Kristen Brockmeyer's Blog, page 5

Playing Catch Up

Image Credit: ImgurI'm just crawling out from under the most intense writing marathon ever. My first book, Lucky in Love , took a total of 15 years and three months to write. If that duration sounds odd, it's because the three months happened after I joined RWA and started taking things seriously.

Small Town Love, my second book, took four weeks. I submitted my first chapter (pretty much all I had written at that point) on a whim to Harlequin's SYTYCW contest. I worked on the story steadily until last Wednesday, when I was notified that my chapter made the top 50. Then, I wrote my keester off, submitting my completed manuscript yesterday at 4:57 PM, three minutes before the deadline. I kid you not, I was figuratively typing "the end" at 4:23, and I still had to do my headers and front page. Ack.

The editors are reviewing the 50 finalists now and will be posting the Top 10 on November 12, when the voting opens. (Translation: A real, live Harlequin editor is reading my book. Sweet!)  Until then, I'm trying to catch up on everything I've let slide. I'm swamped, but it's cool. Keeps me from biting my nails too much.

Here's what's coming later this week, for sure:

My first blog hop over at Nancy Gideon's Haunted Open House (and a giveaway!).A new, featured book review! I'll be posting them weekly and the first selection is Rachael Brownell's Holding On.In the meantime, I'll be brainstorming what book I want to jump into next. Three books in 2013? Six months ago, I thought one sounded crazy!

Happy, happy day!

Some quick confetti and streamers here: the first chapter of my second book, Small Town Love, was just promoted to the next round of Harlequin's So You Think You Can Write contest!

Image found at weheartit.comAAAGGGH! YAAY!
Whew. *takes a deep breath*
Now it's back to editing/finishing the actual book. I have to hand it over on Monday! Best of luck to my other friends that have entered--a few lovely ladies in the MMRWA and fellow PHS alumni and talented author, Rachael Brownell! 
Sorry, just one more thing:
WOO!

SYTYCW 2013, Realistic Daily Word Counts and Tracking Your Writing Progress

Original image found here. The caption's all me.So have you ever been super busy and then, on a whim, added something huge and wicked crazy to your schedule, just because it seemed like a great idea at the time?

I've been up to my eyeballs working on edits for a critique buddy, plus a promised read of a ms, my first book review for this site (it's a good one), and my next book, Small Town Love, but when I realized on Tuesday that Harlequin's So You Think You Can Write 2013 contest had just opened, I jumped on it. Never mind that I now have a really short deadline on my book: my plan was to pitch to Harlequin with it anyway when it was finished.

I just upped the timeline. Drastically.

I think it's worth the opportunity. Two other gals from the MMRWA group I belong to have also entered first chapters (best of luck to all of us!) and another member got her first publishing contract participating with SYTYCW. (Feel free to check out the first chapter I submitted, here!)

Word Counts. Duh duh duuuuuuh...
So, I crunched some numbers to figure out how many words I'd have to write to have it done in time. And then I felt a little dizzy. 3,600 words per day. I write each night from 8:30 until 10:00 PM in the camper on weeknights, spending 15 minutes of that on edits to my progress from the day before, and I can squeeze out an extra few hours of camper/writing time on the weekends when the family's not looking. My workload at my day job is also very light right now, and while it's a little easy to get distracted with the occasional front desk chaos, I can also take advantage of lunch hours.

But all that calculating and time crunching got me thinking. Whats a normal word count per day for other writers? I've never asked anyone, so I don't have any basis for comparison. Am I way crazy for even trying this? Thousands of NANOWRIMO folks seem to do it every November without any problems.

I asked Google about it and came up with this article that explained how author Rachel Aaron managed to get to the point where she could crank out 10K words per day. I thought it would be like a link to one of those "get rich quick" ebooks (I mean seriously? 10K a day?) but surprisingly, she had a very simple method and she shared it freely (though she has an e-book, too, the smart girl).

Spend five minutes outlining--sometimes even just a paragraph of truncated shorthand--before writing. That trick alone doubled her daily output. I'll let you read the other two methods in the actual article, but they're simple, and great advice.

Where am I?
After just a couple days on my accelerated (like, seriously accelerated) schedule, I'm doing well. I'm actually a little ahead of my goal, the story is running along like melted butter (I hope I didn't just jinx myself...), and I'm on track to be done just in case I go on to the next round of the contest.

But, for that, I need to stay on course. So, the other tool I'm using is one I've used often in the past: WriteTrack.

WriteTrack Screenshot
It's a super simple tracking system that lets you set goals and then enter your progress daily. There's an easy bar graph at the top of the screen so you can see if you're on target, and how far you have left to go. That's it. But I'm a visual person and seeing a number on a calculator versus laid out in calendar and bar graph form--it's just much easier to tell where I'm at. And it's free, though I will be making a donation someday if I can afford it. The creator deserves to be rewarded for this simple piece of brilliance!

So, are you entering SYTYCW? Have done it in the past? Do you have any tips or tricks to share on upping word counts and making writing goals? Feel free to share in the comments!

Two Quick Things

1. I had my first interview over at Diane Burton's blog, today. Diane, you're the best!

2. I want to read your book. Check out my new Review Requests page.

Thank you, that is all.

Handling Reader Reviews

I'm kind of sensitive. I can't help it. My feelings get hurt easily. If you tell me you think I'm ugly, I'll try to burn you with a witty comeback (well... you're a loser, you... you buttface!). Your comment will secretly bother me for the next six months, though, and I'll start brushing my hair regularly and reluctantly considering your opinion when I pick out my clothes in the morning. In other words, I internalize criticism.

So, when it was time to hit "publish" on Lucky in Love , I gave myself a week's worth of stress headaches and a cold sore, worrying about what people would think.

She's totally going to give that book a bad review. I can tell.
(Image Credit: Vintage Vault) I've heard publishing your first book is like sending your kid out on the first day of school. What if they get teased on the bus? What if the teacher doesn't appreciate their quirky sense of humor and puts their desk in the supply closet so they can't distract the rest of the class? What if no one sits with them at the lunch table and someone starts a rumor that they eat their own boogers and it sticks with them all the way through high school?

(These were all actual fears of mine when I put my oldest boy in school for the first time after homeschooling, by the way. And no, he does not eat boogers.)

I wanted people to buy my book and read it, but I didn't want to know if they hated it. So, I shuddered in pure fear when Smashwords sent me an email last night, letting me know I had my first review. The first line went... "Romance novels are not my genre of choice but I thought I would give Lucky in Love a go." And my first review was from a guy. 

It was also the greatest first review I could have ever hoped for.

I know that I'll get feedback that's not all sunshine and roses, and, heck, everyone else might loathe Lucky. But for now, I can relax a little. I'll always be able to say that my first review was a good one. And in the meantime, I'll bookmark this USA Today article on handling negative reviews. There's some great quotes there from other romance authors, like this one, from NYT Bestseller author Jane Graves:

Image Credit: Wikipedia

"...I like to see a lot of reviews, because it's all about dilution. As long as you mix enough water with the poison, you can drink it without dying."

How are you at handling criticism? If you've already got 20 published books out there, do you still remember your first review?

P.S. Lucky in Love is now on sale at Barnes and Noble! 

Currently Reading... Christie Ridgway, Beach House No. 9

Image Credit: AmazonI've got my list of favorite authors--who doesn't?--and I'm nothing if not a faithful fan. But, every once in a while, I'll spontaneously deviate from my list and discover a new author that to get all excited about. Usually that new author someone everyone else already knows about, and this time was no exception. The "new" author I stumbled across was Christie Ridgway.

Okay, okay, I know. She's a USA Today Bestselling Author. She's written over 40 books. She's not exactly an undiscovered gem. But I picked up a copy of Beach House No. 9 this weekend, and holy wow.

The characters. So well-drawn and realistic. Flawed and perfect, all at the same time. The love scenes? Man, oh man. The story? Really, really liking it. It's so plausible and hits you right in the emotional solar plexus. I'm not done with it yet, but unless she kills off both main characters or makes them cheat on each other or does something else I hate (which I doubt) then I can pretty much guarantee I'll love the last half of the book as much as the first half.

Apparently I need to pull my nose out of my usual reading list once in a while. Are there any other awesome authors out there that I've been missing out on?

Thursday's Thought

Image Credit: HumorMeetsComics.comI used the Pythagorean Theorum today for the first time since 8th grade Algebra. I was trying to figure out if my almost 6' tall husband would be comfortable sleeping diagonally in a 6' long tent.

I won't tell you how long solving a simple a2+b2=c2 took, but I will tell you, there's a reason I did better in English than I did in Math in middle school.

3 Ways to Market your Romance e-Book

Vintage Avon Lady: EtsySo, I always heard the hardest step in becoming a romance author was to finish a book. I would have believed that two months ago, but now I'm thinking that the whole marketing thing isn't exactly a piece of cake, either.

But, while I'm a little overwhelmed right now with options, marketing my indie-published romance won't be as daunting when I have a plan in place. Through some pretty intensive research, I've gathered up a few recommendations on marketing a romance e-book:

1. Develop a social media platform. From what I've read (and it totally makes sense when you think about it), you should start building your social media platform should before you even finish your book. Think personal blog, Twitter, Facebook page, Goodreads etc. I had those in place already, but now the trick will be to make time daily to cultivate each facet of that online "presence," keeping things fresh and ever-changing.

2. Find book review blogs that specialize in romance. There's lots of them out there. A lot of sources recommend following these blogs and participating on their sites long before you try to submit your romance novel for their review. There are tons of book reviewers, big and small, though, so do some intensive Googling to find out who would be most likely to read your book. Don't just fling emails to everyone you find. Read up on what they like, first. For example, I'd love to get a great review from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, but I'd be scared to death to submit to them!

3. Build a network. Romance writing is a solitary occupation, for the most part. Join a group, like RWA, and one of the local chapters in your area. I had no idea it would be so motivating to get together monthly with a group of like-minded gals and chat romance. It made me feel like I belonged to a secret club, or something, and it was so motivating. Just a few months after I joined, I finished my first book! Plus, joining a publication-oriented group gave me permission, almost, to take myself seriously. If you can't find a chapter close to you, join up with an online group.

If you're researching ways to market your romance book, here are some links I stumbled across that might be helpful. Have more? Share them in the comments!

Smashwords Book Marketing Guide (free e-book)
Marketing for Romance Writers
Indie Author Bella Andre Gives BEA Tips on Selling e-Books (Hint: She's an e-book millionaire!)
Book Marketing Weekly Plan

Drumroll...

Lucky in Love is done, done, done! It's up on Smashwords with a fresh, spiffy cover, all dressed up and ready to rock, and my palms have been sweaty all day.

Blurb: 

Lucky MacFarlane... isn't. And, mostly, she's used to that. Lucky's bad luck streak is as much a part of who she is as her blue eyes and her vintage wardrobe. But a lifetime of clumsy accidents and embarrassing moments can't prepare her for what happens when she runs into sexy ex-boyfriend, Chance Atkins. Literally. With her 1948 Buick Roadmaster.

Now, Lucky's got a few questions. Like why Chance moved away without a word 10 years before—right after a memorable scene in the backseat of her car. Does his return have anything to do with the disappearance of Julian, her geriatric sometimes-roommate and drinking buddy? Why did someone just shoot out her kitchen window? And does Chance need a license for those dimples? Because they're killer hot.

Find Lucky at:

Smashwords

(And other online retailers, like BarnesandNoble.com or Amazon.com in about a week or so. I'm just waiting on the manual review process to be upped into the Smashwords Premium catalog.)

Find Kristen at:

Blogger 

Twitter 

Facebook

Goodreads

AGH! Now what do I do!?

Just kidding. Mostly. I've got a sketchy game plan that involves some social media and some celebratory giveaways and whatnot. But I wouldn't turn down any free advice...
I guess, in the meantime, on to the next book!

Good Morning!

Image Credit: Tumblr"Hope" is the thing with feathers -That perches in the soul -And sings the tune without the words -And never stops - at all -
- Emily Dickinson
(My mom quoted this poem on Facebook and it spoke to me today.)