M.S. Watson's Blog, page 14

Top 3 Australian Publishers Accepting Unsolicited Manuscripts

So at the moment I am currently sitting in front of the laptop, home sick from school and avoiding my assignment so I've started working on my three week writing block. To signify my ability to write once again, I have started looking for publishers that could potentially be good avenues for me to explore. In my search, I have found that most publishers are in the United Kingdom and USA, whilst most Australian publishers are either accepting only solicited manuscripts or are completely iffish. Therefore I am writing this to inform other young writers of top Australian publishers I have found. These are for unsolicited manuscripts.
  1. The Friday Pitch, Allen and Unwin; Requirements: Provide the first chapter and a synopsis of your novel.
  Link: http://www.allenandunwin.com/default....
2. Penguin's Monthly Catch; Requirements: Submissions accepted only during the first several days of every month.
  Link: http://www.penguin.com.au/getting-pub...
  3. Manuscript Monday, Pan Macmillan; Requirements: Electronic submission of first chapter of your novel and a synopsis between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m every Monday.
  Link: http://www.panmacmillan.com.au/manusc...

Additionally, I am currently reading over Hatchette Australia's website and it seems like a good idea. Here's the link: http://www.hachette.com.au/manuscriptsubmissions/

A site for getting published!

So I know I don't write as much as I should, and I am suffering the third week of writers block,  but I recently found a post by a published author who wrote about a blog for getting published. I'm still looking through the home page of the link at the moment but it seems pretty good. I'll post the link for you all to check it out. It's a site where a published author - Brian Grove - has made the largest online database for 1000+ publishers currently accepting manuscripts. Happy searching people! The link is myperfectpitch.com.

Rissa. :)

July Wattpad Review: 'Losielette and the Boy with the Mechanical Heart' by Sakuramiracles

   To mark the beginning of a new chapter in my life, this month I am reviewing 'Losielette and the Boy with the Mechanical Heart' by Sakuramiracles. I have read the first chapter so far and it appears to be a well composed novel as of far; featuring contrasting characters, two separate times in history versus the future and a gripping end to the first chapter, I will be sure to continue to read it. Join me at the end of the month to read what I have to say about this grand novel!

Read for Free 'The Last Ember' by Glista (A.K.A Me)

   Due to excess study periods at school, I have decided to begin work on a novel that I'm writing straight onto Wattpad. It's free to read and I'm slow in writing it but I'm determined to get it done. Head on over to www.wattpad.com and search for Glista in the search bar!

Wattpad Reviews

Due to the increase of school demands and extra curricular activities, I am no longer working on my 52 week short story writing challenge. As this means a heck of a lot less stress, I am going to be reviewing novels on Wattpad for my blogs Rissa Books and Rissa's Book Reviews. So, attention all Wattpad authors! If you are a Wattpad author or know of someone who is, just comment on this post and I'll be sure to read them!

おやすみなさい。Good night!

Whoop whoop! The Liebster awa...

        Whoop whoop! The Liebster award is German for sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome. It is an award to up and coming bloggers who are currently <200 followers and is an opportunity to share each others' blogging worlds! As tagged by The Moongazer (letsmoongaze.blogspot.com.au), I am now part of the Liebster! Go check their blog out!







Here are the rules:)1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you've tagged to answer.3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post.4. Go to their page and tell them.5. Remember, no tag backs!

11 Things About Me:
1. I have a kitten named ChocChip♥2. I am a Piscean-Arian, born on the cusp ;)3. I aim to become a published author4. I hate Facebook and yet I'm always on it!5. I've been published twice; both in Write4Fun Australia6. Goodreads Author ;)7. I study Japanese, on my third year8. I love singing, playing guitar, ukulele, fife and piano but teach myself everything except piano!9. I draw, play music, write novels, travel, drive10. Anime is amazing; Bring on Vampire Knight!11. I love the creative process that goes into the making of a novel ;)
Le Diseased Questions from The Moongazer:
1.What is your greatest fear?A : Asking guys out ;)
2.If you were to make something out of play-dough right now, what would it be?A : A Television, That Works ;)
3. Do you like bumblebees?A : They're beautiful, from a distance ;)
4.Where do squirrels go during hurricanes?A : Through the looking glass ;)
5.What is your favourite colour?A : Blue-Violet. ;)
6. Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?A : Achmed the Dead Terrorist (If you haven't seen him, look him up on Youtube!)
7. What season describes you best?A : Autumn; cold enough for hot chocolate and warm blankets, warm enough not to freeze.
8. What was the last beverage you drank?A : Water
9. What if tomorrow never comes?A : I will become a Goddess and make another, and another, and another.
10. Favourite movie of yours?A : Used to be Alice in Wonderland, I don't know what now.
11. Where are you?A : NO MAN'S LAND! XDI'm kidding, Australia.
11 Questions For The People I Tag:
1. If you wrote a book about your life, what would it be called?2. Do you speak any languages other than English?3. What is your best friend's mother's name?4. If you had a character based on yourself, what would their name be and what personality would they have?5. Have you heard Gabrielle Aplin's music? (If not, go to Youtube immediately!)6. What was the name of your childhood imaginary friend?7. 猫がいますか。No, I'm not expecting you to know how to read that. It says: Do you have a cat?8. Do you love gellato?9. Define the perfect mystery.10. How to eat a cookie?11. What's your dream career?
Tags: 1.Kristen Painter(kristenpainter.blogspot.com)2. Lifesize Paperdoll(life-size-paperdoll.blogspot.com.au3. Me, A Writer of Movie Scripts(writerofmoviescripts.blogspot.com.au)4.Peter von Harten(perterandreasvonharten.blogspot.com.au)
5. Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-A-Holic(stephaniesbooks.blogspot.com)
6. Just Remy(justremy.blogspot.com.au)
7.1000 Reasons To Smile(my1000reasons.blogspot.com.au)
8. Chronicles of a Writer(mlmichaels.blogspot.com.au)
9. Kissed/Bitten by Books(kissedbittenbybooks.blogspot.com.au)
10.Inspiration and Mode <<They have really nice French (?) music(dress-toexpress.blogspot.com.au)
11. Imaginative Adventure: A Young Adult Book Blog(imaginativeadventure.blogspot.com.au)

Being Random!

Okay, so I'm hoping I can do some more random posts, sort of like a general diary about my ups and downs as a part-time author. Sooooooooo for a snapshot of my life, to the left are my list of things to do...
...None of which I have done as of yet...
...And I just remembered I have piano lessons tomorrow... Oh dear...
Anywho, I am very peeved at the moment. I only realized the day of my last exam that it was the same day my note for my language camp was meant to be returned. Let's just say I'm not going to camp and I am seriously devastated!
That said, I've got some good news! I have won a haiku contest on Goodreads so I got to choose a read for next month in the Young Adult Enthusiasts group. Congratulations to the second and third place winners, you wrote well!
Also, below I am including some snaps of my book where my short story is published. When I finally get time after doing my list of school work ^above^ I might even type up a copy of the short story I had published, since limited copies are available and they're $60 a hit. Also included is a picture of my Shakespeare shadow, kinda freaky isn't it?
I apologize for the weird picture layout, I kind of don't know how to put them in a line!

I'm not just an author :)

Okay, so in commemoration for my impending art exam tomorrow, I have decided to undertake a drawing challenge. My friend is the most talented artist I've ever seen and I have never ever been good enough to use coloured pencils... Until now. She has instructed me and now I'm drawing a gypsy! The image is hers, this rendition is my own work. I know it isn't finished, I will be working on it after exams along with my novel for Penguin.

Goes to show an artist can be within everyone. :)

And, I am currently in the process of organizing a film for one of my novels (which I have yet to write but will be awesome). So my friend is producing and filming it - she came up with the idea after all - and I'm a script writer, costume designer, lead in the choosing of actors for particular roles and all that jazz. I also get to find people to volunteer their music rather than pay people as this is a non-for-profit event to support my friend 's future career and my novels. So if you know anyone who would like to volunteer music, keep tuned on my blog or twitter (www.twitter.com/missabooks) and we'll hopefully have the project up and running by December.

Hello people, yes, I am alive still!

I know, I am the worst person on the earth with keeping to a challenge. I had no idea how hard it would be to juggle school and home and writing and piano and Japanese studies... You get the gist. A few days ago I received my second published short story through the mail and I am still rejoicing. So, as I plough through my half-yearly exams I will be working on catching up on my entries for the 52 Week Short Story Writing Challenge and giving updates on what I'm currently working on.
Speaking of which, I am comparing my latest novel - also my longest with a whopping fifty chapters! - with the novel I sent to Penguin before and so I am pleased with my progress now, fixing things with my new novel that I fell under with Glass Bones. Any who, if all goes well I'll have my latest novel ready for sending before unsolicited manuscripts are refused after July 31st until October. So I have some work to do! But I will try and catch up - and keep up with - my challenge. Please be patient, I thank you for your patience as of far.

Now I'm going to study, catch up my Japanese work and I shall be seeing you all with some new short stories soon! :)

52 Week Short Story Writing Challenge - #16

Background:Why is school so difficult to keep up with? Every time I turn aroundthere’s a whole pile of Japanese work – and that’s just onesubject. Without further ado, four new short stories
ShortStory #16 – Turn
Nota guard in sight, Nue turned toward the neat row of multi-colouredshipping containers and smirked. Their prisoner was a most wantedfigure of sorts, the reputable Mr. Harrowleigh. She found the veryhumanlike man in one of the least likely places, a shipping containerwith holes and mould. Its walls were flaking, chipped red paintstripping away to reveal the rust underneath. Nue took a small breathand stepped inside, its door slightly ajar from its thick brokenhinges.Nuedidn’t turn on the light, a single bulb that was suspended from theceiling. In the middle of the space directly below the bulb was agurney, a middle-aged figure tied by wrists and ankles to its bars.His eyes were shut, gagged with a black cloth; black hair fell intohis eyes. She had a brief moment, imagining what he would have lookedlike in his youth. Handsome no doubt, in that way teenage rock starswere.Shemoved forward, taking in the outline of the scalpels and othermedical equipment whose names she did not know. The silver shonedarkly with blackish liquid, remnants of whatever horrible things thescientists had been doing to him. She looked at him again, his skinunmarked and barely touched by wrinkles. She was a Valkyrie, a womansent to the bravest of figures to determine whether they deserved tolive another lifetime. What had this man done to deserve such anhonour?Shestepped closer to him, frowning as some distant memory of the pasttugged at the edges of her mind. Her skin took on a luminescent glowas she stepped out of the moonlight drifting calmly through the door;she reached for the man’s cheek, her skin brighter than the sun asthe memory sparked.Athousand memories shared between the two flitted through her mind,both hers and Mr. Harrowleigh’s as she looked at his teenage years.Indeed he had been handsome, smart and a little arrogant, too, but aconstant feature in his memory was her smiling face.Nue,sitting under the cherry blossoms of the house she’d rented,pretending to be the new girl in the neighbourhood. Another memory:her first day of high school through Mr. Harrowleigh’s eyes, hisadmiration flaring inside him. She hadn’t changed – no Valkyrieever did, except to lessen their beauty to blend with humans – andhe had loved her instantly.Therewere other memories too, some very dark and depressed. The good wereof their first kiss, so beautiful and free, but everything leaked ofcolour as she looked at his memories without her. Even his weddingday to his stunning wife looked bleak in comparison to his memorieswith her. She staggered back a step but stopped as a warm handwrapped around her wrist.Mr.Harrowleigh – Ayd – was awake and watching her, his face full ofhope and love. His eyes were the only thing that hadn’t changedwith age, as wide and brilliantly blue as his youth. Within her shefelt her heart stutter, responding to the soul mate she had leftbehind.“I’vemissed you,” he said quietly. He offered her a joy-filled smile andtouched her long deep violet hair. “You haven’t changedwhatsoever.” Nue smiled sadly, gazing deep into his eyes.“I’vemissed you too,” she whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek. Aydreached for it, his fingertips barely grazing her cheek before herhypnotism had him pinned and his hand dropped limply.Shewiped the tear away fiercely. “You are exhausted,” she murmured.“By power of the Sky and Earth, the Valkyries and Higher Powers, Icarry your soul to the next life.” She climbed onto the gurneybeside him, eyes fixed on his. “We shall meet again.” She gentlykissed him, watching as his eyes slid gently shut. She rested herhead against his chest, listening to his heart as it slowed.“Ilove you,” he whispered, wrapping his arm around her drowsily. “Nohypnotism is strong enough to stop me.” Nue couldn’t stop herselffrom crying, watching as her glowing skin turned to flame and theydisintegrated into flame together.“Ilove you too,” she whispered.