Amanda Hocking.... Amber Hiles... AH

I have been doing some research. I don't mind doing it. It only bothers me that it keeps me from writing, editing, or designing. Anyway, I was reading about self-publishing vs. traditional publishing. I read so many articles that I can't remember who wrote what or where I read it.

The one thing I took away from tonight's research is that this is going to be a lot of work. I am excited for the challenge. I will do what it takes to honor my work, but one thing I won't do is change what I write to fit a market...

I'm not saying that the other AH did that... it just seemed like prudent planning. Obviously she enjoys writing YA or else she wouldn't do it, right?

So, I told myself, "Amber, why don't you see what is selling hot and fast and wiggle into the market?" I almost typed something into Google to get that search going...

But, I'm not going to. I write what I write because I have a passion for the story. The characters drive me to write their stories, and I can't change that. I can't make them fit into a niche. I can't make them do things that people want to see.

So, will I have readers? God, I hope so!

One thing I know is that I am not a YA writer. I could be one, sure. I could probably be successful. At the rate that I write when a good session is going, I could pop one of those suckers out once a month. Sounds good... lucrative even. But, it's not me.

Where do I fit?

Adult... Horror. Thriller. Suspense.

I want to be the chill on your neck. I want to give you something new to think about... a new way to see yourself and the world around you. I want you to know that there are other worlds than these. Billions, in fact.

Women's Horror....  There might be something to that. Maybe not.

Amanda Hocking- Small town, mid-west, mid-twenties.
Amber Hiles- Small town, mid-west, late twenties.

Using InDesign for Self-Publishing

Another good one to log away:

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/layout-book-indesign-27014.html

Self-Publishing

I don't want to lose this:

http://www.cnet.com/news/self-publishing-a-book-25-things-you-need-to-know/

Auction Client Logos

Here are some of the options I will be providing to a client today! Let me know what you think. If you share, please cite me. 

Tangled Hope- Finding Rachel Cyriacks

Do what you can to help! Check out the flyer I made for information. Comment if you have any questions or comments. Thank you!!

http://www.gofundme.com/rachelcyriackstangledhope

Newbie Designer

I've got a treat for you guys... some visuals! Who doesn't love getting lost in images online? Everyone is doing it... hell, memes have blown up on FB. People who know how to manipulate photos and graphics can change the way people think about things just by slapping' some words on an image. They don't even have to be related...

I'm getting away from myself.

Check out some of my new designs!

My new resume'

English department brochure: I really wanted to portray my brain on English. It encompasses the way I have learned and grew through my learning journey.

My logo. See the pen? AH :)

Virtual quilt. Ahh feel it's warmth. I created these patterns. They represent my family and myself.

Flyer for a snack pack program new my hometown.

Ahhh yes, the "Snow Maiden." Created from about a thousand little snowflakes.

:) Let me know what you think, and if you share, please cite me. :) Sweet, thanks!

Working on my logline/query

 

I have been thinking a lot about my first novel, Water and Stone. I set it aside in April, as I was instructed to do via Stephen King's advice in On Writing, and I prepared for the day that I would "kill my darlings." I dreaded it. But, my mentor advised me it was good to let it sit for a while... until it became something strange... then and only then would it be okay to read the entire piece through and make the necessary edits. 

 

In December sometime, I was finally ready to read it again. It happened sometime around when my mom took my printed copy of the manuscript to read. Anyway, it just so happened that my second novel was ready to be written at the same time. So, I started Tickets to See the Sun, and I have recently been readying my query and resume.

 

I have.... been...... through... SOOO... many drafts of my query... trying so hard to get it right... to get to the very bottom of what it was all about, what I wanted people to feel, what I saw was important, what was really at stake for my characters... It was, and still is laborious.

 

Here is something I worked on tonight to query my first novel:

 

 

 

Some things in life are fluid, and some of them are fixed. Varick’s past and his dreams, like Mia’s new understanding of emptiness, are immovable moments in time. However, the present is a fluid, alive thing, pulsing with opportunity. Each choice Varick and Mia make are influenced by two groups; one wants to use them to achieve access to the earth realm, and the other is conflicted, they just don’t know it yet. After Varick and Mia are paired on a quiet highway in South Dakot...a, each fluid moment is a chance… a chance to become something new, a spiritual quest of understanding. Love is always responsible for why people are willing to do anything in the name of protecting another, and it’s also something both of them have sworn to avoid. Varick and Mia… the perfect, broken vessels for manipulation. This… is Water and Stone.

 If, in any way, I have snagged your interest with my extended logline for my book, please comment.