1st Campaigner Challenge

This is my first campaigner challenge!  Exciting stuff. It's a flash fiction, which I hadn't done before really. Also exciting. 

The rules are: 

Write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, “The door swung open” These four words will be included in the word count.

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), use the same beginning words and end with the words: "the door swung shut." (also included in the word count)

For those who want an even greater challenge, make your story 200 words EXACTLY!

So here's mine! I'll call it "Held:"

The door swung open. I knew it was him because he was the one who put me in here. The one who locked the door behind him. The one who said he chose me, when I didn't ask for it, when I didn't want him, when I said I wanted to leave.

He came in like the time before. He entered, as silent as winter, and he sat in the corner in the chair that seemed to face me no matter which direction I turned.

I wouldn't be like I was last time. I was done with begging. It meant nothing but a wound to my pride, which was quite possibly the only thing that I had left. I regarded him like he regarded me. The only difference was his glance was predatory, and I was sure mine was curious and laced with hate.

I didn't want him to know I hated him. That truth would come out later.

I was not going to be the one to shatter the silence either. If he wanted conversation, he'd have to pry it from my clenched teeth. But he didn't try, and all I did was watch as the door swung shut.

200 words! Woot.

If you liked it, be sure to vote for me here (linked). I'm entry #169, and you just have to click the "like" button underneath it apparently... Thank you much! :)

Now to leave you with a song to write by, "Maps" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. <3

The Apartment Romance

Earlier this week, I saw an amazing movie. I want to watch it again because it has so many quotables in it. <3 I love quotable bits. The movie is called The Apartment:

It came out in 1960, and it's in black and white. I know, some of you out there will be like me, very judgy, and might want to back away now. BUT, it was amazing.

Here's a sloppy blurb by me: A man decides to pimp out his apartment to the higher up men at work that have all these mistresses but no where to take them. The plan works to help him get ahead, but he falls for the elevator girl in the mean time, only to find out that she has an affiliation with his apartment already. Hilarity, romance, innuendos, and issues ensue.

I really liked it, and you should check it out if you have the chance. Funny side-note story, I told my mother about it, and she told me she had just picked up that movie that very day at the library, but had put it back because it was black and white. Weird huh? She then got it from there, watched, and loved it. Okay, back to our regularly scheduled blog post…

This movie got me thinking about what it is about romance that makes me clamor to read it. With very few exceptions, I'm not a big romance movie person. I have to want to watch something predictable to get into them, and I have to be forced by other parties to watch them at all (mostly). But, with books? You all know by now that romance is a must for me. A big must (also mostly).

I like:

• Non-traditional
• Hard to attain
• Complicated but sweet
• All worth it for their first moments

Love.

And I've read love stories in all kinds of their variations (chick-lit to Ya to horror with some lovey bits), and I never get tired of it. Seeing how people make a connection and come together in all kinds of circumstances just is the bee's knees for me.

So, now I ask you, because I really want to know, do you have to have romance in the books that you read? What makes you like that element (or hate it)? OO, and if you have examples, then, you're awesome. Let me know below.

Now to leave you with a song to write by, which is perfect for this occasion, "Nicest Thing" by Kate Nash. If you never listen to any other song I list on here, listen to this one. It's worth it. ---à strong words for an AMAZING song.

Also: I really want to get the word out about my book, Glittering Ashes (The Dark Artist Series), and I have some things in the works already (VERY excited about that). So, if you're interested in receiving a free ebook copy in exchange for a bookie blog review, let me know (below or by email). Also, I'm more than game for author interviews if you want something to fill in one of the days on your blog :)

The Write Environment

How important is your writing environment? Are you someone who has to have the things on their desk just so, and everything exactly how it was last time? Do you need music? Absolute quiet? Crowds of people to ogle? Complete solitude?

I read a lot about people's optimum conditions (and if you can't tell by now, I read a lot about writing habits in general, lol). A lot of people I read about write fiendishly when the moment hits. If the muse is talking, all they need is a piece of paper and a pen, or lipstick and tissues, or a marker and the nearest arm.

I'm the same way at a certain point, but not always. When I am first brainstorming a story, or right after a dream, I get flooded with all these ideas, normally about a different wip than the one I'm working on. I will run (okay, yes, literally) to my brain book (or to a sheet of paper if the book is absent), and I will write furiously until everything is on the paper. It may or may not be like an exorcism. Probably not like one at all, but it sounds more mysterious if I leave that as a possibility.

But when I'm writing, really writing, I do like to have some things a certain way. I like quiet, absolute quiet, or close to it. I have to be somewhere that's not my room.

Being outside of my room is important, apparently, and I've just come to this realization recently. I spend a lot of time here, and when I write, it's bloggy writing, or academic even. It's not creative, and I don't know why, but that's typically how I think it'll stay.

When I write at home, I write on the off-limits couch. The couch that one has for purely decorative purposes. It's in front of windows, not that I really look outside much during, but I think the unfamiliarity of the couch is the equivalent of me being at the library, the main place I've been writing lately.

I wrote all of Glittering Ashes (The Dark Artist Series), with the exception of a few library trips, on that couch.

But, other than quiet and not being in my room, I'm not that picky. But, I want to know if you are. What do you need to finally get the words down? Anything specific? Or, are you one of the lucky, wherever I feel like it, scribblers? Let me know below.

Now to leave you with a song to write by, "Singing Brigdes (We All Fall)" by Matchbook Romance. (They're Voices CD, handcrafted addictive genius. I <3 it.)

Favorite lines, if you're curious " I tried to sell you a heart before you saw the world" and 

"I will sing a melody until the fluid starts choking me
And when my eyes are paralyzed I'll stare up at you my star
That I could never reach"

P.S.  I just found this link on the writing habits of great writers, most of which I'm unfamiliar with, but cool nonetheless. Thanks @elizabethscraig

Writing Goals: Bee's Knees or Puh-lease...

Today, I want to talk about writing goals.

Do you have them?                                                                                                 

Do you LIVE by them?

Or, do you prefer to write when you feel inspired (by your muse or otherwise)?

Writers deal with extreme guilt complexes (me included, and many others from what I've seen). Writers set lofty goals, normally in the form of daily goals, and then, if the goal isn't reached, the writers hang their head in shame, falling down a spiral where even more writing doesn't happen.

Or maybe that's just me.

But even though writing goals may cause me excess stress, I still stand by them. If I didn't set goals for myself, I wouldn't get anything done.

Personally, I like "it'll be done by this date" goals more than daily goals necessarily. It's easy for people to get overwhelmed, so I think it's better to have a finish line in sight rather than to solely worry about what you need done each day.

I know, that sounds kind of silly, because daily writing goals would seem to only help you in reaching timed goals, but to me, I can write furiously for a day (1000s of words), and then I could write nothing the next day. And I want that to be okay, and it is if I give myself a "done by" date. It's about the end goal and how good that feels, and not about thinking of how many words you have left.

Here's some links if you want goals set for you (and you provide the amazing words):

Nanowrimo (writing a book in a month during November...Great forums)

Camp Nanowrimo (A Nanowrimo for the summer time, which is on write now)

Fast-Drafting (doing your novel in 2 weeks)

Milwordy (a million words in one year)

3 Day Novel

What do you do for writing goals? What's your reasoning behind the goals you set or why you don't set them at all? Let me know below!

Now for a song to write by, "Bulletproof" by Evan's Blue, because you need to be bulletproof for kick-arse writing goals…Yep, that's what I'm going with to play this song I like. 

Author Info/Branding: What's It To You?

This is something that's been coming up a lot for me lately since I've recently published my first book through Amazon and Smashwords. People want to know how to get their name out there, where they should go to do that, and how to market themselves and their name as a brand.

I'm not the first person to be an authority on the subject, but seeing as it's something I've been seeing everywhere, I wanted to know your thoughts on it, and I wanted to leave a few of my own.

I don't think about who the author is or what other books the author has written until I finish the first book. If I like the book, and especially if I love the book, I then scour the internet to find out everything about that person. This may be because I want to emulate their awesomeness, but I also suspect that many other do something similar.

When I know an author is the bee's knees, I want to know what else they've written and what they're like. BUT that's not something I care about if I didn't like the book first.

I would say that unless the author is scandalous (for typically bad reasons), I don't care who they are until I get to the end of whatever I'm reading. Branding for me is something that happens AFTER they've kept my attention for 200+ pages.

I'll go so far as to say that for me, I do not want to know anything about the author until I've made my own decisions about the book. I won't even look at what they look like, not that that would make a difference, but I want the book to be it's own entity, completely devoid of everything but what I see in front of me, until I finish it.

When I do end up looking them up, I always want to read the "how I did it" story. It's the story where they say, "I got this idea and blah blah blah." I love those. If I really like them, I'll search them out on Twitter to see if they say anything interesting (beyond just responding to people), and then I'll follow them if they are interesting. I'll almost always follow a blog if they have them, and I'll look around the blog to see what else is brewing for them.

That's my typical M.O. So as far as branding goes for authors, it IS important, but it shouldn't precede the book's importance to me. But if the author ends up being rockstar, I'd love to more about them AFTER I read the book.

What about you? Do you like to know about the author up front? Would it bother you if they didn't have a blog/Twitter/internet presence? Let me know below!

Now to leave you with a song to write by, "Breakdown" by Plain White T's. Intense, but still catchy like all of their stuff.  

P.S. Here's where you can find me online, if you're curious :)

Twitter

Goodreads

Kindleboards
Glittering Ashes on Facebook

Slow Burn Romance

Today, I want to talk about slow burns in novels. I live for them. I'm talking about how this pertains to romance here, because I hate slow burns to action in, say, thrillers, or something. The only time I like a slow burn, or a slow build, is in the romantic elements of a book.

If you rush the mushy stuff, if it comes on too quick, my gag reflexes act up. I hate when the main girl sees the guy, falls in love on sight, and he reciprocates immediately (not being gender specific here, with either or any gender, it's annoying). Ugh. The fun is in the chase, people.

The same basic principles can happen:

Girl or boy sees the person.

Fireworks ensue. The person is awesome possum amazing, and they are in love immediately.

Now here's where the changes happen: I much prefer if there are obstacles that get in the way of the other person liking them back immediately. The other person could be taken, could hate them for whatever reason, or could even just not know (a classic), but something has to keep the person from saying, "OMG, I too have just realized that you are amazing. Let's live in drama-less bliss for the next 200 pages."

Want to know an annoying fun fact about most books that I read?

You all know I'm a romance junkie, especially in YA. I prefer the story to go beyond just the romance, but as long as there's romance, I'm a happy camper (unless it happens too early).

Well the annoying fact is that most books with the AMAZING romantic scenes use them sparingly. I've read some great books voraciously just hoping person A and B can have a moment together. The payoff is way sweeter when they do, but I always finish the book thinking I would have begged to have more of A and B and less of everything else. But really, I wouldn't. Their absence makes my heart go fonder and all of that jazz.

I'm reading Divergent (Divergent Trilogy) now by Veronica Roth, and it's a slow burner, and I am liking it. It has a good enough story that I can read and want to keep reading, but I'm living for snippets of Four at the same time. No spoilers, please.

Do you all like slow burn romantic books? Why? And do you know of any amazing ones? I'd be much obliged if you left them in the comments below.

Now to leave you with a song to write by, "Addicted"by Kelly Clarkson, because I like it, and it works with my romantic addiction, I'd say. 

P.S. I changed up the blog layout and background. Do y'all like it? :)

Me Then; Read Now

Back in high school, I was different. I liked black. I loved black. I wanted to be edgy. I dreamed of drinking tea, mug steaming, as I contemplated my next novel of epic proportions.

I thought Hot Topic was the bee's knees.

I said that things "rocked my socks" as a form of approval.

I broke into song and semi-dance often, uncontrollably even, because what's the point of being borderline Goth, if you can't also be a walking contradiction?

I was conflicted. I was angsty. I was a teen. (I want lightning to strike at this moment, or an 80s anthem to play, which may or may not have anything to do with me watching Some Kind of Wonderful before the sun came up today).

But the point of this reflection is that I changed. I still have friends from high school. They're the main friends that I have, and when I came back from running off to school in the mountains, I:

Ditched the black (mostly).

Grabbed polos.

Rocked fake pearls (<3 them…wore them Saturday).

Basically, I shocked them something ridiculous.

And this got me thinking about what type of heroine I like to read about when I read YA. Do I like edgy and dark and Goth because I was all of that in high school (or tried to be)? Or do I like preppy because that did it for me after high school?

Well, the answer is, you don't have to read who you are or who you were, and neither do I. The kind of girl I like reading is the girl who is snarky, NOT CLUELESS, and has a weird, if not sarcastic, sense of humor. And while I may share some similarities to that, the girl doesn't need to be like me for me to like the story.

What about you? Do you like to read for like-minded MCs or do you want to read about your opposite? OR, maybe you want to read about the person you think you are but for some reason aren't (I've done that one)? Let me know below.

Now I'll leave you with a song to write by, "Changes" by 3 Doors Down. Heart it. 

Tough Love: Writer's Edition

 A few weeks ago, the topic of jealous writers was floating around the internet as a debate. It came around the time John Locke became the first self-published author in the Amazon's Million ebook club (a list for people who have sold over a million books on Amazon). People were excited for him, or they said horrible things about him, spurring others to write posts about how you shouldn’t be jealous of others’ successes; you should be more interested in making your own.

I also tweeted things to that effect around this time, but I hadn’t listened to what I was preaching really. Not exactly.

I don’t get jealous when I hear about writers having amazing success; I get jealous when I read about prolific writers. The ones with 13 books under their belts and counting. The big names who write what seems like several books a month, the smaller names that actually do write several books a month. I am constantly in awe of these people.

Am I jealous because they have more ideas than me? No. I have a list of book ideas, a lot of which are actually fleshed out story lines. But the difference between them and me is that they’re writing theirs into stories, and I’m writing this, whining that they have more books down on paper than I do.

Well, it’s time for some tough love for me (and anyone who is in my shoes, either fully or tip-toe in). The people who are writing those books constantly are doing such because they are writing. Writing about writing, as much as I seem to enjoy it, does not a fiction writer make. It makes me a commentator. Not a writer. And I want to be a writer.

So here’s what I am leaving you with: If you want to be a writer, write. If you want to write a lot, write a lot. Thinking about writing, dreaming about writing, staring off into the abyss and wondering about your writing future all equal the same thing in the actual writing world-->nothing. You can’t say you’ve done it if you’ve only thought about it.

And again, I am not yelling at you (whoever you are), I’m yelling at me. Because I’ve earned it. 

Anyone in my shoes? Let me know in the comments below or by email...I'd like to feel like I'm not the only slacker. 

Now to leave you with a song to write by, “The House That Built Me” by Miranda Lambert. It’s mainstream, and apparently was popular when it came out, but I only got into it recently, and I love the lyrics and flow.

           

Writers: You're One of Them

First off, THANK YOU so much to all of the people who commented yesterday. I’m literally compiling a list of all the books I now want to purchase/check out. AWESOME. Seriously. I’m going to wish more often…

Oh, btw, I was looking around Amazon yesterday and came across a New Adult contemporary romance that I’m voraciously reading right now. It had great reviews, seemed really angsty so I bit the bullet and bought it (it’s only $4 something). The book is called Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire, and I’m getting whiplash from all the roller coaster emotions (in a good way, I like super angst every once in a while).

So lately, on Twitter, I’ve been talking with people who have been really good at setting goals for themselves when it comes to writing. I see them on #amwriting, and they proclaim proudly, “I’m doing this by then, and that’s it” or the ever popular, “I JUST DID THIS, HEAR ME WRITE IN CAPS.”

In both of these cases, I’m a Twitter cheerleader, so you’ll see me a lot (if you follow me) saying things like “OMG. That’s awesome, congrats” or “I wish I could get myself to do that” and the like. Now, thinking back on all these mini-chats, I think I’ve come to realization that’s there’s really three kinds of writers when it comes to sitting down (butt in chair…blah blah blah) and getting the work done:

1. The Great Thinker: This person has been having the GREAT idea for several years now. Maybe it came to them when they were in high school, or when they were driving in traffic, but they know the idea is awesome, and if they could just get it done, the book would be awesome as well. ---> This one is actually a lot of people. They noodle for a while, but after a loooong period, they get it done, (and to be honest, it might be done better because they did take so long)

2. The Let’s Get On With It Optimist: (ha) This person also had the GREAT idea but he or she wants to plow through it with a vengeance. Noodling it out is for people who don’t get things done, in their book. They are speed writers. Thinking is for the second draft.

3. The I Know It’ll Suck, but I’ll Plug Through It Person: This is the middle ground person between one and two. He or she doesn’t have high hopes for the novel in the beginning, but they like it enough to get it done, and while it won’t take years, it’ll take more than weeks to write it all down and then edit it until it sparkles. (Most people are #3, I’d guess)

Now, for me, I’d say I’m a #2 who dabbles in #3. That meaning that I was once an avid #2 kind of person but I’m drifting quietly into #3. I’d like to go back to thinking in the 2 mentality though. I personally believe that the first draft should be done crazy fast so it’s more cohesive, it’s more fun, and you can hurry up and get to the all important edit.

Do you agree with me? And more importantly, what kind of writer are you? Let me know below.

Now, to leave you with a song to write by, “Mix Tape” by Brand New (officially my favorite band for the past 5.5 years). It’s off of their first album (but their 2^nd is the best)

Wanted: Plots

I am a plot junkie. I love reading about crazy twists and how to up the drama without making the reader want to gag (and I’m still fine if I have to gag a little reading it). It’s one of my dreams to write a long-standing series, and I have a plot line brewing for that too, it’s just a matter of getting it to paper.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my characters. You have to get me invested in the characters first, but then the plot has to keep me. I can’t have Mr. or Miss Awesome just being awesome without anything happening for 300 pages. Wouldn’t work. I need the drama of it all, truly and deeply.

I dream in plots. Half the time, I’m an observer in the dream. It’s like watching a movie unfold. I’m sure I’m in there, but who knows how important I am. And while that may sound like I need to break out my old dream interpretation book to see what I’m suffering from, it makes for good book plots for me to write down.

I can’t tell you how many dreams have turned into book plots for me. My soon to be released book of yay (because I’m excited about it), started in part that way. I’m far more creative in my dreams, so I steal from them often.

My point, with this rambling and possibly incoherent post, is that I need a great plot to make me believe it’s a great story. Characters are also needed, but they both have to come together to make something worth it. My goal is to make the MC realistic, even if the world/plot isn’t. One can sell the other, as far as I’m concerned.

What do you think? Are plot and character equal? Is one more important than the other? Let me know in the comments.

Now, to leave you with a song to write by, “Blue Light” by Bloc Party. Pretty. 

I hate her...and Bows and Books.

Her’s a profile of a character that I hate. I’m not going to name names about what book this character is in because the character, in this instance a “She”, is in a lot of books lately. You’ve probably seen her. Hell/heck, maybe you even liked her. I did not.

Her typical M.O.:

• She is hopelessly clueless in the beginning.
• In a world set up for inclusion in one way or another, she feels like something just ain’t quite right. But how will she ever find out what’s wrong?
• Oh, yeah. The MMC (main male character). He’s different. He’s an outcast. He shows her the wrong so they can, together, make it right.
• That is, after she has some kind of mental process where she questions her home, her family…and (insert gasp here) even her society.
• By the end of the story, the clueless heroine has learned something and has immediately and subsequently turned into a bad A (capital A necessary, folks), and she can completely rise to the occasion of fixing the world, or at least she can pretend like maybe she could in the sequel.

Does this setup sound familiar to anyone? It’s been a friggin’ epidemic in the books that I’ve been reading lately.  (Btw, I haven’t talked about these books online or anywhere else so I don’t want anyone to think I’m bashing something specific). Now, I’ve seen it does several ways—some of them have even been tolerable, if not good. But, as a whole, I’m over it.

I like heroines who know what they are doing, or who are at least aware that they don’t know what they are doing when they don’t.

Lately, it’s been like these stories are the “damsel in distress” in a different setting. The world is wrong; she is right, but she doesn’t know it; and in comes boy to help her realize that she is the most awesome being ever and can fix said situations.

If you’re going to make your character weak, be consistent. She can’t save the world, unless she has some growth happen. It can’t just be “Knowledge in, awesome out” literally as soon as the character learns what happening around her. It doesn’t read real to me, and those books (not including the good exceptions to this) aren’t going to be on my favorite list anytime soon.

Hopefully the fact that this storyline is practically trending in books now will cause it’s disappearance as people will want something new, but in the mean time, I will continue to look for original people/characters and authors odd enough to create these new beings worth reading about.

Can anyone out there relate to this rant or am I off? Do you like that storyline? Let me know below.

Now here’s a song to write by that I don’t know particularly well, but I like it already, “Kihei Town” by The Throwdowns.

I couldn’t find a video of just them singing this song that I liked, so here’s a link to listen to it on their Myspace page, but if you want your video version fix, here’s how I first heard it:

The song is playing in the background for the first half, but the video itself is teaching you how to make a hair bow out of old magazines. (WHAT!? I know. Amazing, but mine didn’t turn out well, not that I’ll stop trying. 

 

Oh, and to those of you biting at the bit for my "TBR bought and on the shelves pile", I can't really do the largeness of it justice right now, but here are some of the highlights:

The last two of the Vampire Academy series (this one and this too) by Richelle Mead

The last three of the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris (link to her Amazon page)

Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves

The Haunted by Jessica Verday

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

Virtue by Amanda Hocking (on the Kindle shelves, and don't get me started on how many other Kindle books I have on there to read...like the one I won which I talk about here). 

I know what you're thinking "Psssh, that's not much." Well, in addition to this, I have a small desk made out of books in my room (and by this, I mean my actual small desk is mostly comprised of books underneath it because Book Fairs are a weakness I have succumbed to several times...) So on that note, I promise in the indeterminable future to have more to add to this pile.

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. )

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?