Never Will I Ever Again

Probably my most controversial post ever.

I have given away more than 5,000 free copies of my books. Do you know how many reviews I got out of it?

Months and years of toil are worth more than .99
Value your time.

One thing I have learned is: Don’t go back! Just keep moving forward. Fix it in post. I used to keep going back to the beginning, over and over, whenever something shifted in the plot of my WIP. Just keep moving forward and get through that initial telling of your story. You’ll find the further you get in, the more it changes. If you keep going back you’re just stuck in this constant cyclic cyclone of changing and updating and it’s so unproductive. Fix it in post. Just get it done. There’s no point in going back to the beginning before you’ve reached the end. You don’t even fully know your story until you’ve reached the end, so why go back and go back and go back before you fully know your story? It’s an incredible time-waster. The first time through, just let the story out.

When you first start writing novels you think a first draft is getting your story out and your second draft is cleaning up spelling and grammar errors. That’s not what it is. Your first draft is you pushing, dragging the story out of you. The second draft is making it make sense. The third draft is smoothing it out after you made it make sense. The fourth draft, for me, is leaving subtle clues for either that WIP or future installments in the series. The fifth draft is making sure my timeline is solid. Did I start the story on a Wednesday but two days later it’s Sunday? The final draft is prettying it up.

Momentum matters so much when you’re an indie author. If you wait, two, three….ten years between books, you’re going to struggle. If you’re writing a series and you take that long between books, your readers won’t trust you and they’ll wait until your entire series is out before they buy that second book. Also, I like waiting because this gives me an opportunity to go back and leave Easter eggs in earlier installments. My new rotation for writing a indie series is: finish first draft of A, write first draft of B, write second draft of A, write second draft if B, etc….write final draft of A, write first draft of C. When I’m ready to write the final draft of B, I’ll publish A. We all have our quirks. This is mine.

In the past I have tried to build up the hype AFTER releasing a book. We know that starting numbers are important. Trying to do battle against new releases with your five month old book, is an uphill battle. Start strong.

Whoever is cheering you on, let them help you. Don’t try to do it all alone. Don’t feel like you’re asking too much. There are people here who want you to succeed. Don’t be afraid to ask them for help.

I wish I had more of these convictions when I started out. I was impatient. I was excited. I made lots of mistakes. I hope you can learn from them. #mysterywriter #indiemysterywriter

A Thousand Words a Day

A line of dialogue drifted through my head tonight. A line spoken by Tess to Josepha in what will be the fourth book in The von Strassenberg Saga. From that one line the whole story went spinning but the pieces all fell happily into place, not just with this series but with the Dacie Mae spinoff. It felt amazing to open my laptop and have my von Strassenberg Saga playlist looping in my ears as my brain just took that line and ran with it. I ignored all the desperate wonderings, “How will this fit? Where will this go?” And just kept writing through it. Rewriting Dacie Mae has shown me that the magic is truly in rewriting. It’s okay just to vomit this first draft out. With so many different storylines and eye colors and plot twists to keep straight it can be tempting to just stop and check on something but I won’t let myself. As we say in filmmaking, “We can fix it in post.” Let’s finally get this done. A thousand words a day. Ninety days. That’s a novel. With some persistence I can manage a thousand words a day. They may not always be great words, especially if I have to wait until 11:30 at night to write them, but they’ll be words and in the beginning that’s all you need. BUY The von Strassenberg Saga here!

Who it is!

Did you ever see the Cosby show wherein Claire and Cliff are in bed and Vanessa comes knocking at the door and Cosby teaches her to answer, “Who is it!?” with, “Who it is!”? Great episode. Sore point in light of recent news but still a great episode.

But I digress.

I suppose I should tell you who I am since you have, for some wild reason, come knocking at my door.

The answer will be quick as my fifteen month old is tearing up my kitchen.

I am a Christian, a wife and mother and a writer and wannabe screenwriter. But I live in Missouri. My husband is a chef and a lieutenant in the National Guard. He was active duty back in the day. My sons are 15, 13, 10 years and our newest addition is 15 months. I have a BS in Broadcast Media. I am a volunteer at my church, running their social media, directing cameras, etc.  I have independently (by choice. Never even tried for an agent or publisher in the beginning.) published six books. The von Strassenberg Saga, Holler’s Grove and Dacie Mae. (I sold one book last month, which means I made 70 cents.) I’m a mediocre cook and gardener, pretty okay baker and I try to be crafty but it never works out. The only thing I’m really good at but still screw up every day is being a mom and wife.