Zut Alors! I'm done.
And now for What's Up Wednesday:
What I'm Reading
I finished The Unbound by Victoria Schwab which is the sequel to The Archived. I think I liked this book better (which is totally unusual for me to like a sequel better than the first book) but I'm also thinking I might have been in a bit of a book funk when I read The Archived. Now I'm reading Bunheads by Sophie Flack (nothing to do with that one-season TV show BTW) and I'm really enjoying it. I used to dance so reading about anything dance automatically grabs me.
What I'm Writing
I need to focus on my EPONINE query. Focus, Melanie, focus. I'm also going to start a revision on an ms I'm currently querying before I send it out one last time.I've beta'd four manuscripts in the past month. The great thing about beta-ing is that I end up learning a ton. I probably get more out of it than I give. It's really inspiring to read other writers works and to be part of this small world of people trying to write the best book possible. Writing is lonely, people say it all the time, but sometimes it has a team feel where we're all cheering each other on and I love that.
What Else I've Been Up To
The A-Z challenge. Which I've finished! Hallelujah! I'm probably going to take a bit of a blog break for a bit, aside from WUW posts.
And as my final A-Z act, I give you my Z song:
Actually, I decided to cheat, because I had no Z song and I love this song like crazy.
All of Me by John Legend ft. Lindsey Stirling
*Actually, I did have a Z song- Zorba's dance by Mikis Theodorakis, but I like this one better :)
Well done for completing the A-to-Z Challenge, Melanie!! It's been fun reading and interacting with your posts this month. :)
ReplyDeleteI need to do more beta reading. The feedback I've received from my Betas has been so helpful, I'd like to be able to do the same for others. This is an aspect of writing that loner-writers of the pre-Internet age never experienced--the opportunity to have writers from all over the world beta read for you. And I'm sure many of them would have jumped at the chance.
Have a wonderful week!
Congratulations on completing the A to Z Challenge :D Best of luck getting that query ready. Go, go, go! Find yourself an agent ^_^
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on finishing the A to Z Challenge! Good luck with your query. I always have a hard time writing those. I sometimes use forums to help critique the first draft just to see what is wrong with it. I use AbsoluteWrite but sometimes they can be downright harsh and it's hard. On the other hand its nice to see honest critique and not just fluffy "its fantastic".
ReplyDeleteI love the ARCHIVED and UNBOUND. I really hope she writes/publishes a third! I could definitely see it as a trilogy :)
I liked The Unbound more than The Archived, though I absolutely love the whole concept of the series!
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with the query and revisions! :)
I think I'm going to take a break too! Next year, we need a theme!!
ReplyDeleteBUNHEADS has such a pretty cover. I recently read Brandy Colbert's POINTE and absolutely loved it. Definitely one to check out if you like dance. Congrats on finishing the A-Z Challenge, and best of luck with query writing!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read THE ARCHIVED or THE UNBOUND but I do hear a lot of good things about them. I know what you mean about how sometimes our opinion of a book is flavoured by a funk we're in. I often wonder just how many books have fallen victim to "wrong book, wrong time", you know? Good luck with your query and your revisions on the other story. Have a great week! :-)
ReplyDeleteYou're the second person I've seen with Lindsey Stirling in their post today. Love her music so much and only wish I was that talented!
ReplyDeleteThis "book funk" issue, is interesting. It's so true that you need to be in the mood for a certain book or you might not enjoy it as much. I've also wondered how many books I wasn't keen on because I read them before I'd learned enough about writing to understand and fully appreciate the author's writing style/talent. My tastes have changed a lot over the course of learning to be a better writer.
Hope you have a super week and that you're able to focus on your query and revisions! :)
Congratulations on finishing the A-Z challenge! :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't read anything by Victoria Schwab yet and I'd really like to - I want to read The Archived but I've heard some pretty amazing things about Vicious, too, so I might end up picking that book up first.
Have a great week!
How cool that you get to be a beta reader. That seems like fun. I can't believe there's both a book and a TV show called Bunheads! Good luck with your query.
ReplyDeleteSo nice to meet you! I know what you mean about writing being lonely, but when you are regularly sharing/critiquing with others it can be so much fun (well, the critiques can still be frustrating, but good) I LOVED THE ARCHIVED and THE UNBOUND! Get so excited when I see someone else reading a favorite. The ending of the Unbound was so clever.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on finishing your A-Z Challenge! I am always so impressed with bloggers that do those challenges. Honestly, I'm not sure I have the discipline to do it. :) And I totally agree with you a beta-reading. I get so much out of it myself that it's a joy to do, not to mention that feeling of being part of the writing community. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed THE ARCHIVED (though not as much as THE NEAR WITCH), so I'm happy to hear the sequel is even better. I haven't gotten around to reading it yet, but I plan to!
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree about beta reading. I always learn so much, both from what I think works and what I think doesn't. Seeing what doesn't work is so helpful—it forces me to pay attention to that stuff in my own writing.
Congrats on finishing the A to Z Challenge! I took a break from it this year, but maybe I'll jump in again next year.
ReplyDelete