Tag Archives: writing

Authors: be real. Your readers (and your characters!) will thank you for it.

Posted on February 27, 2017 | 2 comments

I have obstacles to overcome. Just like you, just like everyone.

Author E.M. Fitch

One of my obstacles has a name, though as a teen, I didn’t realize it. I have panic attacks. The reason I’m telling you this is because it’s real. I am a real person and I have panic attacks.

My protagonist in Of The Trees, my forthcoming YA novel, has them, too. That’s important. It’s important because every day millions of people have panic attacks. Millions will also suffer anxiety, hallucinations, paranoia, and depression. As an author, it’s important to me to show this. I want my characters to jump off the page. I want them to be authentic. Giving my characters actual issues, mixed in with the fairy lore, fantasy and horror, will ground them and give them a way to connect with an audience.

There’s a better reason to create characters with mental health issues, however. It’s more important than creating a way for the characters to relate to the readers. It’s giving your readers a chance to connect with someone. One of the worst experiences someone can have is feeling alone. One of the hardest parts of managing an invisible illness is feeling like no one understands what you’re going through. I feel like I’m on the other side of what once was an invisible illness for me. Anxiety creeps into my life in variable doses, but overall, it’s manageable. So my characters are my way of extending a hand. It’s a nod that tells my readers: I see you. I’ve been there, too.

Horror is real. Anxiety, depression, hallucinations, fear – that’s all real, too. But so is growth. There’s is such a thing as learning to overcome – and I don’t mean learning to erase all impact of the invisible illness from your life. I mean a way to manage and cope and breathe and live in spite of, or even because of, whatever’s weighing you down.

So, authors: show this. Be real. Tell your tragedies, show your weaknesses, bleed on your pages. Not only will your characters breathe because of it, your readers might find themselves not so alone after experiencing your own wounds lay bare in print.

Only she can hear the deadly whisper of the trees.

High school seniors, Cassie and Laney, spend their days on ghost hunts, Laney trying to pull Cassie into belief. Cassie tolerates it for her best friend, but she doesn’t really believe … until the carnival comes to town. The men who work there watch the girls, disturbing Cassie with the intensity of their collective gaze.

It’s not just their age or the unnerving way they stare. There is something else, something in the shifting of their skin, the way their features seem to change fluid in the shadows, that screams danger. Cassie tries to ignore the uneasy feeling that something bad is about to happen, convinced that once the carnival leaves, life will return to normal.

But it doesn’t.

People start dying and bloody warnings appear around town. Cassie enters into a nightmare where the trees whisper “join us” and strange, seemingly familiar, shape-shifting men haunt the backwoods of her small, isolated town.

When Laney goes missing, Cassie knows it’s the men of the forest who have taken her. She knows that she’s the only one who can help bring her friend back. But the creatures that taunt and hiss through the trees aren’t ready to give Laney up just yet.

E. M. Fitch is an author who loves scary stories, chocolate, and tall trees. Her latest novel, OF THE TREES, is a Young Adult horror/fantasy inspired by haunted cemeteries and the darker musings of W.B. Yeats. She is the author of the Young Adult zombie trilogy: THE BREAK FREE SERIES. When not dreaming up new ways to torture characters, she is usually corralling her four children, or thinking of ways to tire them out so she can get an hour of peace at night. She lives in Connecticut, surrounded by chaos, which she manages with her husband, Marc.

Visit www.emfitch.com for more information on her works.

Hello out there!

You can find Fire in the Woods and Ashes in the Sky at all these awesome bookish places!

Catch up with me on social media!

2 Comments

Posted in Author Interview

Tagged are panic attacks real, e.m. fitch, fairy lore, Fantasy, horror, issues, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, Mental Health, of the trees, panic attacks, panic attacks are real, real, writing

Write what you love with author @patriciabtighe

Posted on September 5, 2016 | 2 comments

Several years ago, when I was having trouble with the plot of the book I was working on, I had a mentor tell me, “Write what you love.” By this she meant to use things that I love, that I’m enthusiastic about, in my story. Not only did it help to fuel plot ideas, but I was more excited about what I was writing.

Since that time, I’ve practiced this advice with every book I’ve written, especially when it comes to my characters. Part of their personalities, interests, and hobbies are things that I enjoy. In my first published book with Swoon Romance, LIFE IN THE NO-DATING ZONE, my main character Claire loves Legos—just like I do. I was able to use details from my own experiences with Legos when I wrote the scenes where she is building. Like me, Claire also loves to go bowling, which some people think is pretty geeky. I used that to create story tension when a guy disses her for it.

In my second book in the series, LIFE IN THE LUCKY ZONE, my character Berger sees the world in a pretty quirky way. I love finding the humor in life, and he’s been one of my favorite characters to write because I’ve been able to let my goofball flag fly. I never worried about things being too weird. I just let him be as off the wall as he wanted. And it never hurts to laugh while you write. Plus, I’ve heard that my readers enjoy him too. 😀

My third book, LIFE IN THE DANGER ZONE, which is due out in October, has a main character who loves reading mysteries—just like I do. And on it goes. When I incorporate things I love into my books, I’m able to include details that I wouldn’t necessarily know if I didn’t already enjoy the activity. And the details can make a story and characters more real for a reader.

About Patricia B. Tighe:

The mother of two grown sons, Patricia B. Tighe lives in West Texas with her husband and dog. She eats way too much pizza, drinks way too much coffee, and watches way too much NFL football. On the bright side, she also reads and writes teen fiction. She promises to include as much romance, angst, and adventure as possible in her books.

Catch up with the author on Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

About Life in the Lucky Zone (The Zone, Book 2)

Seventeen-year-old Lindsey Taylor lives a charmed life—always the lead in school plays, possessor of a healthy entourage and a hot boyfriend. But then she gets dumped and screws up her audition for the spring play. The Theater teacher picks Trey Berger, a gamer who irritates her by simply opening his mouth, to run lines with her. Could things get any worse?

Trey can barely tolerate Lindsey. It’s bad enough their best friends are dating and he has to see Lindsey outside of school. Rehearse together? Trey would rather chill with his live-in grandmother who has Dementia.

As the semester continues, Trey discovers there’s more to Lindsey than the persona she puts on for everyone else’s benefit. And that Lindsey might be someone he could care about. A lot.

While Lindsey tries to change her luck and heal from the breakup, Trey slowly becomes her best friend. He makes her laugh and holds her when she cries. Could he possibly become something more?

Find out more here!

You can find Fire in the Woods and Ashes in the Sky at all these awesome bookish places!

Catch up with me on social media!

2 Comments

Posted in Author Advice

Tagged advice, contemporary YA, Life in the no dating zone, Patricia B. Tighe, write what you love, writing

Why Does my Creative Mojo Need a Kick in the Butt? AKA: What is Editing Block?

Posted on August 8, 2016 | 2 comments

I am one of those annoying writers who NEVER experiences writer’s block. Yeah, I know. Go ahead and spit at me (I’m protected by an alien enhanced force field <AKA a computer monitor>)

But what I do experience once in a while is EDITING block. It is when you are reading your own story, and you hit a section and say, “This is unrealistic. This character wouldn’t do/say this right here.”

So, like a good author, you think it over.

This is when “editing block” comes in. You look at your outline and carefully placed scenes that support you character arcs and plot, and decide: “It has to be here to support the arc.” And let it go.

I did this through 12 drafts of my current WIP. I had an important scene that had a pivotal even occur. After this pivotal event, the characters involved have a conversation about two topics. One topic was far too personal for them to have at this time. The other, although placed correctly to make the rest of the story work, seemed odd for them to talk about after the stressful pivotal event.

I knew this, but I did nothing about it, because I couldn’t figure out another way to do it.

Then I sent the novel out to my beta readers. I love/hate it when they tell me what I already know. In this case, the chapter wasn’t working. [Smacks head against keyboard] But for some odd reason, after the third person told me this, I had an epiphany.

For some odd reason, after the third person told me this, I had an epiphany.

It was a really long chapter. I could split it up into three shorter chapters, and spread the conversation out over a few days.

Yes, this sounds stupidly easy, but it didn’t occur to me early on. I needed that extra push of SOMEONE ELSE telling me it was bad, before I had the creative mojo to figure out how to fix it.

And guess what? Not only did it work, but the entire flow of the novel feels better. Total score!

Have you ever overlooked something your gut told you didn’t work, and then got smacked by a beta reader for it? Does this light a fire under your but to get it fixed?

Find Fire in the Woods at your favorite Bookseller

Find Ashes in the Sky at your favorite Bookseller

Catch up with me on social media!

2 Comments

Posted in Author Advice

Tagged Editing Edit, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, Manuscript, Publishing, writer's block, writing

Some of the Things I Learned from Editing / Beta Reading Other People’s Books @KathleenLBosman

Posted on July 18, 2016 | 2 comments

I’ve talked several times about beta readers. They are PRICELESS! But what’s even more fun sometimes, is when I get the opportunity to return the favor. There is so much to learn from reading SOMEONE ELSE’S work.

Yes, Seriously!

It’s a lot easier to see errors in other people’s work, and this helps you to find the errors in your own manuscript.

Here’s author Kathleen Bosman to chat up a few things she’s learned from reading other people’s work. Take it away, Kathleen!

Thanks, Jennifer! Here are four things I learned from reading other people’s books:

1. The writing rules are there for a reason. Only break them if your story is so compelling that someone cannot help but read it. And how will you know that until it’s out there anyway?

Unless you’re a bestselling author already, stick to the rules. And use good grammar! Don’t head hop – please stay in one point of view per scene, don’t overuse adjectives, and keep to active, not passive writing. If you don’t know the basic rules of writing a novel, do some research. There are literally hundreds of blogs or websites out there giving the basic rules.

Sometimes a story is gripping and enjoyable but because the author hops from one POV to the next, I cannot continue. I’ve even discarded one of my favourite author’s popular series because she had too many POV’s in her book. Either stick to one or two POV’s.

If you can’t follow basic grammar rules, then do a grammar course. There is nothing worse than a book that is shoddily written. An editor doesn’t mind the odd problem here and there – it’s their job to fix them. The worst is when an author can’t even keep their tenses consistent or writes many sentences that don’t even make sense. Write like English is your first language!

2. Too many “said’s” make the writing clumsy.

You don’t need to say, “he said” or “she said” after every speech. Use an action next to the speech instead which doesn’t jar the reader out of the conversation.

That said, please make sure the reader knows who is talking when. If you are going to use dialogue tags, and I know you do need them sometimes, “said” is actually the best because it doesn’t take the reader out the story. If you have too many “exclaimed, mumbled, hissed, barked, groused,” you’ll get them thinking more about these words than the actual story.

3. Make your characters real and consistent.

If your characters are stupid or unrealistic or change like a chameleon, you’ve lost your readers from the beginning. If need be, get a fellow writer friend to read your book before you send it off to check that they can sympathise with the characters. I read a book recently about a woman who’d just been diagnosed with breast cancer and found out her husband was having an affair. She basically breezed through the whole situation with a smile on her face, quite keen to get the double mastectomy over with. Totally unrealistic!

4. Don’t introduce too many characters into the story in the first scene.

If you have ten people all talking to each other in a scene or seven characters each going through something different in the first chapter, your reader is going to get exhausted from the mental gymnastics. It’s nice to write a book about friends having fun together but keep it to no more than four. swish swivel squiggle

The Album Series

Each book is a fantasy romance about a magic album that matches up couples. Think of “The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants” meets Hollywood Romantic Comedies.

Looking for Love

Blurb:

When Ella Haviland inherits a magic antique photo album that reveals the future of potential couples, she starts a part-time matchmaking business with the help of her three best friends. It’s always been her dream to help people find love. But finding true love herself isn’t in her plans — even when her best guy friend Ross confesses he’s fallen for her. Friendship and love equals recipe for disaster in her mind.

Ross Mitchell is devastated that Ella doesn’t want more from their relationship. He withdraws … but maybe he should play along when Ella tries to matchmake him with a friend, just to make her jealous. He will do anything to make her notice him.

Through a series of adventures and happenings, Ella discovers that maybe The Album brings more than love and magic into the lives of the people it touches; it sprinkles its magic on hers. But can she find true love herself, or is there too much holding her back?

Get Album #1 free here:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Looking-Love-Album-Ellas-Story-ebook/dp/B019E23YV6

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/600677

Kobo Books: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/looking-for-love-16

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/looking-for-love-kathy-bosman/1123145781?ean=2940152525007

Author Bio:

Kathy lives in South Africa, where the summers are hot, the winters cool and bugs thrive. She writes romance in many forms, most of the time with women who feel deeply, men who care strongly and characters who learn lessons along the way. Every so often, she sprinkles a little magic in her stories. When she’s not writing, she makes sure her kids work hard as they do school at home, tries not to get too distracted by dust bunnies and cooks up a storm to keep the tummies full. When she’s not hectically busy, she loves reading romance and fantasy novels, watching movies, and dabbling in different crafty things, depending on her mood.

Website and blog: http://www.kathybosman.com/

Facebook author page: http://www.facebook.com/KathleenBosman

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KathleenLBosman

2 Comments

Posted in Author Advice

Tagged BETA, beta reader, editing, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, kathleen bosman, Manuscript, readers, writing

How to build an invincible world: Nailing the Setting with @EverlyFrost

Posted on July 5, 2016 | Comments Off

Creating book worlds is exciting and fun but can be a complex process of imagination and discovery. Everly Frost’s debut novel is set in an alternate version of today’s Earth where everyone is invincible. While constantly assessing and reassessing the world, there are three questions Everly used to keep on track. Take it away, Everly!

What is the world?

These are the defining characteristics of the world – the essence of what the world is. Once you have a good handle on these, the foundations of the world will fall into place.

I found it useful to write these down and refer back to them often. In Fear My Mortality, the major characteristic of the world is that people heal at super fast rates to revive and recover if killed. They’ve had this ability since day one (it’s not an evolution).

All other characteristics will stem from these.

What isn’t in the world?

These are consequences of the world that might cause problems for readers because of real world knowledge, expectations, or perceptions.

For example, a problem with a world where people are invincible is overpopulation. As a solution, I decided that the trade-off for super healing is the inability to have children. Many people can’t and others have only one or two children. This keeps the population stable.

Another problem: are they all vegetarians? No steak dinners if animals are immortal too. This ended up being important. Allowing animals to be mortal meant people are familiar with illness, infection, and medicine, even if it only affects their pets. At one point the main character, Ava, likens herself to an animal because they can die and so can she.

Searching for the problems can be time-consuming but can be helpful too.

Is a little bit of info dump okay?

Gasp! I’m a huge believer in showing a scene and allowing the reader to deduce information from actions, dialogue, and active descriptions, not information dump. But I’ve learned that a little bit of straight up information is not only okay but necessary.

Depending on the complexity of the world and its history, readers sometimes need a few informative sentences to know what’s going on. Then they can move on to the important things like … will Ava escape that drone, will she find freedom, and will she forgive Michael for what he did?

I’m still learning and I’m definitely not an expert, but I hope some of these tips and examples are helpful.

About the Author

Everly Frost is the author of FEAR MY MORTALITY. She wrote her first story when she was nine. She grew up in a country town, lived for a while in Japan, and worked for several years in Canberra, Australia’s capital city. Now, Everly lives in Brisbane, Australia, with her husband and two children.

Website – Facebook – Twitter – Instagram

Comments Off on How to build an invincible world: Nailing the Setting with @EverlyFrost

Posted in Author Advice

Tagged creating a setting, editing, Everly Frost, Fear my mortality, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, outlining, planning, setting, writing

Is writing really a solitary endeavor? It doesn’t have to be. Maybe it shouldn’t be.

Posted on June 6, 2016 | 7 comments

I am running across more and more articles that talk about writing being a solitary endeavor. I see how it CAN be lonely… but really, it doesn’t have to be that way.

Yes, to an extent you need to write on your own (Unless two or more authors write a book together, but I’m not talking about that.)

Anyway, you write on your own, but if you find yourself a great group of writing friends, they are always there to bounce ideas off of, or to rant with when the words aren’t flowing, and to celebrate with when those worlds are flying like dandelion seeds in the spring breeze.

Also – and this is the most important and fun part for me – when you are done writing your fourth or fifth draft… after you have taken the story as far as it can possibly go… you get to hand your baby over to these trusted friends and they can tell you all the wonderful things wrong with it!

And yes, they will be wonderful things, because every comment is an opportunity to make your great manuscript even better! And then you revise, and send it to someone else, and if you are lucky enough, they find even more wrong with it.

Plot hole? Really? Bring it!

Police in rural North Carolina don’t ride on horses? I did not know that!

You can’t see the Aurora Borealis in Florida? Wow! Good catch!

Okay, I made some of that up, but my beta readers find tiny little things like that all the time. Silly little things that read perfectly fine to me, but shout “No way” to someone else. Different life experiences bring something new to the read. It’s those little tweaks that excite me!

So yes, in the end my name is on the cover of the book, but it is really a team effort.

I am nothing without my beta readers. They way I look at it, the more eyes the better.

Don’t write in a little box all by yourself.

Find yourself a team.

It’s fun!

hello out there!

You can find Fire in the Woods at all these awesome bookish places!

Catch up with me on social media!

7 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged Beta Readers, editing, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, writing

Bringing the joy back into writing

Posted on February 15, 2016 | 4 comments

I am an author. I create stories. It is part of who I am. Sometimes I think there is nothing that gives me more joy than sculpting words into a work of art.

But over the past few years, some of that joy has been missing. Did I not want to write books?

No. Of course not.

The problem was, the pressure of writing under a contract.

Don’t get me wrong … having a publisher contract two additional novels from you sight unseen is an amazing feeling. But actually making good on those contracts was a little harder than I thought it would be.

Whereas the characters and the story were mine, and I loved them, knowing that I NEEDED to write those stories, and they had to be written at break-neck speed (at least for me) — I don’t know … for some reason that ruined the “experience” for me. I sat down each day thinking “I need to write 1000 words or I’ll fall behind.” Or “I can’t summarize this scene and come back to it later. I have to write it out now to avoid editing time on the back end.”

It felt more like a race than an enjoyable walk in the park. More like a job than something that has always given me the ultimate joy.

This week, I handed in edits for the third book in my series. I have 30 days until they come back to me. A big part of me wanted to pick up my WIP and get back to it. Problem was that I would need to re-read the 80,000 words I’d already written to get back into this world, and get back into those character’s heads. By the time I’d have that done, my edits would be back again and I’d have to switch focus.

So instead of grabbing my WIP I opened up the file of a novel that I’d completed June second of 2014 (just a few weeks before getting the contract for FIRE IN THE WOODS.)

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much. It was 56,000 words I’d written and edited in only a two month time period. Imagine my surprise when I was instantly transported into a world and into the minds of characters that I’d almost forgotten about.

I finished reading (with light edits) in two days (unheard of for me) I couldn’t put it down!

But I knew there were a few things wrong.

Instinctively, I felt like the story moved too quickly. (But I wasn’t sure where. I just knew something wasn’t right) I also felt like I had missed an opportunity by not including more side characters. But the story, in itself. Seemed solid. REALLY solid.

Rather than wasting too much time “thinking” about what was wrong, I decided to throw it out to the “wolves” (As in my most trusted pool of beta readers) Imagine my excitement when seven of them waved their hands in welcome.

I jumped up and down with glee, seeing their reactions to the first 50 pages. Apparently I had something really special! But, they told me, I needed side characters, and the story moved too fast in the beginning. (And I’m sure they will tell me it is moving too fast later as well.)

The funny thing is, I KNEW this, but there is something about listening to beta comments that jack-hammers my brain into overdrive. Yes! Of course they are right. And now I know how to fix it!

I delved into the manuscript with reckless abandon, all the while smiling.

Because I had the time to do so. There was no deadline looming over my head. I didn’t need to worry about there being flaws, because I had the time to fix them. The flaws are exciting. They are an opportunity to make a good story great.

It is really hard to explain this, but I am actually ENJOYING this edit. It is fun! I sit down every day excited for this world I created. I add a scene, and I sit back with a smile, subliminally high-fiving myself.

Yup. I still enjoy writing. Creating a world is still the greatest thing EVER. I can’t imagine NOT doing this.

Alien invasion? Bring it.

It’s so great to be having fun again!

Find Fire in the Woods at your favorite Bookseller

Find Ashes in the Sky at your favorite Bookseller

Catch up with me on social media!

4 Comments

Posted in Author Advice

Tagged editing, fire in the woods, fun, jenifer m. eaton, jennifer eaton, joy, writing

Omigosh! This book stinks! [Gasp] But I’m the author who wrote it!

Posted on February 2, 2016 | 3 comments

The last two months have been eye opening. I remembered THIS POST and had to come to terms with what really made me write the words: For the first time in my life, typing “The End” felt like a huge relief rather than an epic accomplishment.

Now that I’ve worked with a professional developmental editor, and had a face-to-face chat with my publisher’s managing editor, I had to come to terms with how nicely they were telling me that my book wasn’t quite up to expectations.

And as I read over the editors comments, and read the manuscript again after a several month hiatus, I had to agree. What I thought I’d written, and what was actually on the pages, were two excruciatingly different things.

Luckily though, it was not the story that was a problem. It was the execution in some sections, and a missing link that made the crux of the story confusing. (Among other smaller mistakes)

Several times I’ve explained that my writing process is this:

Write/finish book.
Write/edit/finish something else to “cleanse my pallet” from book #1
Then go back and edit book number one.

The reason behind this is simple… I need time to get away from a story so I can look at it objectively. I did not have this precious time for this novel. I wrote it in two months, and then immediately edited it and submitted it in order to make the tight deadline.

Even at that time, I was a little unsure about the novel. Something seemed wrong, but I was unable to step away and give myself the needed time to think it over … and it was glaringly obvious.

Getting ready for the overhaul

Knowing I was walking into a TON of editing work, I immediately asked for a one month extension (two months of editing time rather than only one—the same amount of time it took me to write the first draft!) This gave me the breathing room to go over all the suggestions and make easy changes in the first read through; make wider, more sweeping changes and rewrites in the second read-through; and then take a third read through to tweak scenes to make them more engaging.

After that third read, I must admit, I was smiling.

Don’t ever discount the value of a good developmental editor who is not afraid to tell you that there are problems… also, don’t beat yourself up over those problems … just look at them as an opportunity.

Looking back, I still wish that I’d submitted a much better manuscript to begin with, but now I know that with enough time, I can make sure that the words on the page actually relay the story that I intended to tell, and not just the story that I thought I’d told.

Finishing this edit did not feel like a “huge relief” as it did when I first submitted the novel. I feel accomplished and extremely excited by the FIRE IN THE WOODS series again.

And guess what? There are a couple of teenagers hiding inside me waiting to save the world at least one more time. And now I can say with a smile that I can’t wait to see what kind of trouble they get into next time.

hello out there!

You can find Fire in the Woods at all these awesome bookish places!

Catch up with me on social media!

3 Comments

Posted in Author Advice

Tagged bad first draft, bad writing, copy edit, developmental edit, editing, fire in the woods, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, line edit, writing

How the heck do you write all this stuff?

Posted on January 18, 2016 | 7 comments

Last week I shared my writerly “To Do” list, which included:

1 novel about to release
One in developmental (publisher) edits
Two completed novels just sitting in my computer
Four first drafts
One 95% complete work in progress
Five 5000-10000 word outlines of soon to be written novels

I discussed a little about how I ended up having so many “almost complete” books, and I wanted to discuss the madness of my writing process a little.

My MO used to be:

Write a first draft
Leave #1 to simmer while I write a first draft of something else or edit something else
If I edited, send completed piece out to query. If I wrote, let that one simmer.
Go back to draft in #1 and start editing
Rinse, repeat.

Basically, I liked to distance myself from something before I started editing. It worked well for me for quite a few years, until I suddenly found myself with three contracted novels to write, edit, submit (on time) and publish/promote an all that good stuff.

While writing the series has been a blast, it’s given me WAAAAY to much “simmering” time on all the other projects that I have. And when I had some “down time” from FIRE IN THE WOODS, all I wanted to do was start something new in a completely different world. THAT’S why I am 95% through with a novel that I just love the stinking alien pants off of. (Does that even make sense? Aww, who cares?)

So, will I ever get back to all those first drafts?

I sure hope so, since each of them adds up to a significant hunk of writing time, and a story that meant a lot to me.

But another thing that I am very aware of, is that I learn something every time I write a book. Also, my style changes exponentially.

I am a hugely different author now than I was just a few years ago. Part of me is AFRAID to go back to those works, because I know I will not be as happy with them as I was when I wrote them.

So what is really on tap after I finish book three?

My #1 goal is to finish and submit the novel that is currently 95% done. I think the timing is perfect for that one, and I know Fire in the Woods fans will just love it.

I have one more publisher project that I will probably have to work on soon after that is done.

Then the next project after that will be the Adult Science Fiction Horror that is in first draft form.

Why that one?

Well, for one thing, it is one of the later things I’ve written, so I hope it is in the best shape. Also, I think it is wildly original. The idea still makes me want to read it.

After that is done, yes, I will probably start something new, because I don’t like to do that much editing back to back. I prefer to switch things off once in a while.

The best-plans are meant to be broken

I’m smiling as I write this. Plans are made to be broken. Especially in publishing. Because all that would have to happen to completely blow this plan out of the water would be for one more title to get published. (Which, of course, would be great.)

Come to think of it, I really HOPE that my plans get ruined again this year.

You can find Fire in the Woods at all these awesome bookish places!

Catch up with me on social media!

7 Comments

Posted in Author Advice

Tagged developmental edits, editing, fire in the woods, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, Publishing, time management, writing

Why aren’t you querying those finished novels?

Posted on January 11, 2016 | 7 comments

A few days ago I shared a list of all my upcoming projects on social media. It looked something like this:

Here’s what’s coming down the pike:

Ashes in the Sky {Fire in the Woods #2} (In production Release date March 1)
Fire in the Woods #3 (Contracted: In developmental edits. Release date TBD)
YA Science Fiction (95% complete Work in Progress)
Adult Contemporary Science Fiction (Aliens) Mystery/Horror (First draft complete)
Adult Paranormal (Shifters) novel written in serial (Uncontracted: Number one complete)
YA Dystopian Romance (Uncontracted, Complete)
YA Space Opera – 8 book series (First draft complete)
Middle Grade Contemporary Adventure (First draft complete)
Hard Sci Fi Space Opera three book series (First Draft of all three books complete)

Outlined concepts prepped, outlined, and ready to be written:

Adult/New Adult Fantasy-Medieval setting
YA Contemporary Science Fiction (Aliens)
Adult/YA Shifter (Dragons) First chapter written
YA Time Travel (Aliens) First chapter written
YA/New Adult Contemporary Science Fiction (Aliens)

A few people have asked why I have two complete novels, and four “First Draft complete” while it looks like I am currently working on something completely new.

Well, to be honest, I didn’t realize how many things I had partially finished until I created this list. For me, the fun of creating a story is the best part. I love starting a story, and torturing my heroes to the very end of the tale. So much fun!

Usually, by the time I finish a first draft, I’ve already outlined several new ideas that I came up with along the way. Some of these I take a few notes on, and then never go back to. But many, like the five above, get 7000-10000 word outlines, because I love the premise so much that I don’t want to lose even a single spec of the idea.

Unfortunately, I cannot type anywhere near as fast as my brain works, and that list of stories to write keeps getting longer.

Basically, when the time comes to write a new book, I just pick one from the list. Sounds easy. But sometimes there are several stories screaming at me, and even after I choose, a different story keeps me awake at night.

It all comes down to my writing process, which I love… but the business of publishing usually gets in the way of the fun part. That’s why I have so many first drafts right now.

When I finished this post, it was over 800 words long. I was going to talk about my writing process, but I’m going to leave that for my next post. I think this will explain some of the insanity of my current “too many almost-finished books” situation.

See you next time!

You can find Fire in the Woods at all these awesome bookish places!