Pieces of Me
by Kira
Adams
Release Date: 08/11/14
Summary from Goodreads:
For sixteen year old Peyton Lane, life
has never been easy. She’s not popular, overweight, and oh yeah, her sister is
embarrassed of her. But over the course of a tumultuous year, everything
changes for Peyton.
Suddenly all eyes are on her and it’s not because she’s
fat. From a pair of handsome twins to a couple of dangerously sexy rockers,
Peyton will have to find out who she can trust with her heart. From the ups and
downs to the twists and turns—this is Peyton’s story of finding one’s voice and
growing into your own.
This is a coming of age romance that involves realistic situations and raw
emotions. This is Pieces of Me.
GUEST POST
Ten
Things I’ve Learned Since I Started Writing: Kira Adams
1. Beta readers are invaluable.
One of the first things I did when I decided I wanted to write more
seriously was join the site, Goodreads.
There are hundreds of people on there who are interested in beta reading,
and they all do it out of the kindness of their heart—asking for no
monetary compensation. Each and every one of my books went through multiple
rounds of beta readers who helped me address problems with the plot, flow,
characterization, and even sometimes, spelling and grammar. I honestly
believe if it were not for Goodreads
and the beta readers help, I wouldn’t be the author I am today.
2. Where is the rush? I
hastily made the decision to publish my first book after being fed up with
my life in general—I would not
recommend this. I missed minor formatting errors and settled for the story
as it was even though I had inner doubts about it. Although thousands of
readers were happy with the version that was published, I have already
edited it once and will probably revise and update the published copies
once more if I decide to delve back into the story. I also missed the
opportunity to promote at all. Even though I have found book bloggers (and
thank God for them), it is still very hard work. I would recommend taking
your time to publish your novel.
This is the format I would follow if you are
interested in self-publishing: Write the story, edit the story, have the story
beta read, put the story away for a little bit of time to breathe while you
begin something new, edit the story again, have it beta read one more time,
edit it for the final time, format it for e-books and paperbacks, promote,
promote, promote, publish.
3. Join online writing
communities such as Wattpad, Figment, Authonomy, Scribophile, etc.
Joining a site like Wattpad has been
life-changing for me. It is a website that merges readers and aspiring
writers with published authors and even agents sometimes. You are able to
post your stories chapter by chapter and others have the opportunity to
read, comment, and vote on your works as well as follow your profile and
add your books to their libraries. There are also forums you can join that
give advice on the ins and outs of the industry. A majority of the website
is the younger generation, tweens and teens, however Wattpad is filled with aspiring writers
and published authors of all backgrounds.
I joined the site in September 2013, and since then
I have 645 followers, over 7000 votes, and upwards of 35,000 reads on some of
my stories. Even though I have not and will not ever receive any monetary
compensation from having my stories on Wattpad,
I will be a lifer. I cannot tell you how much of a community it is and how
supportive my followers have been for me as well as advice I’ve been given on
improving my novels; I cannot say enough great things about Wattpad. I think I should be their mascot!
4. Your friends and family will
come around. Don’t be offended if your friends
and family don’t read your stories right away or even bother to buy them
when they are released. Things to keep in mind, everyone has their own
life and are busy living it—they will support you when they see the hard
work. Also, factor in what genre you are writing in because not everyone
will be interested in Young Adult or New Adult Romances.
5. If you have the opportunity
to have a critiquing partner who will swap a few chapters at a time, TAKE
IT. While
beta readers can be helpful to no end, a critiquing partner can and will
become passionate about your work; they will push you to write new
chapters and even though they won’t go easy on you just because you’ve
built a rapport, they will support you to no end.
6. Go with the flow. As
much as I love outlines and have used them plenty of times in the past, I
have always been a firm believer in writing what you feel is right in the
moment. My stories with the biggest recognition have not been planned out,
I believe that’s what kept the intensity building from start to finish.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying there is anything wrong with outlines,
I am just saying if your gut is telling you to write something, don’t feel
confined to your outline.
7. The ups and downs of
Print-on-Demand. When I published my first two
novels, I chose the website Createspace
to help with the paperback copies I would be needing. I love how self-sufficient their website
makes you feel and how quickly they can approve everything for publishing
(within 24-48 hours). Pros: Createspace is very easy to use and
navigate. Cons: The royalties
are about 30% your book price, which in the grand scheme of things isn’t
much.
8. You do not have to pay a fortune for a cover that could compete in
the traditional publishing world, trust me. One of the
best decisions I ever made was asking a peer on Wattpad to make my covers
professionally for me; little did I know, she actually wanted to be a
cover designer! I approached her and we worked out a 6-book deal for a
VERY affordable price. She not only works with me to make sure I am
satisfied in full, but she has a ridiculously fast turnaround. Sometimes
it’s as quick as 24-hours. Her name is Emmy Logan and she is the creator
of Cover Me Designs, do
yourself a favor and check out some of her creations—you won’t regret it.
9. Find Book Bloggers who
review self-published titles. Reach out
but be respectful, some of them may agree to review your book even though
it doesn’t interest them. Be content and satisfied with each one that that
takes the time. They are essentially who is going to help create buzz and
build an audience for upcoming titles.
10. If you do not want to deal
with the hassle of formatting the eBook—DON’T. I’m not
going to release her name in fear she may get too booked up for me to use
her on future projects; but, I found a decent eBook formatter who gets it
ready for both platforms, Epub and Mobi within a week or two for $20.
Twenty dollars is nothing compared to the headaches and hours you’ll spend
trying to get everything right.
About the Author
Krista Pakseresht has always been a dreamer. From the first time she
opened her eyes. Creating worlds through words is one thing she is truly
talented at. She specializes in Young adult/New adult romance, horror, action,
fantasy, and non-fiction under the pen name Kira Adams.
She is the author of the Infinite Love series, the Foundation series, the
Darkness Falls series, and the Looking Glass series.
Author Links:
***GIVEAWAY***
$10 Amazon Gift Card (INT).
$10 Amazon Gift Card (INT).
Book Blitz Organised by:
Pieces of me sounds like an emotional coming of age story I would like to read.
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds awesome!! Thank you for the chance to win!!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the guest post.
ReplyDeletethank you very the wonderful giveaway. oh just wanted to mention if i am the lucky winner could the amazon gift card be for amazon.ca because i when i shop on amazon i shop more on amazon.ca than i do on amazon.com.
ReplyDeleteFinding one’s voice and growing into your own? That sounds awesome and is something I really want to read! :)
ReplyDelete