The Book Bosses

I've been following The Book Bosses (Hildy and JJ) and their FB page for the past year.  They're one of my favorite book blog sites.  These two ladies crack me up.   I am honored and so grateful that they took a chance on Nerd Girl and provided my first book blogger review.  You can check out there review here.

The Book Bosses rate books on two scales.
1.  1-5 stars based on overall perception of the book
2.  Panty Changing Rating System based on the hotness of the sex and love scenes  (Chris thought this was hilarious)

I was graciously given a 4 in both categories.  Gotta love it!  

 

 

Nerd Girl is now available on Amazon!!

Nerd Girl is now available on Amazon!!!  Within the next few days, it will be available in paperback and all other e-book sites. It's hard to believe that I started this journey almost 18 months ago and now we're finally here.  Squee!! 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H0N57RQ

If you're willing to provide a review, please contact me directly at suelee_haslam@hotmail.com and I will send you a free copy.  The success of Indie authors is the result of reviews, bloggers, and social media.  I would appreciate your support.

Goodreads Giveaway!!!

Sign up now for a giveaway on Goodreads!   I will be giving away 10 free copies of Nerd Girl, if you sign up between November 20, 2013 - January 5, 2014.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Nerd Girl

by Sue Lee

Giveaway ends January 05, 2014.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Nerd Girl Alert!

Nerd Girl alert!

I'm really digging the paranormal genre.  What I wouldn't do to come up with a really good paranormal love story as a my next book.

I think this is because I grew up with an older brother and through him, I was introduced to science fiction, strange creatures, and great fantasy stories.  I remember seeing Star Wars for the first time when I was seven and then many times after that.  I remember my brother dressing up as Luke Skywalker for Halloween.  I wanted to be Princess Leia but couldn't quite pull off the look.  Nevertheless, I remember loving the Lord of the Rings, Star Trek and all those cool Star Wars action figures. 

My love of science fiction and fantasy stories took a backburner through my teens as I focused mostly on love stories.  As a young adult, my reading selections expanded and I enjoyed non-fiction, fiction of all different themes... and then Twilight came out.  After Twilight, my love of books took on a whole new meaning and my obsession with books and reading reached OCD levels.  This year alone, I've read 100 books (according to my Kindle).  

Why do I write a blog post on this?  The last eleven books I've read these past two months or so, have been Paranormal books.  I've recently completed the following:

• Red Hill - by Jamie McGuire -- a Zombie apocalypse book.  I'm not really into zombie stories, but I love the author's other books so I thought I would give it a try.  Not bad...
• Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead (6 books) - Vampires, humans, and those half breeds that protect them.  Loved it!  Great story about friendship with a kickass heroine.
• The Lux series from Jennifer Armentrout (4 books -- I can't wait for the last installment which won't be released until next summer! Argh!) - this is an awesome action packed alien love story.  Yes, sounds corny, but it's sooo good!
• The Fall of Five - this is the 4th in the Lorien legacy series - Teenage aliens that hide on earth and possess superpowers to fight off a global invasion.  The movie "I Am Number Four" was the first book in the series.   Too bad they're not making another movie.  The later books are totally action packed.
• Bloodlines - this is another series written by Richelle Mead and I'm currently reading the 1st of I think four books?
• Harry Potter - One of my all time favorite series, but I'm now reading them with my girls.  We are on book #4 The Goblet of Fire.

Anyways, each of these books bring me into a whole new world created by the author.  There is love, action, and cool science fiction and fantasy elements.  I love it. 

What can I say?  I'm a total nerd.

On the brink...

Do you ever get that feeling you're on the brink of something?  You know.. you get that sixth sense, that thing you can't put your finger on, you're not really sure what's going to happen, but you wait... and you wait... and then you jump!  Or someone pushes you to fall off the cliff.  That's how I feel right now. 

My kids are happy, it's two days before Halloween, the sun is shining outside, and the leaves are on fire with red and orange, I love my husband, and life is good.  I drove home yesterday from the office and I actually smiled thinking how great I have it.

I spent the last 18 months of my life writing a book.  I researched the world of self-publishing and decided to go for it.  It might end up being a miserable failure.  I have no idea if I can write.  But I was passionate about it from day one and frankly, I became obsessed with the idea of getting, Nerd Girl, out there.  Well, it's almost out there.

I don't know what the fuck I'm doing, of course.  I've done what I think all indie published author's are supposed to be doing... I've created all the social media sites, I have a blog, a FB page, a Twitter account, and a Goodreads author page.  I've got a book cover from one of the best indie book cover designers ever, a formatter is currently making my book look beautiful.  And in a couple of weeks, maybe less than that, I'll be uploading my book onto e-book websites like Amazon, Smashwords, B&N, and iBook.

.... and then I wait. 

Of course, I'll do some self promotion, have a giveaway on Goodreads, beg people to read my book for free for a written review.

.... but then I have to wait some more.

Some people will hate my book.  Some people will love it.  What will all of this mean to me?  I'm not sure yet.  Maybe it will be anti-climatic.  Maybe my book will just sit there on e-book websites and it will soon be forgotten.  I'll know that I tried my best and then so be it.  I'll write another book and learn and grow in the process. 

But then maybe it will do well?  That's the exciting part.  That's the unknown.  Do I want to take the risk?  Hell yeah.... 

It's almost time....

Book Cover

I have a book cover and I absolutely love it!

My cover was designed by Okay Creations.  Sarah Hansen is brilliant.  I'm thrilled with the end result and I'm so excited to reveal it... very soon!

Next step... I am getting the book professionally formatted for upload onto Amazon, B&N, ibook, and Smashwords. 

Nerd Girl

I've been struggling for months on the right title.  After making some editorial changes and seeing Julia from the perspective of an objective 3rd party, the title just sort of jumped out at me.

Nerd Girl

Julia is sort of a nerd.  Most women who work at MS, frankly, are nerdy... but in a lovable, endearing, good way.  We love technology, we're smart, and structured. We need charts and graphs to demonstrate, manage, and track things.  Frankly, the majority of women in this world, aren't like this.  I sometimes forget, having been around MS for over 14 years now. 

Anyways, when you read the book, you'll see why Nerd Girl is the perfect title for Julia's story :-)

Ok, so next steps in my indie publishing journey:

• Book cover design:  Unfortunately, I have to wait until end of October for this.  I chose a book cover design artist who is really making a name for herself.  The downside however, is that she is making a name for herself and her waitlist is long.  I'm on her schedule for October.
• Start trolling indie publishing blog sites and get people to read a free ARC (Advance Reader Copy) in exchange for an honest review.
• Create an author account on Goodreads.com
• Begin the process on CreateSpace.com (on demand book printing)
• Begin the process on all other e-book publishing sites (Amazon, B&N, Apple, etc...)
• Get ISBN number
• Create my author FB page
• Format the book for all these different delivery channels (I'm outsourcing this part)
• Launch party? :-)

I'm hoping for a Pre-Christmas release date.  Cross your fingers.

Editing

I have an awesome Editor - Erin Roth.
Her feedback was brutally honest and snarky.  Some of her comments felt like an arrow through my chest. 

BUT.... Every author must learn to take criticism and her feedback was constructive and very true.  Having incorporated her feedback, I ended up cutting out almost 75% of my first three chapters.  It seriously hurt to do so, but my book is so much better for it.  Erin really knows what she's doing. 

When I originally starting writing the book, I was initially motivated by my Microsoft experiences and wanted to share them.  However, in the process of doing so, I forgot that I was writing a romance.  The book was having sort of a personality disorder.  If you read it, you couldn't tell if it was a romance or if it was a memoir of Microsoft.  As much as it killed me to do so, I cut out all the MS stuff.  I focused on making my main character likable and revealing the Microsoft components through other less direct means.  Erin had some fabulous suggestions, that in my opinion, completely changed the tone of the book.

I'm so pleased with the end result. 

Beta Reader Reviews are coming in!!

Each time I hand over my book to a beta reader, it's absolutely terrifying.  I think it's because each time I show my book to someone, it's a little like I'm revealing the essence of my soul.  I slaved over this book for over a year, giving it every creative spark I had.  I had to dig deep into my emotions for certain scenarios, to be able to properly write about how Julia and Ryan might feel.  I had to reveal either my talent or lack of (depending on the reviewer's opinion), and that is what is so scary. 

Someone could hate it.  Someone could think that I'm crazy for even trying to do this.  But on the other hand, that person might actually like it.  They might tell their friends about it.  They might actually appreciate the time and effort and sweat I put into it.   For those of you who have truly enjoyed the book and given me your time, support, and constructive feedback, you have motivated me to keep going on this journey and making my dream a reality.   Thank You!!  Your support means so much to me and I am forever grateful.

My Book Summary

Here is a summary of my book.  This summary will be visible on every e-book retailer site and also on the back cover.  Hopefully, it gives enough detail about the story without giving away any spoilers.  I also want to make sure it's interesting enough that it grabs people and makes them want to read the book.

Everyone knows that office romances can be risky, but how much are you willing to sacrifice for love?
 

Julia Hayes is beautiful, successful, sometimes nerdy, and perpetually single.  She lives in Seattle and just landed her dream job at one of the most iconic technology companies in the world.

When Julia embarks on a new career opportunity, a serendipitous event literally throws her in the path of Ryan Taylor, the hot and charming VP.  As the attraction grows between them, it's not long before Julia realizes that things are more complicated than they appear.  

Nerd Girl is a heartwarming love story about a woman at the crossroads between true love and her career.  It's about deciding what’s most important in life and taking chances to get it.  But most of all, it's about not letting your mind prevent you from following your heart.

 

 

 

I... AM... DONE!!! 



The story of Ryan and Julia has been told and they will have their happily ever after.

I've posted my blog on Facebook.  I've decided to come out of the closet.  I've written my first book.  I've just completed my first round of edits and I'm now ready to recruit a few beta readers.  I have two beta readers already and their constructive feedback has already been immeasurable.  You guys know who you are.  Thank you!!

Any other takers?  Read here for a quick description of the book.  I have yet to write the book summary, sorry. 

Between now and September, I still have a lot of work to do, but the heavy lifting is complete.

It is 12:35 AM on a Friday night.  I started writing this book almost exactly a year ago.  I've never written a book or a short story before in my life.  However, once I started, I became obsessed with it. I wanted to prove I could do it.   So for countless nights over the last 365 days, I've stayed up frequently till all late hours of the night.  At times, I've ignored my children and husband, and taken days off work only to write.  I wrote when the pot was boiling or when the kids were at the park with Chris.  I wrote, and wrote, and wrote until my eyes saw double and I couldn't stand to look at my PC any further.

This milestone feels great.  

 

I'm officially committed

I am now officially committed to getting my book completed and self published.  My target date is January 2014.
 
I've completed the first draft and I am about two thirds through the my initial round of editing.  I currently have two friends signed up as beta readers and have just forwarded them the first half of the book.  It's absolutely terrifying and I'm holding my breath.

I've also just hired a professional editor and have been put on her schedule for September.  I hired Erin Roth, who also edited the Beautiful Disaster series.  I loved that book and it one was one of the novels that inspired me to write one of my own.  Erin is also a member of the Indie Bookshelf, a well known book review user group and blog. 

I hired Okay Creations as my book cover designer.  Sarah Hansen has designed a ton of indie published books, several which have now been on the NY Times Bestseller list.  She's booked until November, but I've now been added to her schedule as well.

I've been doing a lot of research on whether or not to go the traditional publishing route or the indie publishing route.  My research has included reading and following indie publishing blogs, book review sites, Goodreads.com, and several other random website referrals from various other sources.  Needless to say, there is A LOT of information out there.  Initially, it was all very overwhelming, but after several months of following these blogs, doing research and asking a lot of questions, I'm now getting a good picture of the pros/cons of traditional vs. indie publishing.

Traditional publishing requires an author to find a literary agent.  This can be a long and cumbersome process. I would have to find the right type of agent first, one who specializes in my genre, write a letter to convince them to consider taking on my book, and then wait for them to find a publishing house to accept it.  The publishing house and the agent would then both take their cut, they would own the full rights to the book, and it could take over a year or two before the book would get out there.  The odds of landing a publisher through the traditional route is very very low.  I just don't think I have the heart or the patience to take this approach.  Especially not when the indie publishing industry has completely revolutionized how authors are getting books out to readers.

Indie publishing is an industry that is completely taking off right now.  There is a pivotal shift occurring in the book publishing industry.  New indie businesses and blogs/review sites are popping up everywhere.  Authors are now able to publish their own books easily and quickly.  Of course, the downside is that they have to do their own marketing too i.e. book summary blurbs, covers, blog sites, book review, giveaways, pricing models, etc.. etc... etc....  Many popular books out there were independently published and authors said it took 1-2 years before the book took off.  But they also got 70% of the profits and they owned all the rights to their own book. 

I think the odds of success are rare with both options but I feel that I will have more control over my own destiny with the latter. 

Having said all that, please know that I'm not completely off my rocker. Yes, I have grand dreams of becoming a published author and getting some moderate success out of it. However, my success or lack of, is only as good as the book.  I have now fully committed myself to finishing this journey.  All the wheels have been set in motion. 

Here we go...

Coming Up With a Title

Coming up with a title for my book has been difficult.  When I first started writing it, Chris jokingly threw out there the title "Meet Me At Building 7".  For those who are familiar with "Digisoft" life, then you know there is no building 7.  It's an inside joke.  

Now that I'm nearing the last stretch and I'm more than half way through with my first edit, Chris thought I should change the name of my book.  The title needed to capture several things: 

• Imply that it was a contemporary romance
• Imply that it was somehow related to "Digisoft" and it's subculture
• It needed to be different, capture people's attention
• It couldn't be too sappy... I wanted to stay away from the world of Harlequin
• And if possible, it needed to have double meaning, with a sexual undertone or reference.

The title I've chosen is .... a secret for now.  Chris gave full thumbs up approval.  He thought the title fit all of the criteria above, so much so that he didn't want me to risk the public getting a hold of it, in case someone would steal it.  A little paranoid? Yes, but that just means he loves me and supports my little hobby. 

Once I publish the book, you might get a good laugh out of it.

Am I really a writer?

Well, this is my first official blog post.  I created this blog to begin tracking my journey as a... drum roll please.... a writer.

What qualifies someone as a writer anyways?  Do they have to have a degree in English or Literature?  Should they have a published article or a book to their name?  I have neither. However, I do love to write.  I don't think I'm very good at the grammatical stuff, which is why I'm not an editor. I would like to think however, that I have some talent in telling a story, conveying an emotion, and using my imagination.

Every publishing expert says I need to start getting the word out there.  Well... I have a confession to make.  Only a very select few know about my secret little hobby.  Now that I've started this blog, it's not a secret anymore, and just the idea of this being out there makes my pulse race. 

So there... It's out there now.  Now you know.  I aspire to be a novelist. 

With that said, I've spent the last ten months writing my first novel.  My first draft is done.  I'm now mid-way through round 1 of the editing process.  The experience thus far, truly has been a journey and I know this is only the beginning. 

So, your next logical question... What is it about?

For anyone who knows me, I LOVE to read.  I read every genre - romance, sci fi, history, non-fiction, young adult, fantasy and magic, but contemporary and historical romances were always my favorite. 

Last summer, having given up by full time career the year before, I realized I actually had time to contemplate things other than work and family.   During the rare quiet moment of a day or during my workout runs around the neighborhood, a contemporary love story started to form in my mind. At the same time, Vanity Fair had just published an article about Microsoft and the lost decade.  It was an interesting and juicy article for an ex-Microsoft employee, but what stuck with me was that it was the cover story.  It demonstrated that people were really interested in understanding the internal subculture of Microsoft.  People wanted to buy the magazine for that article and it got a lot of press. 

Well, guess what,  I had personal experience at Microsoft too, over 12 years of it, thank you very much.  And I had a love story brewing and coming together. 

It's a contemporary romance that takes place in Seattle.  It is a love story first above anything else.  It's total chick lit.  However, my story also provides insight into the internal subculture of .. .eh em... Digisoft. My heroine is a PM that unknowingly falls in love with a hot young CVP at Digisoft.  Gasp!  Yes, a bit dramatic, but what great love story isn't?  She manages her love life, like she manages a project plan.  She learns the hard way how not to do that.

I'm half way through my editing round 1 and will soon be looking for beta readers.  I will be looking for beta readers to help me with:

1.  Continuity and ongoing reader engagement of the overall story.
2.  Insights into the Digisoft subculture - comments/accuracy/personal observations
3.  ... and yes, the swoon worthiness of the male lead character and appropriate level of titillation for the sex scenes ;-)

Ping me if you're interested.