These Vines Have Sour Grapes

I have been hanging out a little bit at the writer's forums at the Amazon
Breakthrough Novel Award Contest (which I said I wouldn't do) and let me tell you, just like every year, things have turned ugly since the quarter final cuts.

People aren't happy. They are complaining about their reviews about Amazon's Vine reviewers not being professionals so they have no business judging the competition etc.

Like I said, it happens every year. I believe this is the 7th year of the contest and I've entered 6. Of those 6 times, I have made it to the quarter finals twice, the first year and this year. Did I have sour grapes? Honestly, I don't remember. It's possible, but as a veteran and seeing it happen, I would say probably not. I would say I probably got my reviews, maybe bitched a little and went back to improving my manuscript.

Except the 4th year, but I've already talked about that. And speaking of that, yes, sometimes you will get a person who is not a good reviewer and if you do that sucks. That's what happened to me that 4th year. And when I am talking about a someone who is not a good reviewer, I'm not talking about someone who didn't like my book. Shit happens move on. I'm talking about a person who:

1. Says nothing at all about your writing in their review.
2. Adds their biased opinions about ____________(fill in the blank, it could be homosexuals, the death penalty, drugs, whatever) and decides your book is no good because it includes it.
3. Is obvious they didn't read your entry or openly say they didn't read it yet gave it low marks.
4. Gives no constructive criticism whatsoever.
5. Gives criticism in the form of insults, snark and sarcasm.
6. Instead of encouraging you to work on your craft tells you to quit altogether or worse, kill yourself (yes, the latter has been done).

So, if you get a reviewer like this in the contest the only thing you can really do is

report them to Amazon and hope they never choose them for the contest again. Other than that, it's a done deal.

There are people on the forum bashing the contest, saying it's stupid and Viners shouldn't judge and they will never enter again. Okay. Those people have that right. I just had to point out a few things though:

• ABNA is a free contest.
• Amazon gives away 6 publishing contracts and advances in the amount of $125,000
• It's Amazon's contest, who else are they going to get to judge the 500 excerpts but their own reviewers.
• You can't judge the entirety of the contest on a couple bad reviewers.
• Amazon states in the rules who is judging the contest and who they are.
• It actually prepares you for the real publishing world as it is subjective and some people will hate your work and some people will like it and you will have to learn to deal with that.

I have gone far, I have been cut. I've received good reviews and I have probably
seen the worse review the contest has ever seen, but I will continued to enter because 1) It's free. 2) I'm still a Mid Lister 3) It's a good opportunity to meet other writers 4)I like getting the feedback on my work, which always helps me learn and grow as a writer.

Contests, Vlogs and Karma

Amazon is once again holding their Breakthrough Novel Award Contest (ABNA) and Girl in Motion (once An Unbalanced Line, once Cheesy) made it through the first round. I've not paid much attention on purpose. The first two years I did and it drove me nuts. I'll be getting a couple reviews from Amazon Vine reviewers, I think that determines the next round, and we'll go from there. I've not made it past this round since the first year I entered when my superhero novel made it to the top 100 (I believe that was the quarterfinal round).
apparently my novel,

I've decided to start another Vlog series. I know, I'm crazy, but it's time. I always enjoyed doing it and I had people that liked it, you know...fans. I hope to have my first video up later today, so stay tuned to my Youtube chanel. I'll update that link once I get it up.

And I wanted to mention my friend Gae Polisner. Her novel, The Summer of Letting Go is hitting stores all over the country this week (of course Amazon can't seem to get mine here until after the 21st >:( ) But she's been posting guest blogs about karma and coincidence on her website all month. I didn't have time to get one to her, and mine would have been boring in comparison to others. You should read them. Pretty interesting stuff. Here's today post.

I was going to tell Gae how both times I was pregnant, each of my paternal grandparents died. I often wondered if one soul had to depart to make way for  another soul to be born. Maybe my grandparents volunteered out of love for their great grandchildren.

Did you enter the ABNA contest?

Do you have any Karma or coincidence stories you'd like to share?

F³A: ABNA

You've probably heard me talk about this before, but it's that time of year, the ABNA contest is coming up. I didn't enter last year, but am going to this year.

To enter I have to come up with an awesome pitch. I've not written one for Dissection yet, not really. I mean, I've written a query letter, but being that I could get ousted from the contest if my pitch isn't good enough, well, that really sucks.

It's a crap shoot really. My book is dark, Syd's voice is brash, and there's an 'F' bomb in the first paragraph. If I get the wrong judges, I'm, for lack of a better word, fucked.

The last time I entered, I got thrashed by one of the judges. He didn't understand the voice at all, and he thought I was a teen, which I took as a compliment that my voice was spot on. The review wasn't just bad. I can handle a bad review, but it was cruel. I didn't really care anyway, well, maybe a little, but only because the ignorance ousted me from the contest.

So I'm diving back in. Who's entering? What kind of book are you entering?

Okay Friday Scribbles:

Next Pandora Song: A Message by Coldplay

Book of the Week: Hooked by Liz Fichera. A 2013 Young Adult release. Awesome book. Make sure you buy it.

Netflix of the Week: Breaking Bad Season 4. Just finished. Now I have to wait for the final season. >:(

Quote of the Week: "Success is not built on success. It's built on failure. It's built on frustration. Sometimes its built on catastrophe."
Sumner Redstone

Happy Friday Ya'll!!

What comes next...

My debut year is over. Now what? Things haven't exactly worked out like I'd hoped. I'd hoped to have another book deal by now, but instead I find myself querying agents, continuing to revise manuscripts, and struggling to finish the current work in progress.

So, how am I going to make things work? Well, I'm waiting to hear back from one agent. Once I hear from her, I will decide what to do with Dissected. The ABNA contest is coming up in a couple weeks and if she rejects me by then, I think I'll enter that in the contest. If I don't hear from her by then, I'll enter An Unbalanced Line, which I'm currently revising.

Also...I told myself that if I didn't find an agent by the end of the year, I would self publish. I still want to do that, but I may wait until after the Amazon contest -  see how far I get there. I think it is inevitable that I do it though. I think I've said before, I can't imagine waiting another two years for a book to be traditionally published. People who liked Never Eighteen will be saying, "Megan who?" by then.

That's where I'm at.
Wait to hear from agent
Enter ABNA
Finish WIP
Self publish

What do you think?

Good opportunity for Aspiring Writers

Amazon.com and Penguin have hosted a contest every year for the last four years titled the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest (ABNA).  If you've been following my blog awhile, you'll know that I've entered every year since its inception (and my soon to be release novel, Never Eighteen was entered in the contests first year.  It didn't make it far, so even if you don't win the contest, you still have that shot, just sayin').  

The award is a book deal for one YA and one general fiction novel. A real honest to god book deal!  Many of the non-winners have gone on to be published through Amazon's publishing house, AmazonEncore, or other traditional publishers. Contest starts January 23, 2012.If you're trying to get published, you should seriously consider entering. 

It's not just about the book deal either.  It's about experience.  If you've not queried your novel out yet, guess what?  That's what you need to do to make the first round.  You need to write a pitch.  Terrified?  Don't be.  There's a very supportive group of writers all ready in place on the ABNA forums, some of them having been there all four years.  They have a pitch thread, where you can ask questions, get advice, and even get your pitch critiqued.

The feedback is awesome too.  That is, if you make it through that pitch round.  If you do, you get two reviews by Amazon Vine Reviewers.  Just like any other critique, you take what you need from them and disregard the rest.  Vine Reviewers are human and make mistakes, just pull on your thick skin suit and be ready.  If you make it even further, you can get reviews from Amazon customers themselves.  Also, many of the other writers in the contest review the entrants.  Getting feedback was one of the best things about the contest.

Lastly and most importantly, for me at least, this contest was about the camaraderie.  I had just finished my first manuscript when I found out about the contest. I had never met other writers before and participating on the forum was a great way to do this.  If found people with the same fears and goals.  I even found writers in my own area that I am still friends with (and actually dating one).  Don't feel intimidated writing on the forum either.  Yes, some of them have been there for four years and have inside jokes, but most of them are loving, friendly, talented, and funny individuals and will accept you with open arms.

Really, you should enter.  What have you got to lose?  Click here to visit the ABNA main page and good luck.

The Learning Curve

I've learned some things the last few days. Writing is a difficult business. Okay, I already knew that, but it gets harder, and can be downright frustrating at times. And people may love your writing, but are not so keen on your subject matter. And people may love your book, but there's this one scene or one character that doesn't quite fit.

So how many people do you listen to? And how much of your novel are you willing to change before saying, I'm not sure about that?

Take Lockdown for instance. Originally I had each chapter named after whose POV (that's point of view for you non writers) it was from. I had a couple people tell me that if your characters are drawn well enough, you won't need to do that.

So, what did I do? I did some revisions, made each voice a little more distinctive, and cut out the chapter names. I mean, I didn't want to look like an amateur. I enter ABNA, I'm ousted from ABNA. I post my excerpt right here on my blog, and more than a couple people told me, I should have named the chapters after the characters, that it's been done before in this book and that book, and though I figured out who was talking, it wouldn't have been so confusing at the beginning when I was learning the voices.

Okay, I'm not saying that the initial critiques were wrong. I'm saying, you can't please everyone. You have to take critiques with a grain of salt. It's like wine tasting, you take them in, swirl them around in your head a little, look at the positives and the negatives, then decide what appeals to you. What works with your style, your voice.

As far as Lockdown goes, I've decided to revise, major. But, not until I finish Cheesy, which is going to go a different direction than I initially intended.

Okay, that is all. I may not be able to blog much this week. I'll try but make no promises. If you don't hear from me, have a wonderful week, in the words of my friend Owen, be great, and catch you on the flip side.

Kisses

:*

Megan

This is the day...

...Amazon announces the semi-finalists in the ABNA (Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award) contest. Last year they made us wait until about 9 pm. I'm hoping since the reviewing supposedly ended on the 14th or so, that they won't make us wait that long again. It's pure torture.

If so, I'm going to try and keep myself busy. I plan to do some gardening, mow the lawn,write, do a critique, and probably some cleaning.

I couldn't sleep at all last night, I have these huge bags under my eyes. You'll see them in the video. ugh.

It will not be the end of the world if I don't make the cut. I will continue to write. I have plans to revise a few of the novels I already have started (including Lockdown). I will continue my journey towards publication.

Kisses

:*

Megan

ABNA part 5: Bittersweet

So yesterday they made the first cut, from 10,000 to 2,000. (not sure there was actually 10,000. I know there was 5,000 in general lit. but not sure how many YA entries they actually received) I'm happy to say I made the cut.

That being said, it's hard to feel good about it. It's heartbreaking to see so many of my friends omitted from the list. I cried. I'm getting choked up right now thinking about it. And here's the deal, these cuts get us to the next round, but they don't mean much as far as writing goes. The next cut they will actually be judging us on our writing abilities, and that will be a difficult cut to take.

They've judged us on a one page pitch. Writing a pitch is not easy, in fact, it's downright difficult. And on the ABNA forum there was a whole thread devoted to people helping each other with their pitches.

So, here's the bad part. Some people got help with their pitch that helped them through to the next round. Some of these people may not be very good writers, but their pitch is awesome because of this said help. Hell, I had friends help me. I think my writing stands up for itself (this is my inner narcissist talking), but I'm sure some people's don't. I'm not saying that to be mean or bitchy, but out of 10,000 people, not all of them are going to be awesome writers.

AND, some people may be really shitty at writing a pitch, but are incredible writers. I know this for fact. I know these people, I've read their work and they're brilliant. Which means, hopefully, they won't need this contest and will make it on their own.

That's all. I've said my piece. Happy Friday everyone.

Kisses

:*

Megan

ABNA part 4: Friendship

This was the most important aspect of the contest for me. It was better than making the cut, better than the reviews, better than making the semi-finals.

I made some really great friends. Friends I consider lifelong. Some are local and I talk to them every once in awhile and we try to get together about once or twice a year. Others live all over the globe and I talk to them on facebook mostly. There are a handful that I became really close to. We talk by email nearly every day and I've even met a couple of them in person.

These friendships mean everything to me. I've never known any other writers, and it's nice to have someone to share your writing with, people you trust to critique your work. People to laugh with, commiserate with, to celebrate our successes and cry over our disappointments.

Of course, like with any friendship, we have our share of debates, fights, and drama, but I hope that these friendship can endure these tiny speed bumps, because like I said, they mean a lot and I would be lost without them.

(New York photos courtesy of Rick Kopstein)
Kisses

:*

Megan

ABNA part 3: The Forum

This, at least for me, is a big part of the contest. It's a chance to talk to other writers, to help each other, commiserate, and celebrate each other's successes.

The first ABNA started in October. I saw the forum that Amazon put in place for its contestants and said, "huh." Yep, that's pretty much it. I was not savvy where online forums were concerned, I had only participated in one other before, on a writing sight, and this was a whole 'nother ball of wax altogether.

I started lurking. There were definitely charismatic persona's one was drawn to. You found yourself following them from thread to thread, laughing your ass off by yourself in your computer room. I lurked until January, then I just jumped right in and acted as if I'd always been there.

The thing about the ABNA forum, is you can find just about anything there. There are 1,023 threads. There are threads about writing, of course, threads about books, threads about agents and publishers. But there are also the silly threads. These seem to be the ones that I'm drawn to. I get enough serious in real life. I tend to trust very few when it comes to advice on writing. So, I go there to goof off.

I'm a step ahead of myself, as that last statement isn't entirely true. The first year, I used the forum also as a way to promote myself and my entry. You see, back then, we thought our customer reviews counted for something (which they didn't unless you made the top ten).

So, I would trade reviews with people. I traded reviews with other YA writers, with others from the Pacific Northwest. I did as many reviews as I could that year, I think it was about 66 total. In return I received 94, which was always in the top ten of review totals. I thought I was a shoe in for the finals. But whatever.

So back to the forum. It's been, especially that first year, like a second home for me. I met some really wonderful people, got loads of useful information about writing and the publishing industry, and had a lot of laughs.

Some of my favorite threads (you on the forum will know what I'm talking about):

The Stupid Question thread
Will somebosy tell me what thisis about
The lovely girl thread
Need help stabilizing a graphene nonoribbon for an orbital structure!

The throwing thread (Gae <3)> and everyone's favorite, Jeff Fielder: funnyman, quipster, bon vivant...(this thread almost broke amazon.com)

And while the second year of ABNA the forum turned a little ugly. Bitter, hateful people spewing their toxic words all over the place turning many of us away, this year, is different. This year there are many new people, nice, smart, witty people. People with the same goals, the same problems, the same dreams. Some of the old faces of course are still there, some never having left. And the place is good again. Happy. Again, it feels like home.

ABNA part 2: Bottom of the Literary Food Chain?

I guess what sparked my wanting to write about ABNA this week, was not only the fact that the first cuts are Thursday, but a Publishers Weekly article that I was interviewed for also came out this week.

In this article, the author, Doree Shafrir reminds us of another article in which the contestants were described as "writers at the bottom of the literary food chain". Without question, this comment pretty much offended everyone who has ever entered the contest.

Is that what we are? Tiny crustaceans being eaten alive by the publishing world? Maybe. But those at the bottom of the food chain don't have the ability to work their way out of their predicament. We do.

Take ABNA I for instance. Out of the top ten finalists, five were published. ABNA II all three finalists are being published. And wouldn't it be lovely this year if all six finalists find themselves with book deals?

Plus, four others from ABNA 2009 are being published through Amazon Encore.

The first ABNA I made the top 100. It was my first book. I had no idea what I was doing or how to do it. I got tons of good reviews, including my publisher's weekly reviews. This gave me the confidence to keep going. To write more. I wanted to put myself out there. I started making writing videos, doing book reviews, revising the things I've written. It made me plunge headfirst into this crazy writing industry.


Just because we're entering the contest does not automatically mean we are bad writers. Some of us may be, that much is true. But others have been ignored, passed over, and rejected not because we can't write, but because literary agents are swamped. Because they don't have time to read our work. Because most the time we are judged by a one page query. Which is too bad, because so many wonderful books will never be published, same as horrible books by well known authors will hit our shelves.

But bottom feeders? I think not. Take a look.

Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan
Wet Nurse's Tale by Erica Eisdorfer
Butterflies of the Grand Canyon by Margaret Erhart
Casting Off by Nicole Dickson
Fresh Kills By Bill Loehfelm
Bill Warrington's Last Chance by James King
Greyhound By Steffan Piper
A Cruel Harvest by Paul Reid
Crossing By Andrew Fukuda
Pages from a Tennessee Journal by Francis Thomas Howard

ABNA: The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest

I thought since the first cuts are made this Thursday that I would blog about this little known literary contest. Though some people have touted it the "American Idol" of the literary world, I wouldn't exactly equate it to that. Reviewers and Penguin Editors pick the finalists until the very end, and then Amazon customers get to vote on them.

This will be my third year entering. The first year I entered the first novel I ever wrote, Dena Powers: Superhero? I made the top hundred that year.

Last year I entered a new novel, Mending Fences. I made the pitch round and got ousted after that. Which I still think odd because I got two good reviews, one of my reviewers saying it was the best one they had read.

This year I entered Lockdown. The writing stands up in my opinion, but it may be the most risky of the three. I would have liked to enter Mending Fences again, but after some serious revisions, it didn't meet the word count requirements.

These are the reasons I worry about it. The subject matter. It's pretty dark. If I get a reviewer who doesn't like dark novels, I'm more than likely out. The action doesn't start right away, and if someone wants action, they may be put off.

That said, I think that I might have a shot this year, but you never know. It depends on who is reading your pitch, who's reading your excerpt, how they rate it compared to how other reviewers rate the ones they're reading. It's really a crap shoot.

That's all for today. More tomorrow.

Kisses
:*

Megan