New member and self-pub author

Hi All,

I'm new to the group. Having just completed my debut romance, Fat Girl (available June 25), I am looking to connect with other writers to share our experiences and support each other. If you want to discuss marketing ideas, need a book reviewed or the like, I would be happy to. For reviews, my love is all things romantic, steamy and well written. Look forward to connecting. ~Leigh

http://leighcarron.wordpress.com/

Hi Leigh, and welcome!

Thanks, Amy. I noticed on one of your posts that you were writing something as part of a school project. How did that go?

Hi Leigh! Actually not school; I write literary essays for an encyclopedia company (so it's a little like writing a school paper but getting paid for it!). It's enjoyable and brings in a little extra cash, although not a lot by any means. ;-) I'm a librarian in my day job, and do a little freelance nonfiction writing on the side, plus work on my own fiction.

Mostly I read/write science fiction and fantasy, although I read a lot of young adult books these days too.

Sounds interesting. I'd be happy to read pieces of your fiction books if you ever need another perspective. If you have any time and interest, I'd welcome getting your thoughts on my excerpt (3 chapters). It's a contemporary romance with steam, mature content and some coarse language. No pressure. If it's not your thing, we can just stay connected on writing in general.

Hi Leigh, sorry to be so slow in responding!

I wonder if you've heard of critique.org? It's an offshoot of critters.org, which is an online critique group for writers of science fiction and fantasy. The offshoot, critique.org, branches out to other genres including romance. There is some information here: http://critique.org/romance/

I have participated in the sci-fi/fantasy branch to the extent that I've critiqued others' work, but not yet had my own critiqued there, only because I also have an in-person group so have not needed an online critique so far. I do think it's good to find someone versed in your genre if possible -- nothing worse than having someone critique a science fiction story by saying "well, I don't actually like science fiction, so...."

Some pros and cons of critters.org (so possibly of critique.org).... You have to critique other folks first -- actually I find this to be a good thing; you build up a credit and then get to use it. I think it's a good idea because I agree with the organizers that you learn a lot about your own writing by critiquing. On the downside (for me personally; mileage may vary), they're somewhat restrictive in what you're allowed to say in your critiques. Their goal is for you to be nice, which I agree with, but they also don't like you to say things like "editors like this" or "editors don't like that". I don't know if they're worried that someone who doesn't know what they're talking about might mislead others, but if I've listened to Editor Smith say something last week at a convention about what he/she doesn't like, I think I should be allowed to say so.

I also think the website is hard on the eyes and not easy to navigate, and because much of the critique upload process is automatic, you have to follow their formatting guidelines, etc. So there's a bit of a learning curve, but you may find it worth it?

Hi Leigh, welcome! I'm new here as well. My name is Aleks, I'm new to making friends on author sites so I thought I would introduce myself. I am a Psychologist and self-development writer but I also love fiction and studied Creative Writing and Psychology at university. I plan to go back into fiction in the not too distant future so I thought it would be good to befriend intriguing people with interests in all kinds of genres. Looking forward to keeping in touch. Have a great day! :)

Sorry to have been out of touch for so long. I was busy getting my book ready to launch. Happy to say Fat Girl is now live! Thanks for telling me about critique.org. I was not aware of them, but will definitely check out their site. Good timing for book 2. :)

Hi Aleks, welcome and good to meet you. Your background is quite interesting, the combination would be great for fiction. As I start this self-publishing journey, I'll provide updates on what's working for me and what's not. Wish you all the best. Stay in touch.

Amy, where might I offer my book for free for a certain time in exchange for honest reviews?

Hi Leigh,

Congrats on your book going live!

I have not done much in the way of offering books for reviews, but you could try looking at LibraryThing's "member giveaways" and seeing if it meets the criteria for that program? Look here (https://www.librarything.com/er/profile) and scroll down to the rules section to read about Member Giveaways.

Thanks, Amy. Will do.

I am also new to the group. I am the author of Suddenly Real (available now at Amazon and Barnes and noble). Suddenly Real is a romance. I will like to connect and discuss marketing ideas and I need book review.

Hi, another newbie here. I have written a few books now but am still learning as I go! I am a screenwriter turned part-time novelist and full time mom.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywor...

Have a wonderful day everyone!