Writing a book isn’t an easy task. Finishing it, selling it, pitching it, or submitting it, feels just as insurmountable some days. There are writers who never achieve such a milestone. Not because they didn’t want to—or try to—but because everything about writing is hard. You’ve got to think of a story. Write it. Re-write …
Continue reading Are You Doing Enough? And Other Questions From A Writer’s Overloaded Mind
Writers continually question themselves. Is this idea worth pursuing? Are my characters realistic? Is this plot twist surprising? Could I have worked harder to hit my word count? One of the most frustrating questions they ask is, Am I good enough? It’s frustrating because there isn’t a straight-up answer. There’s no test you can take …
At the end of November in 2015, I sent off my very first agent query. When I was rejected a few months later, it was 2016, and I committed to spending that year sending out more queries. It was a big step, and a process that saw me question if my MS was ready, stop …
As writers, we tend to carry on a lot of conversations in our heads; ones with characters, and ones with ourselves about plot twists and ideas. There's also that conversation we have every time we sit down at the keyboard, put pen to paper, or get ready to hit submit or publish. It's the conversation …
While writer's do have each others backs, after all, no one else knows better how much work goes into creating a book, there are occasions when along with the crippling self-doubt and frustrating writer's block, you will be struck down with writer envy. Writer envy usually rears its head when you see another writer post, …
Earlier this year a friend asked me to join a book club, and while the group was introducing themselves one lady said she was a writer. While introducing myself, I said everything but. I've been working on my YA series full-time for three years. Before that, writing professionally as a beauty writer/editor for nine, yet …
This week I nailed a writing goal and finished the fourth book in my YA series. Finally I had typed, “The End”, knowing I’d written everything that I wanted to. While there's still more editing to be done on this book and the other three—for now—the series is complete. That got me thinking, not only …
Continue reading The Lessons I learned After Writing Four Books
One of the most nerve-racking steps on the writing journey is submitting your book to agents and publishers. I've been there, done that, and have been rejected—multiple times. It's not fun, especially as you usually aren't told why. With nothing to go on, you're then left to think of your own reasons; was it not …
I recently saw a writing tip posted on Instagram that advised aspiring authors to never start a book with a dream. The reason given was that such a beginning is a cliché; an unoriginal idea or something that has been overdone. I personally like books that feature dreams, so much so that I’ve included them …
