Early this week I hit a major milestone!
My second novel, Pulse, is now 80K words and 380 pocket book (my preferred publishing size) pages. All the chapters are structurally written. My task is now to edit for continuity and improve a few weak spots. I have a beta target of October 1, 2020 and I am confident I can get the edit done in 3 weeks.
Some of the other things we have done recently:
- Over 400 Downloads on Smashwords and we are one of the most downloaded free Coming of Age novels on the platform
- We crossed 50 Goodreads reviews a few weeks ago and are trending towards 100!
- We participated in the Book Fairies Treasure Hunt
- We started our second tour with YA Bound
- I reposted my book trailer and used Google Adwords to generate 10K+ views!
To celebrate all these amazing accomplishment and to give back to all the people that have helped, we are hosting our first ever giveaway with some awesome prizes including signed copies and a hoodie!
A few weeks ago I did an interview with BOOK BLOGGIN PRINCESS and I want to highlight that interview again as I don’t think many people found it.
Q: What’s inside the mind of a YA fiction author?
I just want to give back. This book is for all the friends I saw struggling. I had my battles but ultimately the main character here is a combination of a few people. Telling their stories gives young readers a chance to learn from the mistakes and struggles I saw or went through. Gives them some advice and perspective.
Because the book is so new, not many people are aware it exists. My goal is to just get this book in front of as many readers as I can. The hard work pays off when a reader reaches out to me over social media to tell me how much the book connected with them. That means the world to me.
The other thing on my mind of late is my second project. It isn’t Young Adult. I am working on a Sci-Fi/Horror called Pulse. It is a total change of pace. It will be marketed to a different audience for sure. I am struggling with how to give back to my fans of Someone’s Story in Pulse. I’m always evolving but I don’t want to change my style so much that I lose my fans. There are some young characters in Pulse and I am trying to think up a few ways to reward a reader who picks up both books. A few subtle crossovers maybe and some stylistic choices.
Q: Tell us why readers should buy Someone’s Story.
Someone’s Story is unique. The main character is never named. They simply go by “Someone” and it kind of reads almost like the character is streaming their thoughts unfiltered. A few people have described the book as very raw. The formatting is a hybrid between screenplay and novel. I attended film school for a little while. That is where I started writing so some of those techniques found their way into the book. I also wrote original songs and then had a musician partner with me to record them. Some of the song lyrics are in the book. It is a neat little aspect to the project that I have never seen. When you combine the music, the screenplay style and the unnamed main character, this is a unique and unforgettable experience.
It’s not a long book either. I packed a lot of stuff into something you can finish in a night. Ultimately the book is about mental health and doing grandiose things. This book is for people that struggle. This book is for people who wonder. This book is for anyone who wants to believe in themself but doesn’t know how.
Q: What makes a good YA / coming of age fiction story?
Character. My first draft had lots of me in it. The problem is I am boring. My life is boring. Not much drama happens to me. This book got so much better when I started to make it a work of fiction. I basically took my journal, cut it in half, and then re-wrote the main character from the perspective of a few people that lived a harder life than me. The book is good because I jammed three people into one character. There are layers to unpack. Lots of depth. Events and information have to give the reader an emotional response.
Q: What is the best thing about being an author?
It is very emotionally satisfying work. Writing gives me a way to deal with all of life’s stresses. I create characters and events that take the things happening around me and crank the dial up to 11. This gives me perspective. Going back to my first answer, when a reader reaches out to me to tell me they had an emotional reaction to my writing, that is why I do this. To give them that moment.
I also love a big project. Being self-published means I have many hats. I designed the cover myself, I did the Amazon Kindle formatting in Kindle Create. I designed my own website. I run my own social media. All the while I am outlining my future writing projects and trying to add about 1,000 words to my Pulse manuscript every day.
Being an author gives me a chance to draw on so many of the skills I already had from my years of working, while also developing all these new skills. I think the area I have been learning the most about of late is marketing. I don’t have any background in marketing and it took me a few months to start to understand how to pitch myself and put myself out there. If you publish something and do no marketing, no one will find it. I like the challenge of trying to get exposure for my work.
Someone’s Story is still FREE while I am on my digital book tour. Come grab a copy and check out this amazing project!
Keep those minds sharp and happy readings!
B.A. Bellec
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