Read the Book (or Teen Book Fest #8!)

Tip of the Day: The best time to visit Rochester, NY, is in May during our annual Lilac Festival and Teen Book Fest! We were extra lucky this year and even had perfect weather today.

Wow. Where do I even start? With my gushing or back story?

OK, first one, then the other.

OMG TEEN BOOK FEST IS THE MOST AMAZING TEEN AUTHOR FESTIVAL EVER AND I AM SO LUCKY TO BE PART OF A LIBRARY SYSTEM THAT PUTS SO MUCH LOVE AND EFFORT INTO TEENS AND TEEN LIT AND TO BE A COLLEAGUE OF STEPHANIE S'S (THE TBF FOUNDER)!!!

Phew, OK, got that out of my system. :)

Now to backup.

Eight years ago I was starting to write teen fiction, and had just completed my MLS where I learned that I needed to be a teen services librarian. I began reading tons of YA lit, including SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson. Needless to say I fell in love with that book. Soon after I went to her webpage and nearly fell over when I saw that she was going to speak at a Teen Book Festival in my very own Rochester, NY.

I went that to TBF that first year as an attendee and was blown away by the amazing authors presenting there (Lauren Myracle! Nancy Werlin! about 12 in total?), and was thrilled that another Fest was planned for the following year. In 2007 TBF was a bit bigger, and I went again as an attendee. Then in 2008, I got my YA Librarian job and worked TBF as a volunteer -- and have ever since.

What has also been amazing to watch over these past eight years?
--the growing number of presenting authors
--the increasing size of the attendee crowd
--the number of teens devoting an entire Saturday to volunteer with authors and talk about books
--the number of authors who come back to TBF again because they had such an amazing time before
--the care the TBF Committee takes in making each author feel like a rock star
--the number of publishers that now sponsor their authors' visits to TBF
--the number of authors (and illustrators!) who hear other authors talk about TBF, making them want to come too
--the time Nazareth College takes in making the authors and teens feel at home on their campus
--the dedication of Stephanie and her TBF Committee who devote so much time to this amazing event so it becomes more organized and successful every year

I know I'm forgetting some of the thoughts that struck me today as I looked into the crowd of teens, authors, illustrators, teachers, parents, and librarians, but suffice it to say I am lucky to live in a city that really knows how to rock out to teen books.

And a special shout out to my author panel, who have now increased the size of my TBR pile by talking about their current and forthcoming titles! (Forgive me, I was too busy to take pics of the actual event, but check out tweets and retweets from @TBFLive for some great ones.)

And a high-five to the other authors who I chatted with, hugged, and who also made my TBF pile taller:

 Thank you, again, to everyone who made this awesome day possible.

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Living on Hope!

Tip of the Day: Shucked is on a book blitz this week, with 77 bloggers signed up. You can enter to win a copy - all the details are on my blog.

Shucked is the book I queried. It's the book I wanted to traditionally publish. I queried only eight agents.

Not a whole lot, I know. The chances were infinitesimal. And I got rejected by six of them. The other two are we-don't-contact-you-unless-we're-interested agents. I'm assuming they didn't want Shucked.

The whole time I was waiting on responses, I prepped Shucked for self-pub. I'm not one to sit around waiting, but I was respectful enough to wait to hit the publish button until I knew Shucked was passed on. Anything else is unprofessional.

I'm happy knowing I queried my dream agents (the three I wanted most were the first three to reject me, which lessened the sting of the others). I wouldn't settle for just any agent anymore (not like in 2010 when I queried 50-something agents for Anathema). Self-publishing is a better choice, for me, than going with an agent who I feel meh about.

What am I hoping for with Shucked? I want it to be traditionally published. Yes, still. I've epubbed Shucked and put it up for free in its entirety on Wattpad. How will this help? Well, let's say on the off chance people love it (some do, and some already don't, lol). It gets popular. There's word of mouth and buzz. Then maybe someone will want to pick it up for print rights, or foreign, or film. You never know.

Don't tell me the book is dead if it's already out there. That's simply not true anymore. And if Shucked does nothing more than live on as an ebook, I'm certainly not going to complain. I've already sold enough copies to cover the money I spent on it. I'm making a profit and I will never turn away a paying customer.

So let the dream carry on! No book is ever dead. :D

Megg, Miss Enchanted ePubber

A Decision Is Made (or Time To Publish)

Tip of the Day: Check out my husband's new music by his band Blue Falcon! I am biased but I highly recommend his tunes, particularly the humorous "Internet Celebrity."

So, I'm going to do it.

I'm going to self e-pub a YA novel.

Ahhhhh!

This is a huge step for me -- actually getting my work Out There for real readers to read -- but I'm excited! I've hired a cover artist, and just picturing my book with professional art and my name on it makes me very happy.

Why did I decide to go this route? For a few reasons:

1. Some of you may recall my post from last month where I listed all of my MG, YA, and NA works. I know some of these books need to remain in the trunk, but I also know that others are really good and I can't keep fiddling with them -- not when I have so many other ideas I want to write. In order for me to be able to move forward, I need to publish some of my "back list" and call them DONE. And if publishing companies aren't asking for them, it's up to me to pub them myself. So I will -- and I am!

1a. I have to add that I'm glad self epubbing was NOT a viable option when my first, second, oh heck first 7 manuscripts were completed because they were NOT ready for the world and I might've put books out that, well, sucked. But I'm so glad that it IS a solid option now.

2. I love writing YA, but the market is so tight that it feels extra hard to break in. Recently, I found myself shying away from new YA ideas because of this. While I've loved working on my MG novels instead, I didn't want to give up on my YAs -- and I have to say it has been so nice and freeing and fun to polish up my YA without worrying if it is "good enough" to sell to a publisher. Instead I know that I WILL get it out there for consumers to buy and read and enjoy or hate, but the power to publish is mine and the choice to read it will be in the buyers' hands.

3. I'm not getting any younger.

I am in no way giving up on traditional publishing; I'm actively working on getting my MG novel out to agents, and I have another MG waiting for revisions in the wings.

I'm also sure my passion for writing kidlit will only grow as I get my books out there for ebook readers.

Stay tuned for my first YA novel to be published in late summer...details will be coming!

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Soft Book Launches

Tip of the Day: My new book, SHUCKED, debuted yesterday. Check it out on my website.

In self-publishing, ebooks are forever. My first day, week, month don't matter in the grand scheme of things. No one's going to pull my book down in shame if it doesn't hit the top of the charts right off the start line.

I LOVE THIS!

I'm not one of those authors that has rabid fans foaming at the mouth for my next book. Okay, maybe I have a few, but not enough to drive me to #1. So here's my strategy for book releases....

1. Facebook. That's where I have the majority of my followers. Generally, they are the ones who will buy my books when they release. Not thousands of them (wouldn't that be nice?), but quite a few.

2. Book Bloggers. I maintain a separate mailing list for bloggers. When I have a new release, I send them a message, asking if they want to read my book. I've had a handful of requests, which is great.

3. Fan Newsletter. These guys get the good stuff. Look, if you want people to sign up for your newsletter, give them a reason. With my announcement, they all get the chance to win 1 of 15 free ecopies. They can also be the first to receive signed bookmarks in the mail. Yes, that slows sales a bit at first. If they don't win the ebook, the bookmark in the mail will remind them about my book.

4. Book Blast. I want to sign up for one. I've contacted one blogger, but she hasn't gotten back to me yet. If she doesn't by tomorrow, I'll contact another. This is a one-day blast on bloggers' pages about my book. It's a good, cheap, way to get the word out.

While it's a goal to sell, I also have a bigger goal - to entertain. I put a lot of my heart and soul into this book. I hope people enjoy it. :D

Megg, Miss Enchanted ePubber

Give the Muse Fairy a Vacation!

Tip of the Day: Looking for cover art? My friend Traci directed me to morguefile.com - it's an incredible database of stock photos!

I'm a frantic writer. Once I get a golden idea, I write constantly. Evenings, weekends, in the car, in bed, in the bathtub - doesn't matter where or when, I must write until the book is done.

It's not an easy way to live.

Give the Muse Fairy a Vacation!
courtesy of Microsoft Clipart

And once I've vomited out the first draft of a book, the last thing I want to do is write. In fact, every time I finish a book I quit. I tell my husband I'm done. I look for jobs online. I consider other careers. I dream about going back to school and getting my MA in Museum Studies (my BA is in medieval history with a minor in evolutionary anthropology).

So how do I get the writing mojo back again? I do something new or something that makes me happy - and here's the key - it has nothing to do with writing. Writing prompts annoy me. Begging the muse to come back is futile (even muse fairies need a vacation once in a while).

Here's how I recharge:

1 - I read - but only books outside of the genres I write. This means no YA and no epic fantasy. I love drowning in thrillers (James Rollins), detective novels (Joe Konrath), romance (Tracy Garvis Graves), scifi (Ernest Cline), classics (Chaucer), nonfiction (Dian Fossey), and mystery (Elizabeth Peters).

2 - Day trip - I visit museums, zoos, and aquariums. These are some of my favorite brain vacations.

3 - Volunteer - I help out at my kids' school or with my local Friends of the Library.

4 - Catch up on TV shows - Right now I'm loving Vikings. I've also got Game of Thrones, Season 1 on Blu-ray waiting for me.

5 - Clean my house - Okay, so I'm not a clean freak. I don't clean anything but the bathrooms on a regular basis. So when I finish a book, I tend to look away from my computer for the first time in weeks and see that the house really needs a good scrubbing. I organize, donate, and toss.

By the time I've worked my way through a combination of these stress busters, I always think, "OMG, I really miss writing! Why have I been wasting my time with all of this other crap when there's a novel waiting to be written?"

You may have already guessed by now...I'm not the writer who says you must write 1,000 per day every day of the year. When I'm in the writing groove, I frequently pump out 3,000 to 4,000 words a day. It works for me. The books get written - and that's the most important part of being a novelist.

Megg, Miss Enchanted ePubber

So Many Manuscripts, So Little Time (or Born of Frustration*)

*with apologies to James

Tip of the Day: Don't move to upstate New York if you are against the possibility of snow through the end of March...and into April.

All right, readers, it's INVENTORY TIME! Let's see what Deena has buried in her trunk of manuscripts!

1. character-driven YA that was the first novel I ever wrote, and has since been revised and rewritten about 5 times over 9 years. I love this book very much but think the fact that it is not plot-driven in today's market makes it a tougher sell. ***

2. character-driven YA, the second novel I wrote, that I still like the root of, but I know it would need lots of work to fix, and it would need a new ending since I now hate the "easy" way the "mystery" is solved. Will remain in the trunk for now.

3. fun, light, plot-driven MG with many characters that I think is cute, but needs to much rewriting now an will stay in the trunk.

4. YA that has good bones, but never quite came together the right way. Will remain trunked.

5. historical MG with twinges of magical realism. It got me my first agent, has been heavily revised twice, and I am now querying agents on it again. I love this book and really hope it finds a home! ***

6. contemporary MG that got me my second agent. At the time an element of it was not overdone, but since I wrote it a lot of books have come out with that type of family business. I also think it has one too many sub-plots going on. I still love the idea of it and the relationship between the two main characters, and may revise it at some time.

7. paranormal YA with a setting I love but characters that definitely need more development. I turned it into....

7a. a New Adult novella that I would love to develop into an e-serial series at some point. ***

8. contemporary YA with a great hook, but that got lots of rejections from editors who all wanted it to be something else than it was. I still love this book and have tweaked it and sent it out on my own to some new editors. ***

9. YA thriller with pseudo science fiction elements and dual pov. This is my first truly plot-driven novel, my first novel with more than one pov, and my first male narrator. I love it. I am revising it again next month (a few tweaks to the science and girl's chapters) to prep it for self e-pubbing this summer/fall. I also wrote... ***

9a. 50 pages of the sequel, which I can't wait to get back into. I plan to self e-pub that as well by the end of the year if all goes as planned. ***

10. I am about 7k words from the end of a fast draft of a new MG light mystery. What I thought would be a simple story has of course gotten headier than I expected, but I can't wait to have it finished, let it sit, and then return to it when the timing is right. ***

10a. I am also almost done with a New Adult realistic/contemp novella that I do want to finish. ***

*** means I want to actively work on these projects. As you can see by the number of *** on this page, I have so many ideas and not enough time to devote to them all! I also have two new YA ideas I am jonesing to write....realistic story of a small town based on an actual health case that came up in my area over a year ago, and a realistc story of a girl who has been brainwashed about a certain thing for her whole life, and finally learns to think for herself after being scarred.

I LOVE my day job as a YA Librarian, but there are definitely times where I wish I had even  just one month to completely be a full-time writer.

Can someone just transport me to a Hawaiian beach for six months every year with my laptop so I can bang out some pages? 'Cause, ya know, I'm sure that's exactly what I would do once there.... :)

What's in your manuscript trunk that you are dying to get back to?

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Being Ben Affleck

Tip of the Day: Looking for a great way to advertise your book when it's on sale? Check out BookBub - they have over 1,000,000 subscribers. (No, I don't get anything for linking you there. I had two good sales there, so I thought I'd pass it on.)

When I'm frustrated or annoyed with writing I repeat this mantra to myself: Be Ben Affleck.

Thanks to FaceinHole.com, Ben & I are a cute couple

I've been in lurve with Ben Affleck for most of my adult life. He's tall, dark, and handsome. He's married to a gorgeous, down-to-earth woman, and he appears to be a great dad. But beyond that, he's an artist who didn't give up.

Early in his career, he won the Oscar for Good Will Hunting. Everyone wanted a piece of him - including Jennifer Lopez, which lead to the disastrous Gigli. That movie and relationship was like a pair of concrete shoes. Ben tanked and we didn't hear much from him, except for the occasional political statement.

He moved on with his life, but he never left the industry. He worked quietly behind the camera, producing some pretty great films. Then came Argo. The little film that couldn't.

It did.

And even though the academy (FOOLS!) ignored him in 2012, he was handsomely rewarded with pretty much every other directing award out there.

What does this have to do with me & writing?

Everything.

We, as writers, cannot expect every project, every book, to be a hit. It's unrealistic. I wouldn't call The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling a hit. I have yet to meet one person who enjoyed it. Does that diminish the success of the Harry Potter series? Of course not. But, it's more proof that we're all human. We all err. Our stories sometimes struggle to find an audience.

It's okay.

I think that's the part people forget. It's totally fine to fail once in a while. It's not the end of the world if your sales tank. There is still another project. A novel you haven't even thought of yet could be your next big hit.

My point? If you love writing, don't give it up because you're going through a tough patch. We all have those moments. Last year, my sales were soaring. I was on top of the world. This year sales have slowed. I've found myself getting really depressed about it - but then I remind myself, Be Ben Affleck. I smile. I start typing. I remember why I started writing in the first place: love of the written word.

Megg, Miss Enchanted ePubber