It's the first Wednesday of the month and so it’s time for another Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) blog hop! In an IWSG post, we writers bring our writing challenges and problems out into the open to share with each other and try to offer solutions. October was a very busy month for me! I had been formatting my book of short fiction, "Bad Apps", for beta reading most of the month (or so it seemed) and still am. I also had the Halloween edition of the newsletter that I was putting together and released just before October 31. If you're not subscribed to my free author's newsletter, you can subscribe here. On top of that, I was busy putting together a Halloween discount sale for my books which I've actually extended to the end of the week! (More about that below.) Plus, there were seasonal events that I attended. I was trying so hard to get more done than 31 days allows for that there were times when I thought I was on the edge of madness! But I survived and am here, and so this month of November I'm using as a period of recuperation before the Christmas rush starts. I haven't even taken down my Halloween decorations yet! But that can wait until the weekend. Right now, I have, besides above mention of my sale on books, the IWSG question of the month and my answer to it, and how to volunteer to beta read for "Bad Apps"!
November 5th Question
The IWSG question for this month is: When you began writing, what did you imagine your life as a writer would be like? Were you right, or has this experience presented you with some surprises along the way? I was only partly right. Yet I wasn't surprised along the way because the type of writing career I needed and could handle was gradually revealed to me.
When I was in high school, I nearly swore I would write movie scripts for Hollywood. However, when I, a guy of rural/small town background, soon found out about the terrors of living in a metropolitan such as Los Angeles, I dropped that dream. In its place, I planned to go into journalism and write fiction for publication. Then when I learned of the heavy demands of journalism that take up the essentials of your life and bring you too close to on-the- scene fatal situations, I narrowed journalism down to writing movie and book reviews as a side career. Along the way, I dropped the plan for writing fiction for the publishing industry--having learned that the big publishing houses basically want you to write to their marketing agenda and so preventing you from writing your own stories--and turned to self-publishing my stories. So, freelance writing book and movie reviews and self-publishing my own fiction is where I'm at now.
How You Can Be a Beta Reader for My Upcoming Book!
As many of you may already know, "Bad Apps" is a collection of short stories about weird and evil computer programmes. Some of these programmes are VR and video games that threaten to destroy the world; a psychic search engine that stalks its user; a malicious voodoo doll app; among many others! The tales are of people's personal computer devices that bring terror and madness into their lives and the lives of others. However, in order for me to release "Bad Apps", I need feedback from representatives of the public to see if more improvements can be made. That's where you come in!
I'm looking for volunteer beta readers for "Bad Apps". As a beta reader you'll get:
• A free beta version of the book that you can keep forever
• To see the contents of the book before most of the rest of the world
• To help the author edit the book, because when you read a beta version and give your feedback, you're basically contributing to the editing of the work
• A free image of the final version of the front cover before the book’s official release
• A free copy of the official release version of “Bad Apps”!
To sign up as a volunteer beta reader, email me at sarellanorose@gmail.com. I don't have a precise date for the beta release, but I plan to get it out within the next two weeks. Volunteers will be given a month to read and provide feedback on it, but if that turns out not to be enough time for a sufficient number of people, then I'll give more time.
Volunteer as a beta reader for "Bad Apps" today so you can reap in all that harvest of benefits listed above!
Discount Period for My Books Extended Through November 7!
Originally, I had a sale going for my books through Halloween weekend. However, I've decided to extend it through this Friday, November 7! For details on the sale, see my post from last week. There the dates of the sale will indicate that it went until this past Sunday, but I've extended it as mentioned above. However, you'll find out about the reduced prices there and where to purchase the books at the sale price.
Are you interested in beta reading for "Bad Apps"? Have your writing goals changed since you began writing seriously, or have they remained the same? Today’s IWSG is brought to you by these super co-hosts: Jennifer Lane, Jenni Enzor, Renee Scattergood, Rebecca Douglass, Lynn Bradshaw, and Melissa Maygrove! IWSG was founded by awesome author Alex Cavanaugh, writer of the Cassa Series of novels!
Until next time . . .
Living in LA sounds horrible. Smart to not pursue that avenue.
ReplyDeleteI dont regret it.
DeleteI actually stopped reading a lot of big pub books because of the agenda they've been pushing. Kinda makes me sick, but what can you do? Meanwhile, I'm sure glad there is a self-pub/indie option out there. And I read a lot of it.
ReplyDeleteIm trying to read more indie besides writing it. If I read anything new by the big publishers its only for reasons of seeing what's being published and a lot of it isn't good.
DeleteI'm sure Crystal is right about big publisher books.
ReplyDeleteWriting jobs always carry something bad about them. I wouldn't want to be in a war zone just to get a story.
Indie writing can be stressful enough (with all the technical tasks and marketing tasks) without big publishers' war zones! Lol
DeleteAnonymously Esther O'Neill, East of the Sun, IWSG, in soggy Westmorland, no signal, but have Californian and Canadian cousins. Big publishing houses, - Random for instance, wanting you to write to their marketing agenda ? When they say jump, just do it, this could be your great chance , especially from a slush pile submission ?
ReplyDeleteI said no,. Wouldn't write the plot development they wanted.
How dare I ?
Beta ? Sorry, November, December already a struggle, including next indie book, and my non-existent marketing agenda
No problem. Just whoever can and is willing.
DeleteI think we have similar stories as I initially turned to journalism due to lacking confidence to push my fiction. Fortunately, I overcame that and fiction now occupies a central place, but I still rely on editing freelance for my bread and butter.
ReplyDeleteI would be interested in providing a beta read and perhaps a swap if you're willing, as our work overlaps. My current edit concerns a VR simulation of a teen TV show in which the underlying AI runs amok and traps one of the entrants. I'm hoping to get it beta ready for the early part of next year. Either way, I'm up for giving a beta read.
That sounds really neat, Nick! If you havent done so yet, email me at sarellanorose@gmail.com and we'll discuss the details. Ill look out for your email.
DeleteHi Steven, I'm glad we have the option to self-publish. Though I'm looking forward to watching Olympic swimming in LA 2028, I would never want to live there. Good luck with Bad Apps! Cute play on words.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jennifer!
Delete