In December of 2023, I wrote a post looking back at all the books I edited and wrote during the course of the year. I’d like to continue that series and take a close look at my 2024 accomplishments. Books published in 2024: 1 Books written in 2024: 5 Books edited in 2024: 10 In 2023, I published 3 books, wrote 11 books, and edited 15 books. If you compare the numbers, I did a whole lot less this year. But that’s okay. I realized at the end of the last year that I set the bar super high in terms of productivity and knew I didn’t want to keep pushing myself to write 12 books the next year, then …

What I Wrote and Edited in 2024 Read More »

This post is for those readers out there who are curious about the process of self-publishing, and more specifically, about what happens when you get a developmental edit. First, let’s define a developmental edit. This is typically what authors have done after beta readers and critique partners have gone through their manuscript. A developmental editor takes a close look at the story and gives notes about the characters, their motivations, their journey and how they change, the romance, and the important moments in the novel (like the meet cute, the midpoint crisis, etc.) A DE is so important for an author to do. In fact, when I was researching all the different types of editing I needed for my books …

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At this point in the writing/publishing game, I am not new. I released three books last year and (if all goes well), I’m planning to release another one this year. I’ve learned quite a lot since I decided to dive into the self-pub world, and I thought I’d share some of what I learned today. Research, Research, Research I’ll start with the most obvious tip first: research self-publishing! There are so many different websites out there that can and want to help anyone and everyone get their work out into the world. Some of them are good, some of them are meh, and some are just plain bad. The only way to figure out which is which is by doing …

Tips for New Indie Authors Read More »

June was a rough month for me. I unexpectedly lost my beloved dog, an event which sent me reeling and made it hard for me to feel creative or inspired to create. But I’ve slowly gotten my mojo back this month, and three things have really helped with that, so I wanted to share them with you. In no particular order, I present to you what’s inspiring my creativity in July 2024! Bridgerton, Season 3 This is a bit of a cheat because season 3 of Bridgerton came out in May and June, but I’m putting it on this list because I love the third season so much. The story of Colin and Penelope falling for each other is sooo …

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Yes, it’s true, I’m getting all my ducks in a row to publish another book this year. When I started publishing last year, I decided I wanted to try my best to publish at least one book every year moving forward. I’m going to be honest here…I’m not sure if I’ll be able to publish my book before the end of this year. What a lot of people who aren’t in self-publishing don’t realize is that when you want to hire freelance editors to polish your manuscript, you have to hire them far, far in advance. Unfortunately, I reached out to editors late and all my editing is happening in the fall/winter, which means there’s a big chance that I …

I’m Publishing Another Book! Read More »

Not to brag, but ever since I started writing novels in high school, I’ve never lacked motivation. I’ve always been excited about what I’m working on, and if I’m not excited, I know there’s a problem and fix it. Then I move on to the next novel (either a first draft or a stage of editing). I haven’t ever had to struggle with the lack of desire to work on something. Until now. In January of 2023, I started experiencing a pain in my left foot. After being diagnosed with plantar fasciitis by a podiatrist, I began treatments to get rid of the pain. I tried so many and none of them worked. Finally, after ten months of doing everything …

Grappling with Lack of Motivation Read More »