I always forget how insane December can get. Between having report cards due, Christmas prep at school and home, and Dominik's baptism yesterday, this post is way overdue!

Also, congratulations to Chelsea for winning my holiday raffle! That's it for giveaways until January. I'll give you details soon.

Now, without further ado..

Some writers need absolute silence while others listen to relaxing music while they write. Every person has their thing that gets the juices flowing and music is such an important part of the process for me.

I'm the kind of person that cooks and bakes with music on, I used to listen to music with headphones pre-Dominik while cleaning, and sometimes I bathe previously mentioned baby with Spotify on in the background.  Maybe it's because I was heavily involved in music growing up, or perhaps because I danced for a good part of my life, but music moves me.

When my husband and I talk about "great songs" he and I have different criteria. He is all about the complicated harmonies and rhythms. He plays the guitar, so if a song has a cool solo, that places it higher on his list. Me, I'm a lyrics girl. Maybe it's because I use them daily, but they make me feel things whether I'm writing or not.

I typically have playlists for each book or WIP I have going. When I was younger I used to burn them to CD's, but I love Spotify because so many songs are available and I can access it on all my devices which is super convenient (No, they are not paying me to say this). I listen to my story playlists when I drive in my car mostly. I find that time kind of like being in the shower, I'm not writing, but I'm thinking about what comes next. The only books that are slightly different are my Squad Treble ones. I have playlists for my four main characters that encompass all four books. 

I thought it might be fun to share a few songs from the playlists. I know I have the playlist pages you can check out, but these are the quintessential ones. :)

Enshrine

-Riptide by Vance Joy "This cowboy's running from himself and she's been living on the highest shelf"

-Fair Game by Sia  (The whole song...not going to copy the whole thing)

-Long Way Down by Robert Delong  "If there's a shadow in me the dark is a tidal force inside of you."

Limited Truth and Shrewdest Faction:
I'm going to do these by character! 

Cassie: 
-Let Me Go by Hailee Steinfeld and Alesso (Again, just all of it)

Jared:
-Let You Down by NF 
"Feels like we're on the edge right now
I wish that I could say I'm proud
I'm sorry that I let you down
L-l-let you down
All these voices in my head get loud
I wish that I could shut them out
I'm sorry that I let you down
L-l-let you down"

I know this song is about how NF felt about his parents, but I feel like the vibe still applies. 

Brayden:
-Outside by Staind (Another one that the whole thing works)

Aaron:
Close to Me by Ellie Goulding and Diplo 
​"So don't let me down
Keep me in trouble
Born to be wild
Out in the jungle"

This was such a hard decision as Aaron is my baby and his playlist is in my heavy rotation, but this song works for not spoiling anything.

If you want to hear more, including work in progress lists for projects I haven't even talked about yet (some of them are a wild ride) and/or my jams the three years I taught Irish dance click the link below!

Writers, do you keep story playlists? Readers, do you like to listen along?

Yours in writing,

Kay Bennson

See what I did there? I know it's a bit early for New Years posts, but I'm feeling inspired to write one anyway.

I'm about to reach my third anniversary of getting an offer of publication for Enshrine. I have learned so much since then, and if I could do it all over again, there are many things I would do differently. Since I can't do that and can only focus on moving forward, the cliche title of this post was born.

1. Do the Query process completely over.
I feel like I was so excited at the prospect of becoming a published author that I did that thing where you throw spaghetti at the wall to see if any will stick. No, I didn't  actually throw any pasta at any walls in my home...but I queried way too many agents without researching them. I saw that they took fantasy or romance and just went for it. I also sent out way too many at once and didn't change my approach when the rejections came pouring in. I was lucky to get a full and partial request despite all of this...but oi.

2. Tweak my letter so it was more alluring.
This is still a work of progress for me. I'm not always great at being concise, but I think I will try to pitch the manuscript first this time before all the other stuff. I'm also not above asking for help. Another set of eyes could be beneficial.

3. Don't necessarily take the first offer you get.
I'm going to be tactful about this one. I was so determined about being published by any means necessary that when an offer came up, I took it because "what if it was this or nothing"? So yes, I can say that I'm published and I have books on Amazon, but it's not really what I dreamed.  You cannot purchase my books in a real store. I probably spend more money on promotional things than I actually make in sales. I still have to get up tomorrow and teach Kindergarten, when I'd really like to be in a cozy office writing or what have you. I would tell myself to be a bit more cautious about reputations of Indie publishing houses (LOOK AT THE COVERS OF THE TITLES THEY RELEASE). I was warned by several colleagues who have since left and have either self published or taken their books elsewhere. I'm not discouraged to the point of stopping anytime soon, I just consider this a stepping stone to my final destination. There are places for you if you are determined enough.

4. Be my own advocate earlier.
Sort of going off of the previous point, I sometimes don't speak up about my accomplishments or concerns because of my anxiety. "If I post everyday, I'm going to annoy someone." "I could call that local bookstore, but what if they say no?" "I am very unhappy with my experience, but if I complain I will face confrontation and because they are considered a lower tier publisher, no one else will ever take those titles or any future titles again if I leave." It's annoying to constantly think people are judging you when they most likely are not and if they are, well I've been starting to say @#%! you more. I have in part started this blog post challenge to work on that. I've also done a few other things that I can talk more about in a minute. Trying to live my best life.

5. Keep freelancing...despite the awkward jobs
I took a two year hiatus from freelancing so I could focus on my own books. I sort of wished I'd kept it going. Though still not reliable enough to be able to say adios to teaching, I have made decent money. I was all bashful about some of the topics but...practicing my craft and getting paid for it? I consider that a win. I have found ways to make time for my work and freelancing too!

Now to look forward. A new decade! Tons of opportunity! Here's some things I hope to accomplish in 2020...and beyond. 

1. Query something brand new and query it right in 2020
I say this after I had an epiphany last night that my current WIP is way too wordy and that a minor character really isn't needed so I may be doing some surgery to all my NaNoWriMo work.  I still hope to be starting the process by March if not before. I already have a short list of agents I will reach out to before I do a second wave. I also am planning on letting eyes beyond my husband and brother look at my letter.

2. Participate in #PitMad
Not only would it be a wild ride if someone actually wanted For the Rogue this way, but the support from the writing community for people pitching was incredible. Next one is in March, thus why I'm trying to get it all done by then.

3. Get Enshrine in an agent or publisher who deals with previously published work's hands
Enshrine's contract is up anytime now (not sure if its from when I signed or when the book was released but I guess I will find out.) After a lot of thought, I will not be renewing with my publisher. Ideally, I would get all of my titles free but a) it costs money to break the contract and b) Limited Truth is going on a blog tour in the middle of January so I'd like to ride it out for a bit longer. I would probably purchase a crapload of paperback copies just in case someone wants one. There are places out there that will take previously published works and I hope someone will give it a chance. Mostly because there are so many more stories to be told in both series but especially in the Enshrine Universe. This time I would make sure that I do it right and get multi book contracts and worst outcome: I can self publish them and promote...honestly...how different is that from what I'm already doing? And I'd get a say in my own covers and what not.

4.Learn more about Audio Fiction
There is this new thing like a podcast, but it's like a chapter of a book each week and people voice the characters and I'm REALLY interested. I am going to research it a bit more and give it it's own challenge post but I want in! 

5. Learn more about the publishing industry...
This one is kinda of crazy but I keep on thinking about where I'm currently published and where I'm an editor. They created their own publishing houses and if they can...why can't everyone? It would be a full time job, which I couldn't commit to right now unless my husband made a lot more money and I could stay home (win win to be with my baby) but I think it would be fun to take some authors and make their dreams come true. I would need a great team of people to work with so if this interests you...contact me. Haha I mostly need someone good at the financial side of things.

Okay, that's it for now. Hope you all have a productive and peaceful week ahead.

Also, please enter my giveaway! It's still running until Wednesday at Midnight!

Kay Bennson

Alright. The big one. Just in time for Christmas and Hanukkah or whatever you like to celebrate this month. The chance for an awesome gift for you or someone you care about. 

Starting Thursday, December 5th, you can enter to win on Rafflecopter. You have the entire week to enter. I want there to be enough time to ship it before the various holidays begin. So if you are entering and don't live in the US, please keep this in mind!

The prize pack is valued at approximately $50 and includes:

• A signed copy of Enshrine
• A signed copy of Limited Truth
• A $10 Starbucks card (For on the go reading)
• A Ceramic Mug (For at home reading) 

You can get entries very similarly to the last giveaway, though I got rid of the review and purchase options this time around. A new addition is leaving a comment on this blog because I feel like I'm talking to just myself...

You have till the clock strikes midnight on Wednesday, December 11th.

Happy Holidays!

Kay Bennson

Little bit of Housekeeping before I share today's post.

-Thank you to everyone that participated in my Thanksgiving Giveaway! There were over 120 entries and Miss Madison Howe won the big prize! 

-My Holiday Giveaway goes live on Thursday, December 5th. It will get it's own post with all the details then! Until now all you need to know is TWO signed books and additional swag.

Alright! Now that we have that out of the way. Today's challenge post is a HUGE step out of my comfort zone, but I hope you will all enjoy it. I'm going to share the first chapter of Venerate which in a nutshell is Enshrine, from Jonty's point of view.

Now let me explain, this is unpublished and pretty rough. If I ever submit this (That's a WHOLE post in itself), it may be tweaked and changed, but I thought it would be fun to share it especially after my multiverse post I did a week or so ago. I'm also hoping it might kick me in the butt to write this and all my Rosementh stories I've still got cooking.

I also feel like I should say spoiler alert if you haven't read Enshrine yet, but on the other hand, this may cause you to want to go out and read the original book. ($4.99  for the Kindle version, just saying...Panera Bread costs more. Hell it costs more than my paperback version too! LOL)

Who knows...maybe if people like this we could make it a monthly series or something. Without further ado...

​

In honor of PitMad on Thursday, I thought I would dedicate one of challenge posts to this process of getting agents attention.

I am kind of torn on the whole thing. Blame it on my anxiety I guess. You have a word limit, you have to use proper hashtags, your pitch has to be interesting, oh and not get lost among the thousands of other pitches on Twitter. It just seems impossible to me... thus cueing this gif I've used before:

Take this with a grain of salt because things like pumping my own gas and talking on the phone to strangers also gets me going. I do see the allure and possible benefits of doing it this way; an agent likes your post and it could be a more "hand picked" match than querying someone who takes all  romance or what have you. You can research those agents you really like in hopes to tailor your pitch to  their exact needs. I feel like that's a bit questionable if you wrote suspense and are making it into a western because that's what your dream agent wants, but I digress.

Three years ago, when I started this venture,  I had no experience. I queried whomever had fantasy and/ or romance in their interests and got LOTS of rejections. I got better about researching as I went along and got requests for fulls and partials once I made that change. Though I ended up going directly with a publisher, I still want to go the traditional route someday and I know my query needs to be stronger in addition to doing more researched. Going back to PitMad, a small part of me wants to try and see what happens, but the rules say they need to be polished complete manuscripts and murphy's law will be that someone wants it and I'll have nothing prepared. March for sure and maybe some mock tweets in the meantime. Getting an agent is a step towards becoming a career author so I should probably do this right.

If you are ready for Thursday but need a refresher on the rules click the link below to get all PitMad info you need. https://pitchwars.org/pitmad/

Special thanks to Kim (@KimTheKindaGood on Twitter) for taking the time respond to my tweet about all of this. Give her a follow and make sure to retweet her pitches on Thursday! Good luck to everyone who will be participating! I'm gonna do my best to share the love!

Kay Bennson