Give Yourself A Break

Publishing is a competitive sport of sorts. Think about it. How many authors are out there? How many books? (If you’ve seen my growing book wish list, you’ll see it’s quickly getting out of control.)

And only the best get to enjoy some visibility in bookstores and online retailers.

Yet the amount of rejection every author faces is daunting. It can be soul crushing.

I know I look at my work with such a critical eye that I pretty much convince myself no one would ever waste even five minutes reading it. 

(Other authors have felt this way, I’ve heard ’em mention it.)

So what’s a writer to do? Quit, right?

Wrong!

Anyone who’s caught the writing bug knows that while quitting seems appealing from time to time, the urge to write is still inside, perhaps buried or latent or beaten down, but it’s there. And it refuses to be snuffed out. 

Sometimes it takes hearing a reader gush about a character they liked, or receiving positive feedback from a beta reader, or even returning to an abandoned project and realizing its waaaay better than you first thought to get you back in the proverbial saddle. 

Last summer, I’d started a new YA contemporary and got about 20,000 words in before falling out of love with it. I’d taken a few writerly ego hits (a press shut down and I got rights for four novels returned to me–a good thing, but it effectively annihilated my backlist–and I was toiling with the querying of a different YA contemporary written the previous winter), and contemplated quitting. My joie de writing had dried up. 

A few months later, I got new contracts for two of my returned projects (Yay!), and received some good news for the YA contemporary. Riding the good news high, I pulled out the partially drafted novel and reviewed it. I realized it was way better than I’d given it credit for. Who knew?! 

The upshot?

I need to GIVE MYSELF A BREAK. Sure, whatever I write needs editing–that’s par for the course–but I shouldn’t see that as a reason to quit…or to bash myself. I need to recognize I can tell a damn good story. I need to acknowledge my ability to create complex characters. 

I need to keep writing.

How about you? Do you need to give yourself a break? If so, what kind?

Book News!

A few months ago the rights for my YA dystopian duology were returned to me. I was bummed about my book babies leaving the virtual bookshelf, but also excited at the prospect of breathing new life into the series.

Last week, something wonderful happened–Endure & Evoke got a second chance to greet the world!

Vicki Merkiel, the Acquisitions Editor at Curiosity Quills Press, offered contracts for both books…and I accepted. (Yay!!!)

The Publisher’s Marketplace announcement: 

 

“Laura Diamond’s ENDURE, about a seventeen-year-old who must try to save his kidnapped sister from an immortal race of aliens known as the Vie, while keeping the Vie from draining his anemic blood and using it as a drug, and EVOKE, to Vicki Merkiel at Curiosity Quills Press, for publication in Spring 2016.” 

I’ve got some plans on how to revamp the duology, adding twists that weren’t seen in the first version, so it looks like I’ll be busy over the next few months refining the prose, solidifying the world building, and brightening the characters with the goal of bringing you a new and improved dystopian tale of survival and sacrifice. (Double yay!!!!)

And the series will likely get new titles too, so stay tuned. (Triple yay!!!)

I can’t thank Vicki and the wonderful team at Curiosity Quills enough for the opportunity.

THANK YOU!!!!!  *** group hug ***

The Second Shadow by Elizabeth Arroyo

THE SECOND SHADOW
(Book 2 of The Second Sign series)
Dark YA Paranormal Romance
Available September 5, 2013
Sapphire Star Publishing

Jake thought being demon meant a shredded humanity, stripped of all human emotion. Chaos and self-preservation dominates a demon’s instincts. But Jake feels every ounce of pain and despair around him.
And it’s driving him deeper into Hell.
Gabby’s choice to save him last summer left a fissure in Hell’s gate that released a malevolent evil. When Jake’s given a mission by the demons to shadow a human girl who may know the whereabouts of an ethereal weapon, he doesn’t expect to see Gabby. But Fate has her own agenda.
When Jake and Gabby are thrown together on a camping trip with a group of delinquent teens, Jake begins to grapple with the haunting choices he made in the past. When the evil finds them, the group begins to battle for their lives, alliances are made, and truths revealed.
As the evil begins to influence Jake, he questions his link to the demons, his purpose, and his love for Gabby.
But the answers to those questions are only found in Hell. And it may cost him his soul.

About the author
Elizabeth has worked in the community for the bulk of her professional career. She enjoys quiet moments, action flicks, and dancing with her four-year-old.

You can find more information about Elizabeth HERE.

 

*****

I’m SO excited about this one! Congrats, Elizabeth!!! You RAWK!

Here’s the Amazon link to The Second Sign (Book One of The Second Sign series), if you’d like to catch up before Book Two comes out. 😉

ENDURE RELEASE DAY!!!!

WOOT!!!!!

Book One of the Endure Series, ENDURE, is now available via Amazon and B&N, and will hopefully be available soon on Omnilit!

I hope you guys enjoy it. Book Two, EVOKE, is currently in editing. Hold tight, cuz it’s a wild ride. 😉

Please consider leaving a review on Amazon, B&N, and/or Goodreads–it’s like a great big hug for an author.

THANK YOU!!!!

Immortality ends with a few drops of blood…

Seventeen-year-old Justin’s anemic blood is a blessing. Or a curse. It all depends on who you ask.

In the Post-Collapse world where the immortal Vie lord over the rapidly diminishing humans, Anemies like Justin and his sister are rabidly sought after. Their blood is a drug—and a scourge. Justin’s blood causes the Vie to age—a priceless hope for the Earth’s downtrodden humans.

When Justin’s sister is kidnapped by the Vie, he strikes a deal with the human resistance, but they’re nothing more than a cult with delusions that a messianic Anemie will free them all. They believe that person is Justin. Justin thinks they’ll need someone a lot stronger than an anemic kid who can’t run twenty feet without getting dizzy. Between saving what’s left of humanity and saving his sister, Justin can’t decide which will get him killed first.

 

I’d like to give a BIG shout out to YA Bound Book Tours for hosting a FAB book blitz for ENDURE. THANK YOU!!!!

Indie Life Equals Freedom

 

 

 

What is Indie Life?
How: Sign up on the Linky (link below)
When: Post on the second Wednesday of the month (starting 1/9/2013)
What: Write anything indie related: something that will inspire or help a fellow indie; something that celebrates a release or a milestone; something that talks about the ups and downs, joys and heartaches of Being Indie.
Grab: The banner above to include in your posts!

Because being Indie doesn’t have to mean going it alone.

JOIN US FOR INDIE LIFE!

Is it the second Wednesday of the month already???

One of the most liberating things about being Indie is the flexibility. Want to publish a full length stand alone novel? Go for it! What about a serial, with new “episodes” being released every couple of weeks? Go for it! How about taking turns writing in different genres? Middle grade, young adult, new adult, adult–bam, bam, bam: Do it!

The thing about being Indie is that authors are not pigeon holed into typecast roles. Indie authors create their own persona, branch out in whatever area interests them, and they break the mold.

How cool is that???

Join me Friday, July 12, 2013 as I celebrate the release of my YA Dystopian, ENDURE! I’ll have buy links available AND a trailer!!!

(I’d be quite pleased if you’d be so kind as to Tweet, FB, post, and pimp to your heart’s content! Also, if you decide to read ENDURE, please consider posting an honest review on Amazon, B&N, and/or Goodreads. THANK YOU!!!!) 

Being the Underdog…

I’m “taking over” Jessica Bell’s blog today, talking about what it’s like to be the Underdog. Please hop on over and share your thoughts!

~AND~

Reading To Penguins reviewed Shifting Pride yesterday. I hope you check it out! 🙂

Happy Writing!!!

INDIE LIFE = COMMUNITY

The Indie LIfe to me means COMMUNITY.

The act of writing itself can be very solitary and when we’re alone in our heads for any extended period of time, we may lose perspective. Those doubts (they like to hide in shadows and attack when you’re alone) can run rampant.

Connecting with other Indie writers/authors allows me to extend outside of myself, commiserate with others going through the same challenges, and network/learn how to navigate the complicated publishing industry.

Being part of something keeps me going.

How about you?

What do you think about the Indie Community?

Here’s some info on how you can get involved in the Indie Life:

Starting January 2013, the Indelibles started hosting a monthly feature called INDIE LIFE. Modeled after Alex Cavanaugh’s awesome Insecure Writer’s Group, this will be a chance for indie authors to post about indie life, find each other, offer support, encouragement, news, helpful hints, and anything else that makes life as an indie author a little easier.

What is Indie Life?
How: Sign up on the Linky CLICK HERE
When: Post on the second Wednesday of the month (started 1/9/2013)
What: Write anything indie related: something that will inspire or help a fellow indie; something that celebrates a release or a milestone; something that talks about the ups and downs, joys and heartaches of Being Indie.
Grab: The banner above to include in your posts!

Because being Indie doesn’t have to mean going it alone.

Mental Health Monday–I’m A Winner

I don’t care how many writing failures you think you’ve had, I challenge you to read this post and turn things upside down!

You’re not a failure.

You’re a WINNER.

Lemme ‘splain.

At a meeting last week, the speaker focused on switching negative self-talk to positive self-talk. The concept is from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and challenges the participant to listen to that running commentary–that dialogue we all have running through our heads–identify the negative thoughts, and swap them out with positive ones. The result is improved mood and confidence.

• An example of negative self-talk: I suck at writing. I’ve written seven novels, sent hundreds of query letters, and been rejected EVERY SINGLE TIME. Yep. I suck.
• An example of positive self-talk:  My crit partner had more smiley faces than frowny faces on my latest draft. She was totally blown away by the plot twist I added. An agent (or small press) asked for a full MS. It’s been a struggle, but I’ve grown so much as a writer. I’m getting pretty darn good at it.
• Another example of negative self-talk: I’ll never get the attention of that press or that agent.
• Another example of positive self-talk: Writing is subjective. This press LOVED my MS and wants to pub it. I’ll be a published author!

Each of us has our own quibbly demons telling us how awful we are. I challenge you to grab those demons by their throats and tell ’em where to go.

How?

• Remember the successes, no matter how small you think they are.
• Remind yourself what got you writing in the first place. Hold onto it and let it propel you forward.
• Consider how far you’ve come. Is anybody an expert the first time they do something? NO. It takes practice.
• Accept that every time you fall down and get up to try again, that’s a WIN.
• Ask yourself, if it was easy to do, would it be worth doing?
• Think about how awesome you are by writing a short story, novella, or novel. YOU ARE ACCOMPLISHED. YOU ARE AMAZING.

In the comments, I want you to share a negative self-talk statement and how you can switch it to a positive self-talk statement. 

 

Indie-Giving Blogfest

November is a time of reflection and giving thanks to our blessings and fortunes. The Indelibles have decided to highlight that tradition by hosting a blogfest to celebrate thanks.

Right now, I’m thankful for being a published author, LOL! Time and again, I hear that while writing is a solitary endeavor, publishing is NOT. It takes a metropolitan-sized group of people to 1) identify your work as something worthy of being pubbed, 2) actually offering to publish it, 3) scrub and polish it into a glorific version of itself, 4) develop cover art, blurbs, etc, 5) help spread the word via the social networks, 6) post reviews, and 7) purchase it!

Each step has its own hurdles and learning curves and without the help of EVERY SINGLE PERSON I’ve met on the blogosphere, writing forums, social networking sites, etc, I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish ANYTHING.

For that, I am THANKFUL.

To spread the Thanksgiving cheer, I will GIVE AWAY to TWO lucky commenters, an EBOOK of YOUR CHOICE! All you have to do is comment here about what makes you thankful.

YAY!

Be sure to come back on WEDNESDAY wherein I take part in the cover reveal for Jennifer L. Armentrout’s OPAL and on FRIDAY, wherein I help with a cover reveal for another fellow author. Then, next TUESDAY, November 27, I host Colin F. Barnes. He’ll be sharing info about his novel, The Techxorcist. Colin also developed Anachron Press, where several short story anthologies–ranging from horror to cyberpunk–call their home. A new Pulp Line is actively taking submissions–check it out!

Flake-out Friday–Upheaval

Hey gang!

I wanted to direct you to the lovely February Grace’s blog, where she’s hosting me for an interview today. THANK YOU, February, for having me!

If you check it out, you may get to see a snippet of NEW PRIDE’s cover!!!!! 😉

And do check out Bru’s FABulous novel GODSPEED. Did I mention it’s fabulous? ‘Cause it is! (I adore how February combined steampunk, romance, and victorian-esque historical elements into a rich, engaging plot.)

Hey, as a special bonus, I’ll GIVE AWAY an electronic copy of GODSPEED to one lucky commenter on today’s post!

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For today’s post, I wanted to comment on the ups and downs of publishing. Gosh, can they be drastic or what?

Just last week, I went from losing a publishing deal (the press that was going to pub ENDURE shut down), to hearing that a publisher wanted to talk on the phone about my middle grade adventure ZODIAC COLLECTOR! (Fingers crossed!)

WOW.

What kinds of ups and downs have you guys faced?

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Psst, in case you missed Wednesday’s post, I’m gathering peeps for a Release Day Blitz for my novelette NEW PRIDE. Please refer there to see how to help, if you’re so inclined. THANK YOU!!!