Megan Bostic's Blog, page 24

Singing the praises of Autocrit and opening bank accounts

[image error] So like I said a couple days ago, I purchased Autocrit. If you've never heard of check it out. You can get a free test drive on their site. I'm telling you, I cannot believe how many words I repeat. I mean, I knew I used the word "just" two much, but 8 times in one chapter. Um...

Seriously, for those of you thinking about indie publishing it's worth the money at only $117 for the year. Of course, if you don't want to spend that much, they  have other pricing options as well.

I also opened a banking account for my writing. I'll probably end up getting a business license at some point. I'm hoping to make enough money to where it matters. *cough*. I think it's a good idea to keep my writing money separate from my own money anyway, especially since I got the Indiegogo money. This way, I'll be able to keep everything separate for tax purposes too.

I honestly can't wait to get more books written and published, even before I get this one out. I've really enjoyed the process a lot. I hope I keep enjoying it.

I probably going to buy my ISBN numbers today so I can start putting my book out online, on Amazon and Goodreads, etc.

Anyway, that's it. Happy Thursday (I can't believe it's Thursday already).

Enjoy the day!

WIP Wednesday: Triggered

This is the new title of the novel I once called Lockdown. I can thank J. Anderson Coats for that. I wrote this book a few years back, in fact, I think I wrote it for NaNoWriMo 2009, so it's rough, really rough. I've decided to do a major overhaul on it and perhaps put it out as my next indie project after Dissected. We'll see. Anyway, here's a snippet, keep in mind, it's rough. Setting the scene, it's a book about a school shooting, these kids are on their bus on the way to school.



Cameron, a junior, was absolutely gorgeous.  His skin was like dark chocolate and he had these bright penetrating hazel eyes.  With a tall, muscular, lean body, he was a perfect fit on the basketball team.  A ready made star.  Only he didn’t play basketball, he played the drums.  Instead of being on the court, he was in the stands, in my opinion, a likeable choice.  He seemed like a cool guy, friendly with everyone, always cracking jokes and acting goofy.   He and Brady were best friends.  He sat with Kimberly across from Brady and Kat.  Cameron and Kimberly’s sister were a couple, another thing for her to be jealous of.      “Hey Brady,” Cameron said.     “Yeah.”     “Why do men find it difficult to make eye contact?”     “I don’t know, why?”     “Because tits don't have eyes.”  Brady just shook his head.  He probably wanted to laugh, but dared not with Kat sitting right next to him. Cameron laughed at his own joke; a few giggles broke out throughout the bus.  “I have another one.  What did the blonde say when she opened the box of Cheerios?”     Kat, being a blonde, shot Cameron a dirty look.  “I don’t know, what did she say,” Brady asked.     “Oh look! Doughnut seeds!"  Cameron again laughed like a lunatic.     “Cameron,” Kat said.     “Uh-oh, I’m in trouble, huh,” Cameron said.     “Kat ignored the question, “Why are blonde jokes always so short?”     “I don’t know, why,” Cameron asked.     “So guys can remember them.”     “That’s a good one.”     “ You know the problem with most men, Cameron?”     “No, what?”     “The problem is they’re assholes.  The problem with most women is that they put up with those assholes.  Cher said that.”       “Ooh, Cher’s smart.  You got served,” Kimberly said to Cameron.     “So I did.  But who’s Cher?”       “You’re not serious,” Kat said.     “What?”     They all laughed together, happy little group.     So many of the kids on the bus don’t even seem real, like they are imitations of one another, plastic and trying to be something other than what is real, a character in the teen movie of the week, a stereotype, a caricature of who they’re trying to portray.  In some ways, I suppose it’s expected, on other ways, it’s just pathetic.     The bus driver closed the doors and began rolling down the street.  Angel was missing, Cameron’s girlfriend, Kimberly’s little sister.  She was my favorite to watch because she moved with this smooth elegance you only see on catwalks.  In fact, it was smoother than that even; it’s as if she glided.  She was beautiful enough to walk down a catwalk one day, with her long shiny black hair, her flawless brown skin, her deep brown eyes, and tall, slender frame.  Her name was fitting, as she was not only beautiful, but also soulful and kind.  If I were to have a friend, I’d want it to be Angel.   At first I was sad not to have seen her that day, but realized soon enough, she was one of the lucky ones.    

A Tuesday rant from me to you: sometimes online dating sucks

For a couple days I've been talking to this guy. He wrote me first. He seemed like a nice guy. Lived a
little further away then I prefer, but he didn't have any pets, which is good because I'm allergic, and he stated that all his kids are over the age of 18, which it states on my profile I prefer if they have kids they are 12 and older.

He found me interesting, called me things like "awesome"  "beautiful" "kind" and he said my honesty in my profile was "noble" and "you don't even sound rude in it". That comes into play later.

He looked pretty cute in his pics. He had one at his daughters wedding, then he had one with this little boy, which I assumed was his grandson. Then we were talking (messaging) one day and he mentioned that he was "fighting for the boy in the picture. I asked who the kid was, and he said, "my son" . I asked how old, he said...wait for it...5.

Um...

...all my children are over the age of 18...

...um...

...dafuq?

So, I happen to say I felt a little duped by the fact that on his profile he said his kids were all basically adults when he has a kid that's 5. Need I remind you my profile clearly states, and this is a direct quote from my profile, "Please have children over the age of 12 (give or take a year)" Give or take a year does not mean 5. If I'm doing my math right, um, that's 7 years. 

Then he tells me I'm giving him drama and that he enjoyed reading my profile, though he found it a little harsh (see above about me being noble and not even rude). And that saying he duped me was a big turn off and no woman would matter more than his child. yadda yadda yadda.

Um...drama? or...honesty, which initially he found...what was the word? Noble. Which he wasn't being saying all kids were adults. Last time I checked 5 wasn't an adult.

I explained that having teenagers allowed me certain freedoms of travel, not having to find babysitters, doing what I want when I want basically, and I didn't want to be bogged down by small children. Again, just being honest. I also apologized that he felt I was attacking him with my honesty and left it at that to which he said he just wanted someone who wants him for him. Fine. Go find someone who wants a liar. I"m cool with that. Been there, done that.

Um, kooky pants? Yes or no?

Indie publishing: Moving forward

I just sent my book on for formatting. I'm so excited. Lori, who I mentioned...I think it was last week, blog about indie publishing. For formatting she recommends Book Design Wizard. She swears by it.
is busy for another week or so, so it's going to take a little bit, but she says once she gets to it, it will be fast. I know not everyone will have someone that can do their editing for them, and clearly, I'm not going to rely on Lori to do mine every time. I have another friend Karla, who I'm sure I've mentioned before. She has a great

If I had my Indiegogo money, there are actually things I'd be doing before the formatting, so I'm kind of going out of order. There is an editing program online I want to run my manuscript through called autocrit. It's $117 a year. It's not your everyday editing program. It helps find overused words, cliches, redundancies, repeated words and phrases, pacing and dialog problems, and more. I'm excited to try it out.

I also want to get my ISBN and distribution set up so I can get my book set up on Goodreads and the like and start some marketing. But for now, I do the formatting. My Indiegogo money is supposed to come in within days, then I can start in on the good stuff.

There you have it.

Indie publishing: The next step

Here's what's going on. I finished my line and copy edits for Dissected (I just need to find the final version, which I'm pretty sure is on my work computer, *crosses fingers*).

Then I send it to be formatted to my wonderful friend Lori.

Next I wait for my money from Indiegogo to be disbursed to I can get my ISBN numbers, set up my distribution and order swag. I've already started designing my bookmarks. Instead of getting author blurbs, I've decided to go with librarian blurbs. A couple librarians beta read for me, and I got their permission to quote them on the back of my bookmarks. Here's what they look like. Tell me what you think. I'd love your feedback. Does it need more? Less? Is there any more info you think I should have on there?


So excited. Things are coming together. I should be able to have proof copies by mid to end of this month, then have a release date set in stone. Summer is such a busy time, I may try to shoot for Mid June. If not mid June, 2nd to 3rd week July.

Happy Thursday everyone!

Monkey Madness Monday: And the winner is...me!

 That may be a little over dramatic, but it's kind of how I feel after watching with pride as all my writing friend's amazing novels have been nominated for all sorts of literary awards, and finally, I get my first nomination.

Never Eighteen has been nominated for a Charlotte. The New York City Reading Association's Charlotte Award is named for the title character in Charlotte's Web. The purpose is to encourage students to read outstanding literature and become lifelong readers and also recognize authors and illustrators of such literature. 

They just called Never Eighteen outstanding literature.  *giggles like little girl*

I'm excited about the nomination, but you know, the competition is stiff, so um, I'm excited about the nomination. hahaha. This is who I'm up against:

Mike Mullin, Ashfall
Gail Jarrow, The Amazing Harry Kellar
 Marissa Meyer, Cinder
Susan Vaught, Freaks Like Us
Jim Murphy, The Giant and How He Humbugged America
Laurence Pringle, The Amazing History of the Ice Business
Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrin's Home for Peculiar Children
Leslea Newman, October Mourning
Joseph Bruchac, Wolf Mark  

Winners won't be chosen until April of next year, so I have a long time to enjoy my nomination.   

I hate John Green

Did that get your attention? 

I don't really hate him of course, I don't even know him. In fact, he seems like a really amazing guy and I have a pile of his books on my shelf, signed to me, I might add, waiting to be read (after I finish Divergent and read Catching Fire, yeah, I'm a little behind in my reading. Bite me)

So why do I mention John Green? Well, I was on Goodreads the other day *dun duh dun dun*, yeah, yeah, Goodreads doesn't bother me as much as it bothers other writers. Bad reviews don't make a dent in my skin anymore. They make me learn, laugh or say "Dafuq?"  I hardly go to Goodreads any more, only about once a week maybe, just to accept friend requests, check on my little book.

Anyway...

With many of my reviews, there seems to be a reoccurring theme: John Green's, The Fault in our Stars. I've not read it. It's one of the books that sits on my shelf, signed, waiting to be read. Yeah,I know they're all signed, but I bet yours doesn't say, Dear Megan, blah blah blah, Love, John Green. 

Why you ask does TFIOS pop up so frequently in my reviews? If you know anything about young adult literature, you know that his book is about teenagers with cancer. And if you read my blog, you've heard a million times that my book, Never Eighteen is about a teenager with cancer.

I don't mind being lumped into the same breath (sentence, keyboard stroke, whatever) as John Green, whether the review is flattering or not. Mostly, they are just stating that they like these kind of weepie books (sick lit as they're called now), and since they came out at the same time, many of the bloggers read them about the same time. 

I even had some bloggers say they liked mine better than Greens. Okay, one. Maybe it was one.

It was the last bad review I got that had me thinking (I really don't normally like to talk about my bad reviews, but I have a point here I think is interesting). "I’m sorry, but I think it was an awful version of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars. I didn’t find anything different in its plot."
  
So, with that said, this is my train of thought. Number one, it's obviously not a "version" of Green's book because I've never read it. Which is really not my main point at all, here's my main point.

My publisher HAD to have known Green was coming out with a cancer book, right? Same time, right? Would it not have made more sense to put mine out BEFORE his than after? It's been a little over a year since NE has come out and this has never really crossed my mind. But all these book releases are announced in Publisher's Marketplace. If a big name is releasing, wouldn't you want your title to come out first if it's on the same subject matter?

I don't know. My mind was just wandering since reading that review.

Anyway, on to more important things. Which Green book should I read first?

Looking for Alaska
An Overabundance of Katherines
The Fault in our Stars
Will Grayson Will Grayon or
Paper Towns

What do you think?

Okay happy Friday here are my scribbles!!

Next Pandora Song: Born to Die by Lana del Rey

 
Book of the Week: Since we're talking about it. The Fault in our Stars, John Green

Netflix of the Week: A friend told me about a movie called The Horseman yesterday, and though I've not watched it yet, I trust his judgement and it's on my cue.

Quote of the Week: "You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty." ~ Gandhi 

Living for the Moment

Have you ever read the book Never Eighteen? You know the one, where the teenage boy is going to die, so he makes this bucket list of things he wants to do and see, and all the people he wants to visit to remind that you only get one shot at life and you better make the most of it?

HAHAHA yeah, that's my book. I know. But ever since writing that, and more than that, ever since my divorce, I really believe we should be living our lives that way, because yeah, one day it could all end we could be too sick or injured, or worse yet, too dead to do the things we still want to do in life.

I want to keep writing, keep publishing books. It's why I've chosen the indie route. I don't want to wait another two to three years to see another book on the shelf. I want to travel and if I have to live a little beyond my means to do it, I will. I want to have fun and enjoy life. I want to entertain people, throw parties.

I WANT TO LIVE!!

I want to go places I've never gone. I've made a rash decision to go to Vegas next month. Vegas has never been on the top of my list of places to go. So why? Because I can. Because I have a little money in the bank. Because I've never been there. Because someone asked me to go. So why not?

Life is short. In a short few weeks I have seen seen someone commit suicide, known of three terminal cancer patients, and one heart attack. Some day this could be me (not the suicide, but the other things). And think about the bombing in Boston. Those three people that died, they were young. Very young. There is no way they saw that coming.

I'm going to live life for today and try not to think about what comes tomorrow. I've let myself get depressed and stressed again, and I'm thinking this is just the mentality I need to bring myself out of the slump again.

Maybe I'll even make a bucket list.

Tell me, what are some of the things you would like to do, see? What are some goals you have for yourself?

Wednesday WIP day

First off, could you go like my profile pic on Facebook? I'm in a contest where I could win $1000 from my kickboxing club.

And without further ado, my WIP.

I believe this is a continuation of the section I posted last week, from my WIP Revelation: Book One of the Divination Chronicles.
Mary and I head to the gym; P.E. is our only class together. We enter the locker room and pull out our second hand gym clothes. As Infidels, we’re not even allowed to shop at stores that sell new clothing. We have to shop at thrift and vintage stores, which I don’t mind so much for everyday clothing, but finding tennis shoes that aren’t worn out is a near impossible task.
As I’m tying up my laces, a voice that makes me cringe every time I hear it says, “Nice shoes. Looks like a pair I had two years ago.” Emily Paine, a fitting last name. She’s a pain in the ass to anyone below Disciple standing. She’s flanked by the pair of idiots that follow her around like shadows, Ashley and Olivia.  They stand there, stupid evil grins on their faces. All blonde, all beautiful, all bitches.
“Hello Emily, Satan give you the day off?”
She leans over and points a perfectly manicured red nail in my face, “You better watch the Satan talk, Danica, you could be labeled a Radical, and you know what happens to Radicals.”
I look her square in the eyes. She doesn’t scare me. Her parents may be high up in the caste system, but my dad is a surgeon, and those aren’t easy to come by these days. “Don’t you have soul to suck or something?”
She crosses her arms over her overstuffed bra, juts her hip out and stands there a moment, staring at me, frustrated expression on her face, more than likely trying to come up with a comeback.  She finally says, “Your shorts are ugly.” Then she turns around and walks away. Olivia and Ashley humph at me, then follow.
As they all walk like runway models down the narrow strip between rows of lockers I shout after them, “So’s your mom!”
Mary says, “You shouldn’t mess with Emily.”
“She’s a heinous bitch.” I finish tying my laces.
Mary stands and looks at me gravely, “A heinous bitch with powerful parents who can make your parent’s life miserable.”

Sigh: Death, and the Why's, and the Media

Another massacre. 

I don't even know what to say about it really. I'm almost speechless. What is there to say? All I can ask is why? Especially when, yet again, the death of a child is involved. If you're so angry and unhappy with the world, just blow your own brains out and let everyone else go on in this miserable world.

Why?

This is why I don't read or watch the news. I almost don't want to know about these tragedies. Ignorance is bliss, right? I didn't know anyone there, but I knew people who knew people there. Who were waiting for calls. Ugh.

And the media. They only perpetuate things. They only give these murderers what they want. You know what I want? This is what I want. I want the families of the dead to be notified. Then I want the dead to be named on television so that everyone else with family there knows it wasn't theirs, then I want to see no more of it. Why? Because that's what these killers want. They do it for attention. Maybe if we stop giving these depraved, crazy, sociopaths all this attention they would stop. They would stop killing children, and innocent bystanders, and people just out for a night at the movies, and people just going about their normal routines trying to make a living for their families, and the people who end up trying to save them.