Introduce yourself! How did you get into editing and what are your qualifications? What genres do you enjoy editing most?
Hi! I’m Sara, fiction editor and owner of Write Way Edits. I work with authors at different stages of the editing process—from big-picture developmental feedback through to copyediting and proofreading. I love working with fantasy, romance, soft sci-fi, historical fiction, and women’s fiction—and all the subgenres and spice levels. I’ve also worked with authors writing thrillers and memoirs.
I’ve always loved stories and language and dreamed of working for one of the Big Five publishers. In college, I interned with a professor and helped research and edit a political process textbook. After graduation though, life took me in a different direction and I ended up managing a classic car restoration shop.
Editing still found its way into my life. I volunteered with nonprofits and edited business materials, but eventually felt the pull to officially work with words. In 2019, I applied for UC Berkeley’s Professional Sequence in Editing instead of pursuing a master’s program, and I officially launched Write Way Edits in 2024.
I’m committed to continuing my professional development because editing—like writing—is a craft you keep refining over time. I’ve completed multiple courses through organizations like the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) and Club Ed, and I aim to complete one to two professional courses every year.

What is the biggest mistake you see indie writers making right now? (For example, info dumps at the beginning of their book, not enough conflict, too much tell vs. show, etc.)
Honestly, editing and writing are pretty subjective. What one reader loves another reader hates. What one writer excels at another writer struggles with. What one editor prefers another editor avoids.
That said, a common developmental issue I encounter often is a weak opening.
Whether you’re querying or self-publishing, the opening pages are your chance to hook the reader and give them a reason to keep reading. If those early chapters are overloaded with background information or focus more on setting the world than introducing the main character, you risk losing your reader before the story really begins.
Another common issue is when the story problem isn’t introduced early enough. The reader doesn’t need to understand everything right away, but they do need a sense that something is happening and that it matters to the main character.
A strong opening usually gives the reader three things fairly quickly: a character to connect with, a sense of the situation they’re in, and the hint of a problem or tension that will drive the story forward.

How do you keep the author’s voice intact while also guiding them with suggestions on how to make their book the best it can be?
One of the most important rules an editor should be following is to never change an author’s voice.
Author A, Author B, and Author C could all write the same story—a gallant knight on a quest to save the beautiful princess from her evil stepmother—and each version would feel completely different. Our life experiences, education, and writing styles shape how we tell stories: the words we choose, the punctuation we favor, how emotions appear on the page, and where we lean more toward showing or telling.
An editor’s job isn’t to rewrite a story but to strengthen it. Before I make any suggestions, I take a step back to understand my motivation for that particular change. Is it simply my personal preference? Is it rooted in my experience and training, industry standards, or reader clarity? Oftentimes what a reader labels as an error is actually a stylistic choice. A good editor recognizes that and makes sure those choices are intentional and consistent throughout the manuscript.
I also try to explain the reasoning behind my suggestions. When authors understand why and how something might be improved, they can better decide whether that change fits with their vision for the story.
At the end of the day, it’s always the author’s book and the author’s decision.

Is there ever a time when a book requires too much work? What do you tell a writer whose manuscript isn’t ready for a professional edit? What resources do you refer them to?
One of the first things I ask authors is what stage their manuscript is in and whether anyone else has had eyes on it yet—alpha readers, beta readers, critique partners, or another editor.
If a first-time author comes to me requesting a developmental edit on a first draft, I’ll usually recommend they go through a few rounds of self-editing first then get feedback from a few beta readers. That outside perspective can help identify bigger story issues before a professional editor comes in. Sometimes I’ll also read a sample and suggest a few areas the author can focus on in their self-edits.
I’m a big believer in focusing each revision pass on a specific element of the story. For example, one pass might focus on structure and plot. Another might focus on the characters, ensuring their choices make sense and their motivations are clear. A later pass might look at pacing or tension. Breaking revision into smaller goals can make the process much more manageable.
I also try to point authors toward helpful resources whenever I can. Over time I’ve built a collection of articles, craft books, and guides from other editors, writers, and organizations that I’m happy to share.

What advice can you offer an author who can’t afford a professional edit? Are there things they can do to sharpen their own self-editing skills?
Self-editing is super important, even when you’re planning to hire a professional editor.
I’m sure everyone is sick of hearing this, but practice really does make perfect. The more you write, the more you learn—not only about writing but about your own habits, strengths, and patterns as a writer.
Another helpful strategy is stepping away from your manuscript for a period of time before revising. Distance helps you come back to the story with fresher eyes and notice things you might have missed before.
Reading your work aloud is also effective. Whether you read it yourself or use tools like Word’s Read Aloud feature, hearing the text makes it much easier to catch awkward phrasing, pacing issues, and repetitive language.
These are some great craft books that focus specifically on revision: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and David King; Intuitive Editing by Tiffany Yates Martin; 5 Editors Tackle the 12 Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing by C. S. Lakin, Linda S. Clare, Christy Distler, Robin Patchen, and Rachel Starr Thomson.

Have you noticed AI writing tools affecting the manuscripts you edit? What are your thoughts on authors using them in the writing process?
I don’t think generative AI has any place in creative spaces, so the authors I interact and work with are also anti-generative AI. I include a section in my contract that states I reserve the right to refuse to work on a manuscript written with the help of a generative AI tool, and I will never use generative AI in my editing process.
But just because I want nothing to do with generative AI doesn’t mean that there aren’t authors using these tools to aid them in their writing. Some use them for brainstorming ideas or organizing their thoughts. I have mixed feelings about this, honestly. On the one hand, I understand these authors’ arguments for needing something to help them organize the creative jumble in their brains. On the other, scientific studies are proving that a reliance on generative AI tools like ChatGPT is leading to intellectual laziness and a decline in reading comprehension, literacy, and logic skills.
I’ve also seen some authors use ChatGPT in place of beta readers or editors. The issue with this is that generative AI has no capacity to actually understand human emotions. It bases “revisions” on other authors’ works—aka, theft—and doesn’t have the ability to make editorial decisions based on stylistic choice vs grammar “rule.” As much as people tout that ChatGPT can “learn your voice / style,” it always reverts back to generic styles and specific patterns of language. It also hallucinates “facts” and sources. (And it’s killing our environment and targeting marginalized communities, but that’s a rant for another time.)
Now assistive AI, on the other hand, is a great asset. (Think spellcheck, basic Grammarly, and Speechify and other accessibility tools.) And if a generative AI tool enters the landscape that sources its information ethically and doesn’t contribute to the doom of our planet, I’ll give it a try and see if it’s up to the task of actually helping writers. Until then, I’ll stick to human writers, artists, and editors.

As an editor, it’s important you’re honest and give critical and actionable feedback. How do you offer this feedback so a writer doesn’t take it personally?
When I was in college, I briefly considered becoming a teacher—until I realized my tendency to say the word “fuck” in every other sentence would probably slow down my career advancement.
Even though I didn’t go into teaching, that instinct to explain and guide people stuck with me. I’m also a mother, which involves a lot of teaching (and learning) every single day.
Those experiences shape the way I approach editing. Whenever possible, I ask authors how much explanation they’d like during the edit, whether they prefer deeper comments and guidance or a lighter touch. Editing isn’t about tearing a manuscript apart or telling an author how to write their story better; it’s about working with an author toward the same goal: making the story stronger.
My feedback is always specific and actionable. I don’t just say “fix this” or “this is wrong.” That’s not helpful for anyone. Instead, I explain what the issue is (or might be) and suggest ways it could be improved or strengthened. When it’s helpful, I’ll even include an example revision to demonstrate what I mean—though the author is always free to ignore it or take the idea in a completely different direction.
I also make a point to highlight what’s already working well. Every story has strengths, and it’s important for authors to know what readers are likely to connect with just as much as where the manuscript could improve.

Are there any other tips or thoughts you would like to add about editing or publishing?
Editing is part of the creative process, not a sign that you’re doing something wrong.
Even NYT bestsellers go through multiple rounds of editing before publication.
The most important thing is to stay curious about the writing and editing process and remember that every draft teaches you something new about the story you’re telling and the craft of writing itself.

And lastly, where can readers find you online?
You can find me at:
Website: www.writewayedits.com
Instagram / Threads / Pinterest: @writewayedits
I’m also revamping my blog, Coffee-Stained Pages (https://writewayedits.com/blog/) and sharing thoughts and resources via my newsletter, The Editor’s Brew (https://writewayedits.kit.com/posts)

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Happy Monday to those who celebrate! I used to love Mondays since they were the start of my weekend, but not anymore. I’m in the trenches with everyone else today, but I had a good Sunday, so let’s dig in!

Last week I finished listening to my manuscript, and even though with every reading pass I think I’ve caught all the mistakes and typos, there are always more. This time around, the biggest catch I found was “fishman” when I meant “fisherman.” So, even if it’s tedious, it’s an editing step that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to skip. I have my proof, and I’ll be reading that soon. I can’t show you pictures of it since I haven’t done a cover reveal, and because I promise my newsletter/blog subscribers first dibs on stuff like that, I suppose I better stick to it.

Right now I’m re-editing Addicted to Her, and I think I’ll finish that first. It shouldn’t take me too long to edit Wicked Games’ proof, but I always order another to make sure all the changes I make turn out okay. As long as I account for that time and make sure I give any ARC readers a chance to read before publishing, things should be okay. Though, I’m still on the fence on where I’m going to give out ARC copies. The FB ad I ran for the Bookfunnel link for Loss and Damages was just a waste of money and I won’t be doing that again. Yeah, my book ended up on a lot of devices, but I only have fifteen reviews on Amazon and sixteen on Goodreads. So the FB ad, my Goodreads giveaway, and letting my newsletter/blog know ARCs were available did little. I can’t think too much about it or I’ll just get depressed. Let’s move on.

The writing community was buzzing when the New York Times came out with their article about Coral Hart and how she uses AI to pump out romance books under several pen names. This is a gift article from someone on Threads (thank you!) and hopefully you can read it here. You may have to sign up for a free account to access it: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/08/business/ai-claude-romance-books.html?unlocked_article_code=1.KlA.3vTj.bxV-_SADLJZy.

I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention it, being that this blog is about indie publishing news and my experience as an indie romance author. Obviously, there were a lot of feelings when it came out. Not only because she’s using a tool that was created using stolen work, but because honestly, if you don’t sit down and actually write the book that you want to publish, it’s disrespectful to the genre and to our readers. I’ve seen people say, “If you didn’t take the time to write it, why should I take the time to read it?” I think it goes deeper than that, but mostly, I just get confused. Writers write because we actually like it. We love coming up with new worlds, new characters, and new plots. There is nothing better to me than the planning phase of a novel. Towns, characters, their angsty backstories. What do they want? What are the stakes? How are they so damaged they’re afraid to fall in love? If you don’t like writing, if you hate it to the point that you just want to outsource it, then what are you doing? I just don’t get it. No one is forcing you be an author, and let my two dollars a day tell you, it’s not a get rich quick scheme. Far from it.

There’s a misconception online that says quantity equals sales and royalties, but in my experience, that hasn’t been true. Ten books might sell more than one, but you still have to tell readers that those ten books exist. Look at this this way. Throw a rock in the water, and it’s going to sink. Throw a handful of pebbles in the water, and they’re still going to sink. It doesn’t matter how much product you have out there if you don’t constantly–and consistently–market and if you don’t have a core group of fans. And you’ll never get that core group of fans if readers don’t like what you’re writing. I read an interesting Substack article by Johnny B. Truant about the “Artisan Author” and how in this new age of AI and writing books faster and faster and faster, that real quality is going to be what sets you apart. And not only quality, but actually enjoying the writing process.

We used to say that readers don’t care about how the sausage was made, but . . . maybe that’s not true anymore. Maybe they do want to read that snippet you’re proud of the second it left your fingers, or the scene that made you cry that you wrote on your lunch break. Graphic designers and artists are encouraged to show their step-by-step process to prove that they didn’t use AI to create their book covers and character art. Maybe authors will be encouraged to do the same. People who use AI to pump out a book can do that too, but the the thing is, they won’t. They don’t care about the process. They care about the end product, and they won’t waste time sharing a dialogue exchange between two characters that AI just generated.

Will that become the norm? Maybe. If it becomes normal for authors who enjoy the process and take their time to only publish a book or two a year. Right now the trend is still faster, faster, faster, and more, more, more, but not everyone wants to ride on that high-speed train. We’d rather walk and smell the flowers. Johnny has a book about being an “Artisan Author” and you can find it here (this is not an affiliate link and I don’t get anything for recommending his book): https://www.amazon.com/Artisan-Author-Low-Stress-High-Quality-Fan-Focused-ebook/dp/B0DPCV96XZ

Anyway, so yeah, that article about Coral Hart was depressing and sad, but I wouldn’t let it get you down. Even though changes in the publishing industry are slow to take, I really do think that readers are going to value human connection more than ever before. We’re going to see an explosion of people who want to read human-driven content. This blog has suddenly been getting thousands of hits a day and I can only guess that it’s because I write my posts and people can tell I do. I will never use AI to write either my books or my blog posts because being a writer is who I am, not only what I do. So, thank you for being here and reading my snarky thoughts. If you want to read more about Coral Hart and her side business selling AI courses, you can here: https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/morning-file/a-romance-writer-is-using-ai-to-pump-out-200-novels-a-year-but-is-it-just-a-new-form-of-an-old-grift/ And Kathleen Schmidt wrote a Substack about it that I found interesting: https://substack.com/home/post/p-187393878

I titled this blog before I wrote all of it, and part of the title was “And Just Learn to do it Yourself Already.” I . . . actually don’t know what I meant by that. I’ve said in the past that if you’re an indie author that it will only serve you well if you can learn as much as you can about the industry and how to publish your own books. Learning to format using Draft2Digital’s formatting software and at least learning the basics of doing a cover with KDP’s cover template, even if you will never format yourself or do your own covers, might get you out of a jam one day. Learning grammar and punctuation and basic self-editing skills can help lower your dependency on an editor, and learning an ad platform so you’re comfortable with things like bids and click-through-rate (CTR) will open up marketing possibilities. Beyond that, I’m not sure what I was thinking or what I wanted that section of my blog post to be about. It might have been something with AI, since Coral Hart and that article was my main topic today, but I really have no clue what direction I was going in.

I don’t think outsourcing every aspect of every publishing step is sustainable long-term, and you really can outsource very single step these days. From editing, to cover design, to writing your blurb, to having someone pull content for TikTok, there’s not one part of the process that you can’t dump on someone else. But, how smart is that? There’s something to be said for learning how to write ad copy or finding the emotional snippets yourself that will hit TikTok just right. You should learn how to write blurbs and three sentence ad copy for book promotions like Fussy Librarian. Why wouldn’t you? It’s your book, it’s your product, and they’re your royalties. And maybe, if Johnny B Truant’s prediction comes true, authors will slow down and want to do those things so when they hold their book in their hands, they can be proud of the process that got them there, not only the end product.

I’m enjoying re-editing my Cedar Hill Duet. I like comparing the writing and how much better I’ve gotten through the years. I’ll be super proud to re-release those books, because I’ve come a long way in the past five years.

Like Johnny, I’m excited to see where the next few years will take us. Let the Coral Harts of the world throw pebbles. I’ll be sitting in the sand listening to “Samantha” read the book that I wrote all by myself, and hopefully, I’ll have some real people who will want to read it too.

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The summer is cruising along, and here in Minnesota, it hasn’t been that great. We’ve had some warmer days, but a lot of rain and humidity, too. A lot of the state has seen some tornadoes which is rare, but unless we get a very early winter, we still have quite a few weeks of warmer weather, so I’ll take what I can get.

Since it’s the middle of July, and the middle of the year, I thought I’d do a mid-year check-in. It’s nice for you guys to hear what I’m working on, and it’s a doubly nice reminder that even though I feel like I’m not getting anything done, I’ve actually accomplished quite a bit. Let’s jump in.

Books published:
Three, and there’s one on the way. This number is kind of a cheat, because I released three books in my King’s Crossing series earlier in the year but those were already written. Still, I published Shattered Fate, Shattered Hearts, and Shattered Dreams, and I plan to release Loss and Damages in September. That should go smoothly unless Amazon does something drastic like close my account, but so far the only thing they’ve done is ask for copyright information for a couple of my books’ covers and they’ve always accepted screenshots of my DepositPhoto account and the licensing information they provide. Loss and Damages is already loaded into Bookfunnel and Booksprout. The files are uploaded into KDP, but I won’t do anything with them until my ARC campaigns close. I don’t like having my book on preorder if my book is available elsewhere. There’s no rush anyway, and being patient and taking my time usually pays off. So, I will have four this year, but only two next year. Maybe three. I don’t know yet. It depends on how fast I can write and how much I care.

Books written:
So far I’ve written one. I wrote Wicked Games earlier this year, but that feels so long ago now that sometimes I forget I wrote it. I don’t know when I’ll publish it. I was going to release it in January of 2026, but then I decided to write my hockey romance and that turned into a duet, so, it really depends on how fast I can write Frozen Assets and Cold Mercy and how long of a wait I want between books. It’s mostly edited, all I need to do is listen to it and proof the proof. The cover is done, but I don’t have a blurb for it yet. So, it will sit until I’m ready to publish. I hope to write Frozen Assets this year–I’m researching like crazy and have a lot of it plotted out. If I can write that and some of Cold Mercy this year, I’ll be happy.

Royalties so far:
This year I’ve made a little over 800 dollars. But taking into consideration all that I’ve spent, I’ve mostly broke even. Since January I’ve had to renew subscriptions like Bookfunnel, Booksprout, WordPress and Canva. I’ve also bought promos like Fussy Librarian and BargainBooksy from Written Word Media. Add in some Amazon ads I started up again because I hate seeing an empty dashboard, and, well, it’s really easy to make all those royalties disappear. I mean, it’s fine. I made my peace with that at the beginning of the year, and I’m content to write the books I want to write, pay for what I need to pay for, and simply call it good.

How my King’s Crossing serial is doing:
I released the last book in April of this year and have tried unsuccessfully to market them. My Amazon ads are actually doing well, my cost per click hanging in there around .40 and my impressions are through the roof–which is a good thing. As of right now, I attribute 95% of my sales to those ads. While I did do a Fussy Librarian back in March and a BargainBooksy in June, those two promos didn’t do as well as I’d hoped. I’ll never be one to ask for my money back because I truly believe that if a promo doesn’t produce results it’s my fault, and I’ll have to be more careful with the hook in the future.

So, after saying that, I’ll let you know my numbers:
Cruel Fate: 72 sales, 55 books read in KU (page read equivalent)
Cruel Hearts: 26 sales, 47 books read in KU
Cruel Dreams: 14 sales, 40 books read in KU
Shattered Fate: 9 sales, 32 books read in KU
Shattered Hearts: 10 sales, 24 books read in KU
Shattered Dreams: 12 sales, 19 books read in KU

I won’t analyze these numbers, though that might be a good blog post for later (because I’m wondering how advantageous it is to write in longer series anymore). For now I’ll just say that Kindle Unlimited subscribers are my readers and I may need to look into how I can market to them specifically. Between Amazon ads and the promos, I’m not making any money, but that’s okay. Every time someone reads to the end an angel gets their wings, and I’m more than happy with that.

Blog stats:
My blog is still doing well, my Canva tutorial and my blog post about KC Crowne doing the heavy lifting. I can’t share overall numbers with you because a bot in Germany got a hold of my blog a while back and skewed my numbers. Not by a lot, but enough that my stats aren’t accurate. For now, my Canva tutorial has been viewed 3,284 times this year and people read about KC Crowne 1,994 times. I get a few new subscribers here and there, but for anyone who needs the reminder that building any kind of traction anywhere takes time, I’ve been blogging for over eight years and haven’t reached a thousand subscribers yet. That kind of fact could send me low if I let it, but honestly, I still blog just for myself and if I happen to help anyone along the way, that’s just an added bonus.

I’ve already blogged 33 times and have written a novel’s worth of words: 52,630. Every once in a while I don’t know what I should write about, but I got great feedback when I talked about a week of indie industry news, and I should try to do that more often. I’ll keep on keeping on, if only because it keeps my head in the game and makes me feel like a “real” author.

Health Update:
I haven’t given you one of these in a long time, mostly because talking about something incessantly can be boring and I feel I used up my allotted time. Since my last appointment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota in August of 2024, I’ve made more changes to my lifestyle. I stopped taking the birth control she prescribed me because the side effects outweighed the benefit, then in May of this year, my sister, daughter and I went out of town. Long story short, I felt better than I thought I would and as an experiment, stopped drinking our tap water here at home. I looked up our city’s water treatment results and needless to say, Moorhead, Minnesota’s water is gross. So, I’ve been drinking bottled water for the past two months and it has made a big difference in how I feel.

I’m not nauseated so much anymore and I’m starting to feel more like myself. My anxiety is gone, but I still worry a little about being “trapped” like at the dentist’s office or getting my hair cut, though as I feel better and better I hope that fades too. I’m always going to have the skin issues “down there” and be on steroid cream for the rest of my life to control it. I’ll always have nerve damage and scar tissue from the hysterectomy I didn’t really need, but all in all I’m doing a lot better than I was. There’s a lot of bitterness, you know? The dryer sheets causing this to begin with, the doctors who didn’t know what they were doing or straight-up lied to me. I lot of what I’m going through now could have been prevented if my gyno had known what was wrong with me and the rest of it was just me being driven to desperation and making bad choices. I may still write about it some day, if only to give women a chance to diagnose themselves or at the very least, find empathy and sympathy for their own undiagnosed issues. Women’s healthcare in the United States is fucked and I will, in some way, pay for that for the rest of my life. Despite that, I’m hopeful as time goes by I can feel even better drinking bottled water and taking magnesium for nerve and bone health. Tenacity got me to where I am and I’ll never stop working to feel better.

A new addition to our family:
Last month we adopted Pim! One of my son’s friends moved out of state and couldn’t bring her along, so we went through the steps with our property management (we live in an apartment) to adopt her. She’s a three-year-old black tuxedo and she’s very cuddly and playful. She’s especially needy in the morning after being left alone all night. It took a bit to figure out what food she prefers (Sheba cuts) and she has a habit of jumping on you and draping herself over your shoulder. Her favorite thing is being walked around the apartment like a baby. She’ll tuck her head next to my neck and I’ll just pace the apartment back and forth while I scratch her. It brings back a lot of memories of walking my kids around when they were infants.

Luckily she’s healthy because after the time Blaze and her health issues gave us, there’s no way I would have been able to tolerate having a sick cat around, especially not after dealing with my own issues for the past five years. It would have been way too stressful. So, I’m glad it worked out as Drake’s friend didn’t have a plan B and the shelters here are full. I’m looking forward to many happy years with her.

What’s next for the second half of the year?
Right now I’m re-editing Rescue Me. I’m about halfway through and would like to finish up in the next couple of weeks. I played the fun game of “what are they reading?!” when I saw someone had bought it a couple weeks ago, so I decided since I haven’t read it since I published it (back in 2022) that it was time to look at it again with fresh eyes. I’m glad I did because either my writing style has changed or I just got better, but I’m fixing a lot of things and found a small timeline issue I was able to clear up. I also updated back matter, so it was a good decision all around.

Finishing up will take a me a bit of time as it’s slow going to make sure I’m not editing in typos, but after I’m done with it, I’d like to start writing Frozen Assets. I wanted to start it last month but with the amount of research I’ve been doing and then deciding to re-edit Rescue Me, I just didn’t get there. (Plus, after getting Loss and Damages ready to go, I needed a break.) I don’t think it matters too much. If I stay true to a writing schedule, I should be able to publish in September 2026, a year after Loss and Damages comes out. I don’t think a year wait for two books is too terrible. I also have Wicked Games in reserve that I can always put out if needed, but for now, I’m going to focus on writing once Rescue Me is updated and go from there. I’m looking forward to digging into the world of professional hockey and I want to enjoy myself without worrying about speed.

Writing Wrap-Up
I think that’s about all I have for this recap. At the end of December, I’ll write a full recap of the year. Hopefully I have some good news to share.

All in all 2025 so far has been good. I owe some of it just to relaxing and letting things go. Trying to turn my books into a business didn’t work, so I had to adjust my definition of success. Right now I’m finding readers and breaking even (if not a little in the red) and that makes me happy and helps me stay motivated to keep writing. That’s all we can ask for in the publishing landscape these days. I know authors are plowing on with less.

I will leave you with this meme I saw on Facebook. Now that Pim’s here I can enjoy cat stuff again. It was sad to see it before, but I’ve been a cat mom (now grandma) for most of my life. It’s nice to be one again. Enjoy your week, everyone!

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Time to read: 14 minutes

I’ve been talking to my friend Melody a bit about marketing. I love talking marketing and publishing, can’t get enough talking shop even if I have been feeling down the past few weeks just because of how things are going and where things are headed. But unfortunately, being a writer is in my blood and it’s something I’m never going to be able to stop. Adjusting expectations, yeah, and maybe I’m too tired to manifest anything except my next snack as 2024 was a good but a tiring year, and well, stopping my ads brought on a new question.

If you need to promote something, where in the heck are you going to put it?

Many of you know I have a free novel on my website. Right now I don’t have email collection turned on in Bookfunnel, which means anyone can download it without giving me anything in return. You might think that’s silly and a waste of what a reader magnet is supposed to be for, and you’re probably right. In my defense, at the end of the book I ask them to sign up for my blog if they haven’t, and direct them to my Cedar Hill Duet if they liked My Biggest Mistake.

So I’m not being completely obtuse. The thing is, where do you put that Bookfunnel link to lure in new readers and cajole them to give you their email address? Right now I remind people it’s there when I blog/send a newsletter on my author site, and so far that’s been okay because my posts show up on the WordPress reader (and I have them post to my FB author page and my LinkedIn account). Since I moved my blog over from MailerLite, and I don’t remember when I did that, maybe last summer, I get a few views there every time I blog. That’s the only place right now people see my reader magnet, unless they get to that part in the back matter of my books.

This isn’t just about reader magnet links, it’s about any link. An Amazon buy-link, a books2read link. A blog link, if you’re hoping to get more traffic. We say social media, and that’s a quick and easy answer, but also, it’s a stupid answer because not everyone is going to have a following for that to do any good.

Where are some alternate places to put your links? Here are some ideas.

Newsletter link

Author Bios on Social Media
*Goodreads
*Facebook Author Page
*Instagram
*BookBub
*Amazon Author Page
These are great places to add your newsletter link. I have my website link up in case I ever need to change my Bookfunnel landing page, then I’m not scrambling to change links everywhere. Amazon won’t let you put links in your bio anymore, but you can get around that by typing it out with spaces like vmrheault . com / subscribe. Skip the www or the http:// because their bots will flag that as unacceptable language. If a reader wants to sign up badly enough, they’ll type it in correctly into their browser.

Email Signature
I don’t have an email signature, mostly because I use my personal email for everything, and I don’t now how beneficial it is to have a business signature at the end of personal communication. Though, I’ve been publishing for eight years now, so anyone I happen to email wouldn’t be taken by surprise. What’s really cool is that Canva has a lot of email signature templates to choose from, if you’re not shy about adding your picture and all your info. Not sure if I want to go all out like that, especially since I never had a logo designed for my business, but something would be better than nothing, considering that a lot of time I don’t even add my name to the bottom of my emails. I’m not trying to be rude, it’s just more disinterest than anything. I’ve said what I need to say and I’m done. Here’s what I made in Canva. The only thing I don’t like is the links aren’t clickable, but this looks nice.

The back matter in all your books.
This is kind of a no-brainer, but it’s worth reminding people. It might be difficult (or impossible) to edit your back matter to include a newsletter link if you haven’t already. Not everyone has access to their files, and it’s why I say to learn to do things for yourself as much as possible. Back matter is a good way to get sign ups, those readers who loved your book so much they want to hear more. Even if you don’t have an incentive like a reader magnet, a bonus epilogue, or whatever the case may be, it won’t take up that much space so you might as well add it. I would direct people to your website though, rather than putting up a landing page address. If you ever have to change your landing page, that’s a lot of work, whereas your website will always be there.

Print Materials
I don’t mess with paper often, the most effort I make these days is creating pretty chapter headers for paperback books I don’t sell. The last batch of business cards I made are old, had old information on them, and I threw them out. But, that’s not to say that print material is a waste of time or money. You can make bookmarks or postcards using VistaPrint and leave them at places like your library (or put them into your books if you leave them in Little Free Libraries), at coffee shops, the coffee kiosk while you’re waiting to get your oil changed, or anywhere you happen to be that might have interested readers. Is it spammy to leave your crap lovely marketing material around like that? I don’t know. Some places, like coffee shops, grocery stores, or the library, have a community bulletin board and it might make you feel better to pin up a postcard or three instead of leaving them around like cigarette butts. At any rate, you can create a QR code (Dave Chesson has a free generator and it looks like VistaPrint might have a built-in one as well) that will direct readers to your website where you can invite them to sign up for your newsletter. I think in this instance, having something free to give away would definitely help.

Newsletter promotion services (if you have a reader magnet to give away)
I don’t know how effective they are, and by that, I mean, I don’t know how eager readers are to give you their email address and download a book from Bookfunnel, but you can use some book promotion sites like Fussy Librarian and BookDoggy. You just pay for a free book promo like you normally would but instead of giving them an Amazon link use your Bookfunnel link. This is only effective if you turn on your email collection, of course, unless you really are giving away a book with no strings, but considering I complain talk about ROI all the time, giving away a book without asking for something in return seems counterproductive to building your reader audience.

Other options that require a reader magnet.
Not everyone has a reader magnet, which is why this is last, but if you don’t have something, I would advise it and possibly make writing one a goal for this year. Very few people will give you their email address for nothing. If you do have a reader magnet, or a cookie, as Tammi Lebrecque calls it, there are other places to put your link but they take a little hustle or some cash. You can join Bookfunnel and pay for the option to put your reader magnet in group promos, the same with StoryOrigin. You can also make friends with authors in your genre and do newsletter swaps. A lot of times newsletters swaps mean swapping free books and putting them in each other’s newsletters, but if you’re just starting out and have a delicious cookie, other authors may let you put your link in their newsletters. Everyone is looking for content so don’t be afraid to offer yours.

Those are a few good places to put your newsletter link, at least, that don’t require a lot of networking and/or money. Let’s talk about other links, like that all important buy-link. I’m going to assume that you’re doing a free sale because we might as well just face the fact that readers are looking for free books and it’s a lot harder to find places to post a link to a full-price or even .99 cent book. I mean, we can talk about this another day, but I don’t think it’s crazy to say that readers who buy full-priced books are already familiar with you and what you write and know they’re going to like what they pay for.

Amazon Buy-Links/Books2Read, etc.

Your Website/Newsletter/Blog
This probably doesn’t need to be said, but make sure you tell your already existing readers about a sale or new release, even if you only have five people on your list. Sometimes we get so caught up in finding new readers that we forget to give love to the readers we already have. My list is small and my open rater is smaller, but I still get interaction when I announce something like ARCs, a new release, or a sale.

Facebook Promo/Reader Groups
Admittedly, posting to these kinds of groups is like tossing a piece of carrot into a stew full of potatoes and hoping someone who likes carrots will find it. They aren’t the best way to find readers, especially if they aren’t broken up into genres. If you can do a search and find promo groups in your genre, that’s better than posting to a site that will take any kind of book, like this one https://www.facebook.com/groups/221523797876806, still, if you just like posting your link to wherever, it never hurts to try. There are some groups that will let you self-rec but it’s hard to find them because moderators have to work hard at keeping the groups from becoming too spammy. So make sure you know the rules and guidelines of any group or your post will be removed or not even approved and you could be removed from the group, too.

Reddit
I didn’t know this was a thing, but I asked Al for advice on where to post my free book link, and he said Reddit (r/FreeEBOOKS). I had never heard of it before, but then, I’m not on Reddit all that much to begin with. I thought, what the hell, and gave it a try and posted the Bookfunnel link to my reader magnet. I gave away 36 copies in a week and had over 7k views of my post.

This subreddit (is that what it’s called?) is pretty active and my book didn’t stay on top very long. I would guess you’d need to repost it every once in a while to continually get new eyes on your book. I didn’t list this idea up top with the newsletter stuff because I posted my Bookfunnel link without the email collection turned on. I don’t know how well a true reader magnet would do on there, more than likely it would make people angry because a book link asking for an email isn’t truly free. So, if you’re okay turning it off or have a true free book to give away–I saw some Amazon links and books2read links–I would consider using this subreddit. I had never posted there before and I don’t know if my results are considered good, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Author-Driven Promos
I guess we’re kind of talking about free places, though promos sites like Fussy Librarian and BookDoggy cost a little less than some. But, if you’re looking for a free promo that has the same outcome as a Freebooksy, then look to author-driven promos. These can be hard to find since a lot of times they’re mentioned in Facebook groups of your genre and if you’re not a member, you can miss out. If you ever say FB isn’t good for anything, networking in these groups is definitely beneficial. Zoe York has been doing her SYKD for years, and I only found out about it in 2022 because I was networking with other indie authors and not necessarily romance indie authors. I’m trying to do better, because now that I’m not running ads, connecting with these kinds of resources will be one of few ways to get my name out there. This is a list of the author-driven promos I have so far. They take a lot of work to put together, so authors may be not be clamoring to do their own, but I’m always keeping my ear to the ground to add more to the list.

Fantasy: https://stuffwithfantasy.com/authorhelp

Romance all genres: https://www.romancebooklovers.com/authors

Romance all genres: https://www.romancebookworms.com/for-authors

Witchy books: https://www.facebook.com/groups/witchybookwormsauthors

Alpha Cinnamon Roll Book Boyfriends: https://alphacinnamonroll.com/for-authors/

Dark Fantasy, Romance, Horror: https://www.darkmodesyk.com/sign-ups

Closed Door Non-Explicit Romance:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/cleanromancecollab/

Paid Free Promos
If you do have some money to toss around, you can always buy a promo to feature your free book. I can probably afford to do this more often if I’m not going to run ads, but I might just depend on author-driven promos and social media for now, if I even feel like giving away a book, which, in a different blog post, said I might not do this year. I’m tired of throwing away spending money and need to stop boosting my posts. Boosting every single post on FB or IG will cost just as much as keeping my ads running and it’s a habit I better break now. There are a lot of promo sites, too many to list here, so I’ll give you the link to David Gaughran’s list instead. https://davidgaughran.com/best-promo-sites-books/

Hopefully, I gave you few ideas. Some I tried like posting my book on Reddit. I need to start looking outside the box because for a long time I just said, “Run some ads” but that’s not working for me anymore, if it ever was, and even if my experience was beneficial to the readers of this blog, so will trying new ways of doing things. Besides Reddit, I might make some new business cards. Postcards are larger and sound fun, especially since I don’t focus on paper and market to KU readers so making bookmarks wouldn’t make much sense to my brand. I’ve been flirting with the idea of putting together book boxes when all my King’s Crossing books are out but I just ordered two sets of my Rocky Point Series to hold a giveaway for my newsletter subscribers. That might not go anywhere and I’ll have to get rid of them in a different way, but I might be tapped on on author copies for a bit (even at wholesale they’re expensive and you have to pay for shipping). I haven’t been able to schedule the last two books anyway, since KDP only lets you schedule out so far, but I doubt I’ll be coming into any money anytime soon, so waiting won’t do me much good. Right now I’m just settling into my ads being off, not working so hard on my standalone, and enjoying having free time. I’ll get more into that next week, or maybe after since the 2025 trends are coming out and like I suspected, nothing much is going to change.

Thanks for reading this far and have a great week!

Words: 418
Time to read: 2 minutes

I have a post I kind of worked on, but yesterday was a good writing day for me and I forgot to finish it and post it. I also wasn’t feeling good for a lot of last week. I feel like I have a urinary tract infection but the clinic said while my results were abnormal, they don’t indicate I have a UTI and didn’t prescribe me antibiotics. So, it’s been a long weekend for me health-wise and I have a message in to my doctor asking him what he wants me to do. I’m tired of dealing with my body.

Anyway, I wrote slightly over 6k words yesterday, and I’m up to 38 thousand words in total for the last book in my trilogy. I’m thinking that this book will be in the high 90s too, and I’ve got something in the works to keep my middle from sagging. I have an idea that would make sense, especially if I go back to book 2 and include some more foreshadowing. That’s one of the great things about keeping books until your series is done. If you need to change something, you can! So i’m happy with that, and looking forward to my next writing session.

Today I’m celebrating Easter and won’t be online much at all. Tomorrow I should be able to plan my next few scenes and how I want to get from where I am to the event that will save my middle. I should also be able to write most of Wednesday.

I don’t have much else to report. I read an interesting article on Jane Friedman’s blog about upmarket fiction and what it is by literary agent Carly Watters. It might be useful to those who are querying. Have a look at it here: https://www.janefriedman.com/what-is-upmarket-fiction/

I’m sorry this came out late. I had a weird week, but hopefully after the Easter holiday things will go back to normal. It’s finally warming up here, but we have a ton of snow that needs to melt. I still need to listen to a surprise episode of the Six Figure Author podcast that Lindsay, Jo, and Andrea recorded a few weeks ago. I’ve been so busy hammering out this trilogy for an August release I haven’t made the time, but now that the weather is warmer, I need to get outside and breathe. If you’ve been keeping up with them, you can listen to it here:

Have a great week, everyone!