Regency romance, romantic mysteries, & writing tips too.
You’re self-publishing your next (or first) novel. This gives you immense freedom, but it can be daunting. As endless fiction floods into bookstores, it’s a challenge to get noticed and sell. A friend told me recently that she’s in a sales slump. She said: “I’m spending more time advertising than writing. Self-publishing is too hard … Read more
Do you struggle with writing fiction? In a writers’ group meeting, we chatted about a common struggle: managing your ideas, without being distracted by them. One writer said that she struggled with organizing sudden inspiration. Another said that his big challenge was developing ideas. He constantly second-guessed himself, deleting one or more scenes—he’d even delete … Read more
Do you have a stash of blank notebooks? I didn’t realize that stationery hoarding was a thing, until one of our writers’ group members complained that she had over 100 blank notebooks. It turns out that several of us had a similar problem, so we discussed ideas for filling our journals. I’ve got enough blank … Read more
Book marketing is always a popular topic with members of our writing group, because advertising is expensive. At our last meeting, one member said she hadn’t checked her Amazon ads for a week after creating some new ads. To her horror, she realized she’d made an error and went way over budget. Book marketing: follow … Read more
One of the biggest challenges in writing fiction is finding truly good ideas. We discussed finding great ideas in a recent writers’ group meeting. Several authors maintained that the perfect idea hit them after they’d started writing about a character who intrigued them. Some authors relied on inspiration and others said that they had too … Read more
I had coffee with my neighbor, Patty, after I saw her loading dozens of packages into her car. “It’s my side hustle,” she explained. “I sew small clutches and purses. I sell them on Etsy.” Patty’s a grandmother. She turned a spare bedroom into a sewing room and runs her small business from an antique … Read more