#WriterRevelations: He Holds It All by @ChelseaDeVries

This post has been in the works for a while but I made the decision to discontinue my books with Outskirts Press.

That is why, you may or may not have noticed that I took away the link to my books on Goodreads

but guess what?

Goodreads will forever keep the books and all the bad reviews on the site forever.

I guess I can never technically erase my poor reviews and equally unfair one-star reviewer.

Yet, when I decided to discontinue them, it wasn't because the one-star reviewer had won but it was because I wanted to rid myself of that ball and chain.

Outskirts Press ripped me off from the start. They did little to help me market my books, and because I owed them money for the yearly fee, they kept my last royalty check.

So basically when I wrote them a final email asking how I could cancel the contracts for both books, they were a little taken aback but they discontinued them. Twitter erupted with panic and comfort from author friends new and old, but I reassured them I was totally ok with this decision.

In fact to be completely honest, I felt more free in that moment than I had in a while.

I want to be known as a YA author whose books were well-liked and accepted so I will anxiously see what God has in store for me and the future home of Kickflip My Heart in the meantime.

Yet, if an agent or publisher does not reach out for a full manuscript request or begin the process of publishing the novel by December 10, 2018, I will be moving toward publishing with a publishing house that welcomed me from the get-go, and even offered to publish my memoir once I get copyright permission for all included song lyrics.

Yet, I can't forget The Lovely Review done by McKenzie:






Yet, I penned an essay about being One-Star reviewed for a contest for The Writer Magazine and unfortunately did not win but still think it's worthy to share:

     Being that I’m a go-getter who believes anyone can do anything at any age and they don’t have to wait for the right time or circumstance to achieve something, I published my first novel at 15 years of age. It all came about when my creative writing teacher in high school always made it a point to let everyone know in the class who her favorite was: not me. And even worse, she always gave me B minuses and C’s on all my writing assignments.
At fourteen, I took a chance and submitted a poem I was proud of to a student anthology and got accepted. This momentum made me enjoy the glory of seeing my name in print and made me realize my love for the written word came less from my love of reading but an almost innate heart of a writer.
Yet, you will know you are a writer when you know how to embrace rejection because it will be a common obstacle on this path. If you have always been accepted by your peers and never done anything truly awkward or weird or like me to blatantly stand out, then you are not yet a writer. Not everyone is a writer but that’s okay. Writers are only as good as the encouragement they get from their readers. 
My teacher who already made me feel second best assigned us a short story and what resulted for me was this idea for a young adult romance set in Walt Disney World featuring a half-Latina lead female character named Jessica Cortez, who happens to be a famous actress, deciding to take a Disney vacation to escape the hastiness of Hollywood to pursue love full-time by inviting three male suitors. These include her teenage celebrity crush Jeremy Koeingzfield, her high school crush that got away, Pete Young, who is now a male model, and her first love, sexy thrasher Bryan Snyder. It starts out bachelorette-style where she dates the guys in groups and then goes on one on ones but we all know what they say: three is a crowd. In a rebellious move, I self-published the book with a vanity press when self-publishing was still completely taboo.

To read the rest of the essay, please feel free to download a complete copy by clicking the image below.

So far I've cut my hours at work and it has allowed me to focus on God's purpose or calling outside of writing, and that is The Smart Cookie Philes.

You can benefit both The Smart Cookie Philes and Bess The Book Bus with a purchase from the new merch shop.

 Shirts with this design will always and forever benefit Bess The Book Bus.
They start at $21.

For more on Bess The Book Bus, find out more here.

Buy One Here or to the right via The Smart Cookie Philes link.

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They start at $15.

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This sticker design starts at $6 and you can make all your notebooks look SMART from the start of the school year and beyond. 

Click The Graphic below to shop SMART.

So I am trusting that either the Smart Cookie keeps growing or I find a better opportunity doing something I love and not feeling frustrated because my job feels like empty time and just a paycheck.

Yet, I know God's got my back regardless of what comes next. And in the meantime, I can find strength in the wholeness of his all-encompassing grace.

So I must stop looking at the circumstances in front of me, the wind and the crashing waves, and realize that my Lord is calling me to walk on the water amidst the storm, and asking me to step out in faith.

After all, we walk by faith and not by sight.

Until next time, remember this insightful revelation from Dr. Charles Stanley:

In Christ-Like Confidence and Love,

Chelsea

xoxo

#WriterWednesday: Who holds your confidence?

I don't know how but I started off 2016 with so much faith, passion, and confidence, and along the way, it just diminished until it was equivalent to a cell phone battery blinking and desperate for a recharge.


I think the first thing that diminished my confidence was when I attempted to lose weight through the lifestyle program affiliated with Shakeology, 21 Day Fix.

I really was stoked to spend about $75.00 on myself, or so my coach promised me. Yet, then my house air conditioner broke and my coach stopped sending me motivational texts and I said, why should I even bother with this? 

The unseen truth here was that instead of blaming my loss of weight on my coach's lack of encouragement, and my house's air conditioner crapping out, and just finished it like the boss chick that I claim to be. Yet, there was a power source issue here that instead of addressing, I let slip and just gave into my flesh when it came to over-indulging in sweets, alcohol, and fatty foods.

Following me quitting me Shakeology followed to me subconsciously overthinking the way I was being treated at work. I may have been really been targeted as far as abuse was concerned but either way, I overthought the whole situation and as a result, I called out one too many times and was immediately terminated.

Right after I was fired, I got a query response from an agent who ripped me apart for a previous blog post I shared on here where I responded to how an agent criticized my memoir in order to show other artists out there that you shouldn't change your art to bend to the trends of the marketplace but you should write, play music, draw or paint whatever your heart is screaming at you to share with the world. Art based on authentic passion always speaks volumes to the struggles of the world around us than the fickle trends of the marketplace when you query.

This query response would cause me to stop submitting to agencies for the time being. 

Plus, it made me stop writing creatively. I lost hope that my words even mattered at all. It turns out that the problem is my query letter itself and not my memoir. The query letter fails to sell the heart and soul struggle of my fight and how my story will breathe truth and change into people's minds if published.

A month after being terminated, I got hired with an undisclosed parcel company for seasonal employment. I applied to be a package handler but got hired as a golf cart delivery person in a residential neighborhood catered to the use of golf carts. They didn't call me to start until the end of the month and I grew impatient and easily frustrated. I went the first day and if I had thought they were unorganized before, after one day of work I certainly DID NOT want to work for them. Some issues that led me to feel this way: 

• My trainer was an hour late to meet me when my supervisor told me to be there at 1:30.
• I was fine when doing the job on my own but the trainer made me feel inadequate and judged, not to mention unwanted.
• We were responsible for too many packages for only two people assigned to the pod so we ended up working until 7:30 that night with a broken headlight and no light to help us find the addresses we had to deliver to as well as trouble reading the package labels. Plus, we were given no night reflectors to deliver in.

So the next day when they called me in for my second day of work I quit. I only took the golf cart position because I thought it would help build my driving skills and confidence so I could grab the horse by the reigns and drive a motor vehicle with the license I got in September. Yet, I stopped wanting to even drive for the sad reason of feeling like the only thing that would motivate me to drive would be having a car of my own. I mean my father was well-intentioned when he gave me his car but being that he still drives it the majority of the time, I don't really feel like it was given to me. It was just dangled in front of me much the same way you may dangle a half-eaten chicken wing in front of a dog if you were mean-spirited. 

Heading into 2017, I realized all these errors and decided I was going to clear my mind of all negative and wrong thoughts as the year closed out, and renew my mind to new thoughts for the new year. 

So far, 2017 is off to a fabulous start! I've started writing 30 minutes a day. I have weekly freelance writing work, and have now partnered with Amazon via The Smart Cookie Philes. My Christmas was even blessed despite having little income for extravagant gifts, since I placed my confidence in Christ, I ended up getting everything I wanted for Christmas:

A tablet (so I can read The Smart Cookie review queue quicker and more conveniently, plus not have to print a billion pages worth of books so I save trees).

Some new clothes from H&M. (OMG, did you guys know they have shaping denim so me and my big booty can still look cute in a pair of skinny jeans without having to metaphorically cut off my air circulation. Plus, I actually got pajamas to wear for when I do writing of all types).

Beats Headphones (My desk and bedroom are in the middle of my living room. I love my family for being the stone cold pack of weirdos they are but being from up north hereditarily, we are a loud group inside our habitat) They are perfect for writing.

So I ask you in 2017: 

Until next time remember, 

Before I go, please make sure to check out Kickflip My Heart to your right since I added a new chapter for the new year!

May your 2017 be full of love, joy, and unshakable confidence in a God who's grace abounds and much more abounds for those who diligently seek him.

In Christ-Like Love and Confidence, 

Chelsea 

~Just Keep Swimming~

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#WriterWednesday: The Power of a Wink

A wink is defined by Webster's dictionary as: close and open one eye quickly, typically to indicate that something is a joke or a secret or as a signal of affection or greeting.

We all know how awesome it is when someone winks at you. You get that first text from your crush that has a wink at the end. For me, I'm blown away when my dogs wink at me. Now that is something you just have to witness in the flesh and not at all virtually. ;-)

Recently, I got a job offer I just couldn't refuse. It was in my field, it was local, and it was everything I was looking for in a public relations job for someone whose college degree is literally fresh off the printer.

I got up early on a Friday morning about two weeks ago and I took a Snapchat video, said a prayer, and headed into the office wearing a nice business professional outfit and a smile.

I headed to the elevator because this company had their particular office suite on the second floor. I got a little lost on the second floor but found my way to the suite and arrived to be greeted by the receptionist warmly.

They asked me to fill out a candidate information sheet including my hobbies and interests. I listed writing, reading, listening to music, and street skateboarding. Sitting down in the waiting room along with two other potential candidates, ESPN was playing on the tv and Demi Lovato's "Confident" came on as part of the ESPN Sports Center promo showing basketball players heading out on the court ready to play the game. Here was the first God wink: The ball is in your court, Chelsea. Aim high and slamdunk this interview. ;-)

Finally, the hiring manager came in and shook my hand and led me to his office about five steps from the waiting room I was walking out of. I sat in a chair adjacent his desk.

As soon as we sat down, the interview started out with an icebreaker.

Hiring manager: I see you're a writer. I myself have started writing a book and am looking for some tips on how to go about the writing process. Should I take some writing classes?

Me: Yeah, definitely. I just have learned about the craft by basically reading books on the craft and I definitely recommend the Writer Magazine.

The interview was instantly a breeze after that because I felt comfortable with him because common ground had been established. The hiring manager went on to tell me what kind of marketing the company did.

They worked with big brands like Vizio, Samsung, etc, doing direct marketing campaigns in Costco's and Best Buy stores.

As soon as I heard marketing for Best Buy, my ears started ringing and I can't begin to tell you anything else he said. God wink number two: You didn't get that job working in Best Buy because I'd rather you work marketing for Best Buy. ;-)

I left very excited for the possibility of working for this company. I actually laughed with my mom on the drive back home at God's sense of humor with this one.

Time passed and I never received another call from them regarding the second interview, and it kind of bummed me out at first.

Then I realized this whole interview was a God wink in itself. To show me what I could attract and what God has planned for me.

I can see pieces coming together today but I urge you to look at your own life, and maybe even look twice. Because God is winking at you in big and small ways, believe me.

Recently, I felt God urging me to apply to publish my re-write of Dream Girl and Jessica's Choice on an online platform and it was accepted, and my series is now live:

http://channillo.com/series/kickflip-my-heart/

To subscribe, you only pay $4.99 where you end up getting access to not only my series but 9 other series. That's about ten books for $5. Now that's a bibliophile's dream come true.

Until next time, Remember: 

Love Times Infinity,

Chelsea

xoxo

God Bless!

~Just Keep Swimming~