then remove the vampires.
  6. How long have you been writing? I’ve been writing since before I was sixteen.
  7. How did you come up with the cover? Who designed the cover of your book(s)? I’m published by a small press. Their department took care of everything cover related.
  8. Did you listen to any particular songs while writing your book(s)? No. I like working in silence.
  9. How did you come up with the title for your book(s)? The original title was Revolution Until We Are Free. It felt appropriate, because an overall theme of the trilogy is we are never truly free. So any successful revolution actually never ends. After I signed my book with Alban Lake Publishing, the editor suggested changing the name to Until We Are Free.
  10. Do you prefer e-books, paperbacks, hard-covers or audio-books? Whenever I can get my hands on them, I love audio books. They don’t come cheap, so I mostly read e-books.
  11. Are you a self-published/Indie author? I am published with a small press, Alban Lake Publishing. No agent.
  12.  Have you ever read a book more than once? And if so what was it? Yes! I read all the Harry Potter books over and over again, until I knew the chapter names of all seven books. I’ve also read Frost Bite by Richelle Mead a couple of times. However, as I’ve had more to spend on books in the past year, I almost never repeat books anymore.
  13. What is your opinion of novellas? Awesome. I love reading and writing them. I think they are perfect. As a university student, I usually want something I can start and finish on a Saturday. In comes this wonderful literary invention.
  14. Have you ever read a book just based on its cover? Never. Ever. Ever.
  15. What is your favorite film based on a book? I would have to say Game of Thrones. It is a show a reader can appreciate, but the film guys take artistic license as well. It has the perfect balance.
  16. What is your favorite book genre at the moment? That is a tough question. Very tough. But let’s go with Fantasy.
  17. What books have made it onto your wish list recently? And why? One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus, Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orïsha, #1) by Tomi Adeyemi, and The Fallen by David Baldacci. The first two, because they are what everyone is talking about in YA circles. The Fallen, because I am a longtime Baldacci fan.
  18. What book are you reading at the moment? And in what format? Thirteen Hours by Deon Meyer. I’m listening to the audio version.
  19. If you could invite any four (4) celebrities (alive or dead) to your dinner party, who would you invite and why? Lecrae. He is my favorite rapper. Celine Dion, she has the best vocals in the game. J.K. Rowling, come on, who wouldn’t? Beyoncé, it’s not what you’re thinking. I used to be a rapper in my teenage years. I simply want to pass on one of my old demos, so she can pass them onto J.
  20. What’s the best advice that you have been given when it comes to writing? Wait. The business is subjective.
  21. Do you have any hobbies that aren’t related to reading & writing? Yep. I enjoy listening to good music. Genre doesn’t matter, as long as it is good. I also love binge watching series. My favorites are the Blacklist, The Big Bang Theory, Bosch, and Game of Thrones.
  22. Where can your readers follow you?

■ Blog: https://www.tmblaytespeaks.wordpress.com
■ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/tmblayte
■ To purchase a copy of Until We Are Free: https://www.infiniterealmsbookstore.com/product-page/until-we-are-free-by-tm-blayte
■ Newsletter: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeDnT36u5d62e0CwQhWLyW2NAjL5NE6UvLnBZPD_qlXCeOiqg/viewform?c=0&w=1&usp=mail_form_link

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Front CoverUntil We Are Free

If sixteen-year-old human, Nyl Jayms fails to kidnap the Elder Princess, in order to force her brother, the king, to negotiate with humans, the only other option is a war that could lead to the annihilation of one or both races. It has been nearly six hundred years since the war of the gods, and humans are still second class citizens, in what the characters believe to be the last shred of civilized earth. The Riders, a group of human rebels now have enough resources to stage a full-scale war, but want to try negotiations to spare human lives. Why then, does it seem some council members, including Nyl’s dad, want a war, and will do anything to disrupt negotiations? 

Dead Boy by Laurel Gale

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Dead BoyTITLE: Dead Boy
AUTHOR: Laurel Gale

RATING OVERVIEW
Writing: ★★★★
Story: ★★★★★
Characters: ★★★★★
Appearance: ★★★★★
Overall: ★★★★★ (4.75)

AMAZON DESCRIPTION:
Crow isn’t like the other kids. He stinks. He’s got maggots. His body parts fall off at inopportune moments. (His mom always sews them back on, though.) And he hasn’t been able to sleep in years. Not since waking up from death.

But worse than the maggots is how lonely Crow feels. When Melody Plympton moves in next door, Crow can’t resist the chance to finally make a friend. With Melody around he may even have a shot at getting his life back from the mysterious wish-granting creature living in the park. But first there are tests to pass. And it will mean risking the only friend he’s had in years.

Debut author Laurel Gale’s story about friendship fulfilled may be the most moving—and most macabre—yet.

Buy it HERE on Amazon! 

THE CRITICAL POINTS
Let me start by explaining why I was reading a middle-grade book about a boy who is basically the walking dead. I was wondering through the dollar store when I found Dead Boy sitting on the shelf. Not only did the little boy on the cover look so sad I immediately felt the urge to pick up the book, but when I skimmed the pages and realized the reading level I thought, this would be a great book to read with my son for our summer book club. So, I paid the $1.09 and bought the book. The cover drew me in and the idea of reading with my son is what pushed me to buy it.

WRITING: Laurel Gale is a very passionate writer. It has been a long time since I read a middle-grade book that I, as an adult, really enjoyed. Gale has a way of making us empathize with Crow, the lead character a boy who died and then returned… only to age while slowly rotting away. Although this book technically is a middle-grade reading level, like I said before, Gale explores context that only an adult reader will truly understand; an obsessive mother’s love, dangers that threaten our children’s safety, the damage of helicopter parenting, the devastation that comes with the loss of a child, and the desperation of parents who are grieving.

STORY: The book centers around Crow, a young boy who died in fourth grade but somehow – magically – was brought back to life. I won’t tell you how… you’ll have to read the book to learn the secrets that lie within. The problem was, he wasn’t brought back all the way. Crow is doomed to grow old while his body slowly rots away and maggots infest his corps. It sounds gruesome right? I’ll admit the maggots got to me, but the store that Gale tells about this little boy’s life, friendships, adventures, and ultimately his selflessness was beautiful.

CHARACTERS: Gale really pulls at your heartstrings with Crow and his little friend Melody. She has a wonderful way of drawing you in and making you love the characters. It’s a short book at only 245 pages and a quick read. I finished it in just 2 days while on travel. However, if I’m being honest, I didn’t want it to end. If this is a series, and I don’t know that it is, I would definitely pick up the rest of the books. I can’t wait to get home and talk to my son about it and see what he thinks.

APPEARANCE: Beautiful! The illustrator did a fantastic job with the cover. It was the first thing I noticed about the book and nothing else mattered… I wanted this book on my book shelf for the cover alone. The fact that it ended up being a great story too, well, that’s just a bonus.

MY FAVORITE QUOTE: “Crow suspected that although Luke was popular and had never had to deal with maggots or foul odors, he got lonely sometimes. Maybe having friends wasn’t as important as having the right friends.”

Check out my YouTube channel and the video review below… and make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss a video!

 

Cujo by Stephen King

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cujoTITLE: Cujo
AUTHOR: Stephen King

RATING OVERVIEW
Writing: ★★★★★
Story: ★★★★★
Characters: ★★★★★
Appearance: ★★★
Overall: ★★★★★ (4.5)

AMAZON DESCRIPTION:
The #1 national bestseller for Stephen King’s rabid fans, Cujo “hits the jugular” (The New York Times) with the story of a friendly Saint Bernard that is bitten by a sick bat. Get ready to meet the most hideous menace ever to savage the flesh and devour the mind.

Outside a peaceful town in central Maine, a monster is waiting. Cujo is a two-hundred-pound Saint Bernard, the best friend Brett Camber has ever had. One day, Cujo chases a rabbit into a cave inhabited by sick bats and emerges as something new altogether.

Meanwhile, Vic and Donna Trenton, and their young son Tad, move to Maine. They are seeking peace and quiet, but life in this small town is not what it seems. As Tad tries to fend off the terror that comes to him at night from his bedroom closet, and as Vic and Donna face their own nightmare of a marriage on the rocks, there is no way they can know that a monster, infinitely sinister, waits in the daylight.

What happens to Cujo, how he becomes a horrifying vortex inescapably drawing in all the people around him, makes for one of the most heart-stopping novels Stephen King has ever written. “A genuine page-turner that grabs you and holds you and won’t let go” (Chattanooga Times), Cujo will forever change how you view man’s best friend.

Buy it HERE on Amazon!

THE CRITICAL POINTS

WRITING: When you pick up a Stephen King book you know exactly what you’re going to get… AMAZING! Now, Cujo isn’t my favorite of King’s novels… but I loved it… and I hated it… I think I have a love/hate relationship with Cujo, mainly because it makes me feel ALL THE FEELS! It had me on the edge of my seat the whole time and when Donna Trenton is stuck in the car fighting for her life and the life of Tat, her little boy, Cujo becomes the monster that nightmares are made of. The thought of Cujo wakes you up at night in a cold sweat.

STORY: Like pretty much all of Stephen King’s books, Cujo had a slow start for me, but once the story got going it was a page turner. I had a hard time putting it down. I wanted… needed to know what would happen next, who Cujo would go after and if they would survive. Stephen King has a way of making you relate to his characters… care for them… and then he rips them away showing you how truly unfair and unexpected life can be. If this story doesn’t tear at your heartstrings, shock you to your core, and leave you feeling depleted and saddened then I’m not sure what else would.

CHARACTERS: Stephen King is known for his amazingly complex characters, and this book delivers, to include Cujo. A dog as a lead character could have been a disaster in the hands of any other author, but not for Stephen King. Cujo left me with conflicting emotions. His life… his story was bittersweet. As an animal lover, I found it hard to read some of the more gruesome parts. The pain, corruption, and changes that Cujo had to endure was painful to read, especially since they all stemmed from something so out of his control… a minor incident that led to so much pain.

APPEARANCE: My copy of Cujo is an old one… the cover isn’t particularly great, but Stephen King’s name is on the front so the cover doesn’t really matter. If you like Stephen King’s writing, like I do, you’ll read just about anything he makes available.

MY FAVORITE QUOTE: “…Wife, that’s fine. But you’re gone at work, even when you’re home you’re gone at work so much. Mother, that’s fine, too. But there’s a little less of it every year, because every year the world gets another little slice of him.” This has to be one of my favorite quotes from Cujo. As a mother I can totally relate. I feel the world taking my kids away from me, one tiny sliver at a time year-by-year. I know it has to happen, they have to grow up and become independent adults. I just wish it didn’t have to happen so quickly. 

WANT TO SEE THE MOVIE?
While Donna and Vic Trenton struggle to save their rocky marriage, their son Tad befriends the loveable 200-lb St. Bernard who belongs to their mechanic. But what they don’t realize is that a bat bite has transformed Cujo from a docile pup to a vicious killer.

Watch the movie trailers HERE and HERE!

Check out my YouTube channel and the video review (SPOILER ALERT) below… and make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss a video.

Self-Defense: How Prepared Are You?

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Self-defense may seem a bit off topic for me, but as I research and plan for my next novel, self-defense strategies keep coming up. When I think of self-defense I always think of walking down a dark alley and what I would do if someone jumped out at me. The truth is self-defense is so much more than that.

self def.There are three different elements of self-defense:

Defending oneself from harm
Defending one’s property from harm
Defending the well-being of another person from harm

I’ve taken self-defense classes at different times throughout my life – the kind of classes that really kick your butt and makes you realize you have muscles in places you never knew. The thing that always amazes me is that typically the instructors of these courses don’t actually condone “fighting”. They teach you how to defend yourself “physically” but stress that the first and most important thing you want to do if you are ever in a position of physical danger for you or someone else is to GET AWAY!!! Put as much distance between you and the attacker as possible and as quickly as possible.

There have been studies showing that the amount of distance needed, in order to deter an attacker from continuing his/her attack is 15-18 feet. That’s right 15-18 feet. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but pull out your tape measure and take a look – it is a lot longer than you might think.

If you sign up for a self-defense class, you’ll do a lot of cardio and strength training, you’ll learn kicks, punches, even slaps to help protect yourself. These are all great things to learn and remember, and honestly I recommend taking a self-defense class to EVERYONE! You are never to big, to small, to old, or to young to learn to defend yourself. It is also important to remember – for those of you that have had training – reacting in a real life situation isn’t always as easy as reacting to an attack you know is coming in class.

MY REAL LIFE STORY…
During my freshman year in college – I won’t give dates – I had an apartment just off of campus. As in so close it was practically on campus. I was a Theatre Major, and my apartment building was directly across the parking lot from the theater building that I spend most of my nights in. That’s right, I would be there for rehearsals, set builds, etc. etc. etc. until long after the sun went down. My campus had on-site security that you could call up at any time. Someone would then come and walk you to your car if you were parked on campus. It was a safety measure. Well, me being the “tough-independent girl” that I was, I never used their services. I figured I could see my apartment building from the theater building and therefore, I didn’t want to waste the security guards time just to walk me fifty yards.

**Big Mistake**

Yes, I can admit that now. I was young and stupid, and full of pride. One night, as I was making my way home someone grabbed me from behind. Lucky for me – I was also a Military Science ROTC student, which meant I was actively involved in self-defense classes and training on a regular basis. My brain told me to get away, but he had ahold of my arm and wasn’t letting go. I turned and stepped into him – he wasn’t expecting me to get closer to him because most victims just struggle to get away – I grabbed his arms and used them for leverage as I lifted my knee as fast and as hard as I could. I connected directly with his groin and he went down, letting go of his grip on me as he fell. I turned and ran the rest of the way home as fast as I could.

You might be wondering what I learned from that experience. I’d love to say that it reaffirmed my “tough-independent girl” nature, but in reality it showed me the importance of never putting yourself in a potentially dangerous situation no matter how tough you think you are. From that point on I always used the “Buddy System” and I made sure my friends did the same. I didn’t let my pride get in the way of my asking for help or asking to have someone walk with me. I never wanted to be seen as the girl who needed a man to protect her, but I also never wanted to be a victim of my pride. The situation above could have gone so much worse, I was very lucky that my instincts kicked in and I reacted the right way, but had he been ready for me to defend myself things could have been so much worse. I believe my guardian angel was watching over me that day, but I know that I can’t always rely on that.

I will leave you with a few things you can do TODAY to help protect yourself and your family:

– Have a safety plan at home –

Do you have a safety plan for emergencies in your house? If there is a fire do you and our family (including kids) know where to go and how to get there? Do you have a plan for if there is a break-in in the middle of the night, or if you come home and the door is open – Do your kids know what to do? If you answered NO to any of these questions – then you need to sit down, as a family, and put your plan in place.
Having a home safety plan and practicing what to do is important not just for adults but for children too. More often than not people panic in emergencies – if you know and practice your plan you are more likely to make it out of the situations safely.

– Have a safety plan for when you’re out of the house –

First off, if its late – you’re alone or with your kids – and you need something from the store make sure you park close to the building AND under a light. If that isn’t possible GO HOME! There is nothing so important that it can’t wait until tomorrow.

Second, you and your kids need to have a plan (A SAFETY WORD) for when you spot or sense danger. Yes, kids are kids and they will argue and bicker from time to time, however, in a store or parking lot isn’t the time to only focus on them and lose sight of your surroundings. Make sure you have established a ‘safety word’ that your kids know and understand to mean ‘Get close, hold hands, and be prepared to run.’ This is helpful for when your walking to your car and spot someone suspicious lurking close by. Once that safety word is said, everyone should know their role – be it grab hands, run to the car, run directly back to the store, etc. If you have a son that feels like he should be the protector make sure he understands that his role is one of the most important… instead of fighting, tell him to run back to the store and call for help. Whatever their role is – you as a parent need to remain calm and make sure they know what they are doing. Practice these procedures, when there is no danger, that way they feel comfortable in cases where there may be danger.

What other self-defense/safety tips do you and your family use? Have you taken self-defense classes and if so what did you find more valuable about the training? Share your tips and thoughts by commenting below! 

How do you find a good book?

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book

As an indie-author, I’m interested in how my readers find my books and knowing which of my marketing efforts are effective. On the flip side, I’d like to know how readers, who haven’t yet found my books, find the books they gravitate toward.

I did a little research. Then, I did a little more. What I found was a list of different ways authors can promote their books. I’m not yet doing them all, but I just might need to add a few more to my list.

 

AUTHORS… MARKET YOUR BOOKS!

OFF-LINE

  • News paper and magazine press releases, advertisements, interviews, etc.
  • Media Appearances (TV or Radio interviews)
  • Promotional Items/Giveaways (pens, pads, coffee mugs, free books)
  • Social Networking
    • In person book signings
    • Store events
    • Trade shows
    • School speaking engagements

ON-LINE

  • Online press releases, advertisements, interviews, etc. 
  • Author website or blog
  • Blog tours
  • Social media direct marketing sales
  • Social networking
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pintrest 

I’m pretty sure this list isn’t complete, but it’s a start.  And no, I’m not yet doing all of these things just yet, but I have begun the plans to expand my marketing reach. 

It only makes sense that the more marketing you do, the more prospective readers you’re likely to reach. So, in theory, by using a variety of these methods an author would have a more effective marketing strategy. Which, if done correctly, should increase the overall number of sales in a given year.

If you’re an author and you’d like to share other ways you like promoting your books PLEASE COMMENT BELOW! 

If you’re a reader and you’d like to share how you discover new books, PLEASE COMMENT BELOW! 

Through The Dark (A Darkest Minds Collection)

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Through The Dark

TITLE: Through The Dark
AUTHOR: Alexandra Bracken

RATING OVERVIEW
Writing: ★★★★
Story: ★★★
Characters: ★★★
Appearance: ★★★★★
Overall: ★★★★ (3.75)

AMAZON DESCRIPTION:
Don’t miss this breathtaking collection of stories set in the world of the best-selling Darkest Minds trilogy, now in paperback:

IN TIME
A desperate young man is forced to make a terrible choice between his own survival and the future of a little girl who won’t speak, but who changes his life in ways he could never imagine.

SPARKS RISE
A spark of light brightens a brutal world when a girl named Sam encounters her childhood best friend at the government-run “rehabilitation” camp, Thurmond. Lucas and Sam form a risky escape plan, but sometimes even love isn’t powerful enough to overcome unspeakable cruelty.

BEYOND THE NIGHT
The camps are closed. A tyrant president has been deposed. But for many Psi kids living rough, there is no home to return to, no place for them in a country devastated by the past and anxious about the future. Every day is a struggle for Sam, who knew all the rules at Thurmond and has been thrown into a terrifying and uncertain new life. But there’s more at stake than Sam’s own survival. She once made a promise to someone she loves, and the time has come to fulfill it.

From New York Times best-selling author Alexandra Bracken comes a collection of three hauntingly beautiful novellas set in the world of the Darkest Minds series. In the most harrowing of times, it takes a ferocious strength not only to survive, but to stand up for those who cannot fight their own battles. The characters in these stories–some new, some familiar–face impossible missions, and the hardest of all may be protecting the last flicker of hope in a seemingly endless night.

Buy it HERE on Amazon!

THE CRITICAL POINTS

WRITING: Overall the writing in this set of novellas meets the level you would expect from a Bracken story. She is a wonderful author, one of my new favorites. Definitely one of the newest authors to join my list of “I’d buy their book even if I didn’t know what it was about.” The only reason this book is getting a lower overall review rating is because of the third novella, Beyond the Night. I just didn’t really care for the story… or maybe it was the Character Mia. I just didn’t feel like her character was that fleshed out. Compared to all the other characters in the series, I just didn’t care for Mia.

STORY:
I’ll take this section one story at a time…

• In Time
If you were to read these stories in chronological order, In Time would come right after book one. However, having read the first three books in the series before picking up this one, it is my recommendation that you read the novellas after you read the first three books… Why? Because in order to truly appreciate the story of Gabe, a want to be skip tracer, you really have to have a deep hatred for skip tracers in the first place.

Gabe is just like all the other adults living out in the world Bracken has created for us. Those too old to be afflicted by IAAN but those not pulled in to work for the government at the “rehabilitation” camps. He is struggling… hungry… down on his luck… Basically, he is just barely surviving. He sees becoming a skip tracer as a way to turn his luck around. Through his struggle… his journey… we, as readers, get to see a completely different side of the story. We get to sympathize with “the enemy” in a why we never could have only reading the main books of the series. Bracken does a wonderful job telling Gabe’s story, and even though I didn’t want to, it was hard not to understand his decisions.

On its own, I would give this story a ★★★★ (4 star) rating.

• Sparks Rise
This was my favorite of the three novellas. I LOVED glimpsing into the mind of Lucas (a RED) and learning more about Sam (a GREEN), who we only briefly meet in book one. I loved the tragic love story Bracken introduced with these two characters. Their struggle… their pain… their anger… their innocence. Everything about Sam and Lucas feels right and yet… Well, I won’t tell you what happens, but if for no other reason, you should pick up Through the Dark to read this story.

Well done, Bracken. I would give this story a ★★★★★ (5 star) rating.

• Beyond The Night
I didn’t love this story. I didn’t hate it either, but comparing it to everything else in this series, it just feel flat. Although I love the characters of Sam and Lucas, Mia just fell short for me. She seemed like an afterthought… as if her character wasn’t fully fleshed out. Mia felt to young and yet to mean-spirited for her age. I’m not really sure that is what Bracken was going for, or maybe it was. I didn’t believe Mia as a stand-alone character, but instead felt like she was pieces of other characters pulled together haphazardly to form one.

This story started on page 217, but it wasn’t until page 289 that I feel like the character issues I had with Mia finally started to fade away and I actually started to enjoying it. If this had been a Stephen King novel that wouldn’t have been a big deal, but it was a 183-page novella not a 500-1000 page mega-novel. At page 289 the story did get good and I quickly finished after that, turning page by page eager to find out how it would end. And end it did, beautifully.

On its own, I would give this story a ★★★ (3 star) rating.

If this had been the last book in the series, I would have been satisfied, but it isn’t. The Darkest Legacy is up next… Not sure I will read it right away as I have a number of other books on my list, but I’m sure that I will eventually get to it.

CHARACTERS: I gave characters a 3-star review… only because 2 out of 3 of the stories had excellent character development. 2 out of 3… That third story, Beyond the Night, just didn’t meet my expectations for what I have become accustomed to when reading Bracken.

APPEARANCE: Beautiful! Stunning! Breathtaking! I’m sure you’ve learned by now that I absolutely love Bracken’s covers. This one is no different. You can almost feel the fire burning just beneath the cover. The character quote for this one is, “I want to feel every ounce of pain and happiness life can serve up, because it’ll mean I’ve survived.” When I first read the quote, before reading the book, I though I knew who would have said it… and maybe that character would too, but I was wrong. I was wrong in such a good way. Hold your breath… wait for it… You’ll be glad you did!

Check out my YouTube channel and the video review here:

Make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss a video!

Picking the right editor!

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editorAs a self-published author, the idea of finding an editor can be very daunting. Everywhere you look, there are a thousand people, with a wide range of experience, offering editing services that vary in price and level of detail. To say that making a decision on which editor is right for your project is easy would be stating a blatant lie. With so many choice… to many choices… you may be tempted to just hire the first editor you meet, but that could turn out to be the biggest mistake you could make for your manuscript. 

I consider myself lucky, in that I was able to find and connect with an editor early on who I feel really “gets” my writing style and author voice. Does that mean I would never hire a different editor? No, but it means that while things are working… we’ll keep working. Writing is a very personal experience. You spend days… weeks… months… and often years planning and writing your manuscript. It is important to find an editor who not only values your project but also your individual voice and style as an author. 

Considering I only published my first novel, Awaken (book 1 ~ The Blood Angel Series) back in 2012, I still think of myself as fairly new to the publishing game… publishing world. However, in that short time and with 7 novels (and a few author assistance guides) under my belt now, I have come up with a list of things that I believe are important to do/think about when picking the right editor for you. 

#1. Decide what type of editing help you’re looking for

  • Beta-Readers
  • Developmental/Substantive Editor
  • Content Editor
  • Copyeditor
  • Proofreader

Keep in mind that you will more than likely need more than one editor/edit pass on your book. I usually do a series of beta-reader edits and then a minimum of 3 professional rounds of edits. For more detail on the different types of edits, check out Shayla Raquel’s blog post, What Kind of Editor Do You Need?

#2. Determine your budget
It is important, before choosing an editor, to know exactly how much you have available to spend on editing. Be realistic, spend what you can afford right now, not what you think you can cover with book sales. Editing is important. In fact, it is essential to the success of your book. However, it DOES NOT SELL YOUR BOOK ON IT’S OWN!!! The book cover and the story you’ve written are what sells the book… the editing plays a huge part in the readers decision to continue reading, what kind of review (if any) they give your book, and whether or not they buy your next book. 

Once you’ve decided on a budget, don’t deviate. I recommend having an editing price range… What I want to spend and what I’m willing to spend if I find an editor that I just love!

#3: Do your research and make a list
Do your research and create a list of editors to include contact information, experience, offered services, pricing, client reviews/ratings, and what genres the editor works in (if applicable). An editor whose only experience is in technical manuals might not be the right editor for your Sci-Fi novel.

There are a thousand ways to get this information, but I recommend doing a Google search; request recommendations from fellow authors; Search LinkedIn and upwork.com; search online author forums on NaNoWriMo, Goodreads, and any other author chat boards you can find!

Once you have a complete list of editors you should be able to find those that stand out above the rest.

#4: Narrow down your options
Start by deleting editors off the list.

  • Delete anyone that is absolutely out of your price range
  • Delete anyone who doesn’t offer the editing services you need
  • Delete anyone with less than adequate education or experience
  • Delete them if they just seem like they won’t be a good fit
  • Delete them if they don’t have experience in your genre
  • Delete them if their turnaround time wont meet your deadline
  • Delete them if they have negative client reviews/ratings

Don’t feel bad about being picky – you should be picky when picking your editor! What you should have left is a list editors whose price range, turnaround time, service offerings, education and experience, meet your expectations.

#5: Request a sample edit and complete reviews
Now is the time to make sure you select an editor you can work with. This person is someone you have to be able to trust… trust to help you mold and shape your manuscript… your creative baby! You can’t just pick an editor because they offer the services you need at a price you can afford. You want to be confident in your choice and the fact that their assistance is going to help move your story forward, and not backward.

The best way to do that is to review sample edits. Most good editors will offer a free sample edit or consultation on a few pages of your manuscript. If the editor isn’t willing to do this, delete them off your list and move on.

Take advantage of this opportunity for a sample edit, but don’t expect to send a different chapter of your manuscript to twenty different editors and call that a round of edits.  This is your chance to really get a feel for what it would be like to work with a particular editor. Send the same 2-3 page sample to all your prospective editors so you can compare their work – apples to apples. The more samples you get the easier it will be to choose the right editor for you.

Once you have as many sample edits as you can get, compare them! Look to see if the editor did a good job marking errors in punctuation, grammar, syntax, and work usage. (Tip: I like to include some specific errors when I send my sample… It allows me to test the editors and see who catches the errors and who doesn’t.) If the editor made suggestions/comments on sentence structure or dialogue, or how was their tone? Did they seem constructive or condescending? Did the editor keep their text suggestions within the same voice and style that you prefer? 

You are looking for an editor who not only has the technical abilities to edit your manuscript but also the skills to work with one on one with you and respect your creative process and writing style. This isn’t just about one book… on manuscript. If you can find an editor you work well with, an editor who understands your style and is willing and able to work within it, then you can build a wonderful working relationship with them. Like I said before, I’ve been working with the same editor now for 7 novels and I know exactly what I will get from her every time… LOTS OF AWESOME SUGGESTIONS AND CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM!  

#6: Hire your editor
Hopefully you were able to find an editor that gave you a great sample edits, with lots of awesome suggestions, who also respected your creative voice that seems like they would be easy to work with. If so, HIRE THEM! Hire them A.S.A.P. before someone else scoops them up and they are no longer available. There are a thousand editors ready to offer you their services, but finding a good one can be hard. When you find that good one… the needle in the haystack you grab them fast!

On the other hand, if you weren’t able to find the perfect editor – try again. Hiring an editor can be expensive, don’t settle for someone you aren’t excited about. Wait until you are sure you’ve found the right editor before putting out the money.

I have one last piece of advice and I say this not to scare you but to prepare you – The editing process sucks! You’ve worked long and hard to write your story… It isn’t easy to get it back from an editor who has had it a couple of weeks, maybe a month, and see it covered in bright red markings. Each edits poking at your soul like a personal insult.

With that said, as hard as it is to see your marked up manuscript, you don’t want an editor who will just tell you everything is great. That isn’t what you pay an editor for and in the end it would be a waste of your money. You want someone who will be completely honest with you, no matter how bad it hurts. 

When I got my first manuscript back from my editor, I cried. I took one look at it, flipped through the pages and cried. I didn’t pick it back up for a month. Then, when I finally took the time to read her edits, consider her suggestions, and really think about my story I knew she was right. In the end, my story is so much better because of the care and time she and I spent working through the issues the original manuscript had. It doesn’t matter how good of a writer you are, in the end your editor will – if they are good – find things that MUST BE CHANGED in order to make your story the best it can be.  

Don’t pick an editor who makes you feel great about yourself, pick the editor that cares more about making your story great than coddling your feelings.  

My Summer Reads!

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booksI love reading, but sadly, with family, work, and writing commitments I don’t get a lot of time to just sit down with a good book. This summer I’ve made a commitment to myself to spend more time reading. Not only because it is important for self-care to take time doing the things you love but also because as a writer, reading is an essential part of my growth and development.

I think Jan Fortune nailed it in her blog post ’14 reasons why writers need to read’.

Here are Jan Fortune’s 14 reasons why writers need to read, but honestly… you need to click the link above and read her full article to fully understand the list!

  1. Because reading is your world
  2. Influence is good
  3. For the love of language
  4. To encourage imagination
  5. To see what works
  6. To see what doesn’t work
  7. Because the more you read, the more you understand the human condition
  8. Because the diversity of history, culture and thought is all contained in writing
  9. Because it will encourage you to take more risks with your writing
  10. Because it’s good for you
  11. Because books are the best place to escape
  12. Because reading increases your ability to be alone with your thoughts
  13. Because the best writers read
  14. Because you know what it’s like to want readers

Now for my list, in no particular order… MY SUMMER READS:

  1. Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline (Video Review)
  2. A Wrinkle In Time, by Madeleine L’Engle (Video Review)
  3. The Darkest Minds, by Alexandra Bracken (Review) (Video Review)
  4. Never Fade, by Alexandra Bracken (Review) (Video Review)
  5. In The Afterlight, by Alexandra Bracken (Review) (Video Review)
  6. Through The Dark, by Alexandra Bracken (Review) (Video Review)
  7. Cujo, by Stephen King (Review) (Video Review)
  8. Dead Boy, by Laurel Gale (Review) (Video Review)
  9. Gwendy’s Button Box, by Stephen King (Review) (Video Review)
  10. Origin, by Dan Brown (Review) (Video Review)

Because I started my summer reading list at the end of May, when my kids got out of school, I’m already a few books in… Reviews will be posted as I get to them. With everything life throws at me, I’m not sure I’ll make it though this whole list by the end of summer (actually I’m positive I wont), but I’ll try my best. What I don’t get through during summer will remain on my list till I get it read. I plan to post reviews as I get them done and will make sure to add the links above. Check out the reviews and share your thoughts on the books too.

 

I think my computer hates me!

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I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not very good with technology. I can turn on my computer and use the programs… most of them… ok, some of them, but much more than that and I’m lost.

My kids are the IT department of my house and will probably run their own technology firm some day, if they don’t secretly have one already. I’m not kidding, my kids know more about my computer and phone than I do!

Blue screen of death… “Kids, mommy needs you!”

Phone screen freezes… “Kids, mommy needs you!”

iPad tells me it hasn’t been backed up in 18 weeks… “Kids, mommy needs you!”

When I was their age, we didn’t have a home computer, much less portable tablets. Phones, well there was no such thing as a cell phone back then. Our phones were still tethered to the wall with a coiled cord. If you wanted privacy you pulled the phone as far from the kitchen as you could, stretching the cord till you could almost hear it cry. More often than not you found yourself sitting in a closet, your head on the floor next to the phone as you tried to whisper loud enough that your friends would still hear you. The day I got my own bedroom phone… a bright yellow Pac-man phone… WAS AMAZING!!! It was like my parents had handed me the golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. 

I never dreamed of carrying a pocket-sized phone around with me. Don’t get me wrong, I love my cell phone. Cell phones are cool. I am constantly connected… phone calls, emails, internet searches, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, YouTube, blah blah blah, INSERT NEXT NEW APP HERE!!! WE ARE ALWAYS CONNECTED…

But seriously, cell phones are great for safety. I love that my kids have them and can reach me whenever they need to… but love it more when they want to. With all that said, I’m sure my next statement is of the unpopular brand… I think cell phones have killed childhood. OK… that’s a topic for another post. 

The whole point of my post ‘I think my computer hates me’ was to say this:

I often feel like my computer deliberately deletes my files! There, I’ve said it. My computer deliverately deletes my files! What is that? What did I do to my computer to make it hate me so much? I backup everything… I have thumb-drives (do people still call them thumb-drives or is it flash-drives now?) for all my work and I keep a downloaded backup (multiple in fact) of everything I do. Yet, the other day, after discovering that 5 of my 7 eBooks had somehow mysteriously disappeared from Amazon, I tried to find the files on my computer and THEY WERE GONE!

Shock!

Fear!!

Terror!!!

To say that I was freaking out would be putting it nicely. Luckily I found a way to get the files… but my computer didn’t make it easy… the files weren’t formatted.

NO FORMATTING AT ALL!

Paragraphs and chapters ran into each other like one long run on. How does something like this happen? I tried everything, but in the end I ended up spending hours re-formatting one book… I have four more to do… FOUR MORE! 

I’ll look on the bright side… I haven’t read those books in a while, so at least I get to reconnect with some of my past characters. I have missed them.

Has something like this ever happened to you? If so, tell me your story and what you did to fix it. Misery loves company, right?