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The number one criterion of being a writer is that you write.
Seems simple, right? In theory, it is.
For this edition of Writer vs. Business Manager, I’d like to talk about the struggle of not writing—when that’s all you want to do. Everyone knows what it’s like when life gets in the way of your plans, but as an indie author, it’s more than that.
I’m so excited to kick off my interview series with my anthology-mate, Kayla Tirrell! We both have stories in The Art of Taking Chances and I’ve enjoyed getting to know (haha) Kayla over the past six months.
Her latest release, The Date Maker, is about a college student looking to make some extra money, so she starts a dating service. She figures what’s the worst that can happen, right? It’s the first series of five novellas, and she’s giving away super cute swag to a lucky reader!
Regardless of whether you’re self- or traditionally-published, a lot (or all) of the marketing is your responsibility. People often ask how much time per day I devote to writing, and I tell them I write for an hour in the morning before work, but that’s not accurate. Because marketing never turns off. I’m always thinking of new ideas, or chatting with people on social media, or gaining inspiration from other authors in my network.
Today’s the day!! The YA romance anthology that I’m in is now available!! My contribution to the anthology is a story called ‘The Friend Rules’. Cookie O’Gorman, bestselling author of Adorkable, wrote a perfectly adorable foreword and the rest of the stories will brighten your day.
The more novels I write, the more I learn about myself as a writer. My process has become more fine-tuned, I recognize when I’m going to get frustrated and start to question why I ever wanted to write in the first place (right about the 30k word mark), and I’m slowly weeding out my crutch words. But there’s one thing that is always new, and that’s the intricate dance of how I get to know my characters.
As writers, it sometimes feels weird to tell people WHY they’ll love our book. Sure, we spend hours telling readers ABOUT our books, but it’s easier to leave the accolades to reviewers and other writers. That said, I do think you’ll love The Trail Rules, and here’s why.
I have big news! I’m in a YA romance anthology that comes out at the end of this month!! Aside from the trashy stories I wrote in middle school, I’d never written a proper short story, and I’m very happy with how it turned out. There are EIGHT other stories in the anthology, and best of all — the anthology will be free!
I’ve been hibernating since The Trail Rules first came out a couple months ago, but this coming weekend I have an event! Reading Rocks in Rockford: Saturday, June 2, 2018 – 9:45am to 1:00pm at the Krause Memorial Library.
Enjoy this list of things you might not know about The Trail Rules, including the fact that there are ten “Trail Rules” throughout the book. They’re things that can apply to both riding and life. All three books in the series have rules like this.
I’ve been writing novels for about eleven years, and if I had to go back and change anything, I wish I would’ve started sooner. I first started writing as a kid, mostly short stories and poems, but I stopped when I got to college and started studying graphic design. Every time I read about a person in their 20s who’s already written half a dozen novels I kick myself for giving up on my passion.