Writability

Vlog: 4 Questions Every Pitch Must Answer

Whether you're working on a query, proposal, back cover copy, or just need to be prepared to talk about your book, there are four questions every pitch must answer. Do you know what they are?

Does your latest pitch answer these four questions?

Twitter-sized bite:

Working on a query letter, elevator pitch, or back cover copy? @thegabecole talks about 4 essential questions every pitch must answer. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: Productivity? In this Economy??

Boy, we are certainly living in a ~time~ aren't we? Today I'm talking about my struggles with creativity and productivity the last six weeks or so—and learning to look at it differently.

How have you been taking care of yourself?

Twitter-sized bite:

Productivity?? In this economy?? @thegabecole talks about his struggles with creativity and productivity during the pandemic and how he's been learning to look at it differently. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: You Asked, I Answered 5!

How do you write description with close POV? What do you do when you aren't sure how to get your story to go where it needs to? Today I'm answering these questions and more!

Twitter-sized bite:

How do you write description with close POV? What do you do when you aren't sure how to get your story to go where it needs to? Today Gabe (@Ava_Jae) is answering these Qs and more! (Click to tweet)

Vlog: On Genres, Categories, and Agents

What happens if you want to write multiple categories or genres and work with an agent? Today I'm talking about the possibilities—and what you should do to prepare.

RELATED LINKS:

Twitter-sized bite:

What happens if you want to write in multiple genres and categories while working with an agent? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) breaks down some options. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: What if My Books Disappear?

You asked, I answered! Today I'm talking about how to approach the reality that if you publish a book...it might just blend into the sea of other published books.

RELATED LINKS:

Twitter-sized bite:

What happens if you publish a book and it gets lost in the sea of other published books? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) talks about facing this reality when preparing for publication. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: How to Write Romantic Subplots

You asked, I answered! Today I'm discussing romantic subplots and how to put ~feels~ into a book that isn't strictly romance.

RELATED VLOGS:

Twitter-sized bite:

How do you add romantic relationships to a book where romance isn't the main focus of the plot? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) talks writing romantic subplots. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: You Asked, I Answered 4!

You asked, I answered! Today I'm talking about themes, the future, software, writers groups and more!

RELATED VLOGS:

Vlog: I'm Baaaaack! (AMA)

I've missed vlogging, but I'm back! Here's a quick update on where I've been, plus a kickoff to another ask me anything about writing!

Vlog: Help! My Book is Too Short!

You asked, I answered! Today I'm talking about what to do if your WIP is coming up short—literally.

RELATED VLOGS:

Twitter-sized bite:

What do you do if you've finished your first draft and it's way too short? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) shares their top tips for fleshing out a draft. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: My Writing Routine

Many of you asked about my writing routine! So today I'm sharing everything from where I write, to my word count goals and more. What's your writing routine like?

RELATED VLOGS:

Twitter-sized bite:

What's your writing routine like? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) shares their general go-to writing preferences, from location, to word count goals, to programs and more. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: You Asked, I Answered 3!

You've asked me questions! And while I can't answer all of them, today I've answered some of the most popular ones. Enjoy!

RELATED VLOGS:

Twitter-sized bite:

How do you balance writing & life? Or avoid procrastination? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) answered these questions and more in today's AMA answers! (Click to tweet)

Vlog: Ask Me Anything (About Writing) 3!

Have writing, publishing, or book questions? I have answers! Ask your questions in the comments—and vote for your favorite questions. I'll pick some to answer in upcoming vlogs!

Twitter-sized bite:

Have writing, publishing, or book questions? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) is taking them on their channel! (Click to tweet)

Vlog: Can Books Be Scary?

It's Halloween...tomorrow! So today I'm posing a question I haven't answered for myself: can books be scary?

RELATED VLOG:

How to Make Your Villains Awesome

Twitter-sized bite:

Can books really be scary? Join the discussion on Gabe's (@Ava_Jae) channel. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: On Writing & Burnout

In which I get real about burn out and trying to write through it.

RELATED VLOG:

Writing When You Don't Want To

Twitter-sized bite:

Gabe (@Ava_Jae) gets honest about writing and the realities of burn out. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: My Very First Manuscript

You asked, I answered! Today I'm talking about my very first manuscript—from how it came to be to what I learned from the experience.

RELATED LINKS:

My Patreon
My First Ever Manuscript (the first page)

Twitter-sized bite:

Gabe (@Ava_Jae) talks about their very first manuscript, why it's staying trunked forever, and what they learned from it. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: When You Get Stuck in the Middle of Your WIP

You asked, I answered! Today I'm talking about what to do if you get stuck in the middle of your WIP...and you don't like to plot.

RELATED LINKS:

Twitter-sized bite:

What do you do if you get stuck in the middle of your WIP and you don't like to plot? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) shares one strategy to get out of a rut. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: How to Write Third Person When You're Used to First

You asked, I answered! Today I'm talking about the easiest way to think about writing third person when you're used to writing in first.

RELATED VLOGS:

Twitter-sized bite:

Want to dabble with third person but have only ever written in first? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) shares some tips on trying out the new perspective. (Click to tweet)

THE RISING GOLD Pre-Order Campaign!

What's this? A real blog post? Indeed!

Special occasion because my third novel, The Rising Gold, will be out in just over a month! And as before, there are goodies for pre-orders!

If you pre-order The Rising Gold from any store in any format before 10/2/18 and have a U.S. mailing address (again, I'm sorry international friends), you will get:

Signed, very pretty bookplates for Beyond the Red, Into the Black and The Rising Gold (unless you only want one or two, in which case just let me know). The bookplates are different for each book and they are beautifulllll.

Beyond the Red, Into the Black and The Rising Gold bookmarks (again, unless you only want one or two, which is totally fine!). These are also very pretty if I do say so myself.

So many things! I'm so psyched to get these goodies out to everyone and also share this book. It's hard to believe I'm actually done with this trilogy and I feel so honored to be able to share the full story with everyone. I hope you all love it as much as I do.

To make things easy for you, here is a sample of links you can pre-order The Rising Gold from:

Also! If you haven't read Beyond the Red yet, but are curious about the trilogy, that's cool! Beyond the Red's paperback is available for purchase and Into the Black's paperback releases on September 4th and there will be a sneak peek at The Rising Gold at the end of the paperback. You can get that in many places as well, such as:

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Books-a-Million | IndieBound

So that about covers it! I hope you guise are as excited as I am, and I look forward to putting together pre-order goodies for everyone!

So I've pre-ordered, how do I get the goodies?

Glad you asked! Just e-mail your receipt and U.S. mailing address to avalonjaedra @ gmail on or before 10/1/18 at midnight EST. That's it!

Hooray!

Twitter-sized bite:

THE RISING GOLD is almost here and you can get signed bookplates and bookmarks for pre-ordering! (Click to tweet)

Vlog: About Showing vs Telling

You asked, I answered! Today I'm talking about the common advice "show don't tell" and whether that *really* means you should absolutely never tell. (Spoiler: it doesn't.)

RELATED VLOGS:

Twitter-sized bite:

Does "show don't tell" *really* mean you can never tell? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) breaks down what this common advice means about telling in your writing. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: On Realistic Expectations & Adjusting Goals

Today I'm talking about a lesson I had to learn the hard way: namely, how to be flexible and adjust your goals when life gets in the way of writing.

RELATED LINK:

How to Juggle Writing & School

Twitter-sized bite:

What do you do when life gets in the way of your writing? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) talks maintaining realistic expectations and adjusting your goals. (Click to tweet)