Megg Jensen's Blog, page 6
March 15, 2013
A New Outlook on Querying
When I was a freelance parenting journalist, My livelihood came down to one tool: query letters. I considered myself an expert. Why? In seven years I landed every assignment I queried. So when I started querying Anathema in 2010, I thought querying would be a piece of cake.
When the rejections started pouring in, I was stunned. I didn't expect every agent to want to rep me, but I did expect far more partial and full requests than I got. I ended up with an offer of representation - but it was too late. I'd already decided to self-publish. You'd think with all the rejection I'd endured, I would have liked turning her down. I didn't. It was scary as s£|!. But I knew I was taking the right path. I have loved every excruciating, horrendous, soul-sucking moment of self-publishing. Hey, no one ever said it would be easy.
Yet here I am, preparing to query again. I have this YA contemporary I wrote. It took me four years to finish it. No, I wasn't working on it that whole time, but it was one of those books I kept revisiting. It wouldn't let me move on.
Self-publishing isn't my juvenile way of giving New York the finger. It was the best path for the books I'd written (and thousands of ebooks purchased supports that theory). But this contemporary isn't the type of book that does well in ePub. The audience isn't teens and their moms. It's just teens. And I'll tell you, there aren't that many teens who read more ebooks than paper books. They are still discovering through their parents, libraries, and friends. This is the audience for my book and I need to do my best to reach them.
More proof self-publishing isn't about me - its about reaching my readers the best way I know how.
So here I am, entering a time warp, preparing to query again. This time, things are different. I don't expect every agent to request a partial or full. I hope they will, but I don't expect it. Truth be told, I don't expect an agent to take me on at all. It's not a lack of confidence, it's understanding the realities of the quickly shrinking publishing world combined with the lust for an immediate blockbuster. These are factors I can't control. All I can do is throw Tabitha and her story out there. Maybe it'll get some bites.
If it doesn't, I'll self-publish it. Not as a consolation prize. I'm only querying eight agents - chances aren't good I'll succeed. For me, it's about going with the best or taking my book directly to the readers. It has nothing to do with giving up. I could query hundreds of agents if settling was my goal. It's not. Writers have so many options these days. I'm simply pursuing the best options for this book.
And as a side note, my next fantasy will be self-published. I have no plans, at this moment, to ever query fantasy again.
When the rejections started pouring in, I was stunned. I didn't expect every agent to want to rep me, but I did expect far more partial and full requests than I got. I ended up with an offer of representation - but it was too late. I'd already decided to self-publish. You'd think with all the rejection I'd endured, I would have liked turning her down. I didn't. It was scary as s£|!. But I knew I was taking the right path. I have loved every excruciating, horrendous, soul-sucking moment of self-publishing. Hey, no one ever said it would be easy.
Yet here I am, preparing to query again. I have this YA contemporary I wrote. It took me four years to finish it. No, I wasn't working on it that whole time, but it was one of those books I kept revisiting. It wouldn't let me move on.
Self-publishing isn't my juvenile way of giving New York the finger. It was the best path for the books I'd written (and thousands of ebooks purchased supports that theory). But this contemporary isn't the type of book that does well in ePub. The audience isn't teens and their moms. It's just teens. And I'll tell you, there aren't that many teens who read more ebooks than paper books. They are still discovering through their parents, libraries, and friends. This is the audience for my book and I need to do my best to reach them.
More proof self-publishing isn't about me - its about reaching my readers the best way I know how.
So here I am, entering a time warp, preparing to query again. This time, things are different. I don't expect every agent to request a partial or full. I hope they will, but I don't expect it. Truth be told, I don't expect an agent to take me on at all. It's not a lack of confidence, it's understanding the realities of the quickly shrinking publishing world combined with the lust for an immediate blockbuster. These are factors I can't control. All I can do is throw Tabitha and her story out there. Maybe it'll get some bites.
If it doesn't, I'll self-publish it. Not as a consolation prize. I'm only querying eight agents - chances aren't good I'll succeed. For me, it's about going with the best or taking my book directly to the readers. It has nothing to do with giving up. I could query hundreds of agents if settling was my goal. It's not. Writers have so many options these days. I'm simply pursuing the best options for this book.
And as a side note, my next fantasy will be self-published. I have no plans, at this moment, to ever query fantasy again.
March 2, 2013
Fear and Loathing in Writing
Want to hear my take on writers getting easily depressed? Head over to Author 2 Author, my group blog, and check it out. ;)
Fear and Loathing in Writing
Fear and Loathing in Writing
January 25, 2013
Cover Reveal, Part Deux
Here's the second piece of the cover of my next book!!!! I hit 10,055 words this morning. :)
January 18, 2013
Cover Reveal ... Kinda ;)
If you're Facebook friend of mine, or a fan (I hate that word), or you just follow my public updates there, you may have seen something a little out of the ordinary.
I'm currently writing my next novel, Hidden. I did something I haven't done in three years - I actually sat down and plotted the book using the techniques of The Plot Whisperer. I have a notebook filled with notes, background story, character sketches, etc. I've got this one DOWN, baby. All I have to do is write (easy and fun) and edit (not easy, but still fun). It's like all cake from here.
I've already got a cover. I've had it for about a month. The incredible Steven Novak made it for me. I've been dying to share it, but it seems silly to share it when the novel isn't even fully written yet!
So I had this idea...this evil idea...to share my cover in pieces. lol. Cruel, I know. Only 5 friends have seen it in full and here's what they have to say:
"Oooooooohhhhhhhhhh! I LOVE it."
and
"I LOVE it!!! Very mysterious and dark and enticing."
and (my favorite)
"holy <bleeping> <bleep>you're going to sell a <BLEEP>LOAD of books"
Here's how the cover reveal is going to work. Every time I hit a new word count goal, you get to see another part of the cover. I showed the upper left corner yesterday, just to kick the whole thing off. When I hit 10,000, you'll get the lower right corner, 20,000 is the upper right corner, 30,000 is the lower left corner, 40,000 is the right and left sides, 50,000 is the entire cover. Sounds like fun, right?
If you want to keep track, and help encourage me to keep writing, there's a word count meter on the top of the right sidebar of my blog. You'll know exactly where I'm at because I update it several times a day.
Here's the first reveal:
XoXo, Megg
I'm currently writing my next novel, Hidden. I did something I haven't done in three years - I actually sat down and plotted the book using the techniques of The Plot Whisperer. I have a notebook filled with notes, background story, character sketches, etc. I've got this one DOWN, baby. All I have to do is write (easy and fun) and edit (not easy, but still fun). It's like all cake from here.
I've already got a cover. I've had it for about a month. The incredible Steven Novak made it for me. I've been dying to share it, but it seems silly to share it when the novel isn't even fully written yet!
So I had this idea...this evil idea...to share my cover in pieces. lol. Cruel, I know. Only 5 friends have seen it in full and here's what they have to say:
"Oooooooohhhhhhhhhh! I LOVE it."
and
"I LOVE it!!! Very mysterious and dark and enticing."
and (my favorite)
"holy <bleeping> <bleep>you're going to sell a <BLEEP>LOAD of books"
Here's how the cover reveal is going to work. Every time I hit a new word count goal, you get to see another part of the cover. I showed the upper left corner yesterday, just to kick the whole thing off. When I hit 10,000, you'll get the lower right corner, 20,000 is the upper right corner, 30,000 is the lower left corner, 40,000 is the right and left sides, 50,000 is the entire cover. Sounds like fun, right?
If you want to keep track, and help encourage me to keep writing, there's a word count meter on the top of the right sidebar of my blog. You'll know exactly where I'm at because I update it several times a day.
Here's the first reveal:
XoXo, Megg
January 17, 2013
Failure & Falling with Style
Do you remember that scene in Toy Story when Buzz Lightyear swears he can fly and he demonstrates it for the other toys. Woody gets angry and says, "That wasn't flying! That was falling with style."
Falling with style is something I aspire to do. Look, I fail. All. The. Time. I'm sure I fail at something every day whether it's hitting my word count, cleaning, or being a good mother and/or wife.
Yesterday was a particularly difficult day for me. There's some stuff going on in real life (boring, you don't even want to know), but I find my heart and my mind pulling me in two different directions. I know my mind has the facts right, but heart just won't listen.
The same thing happened to me with writing recently. Two completely different books. Two directions. But I can only move forward with writing one at a time. (I could probably work on both, but I'm sure that would impede my creative mind since I'm tend to immerse myself in writing projects.) I made a decision. Then second-guessed it. Then made it again. Then second-guessed it. Then, yesterday, made it again. Each time I made the same exact decision, too!
I guess this is why people have affairs. Why people switch jobs for no real reason. Why people do all the crazy things they do. Their heads know the truth; their hearts see the dream. Somehow we have to find a way to reconcile all of these things and move forward.
So while I know I'll continue to trip and fall, I also have to remind myself that getting up is the best thing I can do. Because if we can't fall with style, then we just become pathetic heaps on the ground.
I don't want that. Do you? So, I'm only going to allow myself one viewing of one of my favorite depressing songs (I'm a redhead, so this one is close to my heart).
XoXo,
Megg
Falling with style is something I aspire to do. Look, I fail. All. The. Time. I'm sure I fail at something every day whether it's hitting my word count, cleaning, or being a good mother and/or wife.
Yesterday was a particularly difficult day for me. There's some stuff going on in real life (boring, you don't even want to know), but I find my heart and my mind pulling me in two different directions. I know my mind has the facts right, but heart just won't listen.
The same thing happened to me with writing recently. Two completely different books. Two directions. But I can only move forward with writing one at a time. (I could probably work on both, but I'm sure that would impede my creative mind since I'm tend to immerse myself in writing projects.) I made a decision. Then second-guessed it. Then made it again. Then second-guessed it. Then, yesterday, made it again. Each time I made the same exact decision, too!
I guess this is why people have affairs. Why people switch jobs for no real reason. Why people do all the crazy things they do. Their heads know the truth; their hearts see the dream. Somehow we have to find a way to reconcile all of these things and move forward.
So while I know I'll continue to trip and fall, I also have to remind myself that getting up is the best thing I can do. Because if we can't fall with style, then we just become pathetic heaps on the ground.
I don't want that. Do you? So, I'm only going to allow myself one viewing of one of my favorite depressing songs (I'm a redhead, so this one is close to my heart).
XoXo,
Megg
December 19, 2012
Midwinter's Eve Blog Hop!
*hosted by the incredible I Am a Reader, Not a Writer*Welcome to the world of Megg Jensen! I'm a YA fantasy novelist with two trilogies and a short story. They're all intertwined, but you can read the two trilogies separately if you want. ;)
Think the romance of Twilight crossed with the fantasy world of Game of Thrones and you've got my series - The Song of Eloh Saga.
This giveaway is kind of epic. I'm teaming up with Karly Kirkpatrick (who is also on this blog hop). Together we're giving away a $200 Amazon.com gift card which is enough to buy yourself a Kindle or a boatload of books!
I'm also giving away five (5) sets of ebook cards. The winners will receive two signed ebook cards, each of which contain a download code for three ebooks.
Karly is giving away five (5) sets of her Into the Shadows Trilogy.
Awesome, right?!
If you don't win here, you're in luck because the third book in my series, Oubliette, is on sale for 99 cents this week (down from $2.99) on Amazon!!!
Enter to win in the Rafflecopter below. Remember, Karly & I are doing this together with the same Rafflectopter form, so you can't enter double the times. lol
Good luck!!!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
December 17, 2012
The Next Big Thing
I was tagged by Susan Kaye Quinn to participate in The Next Big Thing. It's a series of questions that I'm supposed to answer, then I direct you to five of my favorite authors. I don't know who started it, or why, lol, but hey, why not?
So here goes!!!!
What is the title of your next book?
Well, I haven't announced that yet, but thanks for asking, Mystery-Person-Who-Started-This-Chain.
All I can say is that the title is hidden. You'll know what that means soon enough.
There's only one person that knows, and that's my cover designer Steven Novak. But he isn't telling because he knows I'd kick his arse if he did. ;)
Where did the idea come from for the book?
Well, crud, I wasn't ready to discuss that either. There was a day, not so long ago, when something happened. Something creepy, but ultimately cool. That's when I got the idea. You know, for the book whose title is hidden.
What genre does your book fall under?
Ah ha! A question I CAN answer. YA Fantasy. It's going to be another high fantasy like my other books. But it's not related to the world of the Song of Eloh Saga at all. Totally new. Completely different.
What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
Gah. Another hard question. There will be a main character girl. And a supporting cast of characters both male and female. Possibly some animals. Maybe an owl or a dragon. Maybe something you've never heard of. I can tell you that I do not, under any circumstances, want Justin Bieber playing any roles in my movie.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Self-published. Why? I like getting a 70% royalty. If someone out there wants to offer me BIG MONEY from a traditional publisher, I'd rethink things. But, yeah, for now, I'm just little old me, self-publishing my little books (which are *this close* to hitting the 50,000 sold mark).
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I really hate comparing my books to others. Let's just say that some of my favorite fantasy writers are Alison Goodman, Terry Goodkind, and Robert Jordan.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I live in a constant state of inspiration. I get new story ideas every day. It's mentally tiring, really. But for this story, it was that incident I didn't tell you about above. And this question is not going to trick me into telling you what I didn't tell you before!
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
This?
Now it's my turn to torture, I mean tag, five other writers. They're awesome. Visit them all! I don't know when/if they'll participate, but I have much <3 for them so you should visit them no matter what.
Angela Carlie
Karly Kirkpatrick
Kristina Springer
Matthew Merrick
Dennis Sharpe
So here goes!!!!
What is the title of your next book?
Well, I haven't announced that yet, but thanks for asking, Mystery-Person-Who-Started-This-Chain.
All I can say is that the title is hidden. You'll know what that means soon enough.
There's only one person that knows, and that's my cover designer Steven Novak. But he isn't telling because he knows I'd kick his arse if he did. ;)
Where did the idea come from for the book?
Well, crud, I wasn't ready to discuss that either. There was a day, not so long ago, when something happened. Something creepy, but ultimately cool. That's when I got the idea. You know, for the book whose title is hidden.
What genre does your book fall under?
Ah ha! A question I CAN answer. YA Fantasy. It's going to be another high fantasy like my other books. But it's not related to the world of the Song of Eloh Saga at all. Totally new. Completely different.
What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
Gah. Another hard question. There will be a main character girl. And a supporting cast of characters both male and female. Possibly some animals. Maybe an owl or a dragon. Maybe something you've never heard of. I can tell you that I do not, under any circumstances, want Justin Bieber playing any roles in my movie.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Self-published. Why? I like getting a 70% royalty. If someone out there wants to offer me BIG MONEY from a traditional publisher, I'd rethink things. But, yeah, for now, I'm just little old me, self-publishing my little books (which are *this close* to hitting the 50,000 sold mark).
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I really hate comparing my books to others. Let's just say that some of my favorite fantasy writers are Alison Goodman, Terry Goodkind, and Robert Jordan.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I live in a constant state of inspiration. I get new story ideas every day. It's mentally tiring, really. But for this story, it was that incident I didn't tell you about above. And this question is not going to trick me into telling you what I didn't tell you before!
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
This?
Now it's my turn to torture, I mean tag, five other writers. They're awesome. Visit them all! I don't know when/if they'll participate, but I have much <3 for them so you should visit them no matter what.
Angela Carlie
Karly Kirkpatrick
Kristina Springer
Matthew Merrick
Dennis Sharpe
November 30, 2012
Write Like No One is Reading
This is cross-posted and originally appeared on my group blog, Author2Author.
My newest series (under my other pen name, Isobel Lucas) isn't doing so well. I have deadlines to pub a new installment every two weeks, and now that I see sales are practically non-existent, it was hard for me to convince myself to keep writing.
Yes, I love writing for the sake of writing, but I also have this pesky left brain that tells me to manage my time in a way that will encourage a steady income. Spending time writing books for a series that isn't selling is not a good use of my time/income ratio.
There's also the other side of me (how many freaking sides do I have?) that won't give up. I'm like a puppy chasing after a big dog. I. Will. Not. Stop. Not until I've accomplished my goal. Since I promised readers a new short every two weeks, I have to give it to them - even if there's only a few out there that are interested.
So I sat down with my iPad. I stared at it for a while. I played on Facebook. Started some new Song Pop challenges. You know, productive writing things. Then I sighed and wrote some really bad words. Really, really bad ones. Words I knew wouldn't make it past editing.
Then I turned off my iPad.
When we are unpublished, writing is a joy. We have only dreams for our babies. After publication, our babies are clothed in stress and deadlines and bad reviews and rejection and poor sales. Writing loses the joy because in the back of your mind, there's always that nagging voice, "People will hate this. People won't buy this. People won't read this. Why waste your time? Write something more commercial. Stop following your muse."I did the only thing I could. I ignored that voice in my head and I sat down to write whatever the hell I wanted. I didn't worry about everyone else, and instead I wrote for ME. And guess what? I love what I wrote. I really do. I kind of giggle when I read it because it's soooo me.
I just uploaded that ebook last night. I have no clue what people will think when they read it. Besides, there are three novelettes that come before that one. I know how sales work - the most sales are on the first book and there's always a decline after that. People drop out for whatever reason. I just hope the ones who stuck with it enjoy the ride, because Infliction is a lot of fun. ;)
Megg, Miss Enchanted ePubber
November 23, 2012
BIG Holiday Sale!!!!
Hey everyone! If you're still looking for a gift for a friend (or yourself), I've got a little deal for you on my paperbacks and ebooks!
Interested in paperbacks? (Anathema, Oubliette, or Severed)
(sorry, but this deal is only available for U.S. residents due to shipping costs and shipping times)
3 books, signed, gift wrapped, shipped - $35 (a $45 value)2 books, signed, gift wrapped, shipped - $25 (a $35 value)1 book, signed, gift wrapped, shipped - $15 (a $25 value)
Good until supplies run out or December 15th
Number of Paperbacks One Paperback $15.00 USD Two Paperbacks $25.00 USD Three Paperbacks $35.00 USD Which Paperbacks?
Interested in ebooks? (Cloud Prophet Trilogy: Anathema, Oubliette, Severed or The Swarm Trilogy: Sleepers, Afterlife, The Sundering) Available internationally!
(My ebook cards each contain 3 full novels per card. Each card has a unique download code from Greenerside Digital - compatible with any ereader or computer.)
2 ebook cards, signed, gift wrapped, shipped - $10 (a $15 value)1 ebook card, signed, gift wrapped, shipped - $6 (an $11 value)
Good until supplies run out or December 15th - international orders cannot be guaranteed before December 25th.
Number of eBook Cards One eBook Card $6.00 USD Two eBook Cards $10.00 USD Which eBook Cards?Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season!!!!
XoXo,
Megg
Interested in paperbacks? (Anathema, Oubliette, or Severed)
(sorry, but this deal is only available for U.S. residents due to shipping costs and shipping times)
3 books, signed, gift wrapped, shipped - $35 (a $45 value)2 books, signed, gift wrapped, shipped - $25 (a $35 value)1 book, signed, gift wrapped, shipped - $15 (a $25 value)
Good until supplies run out or December 15th
Number of Paperbacks One Paperback $15.00 USD Two Paperbacks $25.00 USD Three Paperbacks $35.00 USD Which Paperbacks?
Interested in ebooks? (Cloud Prophet Trilogy: Anathema, Oubliette, Severed or The Swarm Trilogy: Sleepers, Afterlife, The Sundering) Available internationally!
(My ebook cards each contain 3 full novels per card. Each card has a unique download code from Greenerside Digital - compatible with any ereader or computer.)
2 ebook cards, signed, gift wrapped, shipped - $10 (a $15 value)1 ebook card, signed, gift wrapped, shipped - $6 (an $11 value)
Good until supplies run out or December 15th - international orders cannot be guaranteed before December 25th.
Number of eBook Cards One eBook Card $6.00 USD Two eBook Cards $10.00 USD Which eBook Cards?
Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season!!!!XoXo,
Megg
October 14, 2012
Fall into Fantasy Blog Hop
Welcome to my blog!!! I'm Megg, the author of six fantasy novels and a short story. When people ask me what my books are about, I tell them, "The romance of Twilight crossed with a fantasy world similar to Game of Thrones."
I'm giving away three of my ebooks on the hop - your choice of a single novel (not the saga - sorry)! If you're not familiar with my work, you can find a list of them here. My short story, The Initiate, and my first novel, Anathema are free on all sales outlets.
My contest is open internationally.
Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the hop. Good luck!!!!
~Megg
a Rafflecopter giveaway
