Tag Archives: ashes in the sky

Sometimes the best laid plans go awry

Posted on February 27, 2015 | 5 comments

Gah! Today was supposed to be the cover reveal for ASHES IN THE SKY. But my publisher called me to say it would be postponed. I don’t have a date yet.

Ashes Teaser postponed

I guess lesson learned that no matter how well you plan and publicize, something can always happen at the last minute to pull the plug on your drain.

I understand why they pulled it, and it’s a good reason that I think will make FIRE IN THE WOODS fans happy in the long run.

From what I hear, little hiccups like this are not uncommon in the industry.

Sooo… Onward and upward.

I still have plenty to do finishing up book three.

Have you ever had something flip-flop on you at the last minute?

cropped-fire-banner-final2.pngJenniFer_EatonF

5 Comments

Posted in Marketing Madness

Tagged , , , , ,

It’s time to set goals for 2015 (If you haven’t already)

Posted on January 14, 2015 | 12 comments

Ah, yes, it’s that magical time of year. Resolutions are everywhere… but rather than resolutions, I like to set goals. That way I can look back on the previous year and say, “Yeah, that was a good year.”

FireInTheWoods.v6-Book1-FinalWell, last year ended up getting blown out of the water (in a good way) by getting the multi-book deal.  That sort of set all my previous writing goals way way way onto the back burner. And for this year, those old 2014 goals are getting pushed back even further.  Maybe even to the point of hanging them on the wall to get them completely out of the way (but still in sight, in case I want to grab one. You know what I mean?)

As usual, I need to look at what I “have to do.”  This year, per my contract, I “have to:”

  1. Edit and sign off on the final version of ASHES IN THE SKY
  2. Market ASHES IN THE SKY for tentative September 2015 release.
  3. Finish “Book Three” and submit it to my publisher by March 1
  4. Complete the outline of optioned “Book Four” and submit to my publisher for approval by June 1.
  5. Edit and sign off on final “Book three”
  6. Market “Book Three” for Tentative late 2015 release

That’s a lot to do, but I have some other goals in mind.

Book three is half way done. I need to submit it in March, so that gives me nine whole months to play with something new while I’m not editing. Woohoo!

So here are my remaining goals for 2015:

7. Write a new book in a new world (Complete, polish, and send out to query)

8A. Write first draft of a second new book in a new world, OR

8B. Write the outlined “Book Four” of FIRE IN THE WOODS if my publisher takes up the option.

So, if you’ve been following along my insanity train for the past few years, it’s going to be another fun ride.

What is in store for you this year?

fire-banner-final2.png

JenniFer_EatonF

12 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , , ,

Looking back at 2014. Wow, what a year for me!

Posted on January 1, 2015 | 13 comments

It was quite a year for me writing wise. I came into 2014 having queried FIRE IN THE WOODS for quite some time, and I had pretty much decided that the dystopian I was finishing up would probably be my debut novel. I had three more publishers on my bucket list to send FIRE to, and then I was going to tuck it away for a rainy day.

Fire-in-the-Woods-Cover 3DSo the big news, or course, is signing the three book deal for FIRE IN THE WOODS.

Plus, with the help of my publisher, Month9Books, I edited and marketed and did two complete blog tours for FIRE IN THE WOODS, bringing FIRE to #6 on Amazon’s ALIENS best sellers list in the UK, and #45 on Amazon’s YA/Aliens best sellers list in the USA.

Whew! Part of me still has trouble digesting that.

But this is what I also accomplished:

  1. Finished a nearly-final draft of a dystopian (That will need to be re-edited)
  2. Started a dragon shifter novel (That I needed to set aside because I got a contract)
  3. Finished the first draft of a middle grade contemporary
  4. Finished the first draft of an adult contemporary sci-fi murder mystery
  5. Completed and submitted ASHES IN THE SKY (Book 2 of FIRE IN THE WOODS)
  6. Completed 28,000 words of the first draft of book three of FIRE IN THE WOODS
  7. Outlined two complete contemporary sci-fi YA romances
  8. Conceptualized two additional contemporary science fiction novels
  9. Conceptualized (in infancy) a YA demon novel

That’s a lot. Probably the most I’ve ever done in one year writing wise.

It’s been quite a roller coaster. Here’s to entering into 2015 with the same great luck and support I had in 2014. It was a wonderful year.

What was your greatest accomplishment of 2014?

JenniFer_EatonF

13 Comments

Posted in Senseless Ranting

Tagged , , , ,

Thinking about reading FIRE IN THE WOODS? Here’s your chance to read for free. @month9books

Posted on November 29, 2014 | 1 comment

If you haven’t heard, my YA SciFi FIRE IN THE WOODS has scuttled up some buzz in social media.

1430695 YAY CHEER

We thought it would be fun to help people out who are still on the fence by posting the first five chapters of my book here, on my blog, one day at a time.

Why one day at a time? Well, at the end of each day (or during the day if my phone cooperates) I will be answering questions and reading comments on the posted chapter. Ask whatever you want. It could be about the story, or the writing style, questions about the characters, why the sky is blue, you know… whatever.

Yay1!

I hope this will be fun.

Sooooooo… That’s what’s on tap for this week. Starting Monday.

If you’ve read FIRE IN THE WOODS, I hope you stop by to comment or ask questions. If you haven’t read it, I hope you enjoy this little trip into the nutty meanderings of my imagination.

JenniFer_EatonF

1 Comment

Posted in Marketing Madness

Tagged , , , , , ,

Lesson Eight from the Manuscript Red-Line: Magically Appearing Items in the Setting

Posted on November 24, 2014 | 3 comments

Gold_Mine_Manuscript

For an intro into where these tips are coming from, please see my post: A Full Manuscript Rejection, or a Gold Mine?

This is really more like an amendment to Lesson Seven, but I figured I’d call it out separately, just to make it more clear.  In Lesson Seven, we discussed how important it is to make sure a character has a reason for doing what they do.

Also watch for “convenient” items popping up out of nowhere.  In a recent writers group meeting we discussed this very topic… making sure that a gun doesn’t suddenly appear in the glove compartment of an eighty year old grandmother from Ohio…  Silly things like that.

It is easy for a writer to place an item somewhere convenient…  but remember to give that item a reason for being there.

Example from my own manuscript:

Meagan has a candle in her room in the end of the novel.  It’s very important.  It’s never mentioned before, but I talk about it like it’s always been there.  I  caught mistake after digesting Lesson Seven.   I just can’t let the candle suddenly appear like that, and act like it’s always been there.

Convenient fix by me:  I needed a new chapter near the beginning of the novel, because I needed a place to SHOW that Meagan realizes that Magellan is supernatural.  (This is to avoid a “telly” section later).  I placed the scene in Meagan’s room, and actually used the candle as the driving force for that scene.  It worked wonderfully, and I killed two problems with one chapter in a neat little
package.  (And only about 550 words)

Like magically appearing characters, suddenly appearing items can be distracting, and make you lose credibility.  Give important items a reason for being where they are, and keep your settings fluid throughout your novel.

Related articles

3 Comments

Posted in Gold Mine Manuscript

Tagged , , , , , ,

Video Blogging – Vlogging 101. Times are a-changing

Posted on November 7, 2014 | 9 comments

For the last three months, I have not only been sprinting to finish ASHES IN THE SKY. I’ve also been on book tours to support the release of FIRE IN THE WOODS. I have to admit, with all that I needed to do, I would have gone crazy if it were not for my lovely publicist, Jamie, who kept everything straight for me and made sure my ducks were I a row – because by that time my quacker was sufficiently quacked-out.

As I scrambled to the end of my first draft of ASHES, Jamie contacted me and said “How about a vlog tour for the paperback release of FIRE IN THE WOODS?”

Ummmmmm. [Cringe] “I guess, but I’ve never done a vlog before.”

“Just be yourself.”

[Shivers]

And before I knew it, the marketing company had seven stops set up. YIKES!

So, I took a deep breath and figured it out. I had two weeks to do them. No biggie. (All the while keeping up with my daily word counts)

I planned on filming them over two weekends, but the tour started earlier than I expected, so I had to give myself a crash course in making a video. I did two sessions on a Tuesday night and sent them off to Jamie, and the remainder I taped over the weekend before the tour (yeah, nothing like pressure)

Here are my pearls of wisdom:

  1. Get a tripod. You will thank me for it. Trust me.
  2. You’ll need a decent background. No one wants to see my messy desk. (Trust me on that, too)
  3. Don’t overthink it.
  4. If you mess up, don’t start over. Editing isn’t as hard as you might think (I used the free Microsoft Movie maker program that came with my computer.)
  5. Don’t be afraid to have fun (Even better, make fun of yourself)
  6. Know your audience. Is it a teen site? Give it a MUCH different tone then the “Mothers Review books” site. Record something your viewer will relate to/enjoy watching.
  7. Put on make-up. The camera will make you look like a zombie. Trust me.
  8. Put on more make-up. The make-up you used just makes you look like a cuter zombie
  9. Are you done with that make-up? Look like a clown? Are your kids running away from you screaming? Yep, you probably have it right, then. Make-up disappears in front of a camera for some reason. Guys, I think this goes for you, too – unless you don’t care if you look like a vampire. And not a cute sparkly one, either.
  10. Like Jamie said: Be yourself. Don’t sell your book. Just talk like you’re having lunch with the camera. Have fun.
  11.  Don’t wait until 10:00 PM when the kids are in bed. Your eyes will look red and glassy if you are tired.
  12. If your dog walks in and burps on camera… just go with it.

Putting it all together after you tape:

I’ve always had an interest in electronic art, so I spent some “fun time” learning about fades and swipes, inserting footage, and adding music. But I had to use the “learn as I go” method, so I didn’t know as much in the first video as I did in the last one. I’m hoping if I do another vlog tour, I will have learned to add effects, because I think that would be AWESOME fun.

All in all, I’d have to say it was a great experience. My interviews are not professional by any means, but you can see my style and expertise (with adding “extras”) improve with each video. (I think the last is my best-probably because I had relaxed more by that time as well)

So, for grins and giggles, now that the tour is over and the content is no longer “exclusive,” I am going to post all these videos here. Even the ones I’m not as happy with, because, hey… if you can’t laugh at yourself, who CAN you laugh at? And I never said I wanted to be a YouTube personality.

I’ll upload one video interview a week to avoid vlog-overload.

Starting with #1 below (Hosted on a teen-based site). Enjoy!

Enjoy!__-)

9 Comments

Posted in Marketing Madness

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Slapping yourself into realizing: “You did it.” – Accepting that you’ve achieved a goal.

Posted on November 5, 2014 | 17 comments

About a week ago, I was planning on writing an article about coming to terms with failure. By failure, I mean not achieving a goal.

In this case, the goal was finishing writing ASHES IN THE SKY: Book two of FIRE IN THE WOODS on time. I entered last weekend still reviewing beta comments, and completing the tail end of an overwhelming content edit that changed most of the second quarter of the book… with the manuscript due on Sunday.

I know. Impossible.

I needed to read ASHES from front to back, FOR THE FIRST TIME, over the weekend. Yes, to my shame, I had not read the book in its entirety yet. I had no idea if it “flowed”— especially with the sweeping changes. (Suggested by beta readers — the only ones who HAD read it front to back)

PKO_0001507 tired pink robeFriday night, I completed the content edits and sent them off to a very critical beta reader… Someone who I trusted not to baby me or fan-girl. I told her to be straight with me… that I was planning on asking for an extension anyway.

And then I collapsed into bed.

Everyone asks for extensions, right?

PKO_0007393 Yipee Wahoo Jump Pink RobeSaturday morning I popped out of bed to the sounds of pelting rain. Score! Thank you God! (Because soccer had been cancelled… Sorry kids, but now Mommy has four extra hours of editing time.) So I made the kids pancakes, and settled down for a marathon read through.

A few hours later, I’m thinking, “damn… either I’m tired, or this is pretty good!”

In early afternoon, the critical beta comes back suggesting minor changes. Easy breezy.

I make the changes and keep going. In the back of my head I keep thinking about all those reviewers who read FIRE IN THE WOODS in one or two days. I can’t read that fast, but I was delving into the world of the power-readers… those who pick up on pacing and plot errors, because they read a book in one sitting. It gave me a more critical eye, and helped me to tighten.

At 6:00 Sunday night, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and said: “Yes, it’s done.”

Manuscript submitted with six hours to spare.

I sat back, confused and drained, unable to believe I’d done it.

I’d come up with a concept, written a novel, completed a content edit and line edit, and submitted something respectable (I hope) in four months and two weeks.

I gave myself a week off, wanting to distance myself from Jess and David a little, but I was only able to do so for a few days. By Wednesday, the new deadline was hanging over my head.

PKO_0010650 pink robe clockEMBERS IN THE SEA has an even tighter deadline than the second book.

I had four months and two weeks to write book 2.

I have exactly four months to hand in book 3.

And I just wasted a few days “resting”.

So, after writing this, I will be starting book three.

Time to take a deep breath, and restart the clock…

.

Jess & David Double base BASE ONLY coverBecause the world just can’t seem to keep out of trouble without the help of a few teenagers. [Wink]

cropped-fire-banner-final2.png

_JenniFer____EatoN

17 Comments

Posted in Road to Publication

Tagged , , , , ,

Longest. Edit. Ever. The tediousness of overused words.

Posted on October 22, 2014 | 15 comments

I usually edit out overused words last, but since a few beta readers pointed some out… I started fixing, and then the overused words snowballed.

I always have overused words. I think all authors do… but the quantity of words, sometimes appearing five times on the same page, astounded me.

Was it the speed I was writing? The lack of read-throughs before going to beta? (I usually read my manuscript five to ten times before going to beta)

I’m not sure, but I’m definitely not happy. What a terrible, tedious week.

Repeated words might not seem like a big deal, but they ruin the flow of a novel. They stand out, and can pull the reader from your story and remind them they are “only reading”.

Shame on me

That is NOT what I ever want to do to my readers. It is my job to help them escape for a little while. If they are reminded it is “just a book” then shame on me.

That’s why I took an entire week to tackle this before submitting to my editor. The only problem is that another beta pointed out a portion that would be more intense if I made one small point in the story a touch harder on my characters… and I agree.

So that leaves me with two weeks left to do another developmental edit/rewrite on the beginning of the story, and finish the re-write of the ending that I inadvertently started while getting rid of the repeated words in the last two paragraphs. PLUS do a complete final read-through start to finish.

Two weeks until the deadline?

Arghhh! PictureNo, this is not where I would like to be so close to the novel being due… Especially since ASHES IN THE SKY went up on Goodreads this weekend, and  I was supposed to start EMBERS IN THE SEA last Wednesday.

Tons, tons, tons of pressure… But I WILL get this manuscript in on time.

And I will try my best NOT to make sleep optional.

What words have you seen overused in novels?

15 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

The huge sigh of relief after typing “The End”

Posted on October 10, 2014 | 11 comments

“The End.” Aren’t they wonderful words?

Fire in the Woods CoverAbout four months ago while polishing up my dystopian novel, I got the surprise of my life…

a contract offer for my YA Scifi FIRE IN THE WOODS.

And not just any contract, but a three-book deal.

Surprise!

Suddenly, I needed to come up with two more novels continuing a story that I had already typed “The End” on in my mind. That’s right… no planned sequels.

Yikes!

But never to be thwarted, I accepted the challenge, despite what looked like impossible-to-meet deadlines for getting the sequels out. I had a light outline of a concept, and I hit the ground running.

Now, I would be lying to say that I wasn’t pantsing ASHES IN THE SKY to begin with. I started off simply re-kindling my love for the voice and characters of FIRE IN THE WOODS, but within a few chapters I was able to scroll out a decent outline.

Here I am today, with a clean, completed rough draft of the novel. I have five weeks to edit the story, send it to beta readers, and make it sparkle before it is due in my editor’s hands.

So I am here to say: It can be done. Now I move on to editing, which is actually one of my favorite parts. Now is the time to add the little extra zing that will make my characters pop, and the explosions… well… explode.

For all you stats lovers: Here are the numbers…

Started writing June 18th

Finished CLEAN* first draft September 26th

Total time from start to finish=98 days

Total number of those days actually spent writing=60 days

One three-day weekend dedicated two writing = 10,392 words

Average words per day = 1,114, but the actual words per day ranged from 249 to 3,366

Let the editing begin!

*Clean just means that I didn’t write NANO-style. I corrected my typos and spelling as I went along, and re-read each chapter at least once and edited whatever did not work before I started the next chapter.

_JenniFer____EatoN

11 Comments

Posted in General Writing Tips

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

It’s marketing time! More blog posts and interviews, less novel writing.

Posted on August 29, 2014 | 11 comments

While I was on vacation, dreaming about getting back and leisurely finishing ASHES IN THE SKY, my publicist sent over my blog tour interviews and guest post requests.

Just_Breathe

After reviewing them (14 in all so far) I decided to write “just a little” of ASHES IN THE SKY per day to keep myself going, and bust out the marketing for FIRE IN THE WOODS as soon as I can (They are all due back by September 15th)

I cringe when I think of it, because my original goal was to finish ASHES IN THE SKY before my vacation.  Then I moved the goal day to a week after vacation when I got bogged down with the edits. Right now that deadline doesn’t look all that rosy either.

Sigh

But I will not be thwarted!  I am doing my best to write clean copy. I am hoping that all I will have to do is general insertion of emotion and setting. Hopefully there will be no huge changes or additions to be made, but I won’t know until I send this puppy out to my beta readers to be slapped around a bit.

As it stands now, I am just turning the corner into act three.  The third and final act should be a roller-coaster ride and easy plot-wise to write, but hard in the “action” department.  I probably only have about 10,000-20,000 words to go.  I can do this. I just need to keep plugging away.

JenniFer_EatonFFire in the Woods Revised Cover

11 Comments

Posted in General Writing Tips, Marketing Madness

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,