The Great Giveaway Results and My Next Three Projects

First of all, I want to thank everyone who downloaded their free copy of La Bruja del Barrio Loco for the big Labor Day Weekend giveaway!  For my first giveaway, I think it was a great success.  Supporters, friends, and fans downloaded (drum roll please):  23 copies! I hope to get some positive reviews, even star reviews. This Labor Day, was  was chock full of writing victories:

1. I finished The Harvest draft, my first full-length novel! 
2. I surpassed 200 followers on my Facebook author page:  Barrio Blues and Other Totally True Stories. I also got more followers on Instagram and Twitter.  Please, follow me, and I will follow you (unless you are a fascist or racist).
3. I got new followers on my Amazon author page!  (Thank you fellow writers!)
4. I received my printed bookmarkers, finally! They look A-mAzing.
5. I also connected with a number of new writers and have put them on the list to review their work.  (But, I am only doing three a month.  If you would like me to review your book, please post your author name, title, and book link in the comments.)
6. Now, I can call myself a writer and not just say it's a hobby because it's not.  I don't mean I spend hours doing this work I love and have it interfere with my obligations (because I don't and I don't have hours to spend on my craft), but I am a writer who teaches at a community college, runs her union chapter, and is a devoted mom and wife.  I am all of these with great pride, love, and joy, and I deeply cherish the precious time I do have for writing. 

So, in that vein, I am taking the advice of another writer who suggested that I set the novel aside for a while. I am doing that because I need to get into the rhythm of writing and revising.  And I have three more projects for September and beyond: (1) The Awakening (Book #3 in La Bruja del Barrio Loco Series), (2) A set of three magical realism novellas for young adults; I am 2/3 done, and (3) My short story collection Down South Where the Water Is Warm, which I need to revise.  As you can see, I have my work cut out for this month.  I will have more news as I complete my next book.

OK my friends, have a fantastic day!

Believe in your writing; believe in yourself as a writer.  #Resist! 

Chapter 21 Done! Plus, Thoughts on Marketing Experiments.

That's right!  Chapter 21 of The Harvest is done: The end of this twenty year writing saga is near! The gods are also conspiring in my favor this morning because Aaron slept until 9a.m., and instead of going to a local corn festival, we are going to stay in, watch cartoons, and go out to eat, then shop.  That means I will be able to crank out one more chapter this morning.

This morning, I also decided to boost the giveaway on my Facebook author site:  https://www.facebook.com/drmariajestrada/.  Supposedly, Facebook is going to reach over 400 people.  I will let you now how it goes.  Though, to be fair, more people are being reached, and I just posted it ten minutes ago.  One of my metric goals is to get 100 new followers by September.  I have 68 new ones so far, and yes, they are mostly other writers.  We have to stick together, right?

John Green who I've promoted before, recommended hometown reads as another venue to grow a reader base:  https://hometownreads.com/books/the-long-walk-with-paranoia-the-corrido-of-andrea-quinta.  I posted links to my Amazon books there, too.  Not the books obviously but ways of getting back to Amazon, much like Goodreads.  However, the site aims at promoting local authors, so they also link the books to local bookstores and libraries.  I'm working on that too.  It is a great cyber-project, and I hope to buy a t-shirt to promote it.  I have enjoyed looking at other local authors' books.  The funny or not so funny thing is that I can pick out with almost 100% accuracy those books that are self-published because of the covers.

Well, that's enough marketing and promoting for the day. Oh, the Labor Day Weekend giveaway is going well!  The giveaway is going through Monday.  What?  Did you miss my previous ads or blog posts?  Well, you can get La Bruja del Barrio Loco on Amazon for free.  If you like what you read, give it a short, positive review!  In the future, I plan on doing a Black Friday price reduction on printed and e-books for the week, but first, back to my novel.

Stay the course!  Even if it takes 20 years+ to finish your novel, ahem.  #Resist

Big Labor Day Giveaway of La Bruja del Barrio Loco, Saturday through Monday

That's right, I'm doing another giveaway of a second book, La Bruja del Barrio Loco!  I got one review from the last book I gave away, which is pretty good for a beta run.  If you are a friend or an avid Kindle reader, and you download my book, please give it a short review!  Psst, colleagues and friends, share the link on your Facebook walls or social media.

This morning, I also worked on another chapter of The Harvest. You can read the first chapter and part of the second because that's like 50+ pages of reading.  The novel is now at 383+ pages, and my writing goal is to finish chapter 20 this morning.

I am also going on a writing vacay with my family, which will mean free printing at the hotel!  That also means I will have a captive audience in the car, so I can read bits out loud to them.  So, pray for me that this draft gets done.  I really think I can finish it by Sunday.

This weekend I will also be reviewing a book or two.  I downloaded different books by friends and acquaintances to support them.  My favorite one I started reading, thus far, is Jukebox Loser: An Owner's Manual for Idiot Desires by Todd Heldt.  It's funny as hell, and gave me a real nostalgia for the 80's and 90's.  (I hope he does a printed version of it!)  I also have a romance I am reviewing, even though romances are not my thing.

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Well, time to get back to chapter 20.  I'm in my zone, so I will catch you later!

Cross that finish line and curl up to a good book!  Obvi, not at the same time.  #Resist!

             

Updates on My Official Author Site

I was just posting that I have been keeping up with all of my author sites, but this one has been woefully neglected.

Still, here are the sites I update daily:

My Blog:  https://www.barrioblues.com/un-blog-de-writing-musings

Good Reads Author Site  (Follow me, and I will follow you back.)

Current Books:  https://www.barrioblues.com/books.html

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/drmariajestrada/

Amazon Author Site:  amazon.com/author/mariaestrada

 

Red Baraat: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

DakhaBrakha - Full Performance (Live on KEXP)

Cross Post: I Don't Want to Jinx It But. . .

I think I finally found my ideal reader/editor!  And as Anne Lamott advises, I am going to treat this relationship like marriage.  Probably better.  I won't say too much about this wonderful human being because I am waiting for specific feedback on my first manuscript, but she is in the right space to work with me, and she is very thoughtful in her interactions and feedback.

My friend and writer Marcy Rae Henry is going to saturate the book cover image for "La Bruja del Barrio Loco" which is being editing.  It is the the Antojitos section of my blog about mid-way down the page.  I am still going with the image of the heart.

And in my other life, this week, my students also finished workshopping stories, and I was so moved that they used my creative writing questions so beautifully.  I have phenomenal students in my class this semester.  I keep telling them, to develop and hang onto these relationships because it will be hard to find an idea reader later on.  (Your writer friends will be too busy for you, and your friends probably won't have time to read your work.  It's just how it is.)

That is all I have.  I have to be creative about making breakfast because we ran out of milk and eggs.  I say we go to a diner!

Find your ideal reader and hang on to her for dear life.  #Resist 

https://www.barrioblues.com/un-blog-de-writing-musings/i-dont-want-to-jinx-it-but