Tag: author

creativity

In the pause: How other authors bring out the best in our writing

Christa Avampato

Earlier this week a new author told me that he was afraid to let his characters be harmed. And I told him that he has to let them breathe and live, and that means that difficult things can, will, and must happen to them. It’s the overcoming of obstacles that makes for powerful storytelling.

What I didn’t realize is that giving this advice would give me new Emerson material. I have had the ending scene of the second book in my mind for some time and it puts a beautiful bow on this arc of Emerson’s journey. And then, after this conversation with this author, it came undone. Another very small scene came into my mind when I got home and it wouldn’t let me go. Though it’s only four lines, it’s jarring, even to me. And it’s absolutely what must happen. It hurt my heart to write, and so I had to get it down in ink. No matter how long we’ve lived with our characters, their stories will still surprise us.

While I’m busy working away on book 2, you can download the Kindle version of Emerson’s first book, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, for free for one more day today. Visit Amazon to get one for yourself and for all the readers on your list!

creativity

In the pause: Your writing is immortal

Christa Avampato

Your words are going to live on long after you. They are the surest path we have to legacy and immortality. Two nights ago, I walked home with a co-worker who lives in my neighborhood. His husband, a writer just a few years older than me, is dying and in hospice care from a neurological disease similar to Parkinson’s.

“Even though he can’t talk anymore and will never talk again, I’ll always have his words because he was a writer,” he said. “And that’s pretty cool.”

I don’t think it was an accident that we walked home on the night of my novel’s Pub Day. I have long believed that the Universe works through us to reach others when they most need it. And I think me coincidentally running into him and us walking home together was not a coincidence at all. He had a message for me from the Universe: Be strong and tell your story so that it will live on long after you’re gone. And you must do it now. You never know how much time you’ll have. When I got home, I immediately started writing Emerson’s second book as part of NaNoWriMo.

My co-worker is remarkably strong. How he could tell me so much for their story for 45 minutes and not have his voice crack once is just astonishing to me. I was tearing up. I’m in awe of him. And so grateful for the message he delivered. I will not waste it.

creativity

In the pause: What does Pub Day feel like for authors?

Christa Avampato

My Pub Day is fast approaching. People have been asking how I’m feeling. Honesty, I’m curious and hopeful. I’m curious to know how her story helps others. My great hope is that she inspires people to live the lives they imagine. She’s brave, powerful, and kind. I hope she makes a difference in the lives of others who get to know her. She’s certainly made a difference in mine.

I’ve lived with Emerson in my heart and mind for 8 years now. She’s a part of my every day living. I’ve protected her, nurtured her, and prepared her as best I can. Next Wednesday, she’ll belong to the world, and she’s ready for that.

On the day the book launches, I’ll begin NaNoWriMo 2017 and write the first draft of Emerson’s second book by the end of November. No rest for the weary, and that’s fine by me. Emerson and I have a lot of ground to cover so we better get moving. We have to make the most of the time we have.

creativity

In the pause: Copies of my novel, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, arrived on my doorstep

Christa Avampato

unnamedThere’s no feeling quite like getting a box of your books delivered to your door. Yesterday I got to experience this feeling first-hand, and it is amazing. I looked at my box of Emerson Page books, now bound for reviewers, and thought about all of the time, effort, and love that I poured into every speck of the them. My heart flooded with gratitude for all of the encouragement and love that I’ve received from friends and mentors during this long and winding road to publication. Though we’ve come so far, this is really just beginning. We have many books ahead of us. Many stories to tell, people to meet, and places to travel together. I can’t wait to share this with all of you.

The book is now available for pre-order on Amazon at amzn.to/2wAhmvG. If you’re interested in a review copy of the book or partnering with me in some way, please let me know at christa.avampato@gmail.com.

creativity

In the pause: Recording the audiobook for my young adult book

Christa Avampato

Inspired by authors like Neil Gaiman who record their own audiobooks, I decided to put my voiceover skills to use and record the audiobook version of my novel, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, myself. (By doing this myself, I’ll be able put more money into my marketing plan since my publisher isn’t doing much of the marketing work I had hoped and they had said they’d do.) It will be available on Amazon the same day that the ebook and paperback launch—November 1, 2017. I’m having so much fun creating this content. It will take a lot of work to record and edit, but I’m going to learn so much in this process! I’m also thinking about doing a podcast of it, much like Welcome to Night Vale, and a YouTube version that would be a digital graphic novel.

creativity

In the pause: 9/11 turned me into a writer

Christa Avampato

“Your word is your wand.” ~Florence Scovel Shinn

On this day of remembrance, I’m reflecting on the power of our words as writers. In many ways, September 11th gave me the urgency to write. I wanted so much to be a writer all my life. Buried somewhere in the grief of that day and the many days that followed, something rose up and said, “You must do this now. Right now.” And so I began to write things down. Ideas and stories and reflections at my then very young age of 25.

I didn’t know where it would lead, but I felt that I needed to leave something behind, something that would survive long after me. It would be many more years before Emerson Page entered my mind, many more years until a life-threatening tragedy of a different kind would literally meet me at my doorstep and spur me to find and stand in my own light.

Watching how precious and fleeting life can be, for reasons completely out of our control and out of the realm of what we even imagine to be possible every morning, 9/11 brought into irrefutable focus that we have to live every day. To honor those we lost. To honor all of those forever impacted by it in countless and unchangeable ways. To not wait. To not let the days slip away but to grab them, hold them, and treasure them. To live out loud. That’s what they would have done. That’s what they would have wanted for all of us.

On this day of remembrance, I wish you peace and love and light. And I wish you the energy to embrace your passions that make this world so rich and vibrant. Your story, every story, matters. To someone, somewhere. Write it down so that others may know you even if you never get the chance to meet them. You never know what difference your words will make to someone who needs them. You may have just the magic they need to keep going in their own lives.

creativity

In the pause: Being a writer makes me a better product developer

Christa Avampato

Being a writer makes me a better product developer. The daily practice of writing across genres for the past 10 years has helped me understand the art of brevity, the science of engagement, and the power of inspiration. High-quality products and books, and the marketing and promotion behind them, convey their intrinsic value in simple, elegant terms. At the very heart of great writing and great products, there must live the ability for them to improve the quality of life for those who consume them. I am proud and honored to stand in the parallel worlds of product development and writing. Both acts of creativity are more than a career to me; they are a part of my soul. They are who I am.

creativity

In the pause: Be an early reader and reviewer of my young adult fantasy novel, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters

Christa Avampato

emerson-page-and-where-the-light-enters-6x9-front-backThe final cover art and galley for my young adult fantasy novel, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, are off to the printer. I’m now shoulder-deep in marketing and promotion of the book. Are you interested in reading it and being an early reviewer on your own blog or on Amazon? Do you know someone else who might be interested? Please send me an email. I’d love to hear from you!

creativity

In the pause: How the eclipse influenced my writing

Christa Avampato

Yesterday, Phin and I experienced the solar eclipse at the American Museum of Natural History and in Central Park. The atmosphere was festive. It felt like the entire city had turned out to look up at the sky in wonder at exactly the same time. There was something beautiful and magical about this time, and that beauty and magic activated my writer brain.

Emerson Page, the heroine of my novel, has a special relationship with the stars and they play a large, active part in her story. The series will be 9 books in total, and I realized yesterday that the last day of her written story will be April 8, 2024, the day that the next solar eclipse will happen. Its line of totality will include Emerson’s hometown of New York City, the city where this series of books begins and ends. Emerson will be 20 years old by then. I know where she’s going, and I’m excited to discover and share with you the path she’ll take to get there.

 

creativity

In the pause: Authors, the marketing of your book is on you

Christa Avampato

Publishers tell authors they need a platform. Here’s what they really mean: the marketing and promotion of your book rests with you. That care and concern can’t be farmed out. No matter who you hire or who publishes the book, you must be your own advocate, cheerleader, and agent. Being an author is a business; thank goodness I have an MBA.

I let myself feel disappointed by this fact for about 5 minutes. It was a rough 5 minutes. And then I picked myself up and went to work executing against the plan I had laid out months ago. It’s a grind and I have to give it everything I have in this last stretch before the November 1st release. I wrote and sent 43 pitches in 36 hours, most of them in the very weeeee hours of the morning.

I also had to come to the frustrating conclusion that the act of writing the second book has to take a backseat while I promote the first book that comes out in November, especially in these last few months before it’s released.

And with every query I just couldn’t get this quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald out of my mind: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” Today, what we can dream about for the future rests firmly in our ability to manage what’s already been done.