Social Media: Can Anyone Help A Sister Out?

So today marks a new chapter for me . . . again. I woke up at 5:15 this morning and walked for an hour. I think I know the distance, but I really don't care because that's something Old Me would've obsessed over. Made charts and lists and plans to time myself, up my pace, shoot for longer distances, and put all sorts of pressure on myself. Um, yeah, I kinda tend to do that.

The sad thing is that I don't just do it with exercise. I do it with EVERYTHING! I just can't seem to give myself a break, and since I'm a perfectionist, often if I can't do something awesome or can't keep bettering myself somehow, I giveup. Or lose my passion for it at least. But this morning, while pounding the pavement, I decided that with all the things I'm stressing over right now, all I need to do is just take one step at a time.

So this week, my plan is to hash out all my issues publicly. I'd LOVE to get your advice, thoughts, input, and suggestions. Today's topic is one that I've been obsessing over particularly . . .

Social Media

Okay, this one in particular has my brain juices sloshing all over the place. I don't actually know what I mean by that, but the image seems to fit the whirly, confusing, stick-my-tongue-out-and-make-googly-eyes feeling that comes over me when I think of all there is to do and how to do it right.

Recently I jumped onto the Klout wagon. And my score was actually pretty good. But then I realized it was everything that was under the name "Ending Unplanned," which I had stupidly put everything under last year when I started this whole writing/blogging/tweeting thing. To my defense I did try "Rachel Harris" originally, but there is a famous comedic actress who has my name--though she spells it differently--and she seems to have scooped up our name in all the various social type things. So I went symbolic.

Yeah, I know, bad for branding.

Anyhoo, so then I made a new account for my @RachelHarrisYA twitter name and my Facebook Page (which by the way, if you click on that link, would you mind liking me? *bats eyelashes and smiles sweetly*). And of course, my score dropped since its newer. Automatic deflation of high spirits. I shook that off and went on a mission to raise my score, by staring at all those grey boxes under my name, showing ALL the social media things I wasn't involved in. Am I the only one who felt like a complete loser seeing all the things I'm not involved in--felt like high school or something--and the strong desire to hurry up and do all of them?

So then I joined Linked In. And promptly, accidently, sent invitations to 300 of my closest and some not-so-closest friends. Some of them got the invite twice somehow. Yeah I deserve a spazz award. But now I'm growing on there, getting some contacts, but I just don't know how to work it properly. I know I can attach my twitter feed on there, but then I don't want to bother people with random RTs and rambling stuff. And I'm sure there are really good ways to not just collect people's names, but actually network, that I'm just not getting. Can anyone help a sister out?

 Then back to my Facebook Page. I am so confused over what stuff I should post on my page vs. my normal "this is me"profile. Now that my book is actually going to be published (SQUEE!!), I'm hoping that readers eventually find my page and "like me" and start following me. But I write YA, so what types of things would they want to see on there? Obviously book news and where I'll be if anywhere, but should I post things that are from pop culture? Do they want to know occasional cool writing tips I find in the blogosphere? Do they want to know my twitter ramblings, which occasionally are completely silly and about my children's missing teeth? (just to be clear, they are five and six and are losing baby teeth . . . they aren't like rotting out or anything lol) Then, where do I link my twitter feed to--my facebook page, or my regular profile? Do I accept all the friend requests I get for my regular page, and let them see family pics and hear about my game day meals for LSU and Saints football watching?  Anyone? Advice? Please?  

And then there is Twitter. I spent a year on my @EndingUnplanned account and have so many friends on there, but I know I need to be using the one with my actual name in it (no duh, right?). But @RachelHarrisYA is newer and at present only has a little over 500 followers. A few weeks ago I had tried to do what all the "experts" say : to try to keep your follower account way above the count for those you follow. But see, that just doesn't work for me. Even before this past week when I reached out to a bunch of people to make connections (thus curently making my following count about 30 people more than being followed), I had a hard time not following back someone who follows me. That just feels like I'm playing elitist or favorites or just plain out being a snob. And I loathe snobs. So let me ask you, lovely blog reader: Does follower to followee ratio matter to you or affect your decision to follow someone? Do they look less cool if there numbers are roughly even?

And a talk of Social Media for Authors wouldn't be complete without mentioning Goodreads. This is definitely one of my favorite sites that I grossly under used until the past month or so. I love seeing what other people are reading, salivating over books to come out, and discovering new treasures. I love following my favorite authors and getting a list of their blog posts sent to my inbox every Sunday . . . and I can't wait to make my own Author Page. (for those lovely people who've contacted me to ask, I hope to have an Author Page in a few weeks, just as soon as I get an ISBN number for MY SUPER SWEET SIXTEENTH CENTURY). I've made some great friends the past month and found so many awesome groups, but it would be entirely easy to just stay on that site all day long chatting in the groups, looking at books, and forgetting about actually writing. Or showering. That's important, too. I know there are other authors involved in groups and using Goodreads for promotion purposes, but it just seems like there's so much to learn. How do keep up with all the groups? How do you use Goodreads?

Q4U: Well, this whole post is questions for you, huh? So after leaving whatever tips you may have on the above, I'd LOVE to know your links for the above social media accounts so I can follow, friend, like, K+, and whatever else there is to do out there, YOU!

SWOON Thursdays!

Just a fun reminder to hop over to YA Bound today for the fun new MEME we got going on, SWOON #YABound!

(Isn't the button freaking adorable??)

Here's how to play:

From the book you’re currently reading, or one you just finished, tell us what made you SWOON. What got your heart pounding, your skin tingling, and your stomach fluttering. Post it over there in the comments, tweet it with the hashtag #YABound, or do both! We want to know!

Here's mine for today:

RACHEL: "Daniel lunged for her, swooping her up and laying her sideways across his lap to cradle her in his arms. "--PASSION SWOON #YABound

Q4U: So what's made YOU Swoon this week?

Got The Call and GIVEAWAYS Galore!

Whew!

The past few weeks have been CRAZY! There are so many changes and things happening and really, it's been a complete whirlwind. But things are finally getting back to normal and in some form of a routine, and I'm so happy to be back!

I normally don't post on Wednesdays, but I couldn't wait until tomorrow--I just had to come and shout out all my exciting news today. (I can be impatient that way). Really, there's THREE things I wanted to let all of you wonderful readers know about, so I thought I'd do it quick and fast bullet style.

• First, the biggest news that I never thought I'd get to say: I got the call!! Actually, I first got the email two Fridays ago, then a marathon three hour phone call last Monday, followed by a week of talking to a lot of other agents and pulling all nighters to finish my revision. But I can now PROUDLY say that I have an agent!! Lauren Hammond of ADA Management, the agent of awesome, believes in me and my writing, and is such an enthusiastic, passionate advocate that I honestly couldn't be happier. From the very first email, she made me feel so comfortable and it was like we've known each other for years. Equally exciting is that my CP and writing sister Trish Wolfe is also now my agency sister!

• Along with sharing an AGENT OF AWESOME, Trish and I have also now joined forces on YA Bound. Trish started that blog almost a year ago to review YA books, and over the last few months has been kicking it up a notch. Now we've decided to really focus our attention on spreading the YA love with LIVE Author chats, a fun new hashtag/meme on Thursdays (be sure to hop over there tomorrow!), interviews and tons of giveaways! Today is our kick off post and we interviewed each other random question style, so come hop over to discover which YA author I'd love to be for a day and all about Trish's favorite YA bad boy.

• And finally, the GIVEAWAY news! Over at YA Bound we're gonna have a ton of giveaways each month, but to CELEBRATE our new agented status and kick off the new phase of the blog, we're having FOUR giveaways this month alone! Come back every week for a chance to win a different ARC of a book coming out this month, and if you follow us over there and snag our snazzy button above for your blog (and let us know about it) you'll be automatically entered into all four! So excited about this :-)

Q4U: So that is what I've been up to--what about you? What has kept YOU busy and crazy this summer? Do YOU have any exciting news to share? If so, please leave them below! I'd love to celebrate with you!

Writing: It Takes a Village (Elizabeth Isaacs)

Followers of my blog know how important I think Community building is for writers. So for Day 3 of Carving Our Own Destiny, I thought who better to talk about Community within the indie and self-pub paths to publication than Elizabeth Isaacs.

This woman is a powerhouse. She's a crazy talented writer, super supporter and encourager, funny as all get out, and is good at that networking thing. She started the group Chirenjenzie on Goodeads and is a frequent guest speaker on non-traditional publishing.

Reminder that if you would like to enter to win a FREE Ebook from our Author Prize Pack Giveaway, all you need to do is comment on a post (every comment on any post is another entry), tweet a post (again, every tweet = an entry. Just include me @EndingUnplanned), like an author's Amazon page (just be sure to let me know in the comments), and become a follower (let me know that, too).

Take it girl :-)

It Takes a Village

Some of the greatest authors have stated that writing a story is a lot like birthing a child. Conception is the fun part, but then comes the responsibility of nurturing the work, feeding it with time and love. Lessons are learned, revisions are made, and eventually the story matures and is sent into the world to stand on its own.

I’ve often said there’s a reason why it takes a village to raise a child.

Traditional contracts by the bigger publishing houses come with a community of experts. Numerous editors to help read and revise, cover designers and marketers to help promote, and everyone works as a team.

In today’s digital world, new writers rarely have the opportunity to join a world class community, so they make the mistake of raising their baby alone. They reason that they have friends and family to act as beta readers, and they know someone who’s good in English to help with editing. While that type of community is full of enthusiasm, the story has little opportunity to reach its full potential.

Writers need a writing community, one that is nurturing, but brutally frank, one that shares your passion for plotlines and well developed characters. A village that will support your baby when it hits that awkward adolescent stage, and the only thing you want to do is put it in a drawer somewhere. A group of supporters that will hold your hand through the revision process and cheer you on when the story matures to be the best it can be.

I speak from experience because I started out on my own. The Light of Asteria was originally written as a gift for my daughter. I published it so that her friends could have a copy. Even though I have an incredible content editor, the day the book went live I had no marketing strategy, no platform, no author site, no blog, and I had just joined facebook. Talk about feeling like a minnow in the ocean! But then I joined twitter, and I started following editors, bloggers, publishing companies, just about anyone who knew anything about the industry. I silently stalked hashtag discussions and groups on goodreads, too intimidated to comment. And then I met a few indie writers and I realized I wasn’t alone.

Everyone’s path is different. My community started on twitter. Writers, bloggers, reporters, and avid readers became fast friends, and soon we moved to Goodreads so that we could organize and keep our discussions. Today, we have over 85 members, each bringing unique talents to the table. We swap WIP’s, ask advice, share what we’ve learned, and our stories are stronger because of it. If you’re new and haven’t found a community of your own, please feel free to join us! You can find us at Chirenjenzie.

  
Elizabeth Isaacs has her master's degree in music performance. Helping at-risk children with writing portfolios rekindled her love of the artform. She created the Kailmeyra series after her daughter started a discussion about a world without evil.  She lives with her two children in Kentucky and continues to teach. You can reach her at her website, her Amazon Author Page, on Twitter, and Facebook.   

So You Wrote a Novel: Now What? (Hope Collier)

First post up, the lovely and talented Ms. Hope Collier answers a very important question: Now What? For many of us, the drafting and even the revising is the fun part. Once you have that finished product in your hands, though, it gets real. It gets serious. It gets freaking terrifying.

Below, Hope gives us advice on what to do next, touches on the publication options available, and then, my favorite part, focuses on her personal story and examples. Don't forget to leave a comment and tweet this post to be entered into the Ebook Giveaway this week (see details in this post) and if you have any questions for Hope, please leave them below. I'm sure she'll be happy to stop back by this week to answer them.

Take it away Hope! 

So You Wrote a Novel: Now What?

First of all, congratulations! That’s an enormous accomplishment, and you should be proud. More often than not, people grow excited about starting the novel but less excited about finishing it. You’re already one step ahead. Virtual cupcakes all around!

Now you might ask: What’s next? The answer depends on just how far into the I-finished-my-novel process you are. Have you gone back through, searching for unnecessary adverbs, passive sentence structure, misspellings, typos, grammatical errors, plot holes, consistency, and flow?

If not, save this page, edit your work, and then come back. We’ll be here, I promise.

If you’ve gone through to the best of your ability, now is the time to find some beta readers and critique partners. And, just to be clear, a beta reader is a person that reads your manuscript with the intent of giving a general opinion on the subject matter, flow, is it interesting, etc. A critique partner typically goes through and edits the work with comments concerning plot holes, typos, grammar issues, and such--it’s a much more involved process. You must have both. Trust me on this one. The biggest mistake a writer can make is thinking they can do this on their own. I speak from experience here, guys. Get Help!

Now that you have a super clean and shiny MS, it’s time to decide what exactly you’d like to do with it. There are three options here: 1) the traditional rout, 2) the self-pub route, and 3) the indie route.

I’ll give you a brief rundown on each, but my primary focus, since I’m Indie, will be in that area.

Traditional: This involves the tedious process of writing a query letter and potentially a synopsis in the hopes of securing a literary agent. The agent then attempts to sell your novel to a publishing house. It’s typically a long and trying process which you are most capable of if you don’t give up. The average amount of rejection letters in simply trying to land an agent looms in the hundreds. However, if this is your dream, go for it! Don’t let anyone discourage you!

Self-Published: This involves an outsourced company such as iUniverse or Lulu. It basically comes down to you submitting a manuscript. The company offers a variety of services at this point: editing, cover design, marketing, etc. They publish your book under their brand and take a share of the profits.

Independent Publishing: This involves the writer dealing with every aspect of the process.

1) You become the publisher: This means you start a small business, under a publishing name. This process varies by state, oftentimes where your company name isn’t your given name. Personally, I used our lawyer to do this. I understand it’s way over my head, and is not an area I want to mess up in.

2) You hire people to edit your work: You seek out a reputable, freelance editor(s) who will clean your MS till it’s perfect. Sadly, I’m not much help here either. I lucked out in that fact that one of my closest friends is a sensational editor. I do, however, have a list of qualified and reasonably priced individuals who provide a myriad of editorial services.

3) You hire a cover designer: There’s more to it than finding a picture and making it work. You have to find a designer who shares your vision. I am super picky when it comes to this part. I don’t care what you’ve always heard growing up. You can absolutely judge a book by its cover! A bad cover screams of bad work, 99% of the time. Before hiring a cover designer, see samples of their work, compare rates to other designers, and be certain their design style is similar to yours! A person who specializes in mystery/horror isn’t going to share your love of contemporary YA.

4) You find the right print company: There are many companies that offer Print-On-Demand books. Research each carefully.

5) You are the marketing team: You’re the one who spends hour upon hour marketing your work without being overbearing though not a pushover either. Book trailers and blogs are two ways of inciting interest and spreading the word about what you’re doing. No book will sell without good marketing. Study those who have done well and try to implement a similar method. Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads are great places to meet everyone from critique partners to book bloggers to editors. Take advantage of them. You’ll walk away with lifelong friends who are just as passionate about writing as you are and want to see you succeed. A dedicated friend is a great marketer. Just please, don’t use people to get ahead. It won’t work, and it’s enormously off-putting.

With everything, ask other Indie’s what they liked or didn’t like about their choices. Seek out recommendations from authors you trust. And always compare rates and services!

As I said, going Indie was the best option for ME. You each should make your own decisions as to what you hope to accomplish, seek out all the right info, and make an informed choice. Above all else, never stop writing!

 
HAVEN, YA author Hope Collier's debut comes out this summer! While I am completely biased--since I'm blessed to not only call her friend, but be one of her critique partners--I must say this paranormal ROCKS! Definitely be on the lookout for this one. In the meantime, follow Hope's journey through her blog, A Lilliputian's Journey to Publication and her Facebook Author Page