It just struck me yesterday (so I’m slow) how very many wannabe authors there are in this world–even in my own personal little view of it. I don’t actually know any personal acquaintances (outside my writers’ groups) that want to be authors, but there are certainly plenty of people willing to admit, “Yeah, I’ve always kinda wanted to write a book…” They get that faraway look in their eyes when you tell them you’re an author. But it doesn’t seem serious. None of them really have any intention of actually acting on that desire. At least not right now.

I’m talking about all the writers that blog, all the writers on loops, all RWA members (and members of other writers’ associations), all the loners, and all those writers that just seem to appear out of nowhere–the breakouts. Talk about competition. It’s more than a little disheartening if you want to go the traditional route to publishing. Even if you want to self-publish, you’ve gotta find distribution channels and then promote like crazy just to get your name to be noticed! I’m going to try not to think about it and think like a breakout author.

I’d like to do a little experiment when I get a little bit of time: sort of a Kevin Bacon ‘Degrees of Separation’ sorta thing. I’ll pick a blog, read it, randomly select a commenter and follow the links to their blog, and keep going until I make it back to the original blog. Wonder if it will work…

Well, you don’t come across a 500 page book everyday–at least not one you’re willing to read…but I did, and it was stupendous! I actually first read about Twilight by Stephenie Meyer on Romancing the Blog. I think Misa Ramirez was hyping it, and then plenty of commenters were adding their agreement. So…obviously I checked it out. Figuratively and literally. The first time I checked it out from the library, I started reading but was already in the middle of another book. I couldn’t renew it because someone else wanted it–but I really didn’t want to let it go.

This week, Tuesday, I got it back, and I’ve been tenaciously working my way through. I don’t believe I’ve ever read a vampire romance (and I never really had the desire to), but this one I devoured. First of all the heroine is a teen and rather mysterious–I’m thinking there are still some mysteries surrounding her that maybe will get cleared up in the sequel, New Moon, which was released Aug 21. (My library does not yet have a copy). Secondly, she falls in love with a vampire who finds her ‘scent’ overwhelmingly appealing, and it’s all he can do not to feast on her! And third, they somehow fall in love and have to deal with the difficulties that entails (along with a few other bumps in the road). I can’t say enough! I highly, highly recommend this book.

I also recommend visiting Ms. Meyer’s website. She has a lot of extras posted that are very fun and interesting as well. Apparently MTVfilms, Paramount, and Maverick films have bought the movie rights, and I hope they follow through. This could be an edge-of-your-seat thriller…with a side of romance.

Whew…now on to the next book on my TBR stack: Dress Rehearsal by Jennifer O’Connell.

And no, I haven’t worked on my WIP since Friday. But I’ve thought about it a lot…

I have to admit, I’ve heard plenty about Miss Snark on a multitude of other sites, and I’ve even surfed over there a few times. But, quite frankly, she scares me. Maybe ‘intimidates’ is a better word, but either works. Over the past couple of days, I’ve seen several mentions of a ‘Crapometer’ and wondered what everyone was talking about. So I visited her blog to check it out.

Gaggles of people are submitting their query letters and the first page of their WIP to hear her opinion. And she’s brutal! Sure, I can see the benefit, providing your confidence in your work is rock solid, but what if she says she’d request a partial, or even a full. That would have to kill the lucky author, her being anonymous and all. Because what’s the likelihood of her contacting them and blowing her cover to go out on a limb for one book/one author?

So you either get your hopes dashed, you get pissed off, or you get a momentary confidence booster. Huh. Still don’t get it.