A Quick Secret About "Rules"

We've all heard them. The dos and don'ts about writing. Don't start chapter one with the weather. Vampires are lame now and no one wants them. Don't make your main character unlikable. Blah, blah, blah...

You know what I think? Screw the "rules."

Example #1: Louisiana summers are unforgiving. You know what that is? That's the first sentence of my debut novel, The Summer I Became a Nerd. Weather, I started with weather. Also, I like vampires. I wouldn't mind reading about more of them or seeing more movies about them. In fact, here's example #2:

Only Lovers Left Alive starring Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton comes out this year and is "A story centered on two vampires who have been in love for centuries."

I'm sorry, but that movie looks freaking awesome and I will be paying good money to see it.

People are constantly telling us what not to do. And they will always do so. But the only rule, in my opinion, is follow your gut. Do what you think is right. In the end, you're the only one that will be held responsible for your work. Don't you want that work to be completely you?

In case you didn't catch my meaning yet, here it is in gif form:

And when everything is said and done, you'll be able to say:

On Waiting (and getting hit by trucks)

Hello Secret Lifers :)

This post is coming a little late today, but in a way that seems appropriate, given what it's about (so let's just pretend I did it on purpose then, to drive home my point. Okay? Okay.) I spent most of this morning/early afternoon in the doctor's office, waiting. And while I was there, I was trying to come up with an idea for a blog post, as I hadn't given it much thought yet, since I've spent most of the past week in a sickly haze. So I'm sitting there in the cold little exam room, absently breaking a tongue depressor into several dozen splinters, and waiting for ten...twenty...thirty...however many minutes it ended up being, and I thought: waiting.

There's a topic that most writers know all about.

First things first: I'm not complaining about having to wait. I know how doctor's offices work. I know things get backed up, and I know emergencies happen, and I know that I should be glad the doctor is taking his time about seeing me, because even though I might feel differently, it means that I am not, in fact, dying. So, yay for that!

That doesn't change the fact that waiting sucks. Especially when you're sitting around feeling like you got hit with a truck (but again-- I wasn't actually hit by a truck, so yes, also sitting around counting my blessings).

And for anyone who's been writing for much time at all, you probably see where I'm going with this. Since I embarked on this crazy writing-toward-publication journey oh, five years ago or whatever it's been now, my patience has increased exponentially (also I just spelled that word right on the first try in spite of the cough medicine that's making me slightly delirious and I think I deserve a cookie for that, please and thanks). Notice I said "since I embarked" as in, not just since I started trying to get an agent or since I got one and landed a book deal and embarked on everything I talked about in my last post. Even before that, it feels like, you're always, always waiting. You take part in a contest on a blog, wait on pins and needles to see if your entry gets in, and then spend an embarrassing amount of time refreshing the page with your entry, waiting for comments to see what people think, even if you're afraid to know. You finish chapters, send them of to readers, and then...you wait.

You check your email constantly, and with every second that passes, you're a little more *certain* that obviously they hate it and they just can't find the heart to tell me that and that's why it's taking them so long to get back to me so what was I thinking even sending it to them in the first place because oh god it was so obviously not ready and I've really screwed up this time and oh god I'm going to die alone are you happy now, stupid self?

Okay, maybe your inner voice isn't as insane as mine (I hope not, for your sake), but most writers I know go through some variation of this. We're already all crazy to begin with, and waiting makes us crazier. Fun, eh? And that best part is, it never ends! When you're done waiting for feedback, and you get it all polished up, then you get to wait on queries, and submissions, and reviews, and...really, it just keeps going. So what do you do?

Well, I'm probably not the best role-model for this sort of thing, since despite my best efforts, some days my anxiety-wracked self still ends up in my safe space in the closet eating nutella straight from the jar, BUT, I try. And this is how I deal:


1. By working on something else--something new. I'm always working, at least in my mind. If I'm not actively writing, I'm at least *planning* to write something. Notebooks are being filled with possible scenes and characters for the next book. Because there's always going to be a next book. And really, it's this "next" part that makes the anxiety of waiting so much easier to deal with for me: because if I have something new in the works, I can let my attachment slowly move away from the book that's with my betas or agents or on sub or whatever, and I can invest hope in this new project, instead of anxiety on the old one that's out of my control at the moment. And if things don't pan out with the old book, then I can sleep a little easier knowing that I've already moved on to the next one, anyway

2. By exploring new hobbies--particularly creative ones. Recently I've picked up painting again, and to be honest I'm pretty terrible at it, but you know what? It doesn't matter. Not even to perfectionist me. I let myself be bad at it--and that's really important, for me, when I'm waiting to hear back from people reading my writing, since the stakes surrounding the latter feel much higher. I'm not worried about selling my artwork, or even about ever letting people see it; it's just a way to burn up anxious creative energy without having to worry about whether it's "good enough" or not.

3. By going on a walk, or a run, or just getting out of the house in general.  Honestly, part of the reason I don't like winter is because this gets harder (or just a lot less appealing) during this time of year. Who wants to run or play tennis when it's 9 degrees outside? Not me. I spend a lot of time going on random drives in the winter, because it's a way to get out and into the sunshine but still be warm and snug in my car.

4. By not paying attention to what everyone else is doing, or how quickly things are happening for them. In the age of twitter and tumblr and facebook and WE ALL MUST BE CONNECTED AND AWARE OF EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENING TO EVERYONE EVER, this one is hard, ya'll. And yes, I know, I wrote a blog post a couple weeks ago that had my own timeline in, so sorry for being another enabler. I just wrote it because I know people want to know those things, and *sometimes*, in some cases, it can provide you with peace of mind if you're timeline matches up. In this case, I'm talking more about ignoring the occasional instances where, despite all we hear about publishing being a slow, slow business, Author X manages to land a book deal, a hundred foreign rights sales, a movie deal, a theme park deal, etc... all in like...a month. Obviously this is a *bit* of an exaggeration, but you get the point. And I've seen other blogs, and countless industry professionals who'll claim "this doesn't happen, publishing is slow for everyone, blah blah blah". But, um, no. Sure, everyone waits at *some* point, but I personally know people who have had mind-blowingly awesome things happen for them really, really quickly. And I'm happy for them! I really, really am.

But let's be real. It's possible to be incredibly happy for these people even as a little part of you dies inside because you start to feel like "if I was a little better, or if I'd just done x,y, or z like they did, then things would have gone as fast and awesome for me..."  I think that sometimes, even though I know that just....no. No no no. You can't get caught up in this line of thinking, even though I know it's reeeally hard not to compare yourself to others in this business.  But just know that even if amazing things are happening for everyone around you, all the time and all at once, while you're still just chilling in the cold little exam room and waiting for things to get awesome (or at least to stop feeling like you got hit by a truck), then it's an okay place to be. I'd say we've ALL been there, at some point--even those Author Xs.

Things will happen when they happen, and they'll take the time they take, and you are awesome and strong and patient, and in the meantime, while you're waiting, I got you this cute picture to look at:

You're welcome ;)

Stefanie Gaither writes YA novels about killer clones and spaceships, with the occasional romp with dragons and magic-users thrown in for good measure. Said writing is generally fueled by an obscene amount of coffee and chocolate, as well as the occasional tennis and/or soccer break. She's represented by Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary, and her debut novel, FALLS THE SHADOW, is forthcoming from Simon and Schuster Books For Young Readers in 2014. You can add it on Goodreads here!

You can find her on Twitter @: https://twitter.com/stefaniegaither

Or drop her an email at: stefanie.gaither@gmail.com

And also visit her website @: www.stefaniegaither.com 

An Interview with Stephanie Diaz, Author of EXTRACTION

Hello friends :)

While I'm on my mini hiatus, the wonderful Stephanie Diaz agreed to an interview for Secret Life! Which is great for many reasons, but especially because I cannot WAIT to read her debut, EXTRACTION. And if you haven't heard of it, then I'm thrilled to share this with you!

Read on to learn more about EXTRACTION's badass premise, Stephanie's publishing and submission process, and the writing secrets she wants to share with you all!

Stephanie recently graduated from San Diego State University. She wrote her debut novel, EXTRACTION, when she should've been making short films and listening to class lectures. Her book, the first in a YA sci-fi trilogy, hits shelves July 22, 2014. You can follow Stephanie on twitter: @StephanieEDiaz.

1. Where did the idea for EXTRACTION come from? Is there something in particular that inspired you to write this story?

The idea really stemmed from a single question: What if the moon were poisonous? That question popped into my head really of out of nowhere, when I was reading a CP's manuscript and she mentioned the moon. I honestly don't know where the whole poisonous thing came from. But after thinking more about the question, the world of EXTRACTION came together and I fell in love with it.

2. You were still in college when you wrote/sold EXTRACTION, which is completely amazeballs. How did you and how do you still find time to write while balancing other responsibilities?

Well, I think I had a pretty unique college experience in that I was in a major (film production) that didn't involve a huge amount of outside-of-class work except for on production days, which didn't come around all that often. And since I was living at home and didn't really, erm, do a whole lot of socializing during the semesters (summer is a different story), I had a good amount of free time to devote to writing. I also snuck writing in during lectures and such. Of course, there were some days when finding time was a real struggle, and sometimes I had to focus on school instead, even though it pained me. It definitely made me realize how much I preferred writing over anything else.

Nowadays, I actually have a lot more time to devote to writing, and I'm struggling with the whole forcing-myself-to-actually-write thing. It's harder than I expected, go figure.

3. Without giving too much away, can you tell us which character in EXTRACTION is the most like you and why?

The main character, Clementine, is the most like me, for sure. She shares many of my faults and fears, which made writing her quite therapeutic. But she's not identical to me, of course. She's much braver and smarter than me, for one thing.

4. Tell us about the deal itself. How did everything go down? What was it like having to keep that a secret for so long?

The deal actually happened relatively quickly, at least compared to other stories I've heard about. The book had been on submission for a month when I found out there was interest from Macmillan, and about two weeks after that we had an offer on the table. Once we accepted the offer, I only had to wait a week to spill the beans. So it was a pretty fast process, but of course at the time the days felt like ages. I survived because NaNoWriMo was happening at the same time, and I was working on a new project I was excited about.

5. From Goodreads, EXTRACTION sounds like it is packed with both action and romance. What would you rather write: a fight scene or a kissing scene?

That's tough! It honestly depends on my mood on any given day, but probably in general I'd prefer to write a fight scene.

6. What do you do when you get stuck? Do you wait it out or do you have strategies for getting unstuck?

I absolutely hate getting stuck, let me tell you. I always try to figure out why I'm stuck or write through it or skip ahead, but I end up sort of in limbo for anywhere from a couple days to a couple months (pretty much depending on whether I'm on an actual deadline or not). And in the end, I usually realize I knew all along what the problem was. It just takes me a long time to get up the courage to fix it, since it often involves a bit of a rewrite. Since I've become aware of this process, I've been trying to speed up the “acceptance” part of it, but it's tough.

7. I'm sure EXTRACTION required a ton of worldbuilding! What’s the coolest thing you created in your world/found out about during research?

I'm rather proud of some of the layout of the world I created, with its different underground layers. It has some Death Star vibes. :-)

8. What's the most surprising thing you've learned throughout your publishing process?

Hmm. Two things: 1. How slow the whole process feels. Yes, I knew the business was a slow one going in, but it still doesn't quite hit you until you're in the midst of it. (Of course, the awesome stuff totally outweighs the slow parts.) And 2. how lovely and supportive bloggers and others have been so far, even though I'm still many months out from my pub date. It's wonderful, but I didn't expect it!

9. Do you have any writing secrets you'd like to share with our Secret Life readers?

This secret is pretty well known, I think, but my best tip for writing is to read. Read widely and often. There's nothing quite like reading to get the imagination churning.

Thank you SO much, Stephanie, for sharing a little bit of EXTRACTION and your writing process with us! 

Add EXTRACTION to your Goodreads to-read list here! (How could you not? This book sounds completely kickass.)

You can also preorder EXTRACTION here: 

Amazon | B&N | IndieBound | Book Depository

*Book Depository = free shipping worldwide*

OF SCARS AND STARDUST Cover Reveal!

Hi, lovelies!

Today is the day! I finally get to share a little bit of OF SCARS AND STARDUST with you all. 

When I was brainstorming cover ideas with my editor, we decided that it had to have an elegant and romantic (but not in, like, a kissing kind of way) feel to it. Because although this book is a psychological thriller and crazy things go down, it's also thoughtful and, I think, hopeful. This is the story of a girl who loves her sister with ferocity and who will do anything to keep her safe, even if it means doing the unthinkable. 

That being said, I think what my team at Flux came up with is so gorgeous and perfect and I wish I could just hug this cover (and them)! 

So heeere we go! The cover to OF SCARS AND STARDUST + a short excerpt: 

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

        Somehow, I wasn’t completely panicked yet. Because to me, Ella was magic, bright and bubbly magic, and that kind of magic just didn’t get taken away. It just didn’t.

         As I came up to Rae’s house, I saw two Amble police cars tucked into the driveway. Grant’s silver bike was sprawled across the front porch. I let my feet hang off the pedals and the bike slide to a stop, just out of sight of the front window.

         I could tell them.

         I could tell them that Rae had left with some guy named Robbie that had a half-moon smile and heavy-lidded eyes. And that she’d packed all of her things in garbage bags and was probably somewhere past Ohio by now.

         I could tell them that Ella was with me at the party last night, even though I told her not to come. And that now she was missing.

         No. She wasn’t missing.

         I would find her. She’d be sitting in the field, knitting flowered hats or trying to decide if she should take home the half-frozen raccoon she’d found in between the stalks to feed it chicken soup. I’d take her home, and make her drink the cheap cough syrup that Mom always gives us, and put her to bed. And I’d make her leave the raccoon.

YAY! I'm so thrilled I get to share this little piece of this book with you! AND, even better, you can check out the reveal over at Icey Books today to win a signed copy!

Or you can pre-order a copy here, or add it on Goodreads right over here. Thanks again for sharing this reveal with me, Secret Lifers! 

Andrea Hannah writes about delusional girls, disappearances, and darkness with a touch of magic. When she's not writing, Andrea runs, teaches, consumes epic amounts of caffeine, and tries to figure out how to prevent her pug from opening the refrigerator (unsuccessful to date). She's represented by Victoria Marini of Gelfman-Schneider/ICM, and her debut novel, OF SCARS AND STARDUST, is coming from Flux in Fall 2014. You can add it on Goodreads here!

You can find her on Twitter @: http://twitter.com/andeehannah

Drop her an email @: andreahannahbooks@gmail.com
And visit her website @: http://www.andreahannah.com/

Query Prep

Hey guys! Hope you're busy rocking January. :)

I'm a huge fan of planning. (Like, as in Andrea's organization posts make me green with envy and also really impressed, kind of in love with planning.) So today I'm collecting up some of my favorite tips for planning out querying and managing where and how you go through submitting a project.

I've read submissions for a literary agent and currently read for Entangled, and after seeing two of my CPs successfully query projects and land agents, I've put together a list. Disclaimer: these are suggestions-- obviously, different strategies work for different people on some of these, some are just good sense, and others I've cited agent/editor opinion where I can. Ultimately, you're the best judge of what works for you. 

Revisions.

Yeah, okay. You've heard this before, probably lots of times. Agents and editors only want your polished manuscripts, and polishing may mean tacking on a few more months or weeks to your querying schedule. Are revisions worth it? YES. In querying, you're auditioning to work with someone for possibly the rest of your writing career, or at least a large chunk of it, ideally. NaNoWriMo's even got a Now What? section dedicated to revising.

Part of showing an agent that you'd be a good client (or an editor that you'd be a good author to work with and publish) is showing them that you take the time to revise and develop your work on your own before passing it off to them. When I read a sub, it's pretty clear how much effort a writer put into it. If it reads like a bonsai (as in, it is sculpted and the branches are all nicely accounted for), then the more likely I am to love it. 

Is this going to take more time? Yes. Is it going to be worth it? Take it away, Epictetus. 

Gather CPs and betas, bring them into the manuscript party.

Sometimes to create your great thing, you need some help from other people. And it's cool. If you have CPs already, then get them to read your manuscript and give you some feedback. If you're looking for a fresh eyes on a project your CPs have already been through the ringer with, consider reaching out on twitter for betas. 

Don't have a CP yet, but interested in finding one? 

How About We CP is probably my fave resource for this (beyond our own kickass Buddies Project, obviously), because it's how I found one of my good friends. There's some awesome people out there and it's got helpful tags for easy genre-matching. Go forth and make friends! 

Draft a synopsis and query letter while you revise.

I love Query Shark. Honestly, one of the things that got me more comfortable writing queries was being exposed to a LOT of them. When I was interning with Mary Kole, I read a ton of queries and that was really helpful for seeing what worked and what didn't. Read lots of them, either on QS or register for Write On Con, and check out the query forums there.

The reason I suggest drafting these up while you revise is that it a) gives you a break from revising, which is nice b) has you write about what's going on in the story while it's fresh in your mind and you're excited about it and c) affords you enough time to put the query/synopsis down and pick it up again to see if it's as good and accurate as it can be.  

Research agents or editors, and choose which you'll query/submit to.

Research is pretty obvious-- you need to know who represents what genres, who wants your query, synopsis, and first five, ten, fifteen, chapter, three chapters, etc. I don't mean query an agent or an editor exclusively (exclusivity is rarely a good idea), but do choose whether you want to query agents or submit to editors. Dahlia Alder has a fantastic post on the subject for an idea how agents and editors feel when you query them simultaneously.

Again, ultimately it's your manuscript and I, as this tiny internet person, can do little to stay your clicky inbox hand. To me, though, these are different goals-- finding an agent for your career (who may not be able to sell the manuscript you signed with her) versus finding an editor for a specific manuscript (who may be less interested in your next story). Ask: am I trying to get agent representation for my whole career with this manuscript, or is this project something I feel would do best at a smaller publisher? Both are equally legitimate and make awesome books.

Have your CPs/betas read your query.

Maybe this seems obvious, but in case not: the people who've read your story are the ones you want to read your query. Are you focusing on the main conflict? Are you bringing enough of the voice in, are you setting the stakes? Your CPs and betas are awesome for help with this.

Send yourself a test email. Does it all look okay?

Paste your query and first whatever many pages into an email and send it to yourself. You'll see what agents and editors will see (if they use email submissions). Make sure that it formats nicely, and enjoy that peace of mind when it does. 

Make it easy for people with e-readers. 

This is one that I didn't know since I read submissions on my laptop. But, as more and more agents are using e-readers to read work, consider doing this to help them out:

Also, change the title/author of your manuscript in "Properties" in Word -- that's what I see as title/author on my ereader. #pubtip
— Hannah Bowman (@hannahnpbowman) July 22, 2013

It's also helpful to paste your query on the first page of the manuscript, too, so it's easy for an agent to remember which manuscript they're reading.

Collect up some inspiration, and prepare to move onto your next project. 
Start thinking up what you want to work on next! This can be super exciting, spending time cultivating your TBR (who am I kidding everyone's TBRs are probably massive) or researching for your next writing project. Whether you plan, pants, or something in between, this is the time to start your creative mojo. 

Remember: querying/subbing isn't the final say on everything, but the draft honeymoon should be over. 

Not getting any bites on a manuscript doesn't mean that it's the end of the line for it-- however, this is the point where the honeymoon should be over. (Revisions were the honeymoon, as awkward and perfect as that sounds.) You know the weaknesses and the strengths of this piece, you recognize that you have written a full and complete story, and you're ready to settle into moving onto the next phase of your writing life post-wedding/creating and forging manuscript. It doesn't mean that you never think about it, but more that the major creative showdown is done (until edit letters), you've taken it as far as you can go, and you're moving towards the next big challenge in your writing life.

Separate email accounts, social media as needed. 
This is two-in-one. Your query email needs to be professional-looking. That means your.name@whatevermail or soandsowrites@ or your.name.writer@ if your name is already taken. It looks scads less professional if you're sending queries from queenofinfinity@gmail.com or fourfangirl4444@hotmail.com.

How much separation you want between your email is up to you. I have all my writing mail forward to one place, but I can also understand (for stress/anxiety reducing purposes) wanting to have a "safe" email where you don't have to see rejections until you're ready. (I have a separate account for school-related email because sometimes I just want to be a cool writer person without worrying about who's asking me to extend their homeworks or whatever for a few hours.) Whatever works for you.

You've already heard that you have to be careful about social media-- if your CPs use gchat or text, I recommend saving the rants and sadfacing for those outlets. If you must use twitter or something to vent, either do it over DMs, or make another account for venting and protect your tweets so that only your friends/CPs can see them. Agents will check.

Batches, and the one rejection enters, another query leaves system.
Again, this is one of those your-mileage-may-vary dealios, but I feel like it keeps morale up to send out one more query whenever a rejection comes in. 

The "Badass" label, aka, keeping up your self-esteem.

Hopping on the ego train again, because querying is Rough on self-worth-- prepare for it beforehand. My trick (and you're totally welcome to laugh at/with me in the comments about this) is to label emails that make me feel awesome-- from CPs or people telling me how awesome my writing is, to cool art that people send me, or even just emails that say that someone I admire is following me on Twitter (yes, I am that vain)-- with this label that says "badass" on it. So, when I'm feeling like I suck, I can just click the badass label and remember that hey, I am kind of cool after all.

Spreadsheets! Or, keeping track of your stats.
Okay, so no one is going to hold a gun to your head and force you to keep track of these suckers. But you should have some means/method of making sure that you didn't send a query to an agent who's already rejected the manuscript you're querying. I personally recommend a spreadsheet (because I am mathy and excitable), but for the excel-phobic there's also QueryTracker.

Any more suggestions or awesome stuff I missed? Share it in the comments!

When Alex Yuschik isn't writing her next YA novel, she's working on someone else's as an intern at Entangled Publishing. She writes about lock picks, ghosts, the abandoned places in cities, and how not to strike bargains with stars. Between sneaking in time to game and rocking out to indie music, Alex spends the rest of her free time working towards her PhD in mathematics. You know, as one does.

You can find her on Twitter @: https://twitter.com/alexyuschik

Or drop her an email at: alex.yuschik@gmail.com

And also visit her website @: alexyuschik.blogspot.com 

From Supernatural to Contemporary YA

I was asking Twitter for blog ideas yesterday, and someone thought it would be fun to explain why I jumped from supernatural to contemporary. At least for my recent manuscript. I still have two supernatural/horror manuscripts in the works, so I haven't abandoned my love for the dark side just yet. With that being said, I'll tell the short story of how this all came about.

I never in a million years thought I'd switch up the supernatural. But as it is, I've had a hard time trying to get my manuscripts out in the world. When I had an agent, we went on submission with one and it got REALLY close, but didn't quite happen. Then, for reasons left unsaid, I went from looking for another agent and had a hard time finding GATEWAY a home. (Luckily I eventually did. Yay!) So anyway...I met an agent a few months back who read GATEWAY, but didn't quite click with it. I was crushed because I truly adore this agent and it wasn't like they didn't like GATEWAY, but it needed some work and my publisher really helped me revise it before I even signed. But agents want a manuscript that's clean and ready for submission, so I completely understood why they passed on it at the time.

The good thing that came out of this is that said agent really enjoyed my writing. They asked if I wrote contemporary. I, of course, said no. After talking back and forth for a while, this agent inspired me. It wasn't like the agent said: You should write contemporary or anything like that.

However, their faith in my writing made me realize that maybe I was selling myself short. Why didn't I write contemporary? Well, the answer to that is that I never thought I was good enough. The thing is...I've had a contemp idea in my head for a long time based on my own experiences (I'll write a blog about this another day). I've tried to write it a few times, but it just never happened. There was something that wasn't quite clicking for me. So when this agent asked me about my other manuscripts, I realized that I was perfectly capable of getting this story out. That maybe I was being too hard on myself.

It took some encouragement by an outside source to be like: Hey. You're a pretty neat writer. Maybe you should challenge yourself.

Those weren't the exact words, but that's what I took from it. It was the push I needed to step outside the box and see if I could do something completely different. When this was all taking place, NaNoWriMo was right around the corner. I took advantage and used this contemp idea for my project. This book had been inside my head for so long that I was amazed at how easily it flowed. I finished the first draft in two in a half weeks and I was like: WHOA. I guess I was ready to write this story.

And guess what? I'm really glad I did. I absolutely love this story and its heartbreaking characters, and I can honestly say that it has moved up to one of my favorites. It's a great feeling to know that I'm capable of more, and even if this manuscript doesn't go anywhere, I can go on knowing I did it. I wrote outside the box and it wasn't all that bad. It's been a lot of fun. I'm actually considering another YA contemp. Who knew!

So that's my story of SCAR TISSUE. I'll be querying this manuscript in hopes that it'll see the light of day, but if it doesn't, I still learned a lot about myself as a writer. It's been totally worth it. :)

Heather Marie is a YA writer who loves all things creepy. She enjoys writing horror/supernatural stories that make you question that feeling of someone watching over your shoulder. Heather spends most of her days reading and writing and plotting her next idea. When she's not in her writing cave, she enjoys watching creepy TV shows with her husband and picking apart plot holes in movies.

Her YA debut, THE GATEWAY THROUGH WHICH THEY CAME, releases August 25th, 2014 from Curiosity Quills.You can find her on Twitter @: http://twitter.com/HeatherMarieYA
And visit her website @: http://heatherxmarie.blogspot.com/

The Secrets to Building an Online Presence

Ah, the all-important, frequently-mentioned online presence. It's one of those things people talk about all the time, but what is it really? And how do we get one? Who do we have to pay off to achieve it? Let's discuss.

In this day and age, we as authors are super lucky. We have *plays fanfare* THE INTERNET!

I'm not sure what authors did before the internet. Lots of pounding the pavement, probably. Lots of visits to the post office with thick manila envelopes, I'm sure. So let's all take a moment to say a thanks to that British guy who invented it.

Online presence was the very first thing my publicist and I talked about when I signed with Entangled. Getting your name out there, connecting with readers and other writers, is super important. Of course, actually writing is the most important thing, but online presence does a lot for a writer. Those people you connect with will be there for you when you need advice or when it's time to promote your book. So, how does one start? Here are my suggestions in list form because I love lists, if you haven't already noticed:

1. Twitter: Oh man, go get a Twitter account right now if you don't already have one! Follow authors you like, agents you'd love to be repped by, publishing professionals, and Misha Collins (always follow the Misha). And don't just sit quietly back stalking reading their feeds. Interact! Reply to their happy news, tell them why you love their work, thank them for any advice they give, etc. I'm not saying reply to their every tweet, just be friendly. I look at Twitter as one big party going on all at once. If you don't mingle, you'll never meet any one new and no one will remember you. The same will happen if you never venture out of your circle of friends.

I also think it's important to tweet at least every other day or so. I frequently go through the people I follow and unfollow those who haven't tweeted in a long time. Except for J.K. Rowling (always follow J.K. Rowling).

I really could do an entire post on the importance of Twitter and how to use it. Maybe I will... Would you like to see that? Post in the comments :)

2. Facebook: I was lucky enough to find the WraHM (Writing at home moms) society group on Facebook back when it was first started by Gennifer Albin, author of CREWEL. I've met soooo many awesome author ladies since I've joined. I've watched as they found success in publishing. We've commiserated about the many obstacles of writing, having a family, publishing, etc. I mentioned them in my acknowledgements because they're all awesome. And I've made a lot of other connections through them.

There are tons of Facebook groups for writers and readers. Through them you can meet other writers and readers. And when the time comes for you to promote your book, they'll be there to support you!

3. Blogs: Having your own blog is great and everything, but I've found it's not useful unless you interact with other bloggers. There's that word again: INTERACT! You have to visit other blogs, comment on their posts, join blog hops, and do memes. Don't have an agenda. Don't copy and paste the same comment on every blog you visit. That's called spam and everyone hates spam.

There are plenty of other social media sites like Tumblr or Goodreads that I haven't mentioned, but I think they all follow the same rules. Be genuine. Be nice. Make friends!