So, the last time I touched my book was in October, about 8 months ago. In November, I got verbal (and email) confirmation that St. Martin’s Press did, in fact, want to buy my book (woohoo!). I didn’t actually sign a contract until January. The wheels on this publishing bus go ’round and ’round, but — Read More
Read Harder Challenge 2015: Complete
Remember when I told you about the Book Riot Read Harder challenge? Thanks to a number of lazy weekends, I’m done! You can see the 24 books I read below. Overall, I’m really glad I did this. I read a lot of books I wouldn’t normally read, and there were just a few I absolutely did not like — Read More
On persistence
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking recently about how we only get about 10% of any one person’s story. We see only the parts they are willing to share–the happy parts, mostly. We shield others from our heartaches. If we do share, we share a small sliver. For example: On Facebook, which I consider an exaggerated — Read More
A simple way to help little-known writers
You should see my list of books to buy. It has hundreds of titles on it. I am always, always, always on the search for new writers to fall in love with. Sometimes, I just read a blurb about a new book and I put it on my list until my next binge buy. I love — Read More
Publishing Journey: Self-promotion (AKA @#%^!)
When I first envisioned a life as a writer, the Internet was not invented yet. So, I assumed promotion and marketing would be limited to a glamorous book tour. Oh, little did I know… These days, with Facebook and Twitter and Tumblr (I’m still not sure what that is, though I have an account) and — Read More
Publishing Journey: The Author Website
Back in the day, before the Internet, all a writer had to worry about was–brace yourself–WRITING. These days, it’s not that way. Writing should always be priority but, if you get a book deal, you will see that a big chunk of your time can (and probably should) be spent on marketing and–ugh–self-promotion. I don’t think writers — Read More
Best book covers of 2014
As I said in my last post, one of the most common questions I get asked in regards to my book deal is, “Do you get to design the cover?” This is a hilarious inquiry considering my artistic skill. At this point, the book cover is still a mystery to me. I’m assuming the publishing — Read More
Publishing Journey: Going Hollywood
These are the 2 most common questions I’ve been asked by people in regards to my upcoming book: 1. Do you get to design the cover? 2. Will it be a movie? As for #1, I sincerely hope I don’t design the cover because I can barely draw a stick figure. Furthermore, I have no — Read More
Read Harder Challenge 2015
What better way to motivate me (and you?) to read more than a CHALLENGE? I love being able to measure progress according to rules. Type A Nerd alert. Here’s the challenge that Book Riot posed on the eve of 2015. Click the image to learn more about it and get recommendations for each category. Important: — Read More
Publishing Journey: Impatience
There is one word NOBODY will ever use to describe me: Patient. I don’t even aspire to be more patient because it seems like striving for something impossible, like wishing I was shorter (which I do, occasionally, because I’m 5’11” and gangly as all hell). My brain moves really, really fast, and my expectations move at that — Read More