10 Steps to Take After Finishing Nanowrimo

This is a very broad question, and it's one that I get asked all the time. So, here is a brief guide to the first steps you can take after completing that Nanowrimo novel (or other manuscript). Remember that publishing/writing is a slow process. Nothing is going to happen tomorrow. Let it rest. Let the…

Um, What?

Anyone else trying to figure out what the hell happened to November? It was the third, and then I blinked and then suddenly I was two weeks behind on the podcast, Thanksgiving is almost here, and Google is throwing around holiday ads like confetti (I swear, Spottify, if I have to listen to ONE MORE…

Nanowrimo 2021 Sample Chapter

If you've read Magic in the Headlines, then this might look familiar. The first chapter of Magic in the Jazz Age (book 2) appears at the end of that book. I'm in the process of editing this book for Nanowrimo in preparation for its release in spring 2022. Chapter One: AJ Tuesday, April 27, 1925…

Everybody’s a Critic

It's been a while since we talked agents and querying on this blog, hasn't it? I stopped querying about a year ago now. I just couldn't do it anymore. After years and years of rejection--hundreds of queries on multiple projects--I had to stop for the sake of my mental health. Despite having strong queries, I…

A Nano Update on Nano

There hasn't been much going on this week. We're slowly putting the apartment together, one piece of furniture at a time. This week's new additions included a table and chairs, which means I finally have a work space to write and sew that isn't my bed (trust me, sewing in bed is a bad idea).…

Ok, I Lied.

I wasn't going to do it. I was actively talking myself out of it. But I had to log in anyway to change my home region, and...well, one thing led to another and now I'm signed up for Nanowrimo. I'm rebelling this year (is anyone surprised? I feel like I do that every year) and…

The Writing Process, part IV: Editing

Lately on Twitter I've been seeing a lot of discussion about the writing process, how people go about the actual labor of constructing the book, and how authors revise, edit, and prep their book for submission or self publication. I know I do things a little differently from a lot of other writers, so I…

Editing

So I've been editing. Right now I'm trying to get Magic in Bedlam polished up so that I can send it out. I wanted to do this last month, but now it looks like April is more realistic. Maybe May, since I got excited and signed up for Camp Nanowrimo. (There is a strong possibility…

Beta Readers Wanted!

I have two books that I want to shop around this year, and I'm looking for a second (or third or fourth) set of eyes to look them over before I send them out. You don't have to be an English professor or have any kind of fancy degree; all I'm looking for is a…