Jessica’s Comments (group member since Aug 25, 2014)

Jessica’s comments from the Author Talk group.

L.E. wrote: "I'm midway through my second novel and in the spirit of NaNoWriMo I'm going to try and finish the first draft."

Great Spirit! NaNoWriMo is so fantastic for reigniting that drive to get a piece done.

Are you participating?

Are you excitied, nervous, newbie, old hat, just hoping to finish a piece off?

This is something that muddles a lot of authors. Is it the ways to avoid saying "he said," "she said," etc, punctuating the transitions, or just making it feel like a real conversation instead of dialogue?

Congratulations! I am sending you a virtual high five because that is a great step towards securing additional shelf space.

What are your plans for instore support to make sure your novel sells?

That is a great question and I am interested to see what other people say.

I think in the world of social media, being social and not fake is key. When I get the automated messages, it is an instant turn off and can even impact whether or not we sign a manuscript.

The strongest part of being in an author network, for me, is the actual relationships and connections, talking with each other, not spamming each other. Author's don't need to be sold on another author's book, we know what we like and what to look for. With that being said, being friends (face to face or virtually) with a variety of genre spanning authors is a big plus.

Great post! I'm very interested to see how it develops.

Day wrote: "Oddly enough, mechanics. I know, right? The first book I wrote took six weeks. The second, six months, because I was so hung up on the mechanics. Good news? Less editing and revising."

That's not entirely bad! It's all about finding your pace with each book and not comparing the two in your steps. I have one manuscript that took four weeks and another I've been toiling away on for 16 months now. Sometimes the passion for the story overrides the need to get things done....(did I just admit that? I hope my authors don't see that...if you're one of my authors reading this - keep your deadline! haha)

L.E. wrote: "I try to write a timeline guide before I start and that is always the hardest. I also find I can mentally prepare conversations between characters but remembering them in full when I come to write ..."

We totally agree - "if it's good and worth remembering then I will forget it."

Isn't that the worst? We've recently become a big fan of binders for organizing thoughts. Although sometimes, you go back to old thoughts and think, "What in the world was I thinking with that idea!"

What was one silly mistake you made that really created a problem for your manuscript or publishing process?

I'll tell you ours! When we first came out, we signed a contract with an eBook distributor to create a strong reach. Launch day came...and our books were no where to be found! They didn't show up for almost two more weeks, after we had canceled our contract and scrambled to get the books put up ourselves on the various platforms.
We then spent launch week renegotiating contracts, and once the company launched our ebooks, they put them up at a lower price creating a trickle down impact on our retail outlet prices. It was a headache!

That was our big mistake. What have you encountered?

What is the one grammar rule that always stumps you, trips you up, or leaves you scratching your head?

Welcome and thanks for introducing yourself!

Use this forum to celebrate and share pieces of your journey that been successes, or just overall good experiences you've had along the way.

Designing the interior files of eBooks the right way is hard work.
What are your burning design questions?

When you're working on your next best seller, what is the one writing issue that you constantly find getting in your way?

What is the worst thing that has happened to you during your publishing journey?

Tell us about you through the following questions:
1. Name
2. Website
3. Twitter Handle
4. Favorite Book
5. Favorite Movie
6. Favorite Song
7. Worst Book You've Ever Read (remember to be nice)
8. Worst Book to Movie Adaptation
9. The Book to Movie Adaptation You Crave
10. Are You Published, Writing, Want to Write, Want to Publish?