Wednesday for Writers #6: Why You Should Never Be the Smartest Person in the Room

Last night on Twitter, I chatted on and off with my friend JL Bryan. Since you read my blog, you might remember that he is the awesome author who wrote Jenny Pox and that maybe sometimes I can be a bit fangirlie.

BUT DON'T TELL HIM.

It's weird because, I have a hard time remembering that my buddy Jeffery is this dude I had a writer crush on before we 'met'. Here's how it happened: I read an excerpt of Jenny Pox in some Amanda Hocking novel. I don't remember which. I have read all of them and it hurts my head to remember timelines back that far. So at some point I started stalking Jeff on the internets. Only it was odd, as there didn't seem to be a whole lot of other people doing that. Jeff had sold a crap ton more books than me--so the fact he didn't have a twenty thousand Twitter followers, and like ten times the number of blog followers was sort of in direct contrast to EVERYTHING I KNEW ABOUT SELLING BOOKS ON THE INTERNET. Which I thought at the time, was quite a lot.

As it turns out, it really wasn't.

To make a long, painful, and humiliating story very short; one night I was sharing my, "Goals in life*," on Twitter. One of them was to have JL Bryan follow me, and it happened! We have come a long way since then, now I get to call him a friend and not just some idol.

I told you that story to tell you this one.

Every author has an ego. Finding a healthy balance is necessary and almost impossible. Too little ego and your books will never see the light of day. With out ego, an author wouldn't care if anyone ever read their books. Too much ego, and you will develop what I like to call, "Smartest person in the room syndrome." Or SPITRS for short.

SPITRS come in all varities but the main SPITRS are fools, the ones dumb enough to think they are the coolest, bestest, most awesomest person they knew when they aren't and the people who make sure they are. Sounds heavenly! If I were to have SPITERS that would be the way I would go, trust me my ego would love it. People who make sure they sit atop the mountain and look down on everyone else. It sounds great, but what will you learn if you refuse to associate with people who do know more than you?

I'd be lying if I said my ego wasn't wounded every time I re-read Jeffery's bio and remember he studied English at Oxford--I was a Drama Major some place not nearly as impressive! But it doesn't sting like it used to, because I have learned so much from hanging out with people who are cooler than I am. It makes me sick thinking I could have missed out because of pride.

Speaking of Jeffery, he has a new book coming out and I know a lot of you are going to LOVE it. Check the deets:

A new dystopian novel from the author of Jenny Pox - coming July 26.

They took everything: her family, her home, her childhood.

By the age of nineteen, Raven has spent most of her life in the sprawling slums of America, fighting as a rebel against the dictatorship. When the rebellion steals an experimental time-travel device, she travels back five decades to the year 2013. Her plan: assassinate the future dictator when he is still young and vulnerable, long before he comes to power. She must move fast to reshape history, because agents from her own time are on her trail, ready to execute her on sight.

Cover by PhatPuppy Art

Stalk Jeffery on Twitter.
@JLBryanBooks

*BTW, doing a goals in life post Friday. Because I'm down to my last one.

Twitter Cheerleaders and THE GODS OF MARKET STREET

I nearly titled this post, "Somehow it's Monday." I thought it would be funny--and man, does it feel like a Monday! Let's hope tomorrow doesn't feel like Monday too.

First things first. THE GODS OF MARKET STREET has been updated on Juke Pop Serials. Please take a moment to read it, and vote for any chapters you haven't yet! I took a brief break from life (as you noticed if you read this blog) but I plan to update it twice a week from now on. Yet I am sure there will be some hiccups. I wrote the story for the 3 Day Novel Contest last year, so it is written. BUT! If I forget or get lazy just poke me on Twitter. It's an awesome story, and I want everyone to get the chance to check it out.

Remember, it's FREE for you to read. Please just pull the lever, and if you have a spare second share it with your friends on facebook, twitter, or hey in real life!

The second thing I would like to do is take a moment to thank my Twitter followers who cheered me on last night. I think I am missing some people but here is my short list:

@patricialynne07

@RhizVill

@bookwitch

@AndreneLow

@ShaeAnn77

@ErinAlbertBooks

@coty__lynn

You guys have no idea how much you helped me! I am so close to having POMI ready for publication and anxiety is causing me to drag my feet. 

Speaking of Pigments of My Imagination, I can't even begin to describe what it has done to my nerves. I am a writer, yet I struggle with the words. It's like jumping out of plane and forgetting where the parachute cord is. I know I will find it, but I am going to freak the freak out in the meantime. But it's done. It just needs to be made pretty.

Admit it, you want an awesome Twitter Cheerleader button for your blog.
I should make some. 

Somehow, it's Friday.

I sat at the computer Monday, quite ill, and quite ill mannered thinking I should write a blog! A blog where I talk about how I took last week off as it was the end of school and things were insane-er than normal in the Kulig house. But I hated the world and told my self, "Self, you can wait until Tuesday." Tuesday turned into Friday. Trust me, no one is happier about that than I am. Even if I haven't been blogging.



Finally, I feel normal and not like a used up bit of towel frayed in all my edges halfway through the day. So now the updates. POMI is really for real being formatted next week. It has been so hard to let go of. My last two books were released between perfectly normal heartbeats; but this book has been giving me anxiety attacks. POMI is getting really special formatting, so it might take a bit longer than normal...........I think Larry Kollar will do it as he goes about the last editing pass though and he has gotten fast. Then a few short weeks after that, DUST OF THE DEAD SEA.