Jacqueline E. Smith's Blog, page 24
March 6, 2015
Blogiversary | Guest Post by Jacqueline Smith – The Publishing Experience
Loved sharing my experience in the independent publishing industry with Danielle at Stories Unfolded! Check it out!
Originally posted on Stories Unfolded:
THE PUBLISHING EXPERIENCE
GUEST POST BY JACQUELINE SMITH
When I first decided I wanted to publish Cemetery Tours, I had no idea how I planned to go about doing so.�� First, I thought about pursuing the traditional route: query agents, sign contracts with the big publishing houses, etc.�� For a while, that sounded like the way to go.�� After all, I knew nothing about copyright, barcodes, ISBN, or how I could turn my piddly little manuscript into, you know, a real BOOK.�� The whole idea was actually really overwhelming.
But then I did a little research. I went to the library and read every book I could find on publishing.�� I met up with a friend who had independently published his own novel and who also happens to be a lawyer.�� He gave me a run down of all the pros and cons of independent publishing.�� The cons being���
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March 5, 2015
Blogiversary | Interview with Author Jacqueline Smith
Originally posted on Stories Unfolded:
AUTHOR INTERVIEW | JACQUELINE SMITH
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | BLOG | TWITTER | GOODREADS
Photo Credit: Kaylynn Krieg
I���ve been working with Jacqueline Smith since mid February and she���s been so great through this whole process. ��I wanted to get to know her author side a little bit more. ��So, here���s her answers to my author interview questions.
Don���t forget to enter both the Jacqueline Smith Giveaway and the Stories Unfolded Blogiversary Giveaway at the end of this interview.
Q: Would you like to start by introducing yourself?
Hi! I���m Jacqueline. I���m 27 years old and I���m from Dallas, Texas. I love writing, photography, and nature. And I���m a YA Literature enthusiast.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about your latest book and the inspiration behind it?
My latest book is called Boy Band. It will be released April 21, 2015. It���s the first I���ve published that is not���
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March 4, 2015
Changing the Weather
I’m sure all of you are really tired of me��complaining about the weather. ��I know I’m tired of me complaining about the weather. ��Unfortunately, the weather outside is very complaint-worthy: cold, wet, dreary, dark. ��You know, horrible. ��I haven’t seen the sun in over a week. ��That’s not okay. ��I love the sun. ��I love heat.
Today, I’m writing to tell you that I have finally realized that complaining about the weather doesn’t actually change the weather. ��If it did, the weather would have changed about a week and a half ago. ��So, instead of falling to my knees and invoking��the weather gods, I’m going��to country music and spread pictures of spring. ��Let’s face it, there really isn’t much more to be done about this stupid weather.
On a brighter note, however, you can totally zip on over to Danielle’s blog and read an excerpt of Cemetery Tours��and its sequel,��Between Worlds!
All images Copyright���� 2015 Jacqueline E. Smith.
March 3, 2015
Blogiversary | Cemetery Tours by Jacqueline Smith – Excerpt
An excerpt from Cemetery Tours as well as Giveaway information! Check it out!
Originally posted on Stories Unfolded:
EXCERPT | CEMETERY TOURS
TITLE: Cemetery Tours
PUBLISHER: Wind Trail Publishing
PUBLICATION DATE: September 17, 2013
GENRE: Paranormal Thriller
He���d seen them for as long as he could remember.
They���d never scared him, really.�� When he was younger, he hadn���t known that there was anything different about them.�� By the time he was old enough to figure out that no one else could see them, he was also old enough to realize that being dead didn���t turn people into monsters.�� It just meant that most of them were lonely.
���������������������� This guy scared him.
He was tall, almost as tall as Michael, who towered above most people at 6���2, and muscular, something that Michael couldn���t boast.�� His dark hair was buzzed short, like an army crew cut, and he wore dark navy jeans, a gray T-shirt, and an old black jacket.�� As intimidating has his physical appearance seemed, however���
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March 2, 2015
Monday Announcements
Okay folks, here’s the deal. ��Apparently, Winter is getting back at me for that little breakup letter I wrote yesterday because this morning, I woke up congested, chilled, and with a killer sinus headache which I am still trying to get rid of. ��I don’t know how I could have caught a sinus infection since I’ve been about as active as a slug the last few days (thank you, Winter), but I guess stranger things have happened. ��The point is, even though all I want to do is lie on the couch and watch Disney movies and feel sorry for myself, I have waaaaaay too much going on this week and in the weeks to come to take a day off. ��For the record, though, I am on the couch, in my PJs, and feeling very sorry for myself. ��I’m just not watching movies. ��Yet.
My first order of business is to tell y’all that I am totally honored to be a part of Danielle Miller’s third blogiversary celebration! Follow her, like her posts, reblog her posts, and stay tuned for lots of really awesome giveaways (including eBooks of both��Cemetery Tours��and��Between Worlds!). ��She is so awesome and I’m thrilled to be her first featured author! ��Please check her out:��https://danielleelisemiller.wordpress.com
Secondly, I’m hosting another Giveaway of my own! ��My new YA book,��Boy Band, will be out April 21, and in celebration, I’m giving away five signed copies! ��Please enter and spread the word! ��https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/129034-boy-band
Finally, I’m back to work full force, not only on��Cemetery Tours 3, but on��Boy Band 2��and a new idea for a book I had just last night. ��I’m not kidding you when I say I have ideas for at least twenty books in my head right now and I wish with all my heart that I could just write all of them at once. ��I always kind of thought that I had to focus on one book at a time and have that be it. ��But the more I thought about it, the more I realized, hey, I went through four years of high school and six years of higher education, and all ten of those years, I worked on dozens of different projects at the same time. ��Why can’t I do that now in my professional life? ��I mean, it will probably be a lot easier to buckle down and concentrate when I’m not fighting off a sinus infection, but whatever.
I think that about covers my Monday Announcements. ��I might have a few more as the week progresses. ��Then again, I might not. ��Until then, enjoy your Monday! ��I’ll be curled up in a ball with a hot wash cloth pressed against my face. ��Ugh.
Blogiversary | Jacqueline Smith Bio & Giveaway
Thank you so much, Danielle, for allowing me to be a part of your blogiversary celebration! I’m honored!
Originally posted on Stories Unfolded:
To kick off the Stories Unfolded Blogiversary Celebration, this week���s featured author is Jacqueline Smith. ��Jacqueline has been so amazing to work with throughout this process and I���m excited to be sharing her work with my followers. ��Today I want to share a bit about each of her books. ��She will be participating in an author interview and will be sharing her experiences getting these books published later this week.
TITLE: Cemetery Tours
PUBLISHER: Wind Trail Publishing
PUBLICATION DATE: September 17, 2013
GENRE: Paranormal Thriller
���Some secrets are best kept laid to rest.
At least, that���s as far as Michael Sinclair is concerned. At twenty-seven, he has spent his entire life perfecting the art of pretending that the ghosts he encounters on a daily basis do not exist. Now, if only the dead would let him rest in peace.
Unfortunately, that doesn���t seem likely, especially after Kate Avery and her���
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March 1, 2015
A Breakup Letter
Dear Winter,
I know just a few short months ago, I professed my love for you. ��Well, maybe. ��I might not have gone that far. ��True, I do appreciate you, especially around Christmastime. ��But Christmas is over, Winter. ��It’s been over for a while, now. ��I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but I think the time has come for us to part ways.
It’s true, we did have some good times together. ��We had a great Christmas, and you know, snow can be fun and all for a few hours. ��I like scarves and jackets for about a month or so. ��But I have needs, Winter. ��I need sunlight. I need warmth. ��I need flowers. ��I’m a girl. ��I love flowers. ��I know you’re just being yourself and I can’t fault you for that, but I need more than you can give me.
I don’t want you to get the wrong idea here, Winter. ��You know a part of me will always love you. ��I was born in the middle of a snow storm, after all. ��We will always have a special place in each others’ lives, and I can’t forget that. ��But you and I, we’re just too different. ��You’re bland and cold and you really like brown and white and gray. ��I like adventures and colors and blue skies.
You’ve also become kind of��clingy. ��I hate to call you out online like this, but I need space! ��I need freedom. ��Thanks to you, I have no social life. ��With all your snow��and freezing rain, I can’t even get out of the house to go buy groceries! ��Face it, Winter, you’re smothering me.
For example, I can never dress the way I want to around you. ��This is a real problem for me. ��Yeah, jeans and jackets do have a certain element of style, but after Christmas, I want to wear shorts and skirts and sandals. ��You know me, Winter. ��I hate shoes. ��And yet, you force me to wear them.
So don’t you see, Winter? ��It’s not that I don’t appreciate you as a season. ��It’s just that you and I, we don’t work well together longterm. ��I never said I wanted a commitment, but you seem determined to hang on to a relationship that ran its course on December 26. ��I know what you’re going to say. You’re going to remind me of how I’ll be pining for you and talking about how much I love you in about eight months. ��But you forget, Winter, I always say that my affection for you is temporary. ��I love you, but only until Christmas. ��After that, I can barely tolerate you. ��I’m sorry to be so harsh, but it’s how I feel.
I want you to be happy, Winter. ��But I also need me to be happy, and as long as we’re together, I don’t see that happening for either one of us. ��It’s time for you to leave and head on down to the southern hemisphere where you belong. ��I’m sure they’ll be glad��to see you down there. ��In the mean time, I’ll be happily running back into the arms of Spring and Summer.
Love,
Jackie
February 26, 2015
Snowfall
Hi, friends! ��Today’s post is not going to be a long one because I have a few projects that need to be finished by tomorrow. ��That being said, the new manuscript is in the hands of one editor and flying off to the second this afternoon. ��Yay! ��So excited!
So, instead of a lengthy post, please enjoy some pictures of the snow that fell yesterday morning. ��Expecting more tomorrow. ��Oh joy.
February 24, 2015
No Time for Celebration
Last night, I finished revisions on��Boy Band. ��The next step, of course, is to run one last spelling and grammar check before sending it off to my dearly beloved editors. ��One of them��lives in California, so I have to email it to her. ��That’s great. ��I can get it sent off tonight. ��But my other editor lives right down the street and I like to print it off and give it to her. ��Unfortunately, I do not own a printer, so in order to print off full manuscripts, I have to drive to Staples.
Well guess what?
THERE’S STILL ICE ON THE ROAD.
Guess what else?
IT’S SUPPOSED TO GET WORSE TOMORROW.
That’s right. ��Texas is planning on 2-4 inches of snow. ��I mean, snow is a lot better than ice, but I still can’t get out and drive in it! ��All the stereotypes are true, folks. ��Texans cannot drive in snow or ice. ��If you get behind the wheel in this stuff, you are asking for it. ��I speak from experience. ��I totaled my car back in 2010 because I thought it was no big deal. ��Nope. ��It is a big deal. ��I was lucky enough to walk away with just a scratch, but I am through taking chances when it comes to ice and snow.
So, that’s my snow rant. ��The good news is I have brownie mix. ��And a LOT of books I haven’t read yet. ��So the cabin fever isn’t too bad. ��Still, I REALLY miss the sun. ��The sun is my friend. ��I like the sun.
I say there’s no time for celebration, however, because I have two new projects that I need to have finished by Saturday. ��I’m really excited about them, but I also really need to buckle down and focus on them as well. ��That’s good, because I like being busy, but it’s unfortunate because I just started reading a new book and it’s really good and I want to finish it and do nothing else and the cold, grey, weather outside is only making me want to do nothing except lie around and read even more. ��Yes, I know, that was a very long sentence. ��I’m sorry.
Good things are happening, y’all. ��In spite of the cold.
February 23, 2015
Self-Published Authors are Real Authors
Over the weekend, I read an article.��I’m not going to mention names or titles, but if you’re an independent author, you probably know which one I’m talking about. ��In his article, the author lists many reasons why self-publishers should not be considered real authors. ��Believe it or not, the article didn’t make me angry. ��It did irk me enough to write this post (twice – I had just finished when I accidentally clicked a different tab – deleted everything), but to be honest, it really just made me roll my eyes. ��It was written with such ignorance. ��Clearly, this guy knows nothing about independent authors.
There’s a stereotype out there that independent authors are the ones who aren’t good enough to be published by a big traditional publishing house. ��We’re the second-stringers who are so desperate for notoriety and publicity, and perhaps even fame and fortune, that we publish our own work ourselves because no one else will touch it. ��Let me tell you right now, if writing books and going through all the work is just for fame and fortune, I can think of like, a hundred different ways to try to go about that, all of which would be significantly easier and less of a hassle than publishing your own book.
Don’t get me wrong. ��Writing and publishing is a joy, one of the greatest joys in the world. ��But it’s also a lot of work, work that I wouldn’t be willing to put into anything that I didn’t want to do with all my heart and soul. ��Independent authors don’t have the luxury, the resources, the funds, or the man-power of a traditional publishing house. ��True, I have editors and a cover designer whom I appreciate all the way to the moon and back, but everything else, I’ve done on my own. ��But I don’t regret it for a moment. ��By choosing the independent route, I retain all rights to my work. ��I never have to worry about contracts or bottom lines. ��There’s a great deal of freedom in the indie world. ��There is also a great deal of love. ��Independent publishing is a labor of love. ��And it always will be.
In related news, I spent yesterday reading��Snow Globe by my friend and fellow author, Jeanne Skarsiaris yesterday.
It’s a great book about a teenaged psychic, thrilling and the perfect read for a cold, dreary day. ��Also, I’m quoted on the back! ��How cool is that?
You can read the rest of my review and the reviews of others here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24847594-snow-globe?ac=1
Finally, my dear friend and editor, Hannah Alvarez, is in the process of getting her new business up and going. ��She’s designed a line of mix-and-match stuffed animals called Snapdragons and they are simply adorable. ��Her campaign will be coming to Kickstarter in April.
Everyone have a wonderful Monday. ��And stay warm. ��We’re iced in down here. ��Perfect writing weather!
