What RT means to me.

Hey friends. I went to RT last week and meant to get this post up sooner, but since I blog at 3712837297 places now, today was the first free day.

So first off, what is RT? RT is the RT Booklovers Convention put on by Romantic Times magazine. (See RT? Clever.) But what it really is a chance to network, pitch, get books, meet other writers and have a general awesome time while learning all kinds of things that can improve your craft.

No, seriously. All that happens in a few days. I learned more in three days than I had in a year. It also renewed my zest for writing and made me more determined than ever to get my books out there. Why you ask?

Because the writing community is so amazing. I mean, I knew it before because I see you all on Twitter. But being there, in real life, hearing encouragement, swapping stories, it was so much better.
Like this:

Everyone needs a conference (at least) once in their writing career. Some people say wait until you have a book, but no, go as soon as you can. Make contacts, make friends, mind what you have learned, save you it can...no, wait. Sorry, wrong advice.

So here are the five biggest things I learned at RT:

1) Talk to everyone. Agents and editors are real people too. And I found that four out of five times, they were just as excited to talk to me as I was to them. Here's why. I write books. They're looking for books. I might have what they're looking for or know someone who does. They might know someone who needs what I have. Do you see where I'm going with this?

Plus, most every single person I met was great which leads me to...

B) Most people were the same level of cool as they are on Twitter. The two people I met who were...well, less than amazeballs, I already suspected that on Twitter. But the people I connect with and adore? In real life it was simply amplified. Bottom line - none of us have time to be someone we're not. That's what our characters are for, right?

cat) Have a pitch ready. Know what the eff your book is about. This is the number one convo I heard and experienced:
Joe: Hi. I'm Joe. On Twitter I'm AuthorJoe.
Jane: Oh hey! *hug* I'm Jane. Or LovesToWrite78.
Joe: What do you write?
Jane: I write about the Muppets. But in space. Also, it's 1785.
Joe: Cool. I write YA. What's your book about?
***Now pay attention***
Jane: Um, well the Muppets obviously. And Space. And two of them fall in love, and it's kind of hard to explain but there's a time warp, and well, I'm still revising. But you'll just have to read it.

Okay, that's basically me anytime anyone asks me ever what my book is about. Which is dumb, because I know what my book is about. My point, practice a pitch, even for conversation. What if Joe interns for someone fab? They are talking and say I heard this amazing pitch, I think it's what you're looking for. When you show up at the pitch table the next day, the agent has already heard about your amazing Muppets In Space historical and is ready for the full. Learn a pitch. Or at least be able to condense your book into a few sentences. It's important.

4) Don't be afraid to talk about what you're good at but own up to what you're not strong at. Industry professionals are looking for the cream of the crop. Don't be a jackass, but don't sell yourself short either. If you rock the house at writing mystery novels, tell them. But - and this is important - don't lie. You meet Amazing Agent. She says she wants a steampunk Cinderella story. You write contemporary. Don't tell her you're thinking about writing that very thing, then Frankenstein one together and turn it in. That's not cool. Be true to you. Because what if it is amazing, but then you only write contemporary. See the problem?

*thinks about steampunk Cinderella story. Realizes I don't write steampunk. Damn.*

%) The biggest thing I learned at RT wasn't from anyone in our field professionally, but from the most important people in our industry - the readers. They were everywhere. Talk to them, pass out your swag and cards, that's fine, but listen to them. Sometimes as a writer, I get tunnel vision, focusing on things and wondering why some books are published and get lost in the machine that is publishing and the road to publishing. But listening to readers, what they like and don't and the looks on their faces when they realize writers are just people too? Priceless. If I could've had one day with the readers, I could have learned even more than I did. That knowledge can't be measured in value.

The last day I was there, I had breakfast with Brenda Drake, Erica Chapman and Trisha Leigh. (I'll pause while you bask in jealousy and I look smug.)

 While we were in line a mother and daughter there for teen book day stood in line behind us. Trisha struck up a conversation and we asked them to join us at a table because the line was forever long. They were such lovely people. But talking to them about their likes and dislikes in books. What they thought about an author's presence in social media, or at signings. Every single thing they said is a piece of information you can't get from people in the industry. And ironically, those are the people that really matter most. The ones you're writing for. The readers.

So there you have it. What RT means to me. Can't wait to see you all in NOLA next year. I'll also be at RWA in July in Atlanta. Maybe I'll see you there!

Until next time I leave you with this:

To NA or not to NA, that is the question.

Hi. This is a rant. How are you?

So today Publishers' Marketplace said: Guess what? New Adult is a thing. A real thing.

Yes. Those of us who write it already knew this. The readers knew it. The money coming in for it says it does in fact have a place and a demand. You know who doesn't?

A whole lot of agents. Now, before I get massacred, there are plenty of agents and editors who do love it and want it - yay!! And not everyone has to like NA or want it and even believe it exists. But here's what is pissing me off.

The ones who don't think "it's a real thing" seem to be very vocal in saying horrible things about it. Wow, this piggybacks my last blog post about how our community should root for each other. Anyway, why are they doing this? And more importantly, if they don't read it and don't want it, why as they saying things about it that aren't true?

We are told as writers - know your genre, know what's out there, read, read, read! Well, maybe these people who are spewing idiocy everywhere should take a second to do the same.

Here's what NA is: Books with main protagonists between the ages of 18-25 and usually themes of transition between Young adult and Adult. Yep. That's it in most basic form. And it ranges from college stories and contemporary to historical to sci-fi to everything else.

Here's what people are saying it is: Kids in college (sometimes, not always), contemporary(um...not even close to all the time), and sex, sex, sex. (Wrong, wrong, wrong. I can think of two right off the top of my head that have no sex, or at least very little.) Here's the one I hate most - Easy money. Ha! Tried to write a book lately? There's no such thing as easy in this business.

I don't understand the fuss. When I was growing up there was no YA. You had kids and adults. I went to the basement of the library to check out my Nancy Drew books because they were in the same area as Dr. Seuss. Now we have a division. Picture books, chapter books, middle grade, young adult and you know what it does?

IT MAKES THINGS EASIER TO FIND.

When I take my kids to the bookstore or library, they can go right to what they want. I, however, have to search or go in with a book rec already in my hand to find a book that fits the New Adult specs.

Now that's it's a real thing, I can walk in and go to the New Adult shelf and be well read in the field I write in. I saw an agent say it was porn. Based on what? Fifty Shades of Grey? Um, I read Erotica and no, NA is not porn or erotica. (But neither is 50SoG.)

Do the characters have sex? Sometimes.
Do they drink? Sometimes.
Do they cuss? Sometimes.
Could you ask these same questions and get the same answers about YA? Yep. Adult? Yep.

MG, YA, PB - all defined by age. Why is there such a fuss over making one more distinction that in the end will basically just make it easier for readers to find what they're looking for?Which means more sales. Which means more books. It's not rocket science, kids.

Not every agent takes historical or contemporary or sci-fi but never once have I heard them say on Twitter or social media hateful things about aliens or corsets or ....whatever a good example of contemporary is....so why this about NA?

Are people just that resistant to change? Well, guess what? I'm a NA writer. I know lots of NA writers. And they work hard on their craft. Hell, they're some of the best writers I know. Their stories have depth and world building. They have great characterizations and yes, sometimes very hot scenes. They bust their ass trying to make the best book they can because they are writers and that is their story to tell.

I may just be one little person and maybe my words won't matter, but you calling their hardwork "complete crap and fluff in a letterman's jacket" might. They might not write their story. And that might have been the next big thing you were looking for.

Room for Everyone

There's something going around. It's been happening everywhere for a long time. But now it's bleeding into my writing community and I'm fed up.

But let's go back.

I work with kids. Yes, dance, but also I volunteer other places too. But whether I'm teaching jazz squares, how to make friendship bracelets, or tutoring math there's something bigger I hope I'm passing on to the kids. Two things actually.

1. Lighting someone else's candle doesn't make yours dimmer. It just makes the room twice as bright.
and
2. You're not working to be better than someone else, you're working to be the best version of you.

The number one place you can see the opposite of both of those principles is Facebook. (Or possibly Washington, D.C.) On my FB wall at any given time there's someone's beliefs and thoughts. Now, don't misunderstand. I support free thought, your opinions, even if...no, especially if they disagree with mine. Maybe I can learn something, maybe I can see a different side. But what I cannot abide is complete stupidity, racism or prejudice. I can't stand it when someone feels to prove their point they need to make someone else looks wrong or stupid by belittling them. Or place blame where it doesn't belong. (I'm not just talking political things here, it's a wide net)

In the past, this has been contained mostly to FB. I click off there and on to my beloved Twitter. My writer family, my people, my soul mates. But lately, I've noticed a few things. 

Writers are posting their bad reviews and attacking the person leaving them.

Just no.

They make excuses for why that person is awful and how they could have left that review? One, this is beyond unprofessional and two, maybe they just didn't like your book. Obviously there are mean-spirited trolls who will leave a bad review just because, but if someone leaves an honest review and it's not favorable, try to remember - you signed up for this. Not everyone is going to like your book. Not everyone is going to like you. And yes, someone who maybe isn't as talented as you got a better deal because of timing, the stars aligning, or maybe the penguin told the agent to like them best.

I kind of understand. Writing is personal and when someone says something about your book baby you want to defend it but the bottom line - it's never okay to tear someone else down to negate their credibility.

But this next thing, I just can't understand.

Several up-and-coming writers on Twitter are bashing other up-and-comers, a kind of behind-the-scenes sabotage. I do not understand. Maybe it's because I would never dream in a million years of doing this. Maybe I just don't have that kind of energy. Maybe I'm more self-assured or have a better support system.

Whatever it is, it needs to stop. When you engage on Twitter, you will get support. People RT you and buy your book and do reviews for you. When you get pissed because they aren't all five star reviews or unfollow someone because they didn't say you were the best thing ever, you are the unprofessional one.

There is no reason that every single book that comes out this year can't be a best seller. If the story is there, people will buy it. So when you degrade someone who worked just as hard as you, it doesn't give you more sales in some weird competition you've made up in your mind, it actually guarantees you have one less - mine. Maybe my sale doesn't mean much to you. Maybe you only bash the other because you're intimidated by their work. Maybe it has nothing to do the other person and it's because you're just that insecure on the inside. (And horribly selfish to not see what you're doing to that other writer.)

But you're only hurting your sales, your brand and in the end, yourself.

Example: How many times have you liked a writer and their books then found out via social media they were awful in real life. Did you stop buying their books? Did you tell your friends not to buy them either? 

We have to stop bashing each other and dragging others down to climb up and over them to the top like some kind of crazy Yertle the Turtle. He ended up face down in the mud. (And was based on Hilter...so there's that.)

We should lift each other up. Support one another. Be happy for another person's success. We can all succeed here, there's room. I've found that everytime I help someone on their writing journey, it seems to forward my own. A lot of my friends and co-horts have agents, editors, book deals, and actual books. Do I sometimes feel like the last girl standing at prom? Heck yeah, I do. But I would never think to egg the prom queen. She'd be upset. I'd be the jerk. And both our fancy dresses would have been for nothing.

Plus we'd have sore feet from being at the dance all night and we probably had to wait for a table and only got two bites of food before the dance anyway and maybe she really hated being on the stage and then I made it worse and she didn't know until that minute that being prom queen even mattered...

uh...

Sorry. Where was I ?

Oh yeah. Love not hate.

My point is the things I tell my students apply to adults and writing and life. Someone else's success in no way makes you less successful. Supporting someone makes you someone people want on their team and they will be more willing to be on yours. Dragging down someone else to make yourself feel better is never okay. Ever. Ever ever.

Take all that energy you are burning bashing others and put it in your work. You'll have your own success to celebrate before you know it.
                                                                   So remember---


                                                       Be like this for each other's success:

                                                                          Not this:

Then we can all be like this: 

This is me.

Hello there. I've been around awhile, but lately I've met a bunch of new people. And they've been asking questions. I know. What kind of madness is this?

They want to know, what I do, where I'm from, what I write, my real hair color, favorite food, WHO I AM????? *deep breaths* So today I thought I'd do a post about all those things and answer all (not even close to all) of the questions. Actually just ones about my books and stuff. So not really all. Okay, and some others. Here you go. 

About me:
I am in fact the Ambassador of Awesome.
Unless you ask my 10YO daughter, then I am the Queen of Awesomesauce. Since the latter sounds suspect, let's go with the first. My 13YO daughter agrees with the young one.
Just in case you think my ego is getting too big, my 11YO son, the middle child God love him, thinks I'm the best mom ever of all time in the entire universe except when he's mad at me 'for making bad decisions like that he should help with the dishes'. So there's that.

What I do:
I volunteer. I'm a recycling, reusing, repurposing hippie. Girl Scout leader. Baker. Singer. Actress. Dancer. (I'm classically trained. Ballet, tap, jazz, musical theater, contemporary, hip hop, lyrical, partnering, ballroom(smooth and latin) and a few other forms that are on a need to know - you don't need to know. And obviously, I'm also classically trained in the Men in Black dance, every Janet Jackson video ever, Thriller and the Napoleon Dynamite dance. But that's a given, right?)

Oh, and I write books.

I write New Adult and Adult. I have everything from steam up your glasses to a mystery thriller to historical but they all have romance because I love kisses and really interesting characters struggling through relationships. I write about places I adore. My books are filled with pop culture references that not every one gets and to date, I have started eleventy billion manuscripts and although I've been told over and over, great voice, great writing, no market, I still have hope.

I also have a pen name. Figure out who it is and win...another Twitter account to follow! *confetti* 

I have two books I'm actively pursuing rep on currently.

SUGAR-COATED DECEIT - A steamy thriller about a cupcake baker. Stella was kidnapped but escaped. Unfortunately, so did her kidnapper. Now she spends everyday trying to deal with issues left over from the ordeal and not trusting people. When she meets two men and agrees to a date with each of them, her stalker reappears. She must decide which one to trust and which one to fear. Or if she should fear someone else all together.

THE KEYS ALWAYS IN MY HEART - A historical romance that takes place in the Florida Keys in 1935. Suz is just about turn eighteen and can't wait to leave the little strips land she's forced to call home. Counting the days until she's old enough to go out on her own, she spends her time helping at the Veterans' camp where her dad supervises the building of the highway, her easy access to the mainland and freedom. But all her best laid plans fall apart when she meets a boy of her dreams and a man named Hemingway. Torn between her heart and her lust for life, Suz faces choices that will affect her entire future. But just as she makes a decision and puts her plans in motion, the biggest hurricane to ever make landfall in the US hits the Keys head on. All the problems that felt so big only a day before now fall short to making sure she survives. Can Suz live through the storm and follow her heart or will it be too late to get what she now knows she wants?

My self-published novel under my pen name releases June 4th. Stick around for hints and clues about the book and where else to find me.

I have an 'new shiny' folder a mile deep and I have three other stories finished but not polished and a few others started. (I write a lot. And quickly. I like new shiny. I mean, who doesn't?) 

Bonus section:
Real hair color:
It was coal black as a baby, then turned strawberry blonde with more red than blonde, then blonde, then dark blonde. When I was about 25 I started getting my grandma's white streak so I'm not sure what color it really is now because I've been deciding the color since then. I'm currently fiery red and I like it because I do crazy stuff and people look at me and say, "Oh, redhead." and move on. I like it.

Favorite food:
Ice cream. I would eat it every meal. Every day. All the time. I don't obviously, but I would if I could. Top of the list is mint chocolate chip from Baskin-Robbins. Oh, so good. It makes me do this.

One more thing you need to know, like Cedric Diggory, I'm a fierce, fierce friend. And sometimes, like Cedric after Voldemort stepped on his face, I sparkle. 

You can find me leading #WriteClub sprints from @frinightwrites along with the rest of the crew.
I'm a blogger of The @Writerdiaries. We right about all stuff writing related.
My alter ego is a member of @IndieIgnites.
Find me on Twitter @AngiNicole722.

It's my party...and no one knows.

So, I'm a little bit (read: A LOT) tired and have pretty much been weeping all day long. Not sad tears. Tired tears. Also - happy tears. My friend Kelsey Macke, @kelsnotchels, got an amazing book deal (and album deal) today. That is big celebration.

But today I learned a hard lesson. One - when you self-pub, although it's just as impactive (Is that a word?) to you, it's not to the known universe. When you self-pub under a pen name hardly anyone knows, it's even less. Because no one knows it's you! (I don't miss the irony.)

I started this post thinking I was just a big tired baby, but now I think, maybe not. Maybe there's something behind it. Lots of my friends (Because I know the MOST amazing people) have book deals, books out, agents, the works and they all get to say, Hey , Look at what I did! And that is amazing. Nothing I say here takes away from that because I am their biggest cheerleader. That's the beauty of the writing community. WE CAN ALL SUCCEED.

So here's my thing.

I want to jump up and down and tell everyone, Hey! I'm going to have a book. I want to record a vlog and do the writers version of the "I told you so dance".  I want to post things at the places I do writerly things at, like The @writerdiaries, with Write club, @frinightwrites or @IndieIgnites.

But I can't, because I've chosen a pen name. I chose it with very valid reasons and with lots of thought, not on a whim. And now, I'm a little sad. I want to jump around with my friends and say, Yay! We're doing it together!

But the worst part is, if I fail, or...eeeee.....succeed, it will be outside me. I want the gif parades. I want to day of congrats on Twitter. I want it all because inside this woman is still the fifteen year old girl who wants to sit at the cool kids table and desperately wants needs your love.

I didn't even think about this aspect of pen names when I started. It's not that I want to say, look I'm an author (Although - that is amazing!) I want to celebrate with my friends. After all, I wouldn't be this far without them!

So, here's a party for my book!

Here's a party for my friends!

Here's one for my pen name, (who you should figure out, because she needs more followers for contests, giveaways, and general fun stuff)!!

**Make sure you follow all those links above. You'll be glad you did.**

The one you can't let go.

Everyone has that one story you can't let go. The one you don't want to get away. The one that means the most to you. Your book baby.

This special darling stays with you long after the last word is written. Maybe it's the story that made you think you could be a writer. Maybe it's the story you really want to tell. Maybe it's the one that rings most true but you're too scared to say the words in real life, so you let your characters say it for you.


The problem with most book babies is that while it's a great story, it's not always marketable. It's personal, for any number of reasons, and that makes it harder to mold into a sell-able shape.

I know lots of writers. The one in the drawer is usually their book baby. And that totally sucks. Mine won't go in the drawer. I stick it in there and before long those characters are whispering to me in the dark, begging for one more chance. This time it will be different. This time it will work. This time we won't let you down. But the rejection is always the same.

We love the premise.
We love your voice.
We can't sell this damn book.

So Monday I had the super long drive back from Spring Break. The kids were reading, the music pumped, the breeze blew in the windows whipping my hair around making me feel alive. The music happened to be the playlist for my book baby. Every song that played made me miss those characters, expand on their story, think of funny things they would say if this happened. Or this. Or that.

And that's when it hit me. I was doing it wrong.

Josey was never meant to be a one book character. I already have two written and more planned, but what if I just reversed their order? It would start as New Adult and we follow her and grow with her. By the time it got to the book with the not super happy ending(the unsalable one), people would care enough to see if she could find her happiness. They would be invested in the characters and the series. She would have legs to walk outside her book and into many more novels and around in other people's worlds, not just mine. And that's where I want her to be. Out there. Not just in here.

So I'm going to do something radical. Something I haven't seen before and I may fail, but is that really any different than my book baby sitting in the drawer? No. I think not.I'm going to try a series that starts as New Adult and as we follow Josey and grow with her, the series will change to Adult. *bites nails*

So wish me luck as I try this crazy endeavor. It will be a while as I have an R&R and my alter ego has a book coming out soon. But after that, I'm going to try this. There is a system we are taught to follow, but I've never been one much for rules. Who knows? Maybe I'll write a few new ones of my own.

                                              Obligatory Somerhalder gif. You're welcome.

Pen Names and Self Publishing: Ups and Downs edition.

So I have a pen name. A few of you know who my alter ego is, a very few. We're like the Goonies and like them, I hope to find a ship full of gold and jewels at the end of journey. Or just be left with a really great story people read and love and quote and stands the test of time. Yeah, that works too. If a Truffle Shuffle gets thrown in, so be it.

So with this pen name, I am self publishing. It's a really big deal. I actually cried when I announced, which was a huge shock to me. I was self-pubbing it. I was deciding to do it. But still...I'm going to have a book. A real book. And people are going to read it.

But the three questions I'm beginning to love to hate are 1) Why the pen name? 2) Why self pub? and 3) So you just write a book and put it on the internet?

Oh, punchy feels.

So instead of being ragey, I thought I would blog about the answers to these questions.

First up, The Pen Name.

I thought a long time about this one. Should I? Shouldn't I? There's and up and a down to this. On Twitter, in contests, even on Facebook, people know me. I'm kind of a big deal. I have many leather bound books. No, wait, that's something else.

But I do have large numbers of followers and friends there and it would be so great to go to those people and say, I'm putting out a book. Love it, love me, TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW! So why not, right?

The answer is simple. I write Adult and New Adult but I teach kids. I write about things they don't need to be reading yet and I don't ever want a parent to look at me and say, My daughter saw Miss Angi's book in the store and had to have it. It was wildly inappropriate. Yes. I know. That's why I wrote it.

My universe is about my kids, kids I teach, my Girl Scouts, the schools I volunteer at - all kids, all the time. I need a place where my grown-up thoughts can go, and that's into my books. I write about all kinds of things but the bottom line is, these books aren't for kids.

A second reason is, I'm still trying to get an agent and traditional pub, so with this pen name I'm testing the waters of self-pubbing which leads me to questions two and three.

Why Self-pub?

This question has a lot of answers. No, it's not because I'm bitter I have gotten a few rejections. It takes time to get a deal. A few key people in my life who don't write keep looking at me and saying, since it has happened yet...not yet? I just started! I haven't even sent out 40 queries total and the response I've gotten has been almost unprecedented. I have amazing CP's, I research, I spend the time. I write almost every single day. I'm working on it and I will get there, of this I have no doubt.

It's also not because I'm a hack who can't write, at least I hope not. No, almost every rejection I have received says the same thing. Love your writing, love your voice, love your concept, I don't know how to sell this. You don't fit in a mold. And that's what started me thinking: maybe self-pub is the way to go.

If I can write, but my stories don't fit traditional molds, then there's probably a market. A big house may not take a chance, but I've got nothing to lose. So why not? That's reason one.

Reason two is I write a lot. And quickly. Actually, this is what I look like typing.

 And by a lot, I mean between Jan 2012 -Dec 2012 I completed five full manuscripts and a novella and I rewrote one of those twice before I put it in the drawer. That's a bunch. And publishing is slow. So I'm producing good work at a fast rate, why not get it out there? This reason for self-pubbing came from my beautiful CP's 

The third reason is all that stuff I write? Not all the same genre or type of story. While it's all Adult or New Adult and most of it has romance at its core, I write thrillers, historical, very steamy stories, dark and edgy, paranormal, about cupcakes, and even some full blown naughty times books. Where am I going to find an agent for all that? If you're an agent reading this and think, that's the girl I've been looking for, please call me immediately. I'll play the Pina Colada song for us and we'll ride off into the sunset.

                                    "You complete me" - me and my future agent to each other

To answer question number three: No, you don't just write a book and put it on the internet. You write one, then send it to CP's then revise. Then lather, rinse, repeat this until it's perfect. Then it goes to a copy editor. Then you fix your book you thought was perfect, but wasn't. Then it gets formatted. Then cover, blog tours, promotion, perhaps one or some of the above things again. Then moments of crushing self doubt when you think you're only doing this because you are a hack who can't get a book out any other way. The days you want to quit, delete everything about you from the internet and pretend you don't exist because no one will ever buy your book. Ever. And what if one person does and they hate it? Oh god. There are going to be bad reviews. What if there are no good ones? What if the only good ones are from your friends? But all that doesn't matter because you'll never make deadline. You've told people there's a book and now there won't be, because you are in no way equipped to handle everything that you need to do because you are a writer not a business person, not a publicist, not an agent! It's all going to go in the toilet and the money you spent that you didn't have to begin with is all for nothing.

Deep breath.

So no, you don't just write a story and put it on the internet. 

So that's why I am self-pubbing under a pen name. Are you dying to know my pen name? Don't worry. I'm not that stealthy, and often tweet from the wrong Twitter account because I'm extra cool. Pay attention, you can figure it out.Oh, and when you do...buy my book, okay?

And just because I need one gratuitous shot of a Salvatore or a Winchester per blog, here you go: