Fixing the First Page Feature Giveaway #14

Photo credit: EcoVirtual on Flickr

How are we nearly done with August? How is my summer break almost over? I don't know, but it does mean something good for you guys, because it's time to get ready for the next Fixing the First Page giveaway! Hooray!

For those who’ve missed it in the past, the Fixing the First Page features is a public first 250 word critique. Using the lovely rafflecopter widget, anyone interested in winning a PUBLIC (as in, featured in a post on this blog) first page critique can enter.

For an example of what this critique will look like, here's the last Fixing the First Page post.

Rules!

• ONLY the first 250 words will be critiqued (up to finishing the sentence). If you win and send me more, I will crop it myself. No exceptions.


• ONLY the first page. I don’t want 250 random words from your manuscript, or from chapter 3. If you win the critique and send me anything other than the first 250 words of your manuscript, I will choose someone else.


• I will actually critique it. Here. On the blog. I will say things as nicely as I can, but I do tend to be a little blunt. If you’re not sure you can handle a public critique, then you may want to take some time to think about it before you enter.


• Genre restrictions. I'm most experienced with YA & NA, but I will still accept MG and Adult. HOWEVER. If your first page has any erotic content on it, I ask that you don’t enter. I want to be able to post the critique and the first 250 in its entirety without making anyone uncomfortable, and if you win and you enter a page with erotic content, I will choose someone else.


• You must have your first page ready. Should you win, you need to be able to submit your first page within 48 hours of my contacting you to let you know you won. If 48 hours pass and I haven’t heard from you, again, I will choose someone else.


• You’ll get the most out of this if it isn’t a first draft. Obviously, I have no way of knowing if you’re handing me a first draft (though I will probably suspect because it’s usually not that difficult to tell). I won’t refuse your page if it’s a first draft, but you should know that this critique will likely be of more use if you’ve already had your betas/CPs look over it. Why? Because if you don’t, the critique I give you will probably contain a lot of notes that your betas & CPs could have/would have told you.


• There will not be a round 2 (unless you win again in a future contest). I hate to have to say this, but if you win a critique, it’s NOT an invitation to send me a bunch of your revisions. I wish I had the time available to be able to look at revisions, but sadly, I don’t. If you try to break this rule, I will nicely say no, and also remember to choose someone else should you win a second contest. Which would make me sad. :(

So that’s it! If you’re okay with all of the above and would like to enter to be the fourteenth public critique on Writability, do the thing with the rafflecopter widget below. You have until Monday, August 24 at 11:59 EST to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Vlog: How to Write Multi-POVs

Thinking about writing a multi-POV novel, but don't know where to start? I share my top multi-POV writing-tips with some book recommendations.

RELATED LINKS: 

• How to Write Multiple POVs (blog post version)
• 5 Dual-POV Writing Tips
• How to Differentiate Your POVs
• Why Use Multiple POVs?

Have you ever attempted to write a multi-POV novel? 

Twitter-sized bites: 

"Every POV needs to be absolutely essential to the story" & other multi-POV writing tips from @Ava_Jae. #vlog (Click to tweet)  

Thinking about writing a multi-POV novel? @Ava_Jae vlogs her top multi-POV writing tips. (Click to tweet)

On (Not) Waiting for Inspiration to Write

Photo credit: Rayani Melo on Flickr

Frequently, when I get e-mails or questions from writers, I get asked a lot about inspiration, or I hear stories about how writers have lost their inspiration and stopped writing altogether. Many times those stories come with questions along the lines of, “What do I do to fix it?”

I give a lot of tough love here on Writability and my vlog channel bookishpixie. Because the truth is, as nice as it sounds, being a writer is not an easy job.

I love the days when I sit down to write or revise and I feel inspired and excited. When I can’t wait to dive back into whatever I’m working on and immerse myself in my story world. Those are the days when the hours pass quickly and progress flies and I forget all about any external stressors or (for better or worse) responsibilities.

It’d be great if those days were everyday. It’d be awesome if every time I sat down to work on a project, I was in that euphoric can’t wait to get started mode.

Unfortunately, that’s not reality.

Sometimes, I’m apathetic about starting. I know I have to, and it’s on my agenda, and I get up early, brush my teeth, then sit half-awake in front of my computer and get going. Those days are okay. I usually slip into my project relatively quickly and I make the progress I need to, then pat myself on the back.

Sometimes, I sit down to work and…I…don’t want to. Those days aren’t quite so fun. Those are the days when just about anything else is interesting. I’ll wash the dishes, check my e-mail and blog stats, troll on tumblr and Twitter and…my MS is waiting. Those days I have to buckle down and focus on my daily goal—whether it’s a certain number of revision points or a certain number of words to be written. And even with my initial desire to procrastinate, I get my work done anyway.

Why? Because no one else is going to do it for me. Because writing is my job—has been my job even before I got agented—and I need to treat it like one. Because more times than not, once I get working, I start to get into it again. And maybe the words don’t flow as well as inspired days, and maybe revisions are more painful today, but in the end, the work gets done, and that’s what matters.

If you’re serious about writing, you need to be serious about writing. And that doesn’t necessarily mean writing every day—that works for some, but not others, and that’s okay. But it does mean holding yourself accountable, and yes, it means writing when you don’t want to. Or when you’re uninspired. Or when you’d rather do just about anything else.

Because if you wait around for inspiration, chances are likely it’ll never come. Writing doesn’t just happen—you have to make it happen. And some days, that’s easier than others, but ultimately it’s up to you to do your job. Because that’s what writers do.

What do you think? Do you try to write even when you’re not inspired?

Twitter-sized bites:

"Writing doesn’t just happen—you have to make it happen." —@Ava_Jae #writetip (Click to tweet)  

Waiting for inspiration to write? @Ava_Jae says it's up to you to make progress regardless. What do you think? (Click to tweet)

Book Review: FOCUS ON ME by Megan Erickson

Photo credit: Goodreads

I have so many squees to share about this book, but first! The Goodreads summary:

“Colin Hartman can now add college to his list of failures. On the coast-to-coast trek home from California, Colin stops at a gas station in the Nevada desert, and can’t help noticing the guy in tight jeans looking like he just stepped off a catwalk. When he realizes Catwalk is stranded, Colin offers a ride. 

Riley only intended to take a short ride in Colin’s Jeep to the Grand Canyon. But one detour leads to another until they finally find themselves tumbling into bed together. However there are shadows in Riley’s eyes that hide a troubled past. And when those shadows threaten to bury the man whom Colin has fallen in love with, he vows to get Riley the help he needs. For once in his life, quitting isn’t an option…”

Okay. Okay.

Remember when I read Trust the Focus and totally loved it? And then the cover for Focus on Me was revealed and I basically stared at my screen forever?

You guys, this series is quickly becoming one of my favorite NA romance series, like, ever.

After reading Trust the Focus, Focus on Me was everything I hoped for and more. I devoured most of it on a train ride to and from Chicago and sat huddled in my seat, flipping through the pages, my heart totally breaking for Colin and Riley. I can’t tell you how quickly I got attached to these guys and while I still haven’t cried reading a book…this one came close.

Colin and Riley’s romance is steamy, adorable, heartbreaking and real. Erickson tackles some really serious issues (depression and an eating disorder), and while I can’t speak for the accuracy for either of them as I don’t have enough expertise, I can say that at least from my perspective, it seemed to be handled really respectfully. I especially loved that there wasn’t a magical cure (or magical healing love interest either, for that matter).

I love this book and I love this series and I can’t wait for the next one. If you’re looking for some great m/m NA romances, I couldn’t recommend the In Focus series more.

Diversity note: this is a m/m NA and both the love interest and protagonist are gay. One of them also suffers from depression and struggles with an eating disorder.

What have you been reading lately?

.@Ava_Jae gives 5/5 stars to FOCUS ON ME by @MeganErickson_. Have you read this feelsy m/m NA romance? (Click to tweet) 

Looking for a raw, yet adorable diverse NA? Check out FOCUS ON ME by Megan Erickson. (Click to tweet)

Chapter One Young Writers Conference Recap

Photo credit: moi

So last weekend I did a thing! As I mentioned briefly earlier, I had the super awesome opportunity of going to Chicago and speaking to a bunch of young writers between the ages of 12-22—and it was amazing. So amazing.

I won’t lie, the day I was preparing to get on the train to go, I was massively anxious. Like, verge-of-an-anxiety-attack anxious. And it sucked, but once I got to the train station things calmed down a little and soon I felt better.

Then Chicago! Well not really. First a bunch of delays on my train, and a several hour ride, and then Chicago! The lovely lady who picked me up from the train station was also kind enough to give me a driving tour of the city at night, which was super cool, and then I kind of stumbled half-deliriously to the hotel where I met some super awesome people, and then I crashed.

The next day was when the conference actually started, and it honestly could not have gone better. I did my presentation (which was 45 minutes in front of an audience—eep!), listened to other super awesome speakers like Karen Bao, Kaye, Taryn Albright, and Kat Zhang, met some lovely readers, and then…

So delighted @booksquirt snapped this pic! Me at my very first (swag) signing today. So surreal and wonderful and amazing. #Ch1Con #booknerdigans #writerlife #writing

A photo posted by Ava Jae (@ava_jae) on Aug 8, 2015 at 2:13pm PDT

Yes. That’s me. Doing my very first signing. :D

I was basically on cloud nine all day. Everyone was so awesome, meeting people and chatting about writing and publishing all day was bliss. And as a nice bonus, I won an ARC of George by Alex Gino. (Be jealous.)

Look what I won! :D #GEORGE #ARC #booknerdigans #bookstagram #Ch1Con

A photo posted by Ava Jae (@ava_jae) on Aug 8, 2015 at 1:22pm PDT 

I wrote a post last week about how things were starting to feel real—things have never felt more real than sitting at that table, signing swag for Beyond the Red. And walking around with a snazzy badge that said “Speaker” on it. And being a conference as a real life author.

It was absolutely incredible and I can’t wait until my next event. I’ve never felt more confident, accepted and absolutely happy. :)

Photo credit: Julia Byers

Now to make the most of my last month of summer before school starts…

Twitter-sized bite:

.@Ava_Jae recaps attending her very first conference as an author. #Ch1Con (Click to tweet) 

Vlog: All About BEYOND THE RED (Part 2)

In honor of Beyond the Red's cover reveal, I'm (still!) answering questions all about the book! Yay!

This week's questions are mostly about the publication/writing process behind the book. Hope you guys enjoy!

RELATED LINKS: 

• Enter to win a signed ARC and bookmark (US Only)! 
• Goodreads (where you can add my book to your TBR shelf)!
• Beyond the Red pre-order links (where you can buy my book)!
• From Contest to Book Deal (vlog)
• All About Beyond the Red (Part 1) (vlog)
• Pinterest mood board for Beyond the Red

Twitter-sized bite: 

Curious about the writing/publication process behind a book? @Ava_Jae answers questions all about it. #vlog (Click to tweet)

Books Written Before Debuts: Stats

Photo credit: kenteegardin on Flickr

So a little while ago, while I was looking for statistics about the number of books various authors had written before writing their debuts, I found that there was shockingly little information out there. I mean, sure, if you hunted for it you’d find some scattered answers, but I couldn't find an easy database with averaged information.

So I asked around Twitter to see if anyone knew of such a database. And no one did. But the genius @Bibliogato suggested I take an unofficial Twitter poll and hope it got RTed enough to get some decent data. 

So I did. And wow, did it ever get enough RTs. 

Overall, I got over 200 responses from traditionally published writers all over Twitter, which was pretty incredible. Combined with some data I found online from specific authors, it gave me a pretty interesting spread of information. 

The question I asked specifically, was how many novels the respondents had written before writing their debut novel. 

83.8% of respondents said that they’d written at least one novel before writing their debut. The most common answer was one (so debut was the second book), followed very closely by three (debut was fourth). The average was 3.24 books written before debuting. 

• 16.2% debuted with their first novel. 
• 17.1% debuted with their second novel. 
• 13.1% debuted with their third novel. 
• 16.7% debuted with their fourth novel. 
• 14% debuted with their fifth novel. 
• 7.7% debuted with their sixth novel. 
• 6.2% debuted with their seventh novel.
• 9% wrote seven or more books before writing their debuts. 

The spread: 

That data point of 20+ books written before debuting? That’s a HUGE author. Like, Twitter-verified, NYT bestseller. AKA: don’t give up. 

Some interesting anecdotes: 

• One writer spent 17 years writing short stories before writing their debut. 
• One writer wrote over 40 novellas before writing their debut.
• One writer spent 10 years writing fan fiction before writing their debut. 
• One writer spent 25 years writing four books. 
• One writer spent 13 years writing one book (their debut). 
• Many writers didn’t sell the first book they signed an agent with. 

All in all, there was a really wide spread here, but I think the takeaway is not to give up. Maybe it’ll only take you one book, and maybe it’ll take you twenty. But if you keep working at it, and writing, and revising, and sending your book out there—one way or another, I think you’ll make it.

What do you think of the statistics? 

Twitter-sized bites: 

.@Ava_Jae asked pubbed writers on Twitter how many books they wrote before writing their debuts. Here are her stats. (Click to tweet)  

Writer @Ava_Jae shares her results from her unofficial Twitter poll on how many books pubbed writers wrote before their debuts. (Click to tweet)  

Feeling discouraged about having to trunk a novel? @Ava_Jae shares statistics you might find encouraging. (Click to tweet)