Vlog: How to Read More

It's shockingly easy to have books you haven't read pile up—I would know. So today I'm sharing some tips for squeezing extra reading in throughout the year.

RELATED LINKS: 

• Why Writers Must Read (vlog)
• Why Writers Must Read (blog post version)
• 2016 YA Debuts I'm Excited About (vlog)
• On Reading "Bad" Books
• Why Have a Yearly Reading Goal?
• Discussion: When Do You Read?

What tips do you have for reading more throughout the year? 

Twitter-sized bite: 

Falling behind on your TBR pile? @Ava_Jae vlogs some tips for getting more reading time in throughout the year. (Click to tweet)

On Never Enough Syndrome

Photo credit: Raban Haaijk http://haaijk.prosite.com/ on Flickr

It’s been a weird couple of months in my writer brain, lately.

As I’ve mentioned before, last year was the Year of Revisions for me—I spent my months heavily revising two manuscripts, ended up putting one aside and am full-steam ahead with the other and hoping it may one day be a Thing I can share. But last year was also the first year in a long time that I didn’t write a new manuscript, and that was kind of rough, in it’s own way.

Because even though, word-count-wise, I probably wrote enough during those revisions to equal up to a new MS anyway (did I mention how extensive the revisions were?), I still finished the year feeling like I’d failed, somehow, because I hadn’t written a new project.

Probably what compounded the issue was I’d wanted to write something in November, but my chronic illness disagreed and I ended up needing the time I would’ve been NaNoing to rest, instead. And even though I knew very well about the importance of rest (and hey, I’ve even vlogged about how important it is!), it didn’t stop me from entering 2016 from feeling kind of gross about it. Which is silly because I knew I’d progressed (revisions! were awesome!) but, you know, writer brains.

Combine this with experiencing my very first List Season, which even with the preparation of other authors talking about how List Season is tough and ultimately doesn’t mean much, even with the expectation of being left off a bunch of “upcoming” lists, I entered a kind of weird brain space.

The truth is, writers deal with a weird blend of imposter syndrome, the comparison game, and this pervading sense of standing still even when you’re progressing. This sense of you’re not doing enough spreads into so many aspects of the writer life, whether it’s drafting (you’re not writing enough), marketing (you’re not marketing enough), or stuff totally out of your control (you’re not on enough lists, you’re not getting reviewed enough, etc. etc. etc.).

I know, from listening to many other writers talk about this—writers who have been doing the career writer thing for wayyyyyy longer than I have—that this feeling never really goes away. And honestly, there isn’t really a lesson here at the end of this post, but you guys asked me to talk about the becoming a published writer thing, and this is a thing that is happening a lot lately, so here I am.

It’s a common thing for writers. And it’s not an easy thing. But I guess it helps knowing I am so not alone with this, and the best I can do is to just keep moving forward and try to focus on the really awesome things coming up, like my hardcover book in my hand (soon!), and my hardcover book possibly in many of yours. 

And even when my brain tries to convince me otherwise, that alone is a really incredible thing. :)

What cool writer things have you guys been doing lately?

Twitter-sized bite:

On the writer reality of never feeling like you're doing enough. (Click to tweet) 

Book Review: BURNING GLASS by Kathryn Purdie

Photo credit: Goodreads

So I was really intrigued by the whole idea of empaths in a Fantasy setting, which is why I requested the ARC, and whoa. Did this book deliver.

But first! The summary:

"Sonya was born with the rare gift to feel what those around her feel—both physically and emotionally—a gift she’s kept hidden from the empire for seventeen long years. After a reckless mistake wipes out all the other girls with similar abilities, Sonya is hauled off to the palace and forced to serve the emperor as his sovereign Auraseer. 

Tasked with sensing the intentions of would-be assassins, Sonya is under constant pressure to protect the emperor. One mistake, one small failure, will cost her own life and the lives of the few people left in the world who still trust her. 

But Sonya’s power is untamed and reckless, her feelings easily usurped, and she sometimes can’t decipher when other people’s impulses end and her own begin. In a palace full of warring emotions and looming darkness, Sonya fears that the biggest danger to the empire may be herself. 

As she struggles to wrangle her abilities, Sonya seeks refuge in her tenuous alliances with the volatile Emperor Valko and his idealistic younger brother, Anton, the crown prince. But when threats of revolution pit the two brothers against each other, Sonya must choose which brother to trust—and which to betray."

Right from the start, Burning Glass drew me in with probably one of the most intense first chapters I’ve read in a long time. I mean, just look at my Goodreads status updates:

Burning Glass is the type of book that grabs you by the throat from the first page and doesn’t let go until the end. With fascinating court politics, very complicated characters (and no pure evil antagonist), intense conflict and so many fascinating layers of world building, I really loved reading this. The world vaguely reminded me of a Shadow and Bone Russia-type setting, but the magic was completely unique and soooooo interesting to read about. I loved some characters, hated others, was suspicious of many more and all in all really enjoyed reading this.

I will say there was one background mythology and a throwaway line about it that was kind of ableist, that I didn’t love, and the love triangle didn't work for me in that one character was...not a viable option to me at all for spoilery reasons. But neither of those points ruined the book for me, personally, and I still found it a very enjoyable read.

Overall, Burning Glass is a wonderfully written, very exciting and emotional YA Fantasy, and I can’t wait to read the next book.

Diversity note: Sadly, I don't remember there being much of any.

Twitter-sized bite:

Looking for an intense YA Fantasy with an unusual magic system? Try BURNING GLASS by Kathryn Purdie. (Click to tweet)

Fixing the First Page Feature #19!

Photo credit: JLS Photography on Flickr

It is January 13th, which means we are nearing the midway point of the first month of the year, which means it's time to start gearing up for the next Fixing the First Page feature! Yay!

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 nineteenth public critique on Writability, do the thing with the rafflecopter widget below. You have until Tuesday, January 19 at 11:59 EST to enter!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Vlog: About Pen Names

Today I'm talking about a very common publishing thing: pen names! Specifically, on why many writers choose to use them.

RELATED LINK: 

• To Pen Name or Not to Pen Name? (blog post version)

What do you think? Would you ever consider using a pen name? Why or why not? 

Twitter-sized bites:

Wondering why some authors use pen names? @Ava_Jae breaks it down in today's vlog. (Click to tweet)  

To pen name or not to pen name? @Ava_Jae vlogs about reasons some authors choose to use pseudonyms. (Click to tweet)

Discussion: Are You a Plotter, Pantser, or Hybrid?

Photo credit: Innovation Lab on Flickr

So as I have frequently mentioned here on Writability, I'm a rather devout plotter—though I didn't start that way. When I first began writing, the idea of outlining my novel ahead of time gave me hives. I told myself it'd be boring and take the fun out of drafting, and I firmly stuck to that belief until I finally gave plotting a try.

Unexpectedly, plotting turned out to be a very effective method for me. I learned plotting ahead of time allowed me to write faster and helped eliminate most of my writers block, which turned out to be actually "don't know where to go from here" block.

While I don't necessarily stick 100% to my outlines while writing (as I've said before, I use them more as guidelines than rule books), I now don't start writing until I've fully plotted out the book idea. It's been an effective method for me so far.

That said! I am more than well aware that plotting doesn't work for everyone, or sometimes only works half the time, or only works up to a point for some. And if there's anything writing with the intent to publish for a decade now has taught me, it's that everyone's process is different. And sometimes one person's process is different book to book. And that's okay.

So since I haven't talked about this recently, I'm curious, and thus am making this discussion post: How many of you are plotters? Pantsers? Somewhere-in-between-ers? What do your first drafting processes look like?

Twitter-sized bite:

What's your first drafting process like? Are you a plotter? Pantser? Both? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)

Never-Ending Editing Syndrome Part Two: Publishing Edition

Photo credit: stanjourdan on Flickr

So way back in June 2011 (as in, a month after I started blogging), I wrote this really hyper post on Never-Ending Editing Syndrome, which basically describes that ever-present feeling of never really being done with editing when working on a book. (You can read it if you want, but you’ve been warned—it’s hyper, as many of my 2011 posts were.)

One of you lovely readers happened upon that very old post, and asked about my take on it now, close to five years later with my debut on the way. The question specifically was: “How did you find the NEES when agents and editors tell you to change things?”

As I have, as of this morning, submitted (probably) final edits for Beyond the Red, I figured now was as good a time as any to answer.

I have, at this point, read through Beyond the Red a lot. A LOT. Like, I’m honestly not sure how many editing rounds I’ve done, but I’ve read those words more than I care to think about. A from the first round of edits, I already knew which round I was dreading the most: the final round. Where the edits are in and no more changes can be made.

There’s a safety net in knowing that you can always make changes later if you need to (and for that reason, I never really worried when working on revisions with my agent). Every time I hit “send” with the new round of edits to my editor, I reminded myself it’s okay, I can change something next round if I want to.

Except now I know I probably can’t. Not really. Not with anything significant, at this point anyway.

In a way, reading it over and over again helped, because by the time I got to that final round I was feeling pretty good—like in all likelihood I’d already made the changes I wanted. And I did, and sometimes reminding myself of some of those changes was reassuring, because I knew okay, but I fixed x.

The other part of me knows that once I get the final “no more changes at all” copy from my editor, I probably won’t read it. Partially because I’ve read those words so many freaking times but also because I’m afraid I’ll inevitably find a typo or a word choice I decide I don’t like and I won’t be able to do anything about it. And you know, ignorance is bliss and all that.

At this point, I’m keeping some truths locked away to keep in mind when I inevitably start worrying about not being able to change something:

1. I wrote and edited to the very best of my ability—and then some. 
2. A stray typo or eh word choice isn’t going to break the book. Or me. 
3. I’ll always continue to learn and improve, so I can write and edit better next time around. 

So that’s where I’m at right now. It’s an exciting and nerve-wracking time, but overall, I’m proud of myself and of my book. And in less than two months, I’ll be able to share it with all of you. :)

Do you struggle with never-ending editing syndrome?

Twitter-sized bite:

Author @Ava_Jae talks dealing with Never Ending Editing Syndrome during her debut's the pre-publication days. (Click to tweet)