I had a productive week. I did my first beta read for another aspiring author, and I found I really enjoyed the process of reading someone else's work and sharing my input. I do worry about hurting feelings, as I've always had a hard time with criticism, but at some point you do have to move on from that, and learn how to accept constructive criticism. Otherwise, you'll never get better as a writer or fill in the blank____________, whatever you want to achieve.
Now that I'm done beta reading, I'm turning my attention back to my work. I received input from two betas on my work, and they both liked it! YAY! They had suggestions, and so I'm going to work on rewriting the first couple of chapters, working on a few minor errors, and then I'm going to send it out for more beta readers. My goal is to publish it, even if it is self publishing, by the end of 2014 or early 2015.
Speaking of that: Follow Me! I'm on twitter: @laurenegreene, and I'm going to start actually taking advantage of my twitter account, my Google+ accounts, and my Facebook accounts and using them as a way to market my material. Since, I'm going to self publish I will need to market myself. I still don't get twitter. Does anyone understand this? I'm going to have to have my teenage nieces and nephews show me what you do, and what the hashtags are for. Apparently, I'm not with the times, but I know you need social media to market yourself as a writer in this world. Technology is such a huge part of life these days: there's no use fighting it!
Speaking of writing: pen name or no? I'm debating staying with my regular name, or going to my pen name Ellie Greene. I have a writer's page for my pen name, but my twitter account is my name. I like Ellie Greene, because it's a play on my name, but I like my name too, because...you know...it's my name!
Who would have thought there are so many details when you're trying to get published? I have been out to Amazon and read several books on there, and there are people who have not even edited their material. I can't imagine that, because I've been working on my book for two years. I feel like I have poured so much of myself into this project. In an ideal world, one of my queries would land me a real life publishing package, and I wouldn't have to self-publish, market myself, and try to add more hours to a day that I know is only going to last 24! In an ideal world, I'd also immediately land a movie deal and instantly be a millionaire. One can dream, right?
But it feels good to live your dreams. It feels good when I write. Even if no one is going to read it, and even if it's a huge flop, it's what I love to do and that makes all the work worth it. I would love to get to the point where my work does well. I'd love to self-publish one book after another and make my living through the written words. In the meantime, I'll take doing it part time. I'll use my hour in the morning to edit my work, to blog, and to research how to become a successful writer. I'll use my hour at night to read, so I can get better and better at the art of writing. And maybe one day, I'll make a name for myself. Until then, I'll be content with what I have and with the simple fact that I can write when I want to and do what I love, and no one can take that away from me.
*Follow me on twitter @laurenegreene and like my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/elliegreenewrites -- Have your friends and family follow me too!!!
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