Would You Rather Wednesday: Goals

In light of March Madness, I thought I'd direct our game toward the area of goals this week.

Remember, the only rule here is you're not allowed to say either or neither. You must pick one! I'll be back later with my own answers. Have fun!!

1. Would you rather...set too-lofty goals and fall short or set too-meager goals and surpass them?

2. Would you rather...keep your goals private with low-pressure, telling only one or two people, or share them with the whole world, thereby adding strong accountability and humiliation factor?

3. Would you rather...set three goals for the year and achieve them all, or set twenty goals for the year and achieve five of them?

Auction For Japan and a Special Honor!

Write Hope has put together an auction to support the relief efforts in Japan. They have gathered kidlit items including signed books and critiques to auction off. Yesterday a signed copy of LOSING FAITH was offered, and I believe that auction will be up for 72 hours. The book will be provided and signed by yours truly, and I'd be happy to sign it to you directly if you win. If you were thinking of buying some new books anyway, please check out the auction for some other great choices of books and let your money go to a good cause.

Since I've been seeing info about this all around the Internet, and because there is now an official listing, I think it's fine for me to announce the following...

LOSING FAITH is a finalist for the SCBWI Crystal Kite Awards! This is an award voted on by SCBWI members in each region, and I'm very thankful that many people in my region (Canada, Mexico, Central & South America) felt that my book deserved this honor. I'm thrilled to see my name among the awesome list of finalists!

If you're a SCBWI member, make sure to stop by the SCBWI website and vote for a finalist in your region.

Here's the full listing if you're interested, and congrats to many of my writer friends --Eileen Cook, Irene Latham, Sydney Salter, Holly Cupala, Christina Diaz Gonzales, Jandy Nelson, Jessica Leader, Matthew Kirby, Kimberly Little, Tammi Saurer-- to name a few, who are also on the list!

MARCH MADNESS Check-In Day 21!

Week Three! You know what that means, don't you? It means that if you're still here, you WILL succeed in making it until the end! It's also a known fact that March Madness participants who make it until the third week are 97% more likely to succeed with their goals. (It's also a known fact that 72% of statistics are made up on the spot.)

Anyway, I'm thrilled at how many of you are still here! I think almost all of us have had challenging days (or even weeks) since the beginning of March, but the difference between us and the rest of the world is that we've come back to try again. Perseverance. It's an essential quality for success.

My husband often quotes Batman (during his training) to our seven year old son:
Husband: Bruce, why do we fall down?
Son: So we can learn to pick ourselves back up again.

You, all of you, have learned to pick yourselves back up again. So congratulations for that! Many people just give up when faced with a little bit of adversity. While we here are all rockin March Madness! Great to have you along for the journey!!!

I've drawn another random winner to pick a book from my shelves! This week, the winner is...

Jeni Bell!!!

Congratulations, Jeni! Please pick something from my shelves below (I've added a few new ones this week!) and email your choice, along with your address to d (at) denisejaden (dot) com

Don't forget to log your progress below and head over to Shana Silver's blog to check-in tomorrow!

Friday Four!

1.The March Madness Check-in is up at Craig's blog this morning. Please keep Craig and his family in your prayers, as he's in Japan and things have been looking ugly over there. Also, Craig has some information posted of how you can help through The Red Cross if you're able to.

2.Thanks so much to everyone for your encouragement on my Before/After Publication post the other day. It's always nice to remember how much we all have in common.

3. Remember when I mentioned I was organizing my taxes (and how much I hated it?) Yeah, well, my dear, sweet husband came along this week and said, "Oh. Yeah. I forgot to give you all this stuff." I'm not sure I can express on a blog post exactly how I feel about suddenly having to dive back into the murky, suffocating ocean of our tax life.

4. Two little pieces of good news this week: I sent my agent my proposal for FINDING HOPE, a companion novel to LOSING FAITH, and she really likes it! She loves the voice and thinks the story arc works. She has a few notes, so now I'm awaiting those.

Also, LOSING FAITH is in a foreign rights catalog to be shopped in Bologna this month! Even better, my book is on the first page!! If you're interested, you can check it out here.

And, okay, I have one more piece of good news, but I'm not sure if I'm actually allowed to share it yet. But...if you're a member of SCBWI, you may be able to figure it out...

How about you? Any news this week? Anything exciting happening this weekend?

Before and After Being a Published Author

It's been six months since LOSING FAITH, my first published novel hit the shelves! SIX MONTHS! Already!!! I'm excited by this milestone and have been celebrating, but it has also made me a little introspective about the whole process.

So today I thought I'd share with you an honest post about how my thoughts and attitudes and practices have changed through the process.

I doubt if I'm a reflection of all other writers or even a majority, but one thing I've noticed is that for me, there seems to be something magical about the six-month-post-publication mark. Things have changed for me once again, so I'll share a bit about those changes too.

Note - these are in no particular order, just the order I thought of them. And also I know it's probably full of typos, but I'm busy with March Madness, so please try to ignore those sorts of things.

In each of the following areas, I'll let you know what I thought, how I felt, or what I did:
1. Before my first book came out
2. After my book came out
3. 6 months after my book came out

Reviews
Before - I thought I had thick skin. The thickest skin. I'd been a dancer and taken plenty of criticism for over thirty years. I figured I could accept any amount of harsh criticism of my book, because really, hadn't I done that already through several years of editing and revisions? At this point I knew some people would love my book, some people would not, and that was totally okay with me.

After -  Omigosh, my book is in print and there's NOTHING I can do to fix the problems people are pointing out! Besides that, this has been my dream to see my book baby out there, but there's this one reviewer who's going out and telling people not only how much she hated it, but also instructing people NOT to buy my book! I want so badly to write to her and engage in Bad Author Behavior, and it's almost impossible not to. Instead I'll cry myself to sleep.

6 months after - I can honestly say that things have changed. I can get through entire days, sometimes entire weeks without checking GoodReads to see what people are saying about LOSING FAITH. When I do check out reviews, even if they're negative ones, they no longer send me into a defensive tailspin. But I have come to realize that reviews are really a whole different beast from critiques, and there's not much you can do to prepare yourself for that difference. During my early post-pub days, I honestly thought this time would never come where I could relax, take a step back, and have some perspective. I thought I was just more neurotic than every other author out there and I would never stop caring what people thought. But I can honestly say, I'm back to caring about my writing and my characters more than anything and enjoying writing what's in me. The anxiety of what others think has mostly died down. But I'll tell you, in some ways, the last six months were the longest of my life.


Sales
Before - I would have been happy if I sold a few books to people who would love it.

After - I started to think of it more as a business. My books need to sell if I'm going to continue to write and publish. Not only that, but I've seen how much my agent and editor and publishing team have put into my little debut book, and they all need to make a living. It's now important to sell a zillion copies - for them more than for me.

6 month after - Sales is pretty much my biggest concern when it comes to LOSING FAITH. Will I sell enough to make my agent and editor and publisher and favorite bookstores happy?


Bestseller lists
Before - If enough people really liked my book, maybe it would hit a bestseller list. Wouldn't that be awesome and exciting and wonderful!?

After - It seems like people know when a book is going to hit the bestseller list, and since no one knew with mine, I guess it probably won't, but I still don't really understand how it all works.

6 months after - I'm understanding more and more about lists, and they usually involve a big publisher push and large initial print runs. It's easier to see this as something with less gray area now, less wondering and getting hopes up or down. I'm truly happy for friends that make "the list" and no longer feel even a twinge of jealousy. Again, I'm feeling much more distanced and seeing it all much more in terms of business decisions.

The Writing
 Before - I wrote or revised or otherwise worked on one of my books every day. Or at least six days per week.

After - During my book launch, life got crazy and I took a few weeks off from writing, but came back to my writing schedule quickly.

6 months after - I continue to write daily, plugging along, hoping for the best. In general, my writing schedule hasn't changed that much since I first got serious about it.

Time, and how much of it I feel like I have
Before - it seemed like I had about 23 hours in a day. Being a writer, at least for me, has the effect of making me feel like I have just a little bit less time than everyone else in the world.

After - I could swear I only have six or seven hours a day, whereas everyone else has 24. But I'll make it work. I'm a machine.  People don't really NEED six hours of sleep a night, do they? I'll eat while I homeschool my son, or wait, maybe we don't really have time for school today...

6 months after - life has gone back to normal. Normal for a writer, anyway. I still feel like I have a little less hours in a day than others, perhaps 22 hours per day now, since I need to find some time for promo and marketing and interviews, but this is definitely a pace I can keep up.

Next  and future books
Before - publishing future books sounded like a nice idea, but one that I wasn't terribly concerned with. Getting my foot in the door, seeing a book with my name on it on bookstore shelves - those were the things that mattered.

After - Oh gosh, am I going to be a One Hit Wonder? Or worse, what if my one and only book isn't even a hit? What if this thing I've worked hard for and dreamed about is over in pretty much the blink of an eye? What if only five copies of my book sell, and publishers never want to hear from me again? Every struggling-to-get-published writer would give almost anything to be in my shoes, and what if I mess it all up and can't find a single other thing my editor, or any editor, likes?

6 months after - Well, I sold another book, so I'm not a One Hit Wonder. And the review anxiety has subsided, so I'm not terribly stressed about how my next book will be received. Of course this could certainly just be the calm before the storm...

Awards
Before - The literary awards were one of my main goals. Once I got a book out there, if some committee from some organization recognized it as noteworthy, I would have achieved remarkable success, at least in my own mind.

After - Wow, there are a lot of awards, and many, many that I've never even heard of! But also, there are a lot of books. A LOT more books than there are awards! And there are a lot of books winning awards that I didn't even really care for. This awards process really is very subjective.

6 months after - I'm okay with the fact that my book hasn't won any big awards to this point. (It has been recognized and nominated, which I'm very grateful for, but no actual awards to list after the name of the book or anything). I'm starting to think in these terms: If I won a big award with my first book, in some ways it would seem too easy, and I think I'd value awards a lot less in my mind. Also, I wonder if future books would feel like failures if they didn't achieve the same award status as the first.

Promo & Marketing
Before - I had heard various stories from other authors about what works and what doesn't. I wanted to try a bit of everything, since it was my first time out of the gate.

After - Trying a bit of everything is harder than it sounds! Where has all my time gone? Does my family know who I am anymore? When can I stop this insane blogging schedule without anyone noticing?

6 months after - I think I did a bit too much, but I honestly can't pin point anything I would change! Going to BEA last year probably didn't help my book any, but I had the time of my life hanging with writing buddies, getting my hands on exciting new ARC's, attending publishing cocktail parties, and presenting my book in a few co-author events. My blog tour was a lot of work, but also a ton of fun. I can barely pull myself away from blogging and tweeting now, though it definitely takes up far less time than it used to. I don't know if I'd mail postcards out to bookstores again. I had a few positive responses, but that took a lot of time and effort.

Cover art
Before - My cover has to be amazing to sell my book. I don't know exactly what that should be - I'm not a visual artist or anything, but I could envision some kind of girl on a cliff. Whatever it is, it has to be perfect and I was so nervous to see it for the first time.

After - There are so many different tastes in cover art. My publisher has some very talented people on staff and I'll trust them that the cover of LOSING FAITH is exactly what my book needs.

6 months after -  I've had so many compliments on the cover art of LOSING FAITH! Simon Pulse definitely knew what they were doing, and I'm no longer nervous about what they'll come up with for APPETITE FOR BEAUTY. I'm truly excited to see what visual they think will go with the book and I don't have any pre-conceived ideas with this one. I admit, I will be excited the first time I get a cover that has a real-life photo shoot and live model to go with it, but I'm in no rush for that.

Blurbs
Before - As a fairly new reader, I'd picked up several books because of blurbs from well-known authors, because I often didn't know where to look for my next book. When it came to my own book, I thought it was important to get at least one well-known author behind it. My editor and publisher didn't think blurbs were as important and so I personally went after only one blurb, but the author was too busy to read my book at the time.

After - I was pretty jealous of other author-friends who had great blurbs on their books.

6 months after - From what I've heard, it's pretty clear to me that blurbs really don't sell books. But I think they're still nice to have. I'd really like to get at least one blurb for APPETITE FOR BEAUTY, but I've also heard that going after blurbs can be a very uncomfortable process. Still, I'm a bit sad that LOSING FAITH didn't have one, though not jealous anymore. I definitely hope to get at least one in the future.

Fame
Before - When I was just out of high school, I pursued acting and I wanted to be famous. As I got closer to getting my first book published, though, my attitude changed a little. It was a bit odd having people know who I was and recognize me, even just online. I started to feel like I had to watch everything I said everywhere I went.

After - During and just after launch, I felt like a ping-pong ball, being bounced between realms where people knew me and loved my writing, and people having no idea who I was or why they should care at all about me (even bookstore managers!). It was a strange place to be. I started to feel uncomfortable leaving my house looking grubby, just in case I ran into people who had heard of me.

6 months after - I'm happy once again to go to the grocery store or gym in my sweat pants and glasses when I need to. As far as fame goes, I've decided that I don't really want to be a Stephanie Meyer, and honestly, I'd love to sell a zillion books for my publisher's sake, but this little tiny taste of fame is quite enough for me.

Presentations and Speaking Engagements
Before - I don't have anything worthy to say.

After - I don't have anything worthy to say, but if I have any opportunities, it would probably be helpful for book sales if I pretended I did.

6 months after - Maybe I have a few worthy things to say, but I don't think I'm organized enough or have enough time to put them into an enjoyable presentation. Maybe one day.


That's what I've come up with so far. I feel like just in the last couple of weeks I've been given a huge dose of Perspective - something you're not allowed to get a prescription for until you've been published for at least five months. And I'm sure there are different and higher quality dosages of Perspective to come, but this is just what I've found so far and where I'm at. I hope it helps for people who are pursuing/waiting for publication. And for those who have been through it, I look forward to hearing if you've found any similarities in yourself!

Teen Author Tuesday Presents Angela Cerrito and THE END OF THE LINE!

I'm happy to welcome another Elevensie to the blog today, Angela Cerrito. Angela's debut novel, THE END OF THE LINE, released March 11, 2011 from Holiday House. It is Contemporary YA, for ages 12 and up.

Welcome, Angela! Please tell me about your book in seven words or less.
 Robbie is stuck in Great Oaks School … forever?

Oooh, sounds interesting! Other than your main character, who's a favorite character of yours in
your debut novel and why?
 Ryan. Because he cares for others even though he hasn’t had anyone to care for him. I also love that he doesn’t try to fit in; he simply “is.”

Can you tell my readers a little something about yourself:
Right now my home feels a bit empty since the loss of our dear big dog, Max, almost a year ago. 

Aww, I know how hard that can be. What's been the most surprising thing about your path to publication so far?
I’m an American living overseas so sometimes it feels like I’m in a unique situation. I have my feet in both worlds but don’t exactly “belong” to either one. It was a huge surprise to discover another American ex-pat living in the EU who is having her book published this year, same month, same publishing house and the same editor. Also both of our books have secondary characters who deploys to Iraq. I’m excited to read POSSUM SUMMER and I hope one day to meet the writer Jenn K. Blom. (http://jaekaebee.blogspot.com/)

What's one piece of writing advice you would give to aspiring authors?
Join SCBWI

Yes, I love SCBWI! Are you swept up with promotion for your debut book right now or can you
give us a sentence or two about something new you're working on?
I’m working on two very different biographies, one is a very silly picture book, the other is for teens. I’m also revising a YA novel.

What did you write when you were a teen? Did you journal? Write poetry? Write overly literary or emotional stories? Or avoid writing altogether?
Poetry, really horrible poetry!

What's the last book you read that you really loved?
I just finished XVI by Julia Karr and I loved it.

Oh, that's another one I'm excited for! If readers want to find out more about you and your writing, where should they look?
 Website: www.angelacerrito.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/angelacerrito
Twitter: http://twitter.com/angelacerrito
Tumblr: angelacerrito.tumblr.com




Thanks so much for stopping by, Angela, and all the very best with your debut!

Angela does have a book trailer for THE END OF THE LINE, but so far it's only recorded in German. If you're interested in seeing more (or if you're bilingual!) here's a link!

MARCH MADNESS Check-In Day 14!

I'm thrilled to hear of all the great progress going on! Aside from the comments, I've received several emails telling me of more personal victories or areas people really didn't think they could overcome. I'm blown away and terribly thankful that this has been so helpful for so many people!

One participant told me that March Madness was so helpful for her last year that she wanted to give something back this year. Aside from all the wonderful prizes we have up for grabs already, Joan Stradling is offering a custom-made bookmark to one random winner (open internationally!) who participates throughout March Madness. She can make it with almost any color or charm of your choosing, and she sent me a few sample pictures, including her own bookmark she made for LOSING FAITH!

Aren't they gorgeous?! If you didn't already have enough reason to remember to check-in, now you do!

Onto this week's progress....


If you're anything like me, when inspiration starts to warble, you find a new path of inspiration...possibly somewhere else.

I've been plodding along on my WIP, generally doing well and moving ahead, and I don't know if it's the Week Two Blues or what, but lately I've just been feeling a little bored. I don't think it means my book is no good. In fact, I don't think it has anything at all to do with this book. I think it's just part of being a consistent and committed writer.

The part that makes this stage even more difficult--and please tell me if I'm alone here--is that right at the point I'm feeling ho-hum about my current work, two other amazingly brilliant ideas have hit me square in the face.

I don't think this is unusual. In fact I've checked back through emails I've written to friends, and this same thing has happened to me many times before. I'm proud to say that so far the new bright shiny thing has not come in and stolen away all of my writing mojo. I don't let it. And neither should you. You see, every new story will seem bright and shiny and wonderful at its conception, but every story idea will also come with its own set of struggles and pitfalls. If you jump from one work to another just because the new thing looks better at the time, I hate to break it to you, but you may never finish anything that way.

I'm trying a unique approach this time. I really do want to let my excitement for one of my new story idea have wings and carry me for a little bit, so what I'm going to do is reward myself for working on my current work in progress, my goal for March Madness, by allowing myself a quick brainstorming session at the end of my work each day.

I'll let you know how it goes, but so far over the weekend this plan has been working well. I've been choosing names for my New Bright Story Idea, which is always a lot of fun for me.


How about you? Do you get bombarded with something new and enticing when you're trying to push through on a goal? How do you handle it?

Oh yes! I want to give away another book from my shelves to one random winner who has been checking in this week. This week's winner (pick something and email me your choice to d (at) denisejaden (dot) com ) is...

Jennifer Pickrell!!!

And here are your current choices...

(Click on pictures to enlarge.) And I hope to stock it up with a few more books for next week.


Don't forget to tell my about your progress on your goals below, and head on over to Shana Silver's blog for tomorrow's check-in!