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Rebekah.Elizabeth

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  • #123404
    Rebekah.Elizabeth
    @rebekah-elizabeth

    @arindown and @zee

    Thank you for your feedback! I really appreciate the time you two have put into responding.

    Okay, so there is a little bit to unbox here.

    I hope this post doesn’t get confusing, ha.

    So, in the first book of my series, Kimberly lives in a different country with her best friend Hannah (also a main character, I have 2 protagonists at the moment), and they are supper happy despite Kimberly’s broken family life. Hannah is almost like the family that Kimberly wishes she had, and she loves it.

    Hannah has her own story. Her father passed away when she was younger, and so she had to grow up way faster than she wishes was necessary.

    But, through a series of chance, luck, and a few action scenes, Kimberly and Hannah meet new friends and find themselves going on a trip to a different country with these new friends. In this second country, Kimberly and Hannah are introduced to Christianity. Kimberly, thinking that He might fill the gaping hole in her heart, welcomes Christ. Meanwhile Hannah finds out that her deceased father was also a Christian, doesn’t understand how a good od could have let her dad die, is enraged by Kimberly’s decision to follow a God who is willing to let their followers die, packs her bags, goes home, and cuts off all ties with Kimberly.

    Meanwhile Kimberly’s family is also enraged by her decision and cuts off what little contact had remained between them, clearly stating that Kimberly is not welcome back home. Kimberly, knowing that she couldn’t go home but could probably learn more about God in the new country, decides to stay.

    My current WIP consists of Kimberly grappling with a few things. Primarily “Was God worth all of this?” and “Will He leave me too?”

    She suffers from a lot of trust issues, and so Carter (who goes to her new church) coming in and wanting to be her friend seems a little too good to be true.

    Thought I’d give a quick run-down to give you a closer look into what I am working with.

    Right now, my characters are transitioning to a world I have been creating for the past few months. I intend to completely redo the entire 130,000-word (incomplete) series of novellas and possibly make it a two-book series that takes place in the new world I have created. (I know that saying two books makes it sound like the books will be short, but I am both not done with the original novellas and I also intend to add more to them when I work on this next draft.) I might see if the story changes at all when I get to this point after I rework the novellas, and if it does, there might not be a romance. (I’ll also probably send it to other people to see what they think.) But my other current idea involves them starting to date, then he feels called to join the military. He does so, with her blessing, but she still feels like she’s been left again. There are a few more building factors to that situation, but I will not delve into that at the moment.

    I really love the advice the two of you have given me, and, Zee, I’ll keep you in mind once I have reset the story and get back to the point where I am thinking about adding the romance.

    Arindown, thanks for the thoughts on making interesting dates! I think I am going to apply some of this, and I appreciate the ideas! Please keep me updated if you think of any books or stories that portray godly dating. (:

    Again, thank you for the time you two have put into responding. 😀

    ~Rebekah E.
    “People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

    #122291
    Rebekah.Elizabeth
    @rebekah-elizabeth

    @josiah Thank you for the advice! I appreciate all that you do for SE members, and, though I don’t often have time to be active on the SE forum, the influence you and the other staff members have had on me over the past few months through the podcast, summit recordings, and emails has been invaluable. Thank you so much!

    ~Rebekah E.
    “People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

    #116338
    Rebekah.Elizabeth
    @rebekah-elizabeth

    @josiah @taylorclogston and @daeus-lamb

    I’m so sorry for the late reply. I wrote a response that didn’t post, then have had an incredibly busy few weeks, and didn’t think to check to make sure it posted. ): But I do very much so appreciate that you have taken the time to help me out and give me advice.

    To keep you updated, since I last posted, after talking with my family, lots of thinking and praying, I have unpublished book 1, so I am working on re-polishing book 1 and the 2 follow up books.

    I’ll work on getting a list of people together to send copies to. I also have a close friend who knows a lot about Japanese culture, and has even been to Tokyo in the past. I will be asking him to read through the series.

    As Daeus suggested, I am focusing on the books themselves right now, and I will work on a platform afterwards. During this time I also hope to write some articles to post on different blogs that I am already connected with. (I have a blog post already published on theReb.)

    To answer your question, Josiah, no, I don’t have a personal platform at all. Not too long ago, I did have a personal social media account, but my life has gotten really stressful, I got really stressed, and I found social media to make me feel even more alone in all of this. So I took a pause from that, and, honestly, life has been so busy and I am still struggling a lot, so I don’t believe I am ready to be back on social media, even if it is just to build a professional platform.

    So here is what my plan is right now:

    1. Finish writing KK3

    2. Re-polish book 1, edit the entire series, and make sure that the story-line all flows well together.

    3. Send original copies to more experienced writers and people who know more about Japan than I do and will catch details that I miss/mess up on.

    4. Write articles that I can send to different blogs, therefor building a platform.

    I will also be taking writing classes at college this year.

    Anything you think I need to add?

    I also feel the urge to ask this: do you think that I should just work on the books right now and not publish for a while? I have inspiration for 2-3 more books, and I almost wonder if I should stick to blogging for a while while I grow a collection of books, then later on start the process of publishing.

    Here are a few reasons why that appeals to me: I live an absolutely insane life. I am the oldest kid out of 5 in my house, not including 2 foster kids. I am also the only one of the kids who is willing to give up their time to help around the house. Throughout helping my parents with giving a home (albeit, for most a temporary one) to 12 different kids over the past 2 1/2 years, I have, essentially, self homeschooled my way through high school, graduated with a 4.3 GPA, and I am going to college this year. I have also worked a catering job I love for multiple years now, and after graduating I intend to take over the business for my boss.

    Writing is a huge part of my life. I find books to be a way to inspire people to grow in Christ, and I intend to be a part of that.

    Have people written books and just waited a few years before publishing? Does that idea sound reasonable, or even like a good idea?

    Again, thank you for the time and input the 3 of you have given me. It means more to me than you could imagine.

    ~Rebekah E.
    “People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

    #115716
    Rebekah.Elizabeth
    @rebekah-elizabeth

    @taylorclogston

    Before I get into some of the explaining parts, I’d like to thank you for taking the time to help me out. You are literally the first person who has given me constructive criticism on my writing, adressing problems and such, and I was getting tired of people giving me the fluffy-bunny thoughts of my book. And you don’t come across to me as negative, but as someone who realizes that I’ve put effort into it and care, and just hope to show me how to make it better. I feel like someone who can’t hear where their writing is flawed isn’t truly serious about it.

    1. First to address the middle-grade part of it, calling KK middle grade is not something I am opposed to, but when talking to the guy who helped me choose keywords, I mentioned that this will be the lowest level book of the series. Now that I think about it though, the other 2 that I have so far are still not at a level that I wouldn’t want my middle-grade siblings reading, so I definately need to address that.

    2. The cover: after more often perusing bookstores around me, I have come to realize that the cover doesn’t look fantastic (or even that good, to be honest), and I already have cover ideas to fix that problem.

    3. Most of the problems with culture that you have addressed are absolutely correct. Little details that will trigger people who know more about Japanese life.

    I think I have come to terms with the fact that is was completely and utterly impulsive with my choice to publish already. 😞 That’s a really hard thing to admit for someone who has spent the last year being proud of themselves. 😅 But pride won’t help me reach people, will it?

    Again, thank you for your criticism.

    I do have another question, I have quite a few copies of KK on hand. Do you think it would be wise to send copies to other writers to gain criticism, despite my plan to unpublish it?

    ~Rebekah E.
    “People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

    #115714
    Rebekah.Elizabeth
    @rebekah-elizabeth

    I am not opposed to the idea of spending money on advertising, the problem arises that I have a job that, because for COVID, is hardly paying the car/phone bills each month, so I don’t have a lot of extra money on hand.

    ~Rebekah E.
    “People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

    #115713
    Rebekah.Elizabeth
    @rebekah-elizabeth

    @taylorclogston

    Thank you!

    You can follow this link to Katana Khan.

    My book is 50-55k words, 162 pages long, and released on July 29, 2019.

    I have the paperback version listed at $9.99, and the ebook at $2.99. (It has 1373 KB)

    After double checking, I recieve 60% royalties ($3.20) on the paperback, and 70% on the ebook ($2.06)

    I’m not concerned about the money, and I do realize it comes across that way, but I do hope to reach people with my book. I don’t know how to put myself out there without losing a ton of money I dont have, so I’m looking for the best options.

    Thank you for responding to me. 😁

    ~Rebekah E.
    “People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

    #115659
    Rebekah.Elizabeth
    @rebekah-elizabeth

    @kimlikesart

    When you publish, do yourself a favor and don’t go the easy route. Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing is where I have Katana Khan book 1 and it is not the place for me. They take 70% of your profits and they don’t advertise for you. Overall my experience with them has been un-enjoyable and I am not reaching many people.

    Kamera, Kimi, and friends have definitely helped me grow over the past few years. Though it feels odd that we say that about character that we created, doesn’t it? 😀

     


    @arindown

    Thank you, though I think anyone could do it. There is literally nothing remarkable about our family. Ha! Right now we have the adopted kids (11, 10, 8) and two babies (19 m, 6 w). It’s quite the learning curve to go from 1 to 6 siblings in less than 3 years. Haha.

    Though, honestly, having them around has helped me grow a ton. It has really redefined my relationship with Christ, my family, and my friends. It has rooted out “friends” who weren’t truly there for me. And it made me question my faith to a point that it became stronger than ever. And even in my writing, I’m learning to better control my scheduled to fit in helping around the house with the kids, but still have time to do my school, write, and take care of myself. I’ve written so much in the past year.

    I’m attempting to add romance to my WIP. It is quite the daunting project for the homeschooler who has never been on a date before. Haha.

    Thank you!

    The story sounds interesting! Also, I’m only unwilling to share about my plot because it will be along the more controversial side, so I’ll have a different pen name for it and everything.

    Honestly, I just went with the name I am most comfortable with. Literally no one I know calls me Rebekah, so Bekah was just the natural name to put on there. And I can’t really explain the last name. Ha.

    When I publish a different series/when I republish my different one, I will actually be going by Rebekah Elizabeth. I think it sounds more professional.

    ~Rebekah E.
    “People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

    #115629
    Rebekah.Elizabeth
    @rebekah-elizabeth

    @arindown

    I just looked into that series. It looks interesting! Thank you. I will also look into the other book you mentioned.

    I love the Twisted Tale series. They are so interesting! They are Y/A novels though, so keep that in mind if you look into them.

    I’m going to a local college for a while. I don’t know if I’ll switch, but I’m limited to colleges in my state, as I have a prepaid plan.

    I like it when people write “magic” stories. It is such a broadly used subject, but everyone still has their own story to tell, and every single one is unique.

    I, too, have inspiration for a book I plan to write in the future, but I hope that I can finish my current WIP before getting to it. What is yours about? (You do not need to answer if, like me, you would like to keep the topic to yourself. 🙂 )

    Siblings are indeed quite the adventure. I actually have 6 in the house right now. I would rather not go into details on it here, but if you are curious you can read this article.

     


    @kimlikesart

    Thank you, Gracie. My dog was quite the good pupper. <3

    Those sound really interesting! Do you intend to publish them at some point?

    My current WIP is my Katana Khan series (book 1 is on Amazon). My favorite character in it is Kimi Higashi. What is funny about that is I started writing the book hoping for Kamera Oyama to be a lot like me, but then I decided that they should become their own characters, and just kept going with it. Now looking back on it, I see more of myself in Kimi. Throughout her story, she has lost friends, had trust issues, and tends to pretend that she is okay when she isn’t just to try and keep the few people she has in her life around. Those are all things I have struggled with in the past, and so I relate to her on a really deep level.

    I know that maybe sounds weird, to relate to my own character like that, but I’m being honest when I say that I never wanted my characters to be like me in any way shape or form. I simply let my imagination shape them into their own people with their own stories, and so when I looked back and saw how they had become so similar to me, I got really excited.

    I don’t know if any of that makes sense, haha.

    ~Rebekah E.
    “People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

    #115576
    Rebekah.Elizabeth
    @rebekah-elizabeth

    @writergirl101

    Thanks!

    Honestly, I initially felt excited about my book being on Amazon, but now I’m having second thoughts, though they are a little late. I’m not be the most experienced writer out there,  but if I were to give anyone advice it would be to not rush into publishing, especially self-publishing.

    I don’t get mad very quickly, so you don’t really have anything to worry about. ;P Also, martial arts is the only sport I partake in currently, but I used to play soccer.

    When I’m working with my boss, I like to cook her lasagna. Because of my dietary restrictions, I’ve never been able to partake of it, but all the same it is so satisfying how much we can make so quickly. But while at home, I like to make chicken with a parmesan cheese sauce with roasted potatoes. Literally my favorite thing to make at home.

    I personally couldn’t imagine being in any other school. I love being homeschooled, though it is a little crazy since I am the oldest of 5, and all of us are homeschooled.

    Thank you, Ella!


    @kimlikesart

    Thank you! I’ll keep that in mind.

    I think I’ve tried historical fiction before, but was not all too impressed with the outcome. What time period do you write in?

    I don’t currently have a dog, mine passed away just before Christmas. Her name was Play-Dough (I got her when I was like 5) and she was a rat-terrier. Dad say’s he’ll get me a new one if I find one, but life is really busy right now and I don’t think we need the added burden of a puppy.


    @arindown

    Nice to meet you too! Thank you for taking the time to chat with me! (:

    What type of books do you like to read? I don’t know how you’d feel about them, but I’m working on reading a series called “Twisted Tale.” It’s by a bunch of different writers, and every book is a Disney story retold in a different way. Like in Beauty and the Beast’s Twisted Tale (As Old As Time) Belle’s mother is the one who cursed the beast, and when Belle came to the castle she set the clock forward for beast and the castle, and the only way to undo what she did is to find her mom.

    They are really creative and interesting books! When I read them, I can feel the creative juices flowing. 😀

    I’m also reading The Insanity of God by Nik Ripken. Fantastic book. Words can’t describe how good it is. I think it is a must read for Christians.

    So. Enough about books. (As if…)

    I will be getting a bachelors degree in business, but also take classes in culinary and some writing, but mainly I hope to join YWW so fulfill some of my writing needs.

    What is your novel about?

    Arindown, Gracie, and Ella, thank you for welcoming me into this writing community. You guys definitely helped calm some of my nerves and made me feel welcome, thank you!

    ~Rebekah E.
    “People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

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