Announcing WINDSHIELDS! + NaNoWriMo Wrap-Up

In this final post of the year, I have some news to share. I mentioned about two months ago that I had an announcement to make regarding OSAI. Here it is:

The anthology for the 2015 creative writing class (which includes me) has been released.

Once more, there is a picture of each contributor and three pages worth of work from them. I have one flash fiction piece and two poems included. I'm quite proud of them.

If you would like more information about the anthology or if you perhaps want your own copy, links are on my Publications page.

Hopefully, I'll have news of more publications soon. I submitted three poems to two literary magazines on my campus and am currently waiting to hear back. I submitted a short story to a contest being judged by Ellen Hopkins as well. I don't really expect to win, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have my work read by one of my favorite authors.

I would also like to tell y'all how my NaNoWriMo went, now that it's nearly the end of December. I finished with a word count of 17,718. Of course, that's no where near goal. However, I am not disappointed. This is kind of what I expected. And 17k is nothing to scoff at. It's a big chunk of a novel, a whole beginning. Something I wouldn't have if I hadn't tried NaNoWriMo this year.

As I said, this will be my last post of 2015, but I think I'll be posting again soon. I'm currently working on my goals for the upcoming year, which involves some serious thinking about priorities and what I want. I may have some decisions to share.

Something BIG - The Most Newsie THINKING OF YOU Post Ever

I have made some big decisions. And today I'm going to finally share them with you.

First, I've made a title change. THINKING OF YOU has become THINK OF ME.

I decided to make this change after a burst of inspiration. I've always planned for THINK OF ME to be the first in a series. Originally, that series had a total of seven books. However, I never really wanted to write any of the other six. Then one night a couple of months ago I was lying in bed and everything clicked.

The Controller Chronicles is now a four book series consisting of the tentatively titled THINK OF ME, RAIN ON ME, SPARK WITHIN ME, and DIE FOR ME. Each book still has a different narrator and the series still tells the story of the Controllers coming out to the rest of humanity. Now, though, instead of detailing a drawn out battle, each book focuses on a phase of that coming out. There's the initial rebellion against government oppression, the winning of that fight, the actual coming out, and the aftermath.

The best part is that THINK OF ME's original plot already fits in this plan. This means I don't have to start over and can build on what I already have.

I cannot express to you how excited I am. Thinking about this series makes me want to dance because it fills me with so much happy energy.

Second, it's time for that big announcement I've been hinting at for weeks.

I'm going to be serializing THINK OF ME on Wattpad.

While this isn't like super, super major news, it is a big step for me. I want people to read my writing. I want people to enjoy my writing. I want to hear what people have to say about my writing. And, let's face it, I'm a long way from traditional publishing. Plus, self publishing kind of intimidates me. This is my third option.

I'm also hoping that doing this will finally motivate me to really get on THINK OF ME revisions. I've been hemhawing around for over three years. Serializing my book will keep me accountable and eager.

Of course, my novel isn't quite ready for the public eye. The first thing I have to do is complete a structure or "fill-in-the-blanks" revision. As I've said in a previous post, I have twenty scenes I need to rewrite and eight I need to write. After that, I'm going to be revising chapter-by-chapter as I post them on Wattpad.

My goal is to have my first chapter up on October 31st. This gives me around three months to complete my structure revision and prevents that stress from leaking into NaNoWriMo time. After my initial posting, I aim to post a chapter every two weeks. I feel like this is totally doable and often enough to keep people interested.

THINK OF ME is not the only work I plan to publish on Wattpad either. I want to post my City in the Sky stories there as well. Again, it's a motivation thing. I need to start writing this series already! I don't have an exact date set for the first short story yet, but I'm thinking sometime in January. Hopefully by then I'll have a few readers.

So, that's my big news. I'll probably be posting a revising schedule soon because I feel like I need one to reach my deadline. You can check out my Wattpad profile here if you want, though it's not much to look at at the moment. I can't wait to see what the coming months bring!

Two Things: Vanity Scams & Being Almost Done

#1

I have some bad news. I'm not going to have a poem published in ACCOLADES.

In my last blog post, I told you that I had just put my author release/order form in the mailbox. After the post was up, I, still buzzing with excitement, decided to search for posts about the book/contest on Tumblr to see if anyone else was talking about it. The posts that popped up screamed scam!

Alarmed, I decided to do more research. An Internet search told me all I needed to know. The America Library of Poetry is what's known as a vanity scam.

Once you've entered their contest, they send you a letter saying you've been "selected" to be published in their annual anthology. Everyone gets this letter. Everyone gets put in the anthology. They try to make you feel special so that you and your family members/friends will dish out money for an over-priced book.

They do still send you a book, which is what makes this type of scam so controversial, but they don't promote their book/your work and they don't sell it anywhere. They use your hopes and dreams to make money off you. They use the hopes and dreams of elementary students to make money off them.

Luckily, I found this out in time to retrieve my form/check from the mail. Besides simply not wanting to be ripped off, I don't wish to be associated with this organization in any way. My integrity and reputation are more important than "being in a book." My work is something to be proud of and I won't degrade it because "published is published."

I'll admit that I'm a little disappointed. However, mostly I'm glad that I unearthed the truth before the mailman came to our house.

#2

Now, because I want to end on a positive note, I'm going to leave you with a little update on Camp NaNoWriMo.

Currently, I'm at 9,859 words. The Day Twenty-Eight goal is 10,109, but I'm past Day Twenty-Seven's goal so I'm right on track. I have a total of 1,334 words left to write.

Alsoooo, I finished writing OBJECTION'S climax last night/early this morning! I'm really excited about this because it means I'm so close, so close, to the end. Writing this first draft has been an almost two year journey and I can't wait to finally have a complete story in my hands.

I have a feeling that I'm just going to wiz through my falling action/resolution stuff so I'll probably (hopefully!) have a finished draft before I go to sleep tonight tomorrow morning. I'll have my first Camp NaNoWriMo win under my belt as well.

So, yeah, I'm pumped.

Camp NaNoWriMo Update + What Else I've Been Up To

My current word count for Camp NaNoWriMo is 7,748 so I'm about three days behind. I'm not worried, however, because, since my goal is so low, that means I only need to write about 900 words to catch up. It should take less than an hour. I plan to be at or over the Day Twenty-Four goal of 8,665 words by the end of today.

I've fallen into a pattern this month. Several days will go by where I don't write and then I'll catch up in one big spurt. It's been working pretty well so far, but I only need 3,445 more words so I might decide to power through to the end in the next couple of days.

There's exactly one week left until Camp is over and I can't wait. Not only because I'll finally have a finished draft of OBJECTION (which is awesome), but I'll also be announcing the big news I've been hinting at for some time. I'm anxious to see what y'all think.

I slipped my author release form for ACCOLADES into the mail box today. I had to wait because the release doubled as an order form and it took some time for my family to decide how many books we wanted. Now, we wait. I'll be sharing any news as soon as I have it.

Besides OBJECTION and my author release form, my past week has been focused on books. I completely reorganized my bookshelves. I still have knick knacks to place, but the majority of the work is done. With the clean out I did during the process, I now own 584 books with an unread percentage of 27.6%. I have yet to decide whether I will post pictures here or on my Tumblr.

On top of that, I've been watching lots of booktube vlogs. Last week was an event called BookTubeAThon. Participants in the Thon aimed to read as many books as they could in a week while trying to fulfill certain reading and vlogging challenges. I'm finding the resulting videos quite enjoyable and kind of wish I had had time to take part myself. Perhaps next year.

So, that's what I've been up to since my last post. I will be back with news of my Camp NaNoWriMo victory soon!

The Editorial Staff at The America Library of Poetry Would Like to Publish MY Poem

While I was away visiting my family, I received a letter from The America Library of Poetry. I entered their annual poetry contest in April so, as you can imagine, I was very excited to hear from them. However, the winners of the contest will not be selected until the end of September. So why did they send me a letter?

In the meantime Brooke, I have even more exciting news for you. The editorial staff at The America Library of Poetry would like to publish your poem "Fishing For A Living" in a special book of student poetry entitled Accolades. Scheduled for release in the fall, this particular compilation is generating a lot of interest as it will feature only a very select cross-section of this year's submissions. Again, I congratulate you on an outstanding accomplishment. You should be very proud, especially when you consider the many talented authors who may never be discovered or have the opportunity to see their work in print.

They want to publish my submission. Isn't that awesome?! Even if I don't win, I feel as if this contest has been a great success for me. This will be my first publication where they picked me. Two of my prior publications were blogosphere volunteer projects and the third was a collection put together by my OSAI class. ACCOLADES feels different. It feels like validation.

I'll keep you all updated, both on the contest and ACCOLADES. Until then, I've got an author release form (squee!) to fill out and Camp NaNoWriMo to win.

What I Want After Publication

Everyone knows that a writer's main goal is publication. To reach author status. Some reach this dream through self-publishing. Others go more traditional routes. But what about after that? What does a writer, an author, want after publication?

They want people to read their work. Beyond that, they want people to like their work. Whether this enjoyment is expressed through five star reviews, fan mail, awards, or titles such as "New York Times' Bestseller," authors literally live off of it.

However, while I would absolutely love those things, I want something more. I want to inspire. I want to spark other people's creativity. I want fan art and fan fiction. I want people to write songs about my stories. I want people to cosplay as my characters. I want my art to be the stem from which other art will sprout.

And I don't want people to stop at creative expression. I want them to think. I want them to discuss the ins-and-outs of my books, to argue over them. I want Tumblr posts written about my themes and my character relationships. I want other authors to collaborate on books where they express their opinions about my writing.

In other words, I guess I want people to interact with my books, not just read them. Because, as my critique partner, Steph, put it, "Stories are organic. They grow, and age, and change. And it's cool to be cool with that."

Considering Other Options

Today is the last day to vote in the Ink Haiku contest. Go here to learn how. Thank you!

Do you ever feel like your novel ideas are just too weird? Like you love the book, but when you really sit down to think, you're not sure if anyone else will understand it the same way you do. You worry that if you try to explain it to someone, they'll give you a funny look and try to scoot away discretely.

Recently, while I was on the phone with one of my friends, he asked me what my novels are about. I always hate this question, but I attempted to answer. I told him that THE TRUE PRINCESS is about a princess who gets cloned...He thought it was strange. And while I firmly believe in my story, his opinion did not exactly boost my confidence.

As I've been working on THINKING OF YOU, rearranging the plot and trying to better build the story, this has been a concern that has crossed my mind a few times. What if I spend all this time on my story and then no one else thinks it's as amazing and creative as I do? What if everyone just thinks it's bizarre?

I've read many posts on self-publishing where people have explained that they self-publish for this very reason; their book is a bit too unique for the current market. However, self-publishing in its entirety is not for me. I do not have the skills nor the desire to produce an entire book by myself.

But I have thought of something else.

Many people my age who write don't see physical publication as an option, at least not at this point in their lives. However, they still want people to read their stories. So they go to what teenagers go to for everything: the Internet. They post their stories, their poems on sites like Wattpad, Fictionpress, Figment. The latter I use myself-very, very rarely posting shorter works there.

Perhaps you can see where this is going, but, if not, I am considering posting THINKING OF YOU on an online writing site. Even though I already have a Figment account, I'm leaning more toward Wattpad. Of course, I would research as many options as possible if this is what I decide to do.

Why am I considering this?

Well, there are a few reasons. It would let me know how people feel about my writing beyond my short poems and short stories. If I work at it, it might help me build a reader base so there are people who would buy an actual book from me. Also, being able to show an agent "see? people like me" could never hurt. It would give people something to read while I work on something I believe to be better for the market and publication. And you never know what feedback I might get; someone could point out a major flaw I need to fix or point me in a direction to make my story even better.

Obviously, there are also drawbacks to publishing an entire manuscript on the Internet. For one, the site I used would most likely get non-exclusive rights to my story. That is always my biggest concern and consideration before I post anything on the Internet and that would be no different here. I would also have to spend a fair amount of time reading others stories on the same site. As us bloggers know, you do not get without giving.

I have to take all of this into account while making my decision. In the meantime, I will continue to make my story as good as I can, to make it as good as it can be. Because no matter what decisions I make in the future, I will always want that.

What are your thoughts about "publishing" work on online writing sites?

QUARTZ FOUNTAIN and OVERCOMING ADVERSITY

Today I have two very special announcements!

The first I've waited about a week to tell you. Last summer I mentioned that the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute was putting together an anthology for the class of 2012. Well, they've finally finished it!

QUARTZ FOUNTAIN includes three or four poems from each student as well as their portrait. I'm the third person in because we're organized in alphabetical order. Three of my poems are included-two I read at a performance while at OSAI and one I chose. It is available in paperback for ten dollars. Purchase links are on my Publications page if you would like to check it out further.


While I am very excited about my anthology, that's not the end of my good news!

About a month ago, I participated in The Overcoming Adversity Bloghop hosted by Nick Wilford. His goal was to compile entries for an anthology he would sell to fundraise money for his stepson's college fund. The Kindle edition of this book was released today! The paperback will hopefully be released in a few days time. Purchase information for this book can also be found on my Publications page.

It's funny because the piece I wrote for OVERCOMING ADVERSITY: AN ANTHOLOGY FOR ANDREW was a part of my writing sample for my audition for the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute this year. Here's to hoping it lives up to its name and overcomes the adversity that is being chosen to attend this camp once more!

Kaylie Austen's RAVENS Release Day Interview

I hosted Kaylie Austen on my blog back in March 2012 (here and here). Today she is back again with big news. Her book, RAVENS, has been published! In celebration, I have asked her a question for each letter of her book title. She is also being nice enough to giveaway a signed copy of RAVENS! Rafflecopter at the bottom of the post.

Brooke: RAVENS has had two different publishers. How did having to switch publishers make you feel? What do you suggest for other writers who have problems with their publishers?

Kaylie: Having to make a change like that was worrisome and frustrating, but thankfully RAVENS was picked up quickly by another publisher who had also liked the novel from its early days.

When writers have issues with their publishers, they should always evaluate the issue first and get to the root of the problem. Sometimes fault is with the writer and as a writer, you must be humble enough to acknowledge that and make necessary changes. This is a business, not a right, and that goes both ways. Publishers and editors must also be professional and dependable. Make sure it’s a legitimate issue. If the problem is actually your editor or publisher and not you, then approach that person. They should be willing to discuss things and want to work on it with you. The next step is to contact the head of the department or CEO. If that doesn’t resolve the problem, look at your contract carefully and see if you can retract your rights based on the legal qualifications. Sometimes, and thankfully not my experience, a writer may have to take a serious loss or get into a legal battle. After the storm, you just dust yourself off, gather your confidence and know-how, and move on with another lesson under your belt and become a bit wiser.

B: Are there any big events happening to celebrate the release of RAVENS, either online or in real life?

K: There’s a Goodreads giveaway, and I’ll have a giveaway on my blog as well as some interviews around the web. No big event, though. I’m getting my toes wet for now.

B: Vaguely described in your book summary, Ravens play a big part in your story. Could you give us a few more sentences explaining what Ravens are? Do they actually look like the bird or are they something entirely different?

K: I’m a huge fan of the X-Men and Gambit (swoon) is mighty hot. I loosely fashioned Ravens after him. Ravens are children who were teleported into a parallel universe where they’re superhuman and are hunted by humans. The colored part of their eyes are white and the white parts are black. They only emerge at night to remain hidden. They have electromagnetic capabilities, are agile, fast, strong, and many have independent powers. For example, Liam can cause illusions in people, read their minds, and he can communicate with Kendra when she’s in our world using telepathy.

B: Even though releasing RAVENS is extremely exciting, you have other books as well. Do you expect to release HELLHOUND any time soon, with this publisher or another one? Are there any other novels in the works?

K: HELLHOUND (paranormal mystery) will release in 2013, but we don’t have a set date yet. As a surprise that I’m announcing with you, because it seems you’ve been with me for so long, I’m terribly excited to announce that my zombie mermaid novel will also be published, hopefully in late 2013 or 2014. I have a few novels I finished in 2012 that haven’t found a home, yet. I hope to have amazing news about them soon.

B: Novels can be hard to write, which is why many authors also write or start out writing shorter works. Do you have any shorter projects you're working on now? Do you have any published?

K: I had two paranormal romance shorts published in 2010, but they are no longer in circulation. I don’t have any projects going right now, although I do have ideas for a RAVENS sequel that will take the crew to one of the three moons in the parallel universe, the one that’s been terra-formed for prisoners.

B: Saving her sister is Kendra's main goal in RAVENS. What are your goals, both for RAVENS and your writing?

K: Every writer wants to see their baby become a hit. I just hope people like it, even if it remains low key. My goals are simple, though not easily obtainable. I hope to achieve some of these goals in 2013: signing with an agent, signing with a major publisher, and eventually, one day, maybe making it onto a bestseller’s list. I think that’s a generic ballpark for most aspiring authors, but a worthy one and one worth fighting for. Blood, sweat, and tears as they say.

About RAVENS:

What are Ravens, and are they as the world wants us to believe—sinister and without human qualities? When abruptly taken from their world, select humans are transformed into creatures of the night with penetrating eyes and uncanny abilities that most believe are a threat to mankind. Stripped from their mundane and ordinary lives, these creatures have no choice but to stalk the night and fight back in order to survive.

One such Raven is eighteen-year-old Liam, who uses his telepathy to communicate with Kendra in order to lure her into the transformation. It proves to be a double-edged gambit that turns into a tumultuous journey. Racing against time to save her sister, whom she believed to be dead, Kendra falls through a portal and into a parallel world where humans hunt her. She becomes a Raven with ill-controlled powers, trapped in a torrid affair with Liam, and desperately struggles to find a grip on her new reality.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Find Kayle At: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

About Kaylie Austen: I was born during a monsoon in an Indian village that lacked a doctor and a hospital but had many nesting cobras nearby. That’s the most fascinating thing about me. Other than that, I’m a true Texan, and yes, I bleed orange (Longhorns!). Currently, I reside in the Pacific Northwest with my husband. My novels include YA fantasy, YA sci-fi, and paranormal romance/mystery.

I’ve been writing since the age of ten, and completed two novels before high school graduation. I love to learn, my life is rich with culture, and I’m an undercover nerd.

Is Blog "Published" Considered Published?

If you've been reading my blog for a while (or a month), you know that one of my New Year's Resolutions was to "submit at least two short stories." Thanks to Theresa who sent me a whole list of contests and literary magazines, Charity who writes posts on any contest she thinks worth entering, and Michael who makes sure I read those posts, I have a few places in mind. All of them require the submission to be unpublished.

If you've been reading my blog a little while (or a year) longer, you know that I've posted many short stories thanks to The Chrysalis Experiment. Many of those stories are good or at least have the potential to be, if I do say so myself, and I think they would have a chance at winning or being accepted (whichever the case may be).

My only concern is, if I have posted or "published" the story on my blog, is it considered published? Would I be able to submit it? What do you think?

Help Harry Help Others by Purchasing Campaigner Challenges 2011

So, you remember Rachael Harrie's Third Platform-Building Campaign, right? And the challenges we had to do (1, 2, 3) along with my entries for them (1, 2, 3), right? I knew you did.

Ms. Katharina Gerlach has been so kind to put all of the challenge entries (the ones she had permission for, anyway), including mine, into an eBook cleverly titled Campaigner Challenges 2011 (at Amazon here and at Smashwords here). This eBook costs $2.99 and all proceeds go to Help Harry Help Others, an organization dedicated to helping those with brain cancer.

The book went up 3,000 places in the rankings for the Kindle Store in just one day and currently stands at #9,777! I challenge all of you to buy this book, and tell as many people as you can to buy this book. Let's see how high we can get those rankings. Let's Help Harry Help Others. (I've already done my part. My mother spent at least two hours on the phone yesterday calling relatives to tell them I'd been published. -rolls eyes-)

A Sad Truth

I was mulling it over as I laid in bed the other night and I think I have come to the conclusion that getting published might actually make me a little sad. Of course, my super excited, jubilant feeling will probably knock that out of the water, but it's still going to be there.

I should probably explain this. The reason I'm so weary about posting my poetry and other works on other sites is that fact that those sites often get non-exclusive rights to my work. I do realize that non-exclusive means the rights to the work are still mine but even that makes me uneasy. This means the work is never wholly mine again. This feeling is probably going to be even worse when (or if, but I'm hoping for when) I get published because I'm pretty sure the rights the publishing company claim are not non-exclusive. I will be getting paid for the sales that my book(s) brings in and my name will be on the book so I can claim that I wrote it/them. It/they just won't be completely mine anymore. It's a sad truth.