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What Have I Been Up To?

So you may or may not have noticed my month-long absence prior to the previous post (as well as the rarity of posts in general this past semester). πŸ˜‰ I explained the gist of why in this post, so I won’t repeat all of that except to say that even going to college part-time was a wild change for me. I’m the kind of person who thrives on routines and schedules, and having quite settled into the one I had before… well, while the classes themselves were not particularly difficult, the schedule changes and all that came with beginning college was a lot to get used to for me. To be honest, I don’t think I ever did. Get used to it, I mean. Which is probably why I stopped posting.

BUT I AM NOW FINISHED. Well, for the semester, anyway. πŸ˜‰

So, once the other things (moving and changing work schedule) were more or less settled, I spent a lot of time editing my book Low Expectations, because I have decided to get it published this yearβ€”or at least to move toward that. Over the summer, I’m going to finish polishing and do some hardcore querying. If that goes nowhere by the late fall/early winter, I’ve decided to self-publish it. I’ve known for a long time that LE is in a difficult niche to market, but the problem is that all the things that make it unmarketable (the MC’s age, the homeschooling, the foster care, the fact that he is a he in a more female-MC YA genre, etc) are all of the things that make the story exactly what it is. And so, while I would love to see it traditionally published, I have come to the point where, one, I know it’s a great book, and two, I’m okay beginning its career saying that by myself and self-publishing it instead. πŸ™‚

Another thing I did this semester was read, just not for reviewing, so if you follow me on Goodreads, you might have seen a few mini reviews popping up here and there. Honestly, there was something really freeing about that, reading a book not because it was an ARC or because I had promised I would, but just because I had seen it at the library or a friend had recommended it and I wanted to. So I’ve decided that, as awesome as the ARC-getting status is, I’m not going to review for the ARCs anymore. Not to say that I’m going to stop accepting them or that I’m going to stop reviewing, just that I’m not going to review for the ARCs. I’m going to review for the books, picking the ones that look interesting to me and giving the best review I can based on my thoughts/feelings, without feeling pressured (a self-induced pressure, I will add) to finish in a certain amount of time or portray my thoughts in a certain way. I’m reading and reviewing for the reason that I began reading and reviewing: because I love books. πŸ™‚ That said, I do actually have four reviews coming up soon (hopefully within the next 4-6 Saturdays), and I can’t wait for you all to see them. πŸ™‚

Well, that is it for today! Let me know what you all have been up to! What have I missed this semester by not being around the blogosphere? Can’t wait to hear from you, and I will see you in the comment section!

~ Love, Alexa <3

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