Editing Restraint

Hello, everyone.

My computer didn't fail after all. I can breathe a sigh of relief now.

I have finished editing Restraint. The original was edited by myself. Since Susan, my editor, came to me after Restraint was already released, I didn't ask her to edit it. But now she has looked over everything, and I have already made the necessary changes.

While I have uploaded the files, it will take at least a day for the new copy to upload.

For those that have already downloaded it on their nooks, I was told by Barnes and Noble that when your nook has to redownload it (from not using the file) it automatically updates to the new file. Smashwords always makes the new file available to people who have downloaded the original. As for Amazon, please contact the customer service with that question.

Thank you!

Update: 4/9/13

Hello, everyone!

     I have finally finished Shattered, and I sent to my editor just now. I should be expecting a cleaner copy in a few days. So look out for Shattered in an online bookstore next week.

Now that I have written a short, my time will be devoted to finish writing Malcontent which I would love to have out by early June.

For those of you that have read my stories or novels, I encourage you to leave a review. Your review helps me to gauge what my audience likes and could help someone else.decide to read one of my works.

Thank you!

Wicked Magic...now in the editing process.

So, today I finished up Wicked Magic and sent it to the amazing lady that edits for me.

It has been a long journey. Wicked Magic has been the hardest book I have ever written, because the fantasy/action/adventure genre is still so unnatural to me. But I am very proud of the outcome. It is darker than the original stories because I drew my inspiration from Dante's Inferno as well as a dream that I had a year ago.

I had planned to release the book back in May of this year, but in order for the book to match my vision, I had to expanded past the 60,000 word limit that I had set for it. The outcome is about 80,000 words. This book might be the start of a long series if the response by the readers is positive so be sure to write reviews. It may not seem like it, but I do read them, and I take what everyone says into consideration.

I am releasing the Wicked Magic within the next week or so in ebook format. I will also be releasing it in paperback within the next two weeks. So, be on the look out for that.

Q/A Tips for Creative Writing

I sometimes get asked questions about tips for creative writing. People want to know how I start a story from concept to the point where I begin to write. So, I am going to write tips here and there to help people with their personal writings.

Q: So, what is the first thing you do when you write a story?

A: Come up with an idea! For me, it is easy, because my brain just pumps out idea after idea. But for most people that are just starting out, ideas just don't flow like that. So for ideas, watch movies, read books, and search myths/legends on the internet. Sometimes doing these things can spark your imagination and get the wheels turning. So, get the initial inspiration from these sources and add your own twist. Look up my post entitled Just Published WW2.

Q: Do you brain storm or use outlines before you write?

A: I have done both, but it doesn't really work for me to make rigid outlines. By rigid, I mean detailed to the point where all you have to do is write dialogue and there is no room for spontaneity. I like to use loose outlines, meaning I know how I want to begin. I have some ideas for the middle, and I know where I want to end up. I write every idea down. When I start writing, the process is spontaneous. I know the general idea of the chapter, but I am able to come up with new ideas at the same time and integrate them into the chapter.

Q: How do you come up with characters?

A: Characters can look a number of ways like having many different eye and hair color. Look at your friends. They come in all shapes and sizes. Personality is what is important. For me, each character is like an exaggerated facet of my own personality. So if the character is supposed to be crazy, I know how crazy I can be, and write like I was 10x more insane than normal. You can also use those around you as inspiration. So if you have a superficial friend that only wears brand name clothes, and there is a place in your story for a character like that then write about them. Stay away from sterotypical or stock characters!!! No dumb, popular cheerleaders. No class clowns or school bullies. Make up a character that is all your own. There are plenty of articles about this online so if you have questions about this, you can Google some great articles with examples.

Q: What is the key to writing an entertaining story?

A: You! Never write something that you wouldn't read yourself. Odds are if you wouldn't read it, no one else will either! Write stories that are you. For example, when I was younger, I tried to write a romance novel. The problem was I couldn't finish it! It wasn't me. I don't read romance novels! I like the paranormal. So, I added vampires to this story, and suddenly, the book came to life. It was easier to write, and the story was 10x better. So, don't write anything that you wouldn't read yourself.

Hope this helps. If you have any more questions out there, send them to me. I may answer them on future posts. Thanks!

Editing Done for Lament

So, my editor finished up editing Lament. I have to make the changes and then I can publish it. Look for it on Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and Smashwords.

For those that posted comments, I could not choose so you both get a Free copy of Lament! Look out for my email to the address you commented with. Thanks!

Right now I am in the midst of writing Wicked Magic. For a one chapter book preview, go to Feedbooks.com and search "Sandra Madera."

Re-editing

So, I was so happy editing Weeping Willow with Write Way Pro that I decided to re-edit Restraint. It is amazing how any mistakes I caught while listening to MS Sam reading my manuscript. I have come to the conclusion that no matter how many times I read something, there will always be some kind of mistake. However, having another voice read my work aloud was a huge help.

I have already posted the newly edited version of Restraint to Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Smashwords. All other sites are not under my control, and I must wait for Smashwords to update iBooks, Sony E-reader, etc. That takes up to two months! So, if you are thinking of buying Restraint, please do so at B&N, Amazon, or Smashwords.

Now I have to continue to write Lament. Keep you all posted.

Fixing Old Mistakes Takes Time...

So, I have been writing my latest novel, Lament, and I realized that little mistakes are so annoying while I was reviewing it. Despite reading something over twenty times, I still found mistakes each time. It was driving me nuts!!!

I am lucky enough to have a volunteer editor for my future works, but the short stories I had already published were bothering me... haunting me. I noticed my biggest mistake was reading what I thought was there rather than reading what was actually written. The misstep is that, as I am the writer, I know what is supposed to be written. So, when I am reading, my focus drifts and I believe I wrote sentences as they are in my mind. When in actuality, there is an error.

Finally, I downloaded a manuscript software called Write Way Pro . Although I basically set up character profiles and outlines by hand anyway, this program reads the chapters that I have written individually or it can read me the whole book. So, I am hearing it as if my reader were reading it! Genius!!! Now I can catch those annoying little spelling errors.

So, I have tried it out by going over Weeping Willow. I have found plenty of foolish errors which I fixed. I put the newest version on Smashwords . Since Smashwords is the vendor that delivers my short stories to the other online bookstores, it will take about two months to update in those secondary online stores. So, if you can live with the errors while reading, that's fine. Otherwise go onto Smashwords and download a fully revised copy for your e-reader today. Thanks and keep reading!!!