Today on the blog we have Calista Lynne, author of WE AWAKEN from Harmony Ink Press.
Synopsis:
Victoria Dinham doesn’t have much left to look forward to. Since her father died in a car accident, she lives only to fulfill her dream of being accepted into the Manhattan Dance Conservatory. But soon she finds another reason to look forward to dreams when she encounters an otherworldly girl named Ashlinn, who bears a message from Victoria’s comatose brother. Ashlinn is tasked with conjuring pleasant dreams for humans, and through the course of their nightly meetings in Victoria’s mind, the two become close. Ashlinn also helps Victoria understand asexuality and realize that she, too, is asexual.
But then Victoria needs Ashlinn’s aid outside the realm of dreams, and Ashlinn assumes human form to help Victoria make it to her dance audition. They take the opportunity to explore New York City, their feelings for each other, and the nature of their shared asexuality. But like any dream, it’s too good to last. Ashlinn must shrug off her human guise and resume her duties creating pleasant nighttime visions—or all of humanity will pay the price.
But then Victoria needs Ashlinn’s aid outside the realm of dreams, and Ashlinn assumes human form to help Victoria make it to her dance audition. They take the opportunity to explore New York City, their feelings for each other, and the nature of their shared asexuality. But like any dream, it’s too good to last. Ashlinn must shrug off her human guise and resume her duties creating pleasant nighttime visions—or all of humanity will pay the price.
And now for the post!
The Ruler of Resumes
How I Appeared Impressive and Published a Book
By Calista Lynne
Writing is
a skill that must be worked at, there is no doubting that. If you have to
skills you can get published, but a lot of times it’s hard to break into the
industry even if you can turn out perfect iambic pentameter in seconds.
Literary agents don’t care about your resume so much as the quality of work,
but it doesn’t hurt. This is my guide to building a resume for everyone else,
though. There isn’t a perfect formula, but with this method I have gotten
freelance writing jobs, editing work, and a position in a publishing house. Oh,
and this was all by the age of 18. I began this process around the age of 15
and have grown from there.
1.
WRITE FOR FREE-
A lot of people recommend getting a blog to showcase writing skills. I never
did this for fear of it not becoming popular and being a waste. When I worked
in a magazine publishing house, though, I learned that editors actually do look
at these for proof of ability when considering hopefuls who email in, begging
to be allowed to write articles/columns. What I had done was write for small
magazines (and even just zines a lot of times) that did not pay for poetry or
short pieces. They were frequently themed. These are easier to get published in
and every time I got in one, I would have a nice new line on my resume clearly
proclaiming that I have, in fact, been published in something that has been
printed out on physical paper. Google is your friend for finding these.
2.
GET ONLINE-
The paid writing jobs want to see links. It’s much easier to click over to an
article on a decent looking website than to open up a million files of
unpublished work you’ve attached. This is where that blog might come in handy.
I volunteered writing for a feminist blog, which gave me links to many of my
articles available online. I could send these to other feminist websites which
had put out calls for writers. They saw I could write on the subject and that
people were reading my words. Of course I was a bit “typecast” in the writing
world as a feminist writer for quite some time because my resume was filled
with websites featuring words like Bitches
and Scandalous in them, but I was
also being paid so I can’t complain.
3.
HAVE IDEAS-
This seems like a simple enough step but it’s actually where I struggle.
Publishers like to see that you have topics for articles and columns so they
don’t have to come up with them for you. At the magazine publishing house, I
wrote out many emails to young hopefuls saying Nice CV but can you send over article pitches? Having an original
idea puts you far above the guy who says he knows how to write and can he
please have a job. So research the magazine/website you want to write for and
think of three or so pitches.
4.
FILL A VOID IN
THE MARKET- I’m not going to lie, having a book released by a legitimate
publisher helps any resume. I milked that fact for all it was worth in the body
of my emails and twice on the resume itself. The reason I even got my book
published at all is because I kept an eye out for what was missing in the
industry. A lot of people had been vocal about their desire for two things:
asexual leads and happy endings for LGBTQ characters, both of which are rare in
literature and media in general. I had seen a publisher who expressed desire to
publish a novel with asexual characters, and they were one I had worked with
before (although that time they had turned down my piece). So I got to it and
wrote the novel then sent it directly to them. The rest is history. Now it is a
nice opening to my resume and cover letters, plus I have added experience being
edited and can use this when I got agent/job hunting in the future.
So that is my advice to all you
young hopefuls. Know that I am still a young hopeful myself and I wish you all
the luck in the world. My first novel is coming out July 14!
Calista
Lynne grew up on the American East Coast and is currently studying in London.
She is having difficulty adjusting to the lack of Oxford commas across the pond
and writes because it always seemed to make more sense than mathematics. Look
for her near the caffeinated beverages.
