That Time I Met a Fellow Secret Lifer and CP: Farrah Penn

If you follow me on Instagram, then you probably saw the photos I shared from my trip to Los Angeles last weekend. This trip came about because of the awesome lineup the Pasadena Library put together for their first ever Teen Book Festival.

I knew I couldn't miss out on this wonderful opportunity, and immediately talked my critique partner Farrah Penn into attending the event with me. This was a big deal for us because we've been friends via Twitter as long as we've been critique partners. Of course, we text often and SnapChat almost as frequently, but we've never actually met in person.

So when April 26th finally came around, I packed up and hit the road around 2AM to make it in time for the event. I was super excited to meet Farrah IRL, and I couldn't wait to surprise her with an ARC of GATEWAY; a book she helped get published by reading it who-knows-how-many-times. Here we are shortly after I arrived in L.A.:

Yay!! How fun is that? I totally kept it a secret, which we all know is hard for me when I can't share things on Twitter. I got the ARCs that week and was dying to share them with the world. Keeping the secret was totally worth it, though. (Side note: If you don't already know, Farrah is also a fellow Secret Life of Writers blogger, as well as a fabulous writer of YA contemporary who's represented by the awesome Suzie Townsend from New Leaf Literary.)

Seriously. Farrah's support has been absolutely wonderful. I don't know what Gateway would be without her, and I don't even want to think about it. That's how much of an impact she's had on my writing, which I'm sure goes for all of us with critique partners. Not to mention that she's just an overall sweetheart. I greatly enjoyed our chats and wished I could have stayed a little longer.

In true critique partner fashion, Farrah couldn't let me leave without signing her copy, which I happily obliged:

P.S. Signing your own book for the first time is a pretty surreal experience. I sat there and thought about what to write for a good five minutes.

With all that being said, I keep hearing rumors that Farrah's gonna visit the weekend of my book launch. Let it be known, I'm holding her to it. haha Cheers!

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://HeatherMarieYA.com

Why Your Publishing Degree Isn’t a Golden Ticket to Success in the Industry

Okay. I know some of you read that title and immediately in your head went, duh. But I feel like there are actually some misunderstandings about this and you know what? That worries me.

School. Ah, school. To our parents and a large part of society it’s highly important we attend this educational systematic hierarchy so that we can parade around a degree or two in our home and land that dream job. Some people want to seek a degree because school does make them happy and they actually need it for that dream job. I’m not talking about those people.

The people I’m talking about are those who believe that by gaining a BA in Creative Writing, Publishing, MFA, etc. will bring them success. If you believe this, then I’m sorry for what you’re about to read next. Because having that degree isn’t a guarantee that you’ll land an agent/editor + publishing deal.

Your degree isn’t a golden ticket to success in the publishing factory. Just because you know X, Y, and Z and studied under A, B, and C really isn’t going to mean anything to an agent or editor. They aren’t going to ask to see your BA/MFA/etc. before offering you a contract.

But you know what is? Your writing.

Your writing is the #1 thing that will prove yourself to these industry-folk. The second thing may be how catchy and original your plot is, but the big thing is your writing.

And yes, school does help with that in some cases. Will it help you improve your craft? Sure. Will you get one-on-one time with professors to discuss where you’re going wrong? Possibly. Will you meet and work with critique partners? Most likely. Will you watch your work get evaluated and build tougher skin? I would say this is highly possible.

But.

There are some things you should ask yourself if you’re in a program. Are you happy? Truly happy? Do you feel overwhelmed with the amount of work and constantly think to yourself, I’d rather be working on my own stuff? Or do you feel like this is taking away from the things in your life that makes you happy—family, friends, special events? Because if so, I would really reevaluate my decisions.

I say this because I know how it is. I had the chance to gain my masters for free and once my mom found out she insisted I go for it. It was a business program. I knew this was a rare opportunity, and I didn’t want to disappoint her. But was I happy? Hell. No.

I was so overwhelmed with the course load work. I hated that I was crunching numbers or evaluating hypothetical situations when I could have put that time and energy into writing. I cried a lot out of frustration. A lot. I told my boyfriend more than once I was going to quit. He knew how miserable I was and was like, I just want you to be happy. Do what you need to do.

And no, I didn’t quit. Maybe that makes me a hypocrite, but I wish I did. Sometimes it’s okay to be a quitter if it’s going to make you happier in the long run.

I was talking to a few different friends of mine within, oh, maybe the last 5 months. Three of them were debating whether or not to go back to school. This is always what I ask: is getting this degree going to make you happier in the future? And if the answer is yes, I’ll totally support you. But if you’re someone who wants to study overseas just to be somewhere else with a purpose, I’ll say something like, well why don’t you spend that money on a work visa instead of wasting it on an education you don’t want if you want to be somewhere else so badly?

And I get it. I get that degrees mean a lot in our society. But in the long run you have to go with what’s going to make you happy.

There are successful people out there who’ve never gone to college and landed a book deal. Authors who don’t have fancy MFAs have received a deal from one of the Big Six (or Big Five? Idk anymore). There are successful authors who haven’t even graduated high school! Or college! People who have had ZERO connections going into this industry have made it.

So am I saying quit your program? No. Am I saying don’t even consider school? No. I’m not telling you to do anything. I’m only telling you that 1) having a degree won’t guarantee you that publishing deal and 2) to take a step back when it comes to how school is affecting your happiness.

And on that note I ask you this: have you seen the Jenna Marbles video about what to do with your degree? Oh my god. Just. Watch and relate. (Because I mean really wtf are we supposed to do with these things?)

Welcome New Secret Life Members!

We are so excited to announce the newest members of The Secret Life of Writers crew! It was truly difficult choosing only two out of the many awesome applications we received. You are all wonderful and incredibly talented. Thank you so much from all of us here at Secret Life for your interest in joining our team. It means a lot to us that so many of you love our blog as much as we do.

With that being said, it's time to announce our new members. Please give a huge welcome to:

Farrah Penn!

@farrahwrites

and . . . 

Alex Yuschik!

@alexyuschik

We are looking forward to all the new changes happening here on the blog, and we hope you continue to follow along with us as we all pursue the road to publication. Check back next week to learn more about these two awesome ladies as they introduce themselves to the Secret Life world. Welcome aboard you two! We are so excited to have you. Cheers!!