Dear O'Abby: Why should I join the Operation Awesome team?

 Dear O'Abby,

I saw that Operation Awesome is looking for new people and I'm thinking about applying.  I'm not sure if I'm the right kind of person for something like this, if I really have the time to put in or if it will be of any benefit to me.

As someone on the inside, can you let me know what being a part of the team is really like?  

Thanks so much!

X Undecided

Dear Undecided,

Thanks so much for asking!  Obviously I can only answer your question from my own perspective, but maybe some of the other team members might add their two cents too.

I honestly wouldn't worry about being the right kind of person.  I have no idea what that even means.  If you love to write and want to become a better, more informed writer, then you're the right kind of person.  You don't have to be published or even close to being published.  You just need to have a desire to help other writers become the best they can be.

In terms of time, it's not a huge burden.  You will only need to write one post a week most of the year.  I would say that my weekly posts probably take me just over an hour, depending on how much research I have to do to answer the question asked of us.  There is a little more work in April when we do the A to Z Challenge, but if you're organised, you can get all those posts knocked off in the months leading up to 1 April and then just spend the month visiting and commenting on other blogs.  Which is fun!

And as for benefit to you, I find the rest of the team to be really supportive and having those people around me is often a great comfort.  Writing can be a lonely pursuit and sharing the journey with others makes it just a little bit easier.  Most of my real-life friends aren't writers and don't understand the pain of endless query rejections or poor reviews, or the joy that comes when a book is finally out in the world.  The Operation Awesome team does, and they will be cheerleaders for you when you need them.

I've also learned a lot through being a part of this team, partly from being in touch with authors whose publishing journey and ambitions are different to mine and partly because some of the questions I've been asked while writing this column have required research into things I may never have thought about on my own.  And you know what they say... Knowledge is a dangerous weapon.  I feel well armed.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any specific questions about what we do here at Operation Awesome.  We'd be happy to answer them.

And sign up if you think you'd be a good fit.  We'd love to welcome you. The link is here: https://forms.gle/6nrLCn1ncLByLEWi8 

X O'Abby

OA Team Seeks New Operatives

 

Since May 2016, I have been joyfully interviewing debut authors at Operation Awesome. I absolutely loved doing this. It is one of the great honors of my life. However, since Twitter has been taken over, finding my debut authors has been too difficult. I've been failing week after week. The stress is too much. I am leaving the role and possibly the team. Brandy is also leaving. And Kate is hoping to take on a role other than Dear O'Abby. So we need to search for new operatives.

https://forms.gle/6nrLCn1ncLByLEWi8 We're looking for new team members!
If you would be so kind as to share that link and/or this tweet (X post), it would be greatly appreciated.

2023 New Operatives Application https://t.co/QwTQCkrNA9#writersoftwitter #WritingCommunity #AuthorsOfTwitter #writerslife #writetip #Writer #author #litagent #publisher #Editor

— J Lenni Dorner (@JLenniDorner) October 4, 2023

OA Team Seeks New Operatives

Since May 2016, I have been joyfully interviewing debut authors at Operation Awesome. I absolutely loved doing this. It is one of the great honors of my life. However, since Twitter has been taken over, finding my debut authors has been too difficult. I've been failing week after week. The stress is too much. I am leaving the role and possibly the team. Brandy is also leaving. And Kate is hoping to take on a role other than Dear O'Abby. So we need to search for new operatives.

https://forms.gle/6nrLCn1ncLByLEWi8 We're looking for new team members!
If you would be so kind as to share that link and/or this tweet (X post), it would be greatly appreciated.

2023 New Operatives Application https://t.co/QwTQCkrNA9#writersoftwitter #WritingCommunity #AuthorsOfTwitter #writerslife #writetip #Writer #author #litagent #publisher #Editor

— J Lenni Dorner (@JLenniDorner) October 4, 2023

Change of Heart at Operation Awesome #WEP #IWSG

Write Edit Publish

Perhaps a bit unusual for this challenge:

Operation Awesome proudly introduces our three new operatives!

The members of the team are the HEART of Operation Awesome. 

Due to time restraints, mostly thanks to successes, we have an influx of new members this month, which is a big 

CHANGE OF our HEART. 

So, in under 300 words each, here are quick introductions from our new team members!

They'll do longer, individual introduction posts later. This is just a fun way to say hello to everyone out there. No feedback is needed for this non-fiction post, but it'd be great if you'd say hi back!

Nathaniel:

Hey, everyone! My name is Nathaniel Glanzman and I'll be the new Query Friday/ Flash Fiction Friday point guy. I found out about Operation Awesome through #QueryKombat, and as soon as I was introduced to it, I was in love. My favorite thing about Operation Awesome is its ability to bridge connections between writers. It is an excellent resource to strengthen and nurture one of my favorite things in the whole world: Writing. I know this may sound cliche, but I've been a writer all my life (The first thing I remember writing was a poem about how much my mother loved money when I was four) and there is hardly a moment in the day when I'm not thinking about a character or a plot point to write down later. My default novel is a character-centric, internal conflict-heavy slice of life with an ensemble cast of mentally ill, neurodivergent, queer social misfits. Writing has both changed my life and saved my life on more than one occasion. I can't imagine my life without it. I'm honored to be a part of a team that cultivates that in others.

Amren:

Hi y’all, I’m Amren! I’m so excited to be a part of the OA team. It’s hard out there for those of us going through the writing process, so having a group like OA to provide support through every stage is a huge help. I know I was lost before I found an online community of writers, and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to share some of what I’ve learned along the way. I can’t wait to get started! I’m going to be starting a new recurring event with OA to critique manuscripts’ first pages, so hopefully I’ll be seeing your pages soon 😊

Kate:

Hello!

I’m Kate and I’m thrilled to be joining the Operation Awesome team. I have been a long-time reader of the blog, and it has been an incredibly useful resource as I’ve attempted to navigate this tricky world of writing and publishing. I am looking forward to giving back to the community in my own small way as Operation Awesome’s new OAbby. So if you have any burning questions about writing or publishing, send them my way!

Writing and publishing is a long game, and one that’s not for the faint of heart. You have to have perseverance, the hide of a rhino and not allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the crippling self-doubt that comes at some point in every writing project. Writing is a solitary act, so it’s important to have a community to support you when you need it. And a community that understands the unique challenges of being a writer is important.

I’m proud to be a part of that community and look forward to meeting and supporting you as part of the new OA team.

We hope you'll come back to visit Operation Awesome, where we focus on helping those in the publishing journey. 

Pass or Pages is our quarterly query critique contest. We also have synopsis critiques, posts about feelings on writing, Dear OAbby, the Debut Author Spotlight, and other fun features.

We're looking for a new blogger!

Operation Awesome is looking for a new team member!

We are looking for a writer to commit to blogging every Monday. The schedule will be flexible around contests and other date-sensitive posts, but this blogger will still be expected to blog approximately four times a month. We also need help running our Pass Or Pages contest, and we expect our new team member to help with all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into the contest.

We'd like our new blogger to come up with a feature that they would implement on the blog. Not every week would have to be devoted to the feature post, but it should be something that will appear at least once a month. On non-feature weeks, you would be welcome to post about anything you'd like! As far as blog posts go, pretty much anything related to the craft or business of writing is welcome.

Each blogger is responsible for promoting their own posts on social media. You will receive the passwords to the Operation Awesome Facebook and Twitter accounts to help you reach more people.

We welcome applicants from any background, and are especially interested in bloggers from groups that are underrepresented in the writing world.

We see membership in Operation Awesome as an opportunity to make meaningful connections in the publishing community no matter where you are in the journey. Each of us has grown and learned from the experience of group blogging, and if that sounds like something you’d be interested in, please send an email to OperationAwesome6 (at) gmail (dot) com with a short message on why you think you would be a good fit for Operation Awesome, as well as your idea for a new feature for our blog. Please include links to your social media and blog sites. If you don't have a public blog where we could see examples of your writing, please include a theoretical guest post with your application.

If you have applied before, and are still interested in blogging with us, we strongly encourage you to apply again.

We will accept applications until end-of-day on Tuesday, February 6th. Questions may be asked as a reply to this post, or on Twitter @OpAwesome6 or @Kara_Reynolds7.

Thank you!

We're looking for a new blogger!

We're looking for a new team member to join Operation Awesome in 2017!   

We are looking for a writer to commit to blogging every Thursday. The schedule will be flexible around contests and other date-sensitive posts, but this blogger will still be expected to blog approximately four times a month. We also need help running our Pass Or Pages contest, and we hope that if you are interested in blogging with us, you'd like to help with the contest as well!

Currently our blog has 3 regular features: Tuesday Museday, Debut Author Spotlight, and #OAFlash Flash Fiction contests. We'd like our new blogger to come up with an additional feature that they would implement on the blog. Not every week would have to be devoted to the feature post, but it should be something that will appear at least once a month. On non-feature weeks, you would be welcome to post about anything you'd like!

As far as blog posts go, pretty much anything related to the craft or business of writing is welcome. We tend to stay away from controversial or emotionally-charged topics, because it's hard to reflect the views of everyone in the group in such a post. However, we're flexible and we communicate well with each other behind the scenes, so it's a good atmosphere to bounce potential ideas around.

Each blogger is responsible for promoting their own posts on social media. You will receive the passwords to the Operation Awesome Facebook and Twitter accounts to help you reach more people.

We welcome applicants from any background, and are especially interested in bloggers from groups that are underrepresented in the writing world.

We see membership in Operation Awesome as an opportunity to make meaningful connections in the publishing community no matter where you are in the journey. Each of us has grown and learned from the experience of group blogging, and if that sounds like something you’d be interested in, please send an email to OperationAwesome6 (at) gmail (dot) com with a short message on why you think you would be a good fit for Operation Awesome, as well as your idea for a new feature for our blog. Please include links to your social media and blog sites. If you don't have a public blog where we could see examples of your writing, please include a theoretical guest post with your application.

If you have applied before, and are still interested in blogging with us, we strongly encourage you to apply again.

We will accept applications until Friday, January 6th. Questions may be asked as a reply to this post, or on Twitter @OpAwesome6 or @reynoldstribe.

Thank you!

Meet the Illustrator: Donelle Lacy

Hello, everyone!

I'm Donelle, newest member of Operation Awesome, and giddy first-timer to a group blog. (Yay!)

I'm an illustrator and sci-fi/fantasy author. I love connecting online and in person with readers, writers, and creators alike. My favorite creative partners include writers, gamers, artists, and imaginative people from pretty much anywhere.

Superpowers:
Armed with an MFA in Illustration, I draw images suitable for children's books (including YA and middle-grade covers), coloring books, and graphic novels. The project I'm currently shopping around is an ocean-themed fantasy coloring book entitled Dangerous Sea which depicts scenes of adventure, danger, and beauty of the deep in a graphic novel/comic book style.

I write historical fantasy YA and short stories. I've also fallen heavily in love with flash fiction, marrying it to a steampunk experiment I like to call The Adventures of Captain Trav. These Trav nuggets show up from time-to-time in the Flash Fiction Challenge on the Absolute Write forums. Once I spruce them up, I'm sure you'll see them other places too.

Mild-mannered alter ego: 
Most creative folk have a day job that brings in a steady paycheck while they do work on the side. I'm blessed that mine is being a library clerk. While in this job, I've fed on fantasy YA and any strange and unusual darlings hugging the shelf. A few of my favorite authors are Terry Pratchett, Frances Hardinge, and Catherynne Valente. I've been known to abuse the #amreading tag on twitter. If you do too, feel free to hit me up.

Backstory:
I'm a former PK (preacher's kid) of an Apostolic Pentecostal minister who was also a history teacher. I was born and now live in Ohio, but my family traveled many states during my father's ministry. Each of my siblings was born in a different state. Since my dad passed, my growing, tight-knit family now includes several nephews, one yappy, small dog, and a few longsuffering cats. I love different styles of music, starry skies, wintry nights, Lapsang Souchong tea, wintergreen Canada mints, and any means of stepping into a fictional world.

You can stop by my personal blog A Little Dversion
Find me on Twitter
on Instagram
Pinterest
and also my Illustration website

Introducing Our New Operatives!

A few weeks ago we advertised for new bloggers to join the Operation Awesome team. We had several people apply; they made it really tough to narrow it down to two people. We're so grateful to those who applied, and hope they'll consider applying again in the future.

We're very excited to have two new members of the team. They'll introduce themselves in the next few weeks, but for now we can tell you who they are!

J Lenni Dorner

will conduct the Wednesday Debut Interview feature. If you or a friend has a book coming out this year, please reach out to J! We'd love to have you on Operation Awesome.

Donelle Lacy

  is our new weekly blogger, covering Mondays. We look forward to reading her thoughts (and seeing her artwork; seriously, it's amazing!).

Join the Operation Awesome team!

With the recent departure of a few of our members, it's time to add some new bloggers to the Operation Awesome team!   

We are looking for:

- Someone to take over Wendy's Wednesday Debut Interview feature. This person would also be welcome to post on other writing-related subjects, and help with contests and other features, but their primary responsibility would be contacting debut authors and conducting interviews/giveaways around the time of their book releases.

- A weekly blogger. Currently, we have Tuesdays and Fridays covered regularly by Kara and Samantha, and Wednesdays will be covered by the debut interviews. We are looking for a writer to commit to blogging every Monday or Thursday. The actual day will be flexible around contests and other date-sensitive posts, but this blogger will still be expected to blog approximately four times a month.

As far as blog posts go, pretty much anything related to the craft or business of writing is welcome. We tend to stay away from controversial or emotionally-charged topics, because it's hard to reflect the views of everyone in the group in such a post. However, we're flexible and we communicate well with each other behind the scenes, so it's a good atmosphere to bounce potential ideas around.

Each blogger is responsible for promoting their own posts on social media. You will receive the passwords to the Operation Awesome Facebook and Twitter accounts to help you reach more people.

We welcome applicants from any background, and are especially interested in bloggers from groups that are underrepresented in the writing world.

We see membership in Operation Awesome as an opportunity to make meaningful connections in the publishing community no matter where you are in the journey. Each of us has grown and learned from the experience of group blogging, and if that sounds like something you’d be interested in, please send an email to OperationAwesome6 (at) gmail (dot) com with a short message on why you think you would be a good fit for Operation Awesome. Please include links to your social media and blog sites. If you don't have a public blog where we could see examples of your writing, please include a theoretical guest post with your application.

If you have applied before, and are still interested in blogging with us, we strongly encourage you to apply again.

We will accept applications until Friday, May 20th.

Thank you!

Note added 5/13/16:

The ideal candidates for these spots would, in addition to the responsibilities above, also assist in our Pass Or Pages contest every two months and would participate in our #OABookClub every month.

For PoP, that would include helping draw winners, emailing agents using our shared email address, giving a minimum of three query critiques as consolation prizes, and/or formatting posts to go live. We share all these responsibilities, so you wouldn't have to do everything; however, we like to rotate duties.

For #OABookClub, we select a book together the month before. You wouldn't be expected to participate every month, but since we're a team, we would like it if you would as much as possible.

If you have already applied and you are comfortable with these additions, no need to respond. If you feel that would be too much of a time commitment, please email us and we will remove your application from consideration.

Introducing Samantha

Hello, fabulous fellow writer- and reader-folk! Around these parts, I'm known as S. L. Saboviec, although you can call me Samantha. I’m a member of the current freshman class here at Operation Awesome, and I’m thrilled to join this great bunch.

Shall we jump right into me? Because, after all, this post is about me. Who doesn’t like talking about me? I definitely do.

In a sorta particular order, but not precisely so, here are ten things about me:

1. I love villains. They’re fascinating. I can list more favorite antagonists than I can favorite protagonists, ohyesreally: Hannibal Lector, Agent Smith, Frank Underwood (fine, he’s a protagonist, but he’s villainous), Keyser Soze, Tyler Durden… Who am I missing?


2. I wrote my first book when I was twelve years old. It’s about a girl who discovers a journal in a shack in the woods. This journal chronicles the sad, lonely life of a man whose wife died at a young age. When my protagonist reaches the end–hold onto your hats for this plot twist–she realizes he’s still writing in it and that he’s the creepy, old hermit everyone is afraid of. But now that she knows, she understands that he’s just sad and lonely! No one has to be afraid of him anymore!
   
   I wanted this to be made into a Disney movie, but sadly, no one from Disney has broken into my file archives and stolen it to pitch to their producers.


3. I love fall. And pumpkin spice everything. And nippy weather, warm jackets, and fireplaces after being outside.


4. My house doesn’t have a fireplace. L


5. I was recently curious about my strengths as a critique partner, and after asking a CP what I'm good at within the critique process, I received this as a response:
   
   
   
   
   I've decided this is a compliment. I'm good at the pointed comments. Yes, sir, I pull no punches. Want me as a CP? I will, apparently, make you cry.


6. I’m a perfectionist. I love grammar. My latest mission is to ensure everyone understands the difference between “compliment”and “complement.” Please use it properly, I beg of you. The misused "i" version wants a break.


7. I self-published my first novel, Guarding Angel, in May 2014, and I’m releasing the sequel, Reaping Angel, in February 2016. The journey has been fraught with many lessons and sharpenings of my writerly tools. Although I don't consider myself an expert, I’m happy to field self-publishing questions. Hopefully I will have an answer. If not, I’ll make something up. Just kidding. Probably. I did mention I write fiction, yes? I like making things up.


8. I’m on the third revision of my fifth novel. (OK, fine, fourth, since you insist upon not counting the childhood one.) I plan to start querying agents in 2016 after another revision or two. I’m going the hybrid route: my self-published novels are paranormal (eek, I know), and my latest is science fiction with more mass appeal. Also, it has a villain protagonist. Yes, I see your look of complete and utter not-surprise.


9. My one-year-old daughter, Morrigan, is pretty much the cutest thing ever:
   
   
   
   
   You think this is cute? You can't see the little curls she's growing on the back of her head, which would, if I shared them, cause the entire internet to break.


10. Starting two weeks from today, I will be hosting a twice-monthly flash fiction contest. The prizes, at the moment, are increased command of your writing ability as a result of creating an inspired flash piece and a nifty badge proclaiming you won.
    
    Come back on the morning of Friday, September 18^th, for your first writing prompt. You’ll have until Saturday at midnight Eastern to post your story in the comments. I will choose and post a winner by Sunday night.
    
    Note: This contest is just for funsies. My judgments will be based on personal taste and should not be construed as a statement on your talent at the writing craft.
    
    Also, I might invite guest judges and/or introduce more exciting prizes in the future if you guys decide you like the contest.
    
    So show up, is what I’m saying.
    
    And don’t take it personally because funsies.

Thanks for reading. I’ll see you again in a couple weeks!

P.S. Here are some links, in case you're interested:

• My website, which includes Guarding Angel links
• Chat with me on Twitter (I'm on a lot!)
• Like me on FaceBook (I'm not on as much there.)
• Check out  visual representations of my brain on Pinterest
• Are you a book blogger or reviewer? Sign up to help with my cover reveal in about a month or to get a Reaping Angel ARC at the beginning of next year.

Bloggers Wanted!

Some changes have been happening behind the scenes here at Operation Awesome, and with those changes, we have some spots now open for new bloggers to join our ranks!

We’re looking for writers who can commit to posting 3-5 times per month

As far as blog posts go, pretty much anything related to the craft or business of writing is welcome. There are a few things that we avoid though, such as politics, religion, etc. We have a fairly diverse group on here, and something political will likely offend someone else. Also, we don't bash a blog post or article on someone else's blog. Let’s just say, if it is a topic that is controversial and might not reflect the collective beliefs of everyone on here, you will want to share that on your personal blog.

We maintain a calendar on our private forum to make it easy to keep track of your posting obligations—and with the wonder of Blogger Scheduling, you can always schedule your post ahead of time when you know you’ll be busy on your day. We understand that life events can sometimes put blogging lower on the priority list, but our posting schedule is flexible to ensure that the posts keep coming.

We see membership in Operation Awesome as an opportunity to make meaningful connections in the publishing community—with writers, agents, and editors—no matter where you are in the journey. Each of us has grown and learned from the experience of group blogging, and if that sounds like something you’d be interested in, please send an email to OperationAwesome6 (at) gmail (dot) com with a short message on why you think you would be a good fit for Operation Awesome, and please include links to your social media and blog sites. Thank you!