Tag: Motivation

Since I last posted I finished writing the WIP I’ve been calling Forest (definitely not the title, just a placeholder in my mind until I come up with a real title). I started working on Forest at the beginning of the year. It’s the tenth book I’ve written in the last fifteen years. It was a lot of fun to work on! Now I still have to go back through and read it for the first time and do the first round of edits. I’m not sure when that will happen though as I’m working on self-publishing The Gemstone Collector!

The Gemstone Collector is the ninth book I’ve written throughout my journey as a writer, however it will be the first book I’m self-publishing. The first book of mine ever to be published! I have queried two books in the past and I never got a request from an agent. I kept on writing though and working on my craft. I’m currently working my twelfth book which I have titled The Curse of Blood Thorn Manor. This one is very fun and when I started working on it, I told myself I was writing it just for fun so that I wouldn’t put pressure on myself thinking about trying to publish it.

One day I might self-publish it, I have so many books I would love to see out in the world. Since I write so much, that’s another reason why I decided to go the indie route. Plus I like having control of the creative decisions. It’s pretty cool! Writing is my passion and it’s something I will always be working on. I often think of this motivational writing quote “A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” Richard Bach. I believe that is true.

Updates on The Gemstone Collector: It’s currently in the hands of an editor for a developmental edit! Next, I will go through the edits to make changes for the big picture issues. I will be doing this throughout the late fall/early winter. Hopefully by next February it will be in the hands of a proofreader editor. Then I’ll need to find a cover designer, and then decide where I’m going to upload it. So many decisions to make when self-publishing! Plus, there’s marketing on social media, which is something else I’m always trying to figure out. I love learning about all of this stuff though! It’s a lot of work, but I can’t believe my book will soon be out in the world. I’m so excited for you all to read it!

It’s a ways away, but May 2024 is still the projected release date. I hope you have been well and are excited about a writing project, or a creative project you’ve been working on! Okay, now it’s time for me to write some more words for The Curse of Blood Thorn Manor. Happy Friday and happy weekend!

“You fail only if you stop writing,” Ray Bradbury.

I just finished reading The Successful Author Mindset: A Handbook For Surviving The Writer’s Journey by Joanna Penn. There was a lot to think about in this little book (141 pages). I enjoyed the content and that it was so short. It gave me a lot of motivation to keep on writing. I would definitely recommend it if you are a writer trying to get published and need some inspiration.

The number one thing I gleaned from this nonfiction book was to simply write. Often I get distracted by social media and other things on a day to day basis, but writing and writing well, is the number one thing to never stop doing. Marketing is important, but it is more important to have an excellent book. The book is what matters.

This may sound a bit odd, but I have never really believed in writer’s block. I think there’s burnout and taking a break is great to restore that creative energy, but sometimes writing even when the inspiration isn’t there is what needs to be done. That is something I’ve learned over the last fifteen years I’ve been writing and from reading many writing craft books and blogs.  

I can’t believe I’ve been writing half of my life. I started writing when I was fifteen, I’m thirty now. So it really has been half of my life that I’ve been writing. The first few years I started writing I did it for fun and as an escape. With my early books, I would get so attached to them that I wouldn’t want to move onto a new project.

It wasn’t until I started querying in 2017 that I realized I needed to keep on writing new things if I wanted to be a published author and have it be my career. Once I started writing new projects, my passion for writing luckily increased. It was fun to create new worlds and characters and I’m still having a blast doing it in 2023.

Another thing I’ve done a lot of thinking about is whether to traditional publish or self-publish. Last year I spent a lot of time researching self-publishing. Right now I’m about to finish a course titled Publish Your Novel: Self-Publishing & Marketing Masterclass. The Complete, Step-by-Step Guide to Self-Publishing and Marketing Your Book and Launching Your Author Career created by Jessica Brody, Writing Mastery, and Bethany Atazadeh.

When I signed up for the course the original cost was $85, but it was on sale for $10 at that time (January 2023). I took that as a sign that self-publishing was for me, and many other signs and lots and lots of thinking, of course. I can now confidently say I’m excited to be an indie author, to keep on creating my fantasy worlds and hopefully have a book published and out in the world potentially sometime next year!

I hope writing is going well for whoever is reading this and that you’re having fun doing it!