Elizabeth R. Joseph's Blog

Hey, guys. It’s been a while, so time for a Srs Blg. 10 important things I learned from self publishing.

1. Take risks. I’ll admit that I am the WORST at doing so, but by putting your work out there, you can better build a network of people who may be interested in reading your future work. It’s also way more likely you’ll be motivated to keep improving and updating (according to SCIENCE!). Personally, I knew that my work wasn’t perfect published anyway for two reasons: to get it out before starting high school and to get feedback on my writing skills.

2. Edit your work. Editing and revising is crucial to improving. If possible, get a professional editor to review your work and make sure said editor can do both copy and content editing for you. In my case, I didn’t know that the editor we hired only worked on copy editing until it was way too late.

3. Get early reviewers, especially from your target audience. Ideally, it is better if your reviewers don’t know you personally so you get more objective reviews. Since my network was limited at the time I wrote the book, I had it reviewed by a couple of my classmates who gave some really great feedback. However, getting input from people unfamiliar with you is also necessary to get them diverse opinions.

4. Get a professional cover designer. Cover designs can range from really cheap to really expensive, but your cover can often end up being the selling point of your book. In my case, the editor we hired helped to get the first cover done.

5. Decide on the platform you are going to publish your work through. There are many platforms available, from Createspace to Lulu to Smashwords and so on. I chose Createspace and Amazon to publish my book, which allowed some flexibility in formatting, pricing, and more.

6. Make sure your book description is written properly. Gotta go fast to get reader attention. Use them action verbs. Yeah.

7. Get a release date set. Have a plan/schedule for your book release. By building up to a release date, you build hype, and hype is incredibly important to making those around you aware that you have a book and that said book is for sale. Obviously, I did not do this and now I know better.

8. Revise and release the book based on feedback post release. Self publishing gives you the control to update and release the book as many times as you’d like, and it’s not super difficult to upload new files. I updated both the cover and content of TR a couple of times.

9. Get reviews after you publish. Book bloggers and reviewers will help you gain credibility, and you look much more legitimate with reviews to your name than without. Some book bloggers are very selective on the genre and others won’t accept self published works. In my case, it took many attempts to find a couple of bloggers who agreed to review and blog about my work. Besides making you look legit, you can also get some great feedback for the future.

10. Promote your book. Toot your own horn. Toot it multiple times. When you self publish, you are responsible for everything. This ranges from selling your book to promotion, marketing, pricing, and more. This is a HUGE topic, and I can’t cover it adequately here. However, personally I can tell you that I haven’t spent much time promoting my work due to High School™ and All That™™, so I’m not the prime example of promotional success. However, though promoting is tough and draining, it is important.

 

It’s been two months.

So a musical update:

Marina and the Diamonds! Listen to her! I started with Electra Heart (her most poppish album, with lots of intent and hidden meaning to unravel), and then switched between Froot and The Family Jewels. TFJ has a very unique sound to it, being her first album, and you can see the clear style shift between albums. Froot “(blends) nature with artifice” and does so really well, I really enjoy(ed) it. Froot brings an honest approach to lyrics, that are personal to Diamandis but (through this) are relatable to her fanbase. She’s also pretty cool as a person.
Obviously, I really enjoy Hamilton, and recommend it. There isn’t much new I can bring to the table, besides it being a really, really quality body of work.
I’ve started listening to Sara Bareilles, mostly The Blessed Unrest and What’s Inside. My friend described her lyrics as “little poems” and I second that. She’s also really, really good at emoting through her voice. It’s kinda incredible.
Bushes of Love by Bad Lip Readings. Because of course.

It’s kind of brief, but I’m a little predictable. Consider giving them a listen!

 

 

aaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I didn’t know this was a thing until today and I am so excite. I’m going to talk about ampersands and interrobangs for a week straight. It’s time to bust out my dictionary.

 

I’m so excited.

I got interviewed about writing. You can find it here.

While I’m working on school and a longer thought-piece, I figure I should give you an update without it being an update. So, here are some tips for Science Olympiad:

Join it! It’s a fun way to get interested in science, and you’ll learn a lot from participating.
Start your notes a while before, so you don’t end up doing all of them in one night.
Make use of formatting in Microsoft word (or your text editor of choice). Take up margins, use small but readable font, highlight key terms, etc. Cram up your notes.
Practice your builds if possible. This is a key to succeeding.
Read or find resources for the events you’re in. Go to soinc.org for links or handouts with information you’ll need, and scioly.org for help from other students.
Read the rules. You’ll find the guidelines helpful.
Do what you can – and stay away from doing six events. Even five is a tad excessive. Four is usually the baseline amount, but if you’re a beginner, try two or three to start.
Ask for help! Don’t be afraid to use the resources (and experienced people) around you!
FIND. RESOURCES. I can’t reiterate this enough. There is always information in the form of teachers, coaches, friends, or even a textbook. And there are the aforementioned links.
Make full use of a binder if you have an event that allows one. You have an unlimited binder full of notes! You could buy a four inch binder!
Color code.
Try to keep your events organized. Don’t be like me and leave your binder in a classroom and then try to retrieve it in the middle of testing. Don’t do it.
The rules may say that x topic is only covered on national tests but if you have the room on your notes, include that information. It’s highly likely info you don’t have will be on the test, regardless of whether or not the rules allow x topic to be on a test.
Read guidelines for builds really carefully. It’s easier to be disqualified than to stay in the event. I nearly got a fifteen point penalty for being a centimeter off.
There will always be something you don’t know.
Use practices to the fullest of your ability. Cram the earbuds in if you need to, because you don’t want to be making notes at midnight when you need to be at school by 6 am for a competition.
Go to practices if you can.
Science Olympiad is fun! Usually there’ll be people who are giant nerds around you at all times, and there ain’t no party like a nerd party.
Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re not smart enough for SciOly. As long as you show up and put in a baseline level of effort, you’ll be accomplishing something.
Bring snacks. And money.
@competitions, make sure you have everything you brought. I lost my entire tin of colored pens at the last competition.
It’s okay if you don’t win! The goal is to become interested in science and learn something, even if all you learn is about making note sheets.

Write a good poem.
Get a ribbon in Science Olympiad.
Write another book.
Create a magnum opus.
Conquer my world.
Be kinder.
Write more posts.
Graduate high school.
Make a decision in under ten minutes.
Make a decision in under five minutes.
Make a good snap decision.
Improve in percussion.
Improve on piano.
Stay in quizbowl and scioly for all four years of HS.
Certifiably improve someone else’s life.
Get nine hours of sleep on a school night.
Learn all of the spelling bee words.
Survive the next few weeks.
Survive HS.
Give a  TED talk.
Be a voice actor in some form.
Create multi media works.
Touch someone (figuratively) with writing or a speech.
Write a rap. Maybe.
Sew something.
Clean the dishes.
Get a 2nd place in quizbowl.
Get a 1st place in quizbowl.
Go to regionals for scioly and quizbowl.
Make a plan.
Learn ten new words.
Go to the next Holi at the temple.
Keep a friend for more than three years.
Figure out what leads me to have the tics I have.
Learn more about etymology.
Learn more science.
Take three pre ap classes.
Take a journalism class.
Attend 4 pullouts in one month.
Get a better tagging system for this blog.
See a broadway musical (Hamilton).
Volunteer more.
Come home early more.
Write fewer run-on sentences.
Procrastinate less.
Sleep before 10.
Rewatch Avatar: the Last Airbender.
Watch the Legend of Korra.
Watch Xena.
Watch a movie in theatres by myself.
Accept higher standards.
Become a valued member on a team.
Ad lib something well.
“Talk less. Write more.”
Get to age nineteen.
Get to age fifteen.
Finish the Odyssey.
Try reading the Divine Comedy.
Get through 25 pages of Pride and Prejudice.
Learn more Malayalam and Spanish.
Get better at plotting.
Improve organization.
Figure out whether I’m a Ravenclaw or a Hufflepuff (or what my secondary is, as according to sortinghatchats).
Give gifts that are more thoughtful.
Get better at communicating with other people, especially with modulating my language, tone, and my understandability.
Grow my hair back to two feet of length?
Fill up a jar with the good things of the year.
PROMOTE. BELIEVE IN MY WORK.
Speak up.
Rise up.
Perform something I wrote in front of more than three people.
Add to this list so I can aspire to something.

The rest of the monologues will be in another post.

The book cover for TR has gotten updated! Here is the new image:

It’s been a solid few months with school and activities in full force. My first high school finals are coming up, and I’m, of course, terrified.

Recently I’ve been more involved in new media, so here are some of my thoughts and updates.

Hamilton is the first Broadway musical soundtrack I’ve listened to and I love it. The themes are beautiful, the songs are layered and complex, and the whole story is great, along with the actors. The whole thing is brilliant.
The Flash is a optimistic show that I really like, though it makes no sense to me sometimes. I do enjoy it a lot, and the CW app is pretty great for viewing episodes.
I have no idea what’s happening with How To Get Away With Murder.
I hope to watch AKA Jessica Jones at some point.
I still need to start season three of Xena.
I listened to Halsey before it was cool.
I read Twilight Reimagined/Life and Death by Stephenie Meyer. I’ll be posting an honest review on Goodreads at some point.

I will try to establish a schedule for posts (or, at bare minimum, an unofficial schedule). Until then, I’ll be here.

This was one of the least embarrassing things I could find:

The woman of mist was internally grinning. Her plan was working. She was careful not to even utter her name aloud, although she loved it so. Charna. Like charred wood, a blemish on her family tree, she thought. Except there was no blemishes with this plan. She would get a sample or die trying. And this plan would ensure expansion.

Joshua spent his quiet time while Misseva was magicking, to think. He finished finding the puzzle pieces ofhis prophecy, and was shocked to find what he found in the depths of the mind.

Ones of whom you severed all ties to

The scions? But we couldn’t let them be in danger.

Will soon bring a great joy to all of you

well, that was obvious

but a small evil is coming near

No. No no no no no.

one of it’s subjects you hold dear.

“Mucio.”

Yes, reader. What you think is happening. War is upon them. The prophecy is slowly coming true.

Also:

Mark turned to face the monster, a thing with long legs, (letting it move fast, Mark noted) and huge eyes. It turned towards him, its leg points needle sharp. It slashed at Mark, who did nothing but deflect it. He didn’t want to kill the creature, more of tiring it out so it would run away, but he never got there. You see, a quarter of stale bread isn’t filling, even if Jessie had conducted magic like that, which Mark had been thinking about earlier. He realized someone must had been fighting through Jessie, her eyes had never been brown, her hair had never beencurly, even when they were kids, her hair was pin­straight.

In that same contest in which Mark had won “Curliest Hair”, Jessie had won “Straightest Hair”. He also suspected that when Jessie had gotten “possessed”, she’d hadn’t had enough energy to…

But now Mark was the one who didn’t have the energy. Within a couple of swipes, the monster had taken him down. His shirt had the evidence, along with the cuts he had on his upper arms and jeans. He fell into the shadows too, three feet away from his sister.

The creature turned it’s giant eyes around, and when it saw no people, it ran away on it’s spindly legs.

The creature had left him there to die. (DUN DUN DUUUUUN)

Baby me was the cleveres (which is a title baby me came up with). The second part, by the way, is in the middle of an EPIC FIGHT SCENE™, in which Mark ruminates over a contest in which he won a curliest hair award? This was little me trying to be funny? It’s really, really bad, and if you ever feel like your writing is the worst ever, the above will prove you wrong. These are direct quotes by the way, nothing was corrected except for formatting issues where I pasted the text.

I have a few posts planned thus far, and I figure I should put them up here just cuz.

Music/Playlist (which would remain in progress as I lost a lot of the songs I meant to put on there)
Deleted scenes
Old work
For young writers

There are few to none of you here, but I would appreciate it if you would vote on a topic! Thanks!