Plan B! Reevaluating your Goals!

Hey fam, 

So the Indiegogo campaign is over. 

Unfortunately we didn't make our goal. Heck to be honest we didn't even make 10%. 

Whenever you don't make a certain threshold or goal you have to go back and reevaluate your choices. Was it my novel idea itself? Did I not explain in it a more engaging way? Or maybe the chapter I put up to entice people actually turned them away?

Fam, I went through every possible scenarios. But one conclusion came increasing clear. EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON. I'm a firm believer that this process for me wasn't supposed to work. If it was suppose to, it would've. But!! It doesn't mean the overall plan to become a writer is in the trash. It just means we have to go another way about it. 

Ever have something happen to you where it reaffirms you commitment to your dream but you think you have better way to go about it (or don't trust what happened) and you go a different route? That's exactly what happened to me. I had attended a conference and made a couple of pitches to agents who were genuinely interested in reading. But in the fear of rejection (also because of the genre I'm in) I thought it would be best if I didn't go traditional. At least I knew I could publish myself. So I tried to raise money. Didn't happen. TWICE. 

You don't need a third time to tell you the first way was the way to go. Especially after all the effort, money and energy I put into making this campaign work. 

So where does that leave me? Back to the traditional. With a new novel. I've decided to put "The Balancer" on Wattpad and start on another one of my ideas. This way I can still get the exposure for my work and work on something that can have a fighting chance in this massive book market. Some of you might think don't write to simply appease the market. I'd like to think I'm not. I'm still getting my voice out there. With an idea that I genuinely like that just happens to fit in a hybrid genre (dytopian/fantasy). 

The major lesson in all this is just because one door isn't open doesn't mean others won't. Possibly before you started to learn more about the roadblocks in your way you had a simple idea. Return to the simple idea and make it happen. Listening to naysayers may educate you but possibly cripple you. KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE. Preserve and it will happen!

So you can check out the Balancer on Wattpad. I'll be putting up the link once I make a couple of changes to the teaser chapter I put up. But you can see the new cover I created. 

Again fam, never give up and surrender. Reevaluating your choices is never a bad thing as long as you make a decision to keep moving and evolving. And if you are out there and you need motivation, let me know. Right behind being a lawyer and writer is a cheerleader! Motivation and inspiration are my pom-poms! 😜

Until next time (more than likely tomorrow)!

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Major Announcement for the Novel!

Hiya Family,

A great couple of things have happened that have officially pulled me from the quagmires of despair into totally and absolute joy.

I've finally taken the plunge and contacted a group about self-publishing my book. IT'S OFFICIAL!

You must be like "You've been saying that for the longest time. What's so different now?"

The difference is pushing the button.

Since a couple of months ago, I have been on fence about really writing. Work and getting my Masters got in the way of everything and it made me question whether I really could do this. Be a writer? Barely had time to get myself out of the bed in time for work!

Then about two weeks ago, I randomly decided to read the first novel-length piece I ever wrote. And this may sound really self-absorbed but I couldn't put my own work done! It wasn't that I didn't what was going happen but it was the story that kept me captivated. And I can be my own worst critic! But I honestly thought to myself, that wasn't half bad.

Then I got to thinking, if I am able to write something that I can honestly enjoy reading several years later, I might have something there. So today I took the plunge! I contacted my book publishing adviser and set the official timeline. EEEEKK!

And I push the other button that I had been putting off for a while - my Indiegogo funding page. The publishing world has now allowed others to self-publish and take control of their own work. It is my wish to do the same. I'll discuss more about my goals for funding in another post but you can take a look at it if you want a sneak peak! Bring My Novel To Life!!

But honestly I can't tell you how siked (yes, I still use that word) I am about this entire thing. I started officially writing just about three years ago. Finished my first novel-length piece in a couple of months. Finish my current novel in 5 months and I still have much more to give!

Stay tuned and thanks for your continued support! Your comments and well-wishes give me the mojo to continue!!

Ciao,

Kristina

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How Pinterest Saved My Novel

Family, I gotta testify and tell YOU how Pinterest save my book, gave it a second life and raised it from the dead.

I'm getting ahead of myself so let me back up a bit. You see, when you have been working on something so hard and take a break from it, you can lose your initial vision. How you saw your characters, how you saw the world you created. It's like a film that covers your eyes. Like sunglasses that are stuck to your ears and you can't get them off without doing yourself much harm.

Well, family, I had some dark sunglasses on. I couldn't get a handle on my protagonist. I started to forget my how evil my antagonist was. I was starting to forget how steamy the love connection between characters was. I was losing why my character would do certain things in certain places and I was losing why certain places did the things it did. And let me tell you that is the worst thing to happen to a writer. Sweat was pouring, itches broke out and panic was starting to come around the corner.

BUT PINTEREST!

Pinterest gave it new breath. It came in and it saved me. It saved my female protagonists and it saved my male protagonist. It saved my scenery and it saved my minor characters. And you must be asking how did it do that? WEEELLLLL, I casted my characters. I finally put some faces to some names. The same way you might have a pinboard how to keep track of people and places, Pinterest became my roadmap. And it's pretty fun too! I was like a casting director and began to interview actors to see who could do my characters justice. I could just imagine how I would act if I was actually in the room casting people!

Not mention everyone at one point thinks of how their novel would look on the Big Screen. Pinterest was my way of bringing it to reality. To make it a possibilty. To see how the cast would look like once my novel reached the ears of Hollywood. Don't look at me funny - you know you've done it too! Come on now! :)


Family, Pinterest saw me in my panic and came in and save me. It picked me up and turned me around. And it set my feet back on solid ground! I'll give you a look at what I did. It may not be entirely clear to you what and who exactly people are. But you can get a feel how much fun I had and how much it can really get your ideas together!

The Balancer's Pinterest

I just gotta thank God for giving the Founder of the Pinterest the idea. I don't think I could've made through finishing my novel without it. If you are in a place where you need a refreshed look at your novel, use PINTEREST! Fabulous, Friendly and FREE!

I'm going to sit down and enjoy my pictures now,

Cheers!

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Something Wicked This Way Comes

It's not everyday that fantastic things happen that renews your invigoration for life. Or where a series of events breathes life back into the things that you hold dear. My friends, many great things have happened over the past couple of weeks that have lit a fire underneath my butt to fully seize my dreams of becoming a writer.

I believe that things happen for a reason. You can call it a divine plan or something written in the stars but there is some sort of master chain of events.
My reemergence came to being because of an email that I got from a friend who recently had a launch party for her Kickstarter campaign to fund her book. Now, it wasn't necessarily feelings of jealousy poring through my pores that I thought, "Where the #$%$^ is my book?!" The email didn't really register with me. All I knew that it was a party before a very busy week and I could totally use a drink and a time out. File that one for later...

Then another two weeks later, I get another email from my favorite people at Writer's Digest for the Writer's Digest Conference next month (writersdigestconference.com). It immediately brought back memories from last year where I met fantastic people and saw the potential for a sale of my novel (which wasn't completely finished then). I remembered the rush of getting the interested look, the people who were waiting to read my work, and fellow writers giving me encouragement. I remembered my desire to self-publish my book. I thought to myself, "By letting the world get in the way, I have denied myself true happiness." I let another person cut in the middle of my dance with my dream. And the fact that the Writer's Digest Conference had a Self-Publishing Portion just stoked my fire further. So I let my fingers do some walking on my keyboard.

Then I came across a wonderful article about Self-Publishers turning to Kickstarter to help fund their project. For me, it was the first time the word "Kickstarter" actually registered and I went into research mode. For the two days, I was obsessed. I wanted to launch my project immediately! (If you don't know about Kickstarter, its a fantastic concept - crowdfunding. I'll get into in another entry) I thought all the perks I would give away, how much it would cost to do to meet everything I needed, etc. This literally consumed me! But I was concerned.  Would I actually have enough people interested? Could I really get enough people interested to help fund this? Has it been too long?

Then magic number three event happened (things happen in three)! I came to find out that a friend was also a writer, so of course I told him of my ideas. Then he told me, "Well why don't you try with Indiegogo? Whatever you make you get to keep." WHAT the WHAT? How many more of these sites are there? The fire became an inferno. That night I stayed up late creating a video (which I will post) to help garner more attention for the site. Absolutely friggin wicked! (By the way, I know I know I am leaving things out here as to what exactly is the project. I'm doing that on purpose - gotta be on the lookout for more later!)

These three things have brought me back from the dead. They were small things - not necessarily earth-shattering but they were to me.  And I can honestly say I have never been more happy in trying to get this project out. With the craziness dying out of my life, I am actually able to focus on it. There are still edits to be done, before we really can get into the full blown campaign. BUT IT WILL HAPPEN WITHIN THE NEXT 2-3 MONTHS. I PROMISE YOU! BE ON THE LOOKOUT! 

My wicked plans are coming to fruition. Patience, patience my pet (MWAHAHAHAHA!)

Final thoughts: Whatever you are truly meant to do something, it will come back. It will never truly leave you. It may take a while to get though the clutter of your life but just like a boomerang, it will always come back to you.

Here is the video, amigos! Until next time!

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Getting Back in the Game

Hey family,

You must be looking at me and saying..."Who are you again? Oh aren't you that girl who disappeared like seven (7) months ago?"

As I hang my head in shame, I admit it - yes, I disappeared. But I did have good reasons! The move to NY, getting back into the school game and just getting used to the new lifestyle can really suck out a girl's motivation to get back into the game.

But today, I can honestly say, I am fired up again! About everything! It was like this: Imagine you have the ability to eat you favorite ice cream everyday. And you do and you can't get enough of it. But...then you do get enough it. You kinda have to put it back in the freezer, forget about it for awhile and then you realize how much you love it again. I've written about this before (Having An Arranged Marriage...With Your Work) and  I just needed to find my mojo again. With a couple of conferences coming up, the mojo is getting ready to go at it!

I will be posting more frequently in the next couple of months. I have big plans for the novel which I will announce in due time. I have not abandoned it! I'm getting back to it and getting back into the game!

Are you ready to rumble??

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