#if I ever get the manuscript version published I feel like I should send this man royalities idk!! /jk /mostly

[morvantmortuary]

(I’ve been up and  down with my bi-monthly migraine today, but bc it’s a certain faceclaim’s IRL birthday today, I wanted to post something to celebrate!

during my work in this horror summer camp, I went back to the beginning of the October Arc to figure out how I would want it to open since our first opening was a smut oneshot that suddenly developed lore lmao, and in doing so, I went back to re-write Maxi’s initial character profile to fit how I know him/his family now, as opposed to at the beginning when he was still pretty standoffish/closed mouthed about it. I think I’m going to pick an edit I like and post that here, then maybe edit my masterlist to include Seth, as well as get back to some mentions I have in my likes!!

anyway, happy birthday to Mr. DB, may he live long, get all sorts of wonderful roles over the decades, never have any idea I exist, and that I’ve based my favorite OC maybe ever on his face. <3 and may he definitely never find this blog. :’D)

[tetsunabouquet]

I do think the conversation around the Garricks Club is important as a writing student.

I'm Dutch so we don't have that exact club over here, but the person who made my writing textbook is 100% of the same old guy's club mentality.

I can feel it in several ways, the way the examples I am recommended to read are mostly from male writers who's peak already died down around the start of the century (some were already dead by this time).

That one painful example which included an example of 'men writing women'. Said author has been dead for over a decade, alongside another author who even got praises in my textbook for children's literature despite him not being a children's author...

The way how the book goes into depth about writing from childhood nostalgie when you're 50+.

The way how often when assuming the gender of the student it assumes I'm a male as when talking about the psychology of our brains it typically refers to the brains with male pronouns and there is one throwaway line after several chapters in that's says something along the lines of, 'for those who have female pronouns' like female students are a complete afterthought

I actually refused to do certain assignments because of the archaic mindset. Except for Max Havelaar, none of their examples are what people like Gen z would consider ageless classics. Some, like the 'men-writing-woman' example are definitely aging like old milk, so no I am not taking those seriously and if I fail my exams because of it, then so be it.

I know I won't be failing because I'm a bad writer, but because the people who created my course are old geezers who aren't adapting to the times. They should accept that wine moms have taken over and that the disillusioned woman is likelier to pick up the pen in this day and era.

One of my favorite male authors is Christopher Paolini and his sister Angela did so much of helping him with the rewrites, she even got to write a short story in one of his books. When he held his Inheritance book tour, he gave his sister credit for being his beta reader and actually was so friendly to me when I asked him for writing advice. Apparantly everyone in the line before me had brought English copies- mine are the first Dutch copies he ever got to sign.

I swear, the old geezers can learn quite a bit from Christopher. His teamwork with female aspiring authors and uplifting attitude towards them is how the modern male author should act.

I don't care if any of the authors who are still alive that my textbook praises ever were to read my work. If I ever get to publish my book, I'm sending it to Christopher along with a translated version of my manuscript so I can thank him for being so kind to my back then, insecure 14 year old self and to show him I did made it as a writer too, partially due to the way how he talked about stuff like the rewriting proces and that its okay of you don't come up with a good story on your first try- he didn't either. The way he humbled himself and wasn't afraid of talking about his blunders of his first booktour, honestly shattered a lot of misconceptions about authors and basically left me with the belief that 'if a 17 year old dork can do it, so can I'.

[pantstomatch]

I love your writing, and (the cliche, it burns) one day I'd like to publish too. But a lot of things have changed since the last time I was confident in trying to do this, and I wondered if you would talk about the process (getting an agent, that sort of thing) if you're comfortable and have the time. It's also cool if you privately respond, if you'd prefer, I'm just trying to figure out how to get started again? And so many tips are "publish on Amazon!"

Thank you!!!! Okay, so here’s the thing. I’m probably not the best person to ask about this, because I’m actually really bad at being published, but I can tell you some stuff that I’ve learned? That might be helpful? I ended up being long-winded, so (if tumblr works right here) everything is under the cut...

1. Querying!

So in general, querying sucks balls. Like… it’s probably the worst thing you’ll ever have to do. You’re gonna want to research what agents are looking for the kind of stuff you want to write or have written. Some are looking for certain genres or what they think is marketable, and you want to send your query to someone who’s open to what you have, or it’s a waste. Most likely the agency website or the agents “I’m looking for…” page or whatever will give you specific instructions on what to include in your query email - how the subject should be written, what they’re looking for, how many pages of your manuscript they want to see, how to attach it to the email and in what form, and if they want a synopsis of your novel. Some agents use Query Manager, which is basically a form you fill out and attach all the things they want, and you can go back in and edit it and it’s a nice way to keep track of your query. Next, they’re gonna (hopefully; some just never respond) either say no thank you very politely, or ask you for the full manuscript. Most of these agents will also give you a general timeline for a response, and if they’re open to a nudge from you or not. After that, they’ll either say no to the full manuscript, or welcome you aboard!  

Most places allow you to send multiple queries out for the same work, meaning they’re not “exclusive,” except within their own agency. If they ask for a full manuscript, but before they get back to you, another agent has snapped you up, they’ll want you to let them know so they don’t waste their time on it. Occasionally, if they want to see your full manuscript, they’ll ask for you to not send the full manuscript to someone else until they’re done, or for you to tell them if someone else is looking at the full manuscript. You can also change your mind!  You can email them and let them know you’ve decided to pull the novel out of consideration, maybe if you think it needs more editing.

I have never successfully queried. I found the whole thing demoralizing, and I did my first contract on my own, without an agent. This is something I don’t recommend because I had to figure out a lot of confusing shit on my own that I still don’t fully understand. And it also made me doubt my writing after the fact, because agents don’t give a shit if you’re already published, they’re focused solely on whatever you’re presenting them with. And then after that, I figured if I got another book out of my current editor, would I want to present that to the people who already didn’t like my writing? I have an agent for another project I’m working on, and the only reason I have her is because someone introduced us and told her I desperately needed help.

1a. So you found the agent(s) you think you like!

Other than the instructions/guidelines written out by the agency/agents that you’re interested in, you’re gonna need the most complete and fully edited version of your novel in hand. If they ask for your full manuscript, you absolutely should not say it’s not done. Make sure it’s finished, and preferably edited, before you send your query in. If they ask for a synopsis, hard pass. Ha ha ha, just kidding. No, really, arguably, this is going to be the hardest thing to write. A synopsis will suck your soul out of your body and make you weep blood. The only thing worse than querying is writing a synopsis for that query. I have never written a synopsis that I didn’t think was utter shit. I hate them.

Querytracker is a cool place to look up agents that you want to query and see how responsive (and nice) they are. It took me a little bit to figure out the abbreviations, though.

2. Pick your genre carefully

Unless you are a best selling author, they are never ever ever going to let you change genres. I mean, maybe if you wrote under a different name. Maybe. But they’ve bought your book based on how they think it will sell, and they’re going to want to sell you, too, and genre jumping is usually a no-go. This is, basically, one of the biggest things I hate, and one of the greatest things I love about fanfiction, that I can write whatever the fuck I feel like writing. So, you know, make sure you really really really want to write about what your first book is going to be about, because you’re going to be writing about that forever.  And I don’t mean just YA vs New Adult vs Adult, although you need to take that into account too. I mean if you’re writing about high school regular kids, you probably can’t write about supernatural high school kids. You can’t write about high school kids in space. You can only write about regular high school kids. So.. think sci -fi vs fantasy vs historical vs contemporary, etc.

3. I hope you don’t hate people!

Do you want to go to a bookstore and talk in front of a crowd? Do you want to go to cons and network with other authors? Do you want to call up publications and volunteer for interviews? Do you want to talk about your books with strangers?  Because I sure don’t.  Publishing houses do the bare minimum of publicity for you for your book. First book, they’ll probably help set up some store signings. Going forward, if you weren’t proactive the first time around, they’re probably not going to do anything. If you’ve got some really good advance reviews, they’ll do ads. They’ll probably do the rote social media posts. But basically, you’re going to have to advocate for your book. You’re going to have to create your own brand. You’re going to have to make swag and send it out, call up bookstores, post constantly about it on twitter, buddy up to other authors, go places where you can network. And I will tell you that all of that is my nightmare. I don’t want to do any of that. I don’t like meeting new people. I had several panic attacks leading up my book signing, and the book signing itself was pretty bad. I’m just… not good with people. And, honestly, at my age, I don’t want to be any better. All it does is give me stress and hives, and to get over that I’d really really have to want to do it.

4. Personal perks?

Editors!  I’ve worked with two awesome editors, and it’s amazing having someone to tell you how to fix things in a way that makes sense. By far, one of the only perks of being published for me. I absolutely don’t know for sure, but I always got the feeling that they expected more push back from me with their suggestions, but nope. I was open to everything, and that’s probably why the books worked so well, because editors absolutely know what they’re doing and only want what’s best for the book.

Holding a solid book of my work!  Always awesome to hold that first book in your hands, with the beautiful cover work and everything. The fact that other people can read it and know it was me who wrote those words only counters that by about a half.  

Money! Advances vary drastically, but, listen, the money kind of made the panic attacks worth it. A little.

5. Advances and royalties

The things I’ve read about advances is that too little, and you might think they have less confidence in you, and too much and you’re panicking about selling, because if you don’t earn out your advance, there’s a chance they won’t want to invest in you in the future. Generally, the way they work is they offer you a contract with the amount they are willing to “advance” you. This is basically saying, we think this book will give us this amount of money, and this is your share of that amount of money. You earn this out with royalties. When you sign the contract, you will get a certain amount of money, usually half of your offered advance. When you deliver the finished manuscript, after your editor and you have gone over it and it’s been approved, you’ll get the other half. A two book deal would be split into 4 parts, and you’d get the first 2 parts for signing the contract (1/4th for each book), the next part for the first finished manuscript, and then the last part for the second finished manuscript, generally after the first book is already published. After that, you won’t see any money until your royalties reach the amount they already paid you in advance. Unless otherwise negotiated, you’d get a royalty check twice a year.  Your earnings from January to July would be sent to you in October, and your earnings for July to December would be sent to you in April. Since any books sold to bookstores and online stores can be returned to the publisher if unsold, they will usually “hold back” a certain amount at first, to make sure you’re really earning that royalty. Royalty statements themselves are a hot mess and I’ve never been able to read them, which is also a good reason to have an agent. An agent will get your money sent to them, make sure it’s the correct amount, take their cut, and then send you a check from them.

6. Self publishing

Okay, I know nothing about self publishing, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it if you have the right support system (ie editors). If you’re going to have to do a lot of the marketing yourself anyway, I don’t see how this is much different. Biggest thing would be the upfront cost, and making sure you make that cost worth it.  Independent author S Usher Evans has some good advice for self publishing - Sush’s worked very hard at it, and started her own publishing company. Also, @qwanderer might be a good resource, I think they use Lulu, which is a really cool self publishing site.

Uhhhh, so that’s a lot of info and also not a lot of info, so please feel free to ask me anything else, and I really hope I haven’t made this harder for you to get started ha ha ha. I think the best thing to do is to figure out what you want to write and write it and just… go from there. If you really love what you have, someone else is going to love it, too.

And if anyone’s had a different experience or thinks I got something wrong or has more/better advice for @heyninja, let me know!

[richincolor]

Interview with Author Crystal Maldonado

The bloggers here at Rich in Color have been reading Fat Chance, Charlie Vega over the past month in preparation for our book discussion that will be posted tomorrow. We were so excited to also have an opportunity to hear directly from author Crystal Maldonado. It’s always a treat to be able to find out a little bit more about the writing journey of an author.

Crystal, thanks so much for taking time to answer a few questions today. Sharing a novel with others takes some bravery and often thick skin. What convinced you to actually send your book out into the world?

Becoming a published author had always been a dream of mine, but I wasn’t sure it would ever come to fruition. In 2018, I had just turned 30 and I was happily married, I was traveling, and I was really enjoying myself, yet the yearning to publish a book and use my voice for good was nagging at me. I just felt like I had all of these words and stories inside of me wanting to come out! At that time, I was sitting on the finished manuscript for “Fat Chance, Charlie Vega,” with no plans for next steps. I realized that I was giving up before I’d even tried for fear of failure. I asked myself what was worse: never trying and always wondering, or putting my story out there and possibly failing? At least in the latter situation, I would have given it my best effort. Giving myself permission to fail was the spark I needed to try to make this book real — and now I get to hold a story I wrote in my hands!

Charlie has more than a few moments of awkwardness throughout her story. As a reader I was feeling for her. How does it feel as an author when you are writing those types of scenes?

It feels awkward for me, too! I do my best to get back into the mindset of what it felt like when I was a teen by listening to music that I enjoyed when I was in high school. Doing that means I sometimes feel the same awkwardness my characters do. But it’s really nice to be able to experience those things again, and I hope it ultimately adds a feeling of authenticity to the stories I write.

What is it like to do that delicate dance between fiction and your own experiences as you plotted?

Putting your heart into any story can feel very vulnerable, but I think you need a little bit of that vulnerability on the page in order to make the book feel real. So, I like to use experiences from my life as inspiration or reference material, but then heavily fictionalize them and make them work in my character’s lives. While my experiences may start as the seed, getting imaginative and creating new characters, scenarios, and dialogue is really what makes the story bloom.

The cover of your book is lovely. What was it like to see her for the first time rendered by someone else?

Thank you! Seeing the cover for the first time was pure magic. I sat in stunned silence for a moment and I can remember the feeling of my heart pounding, just taking this gorgeous image in. I cried. It was powerful to see a fat, brown girl right there, on the cover, for the world to see. I imagined how meaningful this would’ve been for me as a teen, and I thought of every fat brown girl out there who doesn’t get to see herself enough, and it made my heart full. Ericka Lugo, the illustrator for this cover, truly captured everything about Charlie so perfectly in this image, and I loved that she also included some flowers behind her, as if Charlie herself was blossoming. I hope others love it, too!

What have been some of the surprising aspects of moving in the publishing world?

I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how welcoming authors are! I was so nervous to get into publishing because I worried I’d always feel like an outsider looking in, but finding my debut group and then connecting with other incredible Latinx authors through Las Musas has been such a wonderful experience for me. I’m shy and introverted by nature, so much so that I didn’t tell anyone except for my husband that I was working on a book; it was a relief to get invited into these spaces with open arms and feel like I was able to easily connect with some truly inspirational authors. Now I consider many of the people I’ve met over the last year really great friends.

What books shaped you as a young person and are there any books out now that you would have appreciated then?

When I was really young, one of my favorite books was “Corduroy,” a sweet picture book about an overall-wearing teddy bear who is looking for a friend. I loved this story because it celebrated friendship and taught me early on that we should love ourselves exactly as we are! As a teen, I really loved “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros, which I feel is such a beautiful and poignant novel. But I didn’t get to see many fat and/or brown main characters until I was well into adulthood. I would’ve loved to have read books like “Dumplin’” by Julie Murphy, “Love is a Revolution” by Renee Watson, or “Juliet Takes a Breath” by Gabby Rivera when I was a teenager!

If you could write anywhere, where would it be?

If it was just a vacation, I’d pick Greece, as it’s a place I’ve always wished to travel. I imagine writing somewhere in Mykonos and overlooking the water and creating my own version of “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.” It sounds so dreamy! For a long-term place to write, I’d love to go to Puerto Rico and explore my dad’s hometown and reconnect with my family there. I would really love a chance to spend some time there with my husband and daughter.

Thanks so much! I loved reading your book this past weekend. It brought me many smiles. I also wear glasses so am always excited to see a main character wearing them. The cover is also just beautiful overall. 🙂

Thank you so much for asking such great questions! I’m so happy you enjoyed the book!

Crystal Maldonado is a young adult author with a lot of feelings. Her debut novel, FAT CHANCE, CHARLIE VEGA (Holiday House), was released on Feb. 2, 2021. By day, she is a social media manager working in higher ed, and by night, a writer who loves Beyoncé, shopping, spending too much time on her phone, and being extra. She lives in western Massachusetts with her husband, daughter, and dog. Follow her everywhere @crystalwrote or visit her website at crystalwrote.com.

[pynkhues]

1/2 i've got some writing questions for you, if you're up for answering, because i’m curious and you seem like a Real Writer: 1) do you use betas? 2) what exactly are betas supposed to do? i always figured they just checked for like grammar and stuff. megan @foxmagpie is betaing for me and she's done her very best to help me with figuring out my outline and character motivations and i always figured that was a bonus because she's a sweetheart and can see i'm a baby who knows nothing about what

2/2 she’s doing, but the writing asks going around made me start thinking maybe that's actually more standard?? 3) also, i know you're being traditionally published (btw congrats!!), so how different is a fic beta from an editor? thank you in advance if you decide to answer!! :)

Thank you for the congratulations, and of course!

This got a little long, so I’m dropping it behind a cut.

1. Do you use betas? 

I used to! I bounced around a few betas when I was a new writer, and then I met Melissa who I had a terrific creative relationship with for about five years? We’re still good friends, but she’s not in fandom anymore and decided she didn’t really have the time to beta anymore after she graduated from college and became a vet. It sort of worked out perfectly, because that was around the same time that I quit writing fic (something I’ve obviously come back to, haha).

I don’t use a beta currently, but I do sometimes talk plot / storyworld things through with @foxmagpie​ or share bits and ask for her opinion / if what I’m trying to get across comes across.

2) what exactly are betas supposed to do?

It’s entirely up to you and your beta! They can just do grammar and punctuation. I know some betas who just check for Americanisms, Australianisms, Europe-isms, I know some who are hands on with workshopping a story, some who predominantly cheerlead, some who provide very detailed feedback and suggestions, some who provide very little, it all just depends what you, the writer, want, and what the beta is prepared or able to give.

It’s why I think every writer-beta relationship – no matter how close you are as friends – should start with a conversation about parameters and expectations. 

If you just want your fic proofread for grammar, that should absolutely be flagged by you, the writer. If you want feedback on plot, characterisation, etc. that should be flagged too.

I don’t tend to beta that much really, just because I’ve worked as a professional editor for many years and have been involved in a lot of writing workshops where you’re often workshopping multiple stories a week, and I find it really hard to turn off that part of my brain. As a result, when I do beta, I tend to do a condensed version of a full edit which includes a structural edit (broad story feedback and questions about world building, characters, etc), a copyedit (this is grammar plus sentence and paragraph structure, word repetition), fact checking (hence the glass bowl debate, hahaha), and write up a page or two on broader feedback for the author overall i.e. patterns in their writing, areas to improve, areas they do really well in, etc. 

This is obviously incredibly vigorous (and will take me usually a whole day or even two days - which is something I have to signpost when beta’ing too as I’ll need to have a day free to do it), and not something most betas do (as it probably should be, haha, fanfic should be fun after all). This sort of edit though is (hopefully) really about growth and improvement and challenging the writer to level up, so to speak. The writer definitely needs to be ready for it, and Megan was, which is how I ended up doing this for chapter 7 and now chapter 8 of Delinquents. 

Again though, this was something she and I negotiated and worked out that she wanted, and I was actually excited to do, because I love Megan’s writing, and if I could help her be more happy with it and grow and feel like she was growing, I’d be honoured to do that! 

If that’s not what she’d wanted, I wouldn’t have done it the way that I did it. 

As for Megan helping you with the outlining and character motivation, that is something that’s very sweet! Writing at that point can be really challenging, and while there are a lot of betas who talk through that sort of thing, there are a lot of betas too who only look at things after a draft is written as well. Having feedback and someone to talk to about a story in the early stages, particularly during outlining, can be really helpful and can save you a lot of issues down the track, because if you’re unsure of motivations and what’s propelling your characters through the story, it can often ground your writing to a halt.

One of the best bits of writing advice I ever got was to constantly be asking your story three questions.

1. What does my character want? 

2. What (or who) is standing in their way stopping them from getting what they want? 

3. What’s my character going to do to overcome it? 

Take these as literally or as broadly as you like, but those questions are really helpful at identifying what the narrative thrust of your story is at both a broader and scene-based level. :-)

3) How different is a fic beta from an editor? 

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this also varies, haha. It depends on what the beta does and what that process looks like. 

Like I said, I more or less do a condensed version of a full edit when I beta, but in traditional publishing (and what I’m going through at the moment with my publisher for my novel), the rounds of editing will usually be done by different people, so you get different opinions. So just to reiterate, a full edit involves:

Round 1: Structural Edit. This is done usually by a senior editor and involves broad feedback on the story and can include anything from scrapping characters to rearranging plots to changing settings. It usually includes a lot of questions which are designed to challenge the writer’s narrative choices or deepen understanding of story.

Round 2 & 3: Copy Edit. This is usually done by a junior editor (and they usually do it twice (or even more than twice if it’s a difficult manuscript or author) - so once, then the writer works on the changes and sends it back, then the editor does it again to the new draft), and is a closer look at the story. It rarely involves major story changes, and instead is focused on individual scenes, paragraph and sentence structure, and often character motivation or settings in specific scenes, as opposed to the broader story. 

Round 4: Proofreader. At a big publisher, this will usually done by a contractor outside of the publishing house so that it’s a very fresh reader who’s unfamiliar with the story. At a smaller publishing house or a magazine / journal, this’ll be done by an editorial assistant, intern or even the junior editor again. This is strictly grammar and punctuation. 

Round 5: Final proof. This goes back to everyone - the author, the structural editor, the copy editor and the proofreader, and is usually a PDF of the typeset pages, so everyone has one last chance to make minor changes before it goes to print.

So yes! A long process, haha.

I’d say most betas do a little bit of a structural and copy edit, but are predominantly proofreaders? Although, once again, it really just depends!

I hope this is a help, and feel free to ask if you have any other questions!

[allthefilmsiveseenforfree]

Little Women (2019)

This was my 119th movie in 2019 - goal accomplished! And what a way to send off the year, with Greta Gerwig’s second film and her excellent follow-up to 2017’s Lady Bird. There have been something like seventeen adaptations of Louisa May Alcott’s novel Little Women, so the question here is really, why is this version necessary when all these others exist? Well...

For one, because Gerwig’s script takes all the classic character archetypes and removes their sanctimonious preaching to replace it with nuance and care. She keeps all the same story beats from the original but there’s something magical about the way she imbues each sister with life and their own dreams. I was never a huge Little Women fan as a girl growing up, but if I had this version to latch onto, I think I would have been.

Some thoughts:

Our tone is set immediately by the publisher telling Jo that if the main character is a girl, she needs to be either married or dead by the end of the story - either one is fine, it’s all the same. 

At first I was a little off-put by the framing narrative and the jumping around in time, but as the film went on it became a more and more powerful tool. 

I think the reason I appreciate Gerwig’s care and distinct voice within this adaptation so much is because this is the first adaptation of Little Women that actually makes sense to me. Each of the March sisters have their own distinct personality and that really shines through here - even Beth gets to be a little bit more than just “the sick one.”

That being said, Emma Watson does not give off maternal vibes to me AT ALL as Meg. 

I think Jo and Laurie are the ultimate ship that never was. The combination of Saorsie Ronan and Timothee Chalamet and Greta Gerwig is so magical as to be intoxicating. I can rarely think of two people onscreen who have better chemistry than these two. 

The costumes are just INCREDIBLE. So rich and detailed and every single outfit is perfectly made for the character. I would kill to wear like 90% of these dresses.

There is one Very Good fluffy white dog that belongs to Aunt March (Meryl Streep). 

Speaking of, Meryl is obviously fantastic in this role,  but like you needed me to tell you that. Breaking News: Meryl Streep is good at acting! But she does inject some real pathos into what could otherwise just be a crotchety old woman. Frankly, I hate that Aunt March gets so much crap because she’s right, marriage is an economic proposition, and that message is not lost on Amy (Florence Pugh, who is having a HELL of a great year), who gives a big speech about it to Laurie. They’re not wrong, y’all, and I don’t think Aunt March should be so demonized because of it.

And in regards to Amy - the longest love letter I could write to this adaptation is on behalf of Amy. Normally it’s easy to hate Amy, but I honestly love her here? A big part of that is Florence Pugh just being a likeable performer, but her annoying little sister behavior feels real and not artificially annoying. Plus, this is the only time I’ve ever actually understood how she could possibly have ended up with Laurie. Basically, Amy really shines in this version and might be my favorite March sister....except for burning Jo’s manuscript. That’s literally unforgivable.

Timothee Chalamet is a surprisingly great physical comedian - he’s got a Buster Keaton kind of thing going on here. Damn that kid is talented, it just hardly seems fair that he’s so so good while he’s still this young. 

I don’t know why, but Wife and I both burst out laughing when we saw that Bob Odenkirk was playing their dad. Don’t get me wrong, I love Bob Odenkirk! But that casting felt very off to me.

Did I Cry? You know it, but you know what’s absolutely bonkers? I didn’t cry when Beth died! Not even a little! But the aftereffects that ripple outward from that really got me. Jo’s big speech from the trailer about women having minds and souls as well as just hearts was incredibly affecting, and once the crying started there it didn’t really stop. 

More than anything, I loved the ending and its ambiguous nature. This screenplay makes me want to kiss Greta Gerwig on the mouth and I’m not ashamed to say it. 

I’m gushing because I wanted it to be good and it’s so much better than good. I’ll never have kids, but I’m going to make damn sure all of my honorary nieces and nephews watch this film so they can have dreams of their own, whatever form those may take.

[thebookishgoddess]

ELLA DISCUSSES: AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT - AN INTERVIEW WITH ELIZABETH TAMMI

Hello everyone! Today, I’m going to talk about a new author that I’m sure you’ll all love simply based off the amazing synopsis she has for her book. Her name’s Elizabeth Tammi, author of Outrun The Wind, a mythology-inspired sapphic novel based off the Greek female warrior, Atalanta, to be released on November 27, 2018! If that doesn’t spark up your interest yet, I don’t know what does!

I have had the utmost pleasure of interviewing her about her upcoming novel, her journey into writing it and a fair little advice for any aspiring authors out there. But first, we all have to wonder--who exactly is Elizabeth Tammi?

Elizabeth Tammi was born in California and grew up in Florida, but is currently double-majoring in Creative Writing and Journalism as an undergraduate at Mercer University in Georgia. When she’s not writing, you can probably find Elizabeth at rehearsal for one of her vocal ensembles, or at work for her university’s newspaper and literary magazine. Her other interests include traveling, caffeinated beverages, and mythology. Outrun the Wind is her debut novel. (Taken from Goodreads)

Honestly, I am so impressed because the fact that she can handle university and writing an entire novel tells us so much about her dedication as both a student and writer. And it definitely shows how she definitely must have put all her heart into writing that she got a book deal not long after. 

But enough of my rambling and awe. Read on to see my interview with the amazing Elizabeth Tammi!

What inspired you to write Outrun The Wind? 

Spite, honestly! I was simultaneously captivated and frustrated by Atalanta's original mythology, and wanted to tell my own interpretation! Plus, I had lots of other interests about Greek mythology that I wanted to explore via long-form fiction, like the huntresses of Artemis, relationships between the gods, and the oracles at Delphi.

What makes Outrun The Wind unique from every other mythology-inspired novel? 

I think-- or hope, at least-- that Outrun the Wind stands out because of its exploration of a lesser-known myth and deals heavily with themes like female strength, sexuality, and is told from the perspective of two teenage girls. It's a younger and female twist on a mythology that isn't very kind to women, so I hope readers enjoy that point of view.

Who is your favorite non-main character from your book and why? 

Probably Nikoleta, a demigoddess daughter of Ares who also serves Artemis as one of her huntresses. Nikoleta has a super deep personal connection to me, because the very first draft of a book I ever finished was actually her story of growing up in ancient Sparta with quite a harrowing destiny; while that first manuscript was pretty terrible, I still have hopes of returning to it someday, and I was so glad that she got to make an appearance in Outrun the Wind-- it feels very fitting, since she's been with me from the start of my writing journey.

Who or what inspired you to start writing? 

My parents really raised me as an avid reader, so I don't remember a time in my life when I didn't love books. As early as about seven years old, I knew I wanted to write my own. Now, I didn't actually start writing seriously until I was about 16. Prior to that was just some random snippets, and of course, some fanfiction haha (which was actually, looking back, a great way to learn how to structure scenes, dialogue, descriptions, etc. in an environment I felt comfortable in)! Anyway, I think being surrounded by so many fantastic YA stories growing up just really pushed me to try writing my own. Obviously, Rick Riordan was probably my biggest 'hero', but other authors like Leigh Bardugo, Kiersten White, and Maggie Stiefvater also definitely inspired me!

Tell us what the journey was like in writing Outrun The Wind, from the start of the idea up to the point of having it published. 

This whole journey with Outrun the Wind actually only spans about 2.5 years from first getting the idea to the book being published on November 27, 2018-- which felt like forever, but ask any other author, and they'll tell you this was ridiculously fast haha. I got the initial idea when I was 18, the summer before I left for college, since I had been reading up on more Greek mythology and stumbled across Atalanta. She was a character I knew a bit about, but after reading her whole story, I was left feeling instilled with some sort of purpose/passion to tell her story as I imagined it. I drafted the first terrible version during the first semester of freshman year, worked with my critique partners, and started sending it off to various publishers and agents during the end of my freshman year. 

Ultimately, Flux offered me a book deal last fall, during my sophomore year. From then, I went through three rounds of edits with my fabulous editor to make sure the book was ready for publication, and the very final version was sent off this past March. Then ARCs went out in May, and are being read/reviewed as we speak, in preparation for its official release date of November 27th-- nearing the end of my fall semester of junior year! Whew. Looking back, I know this was actually really fast from start-to-finish, partially because I'm a somewhat quick writer, and partially because I'm not with a Big Five publishing house. But when I was in the thick of it, it felt like there was so much waiting involved. That's just the publishing industry though!

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be? 

Start sooner! I know 16 isn't old by any means, but it frustrates me that I knew I wanted to be an author by the time I was seven...but it took me almost a decade to start pursuing it seriously! I keep thinking what more I could have accomplished already if I'd started when I said I wanted to, haha. But that's okay, I'm glad to be doing it now. The moral is, if anyone reading this wants to be an author, there's no better day to start than today!

Writing a book is no easy feat. What's the one advice you wish you had upon writing your novel that you could give to aspiring writers wanting to get their work out there? 

You're so right-- there's really nothing easy about writing a book, but it's a challenge that I get joy out of. Anyway, I do wish someone had told me when I first started writing my own novels that comparison is so, so toxic, frustrating, and pointless. In this industry specifically, every author has their own struggles and had their own path to publication, so it's impossible to try and compare successes. Every single writer feels insecure to a degree and that's not going to go away once you get a book deal. It's important to be disciplined and consistent, but also remember that this isn't a race, and you should never rush into something that feels sketchy or uncomfortable. If you're querying, do extensive research on where you're sending your work out to!

It has been such a honor interviewing this incredible author! Let’s get a glimpse of her amazing debut novel, and what Outrun The Wind is really about:

The Huntresses of Artemis must obey two rules: never disobey the goddess, and never fall in love. After being rescued from a harrowing life as an Oracle of Delphi, Kahina is glad to be a part of the Hunt; living among a group of female warriors gives her a chance to reclaim her strength, even while her prophetic powers linger. But when a routine mission goes awry, Kahina breaks the first rule in order to save the legendary huntress Atalanta. To earn back Artemis’s favor, Kahina must complete a dangerous task in the kingdom of Arkadia— where the king’s daughter is revealed to be none other than Atalanta. Still reeling from her disastrous quest and her father’s insistence on marriage, Atalanta isn’t sure what to make of Kahina. As her connection to Atalanta deepens, Kahina finds herself in danger of breaking Artemis’ second rule. She helps Atalanta devise a dangerous game to avoid marriage, and word spreads throughout Greece, attracting suitors willing to tempt fate to go up against Atalanta in a race for her hand. But when the men responsible for both the girls’ dark pasts arrive, the game turns deadly.

Again, you guys, Outrun The Wind comes out on November 27, 2018! Copies are available over at NetGalley to request for if you can’t wait to read it. I myself am quite excited to read this book because you all know I have such a soft heart for anything mythology-related! Make sure to click that Want To Read on Goodreads! ;)

You can follow Elizabeth Tammi on many of her social media platforms such as Tumblr at (annabethisterrified), Twitter at (@ElizabethTammi), Instagram at (elizabeth_tammi), and at elizabethtammi.com!

[fannawrites]

Brutal But Constructive Beta Reader

WHAT IS A BETA-READER?

A beta-reader is a professional reader who goes through an edited, unpublished version of your story before it goes off to publishing/pitching. It’s basically a critique on all things that your reader would or wouldn’t like in your work. For example, the protagonist changes drastically through the story–without the character development. Bam! Now you know what you need to work on.

WHY DO I NEED A BETA-READER?

Unless you’re the most perfect person on Earth (which I strongly doubt) you need a beta reader. While an editor can fix all your typos and sharpen your sentences, they won’t look at your manuscript through a reader’s eye. You wouldn’t know that the protagonist is the most underdeveloped character or worse, no one believes in your villain’s motive. The readers would tear this apart once it hits the shelves. Allow me to do that beforehand and polish your baby for the real world.

WHY DO I NEED YOU AS MY BETA-READER?

I’m an avid reader who has been reading for quite some time now. Considering myself an eclectic reader, I have come across varied genres and the numerous tropes/cliches accompanying them. This gives me an insight to what has been done a ton of times and what you can do a ton of times. Plus, character development, overall plot, pacing, and genre relativity among others are areas I strongly critique on. You can get a hint of those in my reviews. In fact, I’m a writer myself and have a gist of what a story needs more or less of.

WHAT CAN I EXPECT FROM YOU, AS A BETA READER?

When you hand over your manuscript to me, you can be assured it won’t be disclosed (not even the title or author name) unless you give me the permission to do so. I’m also up for signing an NDA if that’s more like you.

I do sound conversational and a bit humorous in my writing but I can assure you, I work as professionally as a person being paid is supposed to. I’m also easy to communicate so you can expect exactly what you want for your project. Work flexibility is my trait so things can always be worked out.

I will read your MS from a reader’s viewpoint and give a detailed, in-depth feedback on what was excellent, what was lagging, and what is strongly suggested to be done.

Pacing, plot holes, character development, world-building and overall plot will be analysed.

Specific solutions and creative input will be provided without changing the author’s vision or voice.

The feedback can either be as a chapter-by-chapter or a general, comprehensive take on the manuscript. I’m also open to answering specific questions.

While I won’t be diligently proofreading your work for grammar, spelling, and punctuation (that’s a job for the editor) I would certainly point out consistent errors or errors that might’ve missed the eye of an editor. For example, using an Oxford comma for the first half of the story and not the other half.

I will not provide a line-by-line critique. That’s something I offer in my critique services if that’s what you’re looking for.

I will not ghostwrite bits and pieces of your story. I do provide creative suggestions but they are not something you’re forced to accept.

All my feedback will be delivered in a constructive manner and would, in no way, be intended to belittle you or your writing.

WHAT BOOKS WOULD YOU READ?

Like I said, I’m an eclectic reader and would read almost anything. Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Non Fiction, Graphic Novels, Comics, and others. Specifically, I won’t read: Hard Erotica, Religion/Spiritual, Poetry and Children’s Fiction.

HOW MUCH DO YOU CHARGE?

On a base line, I charge $1 for every 1000 words with a minimum of $5 to start with. For example, if your MS is of 2000 words, it actually costs $2 but it would be costing $5 since the word count is lesser than the minimum.

Once the MS crosses 100K, the price would be reduced. I would then charge $1 for every 2000 words. So if your MS is of 150K words, your total cost would be: $100 + $25 = $125. I also offer discounts for repeat buyers and those who order an additional revision.

I will offer a deadline to you according to my free slots but if you’re on a rush deadline, you can book a date with a minimal extra cost of $30.

If you’re on a budget and can’t afford the above cost, feel free to still send me a mail and we can work things out. Like I said, I’m flexible in terms of working as a creative enthusiast and would love to help out an author.

All payments are non-refundable and will be made through Paypal. Payment will be done before commencing the beta read because this virtual world can be pretty bad when it comes to freelancing.

If you don’t trust me enough to send me the full amount before the work is done, you can also order through Fiverr or PeoplePerHour for more secure buyer-seller transactions. Read all the comparisons between my personal service and my service through these sites here.

WHAT FORMAT WOULD YOU ACCEPT MY MANUSCRIPT IN?

Anything except for a print copy. Shipping can be a hassle and I don’t like to delay a committed work so I prefer a .doc or .pdf file. A .mobi or .epub or .acsm is also fine but less preferred.

IS THERE ANYTHING I SHOULD NOT DO WITH YOUR FEEDBACK?

You will never publish my feedback or use it as a justification for any changes made to your manuscript. For example, if I suggest you to change a few characters’ dialogue to make them sound more distinctive, you cannot use me as an excuse to justify your action if someone ever questions why your characters sound so awesomely different and real. *wink, wink*

ALRIGHT, I’M SOLD! I WANT YOU AS MY BETA READER! WHAT SHOULD I DO?

That’s great! Just fill out this form and wait for my reply with the quotes and confirmation. If you wish to discuss the rates or any other specifics, you can mail me at fanna.the.blog@gmail.com first. But please make sure to add ‘Beta Reading’ in the subject of your mail so it doesn’t go unnoticed. Looking forward to working with you!

[italicwatches]

Comic Girls - Episode 10

Oh my god I finally have all this healthcare bullshit sorted out and appointments re-made. I can fucking breathe. So what’s happening now? Well, anime, of course. It’s Comic Girls, episode 10! Here we GO!

-We begin with…Those aren’t lilies. Oh shit it’s winter. The Christmas season, even, and Ririka has gotten a Christmas tree for the dorm! And gotten out decorations! Oh my god I’d fight someone for winter chill right now. Meanwhile…Ruki is being sad in the snow, because she dramatically hates Christmas?! Oh no!

-Opening! There’s the lilies.

-So a tired Tsubasa comes padding down the stairs and finds a very well decorated Christmas tree. …What day is it today? The 22nd. Of December. Right, right, December…Haaave you two seen Ruki?

-She’s… been standing dramatically outside of the dorm all morning. And now she’s pacing. It’s kind of weird. So Tsubasa goes out to talk to her and I’m just saying, Ruki gets awfully blushy at Tsubasa calling out to her with “Hey pretty lady”. …Now get back to work. And Ruki has a freakout because yes, ultimately the reason she dislikes Christmas is because it’s a romantic day and she’s an erotic manga artist with no lover. Tsubasa even made a handy graph to show the way these romantic days fuck with Ruki’s motivation.

-See also when she completes a page of her manuscript to prove she’s not all screwed up inside, and yet she gets jealous of her own character.

-Is it weird that the most unbelievable part in all of this is Ruki insisting she wants a boyfriend? And not a small pink moeblob? So Koyume and Kaos try to perk her up and, Koyume’s attempt doesn’t work because you have a solid crush you spend all your time around! And Kaos reminds Ruki of her fan-letters, a perfect motivator to fill her with love! …Except they just remind her that she’s got nobody to be romantic with. Wow this is the worst Tsubasa has ever seen her.

-Okay, new plan! Why don’t they all help Tsubasa on the next chapter of The Dark Hero? Some battle manga will be a great change of pace! …But the chapter she’s working on has the eponymous hero being very cutely tsundere to the princess and Ruki breaks.

-The next day! Ruki has come to Suzu for desperate help, and Suzu is entirely happy to continue to let Ruki cling to her, as they talk about the unusual pressures of erotic and horror manga and the lonely lives they have to lead…Though Suzu is more…Shall we say…Motivated, than Ruki. And finally she leaves, trying to push herself to get back to work…

-When she finds the room empty? And dark? Completely—

-And the lights come on and poppers go off! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Ruki! Congratulations on turning six…teen…Wait huddle. She’s only sixteen? She was only fifteen a minute ago? Tsu could have sworn she was around 24. (YOU WENT TO ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL WITH HER.) They even made her a cake with Ririka’s help! And, presents!

-A giant version of her favorite plush, and a massage pillow, and…And Kaos panics because she erred on her gift choice. Calm yourself, Kaos! So what is it? It’s a cosplay outfit of Kaos’s favorite idol who is also a tall, graceful, purple-haired onee-sama type. I suddenly realize this long string of nonsense words is what normal people hear when I talk about anime.

-Also it’s the special Christmas outfit and…Kaos. Kaos please dial it in. But Ruki also soaks up all the praise and attention like a sponge, which Kaos is more than willing to provide.

-Until, finally, it’s…Actually well past Christmas. It’s in fact the end of the year, and everyone’s going back home to celebrate New Years with their family(and give Ririka an actual few days off from the life of a landlady and dorm matron). The good news is that Ruki is pulling back from the depths, but also Kaos realizes she hasn’t told her mom she’s coming back. Oh dear, she should…

-The answering machine gets it and she’s on vacation in Hawaii with her beloved husband and stacks of manga. And looking at her mom, who basically looks like if you put real human legs on our little moeblob…A lot of pieces of how Kaos came to be the sort of person she is suddenly fell into place.

-Of course Kaos has a panic and is off in depression land. Though now everyone’s trying to figure out where they can put a Kaos. Koyume wants to take her home, but Koyume’s family is planning a trip. Ruki would do it, but her house lacks a guest room and her little sister is going through an angry, shouty puberty. …Tsubasa? Not happening. So Kaos decides to just find all of her humanity in her favorite bishoujo figurines. The gang’s all here dot gif

-Fine, FINE, you’re coming with Tsubasa. They get to the train station, and Tsubasa in her warmest cosplay cloak, steps into the bathroom…And out comes an entirely normal looking teenage girl?! TSUBASA IS THAT YOU?! …Speak nothing of what you’re going to see, Kaos. Tell no one anything of this week. That is the price you will pay for room and board.

-Hard cut to…Does Tsubasa live in a castle??? Is she a princess?!

-SHE”S A FUCKING PRINCESS

-ababababa

-With LOVING PARENTS?!!!

-AND EVEN THE STAFF LOVE HER?!

-HOW

-WHY

-WHEN

-WHAT

-WHERE

-WHO

-ABABABABABA

-Yeah Kaos I feel your broken brain. And it turns out that Tsubasa is also a…trained pianist…? Except she’s doing rough. …Tsubasa what’s going on here? And that’s when Ruki races in at FULL FORCE. She got here so intensely that she left tire streaks on the stone walkway from her bike.

-And she’s here to cover for Tsubasa. Which at least means this is Tsubasa’s actual family and she’s not pulling some identity theft. She’s just lying about where she’s going to school and what she’s doing there and she’s forced Ruki to help in the lie. Also Tsubasa has no good photos…But Ruki photoshopped some! YES!

-Oh god why did we let Ruki do the photoshopping

-Also it turns out that Tsubasa is operating under an agreement with her mother to keep her grades up to the tip top and if she was just drawing manga all the time, she’d get dragged back here into the abyss. …Oh. Oh dear. Tsubasa is panicking so bad she turns into a Konosuba character and screenshot found. Click. Her mother is like a great demon lord.

-So it all comes out in Tsubasa’s room, how Tsubasa owes her entire life so far to Ruki and her help was enough to smuggle Tsubasa out of this place and into the dorm but under tons of conditions…RUKI YOU SAVED HER and now she’s all clingy and Kaos please dial in the thirst this is serious.

-Episode 10: It’s Not Fair That Michiru Gets All The Love

-New Year’s day! Tsubasa is in full proper dress and behavior and Kaos doesn’t know what to do. All the proper behavior is coming back out and Kaos is very confused. It’s like the Tsubasa she knows is slipping away! (More that she’s carefully boxed that Tsubasa up and hidden it in the crawlspace.) And Kaos has to draw the true Tsubasa back out of the crawlspace! FOCUS, woman, the fans need their Dark Hero! Also if you don’t draw your manga she’s gonna send this picture of you sleeping cutely to Koyume. NEVERRRRR DELETE DELETE DELETE

-To the girls all getting together at a shrine, with Koyume wishing she could have seen the photo, and Tsubasa being able to loosen up a little here. She’s still all very proper because it’s a New Year’s shrine, but she is able to at least dress like a proper prince instead of a pretty little princess. So with prayers done, it’s time for fortunes…Where Kaos gets literally the worst luck possible. And then her whole day goes wrong at the shrine.

-By the time they’re wrapping up, she’s feeling dead inside, as they decide to fight all this with a good luck charm! Now breathe, breathe! Back to the dorm, where…Is that smoke? OH GOD IS THE DORM ON FIRE?!

-No, Ririka just set up a little campfire out back to do some traditionally roasted sweet potatoes. She does it every year. It’s also the time to do a big cleaning session and gather up all the sketches and storyboards that aren’t worth keeping. Tsubasa is very hesitant to ever give up her sketches to the flames. Ruki, to contrast, shreds her shit the instant her publisher has a copy tied only to her pen name. You never know what could happen. She could get hit by a bus tomorrow, and she needs to be damn sure nobody ever realizes she was drawing porn! Ruki that’s a bit much.

-But then Tsubasa points out that the records of her sending those manuscripts in are going to last forever and a day in corporate vaults. You will never be free!

-And Koyume is willing to burn it all in trade for the sweet potatoes. Also Suzu is here to be spooky. As per usual. And damn, there’s some heavy stuff in those rejects…When Kaos sees a page she can’t bear to burn! You all stay here and save your valuable prizes! She’s going to gather up all of her rejects.

-She…has a lot. And as she starts to pour things in, the girls are looking over what’s still to go in. Oh god this sucks. But they’re also seeing quite a lot of potential in a lot of these. There’s meat here worth coming back to.

-But finally, the sweet potatoes are done! And they’re delicious. And for just a moment, everyone can relax, and put the troubles of the past and future aside…

-Credits!

So that whole Tsubasa part was bananas.

And I did not get nearly as much Rukaos as I was expecting. This is unfortunate. Perhaps we’ll get some next time, in episode ELEVEN of Comic Girls! Wait for it!

[byjillianmaria]

Annual Writing Self-Evaluation

I was tagged by @raiswanson :D Thank you!!

*All answers should be about works published in 2017

1.) List of works posted last year

Well, Kelli and I started posting our webcomic, Reversed Star. I also posted a short story and a mock article for that. I’ve also posted the first chapter of Songbird (even though I guess technically this version was posted in 2018, a version was posted in 2017)! That’s it, other than some misc. quotes and excerpts from various projects.

2.) What work are you most proud of and why?

I’m really proud of all of them, but I’m proud of myself for finishing the second draft of Songbird especially. It’s my first time completely rewriting a draft, and it’s easily my longest work at around 80k words. I learned a lot while writing it!!

3.) What work are you least proud of and why?

I can’t honestly say that I’m not proud of anything I’ve written so far!

4.) A favorite excerpt of your writing

There are a lot of bits of Songbird that I’m really, insanely proud of, but they’re all full of spoilers :(

5.) Share or describe a favorite comment you received

OH MAN. Basically any time someone tells me they’re looking forward to reading Songbird, or that they liked the first chapter, or that they find Elizabeth relatable, I shed actual real-life tears. Because I love this story so much, I’ve told myself countless versions of it and it’s gone through so much to get where it is now, and the idea that one day other people might be able to love it just as much makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

6.) A time when writing was really, really, hard.

Writing is hard frequently. In particular I think the climax of Songbird is going to be what takes the most work.

7.) A scene or character you wrote that surprised you.

When I was writing the first draft of Songbird, it was basically following the plot of the fanfic it was based off of, with just a few things expanded on or subtracted due to being too fanwork-y. But then, a certain character did something totally unexpected. It completely changed the overall structure of the book, and made me realize a few themes that were hiding around the edges for me to bring out. A lot of draft 2 was spent taking that one scene and changing elements of the draft to match!

8.) How did you grow as a writer last year?

Well, I wrote a lot more than I think I’ve ever written. I’ve gotten more determined, more willing to follow through with projects until the end.

9.) How do you hope to grow as a writer this year?

This is going to be the year of reader feedback! I plan on getting Songbird to critique partners by the end of the month, then beta readers. And then — hopefully!!!! — I plan on looking into professional editors, cover artists, and similar things to go towards self-publishing! It’s something I’m already saving up money for, and I am nervous but excited.

10.) Who was your greatest positive influence last year?

Oh, man. Am I allowed to say the writeblr community as a whole? Because, really, I don’t know if I’d be where I am now in my projects without you guys. You have been so supportive, kind, and you’re talented and inspiring to boot! Go, you!

11.) Anything from your real life turn up in your writing last year?

Hmmm ... You know, I’m sure it has. But in such an abstract way that I’m not even sure I’d be able to tell you guys what it was. All of my characters and plots have little bits and pieces of me. It’s how I empathize with them.

12.) Any new wisdom you can share with other writers.

I used to work as a writing tutor, and I’d always tell my students the same thing, “My favorite thing about writing is that you don’t have to get it right the first time.” Write, and rewrite, and rewrite until the story matches what you see in your head. It’s a sort of magic that you can’t really do with any other subject, at least not as easily or as completely.

13.) Any new projects you’re excited to start this year?

WELL. I am very excited to send my manuscript off to critique partners and beta readers. I have started tinkering around a little with The Fair Folk, but I’m finding it hard to invest in it because it’s such a large project, one that requires my full attention, and I’m still sorta stuck in Songbird mode so I’m not able to give it my all just yet. But I’ve been tinkering with a lot of for-fun stories in the meantime!

I’m tagging ... you. If you read this, you’re tagged. Sorry, I don’t make the rules :D

[bookgeekconfessions]

How I Got My Agent! pt 3.

I am officially being repped by Quressa Robinson at NLA. I have a book agent!!! It’s thrilling and nerve-wracking and amazing and terrifying. 

I can’t share the actual query letter yet, but I can share how it all came about.  It’s a long insane story that is so crazy it will seem like fiction, but as this post proves…it’s not!

For Part 1 and Part 2! 

11. The Risky Maneuver. As I mentioned in 10, I had my reservations about the 4 agents who offered to rep me. They were all amazing and two loved the book for what it was and didn’t want to make huge changes. But there was still some nagging in the back of my mind.

My agent isn’t just for this book. She’s for my career and publishing is mostly white. Of the 100 agents on my list, only 3 were black women, 2 were Latinas, 2 were Asian ladies and there were no men of color to query. The idea that no person of color may touch my manuscript as it processes into a book is disconcerting. 

I told this to the agent while we had coffee and she suggested I query two specific agents of color. One I had already queried and the other was closed for submissions. This awesome lady said I should query the closed for submission agent because she will want this book. So I queried the closed agent and she said she wasn’t sure if she would have time, but to send it anyway.

That closed for submission agent? Quressa!!

This is why I said the story is insane. Not just because I had five agents offer for me, but also because I did the thing no one should ever do and somehow got away with it. It did help that I could tell Quressa I ignored that she was closed at a recommendation of an agent she knows. 

12. The Email That Changed Everything. I sent Quressa my manuscript on Friday afternoon. On Monday I got an email from Kristin at NLA. This email was the most flattering email I have ever received in my life. In it, she raved about my book and mentioned synchronicity. At the time that I queried, Quressa had not announced that she was leaving her old agency and joining NLA. So I queried both her and Kristin (you usually CANNOT query two agents at the same agency especially not simultaneously). They had both read my book over the weekend. Kristin loved my book but saw that Quressa was the perfect fit and emailed my book to Quressa not knowing that Quressa at that very moment was emailing her about...you guessed it, my book.

The thing about this email from Kristen was that while she wasn’t personally offering for me I could tell she loved my book. There is an incident in my book that is very similar to a blockbuster novel and many agents looked at my book like it could be their very own version of that book. It’s not. They are not the same. Kristin got it. She mentioned the same incident that all the agents raved about and got that it wasn’t about that.  She got my book in a way I began to worry maybe a non-black audience couldn’t.  I have always felt the story was universal and for everyone. Kristin confirmed that feeling. And she told me about Quressa’s reaction to it. Which was big and also flattering.

I walked out of my office, hid in the parking lot and cried for ten minutes. I mean I BALLED my eyes out. I sobbed. In gratitude. In relief. In happiness that two agents in my top ten wanted me and they worked TOGETHER.  I knew in that moment that barring our phone conversation sucking, I would sign with NLA. Then Quressa and I talked and it was cemented. 

13. Making the Call Though I felt very strongly about Quressa and NLA, I was terrified. Some of the other agencies were bigger, or one of the agents had been making huge sales every other week according to the publisher's marketplace. Quressa is a newer agent and wasn’t I going to turn down another agent for that very same reason? Was I picking her just because she was black? Was I picking her just because Kristin Nelson who has a bunch of clients I am a fan of, had her back?  Did I ask enough questions? 

I then sent the agents an email asking for editorial notes. I had to see who had the better vision for my work.

It ultimately came down to the agent who met me for coffee and suggested two agents of color and Quressa.  They both would have done an amazing job. They both had things I loved, the agent who met me in person had been selling books left and right and was amazing to talk to. She also backtracked when she said something kind of offensive and I realized she could probably get past her whiteness. Quressa used to be an editor and wanted to be an editorial agent, she understood my desire to write more sci-fi and fantasy with kids of color as the main characters and it wasn’t just Quressa -- the entire agency had read at least a section of my book and was all in. 

It was the knowledge that NLA as a whole had my back and that Quressa had the editorial background that was the deciding factor. I am long winded, I think every scene I write is equally important and my grammar is horrible. 

14. Tough Emails I had to reject the other four agents. That’s hard. These are women who liked my book. Loved my voice as a writer. Wanted to help me succeed and I had to tell them no. I understand that agents reject people all the time. I, on the other hand, have never rejected anyone who wanted to work with me to achieve my dream and build my career. 

I wrote short, polite and honest emails to every one of them. I personalized them. And gave an explanation. I did this because I know how it feels to get a form rejection that every other rejected writer is getting. I wanted to treat them as I want to be treated. 

15. Doubt.  The day after I sent my email I woke up in a deep sweat. I made what was arguably the biggest decision of my life in a matter of hours. I know that I did my investigations. I know that I asked questions. I know that I had reasons. BUT DID I MAKE A MISTAKE?

I didn’t. But I will always have soft spot for that awesome agent who loved my book enough to suggest agents who would make me feel better. I wish them all the best and hope they haven’t made voodoo dolls of my face. 

16. The Road Forward The journey is far from over. I have to go through this all over again when Quressa and NLA begin submitting the manuscript to editors.  That will probably be worst than querying agents. Then if an editor wants it --there will be negotiations and then the editor will edit my manuscript.  The only person whose opinion has ever me mattered before is mine and now I have to listen to my agent and my editor.  On one hand it’s a relief to no longer be alone and on the other hand, I have to teach myself to be a team player. 

Then I’ll have to wait months maybe years to be published and then bloggers like me will get to read it and write opinions in public about this thing that I have cried and died over. Then, it will be in the hands of readers like you. 

Then whether it’s a success or a failure. I have to reopen my Scrivener and go through the writing process all over again.

This is just the beginning. 

Side Note: Words of Advice about Querying.

1. Know what you’re looking for in an agent. It’s easy to focus on what they want and what they’re looking for. But do you need an editorial agent who will help you through the process of writing and rewriting your book? Are you going to only write in one genre? Does your agent rep every genre you can see yourself writing? When they critique your book do they GET it even as they see the flaws? Does the critique click with you or are you violently against it? Do they have any sales? Do they have experience with books like yours? Do you like their online presence? Do you see yourself clicking with their personality? 

Remember this person is going to work with and for you. You want them to be excited about YOU and YOUR work. Because they are going to sell your book to editors, not you. They have to be able to speak with confidence, excitement, and love. Or why would the editor give it a shot?

2. Rejection is part of life. My story is wild and rare but still riddled with more nos than yes.  I queried a book before this. It was three years ago and I didn’t get a single request for a full or a partial. I didn’t even get rejections from most of the agents.  A friend of mine has queried four times and hasn’t gotten an agent yet.

Remember that no matter how many people reject it or you, you only need one yes. Only one matters. 

For more about my journey: For Part 1 and Part 2! 

[princessalethea]

How Do I Self-Publish a Book? (A List, With Resources)

I’ve been asked about self-publishing a lot recently, so I decided it was high time to write up a big, long answer with lots of fabulous and helpful links!

If you are asking yourself “Should I self-publish my book?” — the answer is NO. Self-publishing is a ridiculously hard amount of work (on top of writing your novel in the first place, which was already a ton of work, am I right?). And right now there is a glut of indie-published books out there, which means that once you DO get through the hard work of writing and the harder work of editing and publishing, there’s the virtually-impossible job of actually getting your book actually SEEN and READ by people.

But if self-publishing is so terrible, why are you doing it? Because I’m the stubborn brat who did terribly in English class, but never stopped writing. I got a Chemistry degree and immediately went to work at a bookstore. I moved across state lines and made really bad life choices (I once started a publishing company to impress a boy) and went into debt several times, all for the sake of writing because it is my soul. I was orphaned by two major publishers and still refused to stop writing.

If you are a crazy person like me–and I know you are out there (MY PEOPLE!)–keep reading.

Everyone else: submit your manuscript to an agent or shove it back under the couch, and then go see a movie and be glad I saved you from the really bad decision you were about to make.

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Princess Alethea’s Self Publishing Basics

The Manuscript

When you have finished writing your novel (we’re going to talk about novels here, because picture books are ENTIRELY different horses), you need three different kinds of editors to look at it: a content editor, a copyeditor, and at least one proofreader.

The content editor’s job is to be sure your manuscript makes sense. Is the pacing right? Does it flow? Did you forget to describe a character? Did you leave a plot hole dangling? Did you write an adventure story when you meant to write a romance? (I’ve done this at least twice.) Did you realize you have an underlying theme of loss that you should really explore and carry out through the resolution?

The content editor will give you revision notes. Take a day to scream and cry about these notes, and then sit down and do the work to make your story better. (The content editor’s job is not to find typos, but she might mark a few.) When your revisions are completed satisfactorily, your manuscript goes to the copyeditor.

The copyeditor’s job is to go through the manuscript with a fine-tooth comb and catch all your typos and grammatical mistakes. They will sort out your hyphens and pry the commas from your cold, dead hands. They will catch inconsistencies or anachronisms. They will point out awkward sentences that should really be rephrased. They will catch that you used the word “small” five times in one paragraph. Once you have fixed all these silly mistakes, it’s time to send your manuscript to the proofreaders.

A proofreader’s job is to catch whatever tiny things the copyeditor didn’t see. In traditional publishing, this is the equivalent of the Advance Readers Copy. My ARCs go to my VIP Review Team and my Brute Squad. There are a couple of readers who I KNOW will catch things my eagle-eyed copyeditor missed, and I pay special attention to those comments.

In the course of my two-decades-plus in the publishing industry, I have professionally held all three of the above positions. I am here to tell you that YOU NEED ALL THREE OF THEM. If you are the writer, do not do these jobs yourself. And if you are a writer who CAN do any of these jobs yourself, I bow to you because you are a God.

As in traditional publishing, you should always start with the cleanest version of the manuscript you can. If you are distracting any of these editors with a messy manuscript, it’s possible that they will be concentrating so hard on easily fixable mistakes that they miss something they SHOULD be paying attention to. (And that is often how typos end up in final manuscripts)

My editorial team is made up of my best friend (who happens to be an English professor at a big university), a dear author friend, my fan club, and my mom. It took me a long time to put these folks together, and we are AMAZING. You will find your team. But don’t get discouraged if it takes you a while. And be open to looking in un-obvious places.

Casey has papers to grade, Kat has books to write, and Mom’s not currently offering her proofing services on a professional basis, so I’ve compiled this short list of friends & acquaintances for you to research. Please, DO YOUR RESEARCH. Some of these folks only do one kind of editing, or for specific genres. Each will charge different amounts. Feel free to tell them I sent you, and BE KIND–these are friends of mine!

Renee Murphy Shannon Page Chris Kridler Laura Anne Gilman Bryan Thomas Schmidt Spencer German Ellsworth Literally Addicted to Detail (Chelle Olson) Melissa Gilbert Lyn Worthen John Jarrold Ashley Davis Jenny Rae Rappaport Eschler Editing (Sabine Berlin) KH Koehler Michael Kabongo Laura Helseth Venessa Glunta

The Cover

Even after all these years and thousands of idioms, readers still judge a book by its cover. Your cover is INCREDIBLY important. I spend a LOT of money on the cover art for my novels, and it it 100% worth it.

My cover artist is another amazing author (Rachel Marks) who is no longer taking new clients (because she also has books to write!). Luckily for you, there are a TON of new, great resources out there for covers–even places that provide pre-made covers!

(I do not have a list of resources for these yet.)

  The Layout

I am a Mac user, so I have been blessed with the fabulous software that is Vellum. I have been known to tell PC indie authors that it is worth it to buy a Mac, just for the e-book software. And that was BEFORE it could do print layout!

Vellum is magic for e-books. And I suspect I will be doing quite a few print layouts there too, in the future. But outside of that, my go-to for print layout will always be Polgarus Studio. They have made all of my fairy tale books look amazing, and even helped me when I was having massive amount of trouble with Diary of a Mad Scientist Garden Gnome. Their rates are reasonable, communication is excellent, and they provide layout within a week. LOVE THEM.

  Retailers

There are websites where you can upload your e-book and they will get it out to all the various retailers…but really, it’s best if you do the Big Five on your own: Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iTunes, and Google Play. (Google Play is a bit problematic…do some research…but I’ve still got a few books there for now.)

You will need to set up accounts, link bank numbers, and fill out tax forms for each of these sites. It is not a short process. And every time you upload the book, you will need to input the metadata. Another not-short process–while all sites require a lot of the same information, every ine is different.

Do you need ISBNs from Bowker? That’s up to you. I bought a bunch way back when they were on sale, and I use them mostly for my print books through Ingram…but if you’re only using e-books and Createspace, you don’t need them.

I use both CreateSpace and Ingram for my print books. I did a lot of research before I made this decision. Did I need Ingram? Probably not–they are expensive, and a hassle–but I did want hardcover books. I hear that Nook is now doing hardcovers. I haven’t looked into that yet. But CreateSpace can get you into most of the sales channels you need.

Affiliate Programs

Make sure you are set up on all the Affiliate programs: Amazon, Kobo, and iTunes. I admit, the only one I’ve really seen money back from is Amazon…but you never know. All those nickles and dimes add up eventually. And remember to use these links! I know it’s a pain in the butt, but it’s a good habit to train yourself to get into. DO NOT EVER BUY ANYTHING OFF AMAZON without clicking on a link to a fellow author’s book first. Even if you don’t buy the book, they still get the kickback. IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE. You have no idea how much!

  Advertising

The book advertising climate changes every five minutes. It’s true that you have to spend money to make money, but FB ads and newsletter ads and free sites are so prevalent now, it’s tough to make a list of reliable ones. I will say that BookBub ads are still great if you can get them (don’t stop applying!) and Hidden Gems is fabulously reliable for getting ARC reviews!

Also: Be sure to “claim” your books on BookBub and add them to your Amazon Author Profile (make sure you are set up on Author Central) as soon as the buy or pre-order links go live!

Author Central will be indispensable to you as an indie author. Their customer service is bar-none.

  Audiobooks

If you’re just starting out with self-publishing, you shouldn’t worry about audiobooks just yet. That said, make sure you also “claim” all your books and short stories on ACX. ACX has a ton of great video tutorials…I highly recommend them. And be prepared to spend a lot of money on your narrator–you get what you pay for. My audiobook narrators have blown me away…and brought me some of the greatest joy. Their exceptional performances remind me why I do what I do!

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WHEW! Okay, I know that’s a LOT of material, but it really only scratches the surface. I just want to make sure I properly convey the scope of the GIANT HEADACHE you are about to have for the next two-five years.

And if you made it this far…I wish you all the best of luck in the world. Vaya con dios!

xox

Princess Alethea

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Follow Alethea Kontis on Patreon: http://ift.tt/1DT4Gha

The post How Do I Self-Publish a Book? (A List, With Resources) appeared first on AletheaKontis.com.

from How Do I Self-Publish a Book? (A List, With Resources)

[momkiddies-blog]

Latest Post On https://momandkids.fun/2019/03/14/what-a-working-mom-learned-about-success-after-23-publishers-rejected-her-book/

What a Working Mom Learned About Success After 23 Publishers Rejected Her Book

Recently, people have been asking about my journey to becoming an author. So, I thought I’d dedicate this post to sharing the rocky but exhilarating road I’ve traveled in order to see a book with my name on the cover, distributed all across the country on March 19, 2019.

It took five years (feels more like a lifetime) to strong-arm this crazy dream into reality. However, even in the midst of literary agents ignoring me, publishers rejecting my work and blank pages making me shake in my sleep, I found myself irrationally energized to keep going.

Each time I was defeated, I put that disappointment into a blender and transformed it into motivation. It’s a skill set I developed and honed over time—not because I’m superhuman, but because I don’t like to lose.

It hurts my fragile ego.

Also, because throughout this process, I believed in my soul that I had a message to share with mothers that would help turn their self-doubt into strength; I would stop at nothing to get this much-needed relief out in the world. Not to shine a spotlight on myself, but to transfer healing to mothers everywhere.

So, here we go. Five defining moments on this monumental journey.

1. Convincing myself I could do it

From 2011 to 2013, I flirted with the idea of writing a book. I was already running The Mom Complex and regularly conducting research with mothers, but I wasn’t sure I could do it. It sounded hard, I didn’t see myself as a writer, and I didn’t think I was smart enough to do it. I can barely spell, for God’s sake.

However, the tides turned in May 2013, after I made the decision to leave my advertising career, become an entrepreneur and take The Mom Complex out on my own. The belief that I could be a business owner—something I also had no idea how to do—bolstered my confidence to figure out how to write a book.

Five years ago, on a Tuesday afternoon while on board a flight from Richmond to Atlanta, I typed out the cover page and turned my fear and hesitation into momentum. I only squeezed out three pages of writing, but that didn’t matter. I finally believed I could do it.

2. Getting over rejection

It took me over a year to craft a book proposal that combined my research on the self-defeating tendencies of mothers with my personal experience of feeling less-than-good-enough for the majority of my life. The pressure was on because nonfiction titles sell to publishers on 50+ page proposals, not the full manuscript. The proposal is everything.

It was hard but exciting work. What was even harder, however, was landing a literary agent —a necessity for selling a book proposal to a major publisher. After getting rejected, dismissed or ignored by every agent I reached out to, I eventually landed a literary agent in L.A. who was the friend of a friend.

His endorsement was a sign that someone in the industry also thought I could write a book—it was no longer my own blind ambition leading the charge.

We were off to the races, and by “races,” I mean the race to lots of rejection. My agent shopped the proposal around to 12 publishers and every single one said no. Determined more than ever before, I spent the next six months absorbing feedback, reworking the proposal and sending the improved version to 11 new publishers. They all said no too.

That’s right. I was rejected by 23 publishers.

Without direct access to the publishers (to wow them in person), I had to allow the words in my proposal to stand on their own, and I was growing concerned that my words weren’t good enough. That I wasn’t good enough.

I’m not going to lie and say I pulled myself out of this pity party alone because I didn’t. I relied on the strength of my team at work who knew the power of this platform, the depths of my disappointment and how to cheer me up. Just look at this encouraging message they left in my NYC hotel room after a handful of rejections showed up on the same day.

3. Starting over

I took six months off from writing, kept working my day job at The Mom Complex and chose to believe that the stars would align at the right time to help me find a different path to getting a new proposal back to the same publishers.

Eventually, I got the break I needed when my friend Kate introduced me to Kristin—a badass mom editor and author in NYC who helped me land an A-list agent—YES!

But this new path quickly became filled with doubt and fear when during our first meeting, my new agent suggested that my first book should just be an anthology: a collection of essays from other mothers. In other words, I was advised to use the words of other women instead of my own.

Holy shit.

I immediately started sweating. Not sure of what to do next, I excused myself to the bathroom, splashed water on my face (and under my arms), took five deep breaths and returned to his office and stood my ground.

I had a powerful message to share, much of it personal to my own experience, and I was confident I could turn around a one-page proposal outline that would prove to him I was worthy of writing my own book.

That last part was a lie. Right after the meeting, I boarded a train back to Richmond and cried the entire way home. Terrified that I couldn’t deliver on my promise, I called friends for reinforcement. Earl, my former boss, reminded me that I’d overcome greater challenges in the past, and Lauren, my business partner, pointed out the positive response I’d recently received about my blog. She also reminded me to put on my sunglasses when crying in public. #goodpoint

4. The theme that changed everything

With Kristina’s help, I put together the one-page outline I’d promised and held my breath as my agent reviewed it. “Please, God, no anthology,” I begged.

My prayers were answered when he not only loved the themes in the new outline, but matched and raised them by suggesting the dragon-slaying theme that changed everything.

It was his idea to personify the self-doubt living inside millions of mothers as a fire-breathing dragon that inhales in everything we do wrong and nothing we do right and blows it back in our faces. Wow.

And this, my friends, is when the tears really rained down. I boarded a plane shortly after getting his text about slaying dragons and cried like I’ve never cried before, at 50,000 feet, all the way across the country.

During the flight, I drafted the invitation below that now appears in the front of the book.

Everything made sense. It was time to take my struggles from quiet and embarrassing to brave and bold. I knew how to write the book, who I would dedicate it to and how heroic it would make women feel.

5. Sealing the deal

My new agent shopped the new dragon-slaying proposal around and landed multiple offers for it—putting me in the unbelievably blessed position to choose the publisher I wanted to work with.

To everyone’s surprise, I went with the publisher who offered less money but more vision, love and support for my platform. I left money on the table in favor of girl-power and chemistry.

As many of you know, money is not a motivating force in my life. I want to do good work with good people and then I want to go home and see my family. I’ve never believed that bigger is better. I’ve never believed that more money is better. This book deal is no different.

So, there you have it, the five defining moments of my book deal. The actual writing of the book is another story for another day.

What I have to say is powerful, I know this to be true. I hear it from women all the time. But this message would never have had the opportunity to change the world if it stayed in a word document on my computer.

For now, I’ll express my undying gratitude to all the team members, milestones and hard work that helped turn this crazy dream and into reality.

Thank you from the bottom of my hard-working heart.

Katherine Wintsch is the CEO of The Mom Complex, a consulting company based in in Richmond, VA, and the author of Slay Like a Mother: How to Destroy What’s Holding You Back So You Can Live the Life You Want.

[shadowlineswriting]

Lewis, Part 2

Remember that guy, C.S. Lewis, who wrote The Chronicles of Narnia? Well he wrote a bunch of other stuff, too!

The cool thing about Lewis is that he was a fiction writer and a scholar. His intellect can’t help but ooze over into his stories, but he does have a lot of interesting essays and exploratory works as well. He didn’t become a Christian until he was an adult, so much of his writing was done as he worked through his thoughts about religion and Jesus and Christianity overall.

I used to have a lot more of his essays but Lewis was a hardcore Anglican and I’m not, so I don’t agree with everything he says. Ergo, we are only going to discuss five more Lewis works here, and only two of them are nonfiction.

The two nonfiction books I own by C.S. Lewis are Mere Christianity and The Business of Heaven. Mere Christianity is a very popular book. In fact, Christianity Today voted it the best book of the twentieth century. The book discusses “Christianity” and what that really means, because so many religions claim to be branches of Christianity and yet we don’t always worship the same gods. He discusses the reasons Christians disagree with one another over doctrine and ultimately says that it has to do with the Laws of Right and Wrong, or the Law of Nature. In fact, the arguments have very little to do with the specifics of religion and a whole lot to do with morality.

He’s not wrong, in my opinion. I know I struggle with people who claim to be Christians and then say they are part of the Mormon church, or they are Catholic, or Jehovah’s Witnesses. Because for me, Christianity disagrees with some of the fundamental dogma of those other religions, and I have a hard time understanding why members of those religions can’t see it. Mere Christianity is the kind of book I should read about every other month or so because it helps everything make sense.

That’s just me, though.

When I was researching The Business of Heaven I found almost no information, which was confusing until I opened the cover. Turns out this is a one-year devotional that borrows a daily reading from Lewis’s works (and there are a bunch to draw from!). HOW COOL IS THAT. I can’t tell you how I feel about the book until December 31st, obviously, but I’ll get back to you on that. I’m keeping both of these books.

The other three fiction books I have of Lewis’s are The Pilgrim’s Regress, The Dark Tower and Other Stories, and The Screwtape Letters. I have a lot to say about all of these so I’ll try not to ramble, but...well, if the past is any indication, you should probably go get a snack or something.

The Pilgrim’s Regress--To be completely honest, I thought this book was just another version of The Pilgrim’s Progress and that’s why I bought it initially. That is not the case. While Lewis does borrow Bunyan’s style and general plot points (namely, the idea of a man going on a literal journey to find God), this work is actually allegorical for Lewis’s own journey. It’s not that this is a BAD book...but unless you want to debate philosophical thought processes page after page, it IS a boring book. It received terrible reviews, to the point where Lewis actually wrote an explanatory preface in later editions. The best part about this book is that it quotes my favorite Tolkien poem a few times. So I’m glad I read it, but it’s definitely out.

The Dark Tower and Other Stories--Published posthumously, this is a collection of short stories and partial manuscripts found in Lewis’s collection after his death. The stories are fun. He wrote a science fiction piece about Medusa living on the moon. He discussed a blind man who gained his sight but couldn’t understand what light was (because really, how WOULD you explain light to someone who’d never seen it?). “The Shoddy Lands” may be one of my favorite pieces ever because it’s incredibly thought-provoking. And I found “The Dark Tower” to be frankly kind of messed up, but also frustrating because they only recovered part of the manuscript. We’ll never know how it ends. This is a great collection of very diverse stories, though, so it stays!

The Screwtape Letters--Imagine me rubbing my hands together gleefully and you’ll get a sense of how much I love this book. It is, literally, a collection of letters. Each one is addressed to “My dear Wormwood” and signed by “Your affectionate uncle, Screwtape.” At first it just seems like Screwtape is sending his nephew advice on how to be a terrible person, but it doesn’t take long before you realize that Screwtape is actually a senior demon instructing a younger demon how to keep his human “patient” an unbeliever instead of a Christian. 

It is disturbing.

I’m not a huge fan about books on demons (although we do have another one in the Ls coming up!), but when they’re done with chilling accuracy, I do love them. This is such a one. Screwtape is a slimy but brilliant demon who seems to find a loophole for any Christian motive. When his nephew’s patient starts to wonder about God, Screwtape tells Wormwood to distract him. “They find it all but impossible to believe in the unfamiliar while the familiar is before their eyes,” he writes. And it’s so true. “Do remember that you are there to fuddle him.”

I wish all atheists would read this book.

There are too many reasons I love this book to explain them all to you, but if you’re a Christian, the next time you’re frustrated or upset you should take a reeeeaaaalllly good look at where that’s coming from. This book STAYS.

A little food for thought from Screwtape:

“We want him to be in the maximum uncertainty, so that his mind will be filled with contradictory pictures of the future, every one of which arouses hope or fear. There is nothing like suspense and anxiety for barricading a human’s mind against (God). He wants men to be concerned with what they do; our business is to keep them thinking about what will happen to them.”

“I know we have won many a soul through pleasure. All the same, it is His invention, not ours. He made the pleasures: all our research so far has not enabled us to produce one.”

“It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one — the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”

“The best of all is to let him read no science but to give him a grand general idea that he knows it all.”

[abrutledge]

The Incredible True Story of How Ben Stiller and a Ukulele Changed My Life

I guess I will begin this blog by telling you about my journey to publishing so far, which begins with a ukulele. Or, no. Depending on how far back you want to go, my path to getting a book deal actually begins with me taking major life advice from a Ben Stiller movie.

It was January 1st, 2014. Somehow the husband (who will hereafter be referred to as Sensitive Man because, trust me, he is) and I managed to both have the day off from work. And it was a holiday, at that! We decided to head out of town to do some shopping and catch a movie. On the drive, I checked my phone to see what was playing. Not much, but there was a movie based on a short story I'd read and sort of liked in high school: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. So we saw that.

I loved it. I wasn't expecting to love it. I thought it'd be silly and pointless like a lot of Ben Stiller comedies, but it's kind of inspiring. It's about a daydreamer finding the courage to go after all the things he really wants. Most notably for me, though, was that a big chunk of the movie takes place in Iceland.

At that point in my life, I'd been daydreaming about my own trip to Iceland for about two years. I'd also been writing for about two years. They're connected, you see. The first novel--well, really the first anything--I'd ever written was a YA Fantasy that takes place in a fictionalized version of Iceland. So, there I was watching this movie about a very anxious man taking a big risk and going to this place that I knew I really wanted to go. I had traveled extensively within the United States as a child, but not so much as an adult. Actually, going out of the country sort of terrified me. Lots of things do. But I wanted to be like Walter and DO THE THING. So I decided right then in a movie theater on New Year's Day that I was going to Iceland.

And I did. Four months later I spent the week of my 30th birthday in Iceland. It was amazing. So amazing, in fact, that when I came home and friends would ask me about my trip, I couldn't quite find the words for it. I kept it to myself, for the time being anyway.

Fast forward another year. January 1st, 2015. Another New Year's Day and I was feeling less than inspired. I had been working on the same book for three years and I still didn't have it figured out. I'd crossed an ocean to try and find the missing pieces of this book and it was becoming a bigger mess each time I made a trip to the keyboard. That's it. I'm out, I thought. Writing is not for me. I'm kind of a serial craft-hopper, skipping from one creative hobby to the next. In the past I've been a photographer, a zinester, a knitter, an art journal instructor... the list goes on. So, even though I kind of liked writing, I felt so stuck that I decided the best thing for me would be to find a new creative outlet. So, I bought a ukulele.

My uke is super cute. It's pinkish purple. Or purple-ish pink? And the sound hole is heart shaped. When I pick it up I feel like a curvy girl version of Zooey Deschanel, complete with giant bangs and kitschy dresses (it's a running joke with Sensitive Man that I'm his manic pixie dream girl). Hooooowever, I couldn't play this instrument. Or any others. I suck at music things. Always have, always will. And it's not for lack of trying. I practiced my ukulele for an hour every day for two months and saw zero improvement. I wanted to learn how to play "Little Talks" but by the end of it, all I could do with my ukulele was scare off stray cats. 

I repeat, zero improvement. 

And, so, out of sheer creative desperation, I started writing again. A different book this time. The YA Fantasy Book of My Heart still exists, mostly finished but mostly flawed. The new book I started working on is about a lot of things that matter quite a bit to me, but mostly I think it's about finding the courage to keep going after something so horrible happens that it seems the calendar should have just stopped and you should have just crumbled to dust, but you didn't and so now what? It is also about a very anxious person taking their first trip out of the country--to Iceland. This was a very personal story that I wrote mostly at three in the morning when there was nothing for me to do but get up out of bed and let it out. 

It took me three months to write Miles Away from You. And at the end of it, I had this thing that I loved so much that I entered it into a pitch contest. First draft. Big no-no. Actually, an even bigger admission here is that I wasn't even done with MAFY when I entered the contest. I had a full draft, but it was only 45,000 words, which does not a novel make. Still, I thought, eh I can squeeze out 5,000 more words to at least make it novel length. When I was looking over the contest mentor list, I saw a picture of beautiful dark-haired girl in a cute dress, surrounded by a stack of books. Just looking at Alana Saltz's picture made me want to be her friend. I was sure she was destined to be my mentor. And even though I'm painfully shy, I decided to reach out to her on Twitter. Over the next few weeks we talked about our shared love of Francesca Lia Block, and about ukuleles--I'd learned she played the uke from her blog. And then the big day came. Out of around 2,000 people, I was one of twenty chosen by a Pitch to Publication mentor. Alana loved my novel and wanted to work with me! I laughed out loud when in her email she said one of the reasons she'd chosen me was because of our little ukulele talks on Twitter. I knew I picked up that darn thing for a reason!

Alana and I scrubbed and polished my manuscript, adding another ten thousand words and tidying up my ramblings. I had to learn to use tracking changes and how to properly format a manuscript for the first time. Then, the scariest thing ever--presenting my novel to a panel of agents. In the first few days, I didn't get any bites. Alana and I were bummed. She promised to help me compile a list of other agents to send it out to. I quietly wondered to myself if I'd ever get up the courage to actually do that. This contest had taken up so much of my mental energy and suddenly we'd tanked. Then, finally, I got a request. And then another! With shaky hands, I sent my full to the agents. The first sent me a really encouraging rejection. She loved the novel, but not enough to take it on. And the second, Moe Ferrara of BookEnds, wanted to do a phone call. Phone calls are good. Phone calls mean the agent probably wants to represent you. I should have been happy. Except that phone calls are my worst enemy.

I'm shy. Not the normal, cute kind of shy. I have the kind of life-ruining social anxiety that makes it impossible for me to do normal things like make doctor appointments, use a drive-thru, or ace a job interview. If I'm nervous, my brain and my mouth disconnect completely. I can't say the things I want to say, and I can't stop myself from saying stupid things, either. I told Moe via email that she could call me, but that I'm shy. I hadn't quite learned yet to explain my shyness further. The bad news was that I was about to go to Chicago for a music festival and didn't have time for a phone call before I left. So I had to leave out for my trip and spend a whole week trying not to think about this life-changing phone call that had to happen when I got back. Anyway, when I returned we did the stupid phone call and it went as horribly as I'd imagined. I would tell you about it, but please don't make me relive it. Okay, so, after that Moe agreed not to call me anymore, because, yes, it was that bad. We had a few more emails where we asked each other questions, then she offered to represent me! I was slightly apprehensive because she's a new agent, but I knew I'd regret turning down a definite yes to just go on the hunt. Even if I did gather up the courage to query different agents, there would be more phone calls! Besides, I liked Moe and I could tell she really understood my book. So, I said yes. Via email, of course.

Here is where I point out that this is a unicorn story. I think I'm the only writer in history to ever have gotten an agent without sending a single query letter. And I did it on my second draft. I was so superstitious about these facts for a long time that I told nobody. It still blows my mind.

Moe and I did more scrubbing and polishing. She writes really kick-ass, hilarious editorial notes, btw, full of obscure pop culture references and song lyrics. She's my kinda lady. When all that was said and done, we sent my book baby out on submission to publishers. Sub is a special kind of hell, and I figured mine would be particularly bad considering how I'd probably used all my good karma grabbing an agent on the first try. And it did suck. A lot. Sub was seven months of checking my email every 2.5 minutes, trying to decode the vague, non-sensical rejections I kept getting (this one says the plot is convoluted, another says my story isn't complex enough...) and lots and lots of ice cream. We were on our third round with the rejection count well into the double digits and I was making plans on what to do next if this book didn't sell when...the phone rang. I was in the break room at work (long term retail job because hey have I mentioned I suck at job interviews) listening to This American Life with my headphones in when the story stopped and my phone was buzzing in my hand. I looked down at the screen and the caller ID said MOE FERRERA. I thought, is this it? And it was! Moe was calling to tell me that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt had made an offer on my book. I was speechless. Moe apologized for calling, but she wanted to hear my reaction. I think she was sad I didn't scream. She kept saying, "It's okay. You can freak out," but I didn't because I was in the break room and people would stare. And then she said, "Oh my God you will not believe this. I'm looking out my hotel room window and there is a FUCKING RAINBOW." MAFY is filled with all kinds of queer kid goodness (and many, many f-bombs) so suddenly this was the most perfect moment in the world. I wanted to look out the window for a rainbow, but there weren't any windows in my sad retail job break room, so I made Moe send me a photo of hers.

So, that's the story of how I took major life advice from a Ben Stiller movie, sucked ass at the ukulele, and some how ended up finding the rainbow at the end. Miles Away from You will be in bookstores everywhere Spring 2018.

[oliverphisher]

Chrissie Krebs

Chrissie Krebs is an Australian Author Illustrator of children’s picture books. Her first book ’This Is A Circle' was published by Penguin Random House in 2016 and was followed up by a cheeky Christmas story ‘There is Something Weird In Santa’s Beard’. 

Chrissie had the wonderful opportunity to work with Michael Gerard Bauer on his hilarious story about a nutty rabbit - 'Rodney loses it' was released in 2017 by Omnibus Scholastic. Two more picture books are scheduled for release in 2018 by omnibus scholastic. Chrissie still cannot believe that she is getting paid to draw pictures all day.

She is currently living her inner four year old’s dream.

What are one to three books that have greatly influenced your life?

If I had to narrow it down, I would have to say that Dr Seuss - The Cat In The Hat would be the most influential book in terms of inspiring my career in writing and illustrating for children. I adore the clever and chaotic storyline that is coupled with Suess’ impressive and expressive illustrations. I remember studying the pictures very closely as a child.

The Harry Potter Books are also another deeply influential series. I was a lot older when I read them, but it certainly opened me up to another world full of opportunities and magic. Also JK Rowlings backstory - from struggling single mum to world renown author is truly inspirational.

What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months (or in recent memory)?

I was using a very old version of Adobe Photoshop (CS5.1) up until recently when it stopped working when I updated my iMac. I was devastated, this program was my livelihood, it was how I illustrated. I was dead against Adobe’s new business model of charging users $70 a month for their creative cloud suite so I began to search for another program.

I found, after much research, a program called Art Studio Pro. It cost me AU$32.00 and it works just as well as Adobe Photoshop and I don’t have to pay an exorbitant fee to Adobe every month. It has been a life saver.

How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?

The road to publication for me has been a long one. It took me fourteen years from dreaming about being a children’s book writer and illustrator to actually receiving a contract. I now have five books out in the wild. After so many years of trying, I entered a competition where I was dead certain that I would at least be shortlisted. I even gave myself an ultimatum - If I wasn’t going to get shortlisted in this competition I was going to throw away this crazy dream of becoming a children’s book creator. I would take it as a sign that this dream was just not meant to be. When the shortlist was announced - I discovered that I wasn’t on the list. I was devastated, but I had made the ultimatum. So I decided to let go of that dream and concentrate on other things in my life. It was only 6 days later I got an email out of the blue from a commissioning editor from Penguin Random House enquiring about a manuscript I submitted to their slush pile. That manuscript became my first picture book. Sometimes we hold on too tightly to a particular way that your dream should be realised that you become blind to other opportunities. That was me, I had to learn to let go for the flow to occur.

Are there any quotes you think of often or live your life by?

Although not connected to children’s books, I have on a piece of paper on my studio board:

‘He who angers you controls you’

Sometimes it’s hard to move past a wrong deed or an injustice, but continually focussing on it is completely debilitating. I have felt this way before and it has drained me of all motivation and creativity. I don’t want to give anyone that isn’t worth my time that much of my energy anymore.

What is one of the best investment in a writing resource you’ve ever made?

Being a part of a writing community is so important when you are working in isolation (as most writers do) so becoming members of writing organisations is really important. I am a member of the Australian Writers Guild, SCBWI and the Australian Society of Authors. Not only do these organisations help you to stay in the loop of what is going on in the writers market, they also offer advice on contracts, competitions and opportunities to network with publishers through literary speed dating and pitch parties.

What is an unusual habit or an absurd thing that you love?

When I am nervous or I have to complete something challenging, I automatically (and without conscious thought) start humming the A Team theme song.

In the last five years, what new belief, behaviour, or habit has most improved your life?

Due to having a supportive husband, I have been able to work from home within the last five years. Working from home can be very isolating and there are many distractions - like housework and Youtube. I now break down everything into mini goals. I give myself a mini goal every day - a goal that is achievable. For example, I am currently working on writing a feature length animation, my aim is to complete at least five pages of the script every day. If I complete more - great! But I need to complete five pages before I allow myself to be distracted by other things. Beforehand I was putting too much pressure on completing everything now instead of realising that it is a marathon, not a 100 meter sprint. I would get overwhelmed and would give up too quickly, now I am feeling better about my progress.

What advice would you give to a smart, driven aspiring author? What advice should they ignore?

My advice would be - Keep practising. Keep entering competitions, attend networking events where you can spend time with publishers and other industry professionals. A big piece of advice regarding writing would be - When you finish your manuscript, keep it in a draw for at least six months (twelve would be better) then take it out and reread and edit it. I find that many people want to send off a manuscript to a publisher as soon as they finish it but in most cases it isn’t ready. Sometimes leaving it for a while and then going over it with a fresh set of eyes can be the best thing for your work. Sometimes you will see glaring errors that you didn’t see before because you were too close to the story.

What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession often?

Not so much a bad recommendation, but it is never a good idea to be too pushy. Book publishers and Agents really dislike forceful interactions. If they like your story - they will contact you. Don’t push yourself or your story on them, it isn’t a good look and they will remember you as that pushy person that should be avoided.

In the last five years, what have you become better at saying no to (distractions, invitations, etc.)?

Unfortunately, I am not good at saying no to people. But if a pushy person has contacted me under the guise that they are a fan but they want me to show their manuscript to my publisher (Yes, I get people like that, unfortunately) I have a basic template that I send out to them with generic advice on how to get your manuscript looked at. I never show my publisher other people’s work for them.

What marketing tactics should authors avoid?

Over saturating social media with your book is never a good idea. I don’t want to inflict that type of bombardment onto my friends and family anyway it also creates fatigue with your work. Your author pages on social media platforms like instagram and facebook should be interesting but not annoying and constant.

What new realizations and/or approaches have helped you achieve your goals?

Being an illustrator as well as an author, I realised that I need to expand my skills into other areas. This has included working on a humorous greeting card line as well as merchandise for a gift company. This keeps my ‘brand’ in the public eye still and gives me another source of revenue. Also being able to visit schools to talk about writing and illustrating and conducting workshops help me stay relevant in the children’s book world.

When you feel overwhelmed or have lost your focus temporarily, what do you do?

I take a break. As hard and as simple as that sounds, walking away from a project that just isn’t working is sometimes the best thing to do. I sometimes start work on a completely different project or I will start doodling in my sketchbook and create something completely different to give my brain a rest.

Any other tips?

Don’t give up. Don’t think your goal will come in the exact way you envisage, always be on the lookout for opportunities because they can come in ways you never thought possible. And don’t fall for vanity publishing! Research your potential publisher before agreeing to anything.

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