own the word: you are an author

I used to say I was “just a writer.” That I “just write.”

Whenever someone would call me an author, I would humbly respond, “I’m just a writer. I haven’t been published.”

Somewhere in my mind was this idea that I wasn’t a true author until my book was published. Not until I could see it on Amazon or a shelf at Barnes and Noble. Only then would I be a real author.

Not before. Not now.

Right now, I just write and dream of being an author. I’m an aspiring author.

But what does aspiring mean?

aspire

to long, aim, or seek ambitiously; be eagerly desirous, especially for something great or of high value.

Do I long, aim or seek to be an author?

author

person who writes a novel, poem, or essay; the composer of a literary work….

Well, according to those definitions–no. I don’t aspire to be an author.

I AM an author.

If you ask if I’m a person who longs, aims, and seeks to write a novel, poem, or essay, that’s wrong.

I’ve already done that.

I’ve already written a novel. I’ve written two, actually, and I’m working on a third. I’ve already developed the words and sentences and chapters and characters and everything that goes into the literary work.

So, I am not “just a writer.”

(In fact, according to the dictionary, there isn’t a difference. A writer is an author. They can be simultaneous. If someone is in the business of writing books, he or she is an author.)

It doesn’t matter if you haven’t been published. It doesn’t matter if you’re only halfway, or a third, or a fourth of the way through a piece of work.

YOU are an author.
You have come up with a beautiful, new idea. You are writing that idea. You are slaving away over every word choice, every twist and turn. You are getting to know your characters and bringing them to life. You are breathing the story in and out so others can one day do the same.

You ARE an author.
If you have queried a book that has been rejected countless times or you got an agent on your first try, you are an author. If you have gone on rounds and rounds of submissions, only to have to turn to another project, you are an author. If you have self-published and gone through the hard work of promoting your own story, you are an author.

You are an AUTHOR.
You have created a story, a life, a world out of nothing but words and your imagination. You have stayed up countless nights, lived off of coffee alone, and missed opportunities to make a deadline. You have sacrificed favorite characters or storylines for the sake of your art and stuck to your guns when you weren’t willing to sacrifice your hard work.

When you say you’re an aspiring author or you’re just a writer, you are saying that you are TRYING to be something, or you are MERELY something.

Don’t belittle yourself. Enough people are going to try to do that for you as time progresses.

YOU ARE AN AUTHOR.
Own it. Be it. Write it.

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Get your “own the word” tee in pink, blue, yellow, or purple ombre. Available in various styles and colors!

This post was originally posted on Stark Contrast Editing‘s blog and has also been featured on Golden Wheat Literary‘s blog.

#writerslifeapparel

You may have noticed a new page recently showed up on my main page. If you didn’t, you can check it out: here.

If you want to save yourself a click, here’s the summary of it all: I’ve started a new business.

A line of shirts, to be exact. Well, and stickers. But that’s where it ends for now.

The other day I read an article about how important it was to set aside time for writing. To designate those hours as working hours, and to have something to wear, look out, or even eat that would help you focus on what you were there to do.

What is that?

WRITE.

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So I started to search. I searched, and searched, and searched– and I found nothing.

I found no shirts, or sweatshirts, or coffee mugs that really made me want them.

There are some out there. The cheesy shirts that say, “Watch out or you’ll end up in my novel,” or the mugs that say, “Editing Day.” All cute ideas, of course, but none of them were what I was looking for.

I decided, then, to create my own.

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After weeks of working on some designs, a logo, and recruiting some amazing people to help me out– #writerslifeapparel is ready to go.

You can find it on Twitter, Instagram, and TeeSpring.

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Please share your thoughts! Always looking for feedback to make the designs more geared towards YOU.

balancing writing, editing, querying, & writing some more

balancing writing editing querying writing more I’m in a precarious spot with my writing life right now. I am currently on my first round of submissions to editors, I’m anticipating the possibility of edits, and all the while, I’m trying to write my new work-in-progress.

It’s exciting and nerve-racking, alternating between the two each nanosecond.

This isn’t much different than when you’re querying agents, deciding whether you should keep chipping away at the book you’re seeking representation for, or start a new book as you wait. You pace, debate, decide, change your mind…and change it again.

Where is the balance? How do you function with so many things happening at the same time?

Never fear, my advice is here! (Just remember I’m still learning, too.)

STAY CALM

No matter what you’re doing, your nerves won’t help you. Sit down and organize what you have happening so that you can see it on paper. And I do mean paper. WRITE IT OUT. There is something about actually forming the words yourself, not just typing them, that helps clear your mind and settle the nerves. Once you have everything on paper, it’ll help you prioritize what you should attack first and breathe while doing it.

GO IN ORDER

Edit BEFORE you query. Not during or after. BEFORE.

While you’re querying, have a new project to work on. Even if it’s not a new book—have something to keep you from going back and second-guessing the book you’ve released into the wild.

HAVE PATIENCE

Hardest. Thing. Ever.

I say this half-heartedly because I’m awful at following it myself. If you’re querying agents, be patient and know you’ll hear back, and eventually you might stop jumping when your email goes off. Same thing applies if you’re on submission with publishers.

But let’s be real, those heart palpitations when you see an email from an/your agent will probably never go away. I know mine haven’t. But having a new project to work on while this is happening will keep you focused as a writer and invested in something new.

DON’T STOP WRITING

Much like anything else with writing, it’s good to have something to distract you: a new project, a craft, an event—anything to keep your mind off your email and your submitted book.

But don’t let querying or being on submission be an excuse to stop writing. A writer has to write, and if you stop just because your nerves are racing, you’re going to lose some of your momentum, and you could be withholding potential for your next great idea.

A break is needed from time to time, but don’t let yourself get out of the habit of writing. Ever.

Once you hit submit, have the confidence that your words speak for themselves.

And then get back to writing some more.

This post was originally written for & posted on Stark Contrast Editing‘s blog. Make sure to check out Katelyn’s amazing new site and the services she and others offer. Plus, more posts by yours truly!

birthday introductions

Yesterday was my birthday. It’s hard to believe how old I am, as well as how much and how little I have achieved in those years.

Since all I’ve posted, for the most part, is reading and writing related, I thought I’d switch it up today and share a few things about myself. If you make it through all of them, you’ll know how old I am (plus one day). Don’t cheat and just scroll to the end, though!

1. My name is super important to me. I got married young, so I love presenting myself as a writer with my maiden and married name. After all, I wanted to be a writer before I met my husband.

2. The first book I tried to REALLY query was a YA Contemporary. I have since learned that my characters voices tend to be more historical and less contemporary.

3. When I was younger I changed my mind between writing, music, and acting. I pretty much wanted to do anything that involves being famous. Not much has changed. Just perspective.

4. I am married and have two young boys.

5. I live in Arizona, but the place I lived (and loved)the longest was North Carolina. Before that I moved around due to military brat status and PK (pastors kid) status.

6. I think about writing picture books from the things my four-year-old says, but I just don’t think I’m cut out for it.

7. I didn’t start reading current YA fiction until I was in college and took an Adoleacent Literature class. It changed my life.

8. I graduated from Appalachian State University with an English, Creative Writing degree.

9. I drink my coffee with just cream in it, and that cream usually has a flavor. I’m a sucker for trying the new flavors from coffee mate and international delight.

10. When I don’t know what to do, I bake.

11. My favorite authors are Ann Rinaldi & Samuel Shellabarger.

12. My favorite book is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

13. Never have I ever been to Disney World, but I went to Disney Land for the first time last year. It was for my son’s birthday, but I’m pretty sure it’s in the top 10 best times of my life.

14. I don’t have a favorite movie, at all. I love movies too much in general.

15. The last musical I saw was Jersey Boys at the Paris Hotel in Vegas (in 2014).

16. I’m currently reading, I’m Glad About You, and loving it.

17. My TBR list has at least 50 books on it right now. It makes me feel like I’m so far behind sometimes.

18. I love taking pictures almost as much as I love reading, but I’m no professional photographer.

19. My husband and I eloped when we were 18.

20. I have been to three countries and 33 states. My husband has me beat with the states.

21. I have currently given up my personal FB, but I’m a sucker for Instagram and Twitter. My author page is still up, too.

22. My favorite bad habit is Cherry Coke Zero.

23. I am a sucker for all things cookies and cupcakes.

24. My favorite book that I’ve read this year has to be Passenger. I know it’s gotten mixed reviews, but I’m impatiently waiting for the sequel coming out next year.

25. Last year on my birthday I was 7 (almost 8) months pregnant and had to go to the ER. My hubby was traveling for work, so my (then) 3YO went with me and it turned out I had pneumonia.

26. It’s hard for me to realize I’m older than 25.

27. I have a special project I’m working on (and I’m not talking about my WIP) that I’ll be announcing soon. Stay tuned!

My birthday pin was a gift from my 4YO, who insisted I wear it all day. I have to admit, it was kind of nice having random strangers tell me happy birthday.

working your way over, under, & around writer’s block

writers block I’ve been suffering from writer’s block as of late. As in I don’t know what to write about. As in I’m stuck. As in my brain is glitching. As in I have nothing to write about.

As in I haven’t been writing.

Every writer in the history of, well, ever, has suffered from writer’s block. Although writing is a passion, a need, a calling, sometimes those words are blocked from the flowing circuits of your brain and you just don’t know what to do. You are left staring at a blank screen as the blinking cursor mocks you.

You can’t always push through, so to speak. You can’t always push and punch that block until it crumbles. So what other options do you have?

GO AROUND IT

Although that block may seem like the Great Wall of China, you do have the option to go around it. Step away and do something else. Get outside, play in the dirt, do something crafty, bake some cookies, dance to music—do something that is a good distraction but something that will keep the wheels turning. You’re not giving up. You’re giving your mind a much-needed break as you reassess, re-strategize, and attack again.

GO OVER IT

Stuck on a paper or a part of the plot? Skip ahead. Go over the tricky part and write something you know will happen later. Sure, once you go back to that tricky part it may change, but it keeps you writing and makes you feel like you still got something done during your writing time. Also, going ahead may help you figure out why that block was there in the first place.

DIG

This is more than going under. This is digging deep. Write like your life depends on it, and see what happens. You may not get the words you need out on paper, but you’ll get something there. It may be a new project is clouding your brain, or something in your personal life is in the way, or what you’re writing is too personal—but you have to dig in and follow that tunnel to find the light at the end.

Keep writing.

If you know nothing else is going to help, then Type. Scribble. Scratch. Delete. Type More. Soon enough, that block will fall through, and you’ll be on the other side waving at it as you keep going.

the importance of reading

the importance of reading I have been challenging myself lately to watch less and less, and read more and more. At the beginning of this year I came to the somewhat shocking observation that I was watching more shows than I was reading books. And that just didn’t seem right.

There is something in our world that seems to push books farther and farther down the totem pole of entertainment. After all, why read the words and have to imagine it when, odds are, some director is going to do that for you in the future?

That is TOTALLY me being sarcastic.

I’m not down-playing everyone. There are so many beautiful, dedicated readers out there that sometimes it’s hard for me to imagine there are those who don’t like to read.

But they do exist.

What I have come to learn through this challenge, is that reading is a commitment. Even if you like to read, love to read, can’t live without reading– it’s a commitment. We are constantly distracted by screens, as I mentioned in writing through the distractions, and it’s so easy to use a hard day as an excuse to turn on the TV instead of picking up a book to “work” some more.

Don’t kid yourself. Even if you like to read, [I think] reading is work.

You have to use your mind to recognize the words, to reform the sentences the author already penned (typed) for you, to imagine everything the story is painting before you.

Your mind is not resting when you’re reading. It’s moving, understanding, contemplating–living.

Someone could argue that it’s the same when watching TV. You’re “taking it all in,” after all. But… you aren’t working. You’re staring. The TV doesn’t always have your full attention. In fact, more and more people can barely sit through a full-length movie because our minds are wired for the short term, the quick blips of information, just one picture.

See what I mean?

Reading is not for the faint of heart, or mind, or soul. It’s for those who want to continue living– to walk in someone else’s shoes. Regardless of how times and technology continue to progress, the written word is one of the, or arguably THE, strongest tools we will ever have.

That’s why it’s so important to keep reading.

If we lose the desire to use our imagination, to create, to learn, to thrive, to live– then we lose everything.

Want to read more about reading? Check out a reader lives a thousand lives, or these book reviews I’ve posted.

my name is emily, and I’m a procrastibaker

procrastibaker_ehd I spent most of my weekend baking instead of writing.

Waffles. Pancakes. Bread. Muffins. Cookies.

You name it, I was baking it.

This is my process.

The other day I made a casserole, some muffins, and a new bread recipe before sitting down and writing 5,000 words. The first in a very long time (so it felt like).

Every writer has a process.

One of my favorite scenes from “Under the Tuscan Sun” is when she talks about how she procrastinates, makes brownies, and then becomes a writing machine.

I so relate.

I mean, sometimes I just like to bake, but truthfully it happens the most when I’m searching for something.

A scene. A character. An answer. A dilemma.

I’m searching for what will happen next, or how a character should feel, in the sugar and flour and eggs.

Much like writing through the distractions, I bake my way through my novel.

I am a procrastibaker.

Procrastibaker:

Definition: Someone who bakes to put off what they really should be doing, or bakes in order to help find what they are truly searching for.

See also: writers, Emily Herring Dunn, stress-eaters

If I get stuck, or I’m not quite in the “mood”, or I can’t sit down for three hours and push through because of, well, life– I bake. I procrastinate and delay writing by making a new recipe.

What’s sweeter than that?

Not sure.

I’m also not sure how this will work out for my waistline.

But whoever said writing was a glamorous life clearly wasn’t a writer.

Maybe it’s glamorous once you’ve had a best seller, but the writing process…definitely not GATSBY-like.

If you’re looking for some of my personal recipes, you can check out my other site: The Newfangled Housewife.

“Under a Painted Sky” review

under a painted sky I realize I’m late to the party with this book. I saw tweets and posts alike last year about it, but I was a bit busy with my unrelated-to-books-life and missed out.

And, oh, did I miss out.

As you may know by now, I’m a sucker when it comes to historical fiction. Since it’s what I write myself, lately I’ve been soaking more and more in as motivation and push to work on my current WIP. I would say it’s definitely working, but this book made me ache for my own story that’s on submission. And I don’t mean that on any self-involved level.

Stacy Lee does such a beautiful job painting disaster, loss, struggles, and love in 1837 on the trail west I could hardly put the book down. I finished it way too quickly, and missed it all the more for it. When Sammy and Andy have to masquerade as boys, get “adopted” by Cowboys, and continue to face challenge after challenge, inward and out…I could barely stand it.

The style of Lee’s writing reminds me a lot of Ann Rinaldi, who has written a countless number of Historical Fiction that I was addicted to as a YA. Now, as an adult, Lee made me feel 15 again with her novel, and I love her for it.

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend reading this book.

Just to to say something, I try to keep my reviews positive because I have yet to finish a book u don’t like. This space is to encourage reading, and support authors. I hope you see that and aim to do the same when you buy and read books!

writing through the distractions

I am the worst at taking my own advice.

Here I am trying to write a piece about writing through the distractions–and I’m distracted. A load of laundry that needs to be put in the dryer, an appointment that needs to be changed, activities that need to be planned, books that need to be researched…

See what I mean?

Distractions.

writing through the distractions

We always have to-do lists, let’s be real. Even if you don’t write yours down or you’re REALLY good at not thinking about the things you need to get done, they’re there, lurking in the shadows of your brain.

And that’s just part of it.

Nowadays, there are more distractions than the things you need, or even want, to do. There’s Facebook and snapchat and Twitter and Instagram and, well, Google. The world is at your fingertips on your phone, computer, watch…you get it. There’s no escaping the distractions.

So how do we sit down and clear our mind to let words find form on pages so that we may follow through with our passion, our work, dare I say–our calling?

KNOW YOUR BEST TIME OF DAY

Don’t plan to write in the morning if you know you’ll be distracted by the to-dos, the planning, the emptiness of the day before you. Don’t plan to write at night if you know you’ll be too tired.

Plan to write (yes, plan) when you know you’re at your best. While creativity can strike at times we don’t expect, and in those cases we have to go with it, still have a time PLANNED in case other things cloud your day.

CLEAR YOUR MIND

Totally easier said than done. When that time you’ve planned finally comes, find a way to zone out. Whether it’s playing some music or baking before you write–do something to clear your mind and make way for those words. I usually make a list of what I still need to do and then bake while listening to classical music.

Yeah, I do it all, just to make sure I’m in the zone.

ACCEPT THE INEVITABLE

There’s no escaping the world. If you don’t turn off your phone, someone may call or text. If you have kids, one may bust in and throw off your groove. If you have roommates, they can be noisy or bug you. That’s just how it is. The important thing is to set aside that time, and if it gets interrupted, get back to it as quickly and the best as you can.

Writing is work. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. Writing, revising, editing—it’s a cycle that we must go through, but you get something at the end.

You get to say:

“I wrote a book.”

And even better, someone else will get to read it someday. It’s a constant fight to get your words into the hands of your readers, but they will be so glad you did.

Starbucks giveaway winners

I want to thank everyone who entered to win the $10 and $5 gift cards to Starbucks! Most entries happened on Instagram, pushing me to over 100 followers! (It doesn’t sound like much, but totally made my day!)

There will be more giveaways in the future, but that’s not what you’re here for!

The winners were chosen using random.org. The $10 giftcard goes to emma_the_shadowhunter on Instagram and the $5 goes to Diana Meredith, Instagram and Facebook follower!

Thank you, again, to all who entered. Check back in the future for more opportunities to win some fun things! Now that I’ve tested the waters for a giveaway there’s no going back.

Have be a happy Monday!