Day 12: NaNoWriMo & BookBlogWriMo...Live and learn, but grow a pair.

BookBlogWriMo : Today’s challenge is advice for newbie bloggers. I really don’t think I am in a position to give bloggers advice since I am fairly new myself. The only advice I feel adequate in giving is to write about things you like. Have your blog be about your passion, your hobby, something that makes you happy. You will have stumbling blocks and try things that will cause you to face palm at a future point, but you have to learn somehow.

The same holds true for becoming an author. I am just now finding my voice when I write even though I have had success, not sweeping accolades or thousands of fans success, but success none the less with my previous voice.

My reviews and feedback so far have been good and people are starting to buy my books without me having to do a major promotional tour (yay!). Despite that I am changing my writing style (just a bit) and what little success I have found may fade away. I am taking a big risk, but at the end of the day I will be proud of what I write whether people love it or hate it. Not that I’m not proud of what I have already written. I really like my Him Her Them Series and want to shake people and say, “Seriously, you need to read this, you’ll love it!”

In order to become a great blogger, writer or whatever you wish to be trial and error will be a key in your growth and future success.

NaNoWriMo : I wrote about 500 words yesterday. That’s because I came to a decision and it was all based on a bad review I got. Well, not bad, three out of five stars, but it pointed out things that I wondered myself. That, basically, my editor should have picked up on and didn’t. But, I can’t blame him; he’s done a great job. Books need multiple editors. That’s why when you pick up a book published independently verses one from a publishing company; there are so many typos in the independent novel. Most indie authors struggle just to afford one editor, let alone multiple ones. So, I set about searching for a new editor. Then I took it a step further and decided to head to a literary agent with this book.

I feel the quality of my work has grown to the point where an agent might agree to take me on. Plus, I have found my style. I think, and I may be totally off but if an author has a certain style of writing, a certain voice, the agent and maybe publisher is more willing to take them on and work with them. I have never submitted anything to anyone before, so I can only hope I don’t make a complete ass of myself.

With all that being said, if they do take me on the title might have to change. It usually takes literary agents a while to find a publisher and then a publisher takes months (sometimes a year) to get a book published. Who knows, in the mean time I will still refer to it as Why I Hate Valentine’s Day. I am sure I will be writing many posts on the process of getting a literary agent/publisher.