Tag: Writing

Posted in updates

2025 Update

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

Life has been very unexpected since the last time I posted.

I’ve lost a dear friend, stared grad school, endured two very stressful school years, welcomed a new family member, and even moved to a new location. Every day has been filled with challenges.

My publishing journey still continues as that has been my main focus. Starting graduate school has been very exciting and kept me busy. I’ve learned a lot about my writing and myself. It has also helped me realize that it’s time to change careers but it won’t be too drastic. Instead of teaching primary, I want to teach higher education.

My goals for publication has somewhat changed. I tried publishing a certain manuscript awhile back and due to the many rejections, I decided to put it away and work on the next projects.

I’m still posting on Wattpad, however, I’m not very proud of that current work. I realized that it wasn’t ready to be published but I’ll finish posting it because it is a story I want to tell. It taught me a few things that I need to work on. I’ve been planning the next work I want to post on Wattpad as well.

Speaking of Wattpad, I have decided to move forward to self-publishing my original trilogy I had posted. While that had been my plan, I was very hesitant since I hadn’t made my changes in the original. I didn’t want it to be a direct copy and paste. Now, I’ve had plenty of time to think about how I can keep the original essence of the novel but make it new for newer and returning readers.

I’ve also been working on an original dark fantasy work. While it’s the first draft, I’m really enjoying how it’s turning out.

While there are many projects I’m tackling this summer, as well as my thesis, I’m looking forward to what the future may bring.

Posted in NaNoWriMo, self-publishing, updates, Writing

Camp NaNoWriMo & Everything Else

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

It’s been a week or so since I started Camp Nation Novel Writing Month. I’ve written 20k words so far. The goal is 60k words for this month. I’m trying to rewrite a 30k word novella into (at least) an 80k word YA dark fantasy novel.

A huge reason I’m doing this is to start my indie author journey. By that, I mean that I want to self-publish this novel. I haven’t gotten all the details straightened out just yet but it’s something I want to try out.

This past weekend I spent it researching different ways to go about doing this and I think I can start with a Kickstarter as a way to cover the expenses needed for self-publishing. I’ve seen other authors on the website as well. Now, there is a lot to do in general and despite the fact that I’m not done writing yet, I want to start thinking about it. I want to work towards that goal so whenever I feel like I can’t do this, I can remember my goal and gain new inspiration.

The more I thought about it, I might be better off publishing the story as an eBook first (when writing/editing, etc. is finished) and then try to have physical copies of the book. Maybe if I do it this way, there won’t be many risks of the Kickstarter failing because the book is out there.

Overall, I haven’t decided on a way to go about self-publishing just yet. I want to concentrate on writing first. However, I’m glad to have a goal in mind and I really want to make it happen.

Posted in Writing

Rolling with the Punches

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

Two weeks ago, I received news that shook my life. Since then, I’ve had to reapply for my job but I’ve ultimately decided to go someone else. That still meant having interviews and needless to say, it’s been stressful. I’ve gotten an offer but I’m waiting on two others to make a final decision.

There have been a few good things happening. I’ve started crocheting again and made ten new keychains. I think all the stress made me want to be a bit more crafty than before. I’ve received news back on my queries but I still don’t have an agent. There are a handful of agents I’m waiting for to open their queries again.

I’ve been focusing on rewriting a dark fantasy novella into a novel. A huge part of it is changing first person to third person and of course adding more world building than I had before. This might also be the novel I’ll be working on during Camp NaNoWriMo this July.

A part of me wants to stream my prep work for Camp NaNoWriMo on YouTube/ Twitch and invite others to plan with me. Even streaming my writing during the event is something that I’ve considered doing. It would definitely be a challenge, but it would also help me reach the daily word count. Plus, it could also help others to sit down and write.

Overall, there are tons of decisions that I need to make this upcoming week. One of those is where I’ll be working in August. Not to mention Camp NaNoWriMo is right around the corner, and I need to double down and decide how I will implement everything I want to do.

Posted in NaNoWriMo, updates

Summer Plans

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

A lot has happened during the first days of June. Huge news have shaken up my life in regards to work and that future is uncertain. However, I plan to focus on the good stuff like visiting family and my nephew (only a few months old), and enjoying my summer break.

Queries

First things first, unfortunately, my novel hasn’t been picked up by any agents. There are still that haven’t replied yet but that is not always a good thing. I have continued to research and find more agents that are a potential match to my novel and sent out queries. There are still a couple of them that are closed so it’s another waiting game.

Crochet

This is a little different but it was part of my new year goals to crochet more. I have to say that over the last two days, I’ve done exactly that. Now, I need to give my fingers and joints a rest. Maybe I’ll start selling my little critters in the future. I don’t particularly have space for all the knot critters I’m creating. But overall, it’s good to relax, and be able to finish a project in one sitting.

Camp NaNoWriMo

July is less than a month away and that means it’s time for Camp NaNoWriMo. While I still have to decide what project I’ll work on during that month, I do want to participate. I’m going to try something different this year.

I want to stream the prep work for the project AND the actual writing portion. Mostly it’ll be streams of me talking about how I plan or maybe the lack of planning. I think it’ll be fun to do.

Posted in updates

A Little Disappointed but Hopeful

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

It’s been a few weeks since my last post. Needless to say, Spring Break came and went. It was definitely a much-needed rest. Plus, it was very eventful, from visiting the beach to visiting family and even attending a concert. I had so much fun that week. Plus, my cat Princess had a blast sleeping in my arms daily.

I managed to send a third round of query letters out as well. However, I wish I had better news to share. So far, all my queries have been rejected. A lot of the agents I want to send to have been closed and, the only thing I can do, is go back and check their availability.

While I’m not exactly discouraged since I know most of my queries will be rejected, it’s a little disappointing. The last time I tried to query, I had to give up because it was a year with so replies (I think?) and it was time to take a break.

I don’t want to do it this time. I want to keep trying. Sometimes it is tough to remember that it might not work out the first twenty or thirty times. Rejection is “normal”. But, nevertheless, I’m feeling hopeful. One of these days I’m going to have more than rejections.