Diversity in YA, which celebrates diversity in YA books, is giving away 9 upcoming young adult books! These upcoming books look fantastic and I'm so excited about the direction that YA books continue to take. There are three different genres of books in the giveaway: thriller/science fiction, realistic fiction, and nonfiction.
You can check out Diversity YA's twitter page here and enter the giveaway here! The contest ends September 19th.
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
IN THE REARVIEW Came Out Today...and There's a Giveaway!
Today's the day! Maria Ann Green's new book, In the Rearview is finally for sale on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I wish I could convey to you how excited I am about this. I had the pleasure of reading it in one of its earlier stages and I was blown away with Ms. Green's language and imagery. If you're interested in learning about the real-life struggles associated with cutting, then this book is for you!
What's especially cool about this release is that there's a GIVEAWAY PACKAGE! And it's not your typical run-of-the-mill giveaway. Maria Ann Green is giving you the opportunity to be named as a character in her next book if you buy In the Rearview by August 26th! Here are the details.
What's especially cool about this release is that there's a GIVEAWAY PACKAGE! And it's not your typical run-of-the-mill giveaway. Maria Ann Green is giving you the opportunity to be named as a character in her next book if you buy In the Rearview by August 26th! Here are the details.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
LILA'S CHOICE Relaunch!
Join me in my excitement about the relaunch of Laura Brown's book, Lila's Choice! There's a fancy new cover, which I love, and (just as exciting) the ebook will be on sale this week for 99¢! Head on over to Amazon or Barnes and Noble to get your copy! OR, if you're willing to take a chance, check out the rafflecopter on the Giveaway tab of Laura Brown's Facebook page for the chance to win a free copy and other cool prizes; the giveaway will run through August 18th.
And now, the beautiful cover:
And now, the beautiful cover:
Never let your friends get involved in your personal life.
Lila and Nate learn this the hard way. They are the
star-crossed lovers of Glendale High. For three years the students have waited
for the two to get together. They begged Nate to put his past relationship
behind him, and cringed when Lila started dating Bryce. Just your typical
teenage romance, except they’re the teachers.
Lila, a guidance counselor with a sweet demeanor, has an
answer for every problem, every problem but her own. A visit from childhood
friend Bryce thrusts her calm world into turmoil, as emotions buried deep
inside are dragged to the surface. He soon realizes what only a friend can
notice and a lover regret, that Lila, unbeknownst to herself, is in love with
Nate.
Nate has seen better days. He is a history teacher stuck
living in the past. Depression has kept his love for Lila unspoken, his ego
frail after being cheated on.
Now Lila and Nate’s coworkers must unleash a scheme and
uncover Lila’s true feelings. In a school this nosey what better way to get
fast results than to involve the student population? The students are all too
eager to get involved.
If everything goes as planned Lila will have to choose
between two men. If her friends fail they might destroy these three and ruin
their friendship. No wonder the scheme is called Project Torture.
Bio:
Laura Brown lives
in Massachusetts with her quirky abnormal family. Laura and her three cats are
“differently abled.” Laura is hard of hearing, her oldest cat is deaf and
partially blind, and the other two cats have cerebellar hyplasia (they shake,
and they don’t find it endearing). The “normal” members of her family include
her husband, who has put up with her since high school, and her young son who
enjoys “typing” on Mommy’s laptop and has agreed to take full blame for all
spelling errors.
Monday, August 4, 2014
Cover Reveal for IN THE REARVIEW
Good morning all! Today I'm excited to post the cover for the upcoming novel In the Rearview by Maria Ann Green. I had the pleasure of reading this work at one of its earlier stages and I am unbelievably thrilled that it will be published by Astraea Press on August 19th.
So check out the info below and join me in my enthusiasm!
So check out the info below and join me in my enthusiasm!
Title: In the Rearview
Author: Maria Ann Green
Genre: YA Contemporary
Release date: August 19th
Meagan's problems aren't
like every other adolescent's no matter how much she wishes they could be. Hers
are worse. They've pulled her down into the depths of a depression that is anything
but normal. She begins her pattern of self-harm as her depression threatens to
drown her. She starts with one cut that leads to the next, and the next. After
starting, it's apparent that there's no stopping, and Meagan spirals into a
dark and cruel world she doesn't understand. Meagan cuts to feel better, but
that comfort doesn't last long enough, and soon life is worse than it ever was
before.
While learning to quit
cutting Meagan faces life-altering obstacles and grows up in the process. IN
THE REARVIEW is a story of pain, loss, confusion, and hope told through
Meagan’s poems, journal entries, and a splash of narrative.
*Maria
Green currently lives in Minnesota, despite its bitter winters, with
her husband. She graduated with a degree in Psychology and a minor in
English. When she isn’t writing, Maria loves to read with a cup of
strong coffee or a glass of sweet wine, craft, and spend time with her
family. This is her first published novel. Check out her website (www.mariaanngreen.com and blog (www.mariaanngreen.com/blog)! And here's a photo of the lovely Miss Green herself:
And DON'T FORGET: A Giveaway Package for In the Rearview will
be announced on August 15th with instructions on how to be entered (and
what you could win)!
Saturday, August 2, 2014
I've Emerged!
Five months ago I hid myself in the dark writing cave that authors often find themselves in. I had an idea for a new manuscript and I ran with it, determined to keep going until I was finished and could emerge from the cave.
And I did it. I now have a shiny new manuscript waiting to be picked apart by my beta readers and critique partners. It's an NA LGBT contemporary set in Appalachia, and I'm confident that it's my best manuscript yet!
As always, my husband is my first reader. After writing and editing I passed it off to him and awaited the onslaught of super picky yet constructive commentary. His feedback has been invaluable so far, but he still has a ways to go on the critiquing journey. I'm grateful that even though he's found many flaws, he has also remarked that his job is difficult because of my improved writing. I hope future critiquers see it that way as well!
It was a relief to finish my first and second drafts, but the work hasn't stopped. I'm incorporating edits, working on my query letter (yikes!), reading other peoples' manuscripts, and (God help me) working through the ideas of a NEW manuscript (anyone up for a historical fiction?).
There's still some time before I'll be ready to start querying this manuscript. The prospect of starting the query process all over again is both exhilarating and frightening. I'm simultaneously eager to get my new work out there and terrified that the daunting task will be waste of time.
Wish me luck!
**Over the next couple of weeks I'll post some exciting news about my friends' book releases! Giveaways to come!
And I did it. I now have a shiny new manuscript waiting to be picked apart by my beta readers and critique partners. It's an NA LGBT contemporary set in Appalachia, and I'm confident that it's my best manuscript yet!
As always, my husband is my first reader. After writing and editing I passed it off to him and awaited the onslaught of super picky yet constructive commentary. His feedback has been invaluable so far, but he still has a ways to go on the critiquing journey. I'm grateful that even though he's found many flaws, he has also remarked that his job is difficult because of my improved writing. I hope future critiquers see it that way as well!
It was a relief to finish my first and second drafts, but the work hasn't stopped. I'm incorporating edits, working on my query letter (yikes!), reading other peoples' manuscripts, and (God help me) working through the ideas of a NEW manuscript (anyone up for a historical fiction?).
There's still some time before I'll be ready to start querying this manuscript. The prospect of starting the query process all over again is both exhilarating and frightening. I'm simultaneously eager to get my new work out there and terrified that the daunting task will be waste of time.
Wish me luck!
**Over the next couple of weeks I'll post some exciting news about my friends' book releases! Giveaways to come!
Friday, February 14, 2014
Lessons from Feedback
Like other authors who are relatively new to this game, I've spent a lot of time trying to get feedback on my manuscript. In addition to passing my manuscript to my oh-so-diligent beta readers (who I'm very grateful for!), I've entered Twitter contests and blog critique workshops to get a feel for how others react to my work. As expected, I've had mixed reviews. Some people love it, some people hate it, and some people have been in that middle ground of "it's okay I guess."
I've learned some very important lessons from the feedback I've received. Here's a breakdown of those lessons. Note that anything in quotation marks is not actually a direct quote.
Your manuscript needs to fall on fresh eyes.
As the writer, you're too deeply involved in your manuscript. You need someone to step back and see the big picture for you. Find out how other people react to your story to learn whether your intentions come out in your writing. What works in your head will not necessarily work for other people.
Along the same lines, other people can point out when certain parts of the text jump out at them negatively. There's a spot in the beginning of my manuscript that I added recently but didn't feel quite right about. I couldn't figure out WHY it didn't feel right, so I let it stay. When a stranger read that passage on a blog, he or she picked out one sentence and said "This doesn't fit your character's voice. It's the most mature sentence Morgan has said so far." Ah-ha! That was the simple solution to the unrefined question that had been bothering me. When something doesn't feel right but you're not sure why, you might need someone's fresh eyes to give you gut reactions.
Sometimes you have to read between the lines.
I occasionally receive suggestions that make absolutely no sense at first. For instance, I was really excited to hear one of my beta readers' reactions about how the "hero" of my story swoops in to save the main character when it's least expected. His reaction was not what I had anticipated: "I don't understand why he's supposed to be a hero. He's actually just a d*ck that did something nice at the end."
When I asked my beta reader to be more specific, I discovered that he had accidentally mixed up two of the characters in his head! One character was a true d*ck with no redeemable qualities; the other was a confused, pained man in search of love who made mistakes but had the best intentions.
My gut reaction was to say, "You should have read the story more closely! It's not my fault you can't keep names straight!"
But here's the awful truth that I needed to recognize (and here's where the "reading between the lines" part comes in): There's a REASON the reader mixed up those characters. I didn't need to fix my reader's intelligence--I needed to fix my characters. I needed to make the characters more distinguishable not just in actions (which the already were) but in personalities. Though the readers were very different in my head, they did not come across that way on paper (or, er, type).
Sometimes the feedback you receive isn't straightforward; you might need to take feedback not at face value but as a start for figuring out deeper problems.
No one knows your manuscript like you do.
Someone who read my first 250 words said something like this: "You should remove this self-deprecating sentence because you don't want agents thinking your book is self-deprecating."
Well no. That line is about Morgan's lack of self-confidence. It's NOT a line that justifies weaknesses in the manuscript. But the person who read the excerpt didn't know the manuscript well enough to understand the full scope of the main character's personality.
When people critique your work, you must always remember that they don't know your story as well as you do. You've engineered this story and you understand it; as such, there are certain forms of feedback that you need to take with a grain of salt. Don't follow everyone's suggestions just for the sake of following them--it might end up causing more harm than good.
Not everyone has to like it.
Since you'd find my book on the YA LGBTQ shelf, it's a given that not everyone is going to like it. But even people who are into this genre don't have to like it either. There is no book in existence that everyone likes. I've learned that I only need to impress SOME people. If someone out there falls in love with my work, then it's possible an agent will too. I'm not here to please everyone; I'm here to get my message across.
There comes a point when you have to be done.
There's only so much feedback you can take. Really. You cannot obsess over what everyone thinks forever. There is a stage where feedback is needed and there's a stage where you need to let go and hope it sells. That's not to say that you shouldn't give your manuscript to someone who asks to read it. But I AM saying that there are only so many times when you need to actively seek criticism. If you let the feedback go on for longer than necessary, you'll find yourself running in circles trying to please everyone. Let go when you're ready.
I've learned some very important lessons from the feedback I've received. Here's a breakdown of those lessons. Note that anything in quotation marks is not actually a direct quote.
Your manuscript needs to fall on fresh eyes.
As the writer, you're too deeply involved in your manuscript. You need someone to step back and see the big picture for you. Find out how other people react to your story to learn whether your intentions come out in your writing. What works in your head will not necessarily work for other people.
Along the same lines, other people can point out when certain parts of the text jump out at them negatively. There's a spot in the beginning of my manuscript that I added recently but didn't feel quite right about. I couldn't figure out WHY it didn't feel right, so I let it stay. When a stranger read that passage on a blog, he or she picked out one sentence and said "This doesn't fit your character's voice. It's the most mature sentence Morgan has said so far." Ah-ha! That was the simple solution to the unrefined question that had been bothering me. When something doesn't feel right but you're not sure why, you might need someone's fresh eyes to give you gut reactions.
Sometimes you have to read between the lines.
I occasionally receive suggestions that make absolutely no sense at first. For instance, I was really excited to hear one of my beta readers' reactions about how the "hero" of my story swoops in to save the main character when it's least expected. His reaction was not what I had anticipated: "I don't understand why he's supposed to be a hero. He's actually just a d*ck that did something nice at the end."
When I asked my beta reader to be more specific, I discovered that he had accidentally mixed up two of the characters in his head! One character was a true d*ck with no redeemable qualities; the other was a confused, pained man in search of love who made mistakes but had the best intentions.
My gut reaction was to say, "You should have read the story more closely! It's not my fault you can't keep names straight!"
But here's the awful truth that I needed to recognize (and here's where the "reading between the lines" part comes in): There's a REASON the reader mixed up those characters. I didn't need to fix my reader's intelligence--I needed to fix my characters. I needed to make the characters more distinguishable not just in actions (which the already were) but in personalities. Though the readers were very different in my head, they did not come across that way on paper (or, er, type).
Sometimes the feedback you receive isn't straightforward; you might need to take feedback not at face value but as a start for figuring out deeper problems.
No one knows your manuscript like you do.
Someone who read my first 250 words said something like this: "You should remove this self-deprecating sentence because you don't want agents thinking your book is self-deprecating."
Well no. That line is about Morgan's lack of self-confidence. It's NOT a line that justifies weaknesses in the manuscript. But the person who read the excerpt didn't know the manuscript well enough to understand the full scope of the main character's personality.
When people critique your work, you must always remember that they don't know your story as well as you do. You've engineered this story and you understand it; as such, there are certain forms of feedback that you need to take with a grain of salt. Don't follow everyone's suggestions just for the sake of following them--it might end up causing more harm than good.
Not everyone has to like it.
Since you'd find my book on the YA LGBTQ shelf, it's a given that not everyone is going to like it. But even people who are into this genre don't have to like it either. There is no book in existence that everyone likes. I've learned that I only need to impress SOME people. If someone out there falls in love with my work, then it's possible an agent will too. I'm not here to please everyone; I'm here to get my message across.
There comes a point when you have to be done.
There's only so much feedback you can take. Really. You cannot obsess over what everyone thinks forever. There is a stage where feedback is needed and there's a stage where you need to let go and hope it sells. That's not to say that you shouldn't give your manuscript to someone who asks to read it. But I AM saying that there are only so many times when you need to actively seek criticism. If you let the feedback go on for longer than necessary, you'll find yourself running in circles trying to please everyone. Let go when you're ready.
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Here, Have a Teaser
“What are you thinking right
now?” I asked.
He responded, “...What do you
WANT me to say?"
I wanted Holden to say
whatever was on his mind, no matter how stupid it was, but unfortunately he
said exactly what I DIDN'T want him to say. Every time he speaks, all I hear is
a bunch of crap. For some stupid reason, I can't trust him.
“What do you want out of
this?” I asked. But he never answered the question.
“I know why guys want to get
with you, because ...you know...” he said, trying to change the subject. “...but
I'm not like that. No.”
We cuddled anyway.
We cuddled anyway.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Why Do People Write, Anyway?
Why do I write? That seems like a pretty straightforward question. And if you prefer, I could give you a straightforward answer: because I want to.
Instead, I'll offer a more detailed explanation. I heavily suspect that most of you can identify with these same reasons. Please pipe up if you'd like to add anything.
Because my life is made up of words.
I deal with words all day, every day. Yea, that's the risk you take when you're an editor--but I take it a step further. When I'm not dealing with words at work, I'm reading. I'm reading eeeeeverything, and I don't just mean the books I escape with during my lunch break. I'm referring to my emails and my Facebook page and the news articles I read while I'm sipping my morning coffee. I'm talking about Twitter and my friend's raw manuscript and the online chat session with my brother-in-law and even the captions that are always on when I'm watching a movie. Words are everywhere. I'm used to them. I'm comfortable with them. And because I'm comfortable with them, that's the medium I use to express myself.
Because it's therapy.
A lot of shit has happened in my life; I'm sure most people can say the same. And when I'm stressed about outside forces I can't control, I resort to writing. Sometimes I write about my own life as a way to come to terms with feelings I can't understand and memories that can't be suppressed. Sometimes I write about imaginary lives as a way to envision a world I'd like to call my own. My soul comes out to play when I write. My method is cheaper than a shrink, no?
Because my mind won't stop letting me think.
This is similar to therapy in that it's a method of release. But this release is more of a necessity than a therapy session. My life is stressful (D'uh. Whose isn't?). Work and family and friends all jumble together to form one giant ball of stress. My natural reaction is to constantly think about it. My mind continues to churn long after I tell it to stop; this is especially the case when I'm trying to sleep. I write as a way to release all of that interaction in my brain. There are two types of this writing. The first is when the stress overwhelms me and I need to write as a way to stop thinking about work, family, friends, etc. The second is when the thoughts morph into actual sparks and concepts for new stories/themes and I need to write them down before I explode.
Because I want people to have what I didn't have.
When I was in high school, I really could have used some books that made me feel like I wasn't alone. I'm pretty sure there are a ton of teenagers out there today who feel the same way. If writing about abuse and sexual confusion will help just one person feel understood, then everything I've ever written will have meaning.
Because I enjoy it.
Do I have to explain this one? I know that writing isn't everyone's cup of tea. But it's mine. Especially when I get to accompany it with a cup of tea.
Instead, I'll offer a more detailed explanation. I heavily suspect that most of you can identify with these same reasons. Please pipe up if you'd like to add anything.
Because my life is made up of words.
I deal with words all day, every day. Yea, that's the risk you take when you're an editor--but I take it a step further. When I'm not dealing with words at work, I'm reading. I'm reading eeeeeverything, and I don't just mean the books I escape with during my lunch break. I'm referring to my emails and my Facebook page and the news articles I read while I'm sipping my morning coffee. I'm talking about Twitter and my friend's raw manuscript and the online chat session with my brother-in-law and even the captions that are always on when I'm watching a movie. Words are everywhere. I'm used to them. I'm comfortable with them. And because I'm comfortable with them, that's the medium I use to express myself.
Because it's therapy.
A lot of shit has happened in my life; I'm sure most people can say the same. And when I'm stressed about outside forces I can't control, I resort to writing. Sometimes I write about my own life as a way to come to terms with feelings I can't understand and memories that can't be suppressed. Sometimes I write about imaginary lives as a way to envision a world I'd like to call my own. My soul comes out to play when I write. My method is cheaper than a shrink, no?
Because my mind won't stop letting me think.
This is similar to therapy in that it's a method of release. But this release is more of a necessity than a therapy session. My life is stressful (D'uh. Whose isn't?). Work and family and friends all jumble together to form one giant ball of stress. My natural reaction is to constantly think about it. My mind continues to churn long after I tell it to stop; this is especially the case when I'm trying to sleep. I write as a way to release all of that interaction in my brain. There are two types of this writing. The first is when the stress overwhelms me and I need to write as a way to stop thinking about work, family, friends, etc. The second is when the thoughts morph into actual sparks and concepts for new stories/themes and I need to write them down before I explode.
Because I want people to have what I didn't have.
When I was in high school, I really could have used some books that made me feel like I wasn't alone. I'm pretty sure there are a ton of teenagers out there today who feel the same way. If writing about abuse and sexual confusion will help just one person feel understood, then everything I've ever written will have meaning.
Because I enjoy it.
Do I have to explain this one? I know that writing isn't everyone's cup of tea. But it's mine. Especially when I get to accompany it with a cup of tea.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Okay, But How Do We REALLY Come Up with Ideas?
In my last entry I talked about how sparks can impact the little details of our writing. But those details aren't what make up a novel. Novels need substance. How do we creatively come up with substance?
Well you don't have to search hard for that--all you have to do is reflect.
Your mind is made up of a lifetime (however long or short thus far) of experiences that make you who you are. Your feelings, your opinions, your history of actions and conversations...these things influence what you write.
All you have to do is write what you know. We all have histories of pain, pleasure, love, and frustration. We all have political views, unmet desires, families that drive us crazy, lost loves, and mistakes we'd like to undo.
Pour that into your writing. Let us feel the grit and emotion. As you subconsciously (or perhaps consciously) apply your personal being to your novel, we will experience what you've experienced. Your novel is a part of you; it is a result of the way you see the world.
You don't have to get very creative to be yourself, do you?
Well you don't have to search hard for that--all you have to do is reflect.
Your mind is made up of a lifetime (however long or short thus far) of experiences that make you who you are. Your feelings, your opinions, your history of actions and conversations...these things influence what you write.
All you have to do is write what you know. We all have histories of pain, pleasure, love, and frustration. We all have political views, unmet desires, families that drive us crazy, lost loves, and mistakes we'd like to undo.
Pour that into your writing. Let us feel the grit and emotion. As you subconsciously (or perhaps consciously) apply your personal being to your novel, we will experience what you've experienced. Your novel is a part of you; it is a result of the way you see the world.
You don't have to get very creative to be yourself, do you?
Thursday, January 16, 2014
How Do We Come Up with Writing Ideas?
Have you ever wondered how people come up with ideas for what they write? Have you ever thought "I'm just not creative enough to come up with things like that"? Even though I'm a writer, I think that all the time.
But then there are those glorious moments when an idea just COMES to you.
Yesterday I was driving home from work (my commute lasts for about thirty minutes on a good day) when an entire plot for a new book just popped into my head. Something on the radio reminded me of college, which made me start thinking about when I was in college, which made me start thinking about the mistakes I've made, which led to a "What if..."
And bam, a plot was constructed.
When I got home I watched an episode of Modern Family. A five-second clip in a psychologist's office turned on the light bulb in my head--suddenly I had the setting I needed to make my story complete. An idea for a novel was born.
All you need are tiny sparks to get your writing juices flowing. Ideas for good books can come from anywhere--and I do mean anywhere!
My completed manuscript was also written with the help of these little sparks. A Maroon 5 song provided the ambiance of Morgan's sexual awakening. A episode of Glee pissed me off enough to make me insert a rant about misconceptions of bisexuality (which ended up being the cornerstone of Morgan's understanding of sexual identity). A character from the Brady Bunch was so pretentious that she secured the name of Morgan's simultaneously pleasant and bitchy friend. Dashboard Confessional music turned my protagonist into an emotional, whiny wreck.
Other factors that have played a role in my writing: the way people look, the way people smell, the way someone smiled, random words that caught my attention (from friends or media), the names of strangers I've come across, emotions felt while reading books, the decor of buildings, ads for cars...the list goes on and on.
Where did you get YOUR inspiration?
But then there are those glorious moments when an idea just COMES to you.
Yesterday I was driving home from work (my commute lasts for about thirty minutes on a good day) when an entire plot for a new book just popped into my head. Something on the radio reminded me of college, which made me start thinking about when I was in college, which made me start thinking about the mistakes I've made, which led to a "What if..."
And bam, a plot was constructed.
When I got home I watched an episode of Modern Family. A five-second clip in a psychologist's office turned on the light bulb in my head--suddenly I had the setting I needed to make my story complete. An idea for a novel was born.
All you need are tiny sparks to get your writing juices flowing. Ideas for good books can come from anywhere--and I do mean anywhere!
My completed manuscript was also written with the help of these little sparks. A Maroon 5 song provided the ambiance of Morgan's sexual awakening. A episode of Glee pissed me off enough to make me insert a rant about misconceptions of bisexuality (which ended up being the cornerstone of Morgan's understanding of sexual identity). A character from the Brady Bunch was so pretentious that she secured the name of Morgan's simultaneously pleasant and bitchy friend. Dashboard Confessional music turned my protagonist into an emotional, whiny wreck.
Other factors that have played a role in my writing: the way people look, the way people smell, the way someone smiled, random words that caught my attention (from friends or media), the names of strangers I've come across, emotions felt while reading books, the decor of buildings, ads for cars...the list goes on and on.
Where did you get YOUR inspiration?
Friday, January 10, 2014
That's Right, I'm an Editor
...Just not the kind you'd expect.
Don't get too excited. I'm not going to read your manuscript, and I'm definitely not going to publish it even if I do read it. Why? Because I edit non-fiction. And I don't mean the type of stuff that you find in the commercialized non-fiction section of your local bookstore. I'm referring to academic journals--those bone dry way-over-our-heads soft cover books full of specialized articles that professors write and college students are forced to read (but they'll probably just skim them).
Most people that love words don't like this industry. There isn't much money in it and no one really becomes famous from what's published (though sometimes authors become well-known within their own niche). There are usually more references than text and the topics are rarely interesting.
So why do I love what I do? Because my job is to find flaws. Literally.
I have an acute attention to detail that is oftentimes an obsession. This job is perfect for that. I spend my day sifting through raw manuscripts and finished articles in an attempt to find errors. Errors that the content editor or the copyeditor might have missed, such as incorrect grammar, continuity issues, and formatting problems. And before you ask--yes, there are always errors. Since everyone makes mistakes, I add that extra layer of quality control and protection. (That isn't to say that I don't make mistakes. Of course I do.)
How does this help me with fiction writing? Well the obsessive attention to detail obviously doesn't hurt. My unpublished NA novel--titled Love Is Fake, You Know for the time being--is formatted as a teenager's journal. Like a teenager's thoughts, it is at times erratic and indirect. It contains hundreds of dates and sporadic references to characters, events, and themes. Different topics weave in and out of the story, indicating the character's not-so-straightforward teenage thought processes. Writing this novel involved an incessant amount of cross-referencing to check for continuity. And, well, that's what I'm good at.
I'm a non-traditional fiction writer. My methods are in fact likely to scare away potential agents, publishers, and readers. But I am what I am and my story is what it is. While I'm obviously open to suggestions for making my novel better, I make no apologizes for its format.
(This blog post got a little off track, didn't it? I'll just pretend I'm channeling my teenage character. That sounds legitimate, right?)
Long story short--I'm an editor. What I do has nothing to do with the literary world. I love my job anyway!
Don't get too excited. I'm not going to read your manuscript, and I'm definitely not going to publish it even if I do read it. Why? Because I edit non-fiction. And I don't mean the type of stuff that you find in the commercialized non-fiction section of your local bookstore. I'm referring to academic journals--those bone dry way-over-our-heads soft cover books full of specialized articles that professors write and college students are forced to read (but they'll probably just skim them).
Most people that love words don't like this industry. There isn't much money in it and no one really becomes famous from what's published (though sometimes authors become well-known within their own niche). There are usually more references than text and the topics are rarely interesting.
So why do I love what I do? Because my job is to find flaws. Literally.
I have an acute attention to detail that is oftentimes an obsession. This job is perfect for that. I spend my day sifting through raw manuscripts and finished articles in an attempt to find errors. Errors that the content editor or the copyeditor might have missed, such as incorrect grammar, continuity issues, and formatting problems. And before you ask--yes, there are always errors. Since everyone makes mistakes, I add that extra layer of quality control and protection. (That isn't to say that I don't make mistakes. Of course I do.)
How does this help me with fiction writing? Well the obsessive attention to detail obviously doesn't hurt. My unpublished NA novel--titled Love Is Fake, You Know for the time being--is formatted as a teenager's journal. Like a teenager's thoughts, it is at times erratic and indirect. It contains hundreds of dates and sporadic references to characters, events, and themes. Different topics weave in and out of the story, indicating the character's not-so-straightforward teenage thought processes. Writing this novel involved an incessant amount of cross-referencing to check for continuity. And, well, that's what I'm good at.
I'm a non-traditional fiction writer. My methods are in fact likely to scare away potential agents, publishers, and readers. But I am what I am and my story is what it is. While I'm obviously open to suggestions for making my novel better, I make no apologizes for its format.
(This blog post got a little off track, didn't it? I'll just pretend I'm channeling my teenage character. That sounds legitimate, right?)
Long story short--I'm an editor. What I do has nothing to do with the literary world. I love my job anyway!
Sunday, January 5, 2014
The Power of Twitter
There's this crazy little website where users can post itty bitty lines about whatever's on their mind. It's called Twitter. Oh, you've heard of it? Then let me cut to the chase.
Though my publishing journey thus far has been short, Twitter has already helped me substantially. This weekend alone I chatted with agents about their interests, got some agent recommendations from strangers-turned-followers, had an author point me toward another author with interests similar to my own, and exchanged feedback about pitches with someone I just met.
This is a damn powerful website. This is how we connect today, folks. This is how we meet new people with interests similar to our own and discover interests we never knew we had.
I'm not going to lie--I'm not new to Twitter by any means. I run a fandom Twitter page with thousands of followers...but there's no need to embarrass myself here with what THAT's about...so I fully understand the positive effects that well-written and audience-specific tweets can bring. It's finally time to use what I know to my advantage.
In conclusion: I've switched topics on my personal twitter account from crazy people at work, cats, and my obsessive television viewing habits to writing, writing, and more writing (and, okay, I still talk about cats too). I'm hoping that this is the start of some positive trends in my life.
By the way--you can find me at @hdiangelis.
Though my publishing journey thus far has been short, Twitter has already helped me substantially. This weekend alone I chatted with agents about their interests, got some agent recommendations from strangers-turned-followers, had an author point me toward another author with interests similar to my own, and exchanged feedback about pitches with someone I just met.
This is a damn powerful website. This is how we connect today, folks. This is how we meet new people with interests similar to our own and discover interests we never knew we had.
I'm not going to lie--I'm not new to Twitter by any means. I run a fandom Twitter page with thousands of followers...but there's no need to embarrass myself here with what THAT's about...so I fully understand the positive effects that well-written and audience-specific tweets can bring. It's finally time to use what I know to my advantage.
In conclusion: I've switched topics on my personal twitter account from crazy people at work, cats, and my obsessive television viewing habits to writing, writing, and more writing (and, okay, I still talk about cats too). I'm hoping that this is the start of some positive trends in my life.
By the way--you can find me at @hdiangelis.
Feckless Agent Searching
A long weekend of agent searching did not bear as much fruit as I had hoped. The first agent that matched my interests was one I came across by chance, thus making me think that there were many potential agents in my field that I would have to narrow down. Categorized bookmark folders were prepared and the search began...and kept going...and kept going...until I had searched through hundreds of potential agents and had bookmarked only two and a half agent webpages. (That "half" agent fits my interests perfectly but is only interested in e-publishing; while that's not entirely out of my field of consideration, I'd prefer to start with agents who can help me publish both online AND in print.)
A friend of mine claims I'm being too picky with agents. That's possible, but...it seems as though all agents I decided to not contact really would not have been interested in my work. There's no point wasting my time and theirs.
So please, dear readers--If you know of any agents interested in New Adult LGBT manuscripts that contain explicitly dark themes (i.e., domestic violence and rape), I'd love if you could point me in their direction.
P.S. I came across an agent seeking NA LGBT submissions set during World War II, preferably with a time travel element. I got a good laugh out of that. I'd be interested (and impressed) to see if she ever gets a single submission.
A friend of mine claims I'm being too picky with agents. That's possible, but...it seems as though all agents I decided to not contact really would not have been interested in my work. There's no point wasting my time and theirs.
So please, dear readers--If you know of any agents interested in New Adult LGBT manuscripts that contain explicitly dark themes (i.e., domestic violence and rape), I'd love if you could point me in their direction.
P.S. I came across an agent seeking NA LGBT submissions set during World War II, preferably with a time travel element. I got a good laugh out of that. I'd be interested (and impressed) to see if she ever gets a single submission.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Less Is More
On January 8th I'll be participating in #PitMad, a twitter contest with literary agents trolling the hashtag (more details available here: http://www.brenda-drake.com/pitmad/).
The goal? Tweet your pitch in less than 140 characters and hope it catches an agent's attention.
Well this has been an interesting challenge for me this evening. The initial goal was to condense my entire novel into the seemingly tiny space of a full-page pitch (check). Then I adapted that pitch into a personalized query letter (check). Now I'm stripping down to the bare bones to present my entire novel idea (no pun intended) within the confines of a tweet.
Is it possible? Absolutely. Am I satisfied with my what I came up with? Undetermined.
How heartbreaking it is to pitch my novel without having the opportunity to shout to someone about all of the themes I've explored and nuances I've slipped in. About how the world will be changed and college-aged readers everywhere will instantly adopt it as a cult classic. (Too much? Sorry.)
But if my plot can't stand on less than 140 characters, I guess it can't stand at all.
*Fingers crossed!*
The goal? Tweet your pitch in less than 140 characters and hope it catches an agent's attention.
Well this has been an interesting challenge for me this evening. The initial goal was to condense my entire novel into the seemingly tiny space of a full-page pitch (check). Then I adapted that pitch into a personalized query letter (check). Now I'm stripping down to the bare bones to present my entire novel idea (no pun intended) within the confines of a tweet.
Is it possible? Absolutely. Am I satisfied with my what I came up with? Undetermined.
How heartbreaking it is to pitch my novel without having the opportunity to shout to someone about all of the themes I've explored and nuances I've slipped in. About how the world will be changed and college-aged readers everywhere will instantly adopt it as a cult classic. (Too much? Sorry.)
But if my plot can't stand on less than 140 characters, I guess it can't stand at all.
*Fingers crossed!*
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Meet Morgan
I wrote a book about a bisexual teenager who struggles with sexual identity but fails to understand that the struggle is taking place. Morgan is my pride and joy, my angsty protagonist journal-keeper who writes diligently about the brush of two hands yet glosses over life's real issues (such as prevalent sexual molestation and an abusive step-dad).
Sometimes the key to understanding a teenager's problems is more about what isn't said than is, no?
Sometimes the key to understanding a teenager's problems is more about what isn't said than is, no?
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