Camp NaNoWriMo Begins...

I’ve have neglected my blog but I’m back.

Camp NaNoWriMo began yesterday. I so excited about this new program from NaNoWriMo. I normally do NaNoWriMo in November, so this gives me another shot to write like crazy.

Camp NaNo is very much like the official event in November, except for a few changes. For Camp NaNo, you can set your own word count. You also get assigned to cabins with other writers that you can instant message during the month. My favorite difference is that you can be a “rebel,” and write whatever you want, including things you already started.

This month I’ll be writing the sequel to my first self-published novel. I’ve been plotting the story for some time, so I’m expecting it to flow. I’m praying to get the rust off my brain and fingers. I’ve been neglecting my writing lately. Hopefully, Camp NaNo will help me get my mojo back.

It’s very interesting how the lost mojo (or writer’s block) effects me. I dread the blank page and avoid it like any other good writer. Then, when the block finally breaks, the rush of relief is almost like a high. Words flow and I’m a happy girl. Now if I could only remember that feeling when I have writer’s block.

So I’m off to the noveling...

Indie Life: Meaningful

I have good news and bad news. Being the optimist I am, I’ll start with the good news.

This month, I got two four star reviews of my novel on Christian Manifesto. I also got good reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. The biggest piece of good news of all? My novel is a quarterfinalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Yes, I screamed when I found out.

The bad news…I haven’t sold one copy of my book this month. Not a single one.

So there is my stark honesty. My sales haven’t been great before this month, but I must admit, I haven’t been promoting my novel as I should. My marketing has been sidetracked by a series of bad migraines. I’ve had to stay away from my computer quite a bit. This month, however, the few sales I was getting dried up.

Now you may be thinking, good reviews and promising contest results should mean something. I was thinking the same thing. I thought they would mean more sales, but they don’t. That’s one of the challenges of indie life. You find yourself wondering what it all means. How do you interpret the ups and downs?

I think the best way to deal with all this is to remember that this is a journey and in every journey there is good and bad. The bad does cancel out the good. Nor does the good cancel out the bad. They co-exist in indie life and every other part of life.

It’s also helpful to remember that bad occurrences don’t make the journey bad and good occurrences don’t make the journey perfect. A balanced perspective is the key. This journey will have good and bad in it. We want it that way. When good and bad co-exist, we can use a better word for our indie publishing journey: meaningful.

Despite my lack of sales, my journey is meaningful. I had courage to believe in my writing. That’s meaningful. I’ve dealt with the myth that sales and good reviews validate my writing career. That’s meaningful. I’ve celebrated that my writing connects with my fans. All meaningful.

Regardless what my sales end up being, I’ve had a meaningful month. 

Tweet Me: When good and bad co-exist, we can use a better word for our indie publishing journey: meaningful. Click here

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

I've been tagged by Ronie Kendig. This was a good exercise to build some momentum for writing this story. 

The rules of the blog hop:

• Mention who tagged you, and link to their post.
• Give the rules.
• Answer the ten questions below.
• Link to several more people

1. What is the title of your next book? 

Tentatively, it’s Love Simplified, Too but I’m sure that’s bound to change.

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

It is the sequel to my first novel, Love Simplified. For a while I was considering writing three standalone books in this series. When I mentioned this to my friend and editor, Linda Sothern, she complained that all the romance books end with the main characters engaged, but they never showed how the marriage worked out. That’s when I decided to write another book with the same cast of characters.   

3. What genre does your book fall under?

Romance.

Hrithik Roshan

4. What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Zoe Saldana

This is a hard one. I actually don’t like casting actors for my characters because everyone has their own image of what characters looks like. But if I had to say, Tempest would be played by Zoe Saladene and Lance would be played by a Bollywood actor named Hrithik Roshan. I’d love to hear from those who’ve read Love Simplified and get their opinion.

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Love is not simple for Tempest Day, and she will soon discover that marriage is even harder.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I will be self-pubbing this one…unless some miracle happens and someone buys this one and the first one. I doubt it since I’m not querying it to agents or editors.  

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

 Haven’t finished the first draft yet and it’s been in the works for a couple of months now. I hope to finish it by April.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Murder, Mayhem and a Fine Man or any book in the Amanda Bell Series.  I so admire Claudia Mair Burney’s voice. And readers can always pick up the first book in this series. 

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I’ll have to start with what inspired me to write the first book in this series, since the story continues in my next book.

Reality TV inspired me. Late one night, I was watching a show that featured a life coach helping people through their problems. As I watched, I thought, she [the life coach] probably has bigger problems than they people she’s trying to help. On another occasion, I was watching a different reality TV show and thought, What kind of crazy would you have to be to expose your private life on TV? What kind of person would do that? Most importantly, what would be a legitimate reason for going on a reality TV show? Those two sets of quests combined in my head and I was off and running.

10. What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?

 It will be a hilarious After Happily Ever After story. I am aiming for a late spring release (May-June timeframe), so stay tuned to this blog and Facebook page (Author Terri J. Haynes) for updates. 

Now for the tagging: 

Becca Whitham
K. Victoria Chase

Lisa Buffaloe

Elizabeth Madrey

Terri Gillespie (T1)

Andrea Michelle Wood 

Getting Critiqued For All the Internet to See and Other Contest Risks

Entering contests are always a risk. You have a 50/50 chance of the judges loving your entry. Or hating it. I've entered my share of contests and quickly learned three things: a thick skin is essential, the ability to see truth in a judges negative remarks is paramount and that anything connected to art is subjective. I entered my book cover in a contest recently at The Book Designer and here were Joel Friedlander's remarks:

"Compare to the title immediately above. Both books have a 2-word title, and the first word is “Love.” Everything Love Bites has, this cover lacks. There’s no clear focus, message or unifying element, and the eye just wanders around. Even the type is confused. An educational comparison."

Interesting remarks, huh? Definitely something to think about. And don't worry, my thick skin is firmly in place. 

What do you think? Do you get the wandering eye looking at my cover? Would you pick this book up if you saw it in the store? For those who've read it, does the cover match the novel?