finished manuscript

Adding AllAuthor to Your Author Toolbox

Yes, there is BookBub.com. It’s right up there with the ginormous Goodreads as a top spot for recommendations and book lists. Pretty much every post or anecdote I’ve heard about BookBub emphasizes how amazing it is when it comes to promotion. I believe those posts, and I’m happy for those authors but . . . BookBub will promote you, and it will work, but it’s also common knowledge that it will cost you roughly an entire month’s worth of income. At least. If you’re…

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SE and the Teasing Book Taste

I mean ‘teasing’ in a very non-creepy, authory way. Don’t worry. I have a book coming out in September and you might like a small nibble. Just a tiny one, to see if it suits your palate. So sit back, relax, and enjoy your appetizer of The Sidekick and The Supervillain. Picture Michaela, innocently at work checking temperatures and taking blood pressure readings, when into her Urgent Care walks one of the biggest supervillains in Smallcity. He’s got robots everywhere,…

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When One Door Closes, Kick Another One Open

It’s summertime soon, which means the next book in my Super Love series will be coming out. And guess what, anxiety flavored with impostor syndrome is already starting to kick in. What makes me think I can do this? How crazy do I have to be, to think I can run with the big dogs and not get eaten? My newness will shine out, a giant neon pimple, and everyone will laugh and no one will buy my book. It…

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The Insecure Writer’s Support Group Gets Conflicted

As always we are guided in this quest by awesome co-hosts who volunteer their time to make sure the solace spring flows. This month they are Janet Alcorn, Pat Garcia, Natalie Aguirre, and Shannon Lawrence! Visit their links, leave a comment, and keep the conversation going. This group is all about connection. The question for March 2 is: Have you ever been conflicted about writing a story or adding a scene to a story? How did you decide to write it or not? This one…

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#AuthorLife: Tell Me How to Show

This post was part of the author toolbox blog hop, created and hosted by Raimey Gallant. It has gone on hiatus, but there are still plenty of great posts in Raimey’s archives to help you out! Do you know how to tell, at a glance, that you’re dealing with a new, inexperienced author? Telling. When the writing is chock-a-block full of telling, it’s a gargantuan, neon clue blaring out: This author is still learning. This author is hacking out the…

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Why Titles are Literally the Worst

Inquiring authors want to know: What’s harder for you to come up with, book titles or character names? (It’s me. I’m inquiring authors.) My answer: Titles. Titles are the hardest thing ever. Titles are horrible, nasty, no good, very bad, brain-killing beasts. Compared to titles, naming my characters is a breeze. And not like, a fourteen-kilometer-per-hour windstorm breeze, one of those gentle zephyr kind. So many options, all of them easy breezy. I can use names I like the sound…

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