When Writing Joy Disappears
Do you remember those first heady weeks (or years) of writing before you published? The determination to make time to write the story burning inside you to be written? Publishing should only increase that delight in following your dream and pursuing your passion. Right? The truth is…not so much. When you are writing that first
My Recipe: Find Joy in Your Writing
My recipe for finding joy in your writing: (As with all advice, take only what works for you and ignore the rest. This is what works for me. 😊 Also, this is not advice for hitting best seller lists or making enough money to quit your day job. This is about recovering the happiness that
Creating Audiobook Excerpts
Have you seen the cool audio excerpts for books, podcasts, etc. and wondered how to make them? I sure did when I brought out my first indie audiobook (it wasn’t/isn’t an option for my traditionally published titles). Only, I had no clue how to do it. So, I asked my friend, who had successfully launched
Stickers and Other Book Swag
Before I give you links to my favorite purveyors of personalized swag, let’s address the elephant in the room. Space and money for bulk orders. We don’t all have it. This is where having a community is key. When you design swag that is unique to your genre, but not your books, you can split
My Breakup Book with Trad Publishing
A Little Backstory I published my first book with Harlequin in 2003. Over the next two decades I published 75 more books with 4 traditional publishers and 1 small press. I learned so much, had some incredible editors and connected with readers that became part of the fabric of my life. In 2017, I got
Tropes and How (not) to Use Them
Like it, or hate it…tropes sell books. Every fiction popular genre has them, as do some of the nonfiction genres. Even literary fiction has popular tropes, though they are rarely referred to as such. 😉 But inserting a trope for marketing value can ruin the underlying story. It can also enhance it. We’ve all read
Tips for Writers: Affordable Bookmarks
The more time I spend on social media in the author/writer space, the more I realize how much we can help each other. I’m far from having all the answers, but what I do know, I will share. Let’s start with something that a lot of authors need and not all believe they can afford: bookmarks.
2005 Travelogue for Australia by Hubcap
My husband used to write travelogues for our trips. They always made me laugh. This is one he wrote for our trip to Australia in 2005. Wish I could find the one he did for New Zealand that same year. 🙂 _________________ As part of the Monroe family journey to the South Side, we now
The Business vs. the Creativity of Writing
Writing for publication is a business, but it is not only a business. It is a creative endeavor but not only a creative endeavor. Finding balance between those two truths creates a lot of tension in the writer’s psyche. In fact, it can be paralyzing to both creativity and forward career momentum when the two
10 Important Truths I’ve Learned Being a Published Author
1. The opening line is NOT the most important sentence in my book. Some people would have you believe that your entire story hinges on that first line. Um, no. If you excel at the clever first line, fantastic! I sure hope you also excel at the thousands of words to follow, because that’s what