i'm in my own little world, but it's okay...they know me here

my co-worker asked me yesterday, "did you write last night?" to which i replied, "yes." she said, " i can tell. i can tell whenever you've written the night before. you come in in the morning and it's like you're lost in your own little world."

i can only imagine the type of person i've become, completely spacing and lost in thought half the time. i know my husband is feeling a little neglected, but i just feel too close to stop now. i love my own little world. there's so much stress and sadness in life and i get to escape everyday into these worlds that i've created.

i've begun working on my third draft. i received a little bit of feedback on my second which definitely helped put a few aspects of the book in perspective. i'm excited about the next draft. i've changed around quite a few things that i think will help with the flow and pick up the pace and excitement. maybe give it a little more of an edge. i think i need more edge. there's no sense in boring the readers.

iron fey

i've been reading a lot lately and when i get a real good read i have to share it because in a world full of books there are few that i get completely wrapped up in and this is one of them.

normally i wait to rave about a book when i'm finished reading it, but i'm halfway through this series and i can't put it down, nor stop thinking about it. it's becoming an inspiration in my writing. extra bonus.

the iron fey series. you're reading a book about faerys? you may ask...and yes. yes i am. and i'm in love with it.

the first book was intriguing enough in summary and i heard lots of good things about it so i thought why not? i'm on the third book now and they just get better and better. but of course, there's a fourth  book and i'm left stranded...stuck in the middle of yet another series waiting for my closure.

enjoy a little forbidden love? bad boys? humor? action? adventure? oh, the iron fey series has all of the above. julie kagawa really knows how to write her main men. mmm...i'd love me some ash. he's right up there with edward, peeta and jace and with my standards...that's hard to do.

eureka?

SO for months and months and MONTHS i struggled to get a basic plot for the first novel in my series. the reason being when i started writing the series, it began with a dream(cliche? stephenie meyerish? maybe. but she's not the only one to have a dream and write about it). the dream was the last scene of the entire saga, so that left me with learning where the people began and what they went through to get to that point. when i finished my first draft back in july(let's be honest)...it dragged. the main man was too perfect and slightly creepy. i used "just" and "basically" too much and most importantly, it lacked a plot(kinda of crucial to a book, but maybe that's just me). with this second draft down, i'm praying that the basic plot is there. and now i think i finally have it in synopsis form. so tell me, fellow readers, what are your thoughts? 

After the death of her father, Aveline lost hope in a life with happily ever afters. Romance was nonexistent and she liked it that way. But when Jesse, an alluring new boy in town, falls into her life, she just can't seem to escape him. Then chilling notes start popping up in personal spaces and haunting dreams with unsettling warnings cloud her nights causing her to question not only her sanity, but their connection to the new addition into her life.

would you be intrigued enough to pick up a copy or does it sound cliche and overdone? too vague? be HONEST. please. and thank you.

second draft

i had a goal for myself last year(it's so weird to say that) to finish a second draft of my bookala(alix created the name. i can take no credit). SO new years eve, guess what i spent my time doing? yup. i finished it at nine that night and it felt good.

THIS year my goal is to have the book done and in the process of publishing. whether that be through self-publishing or traditional, i haven't decided yet...so here's where you(if there are any of you reading this) come into play...

i've sent out a couple copies of it for feedback so i can make it better, but i'd love more readers. the more comments and thoughts the better. i won't be able to please everyone obviously, but it helps me brainstorm and clear some writers block.

my bookala is very close to my heart and i'm very protective of my blood sweat and tears, so i don't want to send too many copies of it out. i have a hard time even sending out any copies at all but i know i'll have to let whoever wants to read it eventually. but please if you are interested in an unfinished/polished rough draft, let me know..i could definitely use the feedback!

self publishing

so i've been recently intrigued by this indie author. i found her while looking for cheap nook books(yes i got a nook color for christmas and am in love with it) and i've become completely hooked on her.

amanda hocking.

i searched her out online to get a feel for what kind of an author she was. she's 26 years old with no literary awards. no bachelors degree. no special connections to the literary world. no marketing tactics. (sound familiar?) for years she queried a million agents and publishing companies with no positive results. rejection upon rejection she got really discourage and so in april of this year she decided she was going to self publish. with no expectation of making more than a couple hundreds bucks by the summer, but that's all she wanted.

since april she has published 8 books. EIGHT. she's a freaking writing machine. granted she wrote most of these books before april but the woman deserves some credit. since april she has sold almost 150,000 books. this month alone. december. she sold 99,000 books. through self publishing! i don't know why i'm so fascinated.

which then brought me to a personal decision. the internet at our finger tips has made self-publishing so much easier. you can just upload a book on amazon and barnes and noble and BAMB, you're out in the world sharing your stories. sure there are down sides. but it's a start right?

she has a series called the trylle trilogy(i'm waiting for the third book to come out next month)...that has become so popular, publishing companies are coming to her now. they want her trilogy, but they want her to wait until the end of next year to publish the last book. in case you were curious...which i knew you were...she has declined and decided to stay indie for now.

it's not even that her books are that amazing. they have spelling mistakes and grammar issues because she does it all herself. yes, the 6 that i have read i've enjoyed, but the fact is that she has gotten herself out there through self-publishing. i completely tossed that out the window as an option a year ago because of the horror stories i read about and it was expensive! but now i'm second guessing myself...as much as i want to see big beautiful printed copies of my books...what if that's not the route to go?

so the question i'm throwing out into the universe today is...is it worth it? should i take a risk(when my books are good and ready) and do it myself...or should i do it the traditional way where i could have a greater opportunity to be put out there?(that is if i'm not rejected a million times like her)...

decisions...decisions...