FicWishes: Blog Tour - SEARCHING FOR BEATIFUL by Nyrae Dawn

Friday, March 7, 2014

Blog Tour - SEARCHING FOR BEATIFUL by Nyrae Dawn - Luck vs Hard Work + Giveaway

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I asked Nyrae Dawn to talk a bit about the publishing process and how much success is due to hard work and how much is owed to luck. Here is what she had to say:

Luck vs. Hard work

How much of a writers career do I think is due to luck, compared to hard work is a great question. I’ve worked really hard at making my writing dream become a reality. It was a long road where I could have given up many times in the seven-ish years it took me to really get anywhere.

I wrote a (short) book and realized I didn’t know nearly enough, so I joined a local critique group, I joined Romance Writers of America; I took a six-week fiction writing class that was taught by published authors. I researched on the Internet. A lot.

It wasn’t enough. I wrote a book, thought it was the best thing ever, submitted it to every agent under the sun and got nothing but rejections. So I wrote another book, repeat. I joined a website, and did more critiquing and learning. I wrote another book, submitted, got rejected. Finally on my…fourth or fifth full length book, I got an agent.

Which meant I’d made it!! Wrong. My book (WHAT A BOY WANTS) went on sub to New York and no one wanted it. They said Sebastian wasn’t likable and boy POV didn’t sell well. Lost first agent, got the second agent who was a huge name agent. Measuring Up went on submission to New York…and no one wanted it either. So, I wrote another book. My agent didn’t like it, left second agent…and almost gave up. I had email folders full of rejection letters, two ex-agents, submissions that went nowhere, books sitting on my computer that I thought would never see the light of day…but I didn’t give up. I kept going. I worked hard and I feel like it paid off. I’m not, nor will I probably ever be, one of the “big guys” but I’m okay with that. I didn’t quit. I studied my craft. I learned to deal with rejection (which helped later with dealing with reviews). I kept writing and my books kept getting better. I’m proud of that.

ALL of that being said, even though I worked so, so hard, I believe luck has something to do with it as well. Not just with me, but with ALL writers. You never know what’s going to spark a flame in people. You never know what trends will start or stop. Sometimes it’s just writing the right book at the right time, because I’ve read some of the most beautiful, incredible books that NO one is reading and I don’t understand why.

So, I’m not really sure if that’s an answer or not. LOL. Hard work is important—but luck is always a part of it too.

Thanks, Nyrae for being encouraging but honest. And for being a good sport.

Check Out Nyrae's Newest Novel

Title: SEARCHING FOR BEAUTIFUL

Author: Nyrae Dawn

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Pub. Date: March 4, 2014

Pages: 304

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes& Noble

Before it happened…

Brynn had a group of best friends, a boyfriend who loved her, a growing talent for pottery. She had a life. And then…she had none.

After it happened…

Everything was lost. The boy she now knew never loved her. The friends who felt she betrayed their trust. The new life just beginning to grow inside her.

Brynn believes her future is as empty as her body until Christian, the boy next door, starts coming around. Playing his guitar and pushing her to create art once more. She meets some new friends at the local community center, plus even gets her dad to look her in the eye again…sort of. But letting someone in isn’t as easy as it seems.

Now…

Can Brynn open up her heart to truly find her life’s own beauty, when living for the after means letting go of the before?

About Nyrae:

Writing has always been Nyrae Dawn’s passion. There have been times in her life where she wasn’t able to chase that dream the way she desired, but she always found her way back to telling stories.

One of her loves has always been writing about teens. There’s something so fresh and fun about the age that she loves exploring. Her husband says it’s because she doesn’t want to grow up. She doesn’t think that’s such a bad thing and luckily for her, he doesn’t either.

Nyrae gravitates toward character-driven stories. She loves going on emotional journeys with characters whether it be reading or writing. And yes, she’s a total romantic at heart and proud.

Nyrae resides in sunny Southern California with her husband (who still makes her swoon) and her two awesome kids.

When she’s not with her family, you can be pretty sure you’ll find her with a book in her hand or her laptop and an open document in front of her.

She writes for Entangled Publishing, Grand Central Publishing and is self-published.

Nyrae is represented by Jane Dystel of Dystel and Goderich Literary Management.

Nyrae Dawn also writes adult romance under the name Kelley Vitollo.
Website: http://www.nyraedawn.com/

Website/Blog/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

1 $25 Amazon Gift Card US Only

a Rafflecopter giveaway