Signed the Contract

Today I signed the contract for JUICE AND THE HIGH SCHOOL GHOST.  It feels good to have a second book going into publication.  I feel validated that my writing has transcended the "hobby" phase of my life and entered the "possibly could be making my living for me someday" phase of my life.  I realize it won't happen overnight, but the ideas and outlines for future books are coming at me so fast, I can hardly write them down quickly enough.  I must be in my "blue" period.  Lol.

I am also only days, or possibly a couple weeks away from concluding the second book to SPELLBOUND.  I used to call it the sequel to SPELLBOUND, but more and more I can see where the story would continue to a third installment, using the developing characters and plot points from the second.  I'm not really an outliner, more of a pantser, which is the terminology for a seat-of-the-pants writer, someone who really lets her characters tell their own stories.  I have blogged before how sometimes I have felt that good writers tend to be a tad schizophrenic because their characters take over their own storylines and we, as the writers, seem only to be instruments through which the story comes out.

But as I get to the end of the second installment, the third has been shaping itself in my head, as if the characters are planting the seeds of development in my brain.  I find myself taking notes in my pad or tapping them in the tasks section of my blackberry.  I'm not entirely convinced there will be a third book yet, but they are relentlessly chipping away at my resolve.  I am out numbered and they are ganging up on me.  It is not a fair fight.  Check back and see if I cave in in the next month or so.

What a Difference a Day Makes

I started the day quite differently than it ended.  This morning, I was blow drying my hair when my hair dryer attacked.  The kids, who were eating cereal in the dining room actually called to me, asking "Mom, whats going on with the blow dryer?"  It made this cracking noise, then a guttural growl, then a snapping sound.  I threw it to the ground in terror, hoping not to rip out a large handful of my hair in the process.  A quick glance in the mirror told me my locks were intact.  But the dryer was a goner.  I ripped the plug out and hurled it across the vanity.  I never touched it again.  My 8 year old actually threw it in the trash outside.  I refused to handle the thing.

Later, I had a terrific job interview and the unemployment check finally arrived.  Two pretty good things, almost enough to cancel out the manic hair appliance.  But the best was surely yet to come.

I have blogged before about prepping another manuscript for submission.  This one is another YA paranormal romance with a ghost story twist.  The working title has always been The Girl, The Ghost and The Guys, but after polishing it up, I have retitled it JUICE AND THE HIGH SCHOOL GHOST.  I like this title because it identifies both the genre and the age group.  I submitted it to my new publisher and somewhat held my breath.  Then, the aforementioned great news....wait for it......they love it!

My publisher not only loves it, she said the same editor I was lucky to work with for SPELLBOUND really wants to work with me for this one.  And the best news of all?  It will be released tentatively in September!  The news is just sinking in and I am over the moon.   What this means to be is it not only validates that I am a good writer, it validates I am more than a one hit wonder.  I jokingly wrote on facebook that I now don't feel like a My Sharona!  (Get it?  The one song that made The Knack famous before they faded into obscurity).

I think the very most best thing about the news is that I am energized beyond comprehension and the ideas flowing through me are massive.  I can't write them down fast enough!  Thank goodness for Blackberrys and my fingers of lightning!  And also the fact that since not many people read this blog yet, being grammatically correct has never been a pressing issue!

So stay tuned, this blog will once again catalog a publishing journey, this one now for JUICE AND THE HIGH SCHOOL GHOST.  Buckle up babies, here we go again!

Kindle posters Can Be Mean

I have learned the hard way that even though I have felt much love on face book from many, many fellow authors, there are apparently, authors out there who are not happy to share the spotlight in any way with an up-and-comer.  I mistakenly posted on kindleboards over the weekend about SPELLBOUND, not knowing that only recently, like in the last month recently, has Amazon ended the practice of self-promotion on the kindleboards and lumped the authors into one heavily populated, dare I say, overcrowded discussion forum called Meet The Author.  Mere seconds after my post appeared in a general forum for paranormal readers, I was admonished, nicely at first, to repost in the Meet The Author forum.  I apologized in writing, and immediately reposted there. I had not done enough, it seems.

Several more posts appeared, even after it was clear I did report in the appropriate forum, accusing me of violation policy, breaking rules deliberately, intentionally not doing the right thing, and two self-righteous "whistle-blowers" even "reported" me, whatever that means.  I was even taunted to delete my original post.  Which I never even knew about, because right after I reposted in the appropriate forum, I stopped tracking the discussion.  A friend had to alert me about how I was getting skewered.

I went in today and deleted the post.  But I can't help but wonder....are the people who were so concerned about it really worried about me breaking the rules or something else.  Are their own books doing poorly in sales and they are worried about healthy competition?  Could they be other paranormal authors and I inadvertantly stepped on their toes?  Aren't there enough readers out there for all of us?  A message for them:  I could never imagine someone like Amanda Hocking begrudging me a sale or two because of an innocent posting.  They should rethink their strategy a bit.  What goes around comes around.  I just thought it sad.

Cool to see My Name in Well Known Places

This morning I am able to pull my name up not only on the Astraea Press website, but my cousin bought my book directly from her kindle, and my day care provider bought hers directly on her Barnes and Noble Nook Color.  I raced right home and looked myself up on both websites.  So amazingly cool!  I found myself by my name only, not even the book title.  That has to be the, it has to be said, bitchinist feeling in the world!  Nothing more to be said!

RELEASE DAY WAS AWESOME!

Today was the big day and it was completely awesome!  So many of my new friends and my family posted on facebook, offering me congratulations and telling me they bought the book of course.  I bought it too, for my computer and kindle.  The coolest thing was when I was able to pull myself up on Amazon.com and look myself up my my own name.  And my cousin said she bought the book by entering my nae right on her kindle....so cool!

I have no idea how many books sold or if it was many or few or what.  I don't know if there were any reviews yet or anything.  I know that the print version will only become available if the digital sales warrant it, so I am obviously hoping that happens.  I'll have to ask my author friends how to tell what your rankings are.  My friend Monique was able to tell hers, so I know there must be a way, I just don't know it.  I'll find out.  An inquisitive author will not be denied!

So, my Spellbound Release Party ended about three minutes ago and I am calling it a rousing success.  My author friends were all there to support me and I felt loved and happy all day long.  It's been an enlightening experience, this facebook thing.  I didn't want to do it, then I did, then I have been absolutely bowled over by the huge supportive community us writers really are.  We kind of rock, if you want to know the truth. :-)

Nothing much has changed for me since yesterday, except for one thing.  Yesterday, I couldn't say this: 

Hi.  My name is Samantha.  I write books and I'm a published author. (Cool!)

Tomorrow is The Big Day!

My book releases tomorrow.  I don't know if I'll feel any different or not, but it's pretty exciting to say that by this time tmrw I'll be a published author.  And I suppose the timeline is not that bad, either.  I started writing SPELLBOUND in February of 2010.  I finished in May.  I felt so proud of myself.  I had read somewhere once that Stephen King said he usually took about two months to write a novel himself, unless it was one of those magnus opuses he has been know to churn out.  I fancied myself part of "the club."  I snapped closed my manuscript and buried myself in the GLA, looking for the agent I would allow to represent me.  I woke up from the fantasy a few months after that.

Cut to forty-five rejections later.  No kidding.  Forty-five.  I edited and revised and sent out partials and fulls and learned to stop holding my breath.  I started getting really NICE rejection letters back, too.  Personalized with suggestions, but never with an offer of representation.  And I NEVER got any calls from the 212 area code.  *Sigh*

I got really good about faking that they didn't affect me.  Oh, another one.  No worries.  Whatever,  Move on.  Then the letter came from Astraea Press.  I actually didn't understand it at first, which is funny because Stephanie doesn't mince words.  It was hi, liked the story, want to publish it and oh yes, a contract is attached.  Check it out.  It was an amazing feeling.

So, tomorrow is the big day.  New friends on Facebook are excited for me.  And me, I'm still trying not to throw up.

Release is Around the Corner...I Might Throw Up

Today is Saturday.  I did the invite thing on Facebook for the release on Tuesday, which is a scant 4 days away.  I'm not kidding.  I might throw up.  Not even virtually, either.  Spectacularly, and all over the living room.  I realize this is only a virtual release and this does not bode well if there is ever a real, live one, as my husband helpfully (NOT!) keeps saying (can't he shut up already and take the kids for a drive or something?), but my stomach is quite flip-floppy.

I wonder if other authors have this same feeling in the days before their releases?  When I did the online invite thing, of course, I screwed it up.  First go through had it timed from 12am to 2am in the morning.  What?  I know, right?  So, I figured out how to change it and made it start at 7am.  Again, not thinking.  I have kids and that's a school day.  I am still ripping through the house and slinging Cheerios around at 7am, for God's sake....no way can I be on the computer at 7am.  What was I thinking?  Clearly, I wasn't.  So, final time range has it at 9am till 1130pm.  *Sigh*  Better.  And....breathe.  Good.

Today I also ordered the bookmarks.  Got some great advice from my new friends, fellow authors who turned me on to a great site called Next Day Flyers.com.  Got a great deal of 1000 for under $56.  I hope I am this enthusiastic when I pick them up.  Yeah, isn't it great?  They are located right here in LA, barely 20 minutes from my house.  Saved myself $14 bucks in shipping.

I noticed I have a couple new followers, too.  Neat!  I still have no idea what I am doing on Facebook, but I will admit I am meeting some super neat people, authors mostly.  I love that aspect of it.  So, join me, my new friends, won't you, for my nerve-wracking countdown till the launch.  Ready?  Here we go!

Official Release Date!

I have communicated with my publisher and understand that SPELLBOUND is now in the final line edits and is about to go to the proof reader.  The final release date is still slated to be next Tuesday, June 14th.  Even though this is a virtual release date, in that I am not physically appearing anywhere, and my invitations are going out on FaceBook, I must confess, I am actually begin to feel nervous!

All mt energies have gone into the writing, then the editing, now the preparation of the book.  As I prepare the virtual invitation list to go out, and several of the invites will go to reviewers, the realization comes to me that not only will people READ the book, they will also REVIEW it.  My fellow author, Monique O'Connor James' book, THE KEEPERS, has already received four reviews on Amazon (so, one of them was mine, whatever, move on) and I understand, maybe finally, that people will do that about my book.  So, the fear and a tiny bit on self-doubt creeps in.

It's the same doubt that I allowed to creep in when I received rejections from agents.  Even the ones who didn't send the boilerplate rejection letters and spent time sending me some specific, personalized letters that really gave me some unbelievable critiques.  I read on an agent's blog one time that when you begin to consistently receive personalized no thank you's, you know you are getting close to being accepted, that you can know you are a good writer.  Thing is, it doesn't lessen the sting of NO any more, though.

I'll never forget the feeling when I received the offer from Astraea Press.  I had to read the email more than twice because I was so used to reading the decline letter, I would just skim them and pick out the pertinent words.  Skim, skim, skim and there it is, thanks but not our kind, dear.

So, my wonderful new publisher, the savvy and supportive Stephanie Taylor, is releasing my debut novel, SPELLBOUND, Tuesday, June 14th, initially as an e-book and then on Amazon and Smashbooks as a paperback and hardcover.  And from a writer, an author is born.  Look for your invitation, it will be coming soon!

My Fellow Author is Kicking Butt!

A quick post to share a victory with whoever might read my blog.  My fellow author at Astraea Press, Monique O'Connor James is #22 on the Amazon rankings with Young Adults for The Keepers!  Woo-Hoo!  She just released today with her new book and she is already posting the most incredible numbers.

Congratulations Monique!  I can only hope I do as well a week from today.  You are a total rock star!

Good News and Bad News

So, the bad news is my book release has been delayed for a week.  SPELLBOUND will likely be released a week from today.  I am awaiting the final edits from the last round I did, then I still need to go through the line-by-line edits with the last editor.  Actually, I don't consider that truly bad news since it is my job as an author to get the manuscript in the best possible condition it can be in before I release it.  And I know my editors and publisher has the same goal in mind.

The good news is a fellow author DID release today.  Her fabulous new book THE KEEPERS is available TODAY on Kindle and Barnes and Noble Nook, but you should get it from our publisher's site, www.astraeapress.com.  Her name is Monique O'Connor James, and I am getting mine today.  You can also go to her website for more information about her:  www.moniqueoconnorjames.com.  Make sure you do it today!

And make sure you keep in touch with me for the release of SPELLBOUND in one week from today!

Edits!

Today I finished the second round of edits for Spellbound.  The first round, I wrote about in this blog, consisted mostly of grammatical changes.  This time around my editor called me out on three main things I was guilty of:

1. Frequent retelling of the same scene from the point of view of different characters which only served to stall the story. 
2. Needing to watch my telling v. showing issues
3. Tense shifts

I started making the corrections feeling overwhelmed by the infamous "red pencil".  There seemed to be so much of it.  It looked as though someone had bled on the pages (figuratively, of course.  I received my edit pages via email.  how else?)  The funny thing is, as I began and got involved in the process, I started to enjoy it.

The investigator in me (my day job) came out and I prowled my pages searching out the literary culprits.  Once found, I sliced and diced until what remained were sentences and phrases pleasing to the eye and the palate.  I read them, said them out loud to my kids, and read them again.  When they worked, they passed.  When they didn't, I slashed and burned them again.  Before I knew it, I had cauterized and reworked the first thirteen chapters.  So, I shipped them off to my editor and held my breath.  The email came back fast.

Good job!

Woo-hoo!  Invigorated, I attacked the manuscript again.  Whipped out my sword and hacked through chapters fourteen through twenty-two.  Ha!  I must have been sleeping when I wrote those.  Done!  Confidently attached those and flung them.  New email.  I was a pleasure to deal with.  What?  Wasn't this what I was supposed to do?  Maybe I was new at this, but I was sure this was part of the publishing procedure.  I felt it was my duty to keep my eye on the prize.  I guess I didn't know some writers didn't always feel the same way.  As far as I am concerned, we were all on the same page....getting me published.  Why would I throw any monkey wrench into that process?

So it is with great pleasure that I announce that today, a day ahead of my self-imposed schedule, I have completed the edits.  My editor is more than pleased and mentioned I will now move on to line edits.  Never heard of those, but you know what.  I am into this.  Bring it on!