Category Archives: indie-publishing

Putting a Price on Writing and Publishing a Book

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person wearing sneakers standing next to stack of books (only feet and books are visible). text on cream square overlay says putting a price on writing and publishing a book

This is an age-old question: How much does it cost an author to write and publish a book? This comes up a lot because after the book is finished, edited, formatted, the cover made and blurb written, paying for book set up on a distribution site then paying them for said distribution, authors would like their money back.

But, unfortunately, that isn’t so simple.

Before I started writing, I used to run. I’m not sure how I even started, but it got to the point where I was running six or so miles a day, five or six days a week. Running, though while considered free (much like writing), is anything but. I developed tendonitis in my left ankle, and this required buying new shoes every three to four months. I had to buy Brooks Adrenaline, and they were at least $120.00 a pair at the local running store–I shopped a local, small business store. Then all the running clothes, Garmin watches, race fees, gym membership fees to run in the winter if the temperatures and snow were bad, and protein bars, shakes, and other health food, I was spending just as much or even more to run as I do right now running my book business (pun not intended).

Then we have to factor in time. At my peak, I could run six miles in an hour. I never really got better than that, and that was fine. Having a new personal record (PR) was fun, but nothing I worked toward. After that hour or so of running, I had to cool down, stretch, then shower. And sometimes I would go longer than six miles, especially in the last year or two when I trained for a half-marathon. When you’re not very fast, running ten or eleven miles takes a long time. While my kids were in school and I did the longer runs on my days off, running could easily eat up most of my morning.

I mentioned all that because I wanted to give you a real life example of why I understand, and not only understand, but I’m okay with, spending money on my book business. I spend a lot that could be considered a “waste.” Two websites, paying for things like a Red Feather promotion on a standalone book (no read-through, you see), paying the Goodreads fee for their giveaways, a business email even though I don’t run a newsletter anymore, author copies and postage for reviewers who prefer paper, Bookfunnel for distribution of my reader magnet and ARCs. When I started writing instead of running, all my running money kind of shifted into this new hobby, and I didn’t think much of it at all. It was just something I had to do. New shoes to stay healthy, check. Websites to look legit, check.

But, writing costs more than just what it does to your wallet, and that’s mostly what I wanted to talk about. There’s an old adage that says, “If you don’t spend money, you’ll spend time,” and that’s especially true in indie publishing. On top of everything I listed above, indies pay for a lot of things, and if they don’t pay, they have to learn how to do those things themselves. There are free tools to format your book, like Reedsy and Draft to Digital, but there’s a learning curve to get familiar with even the simplest software. Then you have to learn a different kind of software like Canva or Bookbrush to make graphics for marketing.

Posting those graphics isn’t easy, either. Learning the algorithms of a platform takes a lot of trial and error. Not all social media platforms are the same, and their audiences respond to different content. Some authors cross-post which can work, but not often. I’ve never been a big fan of cross-posting, mostly for that reason. So we have to learn all the quirks of each platform so our posts are seen by at least some people. Then we have to learn ad platforms and those are changing all the time. Just when you think you have things figured out, they change the way you have to put an ad together and it can eat up hours of your time relearning where everything is.

When we spend time writing, learning craft, being a good literary citizen by helping others, reading in your genre, and marketing, we are not doing other things like spending time with family and friends, chores, errands, taking the dog for a walk or playing with your cat. There’s an emotional trade-off happening, and it can make you feel guilty when you want to work on your book but you’re pulled in the opposite direction. Lately I’ve been a victim of this. Our cat Pim, who has been with us since June, knows I’m a sucker. When I’m trying to write, she’ll come into the bedroom, sit near the bed, and stare at me. She’ll stare at me until I get up, go in the living room, and play with her. Her favorite thing is chasing after a crumpled up piece of notebook paper. Sometimes she’ll bring it back in a cute little game of fetch. Her previous owner didn’t tell us she liked to play this game–he might not even have known–I figured it out because I took the time to get to know her. So, she definitely knows that if she stares long enough, she’ll get me off my butt. But, that’s a half an hour or forty-five minutes I could have been writing.

Here she is for the cat tax:

black and white tuxedo cat lying on the floor staring into the camera. amber eyes, brown carpet

This past year I’ve been trying to let go of the urgency I feel when I’ve spent too much time away from writing, and it’s been happening more and with changes at my work. My writing time has been cut in half, but my personal obligations have stayed the same and so there’s a push/pull that happens when I want to write but want to do other things too, like play with Pim, go to a movie, or go for lunch with my daughter. Over time this can create an emotional toll that we don’t even realize is there.

So, when we talk about how much it costs to write and publish a book, there are hidden expenses we pay that can’t always be calculated.

But the same holds true for “getting our money back.”

At the beginning of 2025, I made peace with the idea that my books would never turn into a full-time income. But when your sales dashboard is all zeroes, it’s good to remind yourself that positive return on investment (ROI) can be just as hidden as the emotional costs of writing and publishing.

Here are some of the things I’ve gained since I started writing ten years ago:

The skills you learn along the way
There’s no denying that even with my BA in English, my writing and editing skills have significantly improved. I’ve read quite a few self-editing books since I started my indie journey, edited for friends, and of course, written millions of words. There’s no way I could have gotten ROI like that without actually doing the work. I’ve developed an eye and can make passable, if not decent, book covers. I’m getting better at writing ad copy (thanks for nothing, TikTok!). All those things add up to valuable ROI, and I know this because without my time in the indie trenches, my resume would look pretty bleak.

Being part of a community
I know I’ve bemoaned the state of the indie community–it seems like deteriorated along with Twitter after Musk bought it. But I know that my opinion is valued because I get thousands of hits on my blog every year. I’ve made friends and connections these past ten years, even if more people have fallen out of my orbit than have come into it. Runners, as well, have a strong community, and when I was still running but had started writing, I was in both and that was the best feeling in the world. In fact, I thanked both communities in my acknowledgments in the last book of my running trilogy, Running Scared. In that book, my MMC isn’t part of the running community but he falls in love with a hardcore runner who is hired to be the city’s university running coach.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A special thank you to Mark and Sue Knudson, who direct the real Fargo, North Dakota marathon. Through my years of running in Fargo, ND, Hearned a lot about the running community, race routes, and the expos. Every year, the Knutsons, and all the kind volunteers, put a lot of work into the marathon, and without their example, 1 would never have been able to write this trilogy. Thank you. Only the running community could rival the writing community in support, acceptance, and loyalty. It's an honor to belong to both.

I miss being a part of the running community, but being an indie is very rewarding too.

Emotional Satisfaction
In running circles there’s a saying, “You only regret the runs you didn’t take.” I don’t think that can be so easily applied to writing, but I know that if I have time to write and don’t, it’s the same guilt factor. There’s an emotional satisfaction to lacing up, just like there is when you sit down, stay off socials, and use an hour to put 1,000 words down. I know for me and most other authors there’s nothing better than opening up that envelope and holding a proof of your book baby in your hands. You worked hard in more ways than one to get to that point in time, and you should always be proud of yourself.

Long-term Impact
Two years ago, the director of the Fargo, ND marathon, Mark Knudson, whom I mentioned in my acknowledgements above, died when he lost control of his bicycle and was hit by a truck. The running community was devastated. He had put so much time into getting the Fargo Marathon off the ground, and for his life and contribution to be so suddenly ended was traumatic for everyone who knew him.

The longer you’re in the writing community, the more impactful that time is, even if it doesn’t feel like it. The time you spend blogging, helping other indies, and of course, the books you write, all contribute to a lasting legacy.

Writing and publishing a book has concrete, evident costs, money and time, and also hidden ones like hits to your mental health, lost time with family and friends, and choosing to write rather than do something else you also enjoy like watching TV. But there are more rewards than just sales and KU page reads.

So, when we’re asked, “What’s the cost of writing a book?” The cost is higher than most of us imagine, but the rewards, like skills, connections, creative satisfaction, and legacy, are far richer than anything you could ever report to your accountant.

I only have a couple weeks of my “Favorite Things” segment left, and this week I’m highlighting a new self-editing book by Angela James. I love a good editing book, and I cannot wait to dig in. This is her bio on her website:

Helping fiction authors build strong stories—and stronger careers

Hi, I’m Angela James. I’m a #1 New York Times bestselling indie editor and author career coach with over two decades in publishing. I help authors write better books and build sustainable, satisfying careers—on their own terms. Whether you’re indie, trad, or hybrid, I meet you where you are and help you get where you want to go, using clear editorial feedback, coaching, and frameworks that support both your storytelling and your career growth.

Together, we create stories that connect with readers, and an author business that works for you.

Edit Your Way: (Plot Twist: Forget the Writing “Rules”) is available from your favorite retailers (AKA, wide). Here’s the Amazon link and book cover: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G63FR1Q8 (This is not an affiliate link.)

book cover. text says. edit your way plot twist; forget the writing "rules" angela james new york times best selling editor

That’s all I have for this week. Next week I’ll do an author update and the week after that, my year-end recap. It’s hard to believe this year is almost over, but the timing for the other two blog posts works out perfectly.

I hope the holiday season (and all the cold temperatures!) haven’t been too hard on you. Have a good week and I will see you next Monday!

Monday’s Author Update

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thanksgiving flatlay. pumpkin green gourd gold ribbon silver and gold silverware. text says. monday's author udpate

Hello, hello! We are nearing the end of November, and US Thanksgiving is this week! I have everything I need except potatoes, and I’ll grab them during my usual grocery run on Wednesday. When my schedule at work changed, I had no idea how much I depended on my routine and I probably will always have to grapple with when I can get stuff done while still trying to write as much as I can. Anyway, some weeks are better than others, but that’s life in general, and despite those changes, things are okay.

WIP Update
Even though my writing time being severely cut, I’m still making great progress on Bitter Love. I’m 59,000 words into it and I am so happy with the progress I’ve made this month. I joined ProWritingAid’s Novel November, but I haven’t been keeping track of how many words I’ve written so far. My only goal was to get this book done by the end of the year, and I think I can do that. I have the last third of the book plotted out, which is the hard part, in my opinion, so writing the rest should be easy enough. I was going to jump into my hockey duet, but I’m going to put that on the back burner again, and in January re-edit and re-cover my Cedar Hill duet. That will take me a month or so, and then when I’m done with that, I’ll get Wicked Games ready to go for a May release. (I already announced it so I don’t want to lie to the few people who were listening.) I’m struggling with whether or not to do ARCs considering that my attempts in the past have had lackluster results. People take but don’t review, so there’s really no point in handing them out. I canceled my BookSprout subscription because the quality just wasn’t there for the price I was paying. I listed some other alternatives in a previous blog post, so I might try something new, if just as an experiment so I can blog about it later.

Then once Wicked Games is off my plate, I have a cute story idea about a woman who inherits a bakery she doesn’t want and a billionaire who wants to buy it. She can’t sell because of some stipulations in her grandma’s will, and he can’t work around them because of his own obligations. With some of the dialogue that’s already going through my head, it might be more romcom, if I can find my funny bone, and the characters already have names which means I will definitely be writing them in 2026.

So my plan is:
*Finish Bitter Love
*Revamp my Cedar Hill duet
*Get Wicked Games ready to release in May 2026
*Write One Tough Cookie
*Jump back to Bitter Love to get that ready for release maybe at the beginning of 2027 or the end of 2026, whichever works out

It’s nice to have so many plans and an idea of what I’ll be doing for the next little while, but it also makes me kind of sad too. I’m not doing this for anyone but me, which, I know, that should be the only reason a writer does anything–for themselves first–but it can be disheartening after a while and it doesn’t seem like there’s much I can do to fix it.

Deleting TikTok
I mentioned in a previous blog post that I was having fun with a reader account on TikTok, and I was even getting a few views above the 200 view dungeon a lot of people seem to get stuck in. Then they started suppressing my carousels and labeling them as AI. This ticked me off for two reasons: one, they weren’t AI. I used stock photos from DepositPhotos (that were not AI) and two, there actually is a lot of AI on TikTok they aren’t flagging and the hypocrisy drives me insane. So, I deleted my accounts. Both my reader one and my personal one I started a long time ago.

The hit to my mental health was just too much and I don’t have the bandwidth to put up with it. It’s too bad because I was getting into a groove posting, and doing slides is a great way to learn how to pull hooks out of your books and write ad copy. But maybe I’ll just try to post more on Instagram. I barely post there and even though Facebook keeps telling me that my author page is getting views, I haven’t posted there in three weeks. I saved all my carousels in my Canva account, and turning them into Reels would be easy enough, but I’m not sure if I really care that much to do the work. Posting on social media is something I struggle with anyway, though I do like talking about my books to the handful of people who see my posts.

Black Friday Promo
I wasn’t sure if I was going to buy a promo for any of my books this holiday season, but I went ahead and bought a promo in the Red Feather Romance Books newsletter and set my Christmas novel to free for three days around Black Friday. I’m not sure what else I’m going to do, if anything, because while I think giving away books can be beneficial if you have a plan, I have no plan, and don’t really care either way about giving books away. Mostly, all I think it does is create high hopes that it will finally do something and then it never happens. Chances are 100% I won’t make back the $135.00 I spent on their fee, but I’m really proud of the changes I made to the book when I re-edited it a couple months ago, so I wanted to give it another push. But A Heartache for Christmas is getting old, so maybe one day I’ll write another Christmas novel, if I can think of a plot.

The Future of this Blog (It’s good!)
I had to renew my plan for this website, and they gave me a discount if I paid for two years instead of one, so I’m locked into this website and blog until the end of 2027. I suppose that was kind of optimistic, though I have no plans to go anywhere. I enjoy blogging very much, and having all my things in one place has been nice. I get why people write on Substack, but having a WordPress plan isn’t very expensive and having a main hub where readers can find you is less confusing for everyone. Granted, blogging on my author site isn’t the same as having a true newsletter, and even though I regret not having one, I still don’t think I’ll ever try that again. My author website is also locked in until March of 2026 and that auto renews every two years as well. I pay $156.00 for those two years and I think that is a decent price for a site that only has about 100 visitors a month.

That’s about all I have for this week. As part of my “Favorite Things” section of my blog I have going until Christmas, I want to tell you about this free crossword puzzle maker that I used to make a romance crossword for my Facebook author page. You make up the questions and answers, and the website spits out the puzzle. It’s fun, and you can find it here: https://crosswordlabs.com/

Here’s the one I made with the answers. You can steal it if you want. I don’t mind.

crossword puzzle overlayed on faint pink hearts. text says. contemporary romance fun
Crossword clues Across 5. The one person meant to be with you 7. Symbol of love 9. Emotional tension that keeps readers hooked 11. The obstacle or competing love interest 12. Romance shorthand for a happy ending 13. A big question that changes everything 14. A charming or quirky first encounter 16. Intense romantic or physical attraction 18. The magic connection between two lovers 19. When estranged lovers find their way back Down 1. A romance that takes its time building 2. Playful back-and-forth dialogue between lovers 3. The central female character in a romance 4. What every romance promises in the end 6. A break of trust between lovers 8. A spark that often changes everything in romance novels 10. A dominant hero archetype 12. The leading man of a romance 15. A recurring theme in romance stories 17. Hidden truth that complicates love
crossword key KISS A spark that often changes everything in romance novels HEA Romance shorthand for a happy ending CHEMISTRY The magic connection between two lovers TROPE A recurring theme in romance stories HERO The leading man of a romance HEROINE The central female character in a romance ANGST Emotional tension that keeps readers hooked SLOWBURN A romance that takes its time building ALPHA A dominant hero archetype MEETCUTE A charming or quirky first encounter BANTER Playful back-and-forth dialogue between lovers RIVAL The obstacle or competing love interest SOULMATE The one person meant to be with you HEART Symbol of love PASSION Intense romantic or physical attraction PROPOSAL A big question that changes everything SECRET Hidden truth that complicates love BETRAYAL A break of trust between lovers REUNION When estranged lovers find their way back FOREVER What every romance promises in the end

Happy Thanksgiving to all those who celebrate!

I’ll talk you you next week!

Who is gatekeeping success in the publishing industry?

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picture of a lock holding a chain together. the text says, who is gatekeeping success in the publishing industry?

I saw a post on Threads a few days ago accusing authors of gatekeeping information, namely how to sell books, and lots of them. Needless to say, she got reprimanded in the comments because most authors are nothing but transparent when it comes to what worked and didn’t work for them.

I’m not sure what they were looking for, most of that information is common knowledge. Write a good book and publish it with a good cover, title, and blurb that meet genre and reader expectations, and do that over and over again, forever. I think the problem comes from authors who have done that and haven’t gotten anywhere. They think there’s special information out there and successful authors are keeping it to themselves. I understand the frustration, being in the predicament situation I’m in, but the longer you’re in this business, the more you realize that there is no magic bullet that will ensure your success.

That got me thinking about the “real” gatekeepers out there, and I mean in indie publishing, not so much traditional because we all know those are agents and editors who acquire the books. We like to think there are no gatekeepers in indie publishing, but, unfortunately, there are. You can tell me if you agree with me or not.

What kind of gatekeeping am I talking about? Let’s explore.

Money–the obvious but unspoken gatekeeper
We don’t think much about the money part of indie publishing because in all actuality, you can publish without it. Edit yourself or trade if you can find someone willing, do your own cover in Canva, format using a free tool like Draft2Digital’s software, take the free ISBN from Amazon, and you’re all set. It sounds easy, and plenty of authors publish this way. But the hard reality is, a lot of people aren’t willing to trade services anymore, preferring to get paid for giving their time, and a lot of authors can’t edit on their own or have the skills to create a good cover. You can format yourself, but you can say goodbye to fancy chapter headers and forced edges.

Money also enables you to buy ads and promos, what you need to start a newsletter and have an author website, and other resources like nonfiction resource books and classes.

There are a lot of free things out there, but free will only get you so far until eventually you’ll run into a dead end. After a while your books and author platform won’t be able to compete with authors who can invest in their business.

Time–money’s invisible twin
Anyone who says we all have the same twenty-four hours in a day can fuck right off. If you have a full-time job, take care of littles, have a spouse, run errands, do chores, wrangle a pet, and try to write on top of it, you know how difficult it is to get the words down and the books published. I’ve said on this blog many times that if you can’t pay with money, you’ll pay with time, and that’s something you can’t get around.

If you can’t pay for an editor, you have to teach yourself. If you can’t buy a premade book cover or hire a designer, you have to teach yourself how to make one–at least enough to get a handle on the basics (a good font and stock photo can go a long way). If you can’t hire a formatter, you have to learn how to do it yourself, and Draft2Digital’s free software is the easiest I’ve found to use.

Then there’s the marketing: constantly creating graphics and writing ad copy to go with them, networking, engaging with readers. Writing newsletters or blog posts. Writing a reader magnet and bonus material. A lot of that will fall to the wayside if your time is limited because it’s more important to get that book written. Lucky are the few who have the time to write and market while doing the thousand other things that make up a life.

Time is a powerful gatekeeper, and to the people who write during naptimes and after your kids have gone to bed, I see you.

Access–who you know and where you exist online
Networking used to mean meeting connections in your MFA program. Now it means joining Facebook groups where authors in your genre hang out, joining author chats and Discord groups. It means knowing authors who write in your genre not only to be invited into promotional opportunities like newsletters swaps and anthologies, but because authors really are willing to share what works for them, and you never know if just one tiny tweak to an ad or a change to your back matter will be what lifts your business to the next level.

It’s not about trying to bust your way into established cliques–it’s about having access to information that could boost you up. Here’s a funny story, or actually, not so funny (it’s rather pathetic, if you want to be honest). I’m a romance author and have been publishing romance for around ten years. When I first started out, I networked with indie authors, not necessarily romance indie authors, and I missed out on some big connections. I kind of knew who Zoe York was, but didn’t really get to know her or other romance authors of her caliber until I joined a romance marketing chat on Clubhouse, that, incidentally, I only learned about by being in the connected Facebook group. Zoe runs a huge book blast promo group, and I didn’t know about it for eight years. I’ve tried to make myself feel better by telling myself I just wasn’t ready to know, and maybe that’s true, but it’s a sad testament that I wasn’t networking and meeting the right people. Even if I wasn’t ready to participate, I should have at least known about it.

Not everyone has time to hang out in Facebook groups or participate in chats, and some people don’t feel comfortable joining groups or talking to people they don’t know. I used to be a lot more involved, but I don’t have the time anymore to answer questions or give feedback. It’s tough, and like any other professional industry, a lot of success can boil down to who you know and the opportunities they bring with them.

Overall, authors with the right connections learn faster what’s working, which platforms are paying off, and how to pivot. Without those connections, you’ll always feel behind, and chances are, you probably will be.

Luck and Timing–the chaos gatekeepers
Unfortunately, luck and timing are two things that you can try your best to control, but you never will. You can go crazy with it, trying to go viral on TikTok or publishing your book on a certain day of the week. Bad timing can pop up when you least expect it, like inadvertently releasing the same day as a bigger author in your genre, or as a lot of authors who released in 2020 found out, during the start of a world-wide pandemic. Or, as I found when I launched one of my books in my King’s Crossing series, on the inauguration day of a president nobody wanted.

It’s uncomfortable to admit, but luck and timing can have just as much weight as skill, strategy, networking, or money. They aren’t predictable. They aren’t earned, which is why so many authors get bitter when someone they don’t consider “worthy” gets all the attention. And, unfortunately, someone else’s luck or good timing can’t be replicated, not even by the person experiencing it.

You can position yourself to take advantage of luck if it eventually comes your way, but you can’t force it to show up. This is one of the hardest parts of the industry because it means success isn’t guaranteed to those who work harder than others. Hard work raises the odds of success, but it doesn’t promise a payoff. As far as timing goes, sometimes you completely miss your window (like when a reporter for the New York Times wanted to talk to me about one of my blog posts and she emailed an email address I don’t check but stupidly had in my contact information). Sometimes you never get a window that opens–it’s always glued shut. And sometimes the window flings open wide when you least expect it and you happily jump through, much to the envy of those around you.

Emotional endurance–the gatekeeper everyone talks about but there are only so many spoons to go around
The ability to keep going after you’ve done everything right and have still fallen short of your expectations might be the biggest gatekeeper of all. I’ve been around for ten years, which can seem like a long time to those who are just publishing their first novel, yet, I know people who have been around for double that time. They were around when the Kindle Goldrush was a thing, and are still writing and publishing books. But I would guess for every one person who was around then and are still going strong, a hundred authors have quit and disappeared.

I used to be a hardcore cheerleader of Team Endurance, spouting nonsense like “A quitter never wins and a winner never quits” and “The harder I work, the luckier I am.” Actually, I think Christian Grey said that one first, but you know what I mean. These days I’m still in the game, and not just dipping my toes in indie waters. I constantly dive in, writing books, keeping up a publishing schedule, and trying to remain at least somewhat visible online. I’m proud of that, though sometimes it does wear me out. Not because of the work itself, but because it produces so few results. “Write what you love and you’ll find readers who love it too” isn’t true. “Write for yourself” is the only saying that I can fully get behind these days because with the industry how it is, you might be the only one reading it.

“Publishing is a marathon not a sprint” is another pithy saying, but I stopped running for the same reasons I’m facing this wall in indie publishing. I ran a half marathon in 2015. It’s one of my biggest achievements. But no one was there to congratulate me at the finish line. I drove home, took a shower, and went to work.

And I never raced again.

I still write, and with all the plots in my head and characters banging around begging me to let them out, I have no plans to stop. But I no longer “Live to write,” another line I used to say that makes my stomach churn now. Maybe one day I won’t have any more stories to share, but unless that happens I’ll keep going. Not because of endurance, but for the simple fact writing is a part of me and has been all my life. At this point, it would be harder to let it go than to keep going, and maybe that’s true for you too.

Privilege–the gatekeeper no one wants to admit is there
The publishing industry is a white man’s world, and it would be remiss of me if I didn’t include privilege in this list of hidden gatekeepers, though if you’re a marginalized author, this particular gatekeeper isn’t so hidden. It’s something you have to fight against every day. Marginalized authors aren’t the only ones who deal with the lack of privilege in the industry. Disability, economic background, sexuality, geography, language, and education all play a role in how accessible publishing is. And not just indie publishing, but the entire writing and publishing industry.

A white, cis-het author like me doesn’t have to worry about certain biases, like how my name and author photo will be judged, whether my characters will be considered “marketable” or not, if a cover featuring people who look like me will get beaten down by social media (algorithms, bots, and keyboard warriors alike), or whether agents/editors/ARC reviewers will dismiss my work before they even read the first page. Authors who belong to marginalized groups face barriers I can’t even imagine, and pretending that everyone is on the same playing field only encourages the problem.

Privilege shows up in smaller ways that, as a white author, you might not have thought about:
* Who feels welcome in author groups
* Who gets boosted by influencers without asking
* Who agents assume is “commercial”
* Who feels safe being visible online

What can you do to fight against this? Read widely, boost up your fellow authors any way you can, be friendly and welcoming to everyone you meet, online and at author events, and acknowledge that some authors have more stacked against them than you realize.

Authors aren’t gatekeeping other authors. It’s just a sad fact that no two authors are alike and we’re all trying to do the best we can with what we have. If there is ever anything I can help you with, be it resources, a question about publishing or marketing, or if you have an issue and you can’t find a clear solution, email me. I’ll always do what I can. There’s enough holding us back.

I’m sorry this post is so long! My biggest thank yous to those who made it to the end! Or maybe by now you’re used to me being long-winded, haha.

My last little bit is my “Favorite Things” section that I’m adding to the end of every blog post until Christmas, and this week’s favorite thing is Master Lists for Writers, Gold Edition, by Bryn Donovan. This book of lists is amazing and covers everything from facial expressions to settings. I have the first edition she published back in 2015, and I was so excited when I saw on Instagram she wrote an updated version. (Kind of validates that social media can sell books….noooooo! LOL)

Master Lists for Writers, Gold Edition, is definitely one of my favorite things this year, and you can check it out here (this is not an affiliate link): https://www.amazon.com/MASTER-LISTS-WRITERS-Bryn-Donovan-ebook/dp/B0FXDQ79G2

master list for writers book cover. gold with brown lettering. title is master list for writers the expanded volume of the popular writing reference book bryn donovan

Thanks for hanging in there with me this week! Have a great day!

Monday Author Update and a Quick Glimpse into 2026

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You all know i have a terrible fear of missing out, and it was triggered this week by the announcement that Flodesk, the newsletter aggregator, is going to stop their unlimited pricing structure at the end of the month and you need to lock in that plan before it goes away. This shouldn’t concern me because for one, I don’t have a newsletter anymore, I blog on my author site, and two, I probably will never have the number of signups that would require the need for an unlimited pricing plan.

screeshot of a flodesk ad. the text is black and says flodesk...now is the itme unlimited emails, unlimited subscribers, subscribe before november 28th sign up bar in purple
This ad popped up in my Instagram feed

But that didn’t stop the “what ifs” from running through my mind. What if I ever wanted to start up a newsletter again? What if I pushed my business to the next level and I needed that unlimited plan? WHAT IF I’M MISSING OUT ON THE BEST DEAL OF MY LIFE?

Cue the panic, right?

But this made me stop and think about where my business is and where it’s going. As of right now, I don’t have a book business. While I have money going out and money coming in, I have more money going out and I consider operating in the red more of a hobby than anything else. That reminded me I probably shouldn’t take on any more services that would dig my financial hole even deeper than it already is. Because if I paid for Flodesk, I would have to pay Bookfunnel for integration because I wouldn’t stop giving my reader magnet away. I already did that once with MailerLite, and while I did build up my newsletter to close to 1,000 subscribers back when I was trying, that is just more money than I want to spend for where I’m at and where I’m going.

So far, I’ve been able to eke time out in the week to keep this blog afloat, and surprisingly, it’s been easier than I thought. I do have a little free time on the days I work, but it’s not conducive to fiction writing, so I’ve been able to blog and make carousels for my secret TikTok account. That’s been a huge relief because when my work did all that changing up, I was really worried about having to cut back on this blog. I enjoy writing it and it gives me a place to put my thoughts about what’s going on in the industry and where I am in my indie life. So, unless work decides to mix things up again, or cut me loose all together, I think I can confidently say that I can keep writing my blog posts every Monday.

I have lost a lot of writing time though, and adding a “real” newsletter when my publishing schedule is taking a hit doesn’t make much sense–especially since I already pay for my WordPress website–so I might as well use it, even if it doesn’t have the same functionality as a newsletter aggregator. That doesn’t mean that from now until November 28th every time I see that ad I won’t think I’m making a huge mistake not signing up. That’s just the way I am. And I’m sure with Black Friday right around the corner there’s going to be more deals and steals I’ll have to say no to because I already have what I need to write and publish books. (I’m looking at you, AppSumo DepositPhoto sale when I already have 358 downloads available.)

I signed up for ProWritingAid’s Novel November, but I’m behind, or at least, I think I am. I’m not keeping track of the words I’ve written so far, but I’m 46k into Bitter Love, and if I can keep up the pace, I should be able to finish by the end of the year like I want. I’m at the point now where I go back and read from the beginning so I’ll be taking a couple days to do that, fix any plot points that got lost as the story developed and make sure the ending’s on track. I’ll have to add slow-burn to the list of tropes because this story needed so much setup, but a lot of secrets had to come out so hopefully even if the characters take their time hopping into bed it’s not boring or slow.

Besides that, I really don’t have much else. November is always kind of busy with my daughter’s birthday, Thanksgiving, and my birthday rounding out the month, but I’m not doing anything this year (I turned 50 on Thanksgiving Day last year and I think all that excitement will hold me over for a couple of years). I lucked out with my work schedule and I have Thanksgiving Day off, so that’s a nice break, and my daughter is still deciding where she wants to eat her birthday dinner.

Overall, things are okay, nothing bad happening, which I’m thankful for. Pim is doing great, but I’m trying to turn her into an internet star and that’s not working out. The last photo I posted of her on Threads only got 82 likes, but I’m probably lucky she got that since I think I post there maybe four times a month and the algorithms have no idea who I am.

tuxedo cat hiding under piece of brown perforated paper. face is visible along with her two front white paws.

But, I started a reader/book profile on TikTok, as opposed to my personal one and that seems to be doing better in terms of views. I didn’t tell anyone about it so I can’t “taint” the algorithms, but I didn’t use a VPN or anything. Just my personal iPhone using a gmail address I don’t use for much else. At least I broke out of the 200 views dungeon for a lot of my carousels, one getting over 3k views, but I haven’t gone viral . . . yet. I’m getting better finding hooks and writing ad copy, and I’m staying away from sex which always got me in trouble on my other profile. So far going for angsty instead of spicy has been serving me well, and now that I’ve slowed down with the writing, I’m making more time to post there. We’ll see how it goes.

I’m starting to think about promos for the holiday season, and I forgot that I have a nice four-book series set in the winter around Christmas I could promote if I wanted to. There’s a big author-driven book blast taking place next month but I don’t think I’ll officially put a book in it. It’s not that I don’t think free books are worth it, because I still think they can be if used strategically, but I’ve kind of given up hoping promos like will build into anything that lasts. So rather than take space from authors who are trying to use the blast to their advantage, I could just put a book or two free and piggy-back off the momentum of the day and see what that does. Or I could pay for something, but I doubt I would make my money back, so I would have go into it know that and being happy that people were just interested enough to download a copy. I’m not sure yet. Books are a dime a dozen, in every way that means, so what I do or don’t do won’t have any effect on me or my book business. It’s just something to do if I feel like it.

My Favorite Things
I’m going to end every Monday blog post from here until Christmas with something that I’m liking in the author space, be it a writing resource, tool, or service that I find especially helpful. Today’s feature is the Trope Thesaurus series by Jennifer Hilt. I have the romance trope book, and I have to admit, when I’m feeling down, I get out my copy and flip through it. There are so many tropes out there I haven’t tried and it gets me really excited for all the books I haven’t written yet. There’s one for horror and fantasy/sci-fi and it looks like just a general one as well. Check them out here (this isn’t an affiliate link): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFYR9L4Z

book covers on black background: the trope thesaurus (general) (all colors lettering) the trope thesaurus horror (orange lettering) the trope thesaurus romance (red lettering) the trop thesaurus fantasy and science fiction (yellow lettering)

That’s all I have for today. Thanks for reading, and I will see you next week!

Moving the Goalposts: The Feeling of Not Doing Enough

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toy soccer ball with toy goalie net. green background. text says: moving the goalposts. the feeling of not doing enough

Years ago when I saw someone say being an indie author felt like always having homework, I laughed, but I didn’t quite believe it. When I was in school, I hated homework. Back in high school, anyway. College was a little different, and when I went to tech school to get my HR degree, I actually enjoyed homework and group assignments. I suppose age could have played a part in that, because I think as we get older we just naturally appreciate things more and I was grateful to have the resources to go back to school.

Anyway, so when it came to my writing and all the stuff that went along with it, I didn’t compare homework, a seemingly endless, joyless, task, to what I had to do to write, publish, and market my books.

But, when I wrote my blog post for last week, I realized that no matter how much an indie author gets done, there is always going to be more to do, and instead of being excited for the next cover design, formatting job, or editing sweep, it turns into a version of Groundhog Day that we can’t escape. That infinity loop also sucks the joy out of the past accomplishments, and something to be proud of, like a book release or the cover of a book that comes together perfectly, is just an item on the list that needs to be checked off.

When I really thought about why we never feel like we’ve done enough, a few things came to mind.

Because we’re indie: We control everything — writing, editing, marketing, covers, social media — there’s no external validation from a boss or coworker nor is there a stopping point we can work toward. There’s always going to be another social media post to create to keep your profiles from stagnating. There’s always going to be a newsletter to send out. Another ad to create. There’s always a WIP to work on because we all know that writing the next book is the best marketing and front list sells backlist.

Moving the goalpost: We hit one milestone (a release or a finished draft) and immediately reset the net. I think this one is what I was particularly feeling writing my blog post last week. No matter how much I accomplish there will always be more to do. Another goal to score, another game to win.

Comparison culture: We see other authors posting “I just hit 10k sales” or “my preorder is live,” and that fuels the sense we’re behind. This one is particularly triggering for me because I have a terrible fear of missing out. I don’t want other authors to be doing something I could be or should be doing too.

The creative push to keep moving forward: Creatives are wired for “what’s next?” The next book, the next painting, the next drawing. That desire to create makes us prolific, but it can also burn us out. This one I understand 100% because once I start thinking about characters for a new book, they don’t leave me alone until I set them free on the page. I mean, that’s a great place to be in–I never have to worry about writer’s block or what I’m going to write next–but it’s also draining because I don’t let myself properly rest between projects . . . or celebrate something I just achieved.

Lack of (what you consider) success: This one probably hit me the hardest because with all the books I have out, with all the hard work I’ve put into my author career in the past ten years, I don’t have the sales I hoped I would have. So I’m always reaching for that next book, that next social media graphic, that will get me there.

The indie hustle culture: This kind of goes along with comparing yourself to other authors. We see on social media what other authors are doing, but at the same time, there’s an underlying feeling of not doing enough and getting judged for it. You see it on Threads when people start their posts with, “It might not mean much to some . . .” or “It might not be a big deal to a lot of people here but . . .” We are constantly afraid that we’re being judged for our successes and achievements, and while a lot of people will tell you to stop worrying about what others will think because no one is watching you, for as many people who don’t care what you’re doing, there are just as many who do and are judging you. “You’ve only written one book this year?” “You’ve only made fifty dollars this week?” “You don’t post on TikTok? How do you expect to sell books?” “When is the rest of your series coming out?” The hustle culture online is real, you can see evidence of it every day, and it’s just another reason why you can never be happy with what you have because it will never feel like it’s enough. And it will never feel like that so long as someone you see online is doing more than you.

So, what can we do to combat this? It’s a question that I’ve been dealing with since the beginning of 2025 when I came to the conclusion my books would never be a business and that I would never make any meaningful earnings from it.

It was a disappointing and disheartening realization to come to, but it was freeing in some ways. I stopped my Facebook ads. I took time to go into my backlist and re-edit a few titles. I don’t stress about the fact that I have written only one book this year. I don’t let myself feel bad if I don’t feel like writing and would rather watch a show instead. Do the low sales numbers bother me? Sure. I think any author who publishes to a site where readers have to pay wants sales. But I just remind myself there is a lot of content out there and I can’t be, and don’t want to be, everywhere online. Creating content when you don’t feel like it is just as stressful as forcing yourself to write when you’re not in the right headspace.

But, no matter how many times I remind myself to loosen up or brush away those pesky feelings of inadequacy, they always manage to pop up, which is why I wrote my blog post last week to begin with. I needed the reminder that yes, I have accomplished a lot this year, and more than acknowledging it, I should celebrate it. Even if I closed my laptop today, after I schedule this post, and don’t open it again until January first, my 2025 year in review would still rock and it really has nothing to do with how much I’ve made this year and if I managed to break even with all that I’ve had to pay for to keep my hobby afloat.

I wrote a book I’m proud of. Maybe it won’t make me any money, but I wrote it with my whole heart, and I love Seth and Avery. I wrapped up five years’ worth of work when the last of my King’s Crossing serial released, and I doubt I’ll ever write anything like that again. I applied what I learned and re-edited three of my standalone books. I’ve helped hundreds of authors make their own book covers using my Canva instructions. I edited for someone who couldn’t afford to hire out and helped her get that much closer to publishing her next book.

It’s easy to forget even your biggest accomplishments when the to-do list never ends. Give yourself credit for everything you’ve managed to do–this week, this month, this year. Being an indie author really does feel like having homework sometimes, but maybe it’s time we start grading ourselves on how happy we are with what we’re doing, not on our output or the outcome of it.

And stop moving those goalposts. Run past them and don’t look back.

What I’ve Done This Year: Beating Up Imposter Syndrome

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red boxing gloves hanging in front of black and grey background. Text says what i've done this year: beating up imposter syndrome

Sometimes you can look back and not feel especially productive. I feel like that this year since I have only one book written so far. But feeling like you haven’t gotten anything done is actually a form of Imposter Syndrome and instead of letting it win, I thought I’d pick apart my year and document everything I’ve done that moved my writing business forward.

January
According to older blog posts, I started editing Loss and Damages in January. I don’t know when I decided to release that book, but it had been written for a couple of years already. I spent the last four months of 2024 re-editing my Rocky Point Wedding series, so I was feeling a little burnt out. But I didn’t stop to rest, no that would be silly, and jumped into getting Loss and Damages ready for a September release.

I also kept up with this blog and wrote my four posts that I published on Mondays. But I must have had a lot of thoughts because I gave you seven posts instead of four. I feel like that might have started my year off on a good note, so let’s see if I kept that going.

**Shattered Fate released January 20th, 2025, but that seems like a very long time ago now.

February
I started writing Wicked Games on February 4th, 2025

screenshot of statistics of Wicked Games. Seth and Avery.docx Properties General Summary Statistics Content Custom Created: Tuesday, February 4, 2025 at 9:09 PM Modified: Wednesday, September 24, 2025 at 9:54 PM Printed: Last saved by: Vania Rheault Revision number: 8138 Total editing time: 15712 Minutes Statistics: Statistic name Value Pages: 331 Paragraphs: 3048 Lines: 7917 Words: 98569 Characters: 414891 Characters (with spaces): 510958 Cancel OK

Besides my King’s Crossing serial slowly releasing around that time (they dropped six weeks apart), that was the biggest thing I did that month. Doing so much editing made me miss writing and I was excited to get back into it.

I also kept writing on this blog, and I must have had more to say that month as well since I wrote six posts instead of my regular four.

March
March seems like it was the same old, same old for me. I kept working on Wicked Games,(though I hit a bump with lack of motivation) kept posting on this blog, and Shattered Hearts, the fifth book in my King’s Crossing serial, published on the third. March can be really dreary in Minnesota too, so I was probably just waiting for the snow to get the hell out of here and for it to warm up. But, every little bit counts and releasing a book is a pretty big deal. I shouldn’t brush it off, even if SAD was probably getting me down.

April
According to a mid-month check-in blog post, I finished Wicked Games the first week in April. Getting a book done in three months tracks, so I’m not surprised that despite writing a whole blog post the month before about how “stuck” I was, that I finished a short time after. What else did I get done?
*I didn’t give myself a break and did another round of edits on Loss and Damages.
*I blogged four times.
*The last book in my King’s Crossing serial, Shattered Dreams, released.
Looking back, April was a pretty big month for me. I finishing writing a book and that series wrapped up five years of hard work. I was also working on a book that would turn out to be my next release. It was a good month but I doubt I took the time to celebrate anything. That’s just how I am.

May
May was a slow month for me. I was listening to Loss and Damages and thinking about what I wanted to write next. I’m amused because in my author check-in for May I was thinking about the book I’m writing now, Bitter Love. I hadn’t named it and only had the idea of a plot, but I guess that’s what happens when a story won’t let you go. I remember feeling burnt out still, and while I was considering diving into hockey, even started doing some research, that kind of project felt like it was too much to tackle.

That month was a breakthrough for my health though, and I stopped drinking our city’s tap water and switched to bottled spring water. That has made a big difference in how I feel. I’ll always have my lichen sclerosis and nerve damage from that hysterectomy I agreed to in desperation, but I’m closer to normal than I have been in the past five years. So May might have been quiet writing-wise, but it turned out to have a big impact on my life.

My blog had a good month: I had five posts, and one was an author interview. I like adding new voices occasionally since different perspectives are interesting to read and keeps things fresh. It’s tough finding people who will give you time though, so I only get to do that a couple times a year.

June
I was making some small progress in June. I got the proof of Loss and Damages in the mail and did some light editing of my rockstars. I was still debating on what I was going to write next, waffling between writing Bitter Love and hockey. That’s probably about as relaxed as I get. But I can tell while reading past blog posts that I lost a lot of the urgency I was feeling in previous years to move, move, move.

Blog was good. I wrote five posts.

July
I re-edited Rescue Me and I’m happy I did. I found a timeline issue that I’m glad was easy to fix and just eased up on my dense prose. I think I got rid of about 1500 words and updated the formatting, and I ordered two proofs to make sure my changes looked okay. I uploaded new files at both KDP and IngramSpark. We also adopted my son’s friend’s cat and she’s been a nice addition to our family so far, her need for attention aside. (That has nothing to do with productivity, unless you count her helping me.)

tuxedo cat sitting on chair in front of black laptop. small pumpkin gourds in foreground.

My blog was still chugging away–I had four regular Monday posts.

August
August was more of the same. I re-edited Faking Forever, which was a chore and a half, then moved on to A Heartache for Christmas. I ordered proofs of both of those books and updated the files with KDP and IngramSpark. Though at the time it felt like I wasn’t going anywhere, overall I’m satisfied that I took the time and with the results of those several weeks of re-editing. It was a crash course in readability, and all three books sound more conversational and not so stuck-up. I plan to do my Cedar Hill Duet after the New Year. I want to redo the covers after doing another edit. Those are good books but they can be better. I’ll have a little time after I finish Bitter Love, so that’s the next project on my list.

September
I started Bitter Love, but my friend was ready for me to edit her book, so that’s what I did for the majority of the month. Because of changes at my job, it took me a little longer than it has in the past, so I didn’t get much done on anything else.

Loss and Damages also released on the 15th, after trying to do a proper launch that included a cover reveal on IG, sending out ARCs, and a Goodreads giveaway. It didn’t hit big, most people who took an ARC didn’t leave a review, but I’ve sold two ebooks and have had the equivalent of eleven books read in Kindle Unlimited. It’s a long and character-driven book. I didn’t expect it to do much better.

Blog was fine–I published five posts.

Looking back, I’ve done a lot with my year so far, and I’m not sure why I don’t give myself more credit. I finished releasing a six-book series. I released a standalone. I re-edited three books and started a new WIP. I think one of the issues is that when you’re an indie author, there’s always something more to do so you don’t get the chance to feel like you finished anything or are any closer to your goal. There’s always another book to write, another book to edit, another TikTok video to make.

And think this is especially true when you haven’t gone viral, you haven’t earned an orange bestseller tag on Amazon, haven’t reached the number of followers you were hoping for. I think I might want to do a separate blog post on why goals never seem obtainable, even if you have reached milestones you should be proud of, so I’m going to leave that there for now.

Of course now the only thing that I’m thinking about now is getting Bitter Love done but I’m taking it easy and enjoying the process. Jesse and Jordan have been fighting inside my head for a few months now and it’s a relief to be putting them on the page. Motivation is the key to getting things done and getting things done is the only path to success, no matter what your definition is, but we also need to celebrate the little wins or everything we accomplish will feel hollow.

Be proud of yourself for sticking with it. Not everybody does. And if you’re reading this and thinking you haven’t done much this year, try making your own list. You’ll probably surprise yourself.

And that’s worth celebrating.

Have a great week!

Guest Author A. K. Ritchie

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cream and blue bokeh. cream square with author's photo. text says. guest post: author a.k. ritchie

As with most of my online friends, I met A. K. on Twitter many years ago. After I left, I wasn’t sure how many people I’d lose touch with, and when I found her on Threads, I was thrilled! Recently, I saw her reply to this post:

screenshot of Threads posts authorlaurawinter 4d Please, authors, I’m begging you… Write whatever you want because you can’t please everyone. a.k.ritchie 4d While I totally agree with this, I think people who want to profit off their fiction need to know that this a much harder way to make money. I wished that was something I understood better before I spent money to publish.
for the full thread, look here: https://www.threads.com/@authorlaurawinter/post/DPqrmZ9Dpxw

Right away I asked her if she’d be willing to do a guest post to talk about her response a little more, and she agreed!

I’ll let her have the floor now. Thanks, A. K.!

It wasn’t long after I published my first novel, AFTER THE PARTY, that I realized a hard truth. I’d been so focused on getting my novel edited and learning how to manage the technical side of self-publishing that I forgot I would have to market my own book. Specifically, I would have to find my own readers.

I didn’t understand the impact platforms like TikTok and Instagram were going to have on fiction and sales. It never occurred to me that I would have to concisely explain to people my novels’ genre on a regular basis. I never realized how hard it would be to find my readers and promote my book. 

I often joke that my novels are marketing nightmares. While some of my novels have romance, I don’t fit into the genre as the love story is often a subplot (or not included at all like my novel WILDE LIKE US). While my themes may be well suited for Upmarket fiction, my writing style does not fit the current trends. I landed on Women’s Fiction, but some argue that it’s more Coming-of-Age. It never occurred to me to lock down a genre and the ideal reader before I started creating. 

It makes it hard to find readers when you don’t know who they might be. 

I went into self-publishing over traditional publishing because I wanted to write what I wanted without the pressure of conforming to trends and labels. I grew up in a culture of hand-made, home-printed zines. I found bands recording in their garage, burning their songs to CDs with handwritten track listings. I wanted to DIY it. This is something that I lived in my everyday life, so I wanted it to apply to my fiction as well. 

While I may have broken even on my first two novels, it occurred to me that writing only what you love, without considering the market, can make self-publishing an expensive endeavour. As much as I love the stories I’ve told and what I’ve created, it doesn’t mean that passion will translate to sales. 

Without sales, it becomes difficult to continue producing more fiction. The cost of editors, artists, subscription for websites, etc, all costs money and unless you have funds coming in from other sources, continuing to produce fiction this way may not be sustainable for the vast majority of people. 

If I were to start this journey from the beginning, I would take more time to understand what readers are looking for and how that can be implemented into the stories I want to tell. I’d try to find a space where my voice already fit into a thriving community. 

In no way do I regret writing my stories the way I did. I was being true to my creative side, honouring the stories I wanted to tell. I was also learning so much. And I still am. My storytelling has become stronger with each novel I create. I wrote without external pressures of deadlines and expectations.

But I’ve also come to realize that if I would like to keep publishing, and would like to do so with more frequency, there needs to be a balance between what I write and what the market wants. Even those bands I listened to and zines I grew up consuming took that into consideration. They had a market and they were filling that need in their community. 

There is nothing wrong with writing for yourself or writing based on the current trends or a mix of both. My advice would be to set realistic expectations based on your personal goals and move forward with intent. A good balance would be finding that sweet spot between stories you’re passionate about and ones that make a profit. 

For now, I will keep writing my novels as a form of expression and as a hobby. However, I am already making plans for future romance novels that may still explore a mix of emotional topics with a focus on romance first and foremost. My plan is to bring my stories forward in a way that might meet the readers where they are. 

Thanks again to A. K. for her post about writing what you love! If you’d like to follow
A. K., you can find her on these platforms:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a.k.ritchie

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21836915.A_K_Ritchie

Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/stores/author/B09HJX6R6P/about

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/stores/A.K.-Ritchie/author/B09HJX6R6P

Website: akritchie.com

Why Sitting on a Finished Book Isn’t Always a Bad Thing

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woman sitting on a stack of books while reading a book. woman has dark skin and dark hair. She's wearing a yellow and maroon blouse and jeans text says why sitting on a finished book isn't always a bad thing.

Writing a book takes a lot of time, and if you’re busy with work, kids, and maybe have an active social life, it can take even longer than someone who has more free time than you. It’s addicting to release a book the second you finish it, and what I mean by finishing it is you have most of your editing done and have a working cover. These days, not too many authors are willing to sit on a completed book, but I think the biggest reason is FOMO. You’re excited and want readers reading that book ASAP and having a finished book sitting around feels wrong. Also, you want to prove to your author friends that yes, you are writing and publishing, not just saying you are.

But after my time in the indie trenches, I think probably one of the most detrimental things you can do to your publishing schedule is publish as you go.

I see it a lot in indie circles. They’ve written a book, can’t wait to put it out, then they do. They do the ARCs and the launch, have an exciting week or month, and then there’s nothing else. And I mean, nothing. For years. Because they don’t have another book written, not even started, maybe they don’t even know what they’re going to write next. So they talk about the book or books they do have, and as the months and years go on, you can tell they get a little stressed out because the pressure to publish another book is intense.

Here are a few other reasons why I think it’s beneficial to publish a book behind . . .

Readers love consistency.
Readers like to know when your next book is coming out. It gives them something to look forward to. When you create buffer it means you can have a manageable writing and release schedule that won’t leave a gap and readers won’t wonder if you disappeared. I’ve seen authors push back on this, saying readers are rude for asking, but then I have to ask, is it really though? Are they being rude or are you being sensitive because you know how much time has gone by? Especially if you’re writing a series. Especially if that book ends on a cliffhanger.

You have built-in time for marketing and a launch strategy.
Rather than finishing up and book, diving into launch and marketing activities and then having all that fizzle the second you hit Publish, you are on a continual content loop of talking up an older book while building buzz for the new one that’s already written…while working on your next book. It took me a little bit to get into this kind of posting schedule. Once I publish a book I tend to forget about it and focus on the next, but keeping a published book in mind while being excited about one that is coming out in the next six months or so, and also writing the next one keeps motivation high because you removed the stress of not having a next book. I’m not one to really do cover or blurb reveals, but having a few months before a launch can give you lots of time for teasers, something I actually enjoyed doing for Loss and Damages, the book I released last month.

You give yourself room for quality control.
I think every single one of us has rushed through editing because we wanted to publish. I’ve published with covers I didn’t 100% like because I wanted to get my books out ASAP and that only hurt me and my launch in the process. The fact is the editing and packaging of a book (meaning formatting, cover, and blurb-writing) takes a lot more time than we realize and we tend to rush through it all because it’s already been so long since we published last. Having a book waiting in the wings ensures you’re giving yourself time to edit, choose a cover or create a cover you like, write an enticing blurb, and make sure it all looks great before pushing it out into the world.

Flexibility for life interruptions.
There’s nothing like life getting in the way of what you want to do. I discovered that when my work decided to fire everyone and mess with my schedule. Suddenly I went from having an obscene amount of time to write to almost nothing–just like every other writer who still works forty hours a week to pay their bills. It was a great relief to know I had a book already written and mostly edited. (I started Wicked Games on March 18th, 2025, finished it three months later, and now I’m not publishing it until May of 2026.) When life gets in the way, you can get through whatever pops up that much easier because you don’t have to worry about your readers and if they’re wondering when your next book will be out. It will already be written and planned.

All that sounds great, you say, but how do you do that?

Well, actually, that’s the hard part. It takes extreme willpower and patience (or nonchalance) not to publish a book just because you can, and takes triple that patience if you’re already caught in a writing, publishing, and waiting loop because that just means more time waiting while you write more to “catch up.”

Since I’ve published most of the books I wrote during lockdown, I’m now facing that same issue. I just released Loss and Damages in September of 2025 and I won’t be releasing Wicked Games until the middle of 2026 because I need time to write Bitter Love. I got waylaid by an editing project so I’m not as far as I’d like to be, but I’m still hoping I can write the bulk of it this year. Then I probably won’t publish it until the end of 2026 or the beginning 2027 because I need the time to write my hockey duet. Those books will just be interconnected standalones, so it might be okay to release them with space apart. I’m not sure yet.

Do I mind that I have Wicked Games almost ready and no immediate plan to publish? Not really. Maybe it’s just a mental thing, but I get most excited about the book I’m writing at the moment, and right now that’s Bitter Love. I mean, I love Seth and Avery in Wicked Games, but their story is done and I’m not in a rush to push them out into the world. I guess you can see that as a flaw, but I think it takes the pressure off to get my work out there as quickly as possible.

How can you make up a schedule like that? Here are a few tips that helped me:

  1. Know Your Writing Pace. Track how long it usually takes you to finish a draft and get through edits. That way you’re working with realistic timelines instead of what you think you can do.
  2. Decide on a Sustainable Release Schedule. Don’t compare yourself to authors who are doing this for a living. If one or two is all you can do, plan around that.
  3. Commit to Holding Back. This is the hardest part! Even when a manuscript is polished and ready, remind yourself that waiting gives you breathing room later.
  4. Enjoy the Writing. Remember that your readers aren’t counting the months like you are. They’d rather wait a little longer for a book you loved writing than get a rushed one.

It’s tough to start a schedule like that, but once you get into the groove, you might find a little wiggle room helps you write and you just enjoy the process more.

If you do this and love it or hate it, let me know. If you have any other tips, those are welcome too.

Have a good week, everyone!

Monday Author Update

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2,052 words
11 minutes read time

wooden background with pink flowers. text says, monday author update...also, hello august!

I don’t have a lot going on, though I’m keeping busy.

For the past two months I’ve been working on re-editing a couple of my older titles. Rescue Me was re-edited from cover to cover. I updated the copyright page, back matter, and About Me page. (It was nice to add Pim to our family!) Then I decided to do Faking Forever, and that book has been taking a bit of time. Like, I don’t know how I was writing, but man, maybe I had stick shoved up my ass. All I can say is, this editing pass will definitely make the book sound better. More relaxed, more conversational. It’s a good story. Too bad pretentious writing kept it from shining because it’s nothing I would have wanted to read.

Those two projects have taken me longer than I’d like, editing practically sentence by sentence, but that’s okay. I think I’m still fighting a little burnout from getting my King’s Crossing serial out there. That wrapped up five years’ worth of work, and I might still be coming down from the adrenaline high. But, putting out Loss and Damages was hectic in its own way, so working on a couple of books that just need some polish has been a nice break.

I uploaded Rescue Me‘s updated files to KDP without an issue and did the same on IngramSpark. IngramSpark took three days to send me a new cover template for the changes I had to make to the spine (they don’t have the 10-page grace that KDP has, so I had to tweak my cover to reflect the 1500 words I took out of the book), so if you need to update to IngramSpark, use the Lightning Source template generator instead. It’s the same template and they sent it to my email in a couple of seconds. I even went so far as to swap out the links in my Canva tutorial. I’m one of the most patient people I know, and even I wouldn’t wait three days for a template. I also scheduled Loss and Damages on Amazon. They put the ebook’s preorder up in just a couple of hours and they scheduled the paperback without asking for copyright proof. I’m always a little on edge dealing with them, but this was smooth, so I’m thanking whoever for that.

I ran a Facebook ad for my Loss and Damages ARCs, and among my newsletter, a boosted Instagram post, and the FB ad, I was able to giveaway 110 copies. I sent them out on good faith, not asking them to fill out a form or give me their email address, and I just hope that next month they show up and post their reviews. My Booksprout campaign did okay, and I gave away 20 out of 25 copies available. I’ve already gotten some good feedback, a kind soul posting on my author website in the comments of one of my blog posts. I was a little hesitant about this book, but I think I was just too close to it and I hope my lingering doubts are unfounded.

I changed the header on my FB reader group page and also my author website, but Facebook flagged my page for sexual content and I had to change the banner and delete it off my timeline. I think that fixed it, since it says there are no violations on my page now, but Facebook took away the privilege of being recommended, not that that matters too much. I only post anyway so my page doesn’t look empty when I run ads off it. But, it was a reminder that someone is always watching what you do so if you’re depending on something, it’s best to keep your nose clean or not get too attached. They’ve made a lot of changes anyway, letting their AI tools take over more and more of the targeting and someone in an ads group I’m in on Facebook theorizes that their ads will be all but useless coming as soon as next year. They want the click money, you want the click-through and the sales, and those aren’t always the same. I might write a different blog post on the subject, but I wouldn’t be surprised if authors stop using Facebook ads entirely if we lose our ability to choose our target audience.

In other news, I decided to change what I’m going to work on next. It’s not a secret that I’ve been struggling to reconcile how much better I’ve been feeling with where I am in my book business. I want to lighten up and find some balance while not feeling guilty and thinking everyone is going to forget about me, and I thought maybe going back to writing 3rd person when times were simpler and I was having more fun would be the answer. But whenever I started thinking about the book I have in mind, all the scenes were still in first person. I’m afraid after writing 15+ books in it, I won’t be able to shake it that easily, and well, all my third person books have been stagnating so there’s not a lot of sense adding to the backlist.

So, all that to say is, writing another standalone feels like a better fit than starting my hockey duet, and since I can’t get first person present dual POV out of my head, I’ll write it in that and put it under my initials instead of my full name. I haven’t figured out an occupation for him yet, but I guess it’s safe to assume that he’ll have money. He may not be billionaire status, but I’m not sure if it really matters at this point. It will be a small-town second chance, and I already have a tentative cover for it. The story is about a man who has to go back to his hometown because his grandma who raised him is dying. There he finds out the real reason his high school sweetheart broke up with him after high school graduation. Then I’ll have published (?) written three standalones in a row, so my hockey duet will mix it up. I’m trying not to think of timelines because I don’t want my books to be like that anymore. I understand that consistency is key to building a loyal audience and I have Wicked Games almost ready to go so that will give me extra time to write.

The problem is, I don’t want to publish as I write. I think it puts a lot of pressure on authors to write faster because it feels like people are waiting for the next book (whether that’s true or not). There’s a perceived expectation, and I don’t want to feel like that. I see others experience it, like they’re taking too long to write the next thing, and that’s a bad place for mental health. On the other hand, I really don’t want to feel like my books are just products I have to dress up and put on a shelf. I would like to find a happy medium between writing the next book but knowing I have my ducks in a row for the readers who are waiting for my next release. I think one of the best ways I can do that is put more time between releases. I’ll put out Loss and Damages in September, then maybe not even worry about publishing again until September of 2026. Being I already have Wicked Games almost done–it just needs a couple more editing sweeps, a blurb written, then formatting–that would give me plenty of time to write and not feel stressed out. I can take a page out of traditional publishing’s playbook and completely relax my publishing schedule.

How that would go over, I have no idea. And to who? Me? I’ll still be working on what I love, so maybe it won’t affect me that much, but I don’t have a real reader base to know if readers would get annoyed with me or not. As far as I know, and this is just an observation, not a pity grab, I don’t have a core set of fans. No one that interacts me with on a regular basis on my FB author page, maybe some people who open all my newsletters, but I haven’t gotten any new subscribers to my blog in a long time. So I have a feeling I’m the kind of author that readers just stumble upon from one of my Amazon ads or a Freebooksy promo spot, read the book they found, then move on. That’s not bad. It just doesn’t make for a strong, lucrative career. So would slowing down to a book a year slow my royalties and visibility as well? That might be something I won’t know until I do it.

Anyway, as much as I was excited to start my hockey duet, I think I’ll wait on that for a bit. If anything, it will give me more time to write them without feeling like I’m falling behind.

Otherwise things are going so-so. Our apartment complex was sold and now we have a new property management. Only time will tell if they’re okay to work with or worse than what we had before. I also found out the same day that our workforce at my day job was reduced which always gives me a wiggly feeling in my stomach because the next set of terminations could include me. Somehow I dodged this round, but I don’t think that will happen forever. Sometimes I feel like getting pushed out is what I need to find better life satisfaction all around, but then it would be nice if I was smart enough to leave on my own so I won’t have the panic that comes with being fired with no notice. So, I guess time will tell then too, but of course I couldn’t help but feel that it would have been nice if I could’ve turned my books into some kind of a career so I could quit if I wanted to or at least had a safety net. I’ll just have to keep buying lottery tickets. I probably have a better chance of winning than writing a bestseller.

So, you know, I still have stuff going on but I’m slowing down and doing things I neglected while I wasn’t feeling well. I’ve been cleaning out closets and going through clothes. Our front closet was a mess and I got rid of about ten pairs of shoes and five or six hoods that came off my kids’ winter coats when they were small. I had a million string bags from when I was running races, and donating some of that felt good. I still get an itchy feeling, like I’m not working fast enough, I’m not doing enough, but I know that’s just a phantom feeling of hustle culture and trying to make a mark in an industry that’s saturated. I’ll have to remind myself, often, that what I’m doing is enough and that it’s okay to pay attention to other areas of my life, even if that’s just resting after a long shift at my day job.

Besides that, everything is okay. I’m not online much because everyone is so nasty, from people making fun of Audra Winter and her 6k preorders for a book that needed editing to what the current administration is doing. Scrolling on Facebook is terrible, it’s just AI images and commentary written by ChatGPT. Nothing feels real anymore, and I don’t know if it’s me or what, but when I open up my FreeBooksy, BargainBooksy, Red Feather Romance, and Fussy Librarian promo newsletters, the covers have gotten terrible. It’s such a shame because they used to be decent places to find new readers but I really don’t want my book to be sandwiched between two covers that look like Photoshop vomit. I don’t agree with gatekeeping, but the quality of those newsletters aren’t what they used to be. I’d like to know what their open and click-through rates are.

I think that’s about all I have for today, but that’s enough. I’ll talk to you next week. Enjoy the last month of summer!

Romanticizing Cheating (In Fiction)

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One of the most talked about things that happened last week was when the CEO of Astronomer, Andy Byron, attended a Coldplay concert with his mistress and HR chief, Kristin Cabot, and got caught on camera.

photo taken from: https://people.com/astronomer-ceo-andy-byron-resigns-following-viral-coldplay-kiss-cam-drama-11775506

Of course, the first thing I thought was, “What’s Astronomer?”

The second thing I thought was, “That’s too bad. They looked cute together.”

The third thing I thought was (as someone who has an HR degree), “Is she going to have to fire herself for fraternizing?”

The fourth thing I thought was, “How can we learn from this from a craft perspective?”

Going all the way back to the beginning of time, we’ve been taught to view cheating as this horrible, vile thing that we should never do, and the responses online validate that belief over and over again. Andy, and Kristin too, were called some pretty nasty names, and the general consensus was that they deserved each other.

As someone who was married for about fifteen years (what is time 😵‍💫) and has since divorced, I never thought it was as clear cut as that. Marriages, relationships, fall apart all the time, and for the most part, it’s not anyone’s business why. We don’t know what’s going on in Andy’s home life that warranted him stepping outside his marriage–he and his wife could have simply grown apart. We tend to need to place blame, automatically calling him a bastard for hurting his wife and her a bitch for dating a married man.

Where does this thinking come from, in a society that celebrates couples staying together for fifty plus years, even though, at the end, they can’t stand to be in the same room together and have slept in different beds for the past thirty. There’s failure in divorce, failure in not “sticking it out.” No matter how miserable you are. Being unhappy is the American Way.

I bring up divorce because everyone thinks that’s the solution. Don’t cheat, have the integrity to get divorced first before you start seeing someone else. And I think, up to a point, that’s true. But divorce can be messy, it can be expensive, not only paying for attorneys but for what happens afterward (I have seen on more than one occasion couples who have gotten divorced but still live together because they can’t afford to move out), and if you have little kids, complicated.

It probably sounds like I’m defending Andy, just another rich white guy fucking around and not liking the finding out part. That might be what he is, and maybe I’ll get backlash for being, if not understanding, a bit sympathetic, at least. But I’m thinking of cheating in terms of, well, how romantic it is, not the kind of people they look like because they did it in the first place.

There’s a reason why forbidden love is a trope, after all.

And done right, readers love it.

In a private group I’m a member of on Facebook, an author polled her readers, asking them what tropes they liked best. I won’t share the group, but she said we could share the results–you have to give her your email address to download the pdf–and you can find it here through Bookfunnel: https://BookHip.com/QDMZAFS (this is not an affiliate link)

Anyway, I was a little surprised by the results. She gave her readers these tropes to choose from:
Billionaire, Alpha, Age-Gap
Cowboy, Small Town, Medical Second Chance, Love Triangle, Cheating
Enemies to Lovers, Arranged Marriage, Secret Baby
Holiday, Workplace, Fake Relationship
Secret Identity, Motorcycle Club, Rejected Mate
Ugly Duckling, Celebrity
Friends To Lovers, Grumpy/Sunshine, Second Chance

I think she got most of them, maybe she forgot Mafia, or even true forbidden romance that can fit into any subgenre. Anyway, want to guess which trope came in first?

Second chance.

But the second was cheating.

That kind of took me aback not only because Andy and Kirstin were the top news story on social media when I downloaded Maya’s reader poll results, but because I have written the cheating trope and was warned there are two different kinds and I would be in big trouble if I chose the wrong one.

One kind is where the characters are married and they cheat with other people to find an HEA outside their marriages. Readers don’t want their main characters to be with other people. So when you write a romance where your characters are already married when they meet and start their relationship, you’re going to have some unhappy readers.

The other form of cheating is when you have characters who were involved with people who were already married and something happens. Characters die or they leave the people who were taken and go on to relationships with characters who are available. They’re still cheaters, but it’s softer somehow, more acceptable.

My rockstar trilogy is full of cheaters. Well, kind of. In Twisted Alibis, Sheppard falls in love with Olivia, who he thinks is engaged. It turns out her fiancé had committed suicide and she still wore her ring out of guilt and lost dreams. He struggled with that, and it affects how he deals with his depression. In Twisted Lullabies, Eddie cheats with Clarissa, who happened to be married to one of their bandmates. Her husband’s murdered, but that doesn’t make it easy for Clarissa and Eddie to be together. Eddie finally confesses to Sheppard, and their conversation is one of my favorite scenes:

“When Olivia and I met, I thought she was engaged. She wore an engagement ring, and I took that at face value as I’m sure many would. I tried to fight how I started feeling about her because I knew it was wrong, but the way she would listen when I talked, the way it seemed she always knew what I needed, how she would wrap herself around me as if she were trying to absorb all my pain . . .” He sighs. “After you and Brock were here and we talked about Derrick . . . I needed her as badly as I have ever needed anything in my life, and I went out to the beach and kissed her. I didn’t care she was engaged, in fact, I blamed him for letting her be here at all. I didn’t care. All I knew was I couldn’t live without her. That’s when she told me. That’s when the paparazzi took that picture of us in the water.”

Olivia sniffles and wipes a tear off her cheek.

Shep stares at the photo, lost in thought. “It scared me, that my feelings were so strong I would try to steal another man’s woman, and I grappled with that for a long time. What kind of person that made me, what kind of person Olivia would have been had she been willing to cheat on him with me. When love is dirty, but you crave it, need it to survive. I suspected Melody was seeing someone, but it wasn’t that she was. It was that she felt she had to hide it. Honesty is important, and she should have told me she was in love with Dalt and divorced me properly. I don’t know what Derrick would have done if you’d told him the truth. It sounds like he didn’t want her. Maybe he would have just let you have her.”

The only way Clarissa was able to escape her marriage was the way things went down, but I say, “Sharyn wouldn’t have let him let her go. She wanted to turn his reputation in the press around, and she did. He went from a rich, rockstar playboy to husband of the year practically overnight. The tabloids loved pictures of them, and I bet Sharyn leaked those herself. I begged Clarissa to leave him, but she stayed because she has integrity. She stayed because she knew she’d made a mistake and thought she should pay for it. She stayed long after Derrick died because—”

“Because she knew Mason’s yours and she wanted to be a family.”

In Twisted Lies, Agatha had been seeing a married man and confessed to Brock, thinking that he wouldn’t be able to see past her mistake. His conversation with Eddie is another scene I loved to write. (Trilogy link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CDQJ28SB)

We look down on cheating in real life, calling people nasty names for disrespecting their spouses, but using cheating as a plot point can bring a lot of complicated emotions and feelings to your story because cheating doesn’t always come from a place of selfishness. People can’t control who they fall in love with, but how they handle that can be classy or trashy.

Astronomer issued a statement, and I wonder after this if Andy and Kristin will stop seeing each other. I guess it depends on if he wants to save his marriage (if his wife will even let him try), or if he doesn’t, if he and Kristin can get past the shame of not only being found out but how they reacted to it.

Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability. The Board of Directors has initiated a formal investigation into this matter and we will have additional details to share very shortly. Alyssa Stoddard was not at the event and no other employees were in the video. Andy Byron has not put out any statement, reports saying otherwise are all incorrect.
https://www.mensjournal.com/news/astronomer-breaks-silence-on-ceo-andy-byron-coldplaygate

What’s funny is I think he wanted to be–found out, that is. You can’t go to a public event like that without knowing you’re taking a risk. Even if the camera hadn’t caught them hugging, they could have ran into any number of people who knew them and thought it was suspicious they were together past working hours.

So, where does this all go? Cheating in real life is icky, but cheating in fiction (like the TV drama Scandal) is so yummy we can’t get enough? Is there hypocrisy there? I think a lot of it, if not most, is that when people do it in real life, like Andy and Kristin, we don’t have any context, and when we see it in movies, TV shows, and read it in books, we get all their heartbreaking reasons why.

That’s addicting, and maybe we don’t want to admit it, but . . . relatable.

Humans are messy, and if you write them right, so are characters. To have a full character arc, they need to make mistakes, learn from those mistakes, and come out better people in the end.

Maybe Andy’s full character arc includes resigning from his position and “finding himself” in whatever way that makes sense to him. My characters had a lot of regret too and moved on the best they could.

He might not have chosen to have his affair blasted all over the internet, but I have to admit, sympathetic to his and Kristin’s plight or not, it would be perfect for the beginning of a funny RomCom.

And you can be sure, the next time they meet up, it will be in a private hotel room with room service.

I actually just bought a romance novel that centers around cheating. I grabbed it when I went through my BookBub email newsletter. The cover drew me in and the blurb made me click. If you’re interested, you can find it here:

https://www.amazon.com/Taking-Chances-Cosette-Hale-ebook/dp/B01M146WPF

One lie. One affair. One chance to take her life back.

Audrey Hale has it all—a devoted husband, a dream vacation to the Virgin Islands just days away, and a secret she can’t wait to share.

One moment, she’s holding four positive pregnancy tests. The next, she’s cradling a broken dream—and a gnawing suspicion that her husband’s late nights have more to do with sex than sales.

The worst part? Her best friend—the glamorous, magnetic Natalie— might be in on it.

When one heartbreak leads to another, Audrey is left raw, vulnerable… and searching for truth in a world that’s quickly unraveling.

And the only person who seems to be there for her is Natalie’s husband—Harvey.

He’s off-limits.
He’s furious.
He might be the only one who sees what’s really going on.

As secrets are uncovered and stolen glances become charged, the line between comfort and temptation starts to blur.

Because betrayal cuts deep—but desire cuts deeper.