Awesome!

The book cover you see before you belongs to one, Ally Condie! Her book, Matched, comes out November 30 and you should definitely watch for it and READ it! It's awesome! (and I'm not just saying that cuz she's my friend) Anyway...I am so excited for her! The cover is so cool! Congrats Ally! :) Check out her blog http://www.allysoncondie.com because she is going places folks!!

Lock and Key?

I contemplated entering a few contests lately with my current WIP (work in progress). But for starters it isn't done yet. That's kind of a drawback, just ask any agent or editor! LOL Anyway, another thing holding me back is the whole secret nature of my idea. Writers and readers alike I know are plagued with heartache over secret revelation. For a published writer it means lawsuit. For an unpublished writer it can mean suicide. Basically all stories are the same. They are mostly the same basic elements built with new and different twists and turns. They all have similar elements, albeit in skeleton form. this is what makes books all the more intriguing to me. Peoples minds are the sole difference in what becomes the written page. It amazes me that people can come up with the ideas and stories that they do!

So right now, I'm wondering. As a yet unrepresented and unpublished writer how much should I give of my storyline, if anything? And how much do I keep under lock and key? I mean, we(unrepped and unpubbed writers) walk a very fine line in today's social media day and age. It can help us immensely and,, most of the time I think that's exactly what it does. I want to share my idea a little to see if it takes off. I want to see what kind of response I get to it. To me, what I'm writing right now is a very new and fresh idea than what is currently on the market. And then I think, "But doesn't every writer believe that in their heart about their work?"

So my question to other like me and readers alike, to anyone really is this: How much do you share? How much do you keep to yourself? How do you protect yourself from ugly idea stealing? How many contests do you enter? How much do you put out their on blogs/facebook/twitter in general? How do you protect yourself? Or do you just go for it and hope for the best?

The chances of someone stealing my idea and then writing it and querying it are pretty good really, if they have time. I find time to be a HUGE stumbling block in my writing so.... I know that may sound like I think my idea is the cats meow. So let me assure you, I DO! If I didn't I couldn't put the passion and power behind the words that tell the story the way it deserves to be told. And sadly, I know, at the end of the day, If I don't write it. Someone else surely will. It's all about time.

My completed novel was, for some reason, MUCH easier to share generously. I don't know why that was. I didn't worry about it like I do this one. Not sure whether I'm just more paranoid or crazy or what! Probably all of the above!

Ok - back to writing! :)