Publishing and NaNoWriMo- Candor Questions

Oh look! A post :3

Shyly asked: Do you recommend self-publishing? I’ve heard good things and bad things about it and was wondering what your opinion was.

This is a really great question but one I feel I am not qualified to answer. I self-publish because people have expressed interest in my writing and this is the best way to share it with them. I do some marketing to get my name out there, but also in no way to I expect to become what would be considered a successful author through it. I feel, for me, self-publishing is a step toward traditional when I actually write something marketable to a “real” publisher.

That said, I know people (such as Leah Good who I interviewed on Monday) who have done enough research and work to make self-publishing worthwhile. And, while I too have heard a lot of bad things about it, it seems like it works well for some people.

The thing to do, if you are considering publishing and wondering what avenue to take, would be to research which option would be best for you. Both take a tremendous amount of effort, but can also both be very profitable. Take a look at your expectations toward your book and ask yourself what you would consider success. For me, having people read it and like it is enough. Do I make a ton of money? Nope, not really. But, at the moment, that’s okay with me. For some writers, that’s not what they’re looking for. That doesn’t mean self-publishing isn’t for them, it just means the way I go about slef-publishing isn’t for them.

So, take a look at what you want, what you would have to do if you took either route, and then decide which will bring you the results you’re looking for.

Sorry I don’t have more of an answer than that. If you have more in-depth questions about self-publishing, I would be happy to answer those, either as Candor Fridays questions or a private email.

Danielle Sauer asked: What are you working on for NaNoWriMo

Yay!! Someone asked!! :D :D

Okay, first of all, if you are not familiar with NaNoWriMo, it’s short for National Novel Writing Month, which happens to be November. NaNoWriMo is a nonprofit organization that helps writers write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. They also have a young writers program where you can personalize and set a more manageable word count for younger writers. More info at: www.nanowrimo.org

All right! That said, let’s start talking about the novel I am working on:

This month I am writing a fairy tale retelling mashup. Basically, it’s like fairy tale stew. I threw a whole bunch a fairy tales into a pot, stirred them up, and am now writing a book about the results.

Or, something like that.

Seriously, my story is about Jack, from Jack and the Beanstalk. Only, his name is Jack Robin. At the beginning of the book, he teams up with Rapunzel, who happens to also be one of the twelve dancing princesses. She wants Jack Robin’s help rescuing the other eleven princesses- who are also all characters from other fairy tales- from their respective fairy tale fates.

At the moment, I am currently using elements of 20 different fairy tales (which include a couple Greek and Roman myths), with another twenty or so briefly mentioned in passing. I’m having a lot of fun figuring out how to put a spin on all the fairy tales and finding ways to throwing them on their ear. I’m really excited about someone of my twists and turns and can’t wait to finish it so I can start sharing it with people.

Or, actually, I’ll be really brave and give you all a tiny glimpse of my unedited version. Below is a tiny little excerpt from the opening chapter of my book. This is how the book starts (and, please be warned this is unedited. So, I apologize in advance it there is stuff that doesn’t make sense :P)

The view from the top of the beanstalk would take the average person’s breath away.

It stretched out for miles, which would surprise the viewer, considering that the top rested up beyond the clouds. By all rights, they should not be seeing what they were seeing. The farms and villages that lay below, the valleys and rivers and mountains. Breathtaking was not a strong enough word for so stunning a view.

               

But, Jack Robin was uninterested in the view. After climbing that monstrous plant, he had reached the top only to discover a tower waiting for him.

               

In his seventeen years of living, he had learned one thing- people kept the good stuff in towers. And, if the giants had a tower, at the top of a beanstalk so difficult to climb, then there was something more than just the good stuff in there. There had to be treasures of insurmountable wealth waiting inside.

               

There were more legends then Jack Robin could count about giants’ treasure. They had no need for human gold, and therefore had stores upon stores of it hoarded from their altercations with mankind.

               

He wondered if he should have brought a larger satchel. If the rumors were true, he would have to make more than one trip with the bag he had brought. And making that climb again was not something he looked forward to.

               

His hands were covered in bloody marks where the thorns had pierced through his gloves. His face too had suffered from their sharp points when he had been forced to dance cheek to cheek with the overgrown plant in time with the wind’s mournful melody.

               

It had taken him nigh on a good couple of hours, he guessed, to reach the top. He only hoped it were worth it.

               

There was a river between him and the tower, a huge, rushing river that flowed with white, foamy water. There were rumors too about giants and their poisons and Jack Robin had no way of knowing if the foam were some such substance or simply rapids.

               

Of course, he did still have the healing salve his mother had packed when he had first left home. She had insisted he take it, even though he protested. Just a dab of that and-

               

No!

               

He could not go there. He would not. If he allowed himself this slip in standard this once, there would be no end to the compromise. In which case, he might as well have just stayed home.

               

He could do this alone. He did not need a healing cream infused with dark magic. He had seen what use of such things did to a person’s soul. And, he would like to keep his soul intact as long as he could.

               

No, it was much safer to steal, and then buy what you wanted with the spoils.

               

Although a magic bridge to get him across that river-

               

No, we’re not going there. Not now, not ever.

               

He had left home not long before this and was beginning to realize how much his mother had ingrained in his mind. He could not go five minutes without wishing for a magical item. That needed to stop.

               

He would survive by his wits, just as he had told his mother he could. She had laughed and told him he was welcome home when he failed. But he would not fail. If for no other reason than to show her that.

               

He needed to focus on the matter at hand- a way to get across the river. Whether poison was at work here or not, swimming was not an option. Not with the way the water churned and pulsed. He would have to find another way.

So, that’s that! Make sure you send in your burning questions for next week. Can’t wait to see what you all ask.

And, in the meantime, How to Properly Deface a Book – Kit Parker Book Two releases on Monday!!!! So excited! So, be sure to come back on Monday for the official release post and the info on how you can get a copy!! :D :D