Cia

Check out this month's selection ... The Degan Incident by Rob Colton (formerly Robcub32). This science fiction story is one of my favorites and had a huge following. I really hope some of his fans come and comment here on the discussion day, July 29th. We'll be featuring an interview with Rob and some sneak peek info from his next work ... The Cassini Mission! Oh, and check out this great cover Rob had made! Click the cover to read the story now! Length: 58,679 Description: Lonely spaceport worker Devin McSmith meets Bastian Drago, an exotic and beastly alien from the planet Dega, and begins an adventure that takes him to the stars and beyond. A Reader Said: That cliffhanger was cruel and unusual punishment Rob!! I felt like I was at a buffet, starving and someone yanked my plate. Smooth though, real smooth.lol. Seems there's more to that Rando than just an old fling. I have a feeling the fur will fly. I especially enjoyed the description of the planet. I laughed out loud about the hover car lesson. Now, how I'm going to be able to wait till Friday for the next post is beyond me. Don't forget to come back for the Discussion Day: July 29th!

Oxymoron! That site scares me, so I don't read over there, so I can't help you find it. Sorry! I hope someone else can.

So in all of our cases should the term really be multi-tasking ... or literary ADD?

Umm... let's see. I am a site admin, lead the WST, plus organize and appropriate content for premium (yes, appropriate, lol). I also handle the Stories mod queue. Oh, and I organize the Can't Stop Reading book club for the site blog (though that is stalling out with participants, so if you have any ideas to help me not fail at that, I'd smother you in if you shared). A big project for me lately has been the eBook store (do you have an eBook of your own? I can help you post it here! ) and I do cover art as well. I beta read for Renee, Lugh, Myr, Julie, M, plus the occasional story if I can for authors that ask me to review their work on a story by story basis. Writing is trickier. I have 2 partially posted stories here on hold. I have 40k of a MfM story on hold that only Renee has read. I just finished editing a 35k novella and writing and editing a 13k short story that will post as free eBooks later this summer. I am currently working to eBook my premium story, Burden of Secrets, to sell with cross promos with Lugh and Renee's premium short stories. I am, very slowly, posting a serial sci-fi novel, Adverse Effects and this week finished my 26k story, One Night, that I was writing with my blog author group, the Wednesday Briefers (we post 500 to 1k updates each week based on prompts, though participation varies week to week). In my currently writing is a short for the premium anthology (I get more time as the organizer, I'm busy darn it) a sequel to Pricolici and partial drafts to a story for Benny in my Cathera world and another short set in my Heated Blood world. People have been asking for more from Synchronicity too so that might be my next flash story.I have a 40k novella starting to post in premium, Picked at the Peak, that I'll eventually eBook as well. Oh, and I'm waiting to hear back from a publisher on The Experiment, but if that falls through, who knows who I'll go with on a second chance, or I'll eBook it myself. Thank goodness I don't have a job outside of being Suzy homemaker plus taking care of (read: not giving in to the urge to smother them with their own pillows) bratlings, aged 6 and 9, who are currently on summer break. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to finish checking my PMs and site tasks so I can get up in 5hours to pick up a nephew to spend a day with him, my hubby and kids, 2.5 hours away at a waterpark. Did I mention I have a 3k chapter to have for posting on Sunday I haven't started yet? LOL And before any of you do it, it is not polite to ask me if I'm crazy. Just accept that it is patently obvious and hide your wide eyed looks and head shakes behind my back so I can at least blithely pretend to not know it's true as well.

Well that's quite awesome! And omg do those actors look young! *cries*

Knowing what details to share, and how, is vital to creating a vivid scene that will engage readers. I was once told by a reader that they felt like they could step right into my story while reading. I think the key to what I try to do, to create that experience, is to offer up the details through the character's senses as often as possible. I'd describe a hail storm by telling how the freezing the ice pellets felt pounding on my MC's face, or describe the serenity of being underwater, the noise of the world above washed out by the sound of the waves dragging along the sand. Sight is the main sense, but touch, taste, scent, hearing, they can all come into play. As always, with writing, it is a balance to be found, but when you find the right one ... magic.

ANNOUNCEMENT: Please check out our reminder that political posts are not allowed in GA Forums Thank you, and now back to Can't Stop Reading Discussion Day for Reach, by Cassie Q! Has everyone read the story for this month? I hope so, because it was really good! Cassie's Reach is worth the effort to untangle the wicked weave of the twisted plot she wrote. Do you know arousal?" To make his intentions more clear, Chad stepped forward, trapping the teen against the wall and blatantly invading his personal space. ... So much of this story revolved around sex and procreation ... which totally ignored love. I love dystopian style stories, or ones where people are forced to struggle to live, but Cassie's story took a tack I don't see that often. I loved what she did with the scenes between Chad and Tibial in the beginning. It was a rough read though. So much of had me twisting inside, squirming in my chair. Grand passion, drama, love triangles ... babies! Then... the ending. Whew. I soooo needed that ending! Tibial's journey from awkward boy who only knew how to do what he was told to strong adult who went after what he wanted was a great transition. So, what were your thoughts on Cassie's story? P.S. A few notes. Don't forget to suggest a favorite story or author for next month's CSR! Anywhere from 20 to 90k stories, by any author group, are open for selection.

Ruthless, nitpicky, attentive to detail ... gigantic pain in the ass. I've heard them all, lol! At least it means I'm making an impression.

Welcome Ken! I hope you enjoy being a member at GA.

'I don't want to be mean' is a fundamental miscommunication between authors' and editors' expectations, imo. If an author is writing like an amateur, or plain doing it wrong, then they need to be told. Otherwise, how will they learn? It's not mean when someone is trying to help you improve. I'd much rather an editor nailed me left and right than worry about bruising my precious ego. I just got a story back from some editors I don't know for an event, and it has anywhere from1-8 comments per page. This is after it went through all my usual processes! I will always appreciate that type of intense scrutiny because then I will be doing it right. I expect every author I help to have the same attitude. They don't have to agree with me, but they better be able to repute my suggestions if they are based on writing conventions. I rarely have trouble with authors because I don't waste my time on anyone not willing to be open. I'm a writer who's willing to learn; I want to be associated with other authors willing to learn too. The people who just want someone to make sure they don't misspell anything and ignore all the rest of their writing mistakes will find editors who are willing to be associated with that level of writing. It just won't be me.

Exactly. For a practical example a beta might not be able to tell you what a coordinating conjunction is versus a subordinate conjunction, or how both should appear in the sentence or be punctuated, but they could tell you that you didn't show your main character taking off his shoes and socks before sex (yes, I've seen authors forget this) or point out you repeat Saturday twice in your timeline. Many editors can be a beta ... but not all betas can edit.

If I'm being nice I write something, let it sit, re-read it and change phrasing and try to catch mistakes. Then I do a spellcheck. Then I send it to my beta/editor. Or two. Or three. Then I take their feedback. Usually I get a beta and edit from them of 'this doesn't make sense' or 'this is awkward' or 'repetitious' or 'wrong, wrong, wrong...' LOL and I'm great with that. Tear it up, because I appreciate that. Then I go over all the comments, make the changes, let it sit, do a reverse edit a paragraph at a time from the end of the story. Sometimes I send it back to them for another read through, or I'll go through comments with them over Skype. Now, if I'm doing a full story I try to give a week for them to get it back to me. If I'm doing a chapter, 24-48 hours is usually okay with my betas. It all depends on how much time they have and what is going on with their lives. They do it for free, so I try not to be too demanding. If I need it right off, I do it myself. That's not ideal, but I'll do it with my free fiction posting. When I published Pricolici through RFP, I went through 2 different editors and we back and forth with my novella (35k) 3 times each. The latest free read story I wrote for an event on another site, another 35k novella, went to 3 different beta/editors for feedback and editing. I also did a 2nd full edit myself, reverse editing after it went through all 3 people. I gave them the story in stages, but I still tried to give them 4-5 days to look it over. I'd love to give that much attention to everything I write, but it's not quite possible. Honestly, no one can say 'this is how long it should take' to do a beta or edit. It depends on how clean the story is, how much work the person is doing for you (content or line editing, or both) and how long the story is too. All you can do is find what works for you and your team, and go with it.

Well this works for more than just self-publishing, I would consider it advice for ANY ePublishing author. Even dead tree authors create websites and blogs for their fans. They might not manage it all themselves, but if you aren't a bestselling author, you will be. ePublishers expect authors to promote themselves too. They will help and have followers themselves if they are larger and put out quality works like some of the more well-known companies. However, an author's success does largely rest in their own hands. They need to know how to promote themselves in the vast library that is the internet. Other things Andy didn't mention that can be helpful are contacting review sites and providing ARC's in exchange for reviews to be posted on their site, Goodreads, Amazon, etc... Goodreads is also a site where it is immensely important to have a presence, though it doesn't have to be a daily thing. If you review the stories you read, you're likely to get people thanking you, following your reviews, or reviewing in return. There are also a lot of author, reader, genre niche yahoo groups that allow promotions on set days. In the end, knowing your market and making sure you have a presence there will help. I've only published 1 eBook with an ePublisher, and 1 on my own that was more of a promotional event, but I've had so much help and advice from fellow authors. Andy's suggestions are an excellent roadmap for new authors, so if you're looking to ePublish, please take his advice now. I can attest to how effective all his tips are.

This story has good potential. You have begun writing a new 'world' so it's intriguing to know where you are going with this. What kind of paranormal will the children be? Why didn't he know about them? Is his 'Urge' paranormal? Those are all questions I want answered, so I'll keep reading. I would suggest you get a beta, however. Some of your word and phrase choices are clunky and repetitive. There is a topic pinned in the Writer's Corner with a basic run down on dialogue punctuation; I would suggest you use it. I noticed several spots where you didn't have the correct punctuation and capitalization with your dialogue. Other than that, just keep writing.

LOL. Well, you're quite welcome. I always enjoy new worlds too, and wish that I could write more. Thanks so much for reading aditus.

Thanks!! I do hope to, soon as I can.

LOL! Andy, I do so agree. I want to be able to read this myself, if that makes any sense. All through writing it I kept having to stop myself from adding things to the arc because it would have been too long. I just kept putting them down in a plot bunny longer story file so that when I write it, I have all my ideas ready. Thanks so much for reviewing.

Ahhh... did you catch on to my hidden meaning? I was wondering if anyone would. I was doing some reading one day and came across the meaning of synchronicity and thought it would lend itself so well to a magical world. You know, in the beginning I couldn't have written this type of story either, though, so just keep working at it. Inspiration might hit you when you least expect it! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, Wicked!

Yay! I'm glad it came out so well RJ! I do like to be creative and sometimes my world are vivid enough to almost step into in my head, so I strive to share that with the reader with all their senses. Thanks so much for the review!

It'll be a bit before I can write it, but I can't wait either. This world is one that really caught my imagination. Thanks for reviewing blushing_toi.

Thank you Kitt. I do agree, it is almost a prologue that could be added to a much longer story. It's in my line up now.

Hmm... tough to say. It all depends on my mood. Books are like flavors to me; I'm always trying something new and then going back to old favorites.

LOL. It does, Jo Ann, it does! Sometimes I do get lost in my head ... I try not to do it when I'm driving though. I'm so glad you enjoyed it, even though it isn't your customary genre to read. Thanks for reviewing!

Thank you jkeele! I'm never quite sure either. This one fought HARD. I had to do major editing fixes because the story kept changing and I kept wanting to write a novel. I'd intended to do a short 2-3k story, it went double that, and it was still just a prologue to the major story I want to write now. LOL. Short stories are hard!