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…

Plans for 2022

Since I got sick a few years ago, I've been struggling to find a balance between all my ideas and the amount of time and energy I have to work on them. While most of my symptoms have been tamed, I still struggle with fatigue and brain fog/memory/focus issues every day. It's a delicate juggling…

Spotting Scams for Authors

As I've been advertising more over the past year, I've started getting some questionable messages in my DMs and inbox, so I thought it was about time to outline a few of the scams out there directed at writers. Some of these are out-and-out-fraud, while others are just things that you shouldn't pay for in…

Magic in the Headlines Release Day!

That's right, AJ's story is now out in the world. Currently only ebooks are available--I'm having some issues with Amazon at the moment regarding the cover for the paperback cover. They are coming, it just might be a little while before they become available. Because we will be moving at the end of July, I…

Burnout

I've been fighting it for a while. Since 2018, honestly. I've been putting off dealing with it. I kept telling myself that once I started my medication, it would get better. It did get better, for a while. But it didn't get enough better for me to sustain my current commitments and schedule. In the…

Magic in the Headlines

Aurora Jane "AJ" Marshall has wanted to be a reporter from the day she first sat on her father's lap reading the headlines. The 1920s are supposed to be all about freedom, and women are flaunting their independence as voting flappers who drive cars and smoke cigarettes. Well, AJ can't smoke because of her asthma,…

The KnotMagick Guide to Pattern Writing

This page from my knitting journal shows my sketch and initial notes for this hat, as well as a finished photo and the yarn label for the care instructions. SketchThis can be a rough as you want to make it, or it can be a finished drawing. No one has to see it if you…

Successes Were Had

Last week I looked at the mistakes I've made in publishing, and this week I wanted to celebrate five things I've done right in the five years I've been publishing. Read the fine printAlways read your contracts very carefully, kids. Protect your rights. This goes for book contracts, and also for classes, pattern sales, or…

Mistakes Were Made

But I always learned from them. It recently occurred to me that this May will be 5 years since The Spider's Web was first published with Torquere. That publisher folded six months after my first book was published, and I was never paid for it. I did get the rights back (obviously), but it got…

Price Change

I know. No one likes a price increase. Especially right now. But sometimes, it's necessary. For every book I sell, I have to pay fees. Usually this is at least 3.5%, plus a flat fee. Part of this goes to the host site where I'm selling (WordPress, Gumroad, Etsy, Amazon), and part of it goes…