Plotter or Pantser?
A bit of both. For every story I’ve written so far, I’ve had a plan for the beginning and the end as well as a few key events in between. Then I hand over the reigns to the characters and hold on for dear life.
Write or Type?
I used to write all my first drafts longhand and still have piles of notebooks gathering dust in our attic. But now I use the Pages and GoogleDocs apps on my iPhone and do most of my drafting there. Once I’ve finished the first draft, I print and edit it on paper.
Self or Traditional publishing?
I was hesitant at first to self-publish because of the stigma associated with going the indie route back in the olden days (2011/2012). I had to overcome my own misgivings and self-doubt and decide those three stories deserved to be read despite the growing stack of rejection letters filling my inbox. I’ll never forget my mentor Billy Block saying to me, “What was the point in writing this story if no one is ever going to read it?”
I wouldn’t change a thing about the self-publishing experiences I’ve had so far, but for this series I wanted to take another stab at the traditional route. I felt this story was more marketable—not to mention, my best work to-date—and I needed to give it the best chance at being read by a broader audience.
I prefer to read—and write—a series over standalone books because I get to know the characters I grow to love for more than just one book!
Series or Standalone?
It’s a common misconception among those unfamiliar with the Romance genre that romance novels = smut. In reality, a romance novel simply means the book has a Happily-Ever-After ending. There’s so much uncertainty in this world, knowing ahead of time there will be a HEA for the characters keeps me reading & writing.
Why Romance?
Here are a few things I wish someone would have told me at the beginning of my author journey.
There is no right way to write
I’ve spent hours combing the internet for information on how to become an author, thinking if I followed the right steps, I would be legit. Allow me to save you the hassle: You become an author by writing. It doesn’t matter if you use pen & spiral notebook, your iPhone, or a crappy old MacBook you won in a raffle. You can map out every single plot point or see where the story goes. First/third person, past/present tense. It doesn’t matter.
If you write, you are an author.
Let it marinate
No, I’m not talking about chicken. After you finish your MS, let it sit for as long as possible. When you open the file again you’re bound to find some evil fairy has littered the piece with typos, plot holes, and so many changes you’ll be glad you waited to let it see the light of day.
Looking at your story through fresh eyes will only help you polish your MS for submission.
toughen up
The first negative review I received felt like the reviewer had stabbed me in the heart. Up until that point, I had been surrounded by a bubble of support. When I saw that single star and three-paragraphs worth of criticism, the bubble burst. I was ready to give up until I did an online search for the book Twilight. The series was topping the charts at the time so I was shocked to find thousands of negative reviews on Amazon. That’s when I had an epiphany: No one can deny the series was a success. It wasn’t everyone’s cup-of-tea, but it was a success. If you want to put your work into the public arena, you have to understand you’re not going to please everyone.
Learn to accept constructive criticism that has merit and know when to ignore the haters.