Isabella Modra's Blog, page 3

Word Vomit @ 11:35pm

If I were to ever write a brief speech about my life, it would go something like this…
I grew up reading books. I learned that a fantasy world was much more exciting than the one I lived in. I found my escape, but the escape was never enough. I wanted the journey. I wanted the story world to never end.
So I started to write. I built worlds with people and colors and grand adventures in galaxies unheard of, and in these worlds, I could do anything. I could do the impossible, be the impossible.
Writing was not just an escape for me. See, I’m the type of person who wants to live a hundred lives in a hundred different places surrounded by people who don’t exist anywhere else but my imagination. I’ve traveled the world seeking this experience. Pretending to be someone I’m not. Being someone I am but in a place I might never see again. Yet I’ve never found the kind of peace that I have in writing. I’ve seen snow fall like in a dream, I’ve laughed and made memories with friends I’ve not spoken to in years. I’ve looked down at the world from the top of a mountainside, and swam in deep oceans where silence is everywhere but drowning in beauty. You can never quite imagine those things.
And it’s the experiences that fuel the creativity in my mind to bleed words onto a page and make adventure real for people too afraid to seek it.

We all fill our heads with stories, but we forget that stories actually come from within us. And when I realized this, I became a writer. 

Cover Reveal

It's been a while, but I'm finally releasing the cover for my third book, Consuming Fire. This one took a bit longer than I would have anticipated but... here it is!


I'm so excited about this book, as it's the last one in the Rouge series (and my personal favorite). Please share the cover around so that everyone can get excited! The book will be released over the next coming months. Probably in the new year. Head over to my page on Wattpad for a couple of sneak peek chapters : http://www.wattpad.com/user/IsabellaModra

Getting back to writing

It's a weird and wonderful thing when you know your life is about to change.

Recently I started up a crowdfunding project for the third and final book in my series, entitled 'Consuming Fire'. The project will run for the next several months, and if I am successful in raising a total of $14,350 then my books will be published.

Not just self-published. Actual, traditionally published.

I always had this vision of receiving a letter from a literary agency asking if they could represent me and then getting that phone call from my agent telling me that my book is going to be published. A bit like J.K Rowling's story. The way it's happening is quite different, but God, it's definitely happening.

With all that's been going on, I have been so consumed by telling everyone and anyone I know how important it is to get these donations - because it is, honestly, so important - and trying to figure out why it hasn't kicked off as much as I expected, that I had forgotten the most important thing of all: that my readers love the books.

Today I started looking through some of my comments on Wattpad, and here's what just a couple of them said about the books:

"This book has brought me to places that authors like John Green and Veronica Roth could not. This book took me to a place where characters are real and not just words on a page, and I thank you for that."

"BEST BOOK OF ###### HISTORY" 

"I don't know what I'm going to read when I'm done with this book."

"Amazing, truly amazing. I seriously want this series to go on for like 7 books."

"It's 4am and I stayed up all night finishing Rouge, and can I just say, I do not regret it."

"These books seriously need more readers because they are sooooo good!"

"I strongly believe these books should be published."

And those are just some of the hundreds of comments I get. It's amazing because, even in all this frenzy and mayhem of trying to raise money so that the books actually will be published, I keep forgetting that my readers do love the books. It's not at all reflective on how much money I raise. I keep getting downhearted because I receive so much reaction from my fans that I think 'raising $14,000 is a piece of cake!', and it hasn't happened and I feel a little let down, but then I have to remind myself that they have already helped me reach my dreams. I have created a book that people stay up until 4am reading. Whether I become published or not, I need to be proud of what I've already accomplished.

I just want to say thank you to all my readers who have been so kind and generous with their compliments, and who are already supporting me. I hope you continue to do so, and I pray that one day you will see Rouge on the shelves of your local bookstore or maybe on the big screen! With your help, it could be possible :D

Love you all xoxo

Crowdfunding Rouge

All of you have a dream, right? Some of you dream that you will one day write a book. Maybe that book will make it onto a shelf in a bookstore, or a big Hollywood producer will turn it into a Blockbuster movie. Maybe you just want to make enough money from your books to write for the rest of your life.Those are my dreams. And three years ago I realized that the only way to make them happen was… to make them happen. I had to stop seeing them as dreams and start living them.That was when I wrote ROUGE. I self-published it. I wrote EMBERS & ICE, and I self-published that too. They are both on a shelf in 3 bookstores and 1 library here in Adelaide. I can’t even count eReaders or people’s homes.And I know that it’s only time before the rest of my dreams come true.An amazing thing has happened to me recently: I’ve been contacted by a publishing agency that crowdfunds books. Basically what that means is I have the opportunity to raise a certain amount of funds which will then lead to publishing the series and distributing them into bookstores. Like actual bookstores. And lots of them. This is a HUGE step in my writing career and what comes next could potentially be the biggest move I will ever make towards reaching my dreams.What I’m asking of you guys is your help in backing book 3, CONSUMING FIRE. It doesn’t have to be any more than $15, and there are obviously no limits. It’s really what you think the books are worth to you. Plus, depending on how much you donate and your generosity, you will also receive amazing gifts like your own eBook, a paperback copy, access to drafts of my upcoming books and even acknowledgements inside the book. You’re not only contributing to my dream, you’re actually getting your own physical copy too!I’m simply asking for your support once again in helping me make my dreams come true and supporting an amazing series that I know you guys will absolutely adore. And the faster this happens, the more I get to focus on releasing CONSUMING FIRE!So again, thank you all for your encouragement so far. Please join me on this incredible journey and help me make my dreams of becoming a professionally published author come true. You’ll be playing a personal part in projecting the story of ROUGE to the world.
If you’re up for it and you want to one day see the ROUGE series in bookstores all around the world, please head over to INKSHARES and donate!
Warmest,
Isabella

'Bonus Chapters' from Embers & Ice

A lot of people in my Wattpad market have been begging for sneak peeks of book 3 in my ROUGE series, but of course, I cannot release anything until I'm absolutely certain it is going to be part of the book (which I'm not, because the draft is still in progress).

SO...

To keep my readers happy while I work tirelessly on book 3, I'm going to start releasing 'Bonus Chapters' from the other books (and by that, I mean excerpts that aren't in the book and not particularly relevant to the storyline) for a bit of entertainment.

These are EXCLUSIVE to Wattpad and will not be added anywhere else. So here's how you view these chapters:

1) Head over to this link HERE
2) Open up 'Embers & Ice'
3) Go to the last chapter on the Embers & Ice book called 'CONVERSATION'
4) All of the chapters will be posted after this, the first being 'CONVERSATION - POWERS'

I hope you guys enjoy, and please be patient with me - I'm trying to get book 3 perfect before I release it for you guys!!

Peace xx

The Wonderful World of Wattpad

For those authors reading this article, you’ve likely heard of Wattpad and immediately cringe. I get it. The very idea of copying and pasting each chapter of your book onto a website with absolutely no formatting or design except for the cover is definitely disturbing. Add to that the fact that Wattpad is overpopulated by teenage girls who are obsessed with One Direction and Justin Bieber, and around 85% of books are Fanfiction written by twelve-year-olds. It’s hard to believe that someone who is serious about their writing and wants to someday have a professional career in that art would ever stoop so low as to join Wattpad.
Let me explain why you’re wrong.
First of all, Wattpad is free to use and free to read from. No one has to download an ebook to their kindle or request ARC copies for reviews. It is as simple as searching through a category for something you’d like to read and clicking on it.
As mentioned above, there is a lot of trash you have to wade through to find a treasure. Which brings me to my second benefit: the ‘Featured’ section. This is where I truly found my worth in Wattpad. The Featured section is for books that were sent to the Wattpad Ambassadors who then approved the book for a month of advertising on the Featured page. In that time (and it’s only been up for 2 weeks) I saw my reads jump from 2,000 to 100,000. The comments and rates have soared, and it keeps going!
The number of reads is obviously determined by how many people view your work. You may have 30 ‘pages’ – like chapters – and if one person reads all 30 of them, that’s a total of 30 reads. So while I have 100,000 reads, it does not mean that 100,000 people have read my entire book. But it looks very good on my profile!
Another great tool Wattpad has is the comment section, both on your profile and your books. Someone can highlight a sentence in the middle of your text and make a comment about it, or start a discussion. It’s easy to reply, and they can also tag other people in the conversation to engage their friends. So far, I’ve had over a 300 comments on different chapters of my book and it’s so rewarding to hear the immediate thoughts of the reader (very different to reviews and also much easier to do!). Readers can follow you as an author, tag their friends in your story so they will see it and read, and converse through private messaging.
You might’ve heard of a girl named Anna Todd who posted her story on Wattpad and now has over 200 million reads. It is literally the most talked about story on Wattpad. Want to know what it’s about? You guessed it: One Direction. More specifically, Harry Styles (a member of the band) and his bad-boy, Fifty-Shades-of-Grey persona. This book has become so popular that an imprint of Simon & Schuster has signed a contract to publish the book in a series that will be released later this year.
That is just one ‘rags to riches’ story that has come from Wattpad. Not only that, authors such as Hugh Howey and Scott Westerfield have their book posted on the website.
If that isn’t enough to convince you, statistics show that there are 16.9 million unique global visitors per month who spend an average 30 minutes reading per visit. That is a HUGE market pool for authors to dive into.
You might be thinking ‘Okay… so how do I do it?’
Wattpad is simple.
1. Create a profile. Most younger kids use a pseudonym like ‘ILoveOneDirection’ to protect them from 40-year-old stalkers – sensibly – but if you know the internet well and you want your books to be known, use your author name.
2. Upload your work. It’s very easy to copy and paste a chapter, title it, add some tags like ‘Paranormal, vampires, Twilight’ or whatever relates to your book and a cover image. Then press ‘Save & Publish’.
Once that is set up, you have to bravely step out of your profile and start to talk to readers. You all know what it’s like to have to subtly force your work onto people. Wattpad is a lot like that, only it is much easier to engage. There are forums, clubs you can join, and it’s as easy as commenting on someone’s work and having them reply. You can broadcast on your Facebook and Twitter too.
Definitely try and get Featured. It was the best move I ever made on Wattpad. To do so, contact the Wattpad Ambassadors by commenting on their profile ‘The Ambassadors’. They will get in contact with you once they’ve checked out your work.
When it comes down to it, we as authors need to reach out to as many audiences as we can. Wattpad is such a growing market that it surprises me how little I knew about it until I gave it a shot. I am always so uplifted to receive such comments like ‘you are an inspiring writer’ or ‘your work is so underrated’. And for the time I spend looking through comments and watching my number of reads grow, it is beyond worth it.
   

First Video

Hey all!

I've decided to (finally) do an introductory video for those of you who want to get to know me a little more personally. It gives a bit of a broad biography of my background, how I came to be a writer, what my future plans for writing are (book 3, for those of you SO keen to hear about it) and just to say thank you for all of my support. Please check it out, watch me embarrass myself on video, and share.

Thaaaaaaaaaanks!

Featured on Wattpad

Attention guys!



Some of you may know my story Rouge is already up on Wattpad (free for readers), but for the next couple of weeks it has been chosen as a FEATURED story on the website! This is a fantastic marketing opportunity for me, and though the book is free and I don't get any royalties, I am totally okay with it because people have the ability to read Rouge without hassle.

So follow this link, check it out, leave a comment and please please please rate it!!

http://www.wattpad.com/story/8459290-rouge

The hardest part about travelling

Anyone who knows me knows I love to travel. Since returning from Canada, I've been trying to find my place back at home and feeling more and more restless. For a time, I even started to doubt my decision to return home. I had all these wonderful memories and experiences that no one here could understand.

I really love this article. It explains everyone I felt for a time. But what it doesn't talk about is how, after I have gone through this process of feeling 'lost in my own home', I have come to move on with my life, place those memories in a special box, and start to live the next chapter of my life.

And the next chapter, I feel, will be more exciting and more riveting and more adventurous than the last.

http://thoughtcatalog.com/kellie-donnelly/2014/07/the-hardest-part-about-traveling-no-one-talks-about/

Small Beginnings

My last post was about doing what makes you happy. I am so passionate about this that I decided a similar message needed to be heard.

This is for all of you, like me, who feel like your dreams are WAY too big to accomplish, and they seem so far away and so out of reach. I want you to know that these moments, when it seems like you're failing over and over again, are called the small beginnings.

I started self-publishing a year ago. No one knew my name, no one knew my story. I became so excited by the possibilities that awaited me, thinking 'Yep, this time next year I'll have an agent and a publishing deal and maybe even a movie contract!' Little did I know how wrong I was.

But I have learnt to appreciate the small beginnings. Because in these small beginnings, I learn without being condemned for my mistakes. I can grow in my skill and take the time to thank individuals for reading and reviewing my book. I can take control of every single process, knowing that I did it all myself.

It might feel like my dream is too far off to touch, but what would have happened if I believed this in the beginning and didn't pursue it? I wouldn't have met all the wonderful people I have. I wouldn't have over 100 ratings on Goodreads. I wouldn't have kept dreaming and I would not have lived, because I was afraid to fail. Look at J.K Rowling. Where would she be if she had given up trying to find a publisher after Harry Potter had been turned down by 12 publishers? The world would not know her story, not have experienced the wonderful world of HP. It's depressing just to think about. But she persevered. She believed in her dream and didn't get caught up in the small beginning.

The small beginnings are where the real magic is. So don't give up when things seem small. Chances are something big is already growing there.