ADORKABLE Release Day!

So, today's the big day.  I think...yes...I can finally take a breath :).  ADORKABLE is finally out there! *happy dance*  All week I've been swinging between nervous, happy, scared, anxious, and every other emotion you can think of.  Probably all writers do this, but it was a new experience for me.

And I'm glad I made it lol!

Here's a link in case you'd like to check out my debut novel ADORKABLE on Amazon and Goodreads.  Here's another link if you'd like to follow the Adorkable Blog Tour.  Some great bloggers have left some awesome reviews, and I am so so grateful.

I hope you are well and that you've been reading some amazing books!

Happy reading,

Ninja Girl

NEW YEAR, NEW WEBSITE, NEW DEBUT

Hi everyone!

So, it's a new year, and I have something exciting to share with you all.

I AM FINALLY GOING TO PUBLISH MY DEBUT NOVEL!!!

That was so, so fun to write.  If you've been following me since I started this blog in 2011 to now, you'll know the journey to publication for me has been a long one.  Over the years, I went from querying agents to signing with one to going it alone once again.

Last year was the toughest year of my life.  I lost my best friend in December.  She was my first reader, my shoulder to cry on, my favorite person of all time, and I miss her every day.  I deeply regret that she is not here to see me publish a book.  But I know that she would've wanted to see me do it.  So, this one is for her.

I know that I'll make some mistakes along the way.  Going "indie" is hard--as I'm sure a lot of you authors know--but I'm going to stick it out.  I'm not scared anymore.  Or at least I'm not scared of the same things.  I want my books to find readers.  I want to make my family proud.

So, I will be publishing my debut in 2016 :).

If you'd like to follow my journey on my new author website, you can find it here:

cookieogorman.com

I'll still be posting reviews here (I'm still Ninja Girl!), but I hope you'll come and visit The Cookie Jar.

Authorly peeps and blogger peeps: I'd love any advice you'd like to give me.  I write YA romance, and  it's my first time traveling this road.  Any help, wisdom, or encouragement you can spare would be greatly appreciated.  Hope you're all having a great new year and that 2016 is treating you well!

Happy reading,

Ninja Girl

Insecure Writer's Support Group: SURPRISE

Hi everyone.  Something unexpected happened a few days ago, and since it has to do with my writing, I figured I'd share in my IWSG post.  So, here's what went down: One of my ninja aunts went to a writer's conference, and…she pitched one of my books.  AND she got 2 requests.

This came as a complete shock to me.  Basically, she signed up to do one of those agent-dating services, read my query letter for one book and told them about my other manuscripts and yeah.  That's how it happened.  And it gets even more interesting.  One of the agents she pitched had already requested and rejected the same manuscript back in 2011 after I got my offer of rep.

Anyway, I figure if anything comes of this it would be a great story.  If not, my ninja aunt still has mad pitching skills.  It's been a tough time recently, so this was a nice surprise.

Hope you're having a great week,

Ninja Girl

Insecure Writer's Support Group: IDENTITY

This post is late, and I blame the insecurities that overwhelmed me this week.  They weren't necessarily writing related, were more about identity in general, but I guess IWSG is the right place to talk about it.

I think whenever you're involved in a creative profession it's difficult to own your identity.  I've read other posts along these lines, so I know that I'm not alone.  It's always--ALWAYS--been hard for me to say, "I'm a writer."

Aspiring writer?  Sure.

Wannabe-published author?  Absolutely.

But writer?  I don't know what it is, but saying it straight up like that makes me uncomfortable.  The same thing happens when I talk about dance.  I've been dancing for most of my life, but I've never been comfortable saying, "I'm a dancer."

Dance teacher? Yes.

Dance enthusiast?  Of course.

Again, the sentence, "yes, I'm a dancer," is so hard for me.  It's like, if you give it a definitive title, there's more pressure, more judgment…more expectations.  Sometimes I wish I could just believe in myself and the things I create.  Be normal.  I don't have anything published yet--except one poem--though I've completed a few manuscripts.  I've never performed on Broadway, though I hope one of my students will one day.

Anyway, it's just been one of those weeks :).  I hope everyone is doing well.  I hope you know who you are--and that you aren't afraid to say it.

Ninja Girl

Insecure Writer's Support Group: 900 WORDS

Hi everyone!  My IWSG post this month is actually less insecure than previous posts, and that's because...

I AM WRITING AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yayyyyyy, hip hip hooray, and thank the Good Lord for that :-).  I had a severe case of writer's block/doubt that I just couldn't get over--seriously, I could not shake it.  Still struggling to figure out the next step for my completed novels, and honestly, I wanted to be sure I had more stories, more characters I wanted to bring to life.  It was that whole "writers write" mentality, and I wanted to make sure I still had that drive.  Now, I've started a brand new work-in-progress, about 900 words in, and it just feels really great to be writing again.  I'm sure I'll hit a wall at some point, doubt myself every now and then, but right now?  It's a pretty good day to be a writer.

Hope you're having a great week so far!  If you're struggling, don't worry.  The words will come--and I hope when they do, they flow like a river :).

Ninja Girl

Insecure Writer's Support Group: GOALS

Hi there!  This first IWSG post of 2015 is about introductions and goals, so here we go.

Hmm...well, I love to read, write and dance--which is why I'm a dance instructor :).  Tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, hip hop, you name it, I teach it (except for ballet).  I've written four complete manuscripts so far, all YA.  I try to write books that I'd love to read.  At this point, I'm not sure which route I'll pursue as far as publishing goes--and that leads me to my writing goals of 2015!

My goals are to: Write a(nother) book!  Learn more about all of the publishing options available. There are so many avenues, just have to find the best one for my books.  And I love hearing what worked for other people/their stories which is one of the many reasons I'm so happy to be a part of IWSG!  Write (at least) 6 more book reviews for the blog, so I can reach my goal of 100 reviews.  Encourage other writers.  Tweet them, comment, rate their books, review etc.  Tell them when I enjoy their work, even if I feel like they might think I'm just trying to suck up.  Gah, I hope no one thinks that :/.

And also: Never, never, never give up!

Okay, so those are my goals; can't wait to check out all the other posts.  I hope everyone's 2015 is off to a great start!

Ninja Girl

Insecure Writer's Support Group: INSPIRATION

I can't believe it's already December! O__O That means it's almost 2015, and I can't even...wow this year's gone by fast.  Honestly, the flat out, plain truth is I'm still insecure about basically everything having to do with my writing.  Submission really did a number on me, so confused about what my next step should be yadda yadda...  So, this week I decided to make my IWSG post about a few of my favorite things (yes, that's a Sound of Music reference :)) that inspire me to write.  Here's a short list:

1. Songs and lyrics

2. Movies

3. Sherlock :)

4. Real life conversations/interactions (I love to people watch!)

5. Books, books, books

6. Dance choreography

7. Famous Quotes...like this one from Ernest Hemingway: "There is nothing to writing.  All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."

Yep, pretty much.  So what are your writerly inspirations?  What are are you working on?  I'd love to know!

Happy Holidays,

Ninja Girl

Insecure Writer's Support Group: WIPs

Hi again!  Since it's November--and also NaNoWriMo--I decided to make an IWSG post about my WIPs.  I'm a writer who can only work on one novel at a time.  If I try to do more, things get a little cuckoo, so I try my best to finish a book before starting another.

BUT before I got an agent, I'd started a novel, got 30,000 words in then got The Call and stopped to focus on revising before sub.  Once on sub, I started another novel (to stay sane), got almost 10,000 words in--then put that aside when agent and I decided I should work on a different project.  I ended up completing that project (a companion to my novel that was on sub...confused yet lol?!?), but never got back to the other two before my writerly mojo took a severe hit (see post below).

Now, I have another idea for a series in a genre I've never tried writing before: New Adult.

That's three projects I could tackle.  In case you're interested, the two I'd set aside are paranormal YAs and the novel I'd subbed plus companion are YA contemporaries.  And I really haven't bounced back yet after this awful year, sooo...

How do you decide which project to focus on next?  Is it based on which book you're most excited about?  Is it based on the market?  Do you go with what you think  you write best?  I'd love to get your input :).

Ninja Girl

P.S. Thank you to everyone who commented and for the support on my first IWSG post.  Much needed and very appreciated!

Insecure Writer's Support Group: FEARLESSNESS

Hi guys, this is my first IWSG post (jeez…and my first blog post since July!).  Sorry, it's a day late.  I've read a few of the articles on the IWSG site, have actually been silently following/rooting for several of the writers on here for a while, and it seems like a great community.

So, here's where I'm at in my writing journey:

My agent and I have recently gone our separate ways.  It was a very hard decision, especially after all the time we'd spent subbing my manuscript.  It was coming up on 2.5 years that we'd been on sub (3 years with my agent), got some great responses/comments but no definite bites.

*FYI if you haven't been on sub, just know that if you're not one of the lucky few who get an offer immediately, the silence is a terrible thing.  Awful, the worst, it sucks.*

Anyway, it took me three years and three manuscripts to find an agent--which was tough, I remember--but I don't think I ever felt as craptastic as I do now :(.

I remember when I was in the pits of querying hell with everyone else.  There was a sense of camaraderie.  We were all suffering the same form R woes and slogging it out day after day.  Everyone celebrated together when someone got a partial or full request or--hit the jackpot--got The Call.

I used to bounce back after a day.  Get a rejection?  (and man, I got a TON of those)  Just get back on that horse.  Send out 2 more queries so you know the story's at least out there.

But rebounding this time has been a lot tougher for some reason.

I think it may be because when I signed with my agent I thought I was signing for the long haul.  And also I thought, "Here's someone who believes in your work.  It's only a matter of time before we find the right editor..."

I've still got so many book ideas floating around in my head.  And really I would love to see the 4 manuscripts I've written published.  I just need to find that fearlessness again.  That courage all writers whether they are looking for representation, indie or self-publishing seem to have.  I want that back.  Badly.

Got any ideas on how to get that writer-ly mojo back?  What would you do?

Have a great one,

Ninja Girl

WRITER'S DIGEST BOOT CAMP!

 

Hi everyone!!  So, Agent T just told me about this great opportunity for writers :-).  The Full Circle Literary Team is holding a writer's boot camp called:

HOW TO WRITE AND SELL GREAT CHILDREN'S BOOKS: FROM TODDLER TO TEEN

Just click the link for more details.  It sounds really awesome, you guys.  In addition to learning how to make your writing stand out, you also get to submit your query letter and pages for review.  AND the agents may ask for more pages if they like what they see!!  I can tell you from experience: Agent T gives really fantastic, thoughtful feedback.  If you're a writer, I'd definitely recommend checking it out :-).

Hope you have a great weekend,

Ninja Girl

NEWBIE WRITER CHEATSHEET

Hi all!  I don't do writing posts that often--mainly b/c this is a book review blog J.  Plus, there are more comprehensive posts by publishing industry experts, literary agents, editors and writers, who've covered everything there is to know about writing.  But I'm a big fan of lists, and I've learned a few things about the publishing process, so...

Here are a few quick definitions for any new authors (or any bloggers who're curious :-D).

THE NEWBIE WRITER CHEATSHEET

MS = manuscript (i.e. the story you've written)

WIP = work-in-progress (i.e. the story you are still in the process of writing)

MC = main character

Word count = the number of words that are in your novel

Genre = the type of book you've written (i.e. fantasy, contemporary, mystery, horror etc.)

Audience = the target market for your book (i.e. middle grade (MG), young adult (YA), new adult (NA), adult etc.) 

Hook = concise, compelling description of your book, usually about 1-2 sentences (also may be called the "elevator pitch")

Query = letter containing all the particulars about your book, usually includes the hook, a short summary, word count, genre, target audience, and a couple sentences about the author

Synopsis = short summary of your book that tells all of the main plot points from beginning to end (longer than a query, usually only a few pages (unless it's a 1-page synopsis which another beast altogether J))

 

Form R = form rejection of your MS

 

Personalized R = rejection where the agent (or editor) says "why" your book wasn't right for them
 

Partial = request for a small portion of your book (i.e. first 3 chapters, 50 pages, 100 pages etc.)

Full = request for your complete MS

R & R = Revise & Resubmit; when an agent leaves the door opent to resubmit an MS after significant revision

Literary Agent = the person who represents you and your book and tries to sell it to an editor

Editor = the person who edits your book and works for a publisher

Publisher = the company that publishes, produces, and markets your book

Submission = the process of submitting to editors/publishers (aka "on sub")

Traditionally published = being published through traditional means (i.e. selling your MS to a publisher who then turns your story into an actual book and markets it to readers)

Self-published = publishing a book yourself (where the author assumes the role as their own publisher)
 

Absolutewrite.com and Querytracker.net = the two sites any newbie writer should join.  Immediately!!

Obviously, this is not a comprehensive list.  There's a ton I still need to learn about publishing--and I can't wait!  I knew absolutely nothing when I started out, so I hope this helps someone :-).

Have a great week!

Ninja Girl

FOR MY WRITERLY FRIENDS

I don't usually do posts like this.  But I found this really awesome post by Kristin Nelson and wanted to share :-).

The article talks about the dedication and effort it takes to get past that 20,001 word.  Sometimes it's great to hear about another person (in this case Andrea Cremer, a published and successful YA author) who hits that wall like everyone else--and crashes through it.

I think the most important thing to take from this is: Keep writing!  It's worth it.  Just buck up, and write the crap out of that mid-section!  Because you love your characters.  Because you love your story.  And because the world deserves the chance to get to love them, too :D.

Happy writing,

Ninja Girl

SUBMISSION DAY!!!

So it's a big day for me :D  Huge.  Today's the day that Awesome Agent T and I go on submission with my manuscript!!!  Wish me luck you guys.  I didn't think anything could be scarier than querying, but I've been proven wrong again.  But even with all the scary, I am over the moon excited!!

(Not sure which one's me and which is Taylor LOL)  Hope everyone has a great week!  And if you're feeling extra nice, could you keep your fingers crossed for me? :)  Thanks!

Ninja Girl

TUNE IN TUESDAY: My Book Soundtrack

Hi everyone!  For today's Tune in Tuesday I decided to post a few songs from Novel 3's book soundtrack.  (Yes, I'm one of those writers J) Novel 3--which actually does have a title lol--is the novel that got me an agent, and it's also the one Awesome Agent T and I are currently working on/getting ready for submission.  In the spirit of these final revisions, I thought I'd post three songs that (I feel) really represent my book.

Hope you enjoy!

Ninja Girl

1)  Powerful Stuff by Sean Hayes--which is the song I pictured playing in my favorite kissing scene!

2)  Call It Off  by Tegan and Sara--awesome song; totally reps the break-up

3)  Hysteric by Yeah Yeah Yeahs--annnnnnd the Happily Ever After *sigh* J

Let me know what you think!