360 in 365

With the turn of the year January 1st, I did something I had never done before; I made a New Year's resolution.

I have set goals in the past but I rarely do resolutions since most people break them by valentine's day anyway.

So my resolution was simply this: to write more.

When I was a kid and all through high school I wrote all the time, and when I went to college I planned to major in English and become a writer. Life happened, however and with that, I stopped writing. I went through a solid five year writing drought where the only things I wrote were for assignments.

I missed it though, and I decided 2014 was the year of Alley, since 14 has always been my favorite number.

I wrote in January, started Reed, and eventually finished it in early February. When I realized what I was capable of, I decided to better define my resolution to "write more."

I joined a small facebook group collaboration called 30 in 30, whose goal is to write 30k words in 30 days, three times a year. This is similar to the goal of Nanowrimo to write 50k words in the month of November. Instead of only doing it a few months out of the year, though, I decided to really push myself and try to do 30 in 30 every month of 2014.

This is month six, and, in case you are wondering, blog posts don't count. If I am successful, I will write 360,000 words this year. Keep in mind, 30k is only the minimum quota for the month, and if I finish early, I keep writing. I ended off May with a whopping 56,333.

So why am I telling you all of this? Because, my friends, I need your encouragement. I know there will be moments when I lose steam or feel like giving up, and I have the sinking feeling about 3 days out of the month that I am complete and utter rubbish, wanting to scrap everything I have ever written and taking Reed off the market.
I need encouragers, you see.

The second reason is, I need Beta Readers! I am averaging a novel every 2-3 months and need people to read, proofread, and give me constructive feed back!
If you would be interested in helping in this capacity, contact me via Twitter @AlleySaltz or on G+

I know I am not the best writer, but I want to continue to grow and get better, and the more I write, the more I get sucked into the magical worlds I can create with my words.

Thank you for reading.

Alley

Kindle Countdown Deal

Kindle Countdown Deals!

Hello all! My book “Reed” is on sale right now as part of the Kindle countdown deals and can be purchased for only .99 until the 24th. 

Get it here: http://goo.gl/8Ldcfi

Also, Tuesday (May 20th) is my birthday, and buying, sharing, and rating my book 5 stars on Amazon or good reads would all be really nice presents ;) Teehee. Ok but for real, help a sista out?

Thanks lovelies!

Reed- Review

Hello! Just popping by to post a link for one of the first Reed book reviews! Don't forget you can buy it today and read it instantly here: US:  http://goo.gl/8Ldcfi UK: http://goo.gl/7RclA0

Enjoy!

The Life & Times of Belle- Reed book review

Reed by Allison Saltz

My book is now available on the Kindle marketplace all over the globe! Please consider buying it, sharing info about it today with others, and rating it 5 stars! Here she is:


US:  http://goo.gl/8Ldcfi 

UK: http://goo.gl/7RclA0

T minus one week

Ok Y'all it is only 1 week until the big release of my book.

I got the go-ahead from copyright, I have reviewed what the book will look like on different platforms, chosen my desired marketing approaches, am at the end of my author interviews for the other bloggers who are helping me out, the cover is done and set on, and the text has been picked through with a fine tooth comb.

I can't say I am not nervous, because I really am. In spite of that though I have this horrible feeling it is going to do really well. I know, this should be a good thing, but I cannot shake it and what if I'm wrong?

I guess now it is just a game of wait and see. In the mean time, what can you do to help?

1. From April 18th on, please use hashtag #readreed to help it trend
2. Post on facebook, tweet, text, and talk about Reed to your friends. Once the info is out there hopefully it will spread, help me get it out there! If you have a blog, blog about it and let me know, I will share it on my twitter/etc.
3. Leave a positive review. Of course you have to like it to do this, this one can also be translated as don't leave a negative review. follow the "if you can't say something nice" rule here. Its not that I am afraid of criticism, its just that bad reviews early in the game can make or break a book. If its not everyone's cup of tea (which I know it won't be) that is totally fine.
4. Buy it. Yeah, that would help. It will be starting at 2.99. That's less than most people pay for their morning coffee.
5. Pray for me. This would also be appreciated. Or send positive thoughts, or whatever it is you do.

Thank you so much for your continued love & support!! See you all again with a link April 18th!

The fear in me.

Artists are the most insecure while simultaneously being the most egotistical people in the universe. This is true of every artist I have ever met, not matter their art form.

I am all artist. I love all art, if it's artsy; I want to do it. I love crafts, I love painting, I love music and singing (in the shower, not for real humans) and I love writing.

No matter what form of art I am doing, I am always tempted to keep it to myself. I did photography for a long time before I felt "safe" showing others what I could do, and even now, I sometimes feel certain things are not good enough to show others.

Showing your art, in any form, to others is like opening up your soul to them, whether you or they realize it or not. I pour my heart and soul into anything I do, and when it is something I have created, I love it like I love the children I created.

I have been writing stories since I had the ability to write. I wrote my first "novel" at 9 years old. I haven't shared my writing (outside of blog form) with anyone since I was 14. That means it has been almost 11 years since another soul has read any of my fiction.

This scares the crap out of me.

I have had editors, marketers, writers, and readers beta read my book for feedback and it has been the most nerve racking experience of my life.

In a few short weeks my book will be released. People will buy it, they will read it, and they will have opinions. Can I handle that?  My name will be on this book and people I know will see it and read it simply because I wrote it. Will they be kind?

This book is NOT everyone's cup of tea, I know this. It deals with a lot of tough subjects and has some language, something I know a lot of my family may judge me for.

I have been battling with a great deal of fear and insecurity leading up to the release, and I honestly don't think there is anything I can do to make this feeling go away, or to avoid it.  If I publish more, I will likely still get this feeling.

Guess what, it doesn't matter.

This is my dream, and I am going after it. I have wanted to be a published author since I was 7, and I am about to be one. People may have opinions about what I wrote about, or how I wrote it, or anything else, and that's ok. This isn't there dream, its mine. They will not regret it if I don't write books, but I will. They will not go crazy with the stories swirling in their mind, I will.

This is my story, and I am writing it the way I feel led. God has given me this gift and it would be wrong not to use it in the way I feel led.

I thank you all for your love and support and hope you will consider purchasing it when it comes out, but if not, I will understand.

Update:

Copyright process for the book has begun and once it is through we can set/announce an official release date. This will likely be sometime in March or early April since we are releasing electronically to start off and all the major editing is done. We are declaring May 20 as the official "Read Reed" day. We are asking everyone to use hashtag #ReadReed to help promote the book. It would be very appreciated!
Thanks loves <3