2021: Loading

Hello, Readers! I hope you all have been doing well since I last wrote. In this post, I decided to write about my latest accomplishment.

My book.

It is so strange to think about and get used to the fact that I published a book. I can not possibly express my feelings. My book-- a story I came up with when I was thirteen years old, is now published. It's mind-boggling, really. I am still shocked when I realize I am now an author. I knew one day that I would be, but now that that day is finally here, I don't know how to fully process it.

I've been wanting to write an article about my publication, but as I said, I still don't know how to process it. Whenever someone brings up my book, I freeze and suddenly get embarrassed. It scares me to think other people are actually reading my work. It's not nearly the same as blogging. It sounds like it should be, but it feels entirely different. When I get a view or a like on an article, I feel excited. But when someone buys my book and reads it, then tells me their opinions-- I feel dumbfounded.

So I am sorry I have written an article on my new book, but now that you know why I haven't, I hope you can understand.

Now, let's get into the book.

As I wrote in the beginning, I began writing this book when I was thirteen years old. When I was around eleven or twelve, I began reading futuristic and dystopian novels. That year I read six books that really stuck out to me. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, all three of books in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, The Giver by Lois Lowry, and Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien. I remember reading The Hunger Games and just falling in love with it. Soon after, my father recommended Fahreheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, and my love for this genre grew even more.

I decided then that I wanted to write something in this genre. I had no idea what about yet, but I knew I wanted to write something. I think I tried writing futuristic stories, but nothing was sticking. I wasn't a committed writer back then, so I didn't bother with finding an idea that did stick.

But eventually, an idea struck.

When I was thirteen, my grandfather gave me his touchscreen fitness watch. It was the kind that could track your steps, your heart rate, send you notifications-- you know, a smartwatch. I wore it on my wrist all summer, thinking it was the coolest thing ever. It could do so much, all on your wrist. I was really impressed. And then it got me thinking.

Technology has been improving and developing since it was first created. Each year a new smartphone comes out, better and smarter than the last one. When I got the smartwatch, I couldn't even imagine a newer, more improved version of it. And I thought, wouldn't it be crazy if, in the future, there was a piece of technology in you?

This was the start of my book, Loading.

After that idea came to mind, I sat down at my computer and began typing away. I wrote a page-long opening about a controlling electronic that was embedded in your eye. Like the smartwatch, it could track your steps and send you vocal messages. But, this electronic had an evil side to it. Because it was in your head, it was always watching you…

I named this robot the Charge.

Just like a wildfire, a story began to unravel as I wrote.

The main character is a teenage protagonist named November Grey. I can't remember exactly why I chose this name, but I thought it had a good ring to it when I put the names together.

[If you ever need to find good names, search baby names. Depending on which site you go to, they'll normally categorize the names. Some will be 'hippie baby names' or 'old-fashioned baby names' or 'futuristic baby names'.]

The second main character is an orange-haired boy named Jax Presley. I went back and forth with his last name when I was writing. It was a difficult choice to make. No, I did not name him after Elvis Presley. The name Presley came up by accident, to be honest. His original name was Jax Parsley. But when I was writing Parsley, it auto-corrected to Presley. As I was about to delete it, I read the name out loud-- just to see. I wasn't totally satisfied with Parsley, so I was open to anything. Jax Presley. At first, I wasn't big on the name, but I liked it a whole lot better than Parsley. So, thinking I'd change it later, I made his name Jax Presley.

Deciding names was one of the hardest decisions while writing this book. It doesn't sound like it should be, but it really was. It was difficult finding the right name to fit a certain character. There are a lot of names I love, but it won't work if it doesn't fit the character's personality.

Speaking of characters' personalities, November Grey's personality was one of the biggest changes I had to switch while editing. When I first created this character, I made her very innocent and clueless. She never knew what was happening, and this frustrated the heck out of me while reading my book for the first time.

Because half of this book was written by a thirteen-year-old, there was a lot of editing that had to be done. For those who don't already know, I made the decision to edit and proofread on my own. It was very hard, but in the end, I'm grateful I did it. Not only did I learn a lot about editing, but this also opened a new career path for me. While editing my mistakes in my book, I found that I actually liked editing. I know that must sound totally crazy, but it's true. I'm still learning a lot about editing, but fixing mistakes in my book myself made me realize that I could become a good editor one day.

Editing my book took me months. I'm not sure what the average amount of time is to edit a 300+ page book, but for me, it felt like it was taking forever. As soon as I finished editing it the first time, I had to re-read it again. Again and again. A few months into it, I felt like I was slowly going insane. I stayed up for hours, re-reading each sentence-- trying to make everything perfect. I had it set in my mind that my book had to be 100% perfect, grammar-wise. I was carrying around this unnecessary amount of pressure-- all self-created-- for absolutely no reason. And this was because I had so many people excited for me, so many people waiting to read my book.

And then my mother told me something that stuck with me. She warned me not to get too wrapped up in my work. It was unhealthy to become crazed over one thing, she said. And like everything she says, she was right. I realized that I was a little obsessed with making everything perfect. Even though I didn't want to accept it, I knew that it was okay if there were mistakes in my book. It wasn't the end of the world if I messed up.

This became a clearer message to me after getting my book published, too. After realizing I was working overtime, I decided to go ahead begin the publishing process. I got my books published through a publishing company called 48 Hours. This company was fantastic. They were easy to work with and extremely friendly. Their name is 48 Hours because they can publish your book within 48 hours!

I selected for them to send me a proof copy of my paperback before I decided to go ahead and publish copies. When the proof copy came, I was just about ready to explode. I was so, so excited. I felt like I couldn't breathe. I was buzzing with excitement. It was the strangest feeling; to have my written work as a paperback. I think I spent the rest of that day just staring at my book, feeling overwhelmingly happy and sort of freaked out.

Because of my excessive joy and excitement, I just skimmed through the pages and then agreed to continue the publication.

And as a result, I found mistakes in my book after publishing the first twenty copies…

If I told this to myself a few months ago, I would have lost it. If I had only taken the time to proofread the proof copy, then I could have fixed the few mistakes I found after it was too late. But because I'm okay with my book not being totally perfect, I didn't beat myself up about it. I wasn't necessarily happy with the flaws, but I knew it wasn't a big deal. When my family members and friends got the book, they didn't even notice what I noticed. I was relieved. Not just because they didn't see the mistakes that I saw, but because it was not a big deal. I was looking too deep into perfection when I didn’t need to.

I had an amazing book launch. My grandmother hosted it and planned everything. It was such a fun night! I sold some copies, practiced my signature, ate delicious foods, and enjoyed my company.

I recently finished re-editing and publishing my book, and they are now for sale on Ebay with a limited deal! For the first twenty copies, I will be signing each book with my signature and giving everyone a free bookmark with no extra charge. Please click here to buy a copy.

I am so thankful for all of the support and encouragement I received from everyone. If I were to call out every single person I am beyond grateful for, the article would never end. So instead, here's a big thanks to you.

-Kait The Writer