Julie Regency Romance

How many of you were surprised to find that a modern writer must be their own marketing guru? I bet you didn't get into writing because you loved the idea of marketing yourself and your book! This was an unwelcome lesson for me and I am very thankful that my computer savvy husband is taking on this role with me. Publishing has changed so much since the advent of the internet and publishers now expect you to do your own marketing and if you are going to self publish, well, who else is going to do it for you? This can be terrifying. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pintrest. Authors can no longer ignore the world of social media if they want to succeed. If you have buried your head in the sand to avoid this brave new world, now is the time to poke your head out. If you are young, then it is all second nature to you but for those of us who remember when all phones were attached to walls it can be intimidating and overwhelming. But take heart. If you have teenagers let this be an opportu...

I have been going to writing classes, groups and conventions for about four years now and I have come to the conclusion that I do not fit in a box. I don't fit the writer profile. I don't do it how you are supposed to do it. This has led to some feelings of being a fraud ( which, after some research, I have learned is a common feeling among authors ). I sit in classes and hear writing jargon that is as foreign to me as Russian and I think, "I am the only person here that has no clue what that means." It hits me in the gut like a cowbell and makes me ashamed that I am not fluent in the language of 'proper' writers. Sound familiar? I think many of us feel the same but we are too embarrassed to admit it and so we never know that there are other people in the room feeling the exact same way. It is true that I have progressed in learning the language of 'writers' over the last four years but I am still at the toddler level. Certainly not fluent. But I ha...

A new year is a great second chance. Life is full of them. A new month, a new week, a new day. Do we take advantage of them? If we don't meet our writing goals today there is always tomorrow. Someone said the only time we really fail is when we give up. There are as many ways to write as there are people. We all bring something different to the writing table. We all have different strengths and skills and experiences. But we probably all feel like giving up from time to time. So a new year is a natural break in the action, a chance to decide if writing is what we really WANT to do. I have been surprised by how much I enjoy the flow of words from my brain to the computer. It gives me pleasure to see the plot unfold and the characters develop, often in ways I had not previously planned. And that is enough. To keep getting up and keep trying. If it does that for you, then it's enough. Use this New Year's Day to set some writing goals and if you don't meet them, use your...