EBay Goodness and Where to Start

This morning I officially became a REAL author!!!

How, you may ask. Did my book come out? Nope--still waiting for Cinco de Mayo. Did I get my first review? Nope--look for those in late March or April. Did I get my first publishing contract? Don't be silly. That happened AGES ago.;)

So, what's the big deal?

I'M ON EBAY!!!!!

Yes, yes. My ARC is now on sale on EBay. Whoo-hoo! This is totally a rite of passage I have been waiting for since my ARCs first came out. Please don't be enraged on my behalf, as some authors are. I think it's awesome!

A bit pricey though. What happened to five buck ARCs???

Also, we are down to double digits till release day! 98 days!!! I am considering making a paper chain . . . but we'll see. You want to hear about my February? It's CRAZY!!

I am touring for the next two weeks, sometime this week I will be getting 1000 title pages to sign (special promotion) that are due in three weeks, I will be recording a 25 minute podcast *nervous*, and I should be getting an ed letter for the sequel to Wings soon. Good thing my hubby has a light class load. I sense much child-watching in his future.:)

Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I am *so* excited that promotion is really starting to roll! I've been looking forward to the next three months for a year and a half!! Bring it on!!!

Okay, in some semblance of seriousness, two posts ago, Miranda made a comment and asked, "If I want to write a book, where do I start?"

It's a great question.

The answer is!!!!

I don't know.

No seriously. I have written five books (well, six, technically, but after I finished two of them, I put them together and cut about a third of the words and made them one book instead.) and I have started all of them in different ways.

Book 1 (which is the 2 book hybrid)= I woke up with a magic system and the vague wisp of a plot. I started writing immediately.

Book 2= I decided I wanted to write a romance and I sat down and thought up a plot. It simmered for weeks before I started writing.

Book 3= Wings, I came up with a mythos and a hint of a MC. I also started writing this one immediately.

Book 4= I woke up with a very clear first chapter and the MC's voice. Not his face, not his hobbies, not his character. Just his voice. I wrote that first chapter within hours and then sat on it for a long time until I slowly developed a plot.

Book 5= A sequel. It was a plot that has been in my head for a long time, but it did a lot of changing as book one changed in edits. It was in my head for over six months before I wrote the first word of it.

As you can see, I don't have a hard and fast answer. The simple, and perhaps too obvious answer, is that you just start. I don't even know exactly what that means. Start thinking? Start outlining? Start writing?

Yes.

Whatever works for you, for this story.

I have a degree in Creative Writing; do I think you need one? No. Do I recommend that you take a creative writing course or two? Sure, if you want to. But every author and every story is different. All I know, is that at some point, you DO have to start. I know so many people who say, "Yeah, I want to write a book someday."

Do it! Just start! Sometimes I think starting is the hardest part.

Then I remember edits and realize that starting is only the second hardest part.;)

But the point is that writing is a personal thing and you have to figure out for yourself what works.

Some advice that I think applies to everyone: read. You can't write a good story if you don't read a good story. And in addition, I think everyone should read some bad books too. Force your way through a really terrible book once in a while to remind yourself what NOT to do. But no matter what else you do, read. You have to read to be able to write. Absolutely.

In accordance with Steph (Reviewer X)'s request (LOL!) there will be plenty of updating this week as I share a bit of my travels. So stay tuned!

Ciao!