Am I a Bestseller or Not?

Tip of the Day: According to an editor/friend of mine....here's how the terms are used:

bestseller - noun
best-selling - adjective

Or you can see it here on Dictionary.com

***

Am I a best-selling author?

Technically, yes.

My books - every single one of them - have hit multiple best-seller lists on Amazon.

Whoop dee doo.

Maybe I'm snobby. Maybe I'm too critical. But I'm not going to prance around the internet claiming best-seller status with hitting the top of one of Amazon's gabillion lists. I've even hit the top 100 on Amazon overall (paid, yes, I've hit the top 10 overall free multiple times) and I'm still not willing to flaunt it.

I don't think I'm snobby or critical. I just think I still have my head in the clouds.

I want to be a NY Times Bestseller or a USA Today Bestseller. I want to hit the big time, baby. Small successes are definitely worth celebrating. I've posted many a FB picture of my books on prominent Amazon lists. Yet...I won't let my cover artist put that coveted title next to my name.

What do you think? Am I a bestseller? Or still a wannabe?

In the meantime, pick up my YA contemporary novel, Shucked. It's free today on Amazon. :)

XoXo,

Megg, Miss Enchanted ePubber

Long Time, No See (or What I've Been Doing While Not Blogging)

Tip of the Day: Don't forget to enter for a chance to win a paperback copy of the hilarious MY FAKE BOYFRIEND IS BETTER THAN YOURS!

Hello A2A Readers! Oh my goodness, it has been way too long since I've blogged. But I have been busy busy busy and while I do not yet have a book contract, I have been doing many other very cool Librariany and Writerly Things.

Like what?

Let me share a la list format!

1. After the amazingly awesome Greater Rochester Teen Read Week starring A. S. King, I got a mention in School Library Journal! How awesome is that for our fourth year of GRTRW? Thanks again, Amy! (And if you haven't read her REALITY BOY yet, omg you must!)

2. I got offered a gig writing monthly reviews for board books through YA lit! (I will say more when my first review goes live, because, ya know, I'm slightly paranoid like that.)

3. I presented K-12 book talks with my two amazing colleagues at Library Leadership Academy yesterday for Wayne County/Finger Lakes BOCES -- and got to see Steve Sheinkin do a hilarious/telling keynote lunch speech! Last year I raved about BOMB and was so excited when it won FOUR AWARDS. Getting to hear Steve talk about how this book came to be was so exciting. And he seems like such a cool, real guy who has not let medals on his book cover go to his head. I would love to sit around and talk history with him. Fortunately, I believe he is coming to my town this winter to talk at the middle school.

4. Last night I attended the RACWI (Rochester Area Children's Writers & Illustrators; a local division of SCBWI) holiday party, and what a fun, hilarious, and inspiring night it was. I nailed my "talent" for the talent show (named all 44 presidents in order -- boo yeah!), and chatted with the lovely Robin Pulver about characters with special needs, the prolific Vivian Vande Velde about what she's working on next, the strong Marsha Hayles, the vivacious Linda Sue Park & tall M. T. Anderson about the Rochester Teen Book Festival (no, M. T. is not from Rochester, but was in the area for a school visit so of course we "let" him come as Linda Sue's guest!). I enjoyed spending time with all the other writers and illustrators in attendance as well at my beautiful crit partner's house.

5. My siblings came to visit over Thanksgiving and stayed at my house and we had so much fun! This may not appear to be directly related to the world of librarianship and writing, but you see, they are both writers as well: my brother the professor publishes his research in journals, and my sister the LMT writes original books and continuing ed material so others can keep their certification. They are very talented and cool and we all "get" each other's crazy humor.

6. I finished reading a draft of Megg's adult fantasy dragon novel. I can't wait for everyone to read it! (Head to her website for more info!)

And now it is nearly the second week in December. WOW. I will get back to cranking out the rewrite of my MG novel that takes place in an old mansion-turned-library and keep my fingers crossed that someone wants to buy my insane asylum MG!

What have you all been up to?

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

What's Your Standard Writing Day?

It's that time in the book cycle where I'm filling out a gazillion interviews before a book launch (this time it's the launch of the paperback for My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours- 12/31/13) and a common question I seem to get is describe your typical writing day. I like this question because I'm always curious how other authors work. So I'll tell you guys my typical day as a writer and you tell me yours okay? Here goes:

6:15am- get all the rugrats up, fed&dressed, and then off to school by 7:45.
8:00am- breakfast and errands with the littlest rugrat who has afternoon kindergarten. Then home to work on all book marketing related things- contests, promotions, interviews, social media, you name it.
Noon-drop the little off for kindergarten and back home to write like a maniac until it's time for pickup at 2:35.
3:00pm- all the homework/activities and so on, dinner, and kids to bed between 7 and 8.
8:00pm and on- catch up on e-mails and and book marketing related tasks still to do.

So it seems like my time is pretty split between writing and doing promo stuff. Is this how it is for everyone else? I see people say things like they write all day and I wonder how they do it. Maybe someday I'll get to that point but I'm pretty comfortable with my current schedule.

What about you?

Kristina, Miss Author in Action

P.S.- Stop by my contest between now and 1/15/14 on my blog for a chance to win the Fake Boyfriend Prize Pack. Lots of goodies!

Stuck? Read Lyrics

All writers have been there - you're writing, or editing, and you cannot move on because you're searching for the perfect turn of phrase or a clever metaphor, and the only words your brain supplies are "duh" and "blah." Nothing sounds good. You have simply run out of words and creative ways to use them.

For some authors, they re-read beloved passages from favorite novels, hoping to spark their creativity. Not me. I head for my favorite song lyrics.

Think about it - in three minutes, a musician must tell you a story. Not just any story, but one that grabs you around the throat until your emotions spill out in song. The best songs force you to sing along (no matter your level of talent). You sing because somewhere deep inside, the lyrics have spoken a truth to you.

To me, that is incredible power.

Some of you may ask, "Why not just read poetry?"

I don't know if it's the way my brain is wired, but poetry puts me to sleep. I don't understand it a bit. But put poetry to music, and suddenly my brain clicks on. Maybe it's the same reason I obsessively listen to music while I write.

So who are some of my favorite musical poets?

Nina Gordon - you may remember her as the lead singer of Veruca Salt. Nina put out a couple of solo albums and it's just the type of music I like to drown in.

Example:

"Now I'm bleeding like watercolors
Keep me dreaming in pale blues and greens"
-Watercolors

Alanis Morissette - Say what you will, I think she's a modern poetic genius. I love all of her music and can't wait for another new release.

Example:

"I have been running so sweaty my whole life
Urgent for a finish line
And I have been missing the rapture this whole time of being forever incomplete"
- Incomplete


I could go on for a long time, but that's not helpful to you. For all I know, you're reading these and thinking, "These are terrible. They don't make any sense to me."

And you're justified in thinking that. lol. The beauty of this exercise is that we all have our own favorites, so next time you're stuck, read the lyrics of some of YOUR favorite songs. If it speaks to you, then it will help. Trust me.

Good luck!!!!!

XoXo,


Megg, Miss Enchanted ePubber

Who Is That Masked Man? (or What Movies Do for Book Characters)

Tip of the Day: The Greater Rochester Teen Read during Teen Read Week with A. S. King was amazing! Thanks to all the teachers, librarians, teens, and Amy(!) for making it a success! You can also check out a new interview with me in the YALSA blog for winning the YALSA/Dollar General TRW grant.

Some might say that movies/TV shows based on books are not as good as the written versions. In many cases I agree with that.

However, as Halloween approaches and costumed enthusiasts make their party appearances, it is clear that without Hollywood making our book characters visually concrete in our heads, many a costume would go unrecognized -- or unimagined.

Can you tell who this character is?

 

How many people dressed as Katniss before THE HUNGER GAMES became a movie? How about Legalos? Or Deanerys Targaryen? :)

 

How often do you think a movie that flops hurts the book it was based on? If potential readers see the movie first and then don't even try the book?

 

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing



Boy Swap Release Day!

Yay! Boy Swap is out in the world today! Get yourself a copy on Amazon, B&N, and soon itunes and Kobo!

Fourth Annual Greater Rochester Teen Read! (or GRTR during TRW with ASK!)

Tip of the Day: Need to buy some books this week? Wait til Saturday and order through Barnes & Noble book fairs to benefit the 9th Annual Rochester Teen Book Festival!

Guess what time of year it ALMOST is?

Teen Read Week!

And what does that mean?

It is also almost time for the Fourth Annual Greater Rochester Teen Read! This year our feature author is A. S. King (Amy) and her novel Everybody Sees the Ants!

I am particularly excited about GRTR this year because not only did we book Amy for three Monroe County Library System visits, one Monroe County Children's Detention Center visit, three school visits, AND as a special guest for the Read-A-Thon at B&N, but I ALSO got the YALSA/Dollar General TRW Grant! That means three more MCLS libraries can be a part of TRW activities by showing the documentary Bully, do giveaways of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS and the essay book DEAR BULLY edited by Carrie Jones and Megan Kelley Hall, and pay for Amy's flight. Phew! 

If you will be in the Rochester, NY area from Oct. 12-17, please check out this website to find out where you can meet Amy and hear her talk about why bullying sucks and how things will get better!

Have I mentioned lately that I love my job?

I love my job!

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing