Category: Writing

Rather than let my backlist gather dust, I’m going to republish selected pieces of my writing. Join me at the start of my adventures in self-publishing…

A Coral Reef of Creativity

During my career as a writer, I have written a ton of stuff. Articles, short stories, and novels are sitting around in my office and on my computer gathering dust (both real and virtual). After years of living alongside this coral reef of creativity, at last I’m going to put it to good use. It’s either that, or one day I shall disappear under a landslide of Lever Arch files.

My First Adventure in Self-Publishing

A few years ago, I put out a story, My Dream Guy, on Amazon. You can read that for free here, and find more of my published books here and here. I did that after discovering how easy it was to do that using the writing tool Scrivener. Around that time, I joined the Alliance of Independent Authors after attending a presentation at an RNA conference. I was inspired…but never quite brave enough to load up more of my work and press ‘publish’. Every time my Alli subscription fell due I would think, “This year I’m definitely going to do it!” Then life got in the way, the days turned into weeks, and then months. You know how it is.

The Adventures Start Here…

And then this year the planets aligned—or rather, an attack of guilt about how much I spend on various subscriptions sent me out to local meetings of both the Romantic Novelists’ Association and The Society of Authors in the same week. My regular New Year’s Resolution to self-publish was already months old, and I had done nothing about it. Then Historical novelist Joanna Maitland inspired members of the RNA with her experiences of self-publishing her extensive backlist. My flagging spirits revived. Three days later, I went to a meeting of the Society of Authors’ Monmouthshire group. I was still feeling enthusiastic after listening to Joanna when members of the SoA got to work on me. Instead of the leisurely lunch I had expected, I spent the whole time making notes (when I wasn’t eating). By the time I got home, my mind was buzzing with ideas and suggestions. Then my research started. It’s been going on ever since.

…the Self Publishing Is Coming Soon!

Right now, I’m investigating the keyword creator Publisher Rocket and the manuscript formatting package Vellum. I have given this blog a makeover, and I’m busily updating the manuscript of His Majesty’s Secret Passion. This will be the first book from my backlist that I produce. It will have a new name, Royal Passion, and a brilliant new cover is being produced as I write. Subscribers to my monthly newsletter will hear about my adventures in self publishing as they happen, and they will be the first to see the cover of Royal Passion when it is ready. Join them by entering your email address here!

Becoming a better writer starts with confidence. The first step in reaching any goal is telling yourself you can do it. It doesn’t matter if your goal is writing a novel, creating a collection of poems, or keeping a journal.

…Believing In Yourself

If you want to be a writer, give yourself that job title from Day One. Then work at it with all your might. Whether or not you are published, as soon as you put words down on the page, you become an author. Celebrate that fact! Create your own business card and keep it in your phone case. Seeing it every time you use your phone will remind you of your ultimate goal. Your first business card can be as simple as a hand-written, cut-down postcard. Include your writing name, email address, and that vital word ‘author’. As soon as you can afford it, order a small supply of business cards from somewhere like Vistaprint or Canva. Then when the time comes you’ll have something to hand out to your readers, and book stores.

Writers are supposed to avoid using clichés, but practice really does make perfect. Here comes another favourite saying—I wish I had a pound for every time someone has said to me; ‘I’d love to be a writer, but I don’t have the time,’ or, ‘I’d love to be a writer, but I don’t have the inspiration.’ If you care about your ideas and you are willing to work at them, the words will come. The more time you invest in writing, the better you will become.

Become A Better Writer By—Writing!

Entering competitions teaches you to write to a deadline. Some offer a paid-for critique service, which is helpful. Attending conferences and workshops will give you ideas and advice, but in the end how much your writing improves is up to you. If you wait until you are in the mood to write, you might as well give up now. You have to put in the work, whether or not you, or the words are in the mood to play along. As long ago as 1911, Mary Heaton Vorse came out with the perfect advice to writers everywhere; ‘The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair.’

Writing goals keep you on track and give you something to aim for. The SMART system is really useful for writers. The individual letters of the word stand for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time sensitive. Saying; ‘I want to write a book’ is woolly. There’s neither detail nor urgency about it.

I will have written a book at least 70,000 words long by 31st December this year is specific. It’s measurable, because at the end of the year you will either have reached your goal, or you won’t.

Writing a book of that length in a year is both achievable, and realistic. All you have to do is write 109 words every day for 365 days. Want an idea of what that daily total looks like? There are more words than that in the first nine sentences of this blog.

Set a Goal

Becoming a better writer takes self-belief, practice, and a definite goal. If you sit down, concentrate, and write a few lines every day, it will soon become a habit—like cleaning your teeth or brushing your hair.

Why don’t you share your writing goals for 2023?

You can find out more about me here, and see some of my books here.