If you weren't aware, I'm a NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) addict. I did it for the first time in 2007, and I've done and won every year including and since. The funny part is, I don't need to do it anymore. I write 50,000 words in a month on a fairly regular basis. (If you recall my crazy output last year, I wrote ~350,000 new words in 2011, not including revisions and edits.) But I'm still doing it this year.
You see, I love the energy of NaNo. Literally hundreds of thousands of people doing the same thing I am in the month of November. They're sitting their butts in their chairs and putting their hands on their keyboards and making magic. Some will be or become publishable magic--most of mine have (after much, much revision--never skip that step)--but that isn't even the point of NaNo. It's all about the words, and that has power in itself.
Writing is a solitary gig. We chat on twitter and some people have live writing groups they meet with every so often, but most of us do this shit mainly solo. But in November, that feeling of aloneness disappears and we become part of something bigger.
It's an awesome feeling.
Now, I know, NaNo is not for everyone. Some people can't turn off their internal editor (or if they leave her on, can't make the word count anyway), others hate the pressure and the deadline, still others have issues with the 50,000 word thing (because outside of small YA books and those for a younger audience, that isn't a whole novel, you know?). And all of that is fine. NaNo doesn't do anything for some people.
But if you're a writer or a wanna-be-writer, it's worth giving it a try at least once. See how much you can accomplish on that next bit of magic in thirty days. And if you hate it... it's only thirty days. Most workout plans expect you to try longer than that. At the very least, the month will get you in the habit of BICHOK (butt-in-chair-hands-on-keyboard) on a daily basis, which is a good thing for a writer.
As for me, the first words of Kiss of Life will hit my laptop in 48 hours. On the plus side, it's a world I already know, so I don't have to stress too much about prep-work. On the downside, I've been crazy-busy tying up other projects the past few weeks in preparation for NaNo, so I have nothing done on actual book prep-work. It should be a trip.
Either way, I get to see Remy again, and that just makes me happy.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
New Sale and Why It Matters So Much
I don't think I announced it here yet, but *toots my own horn* my short story "A Few of My Favorite Things" will be part of Evernight Publishing's holiday anthology this year. First off, I'm excited because I love the opportunity to visit with my naughty elves. Second, the theme of the antho this year is kink. WOOT! And thirdly, I really enjoy doing these anthologies as it's an opportunity to stretch a specific set of writing muscles I don't touch through the rest of the year.
Another reason it's important?
I've only had two releases this year.
Now, this doesn't seem like a big deal since I've sold other pieces, and 2013 is already shaping up to be nice an busy and prolific and all that. However, digital publishing isn't like publishing 5-10-20 years ago. Hell, it's not even like publishing now in NY where you can still build your career by starting with one release a year. In digital publishing, backlist and consistent releases are the name of the game. Pretty much, you produce or you die.
Anyone who knows me knows that I'm working all the damn time, but that doesn't mean that I'm selling all the time or that those sales will come out in an expected timeframe. A book I subbed in January didn't get picked up until May and isn't coming out until NEXT May. A book I subbed in March(?) got picked up in April, but it isn't coming out until NEXT March. Another I wrote didn't quite fit what the publisher wanted for the series, so I have an entire manuscript that goes with my series that is hanging out on my hard drive, waiting to be re-written. Another that the publisher wants me to make full-length (again, waiting).
So, I'm producing, but due to the fact that I'm currently working with four different publishers, my brain and writing haven't quite lined up with their timelines yet. Which meant that without this holiday antho, I had two releases this year... and they were back-to-back (less than four weeks apart). So, needless to say, I need to work with my publishers and get some timelines nailed down so I can avoid another year like that.
Good news is right now it's looking like I have March, May, and July releases next year (assuming everything gets done when it should be), which is pretty awesome. I'm really hoping to add a January one to that as well as a September (and possibly others). This makes me happy. Like bright and shiny happy.
I don't know if I'll ever be one of those authors who has ten to twelve releases every year, but I'd really like to consistently do at least half of that. Five to six sounds perfect. Hell, four works if they are spread out well. But no more years where I'm looking at my releases and saying "Oh shit. It's been X months since my last one and it's Y months until the next one." That means it's time for me to buckle down and make things happen.
Wish me luck.
And words. Words are always good.
Another reason it's important?
I've only had two releases this year.
Now, this doesn't seem like a big deal since I've sold other pieces, and 2013 is already shaping up to be nice an busy and prolific and all that. However, digital publishing isn't like publishing 5-10-20 years ago. Hell, it's not even like publishing now in NY where you can still build your career by starting with one release a year. In digital publishing, backlist and consistent releases are the name of the game. Pretty much, you produce or you die.
Anyone who knows me knows that I'm working all the damn time, but that doesn't mean that I'm selling all the time or that those sales will come out in an expected timeframe. A book I subbed in January didn't get picked up until May and isn't coming out until NEXT May. A book I subbed in March(?) got picked up in April, but it isn't coming out until NEXT March. Another I wrote didn't quite fit what the publisher wanted for the series, so I have an entire manuscript that goes with my series that is hanging out on my hard drive, waiting to be re-written. Another that the publisher wants me to make full-length (again, waiting).
So, I'm producing, but due to the fact that I'm currently working with four different publishers, my brain and writing haven't quite lined up with their timelines yet. Which meant that without this holiday antho, I had two releases this year... and they were back-to-back (less than four weeks apart). So, needless to say, I need to work with my publishers and get some timelines nailed down so I can avoid another year like that.
Good news is right now it's looking like I have March, May, and July releases next year (assuming everything gets done when it should be), which is pretty awesome. I'm really hoping to add a January one to that as well as a September (and possibly others). This makes me happy. Like bright and shiny happy.
I don't know if I'll ever be one of those authors who has ten to twelve releases every year, but I'd really like to consistently do at least half of that. Five to six sounds perfect. Hell, four works if they are spread out well. But no more years where I'm looking at my releases and saying "Oh shit. It's been X months since my last one and it's Y months until the next one." That means it's time for me to buckle down and make things happen.
Wish me luck.
And words. Words are always good.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Back to School...
I know, I know, the kids have been back for over a month now, but I went back yesterday. You see, a friend of mine ranted and raved about this "Fast Draft" writing class she took, and I've been waiting for it to come around again. It's here! And I'm terrified.
You see, we're supposed to write 20 pages a day, every day, for two weeks. That's roughly 5,000 words a day, people. I don't know when the last time I had a 5k day was, but it's been a while. Still, I'm on board with this thing since my writing has been slowing down a lot and I really don't have time for that sort of nonsense. Not when I've got people asking about the next books in my series and the new story I've teased about here and there. And certainly not with NaNoWriMo starting in two and a half weeks.
So, I'm buckling down and doing this thing, however it turns out.
Interesting factoid about me...
I was basically a straight A student through high school. (I really don't count my elementary school grades in handwriting, especially since girls and boys were graded differently.) Hell, I even had a couple straight A semesters in college. Which is a decent sign as to how I feel about failing--I don't like it. At all. Which means I'm going to be fairly scarce the next few weeks. But hey, by the time it's all said and done, that new story should be done and off to beta, and I should have another piece with a serious chunk out of it. Pretty much just don't expect to see me until I collapse in December. That's safest.
You see, we're supposed to write 20 pages a day, every day, for two weeks. That's roughly 5,000 words a day, people. I don't know when the last time I had a 5k day was, but it's been a while. Still, I'm on board with this thing since my writing has been slowing down a lot and I really don't have time for that sort of nonsense. Not when I've got people asking about the next books in my series and the new story I've teased about here and there. And certainly not with NaNoWriMo starting in two and a half weeks.
So, I'm buckling down and doing this thing, however it turns out.
Interesting factoid about me...
I was basically a straight A student through high school. (I really don't count my elementary school grades in handwriting, especially since girls and boys were graded differently.) Hell, I even had a couple straight A semesters in college. Which is a decent sign as to how I feel about failing--I don't like it. At all. Which means I'm going to be fairly scarce the next few weeks. But hey, by the time it's all said and done, that new story should be done and off to beta, and I should have another piece with a serious chunk out of it. Pretty much just don't expect to see me until I collapse in December. That's safest.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Evernight Publishing's Birthday Blog Hop!
Welcome to the Evernight Publishing birthday blog hop!
Evernight Publishing opened its doors two years ago. In those two years we’ve signed over one hundred and sixty authors and published over three hundred books. From paranormal to contemporary, we’ve had more best sellers than we can count and made thousands of people smile, sigh and gasp. So, as a thank you to all our readers and everyone who has supported us, we’re holding this blog hop and we have a whole lot of prizes to offer you.
Here's how it works... the more blogs you hop to (shown below) the more chance you have of winning prizes. Each author on the hop is offering a prize and Evernight is offering the following grand prizes, a Kindle, a $100 Amazon gift certificate, two Evernight swag bags (which includes a tote, a tee, vouchers, a mug and other coolness) and a personalized Facebook banner. To be in with a chance of winning the author prize simply follow the blog you're visiting and leave a comment which includes your email address. Each entry on each blog is then counted towards the grand prize draw. The more entries you have, the better your chance of winning a grand prize! You also get extra points for liking the Evernight Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/#!/
Good luck and happy hopping!
For my part, I'm giving away the winner's choice of either of my Cupid's Conquests books (GunShy or Love & Other Indoor Sports). If the winner already owns both of those books, we'll work something out ;-)
(ALSO, GunShy is still 99 cents on Amazon right now, so you might want to grab that one ASAP!)
(ALSO, GunShy is still 99 cents on Amazon right now, so you might want to grab that one ASAP!)
So, follow my blog and make a comment (with your email address, please), and I'll get you entered. Entering at each blog also gives you another entry for the grand prizes! So get hopping :)
Saturday, October 6, 2012
99 Cents! What?
As part of Evernight Publishing's birthday celebration, they have put a book from each of their lines on sale on Amazon for only 99 cents each! Get thee to Amazon and fill your Kindle!
Links for 99 cent books
Monday, October 1, 2012
Happy Birthday, Evernight!
Quick blog post this week. (But there will be another this weekend with a nice surprise in it!)
So, it's Evernight Publishing's second birthday today, and they're giving their readers all sorts of presents! Starting today is the Evernight Scavenger Hunt that starts at SmexyBooks and continues on from there. That runs until Friday, just five days, people.
And next week is the Evernight Birthday Blog Hop. There are a LOT of authors participating and each one is giving away something on their blog, and each entry puts you in for grand prizes including a Kindle among other awesome stuff. So make sure you stop back here and hit all the blogs on the tour so you can enter as many times as possible!
(Once all the birthday goodness has ended, I'll be talking about NaNo prep for a couple weeks and then probably only doing mini-blogs through the month of November. It's not that I don't write like a crazy person all the time, but... it's NaNoWriMo and that ups the crazy factor all on its own :P)
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