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As of today, I have a total of (0) followers, which is super, super rad.
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Showing posts with label My Adventures in Writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Adventures in Writing. Show all posts
October 26, 2023
October 18, 2023
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't
✔️ Set up Giveaway on Goodreads (it starts Monday!) 🙌
✔️ Set up future audiobook promotion with BookBub/Chirp 💪
✔️ Call Simply Books in Gillette to set up consignment (we're meeting on Saturday!) 🤛
Failed to get 'er done
❌ Set up Goodreads follow button on website (I tried, but it looks terrible so I took it down)
❌ Set up BookBub follow button on website (I did, but it looks terrible, so I gotta figure out how to fix it - or forget about it. That sounds good too.)
Now I gotta go cut up some zucchini and mushrooms and figure out how to make that into a meal. 🍄 ❓ 😂
Take Care,
Brenda Hodnett
June 19, 2018
From Wishful Writer to Published Author
After my YA novel, Blemished Beauty was published I entered the book into several competitions. With certain judges, I received written feedback. One particular judge completely TORE ME APART. I really wonder if he forgot I was a human being. Of all his comments he did not have a SINGLE positive thing to say. This crushed me. It crushed me big time. It's like someone examining your child and telling him he is ugly, stupid, has no potential, and will never learn. And he excuses himself for being insulting since he is an "expert."
What to my surprise, three months later, a received a package at my home. Inside was the "Silver Quill Award" from the League of Utah Writers for the SAME NOVEL that this judge hated with all his soul.
The "Silver Quill Award" essentially means 2nd place. I was thrilled beyond belief! Now I had a confirmation of what I knew all along: not everyone will like my books, but many will love them. There's kind of a hidden life-lesson there: It's impossible to please everyone, but every individual will touch someone.
After receiving this award I was asked to write an article for the "Quill Newsletter," the newsletter for the League of Utah Writers. (No, I don't live in Utah.) In this article, I answer questions of I how got into writing, how Blemished Beauty changed from its original title, Acne Girl, my experience of publishing my first novel, and what I learned about the writing process, publishing process, and myself. You can read the article below.
From Wishful Writer to Published Author
I was shocked when I opened Ann Gordon's email telling me I had won the Silver Quill Award. For the next hour I did nothing but jump up and down. Finally, after years of wondering if anyone would see the same value that I saw in my novel, I received some validation.
JUST WRITE
Nine years ago I took an "amateur writing" class. It was based on the book, The Right to Write by Julia Cameron. The best thing I learned from this class was that I could "just write" (the same two significant words of the wonderful League of Utah Writers chapter I belong to). The concept of "just write" allowed myself the freedom to write something "not good"—at least when it first comes out. It's called a rough draft for a reason! No need to fret if I didn't have enough details or if the plot wasn't coming out clearly. All I had to do was get it out and get it on paper. I could go back and clean it up later. This concept gave me the courage to start writing all those stories floating in my head. How liberating! Nine years later, I still find it relaxing to write this way and the "emotion" that I feel often comes out better when I do this as well.
Since I am a stay-at-home mom it is hard to find (undistracted, focused) time to sit down and write. I rarely attempt it when my kids are home. I wrote most of Blemished Beauty in two different NaNoWrimo sessions, one for Camp NanoWriomo (where you can set your own word-count goal) and one in November. I didn't make a solid scene-by-scene outline before I started. In hindsight this might have been helpful since I had to do so much revamping and moving scenes around. However, I did have a rough outline of the overall story.
The Beginning to the End in a Nut Shell
From the time I started writing Blemished Beauty to the time I turned it over to an editor was a little over a year, but I would guess out of that time I only spent 4-5 months actually writing it and 2 -3 months actually editing it. I pitched it to a local editor who worked for a publisher based in Fort Collins. I wanted to try traditional publishing because my previous self-published book on Amazon was a huge flop as far as sales go. The editor took 3 or so months to read over it before she pitched it to her publisher. Within the week I was signing a contract with Crystal Publishing, LLC!
Now, traditional publishers provide an editor and a graphic design artist. Hooray! This process took roughly one and a half years. Honestly, I don't know if this is normal or not. Originally, I thought once I found a publisher most of my "author problems" were over, but they really had just begun! The long process of communicating, keeping the drafts straight as they got passed around, changed around, and back to me over and over was very frustrating and confusing. Having said that, how wonderful it was to have editors invest in my story and make insightful suggestions. Sometimes I would disagree, but more often than not, I would see their wisdom and make appropriate changes.
What's in a Name? Or a title?
During this year and a half I went through more than half a dozen title changes for my novel! My original title of the book was Acne Girl, since the main character's insecurity was her acne. I never imagined I would really keep this title, but it's how I referred to the story for a long time. My editor (and my husband) loved it, my publisher did not. When I discovered that 9 out of 10 people shrunk back in disgust or disfavor to Acne Girl, I decided the title had to go. Also, by the end of the editing process the condition of acne was entirely changed to a medical condition called rosacea. Moreover, the story is really about the girl inside, not the girl outside.
With all of these changes it took over two months for all of us involved to agree on a title. We went from Acne Girl to Tomboy to Checkmate to Stranded to several others. Finally, we settled on Blemished Beauty, despite my slight aversion to it sounding a little fluffy.
Once the title was set it was much easier to come up with a good idea for a cover design. Fortunately, the small crew at Crystal Publishing did most of the thinking on this one. I just had to approve it—which I didn’t when I saw a girl on the front in a rather revealing dress. This was not an accurate depiction of my shy, self-conscious character. But, with some magical alterations of our amazing graphic artist, the dress turned into a lovely evening gown with the girl looking into shattered glass. I love the cover now.
What I learned about the writing process
There are four important things I learned about my writing process.
1. Consistency
This is my life's goal for just about everything. Writing is no different. If I had set a consistent time to write every day, perhaps I would have completed another novel in the same year. Who knows? NaNoWrimo is perfect for forcing this consistency plan into my life. I recommend it to any writer.
2. Use my resources and try new ways of crafting a story
I love the "just write" way of crafting a story. I love discovering what the character will do as I am writing the scene. Now, I am going to try to implement the "outline" way as well. Mark Saltzman, a 7-time Emmy award winner and a friend of mine, suggested outlining my story according to plot lines. For example, if there are three plots, outline it in such a way where there are never two scenes together with the same plot line. I've noticed that a lot of writers and myself do this naturally (must be a writer's intuition). However, I am going to make it a more conscious decision now and see how it serves me.
3. Know when to take and not take advice
Being a part of writing groups is huge. My good and bad writing becomes much clearer when I share it with other writers. I've learned to consider all writing advice before tossing it aside. Also, I've learned to give myself permission to discard any "feedback" that is strictly insulting.
4. Return favors
Most importantly, I've learned to show gratitude for those who take time to read my writing and to return the favor in some way. When we all help each other, we are all better off!
What I learned about the publishing process
The most important lesson I learned about the publishing process is this: whether I am self-published or not, I will be (almost) solely responsible for promotion. This might be different with large publishing companies, but even they won't blog, set up an email list, a newsletter and do social media.
This means I can't wait for people to "get around" to finding my book. I need to consistently advocate for it. I can do this by making lasting and meaningful connections with readers and influencers alike.
What I learned about myself
1. Creating stories is a part of me and I need it in my life.
2. Some people don't care about what I write, but I can find those who do.
3. Just because someone doesn't like what I write doesn't mean it isn't good.
4. Whether my writing is good or bad, I can always get better.
5. Regardless of hard feedback, or how long it takes to see progress, I don't need to give up!
Silver Quill AwardI am so honored to have received this award. It reminds me of what I have known all along: My work is valuable, just as yours is.
December 30, 2017
The Silver Quill!
The Silver Quill!
Last Spring I entered a writing contest into the young adult category of published books in 2016 to the League of Utah Writers. I sent them three copies and didn't think much would come of it. But what to my surprise, I just received this in the mail! The Silver Quill award! (This basically means second place.) I am so honored!
💓💓
💓
Last Spring I entered a writing contest into the young adult category of published books in 2016 to the League of Utah Writers. I sent them three copies and didn't think much would come of it. But what to my surprise, I just received this in the mail! The Silver Quill award! (This basically means second place.) I am so honored!
💓💓💓
April 27, 2017
Choose Your Own Ending Right Here
Have you ever read a book in which you got to "choose your own ending"? For instance, something like this: if you want Robby to return the stolen watch turn to page 32. If you want him to give it to Silas turn to page 23. Aren't those books fun?
Well, I have some options for YOU to choose your own ending with a couple of my own flash fiction stories! (In other words, very short stories.)
To make it even more fun, let's use my Story Cubes. My kids and I did this together once. It was a blast! Watch this video and you will get the gist. Don't forget to laugh as much as we do.
All right. It's your turn. Let's start with the hand. And then you can choose your own ending! Keep in mind Story Cubes are meant to be completely impromptu, so with each of these scenarios I just wrote the first thing that came to my head. =)
"What's up!" I cried to my best friend, Bree. We each lifted our palms for a deafening high five.
"Where are we going today?" she asked.
"Let's go to my house," I replied.
We passed Mrs. Greer's house who was watering flowers on her porch, then Billy's house whose kid brother rode his big wheel up and down the driveway and then we reached my house. I kicked the screen door open with my foot.
Well, I have some options for YOU to choose your own ending with a couple of my own flash fiction stories! (In other words, very short stories.)
To make it even more fun, let's use my Story Cubes. My kids and I did this together once. It was a blast! Watch this video and you will get the gist. Don't forget to laugh as much as we do.
All right. It's your turn. Let's start with the hand. And then you can choose your own ending! Keep in mind Story Cubes are meant to be completely impromptu, so with each of these scenarios I just wrote the first thing that came to my head. =)
"Where are we going today?" she asked.
Choose where Bree and I will go today.
 |
| Stars |
 |
| Home |
 |
| Ocean |
______________________________________________________________________________
 |
| Home |
"Let's go to my house," I replied.
"Okay."
"Mom! I'm home!" I hollered.
No answer.
"She's not home?" Bree asked.
"I guess not."
The two of us exchanged grins. "Basement time!" we cried in unison.
We clamored down the wooden stairs and into the basement where my parents never let us play.
"It's dark down here," Bree said. "Where's the light?"
I flipped the switch next to the door. Nothing happened. I did it again. Nothing. Then, we heard a big bang somewhere next to us. I squealed and Bree let out a full-on yelp.
"What was that?" Bree asked.
"I don't know. Who's there?" I called.
No answer, just a screeching noise across the floor.
"What is that?" Bree asked, her voice shaking.
"The…the c-c-cat?" I stuttered.
Abruptly, I felt a strong hand grab my arm. I shrieked at the same time Bree yelled in my ear.
Then a light turned on. I blinked and saw my mom holding a flashlight to her face.
"Do you still want to play in the basement?" she asked.
April 4, 2017
A Mother and a Writer During Spring Break
I've never wanted to be a parent who says, "Stop bothering me, I'm working." Or, "I'm too busy right now." So I have made it my personal motto that I will always be a mother first and a writer second.
This means when my kids are home I rarely attempt to write or do anything "work related." In fact, sometimes I wonder if my kids think I have magic powers to write books since they hardly ever see me do it.
Whenever I have tried to write while they are around the scenario usually goes something like this:
I am writing:
I ran around the corner to hide.
"Hey, Mom! Look at this!"
"What? Oh, wow, that's amazing, honey."
I slid behind the door into...
"Hey, Mom, guess what?"
into...
"Mom!"
"Yes?"
"Look how many times I can jump rope! One, two, three, four..."
"Oh, wow. I bet you could make it to five hundred."
"Yeah! Nine, ten, eleven. Oh, man, I messed up."
into the...
"No, look Mom! I can do it!"
"I know you can, honey."
into the closet. Then...
(Different child) "Mom, are you almost done?"
Sigh. "Well, I have about 175 pages to go."
"What?!"
"But, I have managed to write two sentences in the past fifteen minutes."
"So, you're almost done?"
"No, buddy. I'm not even close."
"Can we go to the park?"
"Sure, just after I finish this thought."
"How long will that take?"
"That depends on..."
(1st child) "Mom, guess how many times I caught the ball at recess yesterday?"
"How many?"
"No, you have to guess!"
"Five."
"No, three."
"Good job."
(2nd child) "Can we go to the park now?"
"Sure. But first, you guys go hulahoop while I finish my thought."
"Okay!"
Then I...
"Mom, look at this!"
Sigh. Click off the computer. "That's amazing, honey. All right, kids. Let's go to the park."
Yep, that's generally how it goes, which is why I don't usually try to write when the kids are home. And honestly, I'm fine with that. I'd rather be involved with my children. It works pretty well for me. I write when my kids are at school and when they are home I am just Mom (in other words, a taxi driver, tutor, piano teacher, cook, mediator, cheerleader, bedtime-enforcer, etc).
However, last week when the kids were on Spring Break, I found myself in a predicament. You see, I had already agreed to participate in a session with my online writing group without remembering my kids were out of school for a whole week. I found myself with 8 segments to review of fellow writers, with one week to complete them, and no good time to do it. One review often takes me a little less than an hour. Usually, this is not a big deal as I can do one or two reviews a day. But the thought of finding eight hours to work while the kids were home seemed impossible.
I decided I would do one review before they got up and one review after they went to bed. If I did that every day, I would get them all done within the week deadline.
Well, that worked for the first day. The second day, the kids were up before me and were already watching Wild Kratts on Netflix on the computer. So, I let them watch it on "small screen" while I worked on the other half of the screen. (There is no TV in our house so our computer is used for everything.) This worked pretty well as I'm an expert at tuning out TV shows (minus the occasional, "Mom, watch this! It's hilarious!"). I think I did this the third day too.
On Thursday, they woke up before me again (obviously, mornings are not my strength), but I felt guilty having them watch TV again so I tried the I'll-just-work-while-they-play idea. Well, I bet you can guess how that worked out from the above scenario. Except for this time it was worse because the kids were arguing and I got mad too. And then I felt guilty over everything—getting upset at the kids, working while the kids were home, and mad that I thought it would ever work in the first place.
So no, things don't always go as planned. And no, I'm not perfect. But I do my best. The good news is I managed to get up early the next day and get my last two reviews done.
You might say to me, "just tell your kids you're working from this time to this time and they can't bother you." I know that works for some people, (and I realize that some people have to do that) but not for me. I'm not wired that way. When my kids are home I want to be with them. My books will eventually get written. My kids only grow up once.
This means when my kids are home I rarely attempt to write or do anything "work related." In fact, sometimes I wonder if my kids think I have magic powers to write books since they hardly ever see me do it.
Whenever I have tried to write while they are around the scenario usually goes something like this:
I am writing:
I ran around the corner to hide.
"Hey, Mom! Look at this!"
"What? Oh, wow, that's amazing, honey."
I slid behind the door into...
"Hey, Mom, guess what?"
into...
"Mom!"
"Yes?"
"Look how many times I can jump rope! One, two, three, four..."
"Oh, wow. I bet you could make it to five hundred."
"Yeah! Nine, ten, eleven. Oh, man, I messed up."
into the...
"No, look Mom! I can do it!"
"I know you can, honey."
into the closet. Then...
(Different child) "Mom, are you almost done?"
Sigh. "Well, I have about 175 pages to go."
"What?!"
"But, I have managed to write two sentences in the past fifteen minutes."
"So, you're almost done?"
"No, buddy. I'm not even close."
"Can we go to the park?"
"Sure, just after I finish this thought."
"How long will that take?"
"That depends on..."
(1st child) "Mom, guess how many times I caught the ball at recess yesterday?"
"How many?"
"No, you have to guess!"
"Five."
"No, three."
"Good job."
(2nd child) "Can we go to the park now?"
"Sure. But first, you guys go hulahoop while I finish my thought."
"Okay!"
Then I...
"Mom, look at this!"
Sigh. Click off the computer. "That's amazing, honey. All right, kids. Let's go to the park."
Yep, that's generally how it goes, which is why I don't usually try to write when the kids are home. And honestly, I'm fine with that. I'd rather be involved with my children. It works pretty well for me. I write when my kids are at school and when they are home I am just Mom (in other words, a taxi driver, tutor, piano teacher, cook, mediator, cheerleader, bedtime-enforcer, etc).
However, last week when the kids were on Spring Break, I found myself in a predicament. You see, I had already agreed to participate in a session with my online writing group without remembering my kids were out of school for a whole week. I found myself with 8 segments to review of fellow writers, with one week to complete them, and no good time to do it. One review often takes me a little less than an hour. Usually, this is not a big deal as I can do one or two reviews a day. But the thought of finding eight hours to work while the kids were home seemed impossible.
I decided I would do one review before they got up and one review after they went to bed. If I did that every day, I would get them all done within the week deadline.
Well, that worked for the first day. The second day, the kids were up before me and were already watching Wild Kratts on Netflix on the computer. So, I let them watch it on "small screen" while I worked on the other half of the screen. (There is no TV in our house so our computer is used for everything.) This worked pretty well as I'm an expert at tuning out TV shows (minus the occasional, "Mom, watch this! It's hilarious!"). I think I did this the third day too.
On Thursday, they woke up before me again (obviously, mornings are not my strength), but I felt guilty having them watch TV again so I tried the I'll-just-work-while-they-play idea. Well, I bet you can guess how that worked out from the above scenario. Except for this time it was worse because the kids were arguing and I got mad too. And then I felt guilty over everything—getting upset at the kids, working while the kids were home, and mad that I thought it would ever work in the first place.
So no, things don't always go as planned. And no, I'm not perfect. But I do my best. The good news is I managed to get up early the next day and get my last two reviews done.
You might say to me, "just tell your kids you're working from this time to this time and they can't bother you." I know that works for some people, (and I realize that some people have to do that) but not for me. I'm not wired that way. When my kids are home I want to be with them. My books will eventually get written. My kids only grow up once.
A Day to Celebrate 15 Things
Today is a day to celebrate!
Did you know today (March 21) is a day to celebrate all of these things?
Today is International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination!
Today is International Day of Forests!
Today is Memory Day!
Today is National California Strawberry Day!
Today is National Common Courtesy Day!
Today is National Day of Action on Syringe Exchange!
Today is National Flower Day!
Today is National Fragrance Day!
Today is National French Bread Day!
Today is National Single Parents' Day!
Today is National Teenager Day!
Today is World Down Syndrome Day!
Today is World Poetry Day!
Today is World Puppetry Day!
Today is World Social Work Day!
I'm still wondering about the Action on Syringe Exchange. Who knew that was a thing?
Today I would like to celebrate Memory Day! I love writing in my journal, taking pictures and keeping memories.
I have a Handy Diary App on my phone. When I look at the month at a glance, it shows the emoji I put in for that day, i.e. smiley face, angry face, teary face, green (sick) face. It's fun to look back and see how my overall month went.
Here are some random things I came across as I scrolled back in time.
HUGE SMILEY face:
SAD Face:
REGULAR SMILEY face:
ANGRY Face:
SICK Face:
IN LOVE Face:
The coolest thing about looking back on my life is that I can see my progress, my children's progress, my family's progress. To see I got through those times I didn't think I could get through. To remind myself that life is good. Sure, it's hard too. But there is a lot to be grateful for and a lot worth living for.
Did you know today (March 21) is a day to celebrate all of these things?
Today is International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination!
Today is International Day of Forests!
Today is Memory Day!
Today is National California Strawberry Day!
Today is National Common Courtesy Day!
Today is National Day of Action on Syringe Exchange!
Today is National Flower Day!
Today is National Fragrance Day!
Today is National French Bread Day!
Today is National Single Parents' Day!
Today is National Teenager Day!
Today is World Down Syndrome Day!
Today is World Poetry Day!
Today is World Puppetry Day!
Today is World Social Work Day!
I'm still wondering about the Action on Syringe Exchange. Who knew that was a thing?
Today I would like to celebrate Memory Day! I love writing in my journal, taking pictures and keeping memories.
I have a Handy Diary App on my phone. When I look at the month at a glance, it shows the emoji I put in for that day, i.e. smiley face, angry face, teary face, green (sick) face. It's fun to look back and see how my overall month went.
Here are some random things I came across as I scrolled back in time.
HUGE SMILEY face:
SAD Face:
REGULAR SMILEY face:
ANGRY Face:
SICK Face:
IN LOVE Face:
The coolest thing about looking back on my life is that I can see my progress, my children's progress, my family's progress. To see I got through those times I didn't think I could get through. To remind myself that life is good. Sure, it's hard too. But there is a lot to be grateful for and a lot worth living for.
The Power of Words
I think the most difficult thing for me as a writer is dealing with negative feedback and/or the lack of feedback. I'm not sure which one is worse.
I am part of a very active online writing group. We send each other 3,000 words or less of something we have written twice a month. I love my writing group. I receive different and helpful feedback from each one. When I am going through reviews I generally look for feedback that is constructive so I can improve my writing. But I think I focus too much on the negative comments and just gloss over the positive ones. Two days ago I read one particular review that just made me feel like dirt. She said something to the effect of, "Right now, I really don't care about this scene or these characters." Now, I've felt discouraged and embarrassed before, but that comment cut deep.
Now many of you might say, "don’t take it personally," but my writing is personal. It's a big part of who I am. If you gave a speech in church or played an instrument for an audience and someone told you, "that was really boring, I didn't like it," and then told you a plethora of things you did wrong, chances are you would probably take it personally.
Anyway, this wasn't the first time I wanted to give up on the whole idea of being a writer. After all, who is going to miss my writing? Well, even if nobody does, I would miss it. And I couldn't help but notice this quiet little hug around me. It was as if my family in Heaven were whispering to me, "don't give up!"
So I decided to tell my writing group how I was feeling. I didn't spill a whole lot about it, just that I felt discouraged. The leader of the group sent me a message back that simply said, "Brenda! Don't be discouraged! You're a great writer!" And, you know what? That was all the extra push I needed to keep going. That right there shows the power of words.
I am part of a very active online writing group. We send each other 3,000 words or less of something we have written twice a month. I love my writing group. I receive different and helpful feedback from each one. When I am going through reviews I generally look for feedback that is constructive so I can improve my writing. But I think I focus too much on the negative comments and just gloss over the positive ones. Two days ago I read one particular review that just made me feel like dirt. She said something to the effect of, "Right now, I really don't care about this scene or these characters." Now, I've felt discouraged and embarrassed before, but that comment cut deep.
Now many of you might say, "don’t take it personally," but my writing is personal. It's a big part of who I am. If you gave a speech in church or played an instrument for an audience and someone told you, "that was really boring, I didn't like it," and then told you a plethora of things you did wrong, chances are you would probably take it personally.
Anyway, this wasn't the first time I wanted to give up on the whole idea of being a writer. After all, who is going to miss my writing? Well, even if nobody does, I would miss it. And I couldn't help but notice this quiet little hug around me. It was as if my family in Heaven were whispering to me, "don't give up!"
So I decided to tell my writing group how I was feeling. I didn't spill a whole lot about it, just that I felt discouraged. The leader of the group sent me a message back that simply said, "Brenda! Don't be discouraged! You're a great writer!" And, you know what? That was all the extra push I needed to keep going. That right there shows the power of words.
If it Ain't Broke, Don't Fix it
We all spend a lot of our time fixing things, or making them right. This week I have been doing just that—except in the end it didn't need to be fixed.
I put a sign-up form to my newsletter on my website, promising those who subscribed that they would get free chapters of my new fantasy romance. These particular emails are automated since there is no way I can keep track of who needs chapter 1, or chapter 7, or chapter 4 and so on.
The first chapter of Queen Andraya is a third draft and completely different than the original. I made these changes based on some feedback from my online writing group. I made additional changes based on some feedback from my husband. He said he wanted to know what was at stake for the queen from the beginning. So I wrote the new first chapter and loved it, thinking that my writing group would too. Well, I was sorely disappointed. They all had more problems with it than they did originally. BUT, this revised first chapter had already gone out to my recent subscribers. So I changed the first chapter again for those who were to see it afterwards. I believe this is okay because everyone knows that writing a book is a process and there are bound to be changes, even drastic ones.
There was one slight complication though. One of the recent subscribers had already read the new first chapter. This was fine, except that now she wouldn't get the section that I had moved. I thought this information was important for her to know so that it could set up the next scene she would read. Moreover, the other subscribers that read the section that was now taken out of chapter 1 would get a duplicate (since I moved much of the first scene to the third chapter).
So I had a couple of options: I could send an email to one subscriber with scene 2 1/2, so she could get the whole story so far. Or, I could change it the way I wanted it, but then I would have to send an email to the remaining subscribers explaining that scene three had parts in it that duplicated scene 1.
I stewed over it a bit and decided the former option. But then I ran into another problem. I could only send the email from my desktop because I didn't have the file on my phone (which is where I often send emails from) but the problem was I couldn't remember my password! I tried answering the security questions that were set up, but to no avail. And apparently, I didn't write it down anywhere. I knew I could spend hours on the phone with security or tech support, but I certainly did not want to do that.
What did I decide to do? Nothing! I left it the way it was. Sure, the one subscriber wouldn't be able to read two important pages, and the other ones wouldn't see the new beginning, but it was the only thing to do. It is what it is, as they say. Everyone will be able to buy the complete and polished book at a later date, anyway.
So I had spent all this time and energy trying to fix a problem when in the end the best thing to do was to leave it. Waste of time? I don't think so. It was good to realize that things can't always be perfect or the way I want them to be.
Kind of like life.
I put a sign-up form to my newsletter on my website, promising those who subscribed that they would get free chapters of my new fantasy romance. These particular emails are automated since there is no way I can keep track of who needs chapter 1, or chapter 7, or chapter 4 and so on.
The first chapter of Queen Andraya is a third draft and completely different than the original. I made these changes based on some feedback from my online writing group. I made additional changes based on some feedback from my husband. He said he wanted to know what was at stake for the queen from the beginning. So I wrote the new first chapter and loved it, thinking that my writing group would too. Well, I was sorely disappointed. They all had more problems with it than they did originally. BUT, this revised first chapter had already gone out to my recent subscribers. So I changed the first chapter again for those who were to see it afterwards. I believe this is okay because everyone knows that writing a book is a process and there are bound to be changes, even drastic ones.
There was one slight complication though. One of the recent subscribers had already read the new first chapter. This was fine, except that now she wouldn't get the section that I had moved. I thought this information was important for her to know so that it could set up the next scene she would read. Moreover, the other subscribers that read the section that was now taken out of chapter 1 would get a duplicate (since I moved much of the first scene to the third chapter).
So I had a couple of options: I could send an email to one subscriber with scene 2 1/2, so she could get the whole story so far. Or, I could change it the way I wanted it, but then I would have to send an email to the remaining subscribers explaining that scene three had parts in it that duplicated scene 1.
I stewed over it a bit and decided the former option. But then I ran into another problem. I could only send the email from my desktop because I didn't have the file on my phone (which is where I often send emails from) but the problem was I couldn't remember my password! I tried answering the security questions that were set up, but to no avail. And apparently, I didn't write it down anywhere. I knew I could spend hours on the phone with security or tech support, but I certainly did not want to do that.
What did I decide to do? Nothing! I left it the way it was. Sure, the one subscriber wouldn't be able to read two important pages, and the other ones wouldn't see the new beginning, but it was the only thing to do. It is what it is, as they say. Everyone will be able to buy the complete and polished book at a later date, anyway.
So I had spent all this time and energy trying to fix a problem when in the end the best thing to do was to leave it. Waste of time? I don't think so. It was good to realize that things can't always be perfect or the way I want them to be.
Kind of like life.
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