That’s right, you can now order the paperback version of Twenty-Five straight from CreateSpace by going here.
It is $10.99, plus shipping and handling. In 5-7 business days it will be available on Amazon, and I’ll post again when it is!
Whew! The past two weeks have been such a whirlwind watching the e-book gain sales and free downloads, starting the Twitter account, running the Goodreads Giveaway, and finally getting the paperback ready. I feel like the best is yet to come, though.
A couple of updates:
I’m now on Twitter and Facebook; Follow and Like me for current information on the progress of Twenty-Five and my works-in-progress:
facebook.com/RachelLHammAuthor
I received the proof copy of Twenty-Five two days ago and it looks great!
I’ve finished looking it over and have uploaded all of the changes to CreateSpace, I’m just waiting for them to approve to I can finalize sales of the Paperback. I’ll post again when it is available for sale.
But the BIG news for today is that I’ve posted a Giveaway on Goodreads! I’m giving away 5 copies of the paperback. The promotion is running until August 8th, so if you are in the United States or Canada, head over to Goodreads and enter your name to win:
http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/58312-twenty-five
A Giveaway for the United Kingdom is starting next Monday, July 15th and will run until August 15th. One copy will be available.
Lastly, I have been receiving a lot of positive reviews on both Amazon and Goodreads. I can’t thank everyone enough for their support. I hope that new readers are attracted to the book due to your reviews!
Get your copy of Twenty-Five, my novel, FOR FREE today on Amazon’s Kindle Store. That’s right, it’s free again. Download your copy before this incredibly amazing deal is gone. Which it will be, tomorrow. So gt your copy today!
The past couple of days have been amazing. When I started this blog four years ago, I said I wanted to chronicle my life as I tried to become a real writer. I thought at that time that to be a “real writer” I would have to be published by a big, traditional publishing house. I’d have to have my book in bookstores and do book signings and interviews on late night tv.
I could not have been more wrong.
When my book went live on the Kindle Store, I felt like a REAL Writer. A REAL Author. Because I am. Yes, I published myself. But that doesn’t change all of the hard work that went into writing and editing Twenty-Five. People have actually bought my book! Okay, so one was my mom and one was my best friend, but 8 other people who may or may not know me actually paid the $2.99 to purchase it! And over 100 people in the Unites States and over 100 people in the United Kingdom downloaded it for free on July 3rd. Hey, even a couple people in Germany and France downloaded it for free.
That means over 200 people have my book available to them at this exact moment in time. Some of those people will actually read it. And isn’t that what really matters to all writers? That someone out there is reading what they wrote?
Here’s a review I got on Amazon last night:
5.0 out of 5 stars Really liked this book! July 4, 2013Format:Kindle Edition
I read a lot – I average a book a day, but sometimes there are books that I immediately want to read again. This was one of them!
The characters seemed real, their actions made sense, and it was well written. Plus, the story was not one I had read many times before – great points of view and very believable from both characters. The biggest point I can make is that I cried. That’s how I know I really like the story. And I highly recommend this book!
The e-book is ready and on sale in the Kindle Store!
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DQEYUIU
The e-book is listed FOR FREE today Wednesday July 3rd and Saturday, July 6th, so snatch it up! If you like it, leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18114823-twenty-five
It will be another couple of weeks before the paperback is ready, but I’ll let you know when it is.
The cover for Twenty-Five is ready! It’s so beautiful, I want to cry! But instead, I’ll just share it with you:
What do you think?
Wow. So I haven’t written here since before my job interview. Crazy. So much has happened. Let me catch you up.
I got the job!
And it has been great. It really has relieved so much of the stress I was feeling on a daily basis. I love the people I work with and my boss is just great. All the signs were pointing to “I need a new job,” and not only did this job deliver, it’s been better than expected. It was exactly what I needed at the time I needed it.
I was MIA on this blog for a couple of months because I was putting a lot of energy into the other blog I started, but after a while, that one sort of fizzled out as well. I stayed away from here because I didn’t really have anything fresh to say about writing and I didn’t want to post random facts about my boring everyday life. I know that’s not the best thought process, but what can I say? It’s how I was thinking.
It’s especially silly, because my life has not been all that boring. But you know, hindsight is 20-20 and all. I’ve been trying to keep focused on “Saying Yes” and my Happiness Project by seeking out new things. One of those new things was running a 5k, which I did in December and again this past weekend! I am still way out of shape (and I didn’t technically run the entire thing) but old Rachel would NEVER have even ATTEMPTED such an athletic feat. I’m planning on another one in October with my sister and I’d really like to work up to running a 10k before my 30th birthday (358 days to go).
Another new thing, something I’ve been attempting for a long time, I wrote a second book!!!!! I have been meeting at least once a month with a friend of mine to work on writing, but even that wasn’t giving me the motivation I needed, so I decided to go for NANOWRIMO. It worked! I finished the first draft of my second complete novel on November 30th, 2012! I joined a critique group and have slowly been editing it and have just started the plans for books 2 and 3 in a trilogy. I’ll post more about that book and plans for the sequels later, I promise.
The big BIG news, though, isn’t that I wrote a second book, it’s that I’m in the process of publishing my first! I’ve always been supremely proud of Twenty-Five and it’s always been my goal to have it in actual book form at some point, and now’s the time. I’ve got the momentum going and the support of my friends and family, so I’m going for it. I read a lot of articles on the benefits of self-publishing and it feels right for me. I did speak with a publisher, but they were new to publishing fiction and I just didn’t get a good feeling from them. It felt like the only real benefit I’d get by going through them was a less-hands on marketing approach (I don’t like marketing) and that just doesn’t seem like enough for me to give up my control. I’m still waiting to receive a Deal Memo from the man I spoke with, but unless that has some hidden perks we didn’t originally discuss, I think I’m going to opt out and publish on my own. I’ve already done all the formatting and purchased the ISBN and my writing partner (who also happens to be a graphic designer) has already designed a beautiful cover. I’m just waiting on the final touches to the cover and the chance to peruse the Deal Memo before I submit everything to CreateSpace and Kindle. Hopefully, Twenty-Five will be available for purchase by mid-July.
All that being said, I will be taking the chapters down from this blog. Thank you to all who read here and gave me feedback and encouragement. It meant the world to me. I plan on keeping the blog up-to-date as I go through the world of self-publishing and as I work to get my next book in a readable condition. If I ever slack off, you have permission to yell at me!
A writer I really admire said the greatest piece of advice she can give to aspiring writers is to read good literature. And she isn’t the only person I’ve heard/read this piece of advice from. It makes sense: read good literature, learn what works. Read enough good literature and you’ll see patterns, rules, and formulas emerge. When you are first getting started, this is incredibly helpful.
I’ve been a lover of classic literature since my youth. I read Little Women at age 10. Next came Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol. High school introduced me to Pride and Prejudice and my instantaneous love of all things Austen. During college and for several years after, I rarely bought a book unless it was considered a “classic.” (Harry Potter being the obvious exception!) All that changed with those damn Twilight books.
For the record, I read all four books in about a week. Also for the record, I saw immediately the lack of quality in the writing of Twilight, which enhanced my perception of the brilliance of the writing in my beloved classics. To this day, I will tell anyone who asks that, yes, I’ve read Twilight. I will also tell them that I’m not a “fan” of Twilight, but I have to admire Stephanie Myers a little anyways.
The quality of the writing in Twilight is very poor, in my opinion. It’s all adjectives and repetition and teenage angst. However, the plotting- the actual story and the world created- is pretty damn good. I read all four books because even though I was annoyed by the poor writing quality, I was caught up in the story. I wanted to know what happened. It also made me want to write.
Before I read the Twilight books, the only thing I could have compared my own writing to was Austen, Dickens, Eliott, Hardy, etc. How could I compete with such masters of storytelling? I would always find myself lacking. I never even gave writing a thought, and I think that’s why.
But after reading Twilight, I felt confident that I could write something, if not better, than at least AS good. And if Stephanie Myers could write a 4 book series, the least I could do would be to write one book. So I did.
I’m so glad I read the series. It gave me a week’s work of guilty pleasure and a lifetime of satisfaction in knowing that I managed to write a book. My book probably isn’t ever going to be published and while I like it, I can’t testify with any certainty to it’s quality. But that’s not even the point, is it? Knowing that I accomplished something so huge as simply putting the words down on paper and making sense out of them is enough.
I recently started reading another book, which I also find to be lacking in the quality-writing department. Friends kept mentioning the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy to me (and later the Fifty Shades of Grey movie), insisting that I read it. Like Twilight, I resisted for as long as I could, but eventually my curiosity got the better of me. Unlike Twilight, I was prepared for less-than-stellar writing. I’d read a few reviews and looked up the backstory behind the book (it started out as Twilight Fan Fiction then was self-published. There’s that damn Twilight again). I knew what to expect.
My expectations were met- which isn’t often said for books. The book isn’t bad (so maybe the title of this post should be “Reading Just Okay Books Isn’t a Waste of Time”), it’s just not good. The writing quality is okay, there aren’t any major grammatical errors and it’s easy to read, but it feels forced a lot of the time. The author likes adjectives and repetition, just like Mrs. Myers, and, in my opinion, she likes to sound smart (some of you may question my use of the word “sound” here, maybe you’d like “appear” better?). But in attempting to sound smart, she comes off as the opposite, and frankly it makes me think that she’s trying too hard. Writing should flow, it should feel natural and easy, but as I’m reading it, I can’t help but wonder if she had a dictionary, thesaurus, and medical journal open in front of her at all times so she could find the perfect, intelligent-sounding words for every occasion. I’m only half-way through the book and she’s already used the term “medulla oblongata” TWICE. Really? Is that necessary? I don’t think so (unless you are the Waterboy). Also, her characters “giggle” way too much for 20-somethings.
I worry now that I may be coming off as trying to sound smart, too, so I’ll get to my point. I’m appreciating this book because of it’s writing. I know, that’s confusing, isn’t it? What I mean is, I appreciate seeing all of the things I don’t like because it makes me realize changes I need to make to my own book. I know I still have a long way to go before Twenty-Five is publishable (even self-publishable). I find myself noting similarities between Fifty Shades and Twenty-Five and realizing that I have a lot of editing to do to produce the quality of writing I want representing me.
So I will persevere. I will finish the book. I may even read the whole series. I probably won’t call myself a fan, but I’ll probably like it in the end. Not in the same way I like P&P or Bleak House, but in the same way I like Twilight: as a satisfying-in-the-moment guilty pleasure whose movie(s) will probably be much, much better than the actual book(s). And I’ll continue to allow myself to get talked into reading these trendy books, because just like great literature teaches me how to be great, terrible books teach me how not to be.
when I was ten years old. I was in the fifth grade and my AG teacher, Ms. Pyles, encouraged me to enter. (AG stands for Academically Gifted. Shortly after I left elementary school, they changed it to AIG, Academically and Intellectually Gifted. I cannot attest to the truth or suitability of myself being labeled as AG, but I was tested in the third grade, and there you are.) My best friend, Ashley, also entered and won.
I don’t have a lot of memories about the actual contest, I don’t know if other members of our AG class entered or if it was just Ashley and I and so we won by default, but I do remember Ms. Pyles inviting me to her house for tea so we could “edit” the story before it was bound into a little book. My sister Theresa, such a great big sister, drew illustrations to go along with the story.
I’m very surprised I’ve never posted the story on this blog, because it really cracks me up, so I’m going to post it now! I posted it on The Next Big Writer a long time ago and here are some of the remarks I got:
Well, Rachel, LOL! What a cute story for a ten year old to write. I can see how you won the contest, and I know you’re proud to look back at the little book and reminisce. While I was reading it I couldn’t help but think about that old song “Purple People Eater.”
Anyways, thanks for sharing this with us. It made me laugh!
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Ooohhh, I have three brothers, does this martian have any friends? Especially for my older brother, I would love to control him for just about ten minutes MWaaaaaahhhaaaaaaahaaaaaa. Very cool story. I wrote a novel when I was 9 called the mystery of the doorknob. My older brother found it a little bit ago and had to point out all my faults. 😦 . Very well done, a neat little story.
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LOL Rachel! THere’s still not a frickin nit in this blasted thing! And you were TEN! Oh man, you read my stuff when i was ten and you’d realize how incredibly talented you really were and still are! You’re right, your voice hasnt changed all that much, just you’ve gotten even better at storytelling.
I’d hate to be your little brother! LOL! 🙂
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Rach, when you said ten, I couldn’t resist. That’s the age my students are! I love your story! It has a clear beginning, middle, and end, which is the hardest thing to get them to do. Most of the stories end with one sentence, like: And then they went home and everything was okay. 😦
I see some typical ten year old stuff, like what is it with ‘whispering excitedly’?? lol Everyone in a story by a ten year old girl whispers excitedly.
Darn good story, dear!
Does that make you want to read it??? Okay, here you go, my contest-winning short story: “The Summer Aliens Ate My Brother’s Brain”
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Dedication: This book is dedicated to Theresa Hamm for illustrating my book and being a great big sister.
Hey! My name is Rachel. I have a brother named Danny and a sister named Amanda. We live with Mom and Dad in Burlington, North Carolina. My story begins on a windy July afternoon…
“Hey Danny! Wanna play some football? You can be the Buffalo Bills. Please!!” I shouted to Danny, who was in Amanda’s and my bedroom looking for something.
He came down slowly, looking smug. “I’ll play if you let me read your journal.”
“No way! I’ll get Manda to play with me.” I went outside where the wind blew my hair back.
“Amanda! Where are you?” I shouted in the wind.
“I’m right here!” she yelled, jumping out of our treehouse.
“Wanna play some foo…”
“Dinnertime!” interrupted my mother. We ran inside and ate dinner. Then we went to bed.
* * * *
In the morning, I slipped quietly out of bed and tiptoed downstairs to Danny’s room. The door creaked when I opened it, and I crept softly to his bed. I slid my hand under the covers and tickled his feet. He opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling. He didn’t laugh or say anything. I figured he was putting on an act. Then I saw it! A small green and purple polka-dotted, well, thing, climbing out of Danny’s ear.
He was shaped like a human. He had arms and legs and hands and feet. He was just as tall as my pinkie finger. His ears were huge, as big as his face. He looked a lot like Ross Perot. He stared at me blankly.
“What are you?!” I asked.
“Huh-oh, Me?! I’m a Martian! I now own your brother’s brain,” he said gleefully.
“You mean you invaded his brain?! I can’t believe this. Are you sure?” I asked in one breath.
“Yes, quite sure.”
I was speechless. I didn’t know what to do. Suddenly I grabbed the creature. “Fix my brother now or I’ll fix you!” I was angry. With Danny’s brain being invaded, I couldn’t tease him any more.
“Rachel, are you in there?” Amanda asked slipping into the room.
I turned around. “Look at this!” I cried thrusting the Martian in front of her.
“Cool! What is it?” Amanda exlaimed.
“A Martian! He invaded Danny’s brain!”
“Wow! Let’s keep him. It’s so cool that he actually invaded Danny’s brain,” Amanda whispered excitedly.
“You know, now that I think about it, it is cool. Let’s keep him a secret,” I said, suddenly realizing this could be exciting.
“Hey! What’s going on here?” asked the Martian. I’m not a toy, you know. I don’t like this!”
“Don’t worry. Everything will be fine, just fine. You keep controlling his brain, and we’ll keep you safe!”
“OK,” the Martian answered warily.
We all went upstairs and got dressed. I put the Martian in my jumper pocket. Then we went downstairs to eat breakfast.
“Mornin’ girls! Go wake up Danny for me, will ya?” sang my mother.
“Sure thing, Mom,” I replied. Amanda and I dashed to Danny’s room. We went in and I got the Martian out of my pocket.
“Tell Danny to get out of bed, get dressed, and eat breakfast!” I told the Martian. He climbed in Danny’s ear and went to work. Danny got out of bed, dressed, and went to the table.
“All right!” Amanda shrieked. We ran out and had breakfast.
After breakfast, I had to do the dishes. I didn’t feel like it, so I told the Martian to tell Danny, “Clear the dishes off the table, rinse them in the sink, and put them in the washer.”
“Right.” said the Martian. He climbed in Danny’s ear and told him, “Clear the dishes off the table, rinse them in the sink, and put them in the washer.”
Danny went in to the kitchen and got to work. I went upstairs where Amanda was waiting. She had set up Monopoly, and we started playing. Then, all of a sudden, I heard the washing machine running. I flew down the stairs and raced to the kitchen. Danny had put the dishes in the washing machine.
“Oh, no! What did you do?! Oh no! This is my fault! I gave the wrong directions!” I exclaimed. I turned off the washer and looked in.
“Even worse! The dishes are broken. What now?!” I asked myself. I took out the pieces, and tried to put them together.
“Oh, what’s the use?” I threw down my hands and put the pieces in the garbage. I was just about to slip out the back door so I could go and buy new dishes, when my mom came in.
“Where are you goin’?” she asked suspiciously.
“Just out for fresh air,” I replied. I went out and ran across the lawn. I walked timidly to the store to buy some new dishes. I got them, and I was out of the store. I ran as fast as I could home. I ran inside and put the dishes away.
I decided that this Martian thing wasn’t going to work. Sure, it was fun for a little while, but not any more. I talked to Amanda about this, and she agreed. So I got the
Martian out of my pocket and said, “You need to stop controlling Danny, please. This isn’t going to work. Will you please go back to Mars, so that we won’t get in any trouble any more?”
“Yes, I’ll go home. Besides, I was planning on it anyway,” he replied.
“Oh, good! Thanks so much!” Amanda shrieked. We said goodbye to him as we watched his spaceship float in the sky.
Everything at our house turned back to normal, and no one ever heard from the Martian again.
I Picked Up a Pen One Day... 