Novels
The Quiet Hustle: What It Really Feels Like to Market Your Own Book
The hardest part about being an author? Walking the tightrope between “please buy my book” and “I swear I’m not begging.” It’s a delicate dance—trying to share something you’re proud of without sounding desperate, hoping it lands with the right people without shouting into the void.
Publishing Gatekeepers Are Not Fortune Tellers—They Get It Wrong All the Time
The Illusion of Predicting a Bestseller
I don’t care what anyone says—no publisher, big or small, can guarantee who will be a bestseller. They get it wrong all the time. Sometimes it’s instinct, sometimes it’s a lucky guess, and sometimes they just think they know—but the truth? Readers decide.
The publishing industry likes to act as if it has a crystal ball, as if acquisitions editors and agents possess some supernatural ability to determine what will sell and what won’t. But they don’t.
What I Learned Editing 1st Ten Pages Of #WIP Via Nationwide Writing Conferences
It’s been a real learning lesson being a former faculty member of the Writing Day Workshops. It’s a hub that manages virtual and in-person writing conferences from all over the United States. Because they like to switch things up to provide writers a variety of perspectives, they select editors and agents to be featured in their workshops seasonally. I was privileged to have worked with them part-time from January through May.
In honing my editorial skills, I’ve also recently signed up for an Editing and Publishing Certification through UCLA Extension. I’m excited to be enrolled in their Editorial Management: Acquisitions to Publication course currently. I’m a huge proponent of continued learning and taking our career to the next level. That means we should sometimes say yes to opportunities that arise. I was really honored to work with Writing Day Workshop this past season. I learned a lot about the importance of our first ten pages.
Read the rest of this entry »Don’t Let Perfectionism Sabotage Your #WIP
The hardest part of writing a novel isn’t starting but knowing when to stop without perfectionism stalling progress. It’s easy for people to start something and fiddle around with it for years. I’ve spoken to writers who have taken 10-15 years and are still tweaking the same novel. Meanwhile, I’ve read drafts where I can tell the writer rushed through the process, and the manuscript requires many more revisions.
Read the rest of this entry »#WritingCommunity: Which POV & Tense Is Better? Third or First Person? Past or Present Tense?
Heading into the New Year, we all love the feeling of starting out fresh. Who doesn’t want a new beginning? The start of a New Year can also mean getting out of our comfort zone. For writers, the first thing that comes to my mind is tense. Are you considering writing in a different tense or POV this 2019? Read the rest of this entry »
Writing With Hope 