February Goddess Interrupted ARC Contest

Thanks to my wonderful publisher, Harlequin TEEN, I have copies of the ARC of Goddess Interrupted to give away! I’ll be hosting contests the months of December, January, and February, leading up to the release of The Goddess Hunt novella (March 1) and Goddess Interrupted (March 27). Each contest will have one copy of the ARC as a grand prize, and if I can swing it, there may be runner-up prizes as well.

For the February ARC of Goddess Interrupted, all you have to do is post a review of The Goddess Test to BN.com, Amazon.com, your review blog, or any book review site, and comment with the link below. If you’ve already posted your review to one of these places, that’s awesome! Just comment with the link, and you’re golden.

One entry per person. Contest open internationally. You have until February 29th at 11:59pm EST (GMT -5) to enter, at which time the contest will close, and a winner will be chosen at random.

Please note: you will NOT be judged on the content of the review. The winner will be chosen at random regardless of the star rating or what the review says.

Thanks so much for your enthusiasm about Goddess Interrupted! Less than a month until The Goddess Hunt is released, and I can’t wait for you all the have the chance to read it.

January Goddess Interrupted ARC contest

Thanks to my wonderful publisher, Harlequin TEEN, I have copies of the ARC of Goddess Interrupted to give away! I’ll be hosting contests the months of December, January, and February, leading up to the release of The Goddess Hunt novella (March 1) and Goddess Interrupted (March 27). Each contest will have one copy of the ARC as a grand prize, and if I can swing it, there may be runner-up prizes as well.

The January contest is simple: just “Like” my page on Facebook and comment on the post there. One entry per person. You must comment on the original post on my official Facebook page in order for it to count. Contest open internationally. You have until January 31st at 11:59pm EST (GMT -5) to enter, at which time the contest will close, and a winner will be chosen at random.

Good luck, and I hope everyone has a fantastic 2012!

December ARC contest winner

Thank you all so much for entering to win a copy of the Goddess Interrupted ARC! And the winner is…

Meghan Peacock!

Check your email, Meghan, and everyone else, don’t worry, you’ll have another chance to win the January ARC of Goddess Interrupted in about five minutes.

Thanks again, and Happy New Year!!

Happy Holidays!

Introducing The Goddess Hunt

Somehow, in the swirl of craziness that has been the past few months, I announced this via Twitter but not my blog (though I did link to the announcement on goddesstesttrilogy.com, so there’s that!).

The Goddess Hunt – a free e-novella (***) set in the world of The Goddess Test, taking place between the first and second books – will be released and available for download on March 1, 2012.

What does that mean? It means you won’t have to wait so long for a new Goddess Test story. It means you’ll get to see some of what happens during Kate’s summer away. And it means you’ll get to meet one of my favorite characters in The Goddess Test universe.

I don’t know when more info on the book will be released, but I’ve seen the cover, and it’s so pretty.

Make sure you’re following me on Twitter (@aimee_carter) for the latest updates, ad if you haven’t already entered to win an ARC of Goddess Interrupted, the contest runs through December 31st!

 

*** UPDATE: While the original plans were for The Goddess Hunt to be available for free, my publisher decided to charge a small price. I believe it’ll be $1.99, which, considering it’s around 18,000 words long, is a relatively fair price. I’m so sorry about the change, guys, and I fought to keep it free, but business is business. And despite this roadbump, I very much hope you’ll all still enjoy a peek into Kate’s summer between the first and second books.

December Goddess Interrupted ARC Contest

Thanks to my wonderful publisher, Harlequin TEEN, I have copies of the ARC of Goddess Interrupted to give away! I’ll be hosting contests the months of December, January, and February, leading up to the release of The Goddess Hunt novella (March 1) and Goddess Interrupted (March 27). Each contest will have one copy of the ARC as a grand prize, and if I can swing it, there may be runner-up prizes as well.

The December contest is simple: just comment below with your email address! One entry per person. You must comment on the original post at WordPress.com in order for it to count. Contest open internationally. You have until December 31st at 11:59pm EST (GMT -5) to enter, at which time the contest will close, and a winner will be chosen at random.

Good luck, everyone, and happy holidays!

What It Takes to Write

Like most other authors out there, many people ask me the same questions again and again – what does it take to be a writer? What does it take to publish a book?

There are as many answers to these questions as there are books in a bookstore. A rich inner life. A rich outer life. A strong desire to spend most of your time alone in a room with only a glowing computer screen for company. Ideas. Talent. The willingness to develop your talent.

While all of these things are important, I think they skate around, but never touch on the most important thing any writer needs:

Courage.

The courage to pick up a pen or open a blank document. The courage to write down their thoughts, where anyone might read them. The courage to keep plodding away at something that they may not always love, because something inside them drives them toward that question mark of a future.

It takes courage to write. It takes courage to do a lot of things – skydive, bungee jump, tell your boss where he can stick it – but this is the kind of quiet courage we all have inside of us no matter how introverted or shy we may be. It takes courage to put pieces of ourselves down onto paper. It takes courage to share that with others.

It takes courage to accept the reality that publishing is a long and difficult road that never ends. It takes courage to wake up every day in pursuit of this, despite not knowing where it will take you.

It takes courage to look at our work with a critical eye and the knowledge that we are not yet the best we can be. That we may never be the best we can be. And it takes courage to strive for that anyway.

It takes courage to walk into that writers group our first day, clutching twelve paperclipped copies of our first chapter. It takes courage to sit there quietly while the other members of our group question our hard work, pointing out flaws we’re not so sure exist.

It takes courage to go home and set those notes aside. It takes courage to come back to them later. It takes courage to study them without dismissing them, and it takes courage to admit that maybe those other members might be right after all.

It takes courage to tear apart our manuscripts in the name of making it better, even when we’re convinced we’ll just make it worse. It takes courage to try new things, new techniques, new plots we never would have thought of if someone else hadn’t pointed it out.

It takes courage to look back over our revised manuscripts and admit that maybe we’re not so bad at this after all.

It takes courage to write a query letter. It takes courage to research agents. It takes courage to read blogs and advice books, and it takes courage to push ourselves to write the best representation of our work that we can create.

It takes courage to type in agent@agency.com. And it takes courage to hit send.

It takes courage to know that failure comes before success, even if we hope we’re the exception to the rule. It takes courage to read that first rejection, that first “pass” or “this wasn’t for me.” And it takes courage to read the fiftieth, too.

It takes courage to learn from the mistakes in our first query letter. It takes courage to acknowledge that it might not be the query letter – it might be the story instead. It takes courage to step back and examine our work with a critical eye all over again. It takes courage to fix it. And it takes a whole lot of courage to admit that maybe we aren’t yet ready for this step after all.

It takes courage to put our beloved manuscript in a box and tuck it away, knowing it will never be read by the masses. It takes courage to stop feeling like a failure. And it takes courage to open up another blank document and write Chapter One.

It takes courage to go through the whole process again, this time without the New Writer smell and all of the optimism it brings with it. It takes courage to finish a second time with that first manuscript looking over your shoulder. It take courage to present this new work to your writing group, knowing they’ll know it means you didn’t make it with the first. It takes courage to accept their criticisms all over again, and it takes courage to accept their praise about how much you’ve improved as well.

It takes courage to send out another batch of queries. It takes courage to open those emails. It takes courage to admit to yourself that maybe there’s a glimmer of hope the first time you get a partial request. And it takes courage to let yourself celebrate when that partial request turns into a full.

It takes courage to face the incredible hurt when that full is rejected. It takes courage to try again. It takes courage to change your manuscript on an agent’s request – on a maybe that may never pan out. And it takes courage to answer that phone call from the 212 area code when you’re in the middle of the busiest hours of your day.

It takes courage not to say yes right away to the agent’s offer of representation. It takes courage to ask questions. It takes courage to hang up the phone. It takes courage to email the other agents who have your partials and fulls, letting them know what’s going on, knowing this might mean even more rejection.

It takes courage decide who’s right for you. It takes courage to sign on the dotted line. It takes courage not to email every single day you’re on submission, and it takes courage to live your life while strangers in a New York City skyscraper decide your fate.

It takes courage to accept an offer of publication – or, if you’re lucky, choose from several. It takes courage to go through the editing process all over again, sometimes for a year or two or three. It takes courage to accept your book isn’t the lead and that it likely won’t become the smash hit you hoped it would be.

It takes courage to market yourself. It takes courage to tell the truth when people ask you what you do for a living, because you’re a writer now, and not everyone understands that writing is a real job, too. It takes courage to keep smiling when you see the doubt in their eyes, because they’re one of those people who don’t get it and likely never will.

It takes courage to walk into a bookstore on your release day and tell the employees you’d like to sign stock. It takes courage to go to book signings, uncertain if anyone will ever show up. It takes courage to look at reviews. It takes courage to stop.

It takes courage to start the process all over again, but instead of having that first manuscript staring over your shoulder, you have an entire audience and the expectations your first book has built. It takes courage to acknowledge your fears. And it takes courage to do it anyway.

Most of all, it takes courage not to give up on yourself no matter what this path throws your way.

Courage, more than anything, is what it takes to be a writer. But the good news is, at least you don’t have to jump out of an airplane to do it.

Title Time!

After months of keeping my mouth shut about this (not an easy task for me, seriously), I can finally reveal the title of the third Goddess Test novel!

This was kind of a pain in the neck to come up with. I had a working title, but that was almost too spoilery (maybe after the second book’s released, I’ll mention it somewhere), and I came up with close to eighty alternatives. After sending my favorites of those to my editor, she picked the winner, and I’m very happy with it.

Drumroll, please…

The title of the third Goddess Test book will be The Goddess Inheritance.

Like I said, I really like it – it was my favorite of the brainstormed titles, and it definitely fits the story in a way that isn’t just metaphorical. Curious? Sadly you’ll have to wait until late December 2012 to read it (fingers crossed the Mayans were wrong, man, because the third book is on the wrong side of that prediction), but that really isn’t too far away if you think about it.

The funniest thing about this being the title is the acronyms. This will be fun (and a little confusing!). We may just have to stick with TGT3 for a while.

TGT – The Goddess Test (#1)

GI – Goddess Interrupted (#2)

TGI – The Goddess Inheritance (#3)

Either way, what do you think about the title? Excited for the second book? Only about five months to go until the March 27, 2012 release date!

Also, The Goddess Test Fansite (@thegoddesstest on Twitter) will have an exclusive announcement regarding The Goddess Test coming sometime later this week, and trust me, you don’t want to miss it.

On Negativity

I believe in karma.

Not just the idea that if you put good into the world, it’ll give good back to you – sometimes in ways you hope for, sometimes with the completely unexpected. But also the idea that positivity breeds happiness and success. It’s all connected – how you feel about life, how you feel about the crap life spews at you (we all get spewed at, some more than others), and how you handle it all.

I find this is especially true about writing.

Jealousy and envy are two of the hardest emotions to exorcise, and they’re also some of the most soul-crushing and embittering. It always seems like there’s someone ahead of you. Someone whose career is taking off while you’re stuck on the runway with a clogged toilet and a screaming baby in the seat behind you. You feel like a hamster on a wheel, always going going going but never getting anywhere. It’s disheartening, and it sucks. Not just in the slangy way, but it can suck the happiness right out of you, leaving you with nothing but doubts. Except when it comes to how terrible you are. Now that you’re sure of.

The thing to remember is that we all start on the same general level. Some learn faster, but in the beginning, we’re all the same – head up butt, clueless, with that new writer musk that smells like coffee and hope.

But eventually that hope will almost inevitably turns to despair. It does for just about every writer at some point in their path – there is always someone ahead of you. When you’re on completely different levels, their success seems to be unattainable, but when it’s just one step, ugh. They have a completed manuscript. A good completed manuscript. A dozen good completed manuscripts. Agent interest. Partial requests. Full requests. An agent. A publisher. And let’s not get into advances and marketing and reviews and sales. Someone will always have more than you. Always.

And while all of this is happening, you might be secretly wondering why they got signed (or published or critically acclaimed) when you didn’t. You’re part of the same critique group, after all, or you’re signed with the same agent/editor, and you’re all on the same level. Hell, maybe you think they’re not such a hot shot. Why them and why not you?

I don’t care how selfless, generous, and goodhearted you are, or how many orphans you foster. At some low point, these thoughts will creep into your head. How long they stay and how much of a hold they have on you, however, is completely up to you.

I’ve been there. I was signed with an agent for all of a day, and because of reasons that were not that agent’s fault, she had to cancel my contract. It hurt like hell, and it made me doubt myself completely. I was eighteen years old, a freshman in college, and I was convinced I’d never get to do what I loved professionally. I was convinced I was a loser.

But here’s a secret: whether you’re a winner or a loser is completely up to you. You can decide to let that bitterness take hold and leech the life right out of you. It will if you let it, but in the end, the only person it’ll hurt is you. You’ll turn off the people in your life. They’ll stop asking you how your writing is going. They’ll stop returning your grouchy emails. They’ll stop supporting and encouraging you. Negativity, like positivity, is contagious, and the happier they are, the less they’ll want to be around you. And trust me, you want happy people in your life.

Or you can acknowledge that bitterness, realize it’s doing nothing but hurting you, and tell it in a firm voice to leave. If it doesn’t, you can kick it where the sun don’t shine. Repeatedly if you have to, until it gets the picture and finds someone else to leech off of.

I didn’t query agents for four years after that agent-for-a-day incident, and when I finally did, I was scared out of my brains. I was a loser. A reject. That black shelter dog no one ever wants. No way was I finding someone. Sometimes I still feel that way – well, okay, most of the time (self-confidence isn’t my thing). But you don’t need to feel like JK Rowling inside to smile when someone brings up writing.

If negativity has eaten you from the inside out and it feels like you’re never going to find your rainbow, let alone the pot of gold at the end of it, you don’t have to let it win. I know these feel like empty words from someone who’s long past that stage, but they aren’t empty words, and the only thing less secure than a writing career is Donald Trump’s hairpiece.

Think positive. It might feel like rolling a boulder uphill at first, but like any habit, the more you practice it, the easier it’ll become. Rather than green-eyeing that writer who’s one step ahead of you, smile for them (remember that cliche about how many muscles it takes to smile vs. how many it takes to frown?). And when the initial wave of envy has passed, examine their situation as best you can. What is it that nudged them one step forward?

Maybe it’s dumb luck – that does happen – but just because they got lucky does not take away from your chances of getting published. Someone else’s success does not take away from yours. But what will suck you dry is bemoaning that one step. What will suck you dry is bitterly dissecting their work, looking for mistakes. Looking for reasons why they don’t deserve success, as opposed to looking for reasons they got there in the first place – the very same reasons that you can learn from.

And that’s the trick, really. No matter what stage you’re at, changing the way you see the people who are more successful – putting that positivity into the world instead of gnashing your teeth with envy – will increase your own chances of success, if only because you stop looking for the bad and start seeing the good. You start learning from the good.

That writer who got an agent before you? You might have a better grasp on when to use a metaphor, but she created a character readers fall in love with. That writer who sells more books? You might have a plot with more commercial appeal, but his is so tightly paced that readers can’t help but stay awake until the small hours of the morning to find out what happens next.

So if for no other reason than your own selfish desires, squash that ugly monster inside of you, the one who whispers words as sharp as knives during your darkest moments. Tell it to hit the road, because there’s a new kid in town, someone who understands you in a way they never did. And frankly, you like his pillow talk better.

You deserve it. Because that new kid knows where your rainbow is, and he’s going to do everything he can to help you find it.

Q&A Series #2 – Series Questions

I posted this weeks ago, but apparently WordPress ate my post. Either way, here it is! These questions mostly have to do with the overall series rather than things that happen specifically in Goddess Interrupted. And I also talk a little bit about Pottermore.

I kind of love the freeze frame YouTube used. Also, don’t mind the weird lighting.

For the next vlog, we’re looking at writing questions, and I may just write out a blog post for that instead. That’ll be up shortly – thanks so much for your patience, guys!