Damyanti Interview!!!

Hi, everyone!!!

 Two things: 1, I've contacted the winner of Glittering Ashes from The Book Rat giveaway. (Huge thanks to Misty for having me!) So hopefully I'll hear from her soon so that I can get the book to her :)

2: Today, I'm lucky enough to have Damyanti on my blog. I interviewed her some great writing questions, and she gave me some great answers! I know you guys will like it, and Damyanti said she'd be around to answer any questions you might have. So comment away! (Her answers are in purple :) )

1. When did you first get bit by the writing bug? Was there a particular work that inspired you to want to write?

For as long as I remember, I've always made up stories in my head. I never had the courage to write them down...I battled low self-esteem for the longest time in my life, and it took me decades before I could give myself permission to write. I started writing seriously about three years ago.

Every writer I've read till date has inspired me to write, it is just that I did not have the courage to work on that inspiration.

2. What made you choose to write short stories? (I know you mentioned doing it for a challenge last April, but I thought it'd be nice to explain it briefly for people unfamiliar with your book)

Again, I would say lack of courage. I was, and still am, afraid of the amount of time and sustained effort needed to write a novel. I'm convinced I don't have it in me, I'm not good enough. (I don't know if it is wise to admit that, but it is the truth.)

It has sometimes taken me an year to write a short story, so I've been terrified of attempting a novel. Other than that, I find that in short stories I can create an entire universe in a few thousand words, and get my point across: the moment of epiphany, or the ironies in our everyday existence, whatever. I'm now working on a novel (two, actually, but the other is dormant right now). But I'm still more comfortable writing short shorts, like in  A to Z stories of Life and Death, or longer short stories, some of which have found publication in print anthologies.

A to Z Stories was born during the A to Z Challenge created by Arlee Bird and supported by a few other awesome writer-bloggers. I wrote 26 short shorts in the 26 days of April 2011, and on the suggestion of a few of the regular readers, I decided to edit/ rewrite them into a book.

3. How do you get down the words? Pen and paper? Word? Specific writing programs?

I'm a big pen-and-paper fan. I start most first drafts that way, then move to Word on my Mac, then back to pen and paper to write through any knots. I'm thinking of getting Scrivener for my novel(s) because I have a feeling it would help me keep track of different things.

4. Do you try to write during a certain time of day? If so, what time? When do you feel the most inspired?

I write in the mornings---I call it my daily practice. But other than that I write pretty much any time of the day I can wrestle my monkey mind into submission long enough for me to write a scene, or a piece of flash fiction.

5. Do you have another project in the works? Is it a short story collection? A novel? What genre does it fit in?

I'm right now working on a literary short story collection for which I plan to seek traditional publication. My novel WIP is a sort of literary mystery thriller. Of course I keep writing pieces of flash fiction, here and there, hoping they will be part of the next A to Z e-book.

6. What is the best writing advice you've ever received?

It was given to me long ago, by my father. He said: write something everyday, even if it is a grocery list. I've never regretted following it.

7. How would you encourage a would-be writer who's scared to get started?

I would say what someone said to me:
1. A first draft does not need to be perfect.
2. You wouldn't know if you can be a writer if you don't write, so go ahead and give it a try.
3. You'll write crap in the beginning, but that's fine because the crap needs to clear out before the good stuff begins.

8. What has been the best part of deciding to self-publish?

Meeting other writers and book-lovers (like you, Kelley!), and becoming friends with them. This book has brought me more love and friendship than all my three years of blogging, and I feel blessed. 

Another aspect has been the learning curve...and considering I decided to e-publish in order to learn what it is all about, I can declare my experiment successful.

9. What has been the hardest part of deciding to self-publish?

The hardest part would have been the formatting. But it wasn't, because my tech-whiz husband stepped in and formatted the book well enough to get it on the Premium list on Smashwords at the first go, and also on Amazon without a hitch.

10. Are you planning to continue to self-publish in the future or try the traditional publishing route? Or both? And why?

I'll try both.

I've been traditionally published before, and see no reason not to try and get publication that way.

Self-publishing would always be e-books for me, because that is a great way to get to know more people, and get my work out there.

I don't understand the obsession writers have with getting published, first and foremost, regardless of their quality of writing.

To me, the most important thing is to keep writing, improve my craft,  and keep submitting for publication. A writer writes, and then hopes for publication: each rejection is a spur to write more and write better. After all, an established writer is no different from an unpublished one (at least in one aspect) : both aspire to write better and reach a bigger audience every day.

Just want to take a minute to thank you, Kelley. It means a lot that you stepped in to interview me, and spent so much time in drafting such detailed questions. I've tried to be as honest and helpful in my answers as I can. Thanks also to each and every reader of this post. If you have comments or questions, I'm here to answer them.
 

Her Bio:

Writer Bio: Damyanti lives more in her head than in this world, adores her husband, and loves her pet fish and plants. She is an established writer for magazines and journals. Her short fiction has been published in the Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, Muse India and in print anthologies by Marshall Cavendish, Monsoon Books, and MPH publications. Her book, A to Z Stories of Life and Death, is available for download Kindle Smashwords Nook and Diesel.

Her GORGEOUS cover :)

Where to find her:

Twitter: damyantig

Website: http://amloki.com

Blog: http://damyantiwrites.wordpress.com

 HUGE thanks to Damyanti for taking the time to stop by my blog! I really appreciate it! You guys should definitely check out her book, if only because I love her cover :)

Now, I feel like I haven't gotten a chance to talk to everyone in forever (because it's kind of true), so let me know below how you're doing and what you've been blogging about WHILE you say hi to Damyanti, that is. :)

Now to leave you with a song to write by, "Work Out" by J. Cole, because I get excited when this comes on the radio these days. Do you?

Happy reading and writing, and have an awesome possum weekend!!!

Giveaway on Book Rat

Hello, peoples!

This is going to be  short and sweet post because I'm just dropping in. (I'm taking care of a sickie in my house with the flu). I'll be back to commenting on Friday's comments and checking out everyone's blogs really soon :)

But, before I go, I want to tell y'all some awesome news. You all have a another chance to win Glittering Ashes !!! Misty at Book Rat (an awesome possum review blog) was nice enough to let me do a guest post on her blog today, and everyone who fills out a form on the post is entered in a chance to win my book. I'm excited, and you tooootally should be too lol. Tell all of your friends, neighbors, passers-by, bosses, family, acquaintances, and complete strangers all about it! (newspaper boy style, "Extra! Extra!" is what I recommend.) Ha.

So be sure to stop by, seeing Misty's awesome blog, and fill out the form to enter for a chance to win Glittering Ashes   here.

And I have to leave you with a song to write by, "Lighthouse" by The Hush Sound. <3, it's a creepy little lovely sounding story, no?

Happy reading and writing!!!
Oh, and don't forget, Glittering Ashes is available on Amazon in paperback now as well :)

Author Interview and Giveaway (YAY)

Today, instead of writing a post of incredible awesomeness, I'm directing you to a blog of incredible awesomeness, The Character Depot, which today has a interview with me and a giveaway of my book Glittering Ashes (the blog title link will take you there). (BIG Thanks to J.L. for having me!!)

I'm SUPER encouraging y'all to check it out and enter to win (all you need to do to enter is comment on my interview post, and the drawing will be done on Friday).

Tell all of your friends, family, and strangers you pass on the street, won't you? lol.

Thanks, everyone! Have an awesome writing day.

And because I can and want to, I'm still leaving you with a song to write by, "Impossible" by Shontelle because I <3 this song, and writing can sometimes seem impossible (to do, to be successful at), but it doesn't mean it ain't worth while, right? 

I've also joined this Writer's Platform-Building Campaign on the Rach Writes blog. It's basically a blogger meet and greet, and it seems pretty neat---okay, I'll stop now, but if you're interested, definitely check it out :)

Quick Update for Glittering Ashes!

Hey everyone! Thanks for all the well wishes I got from people about my new YA paranormal romance Glittering Ashes. I'm really excited to see what will come from it.

It's available on Smashwords here.

And now it's available from Amazon here!

Tell everyone you know (because I am). Thanks again for all the support, and I'll be back tomorrow to blog properly!!

Here's the cover and blurb again (in case you missed it):

At seventeen, Roe Daniels didn’t need to believe in fairy tales, she knew they didn’t exist. But when Roe moves to Gaudium Falls to be with her aunt, she finds the elusive friend, a love triangle turned square, and the magic that she would have bet six bucks never existed.

Within a new town Roe doesn’t trust enough to call home, she’ll find a place she knows is too good to get used to and too perfect to trust, and a boy also too close to that description to fall for. She’ll survive the contact with the world that feels so foreign to her and the boy who is big enough to shake that world and her life to its core, or she’ll watch everything she’s just beginning to know and to love burn to glittering ashes at her feet.

Me: Updated.

Today, I'm writing a good old-fashioned update about myself, book wise and t.v. wise.

I have finished the first third of my outline for my next book (WOOHOO). I'm digging it. It feels right.

I have finished everything I needed to do to get the self-publishing party started. I'm just waiting on one last thing beyond my control to push the final buttons. That does mean that I have a cover, but until the last thing happens, I'm going to be making other covers to see which one will actually be used. It's actually kind of fun.

I have watched the first four episodes of Pretty Little Liars, season 1, in case you were wondering.

I am all caught up on Hell's Kitchen and Master Chef.

AND, I am ecstatic to watch Platinum Hit tonight or tomorrow. Nick (not the best picture, but that's irrelevant). That's should be all I have to say. He's amazing. Seriously. Google that show and watch from the beginning--best decision you'll make today. Writers, I'm especially talking to you, but also referring to how all of humanity should be tuned in to this show.

P.S. I hate the Shark Tank comes on the same time as Platinum Hit. We'll see who wins since I have no DVR, and Platinum Hit is on demand. Who knows?

Now to leave you with a song to write by, "Animal" by Sky Ferreira. One of my favorite songs, and my favorite song by her, though I do <3 another one that I'm sure I'll mention later. So beautiful. 

Why YA?

Why do I love YA?

I know that when I started reading YA, I read it because it was about the age group older than me. From what I’ve seen, that’s normally the kind of reading people gravitate to—they want to read about the age group they’re about to head into (or at least, that was how it was for me.) I never was into middle grade literature. I wanted to read about angsty 16 year olds when I was 12-13. I wanted to see my future, and I felt no need to see what people my own age were doing—in books that is.

Now, my answer to this question obviously has changed. I’m older than a teen. I’m older than the average YA protagonist by 4-5 years, give or take 2-3. Technically, I should be reading New Adult and beyond to see what I should be looking forward to (or what I should be doing now). But I’m not (most of the time). I am YA, all the way. Ha.

I love YA now because:

I can read about a protagonist that doesn’t have to worry about bills, life, marriage (some books excluded). Life is open in front of these protagonists, and they can shape their lives with tragedy, misadventures, romance, magic, or whatever they feel like.

Yes, there are parents involved, but like it’s been discussed in other YA lit circles, the parents in YA today are often M.I.A. So that can be worked around…

Everything feels magical about that time of your life, even if yours was less than fantastic. You have your first kiss. First dance. First trip into the under magic world. You know, all of the biggies. Why not read about how others had their firsts? I eat that stuff up.

Because the protagonist doesn’t have bills, children, etc, they can have adventures. They can be as mature or as immature as the author wants them to be. Wherever they are on the maturity scale is believable.

Lastly, (and even though all of my points semi-overlap with each other), this point speaks to why certain people have been bashing YA—the sheer theatrics that authors can put that age group through. Horrible things can happen, and often do, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I think it’s an amazing thing. YA now can show teens any situation, literally. And nothing is sugarcoated. The genre runs the gamut from innocent/sheltered to buck wild crazy, with games to the death, mental disorders, kidnapping, and magic in between. Whatever a teen/person of a particular age wants to read, chances are, nowadays someone is writing it. OR they can write they’re own and publish it themselves (like moi, very VERY soon).

It’s an amazing time to read YA, and I will continue to spend too much money and fill my arms too full from the library YA section.

Psst, send any good YA recommendations my way please. Anything that kept you up reading, I want to hear about in the comments, or by email. :)

Now to leave you with a song to write by, “My Heart Is the Worst Kind of Weapon (acoustic)” by Fall Out Boy. Love it. 

Most Wanted Book Plots: I'd like lots of these, please.

Reader Request Sheet:

Today, I’m writing a list of books I want to see/read. It’s a wish list of sorts, and while I may be considering writing some of them in the future to satisfy my wordy desires, I would LOVE for you to fill them in with some books already in existence, thereby forever earning my eternal gratitude and thanks.

1. I want a 20 something paranormal romance. Yes, they are out there, but I want a “New Adult” one where I can say OMG and WOWZA and that could be me because so and so just graduated college and is awkward and is scared of being a real adult still…plus magic! Sounds amazing to me. (And here’s a post on “New Adult” that I found interesting by Kat Zhang at The Katacomb)

2. I want a “New Adult” straight up romance that isn’t overdone, has a MC that isn’t annoying and has a MMC (main male character) that doesn’t make me hate him with a fiery passion. I want a MMC that I’d actually want the MC to get with, and if he’s hard to get, all the better.

3. I want a really, really (REALLY) good contemporary YA series. Longstanding, preferably. Sure, every paranormal YA book is the beginning of a series (and mine is no different…ahem…), but I want to see one with real people/teens doing real life things, while also keeping my interest. Tall order?

4. I want a really good YA horror. I mean I want it to scare my boots off but have teenage protagonists. I want to be disturbed by it. Please. I love horror, but I haven’t seen it much in YA…that is, not counting the “Oh, the male love interest is a ghost and is wicked hot” storyline.

5. I want a magical realism YA where the MFC (main female character) is crazy awesome, bad-A, no apologies hardcore and DOESN’T want to be with anybody romantically…BUT, she gets tempted a lot. I love a good “I shouldn’t have him” internal struggle.

As you can see, I am a romance junkie. Romance makes the book go round for me, and those books practically turn the pages for themselves when I’m reading them (if they manage to hook me).

So this is my own little public service announcement: If you’ve read anything like any of the things I’ve asked for, please (pretty, pretty) let me know. And if you’re writing one of these now, also let me know, and I will be a complete cheerleader for you. For reals. On this blog, for a long time.

Now to leave with you a song to write by, “Last Christmas” by Roses Are Red, because I only crave Christmas songs when it’s awkward for everyone involved. (And Christmas songs in winter are so last year. --->and so is that phrasing, I’m sure. )

Self-Publishing Links

Hello followers, lurkers, stoppers-by,

I decided for this post to list the links I've found in the past few weeks that seemed to be made of awesome when it comes to self-publishing. With each link, I've wrote a bit about what to expect when you go to the site, so you don't have to click blindly. If you have other links, please let me know in the comments or by email. I'd love to see them, as I have been hoarding them lately in anticipation of my own self-published release (here's my announcement).

1. This is a Writer's Digest article about how to get reviews for your self-published book. It gives tips on how to contact reviewers, where to look for reviewers, and what you should have ready to make your book easier to review. 

2. This is an article by Book Designer, letting you have a one-page link listing of how to format your manuscript for each ebook distributor site (i.e. Amazon, Smashwords, Apple, PubIt, Kobo, and the like)

3. This Marketing Tips article is on how to register your copyright for you soon-to-be-published ebook.

4. This article is by Book Marketing Maven. It gives links to different publishing platforms and brief how-tos for uploading. This link is similar to link #2, but who can stop at just one link resource?

5. This article is from Literary Abominations (lol cool name), and it gives a Podcasting 101 lesson on how to make your book into a usable file and how to get it out there for the masses to hear. [Can I just pause here to say I am dreaming nightly of making some kind of podcast or audiobook of my upcoming manuscript? I hear I'm dramatic enough to pull it off, maybe I'll let you decide one day]

6. This article, like #3 is from the Marketing Tips website [worth perusing], and it's about the best ways to link to your self-published book (on your website and beyond) so that it can be found easily (and purchased easily)

7. This article from Zombies Don't Blog (great title and site), shows you how to re-up interest in your self-published book after it's been out for a while. This'll get you over the possible slump in sales after your beginning weeks.

8. This Marketing Tip article (a la #3 and #6) explains how to get your book in newspapers, local and otherwise.

9. This Touch Review article, by Stephen Northcott explains in detail how to get your book into Apple stores. (Think links #4 and #1, but Apple specific).

10. This Lexcycle article explains how to convert your manuscript into epub format, which is good for getting it out to reviewers in a format they'd prefer and Stanza submissions.

11. This link by Urban fonts provides you with copious amounts of Free Fonts to use when making your cover. (I haven't used it yet, but it looks neat).

12. And lastly, for this blog post, I leave you with a link to Free Digital Photos.net which apparently has royalty free images that they explicitly say can be used for ebooks as long as credit is given to their site and the photo creator. Neat huh?

AH so many links that started with the word "this;" it got to be too much for me, but hopefully they'll be useful to you!

Now to leave you with yet another song to write by, "Fool For You" by Cee lo Green featuring Melanie Fiona. I love how "into it" they both are:

Creative Craziness *

*I am an alliteration junkie.

Lately a friend and I have been talking about how ridiculous we have both been getting with our ideas. It’s a new one every minute---a new form every minute, and they keep our mind occupied, but also keep us from accomplishing much.

I’m used to reading about writers getting that awful “That idea over there looks hotter than the one I’ve been working on for three months” syndrome, and I can fully relate to that. But, that’s not what I’m talking about here.

Here, what I am referring to is full blown creative distracting fluidity (CDF for short). One minute we are avidly discussing a new book we each want to write, then some business venture that sounds awesome and would make life worth while, then these  classes that are just the bees’ knees, let me tell you, to another book idea, to “Gosh, I just need to publish the one I have” discussions. [But as you know from yesterday’s post, I AM doing that…so there]

It’s exhausting. How can you track what your “true” passion is when you are passionate about so many things? Well I’ve decided to narrow down my wants by prioritizing them, and writing ALWAYS comes out on top. Now it’s just a matter of picking which idea sounds the most awesome atm (Book 2 of the soon-to-be-released? This completely different series? A contemporary? This YA horror thing I’ve been noodling out?)

It’s seems like now that I’ve “narrowed,” I’ve “widened” again. What do you all do when you get distracting? Take a poll of friends? Write everything down and hit them one by one (sounds good to me)? Or, suffer silently until exploding mentally and locking yourself in a room to have the ideas fight themselves TO THE DEATH!? Let me know in the comments or by email :)

 

And now I leave you with another song: "Daisy" by Brand New (My FAVORITE band: Their lyrics are pure poetry. )

Decision Made/YA Sub-genre Roll Call

So I’ve decided as of recently that I will self-publish. I know; I know. How is that news nowadays? But, I assure you, it was news to me. After discussing it with my advisers (hella smart people out there, you know who you are), I’ve decided that rather having what I’ve written collect even more dust, I will put it out in the world and see what happens.

What’s the worst case scenario again? Oh, yes. Everyone will hate it and me by association, but that’s a small price to pay, I think to have people (HONEST TO GOODNESS PEOPLE) reading what I loved to put together.

Now, I’ve gotten to the point where I:

1. Am even more obsessive about reading through it for editing.

2. Need a book cover, and I just may be crazy enough to design it myself. (I’ll take pictures/snapshots along the way to show you how I did and what I used to do it, whenever I do it).

     C. Want to get a copyright on the manuscript, which apparently only takes an upload and $35 at the      Library of Congress website. YAY CONVENIENCE.

4. Set a price. ($0.99 or $2.99)

5. Decide on a name for the cover. Pseudonym? No pseudonym? (I’d love to hear your thoughts on that, btw)

6. Talk about it incessantly without bugging people. (Hard to do. Maybe I’ll just beg the lurkers out there to tell your friends when it happens? Pretty, pretty, gorgeously, pretty please?)

Anyone else just starting this crazy journey? Please link me to your great (and horror) stories in the comments or through email. Or, simply write that we are embarking on this thing together, thus making my powers and yours stronger as we enter this process. :)

P.S. My soon-to-be-published book is YA. I was trying to decide what sub-genre of YA it would be so I ended up doing a main YA sub-genre list to get my mind straight. Hope it helps you to (and tell your friends, please!)

YA Sub-Genre Roll Call

Sub-genres can mix

All of the below can be /Romance

(and I believe the story is better when they are)

1. Dystopian (see versus #2 here)
2. Post-apocalyptic  (see versus #1 here)
3. Contemporary (no magic, “real life”)
1. In School Setting
2. Issue based (death of someone, mental disorder, drug-related)
4. Fantasy
1. High (a whole new world)
2. Low (Our world, but slightly different)
3. Mix (Our world, but we can travel to a whole new world)
5. Paranormal
1. Angel (Fallen or otherwise)
2. Vampire
3. Werewolf
4. Faerie
5. Ghost (Main Character [MC] is a ghost, or a “haunted” story)
6. Miscellaneous school where all of the above are welcome, or only one type (I count it as different because school stories are a different mindset kind of sub-genre to me)
7. Zombie
8. Dream related magic
9. New breed, and it ain’t human, but it’s cool and not one of the above. Often involved with fantasy as well.

So, after looking at these, I’d say my book is a Paranormal: New Breed, and it ain’t human…”/Romance/ Mix Fantasy. I’ll get into more and better details later to make you be just as excited about my book’s eventual release as I am.

Here’s another song to write by/to/from: "Strange and Beautiful" Aqualung

And here’s a video on YA sub-genres with recommendations/examples that I thought was interesting:

Written Writer's World

Click to enlarge 

Here's a bubble map I did of the writing process. Mainly, it focuses on the decisions made when you decide to write a book to when you get that book published, in one way or another. Let me know what you think, and tell your friends! :)

Kindle as Krack Addiction

I have a lot of books in my To-Be-Read pile. A lot. A Whole lot actually. I could say that I have a desk, but in all reality I have a large pile of books that comprise what should be a desk (at least underneath where things with desk-purpose should be held). It’s almost intimidating. But, the problem lies in the fact that I’ve recently (as of January) purchased a Kindle, and now I’m kind of a Kindle freak. I am constantly looking on Amazon to find the next great book (YA usually). That’s not shocking, but what has changed is that now I’m looking for fantastical INDIE books. Almost primarily.

So, what this comes down to is that I’d love to add more books to my ever-growing To-Be-Read-On-The-Kindle (TBRK) pile. Here’s what I’ve gotten so far:

The Trylle trilogy [Trolls (non-traditional), romance, fairy tale-ish without the gag factor, soon to be movie] and My Blood Approves series [Vampires, romance, love triangles (I live for them)] by Amanda Hocking, who by now, I’m almost sure you’ve heard of. Hers is an amazing story. Read this immediately if you don’t know about her.

Amanda Hocking’s Hollowland [YA Zombies] is on the TBRK pile. Looks good. First pages sound good.

Just purchased Maid for Me [girl working as maid, romance suspected to ensue] by Kat and Eve Lieu, which has gotten pretty good reviews. I’ll let you know how it is.

Been reading Falling from Grace [Misfit female MC, Romance, angels, angst] for a while now, on and off.

Same can be said for Immortal [Vamps, romance, love triangle (sense a trend?)] by Lauren Burd. Pretty okay for what I’ve read as of yet, but for some reason once it turned to mostly action, I’m struggling a little with it.

And I bought a traditionally published book on the Kindle: Forget You [girl coming of age sexually, romance, amnesia] by Jennifer Echols. Eh, was okay. Her Going Too Far [angst, bad girl MC, cop/mentor love interest], though, read on my iPod actually, I dug truly.

And then there’s the list of books I’ve grabbed samples for but haven’t committed to yet:

            Welcome to Town: A Novel (The Capital)

            Beautiful Demons by Sarra Cannon

            Monster by Kate Licht and Noel i

            Tempest (Destroyers, Book 1) by Holly Hook

Trapped by Jack Kilborn and J.A.Konrath (READ HIS BLOG, seriously. Do It. Go on)

Jenny Pox by JL Bryan

Turned by Morgan Rice

Not What She Seems by Victorine E. Lieske

The Anti-Vampire Tale by Lewis Aleman

The Wicked Woods by Kailin Gow

Breathless by Heather C. Hudak

Breathless by V.J. Chambers

Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble by H.P. Mallory

Impetuous (Famous Firsts) by Lori Foster

PULSE by Kailin Gow

If I turn those books into purchases, I’ll be sure to update you, and I’ll even provide a brief snippet category list/summary-but-not-really with them in these things [] as I did earlier*.

Wondering how I heard about these books? Well, the answer is various places, but I did just stumble upon a discussion of YA books (some of which I added and/or bought). It’s really interesting to read. Check it out here.

Let me know if you hear about a bomb-diggity (ha.) ebook on Amazon that I need to read in order to live (or enjoy myself for a while…you know, whichever.) by commenting below or emailing me. Pretty. Pretty. Please. Also, if you’ve read any of the ebooks in my should I purchase?/should I not? sample list, let me know if they’re worth their hard drive space.

*Hate the little [ ] tags? Want full reviews instead or more details? Email me or comment below and let me know, and I’ll rectify that if there’s interest.

And finally, I leave you with an Eisley song, in honor of them having a new album recently released. This song is from the first full album though, and I like it. For my friends, it was a little bit like a gateway drug into the Eisley awesomeness.

Self-Publishing, Say WHAT?

A two-fer on my first day, I could wait until tomorrow, but I won’t. Might as well post as long as I feel I have some kind of material.

For the past couple weeks, I’ve been thinking about the notion of self-publishing. Don’t get me wrong; I haven’t decided fully one way or the other, but due to some recent reading, I’ve been more willing to entertain the notion of self-publishing. (Even though seeing my book in Borders is right up there with my top 3 writing dreams…I live for the idea of book signings…)

I stumbled across J. A. Konrath’s blog where he has recently decided to change his mind about how to go about publishing one’s work. I had read his blog before when he used to say try traditional publishing first, then think about self-publishing, a notion I had already came to in my head. Now, however, he has changed positions, as he now is more hard pressed to find a reason to have publishers take the author’s money when he or she can go out and sell on Kindle, Createspace, Amazon, Lulu, or Barnes and Noble for his or herself.

Now he does a much better job of explaining his reasons behind this decision than I ever could so I’d encourage you to read the last few blog posts that he has written…Hell, if you actually read about him and his numbers, I think you’d be fascinated enough to stay for a while. So I much, much encourage you to check it out, even if you are mentally opposed to the idea of self-publishing. It’s worth a gander (and no I wouldn’t say gander in normal life…)

What shook my thought process more than Konrath alone was Amanda Hocking’s story (which can be found on her blog). She’s a YA author, which already garners my interest, and she’s a paranormal author in my same age group-ish at that (um, hello…living my life here much? Except for not really, but I digress…). Her selling numbers are impressive, and I even felt compelled to buy her “My Blood Approves” book one. She’s making it, very well, I might add, in the genre of my choice, on her own (even though she now has an agent, Steven Axelrod). Gives a girl a lot to mentally chew on.

For those of you who have heard about either of these people or have a strong opinion either way about self-publishing, I’d love to hear your thoughts so comment below! Some questions:

• Could you (potentially) give up book signings and some prestigious award considerations to self-publish?
• Is the reader being put first by self-publishing (as in they get the book faster so they benefit) or are they being given a possibly worse product without the Big Publisher edit jobs? (And yes, I do know you can hire an editor for a self-publish…)
• Would you ever self-publish? What would be the circumstances to sway you that way?