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This is the audio to go with the post, so you can listen to it instead, though I did ramble in the video. So it might be better to read. (You can edit stuff that you write better than stuff you say.)

The new process explained in more detail than anyone probably wants to know.

In the past, I had a tendency to rush things. I would set deadlines and do everything possible to reach them. I believe this led to my eventual burnout. It has been difficult to give myself permission to stop setting rigid deadlines so I can slow down, though it is probably necessary for the long-term survival of being able to keep writing. Unfortunately, you can’t have it all. (Or at least, I can’t.) I would love to be able to get six books out a year like I used to, but it’s looking like I will probably get 3-4 books out instead. I would rather get 4 books out instead of 3.

I was about to write that we might be looking more at 3 books because that’s what I said in the video. However, I just remembered that The Earl’s Bluestocking Bride is at 52,000 words, and this puts it on a good track to be out this year. Masquerade Bride is set for a Halloween release, and since it’s April 29, I see no reason why I can’t get it out this year (unless I run into a major writer’s block or something serious happens in my personal life). So I do think 4 books could be realistic after all. That actually makes me feel a lot better. It’s frustrating to have so many story ideas but not be able to get them out into the world.

Right now, I am trying to figure out how my new process should work. The past method of writing 5 days a week (Monday through Friday) and writing 15,000 words a week as a result was too much. I didn’t realize it when I was doing it, but it was too much. I am experimenting with writing 3 days a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) and writing about a total of 11,250 words a week (though 500 of that goes toward my fan fiction stuff; so really, only 10,750 goes to what I will actually publish). I am taking Tuesdays and Thursdays to do the non-writing part of being an author. Things like making videos, blog posts, audiobook chapters of my books, and Facebook will fit in these places. I have done emails on my writing days if I don’t run out of time, but I also try catching up on emails on the weekends when I have a little downtime. While weekends are mainly for the family, I’m not with them 100% of the time.

The curse of the mind (and surprising benefit) when it wants to write something purely for pleasure.

This is actually a good problem to have, though it doesn’t seem like it on the surface. I mean, on the surface, writers are led into this mindset where all writing must result in the potential to make money. It’s been this way since we realized that there is money in self-publishing/indie publishing. I believe that came around in 2011-2012. That mentality makes its way into the back of a writer’s mind, so then the writer ends up feeling some pressure to pick stories that have that money potential. This makes it hard (and unattractive) to select a story that will yield absolutely no financial reward at all. That is what fan fiction is. Or, it could be something a writer produces with no intention of publishing it.

I have to pursue this fan fiction. Originally, I wrote it so that I could finally write my other stuff because I could not write my historical romances until I started this fan fiction. When I got the ball rolling again on the historical romances, I stopped writing the fan fiction. About a week and a half later, I had dreams about this fan fiction for a few nights in straight. So I realized this fan fiction piece has to be written. I am not getting out of it. The creative part of the brain wants to play in that world. In some ways, this is a curse. The more time and attention devoted to this fan fiction means less time in the stuff that I can put my name on.

However, there is a hidden blessing in this “purely for pleasure�� pursuit that I didn’t anticipate when I picked this fan fiction project back up. Ideas for other stories just exploded in my mind. When I was focused just on the historical romances, I’d say the creative well was 3/4 full, sometimes completely full. I had enough ideas to sustain me for a few books out from what I was working on. So while I was working on 3 books, I really had ideas for about 5 more. Now that I’m writing this fan fiction, I am getting ideas from all over the place. I’m getting them from TV shows, from conversations, from articles, and from videos. I can’t seem to stop them, nor do I really want to because after spending so much time in burnout, it’s nice to have the overflow of ideas. I’ll never be able to write them all. I simply do not have the time. But it’s still nice to have that much creativity to play with these days. So that is the unexpected benefit of the fan fiction piece, and maybe that’s why my brain needed to pull me in that direction.

I am sure this would not work for all writers. Some writers would probably get overwhelmed and unable to write anything if there were too many story ideas running through their minds at any one time.

Going slow has made the writing stronger.

I have always seen my stories playing out as a movie when I wrote, but these days, everything is more vibrant. The characters are more pronounced, the emotion is stronger, the scenes flow easier, etc. I have learned that I take more time to “think�� over the story than some authors. Some authors write a lot of words at once. I remember one saying that everyone should write 5,000 words a day. That method does not work for me. I do better if I stick to a small word count goal, like 750 for one story and 500 for the others I’m writing. This takes time and experimenting to figure out. But it’s probably worth the time and experimenting to find the sweet spot. Not everyone is meant to write a book in a week. Some are meant to write a book in a few month. Some are even meant to write a book in a year, or even longer. It really depends on your mind and how it works.

I have always been in favor of word count goals because they work for me. I like to stop in the middle of a scene or start a new chapter before I quit writing for the day. That way I have an idea of where I’m doing. Some authors do a scene at a time. Some do a chapter. Some write for a certain amount of time. Some even go into the story with a fleshed out outline, go back to add dialogue, and then go back to add emotions. There are many ways to write the story. A couple even write 80% of the way into the book and then go back to flesh everything in before finishing it. Some write the main scenes and then connect them all together later. There is no wrong way to write a story. The important thing is getting it written.

Now for what I’m working on:

Masquerade Bride is on track. But…I’m pushing the Christmas and Valentine stories to next year. So we’re looking at November/December 2026 for The Wedding Carol and Feb 2027 for It’s a Wonderful Marriage.

Halloween bookChristmas bookValentine book

I’m bummed about this. I was hoping to get these out sooner. I am excited about these books, but they are season specific. It’s close to May, and since I am going so slow with my writing, I need to give myself enough time to do justice to these books. I will be able to get Masquerade Bride out for Halloween. I’m 12,600 words into it, and that offers me enough “lead time�� to get the first draft completed and then off to my editing team in plenty of time for a September/October release.

The Hero Least Likely is on track for a June release.

My last book came out in February. This is Book 2 of the year to be published, and it’ll be out in June. See what I mean about going slow? Believe me, no one is more frustrated than I am. But there’s not much I can do. If I have to slow down, I have to slow down.

The Earl’s Bluestocking Bride is at 52,600 words

This is good, steady progress. I am not having to go rewrite or revise in this, but I did go back to tweak on some things. I think I have 10,000 to 15,000 more words to go before this one wraps up. Now that I write that out, it doesn’t sound like enough. I wonder if I’ll actually write 20,000 more words. There are some main points I want to cover before I’m ready to end it. I don’t want to rush it. I am building things up for Book 2 right now. I decided to change the title of Book 2 since the situation with the heroine has been modified a bit. The upside to going slow is that I have plenty of time to brainstorm a new title.

I am 19.000 words in The Preacher’s Wife

And I am still laying the foundation for this story. So I bet this is going to be a long one. I wouldn’t be surprised if this hits 80,000 words. I know a couple of key points in this story that I need to cover, but I haven’t gotten to those yet. I won’t get to them in a while. So the real struggle is HOW I am going to get to the start of this book to where I will end up. This has been like pulling teeth. Sometimes I don’t get anything written in this one. And I have done quite a bit of revising, which I hate to do but have no option since this story isn’t coming easily to me.

I have thought about writing the scenes that are going to come, but in the past when I’ve done that, something ends up happening on the way to those major scenes that make me either throw the scenes out or rewrite them. So I have learned it’s best to just leave the story alone until I can write in it. I’m happy to say that I am happy with where I am at the moment. So I don’t foresee having to go back and revise anything else. As long as I can give myself the time to think about what to do next, I should be okay.

Discovery Writing

I’m going to conclude this post by talking about discovery writing. I recently discovered this term. It’s kind of like writing by the seat of your pants but not exactly. Discovery writing is when you figure the story out as you’re writing it. Unlike the panster, these writers can also plot. They plot a little at a time (discovery) then write. Then they plot some more (with more discovery) and then continue writing.

Some discovery writers know the main characters�� personalities and build a story around that. Some discover writers will have a theme in mind and build their story around that. Some discovery writers will have a plot and start there.

I start with a plot idea. I usually have a 1-2 sentence story idea. Then I know the hero and heroine’s names. And I know how the first scene opens. That’s all I know when I start a story. I might have an idea of key points I’d like to cover in the story, but those are subject to change depending on the course the story takes. For example, I might think that a character is going to end up doing something. During the course of the story, however, the character’s personality might be something I didn’t expect. So I write the character acting in the way appropriate for that character, and most of the time, the character does not do the thing I expected because their personality does not fit that action. This is why I don’t know who my characters are until I’m writing in their point of view. The only way I figure them out is by writing them. That is a part of the discovery process.

Honestly, if I were to know everything in advance, I would lose interest in the story and be unable to write it. I would rather not know everything when I go into something. I want to be surprised. That’s the appeal of discovery writing. I have learned to trust my gut when it comes to writing. So maybe that’s the secret to discovery writing. You go with your gut. This is writing on a subconscious level.

***

My brain stopped working at the end, so I left the video on an awkward note. To be fair, I was interrupted twice while doing the video. Some kids were home. A mom’s life is never a quiet one.

Here is the video/audio to go with the post:

This is another discussion on writing for passion. I assume some people are just finding me, and since this is a topic I enjoy discussing, I thought I’d address it today.

When you’re writing to market, you are looking at what is selling. You’re looking at character types and plots that are popular. Your goal is to gather all of the stuff that has a high demand in the market place and then you build a story around them. For writers who successfully write to market, they can write a story without having to be interested in the story they are writing. I mean, I’m sure they are interested to a point, but the goal is to write FOR the reader first. So they are more concerned with what others want, rather than in what they want.

I used to do some writing to market, but I was unable to fully go “all market��. I had to blend some of the market with some passion. (I’m sure other writers do this, too, as a way to leverage both passion and market). Unfortunately, over time, even this approach led to me facing burnout. (Apparently, not all writers can do this long term. I’m one of them.)

These days, I will do everything I can to avoid burnout because burnout was so terrible. It’s essentially a place where you have no ideas left in your creativity well. I was so exhausted that trying to write anything was like puling teeth. Sure, it’s common to have days where you’re just not in the mood to write, but you manage to push through those and be fine. But in burnout, you actually hate to write. (And that is a scary place for someone who grew up daydreaming stories most of her life.) I have since learned to go slower when I’m writing and to pick stuff that fills my creative well by choosing stuff that I’m passionate about writing.

With that transition��

When you write for passion, you are free to write whatever you want.

No one else is calling the shots on this story. You don’t have to think about the market at all. The sky is the limit. You can go anywhere and do anything. Whatever characters and plots you want, you can use them.

Naturally, you will not please everybody. (But you won’t please everyone when you write to market, either, because taste is subjective.) The difference in writing for passion is that you are asking yourself, “What is the journey I want to go on? What do I want to read?�� When you write to market, you are asking, “What is the journey THEY want to go on? What do THEY want to read?�� The mindset is a lot different when you approach the story from a passion point of view.

My advice is not to stress the feedback you get. You will get more positive than negative feedback. (Or most of us will. I’m sure there are exceptions to any rule.) But mostly, I would say that you will hear about the stuff people like about your books. When you get negative feedback, it’s okay. Not everyone likes the same thing. I know this is easier said than felt. Back in 2010-2011 when I was getting hit hard with a lot of 1 and 2-star reviews and emails from people who didn’t like my stuff, I almost quit writing. It is not easy to hear the bad. I will say that as you go along this writing journey, you will develop thicker skin, and the negative gets a lot easier to brush off. My advice is to print out the positive stuff you receive so you can refer to that when you doubt yourself.

When you write, you might have to make a conscious decision to push out the critical voice inside your mind telling you what sucks about the stuff you’re writing. (I don’t know if everyone has this voice bugging them in the back of their minds. But I know I’m not the only one.) Sometimes I have to stop writing and remind myself that I am writing this story for myself first. This is a passion story. It’s okay if I put what I want in this story. This is not easy to do. You pretty much have to train yourself in this area, or at least I did. Over time, though, it gets easier. Looking back, I have always been happier with the stories where I pushed out the critical voice.

One big perk to writing the story your way is that you will find people who will love your stuff, and they will love it enough to stick with you over the years. It is rewarding to have a small group of people who have the same vision and enjoyment for my writing. This isn’t sexy or impressive in the writing community because the writing community values money. I’m just telling you that it’s okay if you are looking at writing through the prism of “I love writing for passion��. Your stories are just as valid as any writer who is focused on book sales.

It is possible to make money while writing for passion. I used to do it. I’m not the only author who’s ever done it. The gold rush of self-publishing is over, so I don’t make the money that I used to. Could I make more money if I wrote to market? Maybe. I know authors who write to market who aren’t making the money they want. So writing to market doesn’t guarantee sales. It probably increases your chances. (I have only assumptions on this. I offer no actual proof. I assume stuff that is popular will sell better than stuff that isn’t.) I guess you have to ask yourself, does the freedom to write what you want outweigh the prospective money you can receive? I’ve seen posts in writing forums from writers who were making a lot of money writing to market, but they were miserable because they hated what they were writing. After going through burnout, that’s just not worth it to me.

Writing for passion also allows you to develop your voice. I think our greatest defense against AI is to develop our writing voice. Your writing voice can be as unique as a fingerprint. Have you ever read a book by an author with such a compelling voice that you fell in love with their work? That’s what I’m talking about in developing voice. After some time of writing, you should settle into a style that best fits you. So if you blend your unique voice with a book you are passionate about writing, I think you buffer yourself against a future where AI is creating stories for people to read. (The future already seems to be here, but I have no way of knowing just far we are into this rabbit hole.) All I know is that if a person falls in love with your voice and your type of stories, then it helps to give you an edge that AI cannot duplicate. AI can imitate, but it can’t “create��.

So anyway, that’s why I believe there’s value in writing for passion. I modified this a bit from the video. (I sure can ramble. I’m more concise when I write things down.)

I made an attempt to do a video to go with this (twice), but both attempts sucked. Long story short, I either forgot stuff or rambled on way too much about stuff that didn’t even have anything to do with this post. So I’m skipping the video portion this time. Maybe I’ll do better in the future.

I’m finally done with the initial edits on this one:

This is Book 2 in the Love Under Desert Skies Series. (Book 1 is Tagalong Bride.)

It was SLOW going on those edits. Ever since my burnout, I find that I can’t edit as fast as I used to. I am also writing slower. But I have my enthusiasm back for this stuff�� Okay, well, just the writing part. I have never enjoyed editing. But the writing part I absolutely love and am very pleased with how these books are turning out. Despite how slow I’m editing, I am enjoying the story a lot.

I just finished with my round of edits and handed it off to three people to go over for me. I give them a month to work on it because I want to make sure they have sufficient time to work on the book. Ever since burnout, I’ve realized that it’s just not worth rushing to get a book out. It’s best to relax and enjoy the process. (With edits, I can’t enjoy all of it, but at least going slower allows me to NOT go crazy.)

I am at Chapter 20 in this one.

This is Book 1 in the Marriage by Chemistry Series.

This puts me at the 50,000-word mark. In the past, I used to be done when a book was between 50,000 to 60,000 words. But these last couple of books have been longer, and I still have a ways to go in this one before it’s time to wrap things up. The longer it takes to finish the first draft, the longer it takes to edit. The longer it takes to edit, the longer it takes to get the book out into the world. So I am thinking I might have to set my goal at getting four books out a year instead of six. This sucks in some ways because I have so many story ideas I want to write. But I have learned my lesson from burnout: do not rush the process. (This is not easy for a Type A personality, and I’m definitely Type A.)

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We’re at the point where the hero is about to make a second attempt at getting the heroine to drink the love potion these guys have been working on in this series. (Hint: This is Book 1, and the entire series is about getting the love potion to work. So you can guess how things will go, right?)

I also wrote a scene last week where I show “why�� the hero could not accept the heroine’s play at the very beginning of the story. Sometimes it takes a while before we get some questions answered that pop up early on in a story.

I’m at Chapter 4 (almost 5) in this one.

This is Book 1 in the Marriage by Holiday Series.

The heroine is now in her “new�� life. I decided to just plop her into a situation where she already has friends and men vying to court her because it would take too long (and bore me) to establish this angle. It’s quicker (and more fun) to just throw her into the action.

One thing I will say is that I didn’t know WHO the hero of this book was going to be when I started it. The hero could have been the one she was arranged to marry in the beginning OR someone she meets in her new life. I really didn’t know. I had to start writing the book to figure it out. I’m happy to say that I have now figured it out, and (as a bonus), I know how I’m going to convince her he’s “the one��. So that’s good. Maybe this one will flow easily for me.

I actually wrote a scene in this one last this week.

This is Book 2 in the Oregon Series.

I put this one on hold because of that fan fiction idea that wouldn’t leave me alone. It’s for the best, really, because I’m a bit blocked in this one. I know where to want to go. I just don’t know HOW to get there. This is coming to me slowly. I guess I’m working things out in the back of my mind. I probably just need the time to develop this more in my head. (I could try plotting, but that method has rarely ever worked for me. So I’ll let it just sit for the most part while I work on other stuff.)

However, that all being said, I had a wonderful breakthrough in the scene I did write earlier this week. It was during a dinner where the hero and heroine are visiting the family of the woman who will be featured in the next book in this series. I had originally assumed that this woman was a strict, uptight kind of person who made it difficult for men to like. After writing this scene, I realized she isn’t that way at all. It’s her parents who are controlling that is preventing her from the marriage and kids she most wanted. You know how Mary left Maine in Eye of the Beholder to seek out a new life despite her parents (specifically her mom)? Well, this woman didn’t choose to answer a mail-order bride ad to leave her home. She stayed put. So this is the “what if Mary hadn’t left Maine?�� scenario, and it’s one I’m excited to write about.

Oh, also, Book 3 in this series will finally have the older than average hero and heroine that someone requested I write last year. So she’s in her 40s, and the hero will be either in his late 40s or 50. Yes, it is taking me this long to get to writing something that a person requested a year ago. I really wish I could write faster. I miss the days when I could get six books out in a year, but this is what I’m dealing with, so I just have to accept it.

Update on the YouTube and Rumble audiobook Stuff

I just finished narrating the last chapter of Eye of the Beholder. I believe it’s set to go out May 12. (I just uploaded the last chapter on Wednesday.) This week, I hope to start narrating Loving Eliza. Someone asked for Loving Eliza, so I’m doing that one next.

After I’m done with Loving Eliza, I’ve already decided I’ll narrate The Hero Least Likely.

I’m now getting audiobooks made through KDP

Amazon’s publishing arm for Indies (KDP) has opened the option for me to make audiobooks now with their digital narration option. I am slowly making my way through my backlist. I have a total of 101 romances now, so it’s taking some time. I have just finished with the Regencies and am working my way through the historical westerns.

I’m already on Google Play, and I have a few books on Apple (thanks to Draft2Digital’s arrangement to convert ebook to audio over there). I do have some on Kobo, but Kobo’s system is still clunky and slow, so I had to just leave it alone. Someday, I think they’ll come around to offering to convert ebooks to digital files like Google Play, Amazon, and Apple are doing.

I have someone helping me with the BookFunnel Promos now

I am telling you that time just flies, and I am struggling to keep up with BookFunnel promotions. Thankfully, I have a wonderful assistant who knows how to handle this for me. This stuff isn’t hard to do, but it’s time consuming, and it’s easy to forget about when I’m trying to narrate my books, work on videos, and write my books. (The writing is the most important part, of course.) But basically, I am learning that I need to start letting someone else do some of the stuff for me because I am just overwhelmed by all the stuff there is to do. I know some of you enjoy the BookFunnel promos, so I will continue running them. I’m just having help doing it.

I’m also going to have her help in cleaning up my email list. A lot of people sign up for author lists but then never open the emails. I think people just get busy. Who knows if the emails go to their spam folders? I have no way of knowing, but I do want to have her help me delete people who aren’t opening my emails because there’s no point in sending out emails to people who aren’t opening them. Earlier this year, I sent out emails to help figure out what type of books people are most interested in so I could help to segment in the list. That way people who want to read only the Regencies don’t have to see stuff about my historical westerns, and vice versa. I know not everyone wants both of those genres to read. I realize that some authors send out emails once a week, and that probably works great for them, but I don’t have that kind of time.

I write these emails myself. (I write emails directly to people, too, and I do struggle with how to respond to people, even if it’s to thank them. I feel so awkward because, unless I’m in a character’s point of view in a book, my mind often goes blank.) Anyway, I know I could automate emails in advance and come up with a list of topics to write about, but honestly, I don’t find that much exciting stuff to talk about outside of my books. My life is boring, and if we were sitting in person, I’d probably end up listening to you talk about your life instead of talking about mine. I don’t know if I’m “shy�� per se, but I struggle with knowing what to say unless we’re dealing with topics like my books, writing, publishing, and marketing. If we’re talking books and the writing business stuff, I can talk your ear off.

Alright, that’s more than anyone ever wanted to know about me. Let me wrap things up.

Here is a video to go with the post in case you want the audio version.

I’m quirky enough to think of my characters as real people. For me, this is part of the fun of writing. I don’t know how many other authors are like this. I’m going to assume at least some are. Today, I’m going to talk about how thinking of characters as “real people�� can be beneficial. (If you aren’t wired this way, then you can ignore this. I realize that every writer has their unique way of viewing things in the storytelling process.)

Every character has a background.

I’m sure most (if not all?) writers can agree on this. Some writers know this background going into the story. I don’t. I have to write the story to figure it out, and sometimes I don’t even know the background until I’m in the middle of the story.

Background tells us important things about our characters. They tell us the characters�� strengths, weaknesses, and religious and political beliefs. They have a way of viewing the world around them, just as we do. While I was getting my Bachelors in Psychology, there was this debate. Are people formed by nature (basically, what genes they are born with) or are they formed by their environment (how they are raised. I’m sure most of you have heard of the nature vs nurture debate. Well, it’s pretty much both. Our genes do give us certain personality traits, and these lead to our strengths and weaknesses, but our environment does bring in stuff the compose our view of the world (religious, political, etc). This is what makes the human experience so complex and fascinating. We can bring this complexity and fascination into our stories by realizing our characters are not “us�� (per se) but are their own unique individuals.

Characters within your story will interact with each other, and you can play around with how similar or different they are based on their backgrounds.

The beauty of characters being their own people is that they will see the exact same event but perceive it differently. This can be a useful tool in your storytelling process.

I’m going to give a ridiculous example. (It came to me in the middle of the night. I probably had a weird dream.) But bear with me because I am going somewhere with this.

The event: a clown is running down the street. He is running down the street, and his hands are in the air.

You have Character A on one side of the street. In his background, he’s seen clowns at parties and circuses, so he sees this clown and thinks it’s funny. To him, this clown is harmless and fun.

You have Character B on the other side of the street. He does not find the clown fun at all. In fact, he views this clown as being menacing due to all the horror movies he’s watched over the years.

Now as the author, you know the clown’s real motivation for running down the street. In this scenario, the clown is freaked out because a dog is chasing him. He has a fear of dogs. (His own background would apply here in some way.)

This scenario all boils down to this:

There are three sides to every story. What he said. What she said. And what really happened. (What really happened is what the author can choose to disclose to the reader if the author wishes.)

Why point of view matters in storytelling.

As the writer, you have decisions to make in this scene. You can present the point of view of Character A. You can present the point of view of Character B. You can also present the point of view of the clown. If you choose never to reveal the clown’s motive for running down the street, the reader will not know the truth here. The reader will only know which character’s point of view you are presenting. You can present all three viewpoints through narration or dialogue. It’s up to you.

This is what makes writing so much fun. You can play around with a variety of scenarios.

So let’s say with this example, Character A and Character B talk to the clown. After you present what Character A and/or Character B thought when they saw this clown, you can dive further into the characters�� perspectives with another angle. Now Characters A and B KNOW why the clown was running. They have a new frame of reference to work with. They know the clown was not having fun and he was not on a murderous rampage. The clown was just scared of the dog.

But they can still have a different perspective on how they interpret this event to the reader.

In this case, Character A remembers his past (background) and recalls being scared of a great big dog when he was a little kid. So he understands and is sympathetic toward this clown. Meanwhile Character B never came across a dog that was scary. His background led him to believe all dogs are friendly all the time. He thinks that it’s common knowledge that if you run, a dog will naturally chase you. Therefore, Character B is not sympathetic. He thinks the clown was overreacting to the dog.

You can show Characters A and B’s differences by giving their point of view in the narration, or you can have it done through dialogue. Perhaps the point of view character is the clown. The only way the reader will know what Characters A and B are thinking is if the clown talks to them.

The beauty of perspective.

At the end of the day, you get to choose which character presents the “facts�� to the reader. Choosing the character(s) to do this can alter small things in the story that I find fascinating. The main thing is to be true to their perspective. It doesn’t matter what the truth is as you (the writer) know it. What matters is how this character (who is a “real person��) is viewing everything that is being said and done around them, and how does this affect how this character will feel and act in return. I think in doing this, we can make characters that come alive in our work.

Here is the video if you want to listen to this post instead of reading it. I cover a wider range of topics than originally planned. I discuss burnout, how I’m working to avoid burnout, why my books will take longer to write and publish, and the books themselves. You can tell I was in a talkative mood because I kept on rambling. If you read the post, you’ll avoid a lot of the crazy ramblings.

Note: I talk about the actual books at the 9 minute mark, if you want to skip ahead to that.

Tackling the Burnout Beast

This takes some experimenting to figure out, apparently. A few years ago, I thought all I had to do was forget “writing to market�� and it would take care of the road to burnout. Looking back, I realized I was heading for burnout starting back in 2016. I just didn’t recognize the signs. I knew I was getting tired but didn’t know how to adjust for it. So I swapped to “writing for passion��, but I kept up with the 3,000 words a day Monday through Friday routine that I had established back in 2013 (I think). I swear, this stuff comes up so slowly on a person it’s hard to pinpoint these things, especially when you don’t keep a journal. Essentially, just writing for passion did not prevent me from burnout.

Recently I found This led me to reading her other books and even checking out her .

Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays are for Writing. Tuesdays and Thursdays are for the “marketing/business�� management stuff. Weekends are for the family. (This is why my books are taking longer to write and publish.)

Right now, I am limiting my writing days to Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. (If I miss a day, I don’t try to make it up.) I have found that giving myself breaks like this, my words flow a lot easier. The stories are more vibrant and engaging to write. It’s like everything is just “popping off in my head��. I know that’s a lousy way of putting it, but I don’t know how to explain it. But I have learned I need to not overdo it on these writing days, or I can wear myself out to the point where I can’t get much done the next day, even though it’s not a writing day.

Tuesdays and Thursdays are dedicated to the business side of things. Except for record keeping (which is required if I’m to get my info correct to the accountant), I am choosing things I enjoy. Like blog posts, the videos to go with the blog posts, reading my books and uploading those chapters on YouTube and Rumble. I am trying to make the “marketing�� aspect of my life fun so I don’t get worn out. I forgot to mention this in the video, but I try to keep my engagement on social media to a minimum because that does wear me out a lot. Same with emails. At my core, I’m an introvert. I love people but have trouble coming up with something to say, so I spend quite a bit of time commenting and emailing as I try to get the words right.

Weekends are mainly for grocery shopping and family time, though I do walk with one of my sons on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I have worked my way up to 3-5 miles at a time when I walk. I want to take care of my physical health so I can write better. This is not in the video, but when I was in my early 30s, I ate a lot of bad foods, I didn’t exercise, and I drank a lot of sugary drinks. I also put on some weight (as you can imagine). I have been slowly working better eating habits and lifestyle goals that have helped a lot. But it wasn’t until I discovered Dr. Eric Berg () that I picked up on healthy Keto, and it has been a game changer. I don’t think this works for everyone, but it did for me. Thanks to this man, I lost 30 pounds, have a lot more energy, and feel like I’m 27-28. (And I’m 50.) Before I came across him, I was only able to lose 10 pounds. I couldn’t get past 200. I was stuck there for years. I think all of this has helped with my writing because I’m more focused than I used to be.

Okay. Apparently, I ramble even in the blog post. Back to the topic��

Currently talking to someone to handle a couple of jobs for me.

I have contacted someone about managing BookFunnel for me because I keep forgetting to use it. I also want her to clean up my MailChimp email list because there are people who haven’t opened anything in years. There’s no point in having them there if they don’t want to be. I’m giving her time to think over whether she wants to tackle these things for me. I am still writing my emails. They are like my blog posts. I enjoy that part of things.

The Hero Least Likely is in edits

I am only six chapters into my initial edits, and I’m very happy with the way this story turned out. In addition to writing slower, I’m choosing to edit slower than I used to. I was originally thinking this would come out in May. At the point, I’m thinking it won’t be ready until June. (I want to make sure I give other people time to look over this for me as well.)

The Earl’s Bluestocking Bride is at about 45,000 words

I don’t know how long this will be. As of late, all of my books have been more than 60,000 words. But I don’t see how much more there will be to this one.

The big blow up happened. The hero is scrambling to make amends after the heroine found out he thought her play was terrible. I know some people will think I’m being too hard on him. (That’s a common complaint I get. I’m so mean to my heroes, but as a writer myself, this heroine is going to be this upset because that is how upset writers get when faced with rejection.) I’ve decided I’m not going to tone down my work anymore. I’ve done that enough in the past, and to be honest, I think I did my best work when I went all out with my characters. This lady is upset. I’m going to let her be upset.

I figured out how the “What if…�� scenario will work in the Marriage by Holiday Series.

This is Book 1 in the series. I was originally going to go in a more magical direction, but I kept running into dead ends on that idea. So after talking to one of my sons, I settled on going with a woman from the year 2500s coming into the Regency era to run three experiments. (Each experiment will be for each book.) Her goal is to be successful. If she succeeds, she will get a promotion at her job. The heroine in Masquerade Bride is her first experiment. This is going to be a lot of fun to write.

I’m happy to say I actually got some writing done in The Preacher’s Wife

It took me writing some fan fiction to finally get to the point where I could write in these three books again, but the method worked. Whew! As much as I enjoy thinking up fan fiction in bed while I’m drifting off to sleep, I really don’t want to have to write it all out. I think I was spared the 100,000+ words I would have had to tackle if my brain wasn’t going to give me some leniency on the fan fiction.

I would rather focus on The Preacher’s Wife because going deep into this more “gritty�� emotions these characters will tackle is intriguing to me. I love comedy and fun. I also love drama and dark. As long as the couple ends up happy, I don’t care what is thrown at them. I have a wide range of interests.

This is primarily for writers, but if you aren’t a writer and find this topic interesting, welcome to my ramblings!

The person might be reviewing the wrong book.

Sometimes a person will confuse one book for another. I don’t think this happens a lot, but it is something to be aware of since it’s happened to a couple of people I know.

One person had just published Book 1 in her series. She hadn’t written Book 2 yet. The reviewer left a 1 or 2-star review on her book. At first, the review seemed to be for her book until the reviewer ended with, “And I also don’t care for Book 2.�� (That’s not the exact wording, but you get the meaning.) As soon as we saw the comment about Book 2, we knew this wasn’t the book the reviewer had in mind. It couldn’t be. Book 2 wasn’t even published yet.

Another time this happened was for another author I know. I don’t recall the details on this one. I think it had to do with the wrong plot. The author knew it wasn’t her book because the plot was wrong. (If it wasn’t the plot, it was the type of character featured.) All I remember is how this review brought the author’s book rating down with that 1 or 2-star review.

Not everyone knows the grammar rules.

Sometimes people think they know the grammar rules but don’t, and when they review our book, they are giving the book a low-star rating due to “poor editing��. The problem is that people reading the review haven’t read the book, so they will assume the reviewer knows what they are talking about. In another video I went into a longer example of a complaint I received about a decade ago now where the person said I had no idea how to properly use commas. It turns out she was the one who was wrong. Since then, I have wondered how many people believe certain rules about grammar that are not actually correct. Whenever I see a review that mentions “poorly edited��, I will read the sample to get an idea of how accurate that reviewer is. That is how I get around the issue as a reader. I don’t think most people will do this, though.

And before anyone thinks I am the “Queen of Grammar��, I have a couple of people who go over my stories before they are published who have strengths in the grammar area. They will point out areas where I get things wrong. I am aware that it’s very easy to get this stuff mixed up. The English language can be tricky.

The person might not be a fan of the genre you’re writing in.

When a person who is a fan of a particular genre, they will read the book through the lens of that genre, even if they are reading. I don’t know if this can be helped. We all have certain character types, plot devices, etc that we lean toward. I don’t think we are aware of this. But these things will establish expectations we have while reading a story. I honestly believe this happens on a subconscious level. So I don’t think anyone is wrong when they are disappointed in the story when it doesn’t live up to their expectations. The problem comes into play when the reviewer puts the expectations of their genre into a book that is in a different genre. Because it’s very possible that this book did meet the expectations of the genre this author wrote for.

Let me give an example I did not think of in the video. (It piggybacks off of it, though.)

We have a romance reader who is reading dystopian fiction. There is a love story in this dystopian fiction, but one of the main characters dies. That romance reader will be disappointed because a romance reader wants the “happy ending for the couple in love��. That is an expectation in the romance genre. However, in dystopian fiction, this is not an expectation. The romance reader might 1-star the book because of the main character’s death, but this does not mean the book is bad. This book could have very well delivered on its promise to people who love dystopian fiction. After all, dystopian fiction tends to be darker and more on the sad side. I mean, there can be a happy romantic ending, but it is not an expectation of that genre. So reviews from romance readers who are unhappy with the book should be taken with a grain of salt.

Now, I did use an example in my video that flips this scenario around. When would the 1 or 2-star review be appropriate? If someone writes a book with a love story where one of the main characters die, divorce, or break up AND this person labels this book as a romance, the romance readers will be very unhappy with this book. It is not a romance. Romance has two main rules: the characters in love end up together AND they are happy. It doesn’t matter whatever else you throw at them. They just need to reach that happy ending together. I hear quite a few authors who want to label their stuff as romance but they want the tragic ending. This will not work. It is a love story.

Each genre has its own set of rules, and when writing the book, it’s important to stick to those rules. You have flexibility within the rules, however, and that’s where creative expression can come in. But if you get a reader who isn’t familiar with the rules of the genre you’re writing in, it’s possible they will leave you a 1 or 2-star review, and sadly, there is nothing you can do about it.

The person might not like the specific niche within the genre.

It’s possible that you are targeting the people in your genre, but the genre heading can be a pretty big umbrella. Usually, under the main genre heading (let’s take romance), there are ways to break it down.

So Romance is the main category. Then you have contemporary, historical, fantasy, science fiction, etc. Then you break down historical. You have western, Regency, Victorian, Scottish, etc. It keeps breaking down, and even from there, you will get different heat levels. Erotic, steamy, mix between steamy and clean (which is a gray area), and clean. So you find yourself narrowing down your books to a more “niche�� kind of audience.

The better you can market your niche, the better you can ward off 1 and 2-star reviews because you are alerting people in advance of what they will get themselves into when they read your book. Marketing in this sense is more along the lines of packaging your product. I didn’t go into this in the video, but this is where you want to consider your cover and your description. Those two things will help to gear the right type of reader to your book. It’s not foolproof, of course, but all you can do is your best.

I don’t know how many times I have warned people that my books contain sex in them. I have the warning on the top of my blog, I try to find models who are in time period appropriate clothes (that fit the characters) who are in a more passionate embrace, I put “steamy�� in the keywords, and I have experimented with different phrases in the description that won’t throw Amazon into a tizzy. If I’m running promotions, I give the alert the best way I know how. But even after all of this, I will get someone contacting me out of the blue about how shocked they were to read a sex scene in my book. I know I get the 1 and 2-star reviews about this, too, because I’ve used snippets from them to help run ads to warn people in advance. And yet, with all of my efforts, my books find their way to the wrong niche reader.

So it’s possible that you are doing everything right, and for whatever reason, the person misses it and reads the book–and leaves their review–anyway. You can only do so much.

Don’t be afraid of the bad reviews.

We all want people to love our books. We would be weird if we didn’t.

But I think it’s good to have the 1, 2, and even 3-star reviews because it helps to weed out the people who will not enjoy our books. I also think that the broader range of your reviews, the easier it’ll be for people to determine whether or not your book is their cup of tea.

In the past, I have been more likely to buy a book because of a 1 or 2-star review. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true. Sometimes I read horror. If I see a review that reads, “This was far too disgusting for me. Nightmare for a week!��, I will want to read the book. I know, it’s nuts, right? But I grew up on horror (thanks, Mom!), and some of that horror was dark. It takes me back to my childhood. Sometimes I like going there. If I read a review on a romance where the 1 or 2-star reads, “Total smut. Author should be ashamed,�� I will probably read the book because I happen to like sex scenes when I’m reading a book. (I didn’t get that trait from my mom. My mom hated romance. (She was okay with little kids killing people or people dying in some horrific ways, but she drew the line at sappy romance.) My dad was only into science fiction and satire movies like Spaceballs by Mel Brooks. I love satires to this day. So I will happily read or watch something that most people find “immature and stupid.��

My final thought:

I encourage you to look up your favorite books. Maybe pick 3-5 of them. Look at the 1 and 2-star reviews. Do those reviews change your mind about those books? Do you now hate those books because of those reviews? Or do you still love those books?

This is what I mean by taking reviews with a grain of salt. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. Your story has a market. There is someone who will enjoy it. You are not the only person who wants the specific story you are writing. I would be more inclined to pay attention to the positive stuff people are saying about your books because that lets you know what your specific audience enjoys. What is it about your books that connect you to those readers? That is your strength. That is an area worth your time and attention. That is something you can get better at.

Here is the video to go with the post if you’d rather listen to me ramble.

First things first, I am happy to say The Hero Least Likely is FINALLY (and for real) done!

This is Book 2 in the Love Under Desert Skies Series.

(Book 1 is Tagalong Bride.)

You’d think about writing over 100 books that it would be easy to finish one, but this was one of the most challenging books I’ve ever had to wrap up. The good news is that the main characters survived. I was tempted to send an asteroid at them for giving me so much grief. That would have meant killing them on the spot and relieving me of having to write the ending. But since this is a romance, I resisted the use of the asteroid. (This method could have worked for any other genre. But it will never work for romance. First rule of romance: main characters stay alive. Second rule: they are in love and happy.)

Now, I did plot the last two chapters. This involved the gunfight scene. I thought this plot thing was going to work all the way to the end. I only had four pages of plotted content. Well, halfway into the four pages, the characters went in their own direction. I didn’t mind. At least they were telling me what to write. The main thing is that the main characters survived the book, and we can move on to Book 3 in the series. Book 3 won’t be out until next year. I have too many other projects going on for the time being.

Things are heating up in The Earl’s Bluestocking Bride

This is Book 1 in the Marriage by Chemistry Series.

I’m happy to say that the progress is going smoothly here. (Let’s hope that continues. Given what happened with The Hero Least Likely, I’m not taking anything for granted.)

We are finally at the “big blow up�� moment. I’ve been looking forward to this since I started the book. Adam (the hero), if you’ll recall, has an alias who is Jefferson Crowdy (an actor). Emma (the heroine) is using her brother’s name for the plays she’s writing. At the beginning of the book, Adam rejects Emma’s play. The two don’t know their real identities when they meet and fall in love. Well, at long last, the wait is over, and they are about to discover the truth. I’m really looking forward to watching the sparks fly.

The Preacher’s Wife is on hold. I have to work on Masquerade Bride.

Masquerade Bride is a Halloween story for my Regency holiday series. It needs to be out this fall. I’m hoping for a September release but will accept an October one.

I’m finding that I can’t write books as fast as I used to. My guess is that this is the result of the burnout I went through. The plus side is that I feel like my storytelling and the characters are stronger since I am allowing myself to take more breaks. I’ve also noticed my stories are longer than they used to be. That does add to how long it takes to finish them, of course.

For Masquerade Bride, I had debated swapping Marie (the heroine of this book) with the heroine of Book 2 (Diane), but that didn’t feel “right��, so I am going with the “what if Marie had been born socially at ease with others, beautiful, easy to get suitors, etc.

The reason why The Preacher’s Wife is on hold is due to some fan fiction I started writing.

My brain does not seem to have the capacity to focus in on one story at a time. I usually have a few stories going on inside my head all the time. The exception to this was when I was in the middle of burnout. That was the only time I can remember where I had no ideas at all. But since coming out of burnout, I am finding that ideas are just popping up left and right, and it is hard for me to pin one down to work on that. So I have chosen to pick three ideas and write those. I have tried two. I have tried four. Three seems to be the sweet spot since I naturally lean into that amount. I’m not going to fight it. I’m just going to accept this is how I am and run with it.

(As an aside, I would recommend any author who might be reading this to embrace how they are wired. We are not all meant to write books the same way. We each have our process, and that’s okay.)

I’m just going to come out and say it because I’m sure someone is going to ask. The fan fiction I started is based on the Hunger Games series. I love the series. I have loved reading the fan fiction already out there based on this series. I’ve been exploring different “what if this had happened instead?�� ideas, and while most of them fizzled out, there was one angle that took root–and it is NOT letting me go. I have tried playing out this scenario in my head when I’m drifting off to sleep. The other “what if�� scenarios I’ve ever done based on other books/movies/TV shows have been successfully snuffed out by this method. It is why I have never felt the urge to write fan fiction before. But this time is different. I have not been able to write anything in The Earl’s Bluestocking Bride or Masquerade Bride. I thought the hang-up was because I couldn’t finish The Hero Least Likely, but I have finished it, and the fan fiction idea is still nudging me. It wasn’t until I started writing the first scene to the fan fiction that I could finally write in The Earl’s Bluestocking Bride and Masquerade Bride. So, I will run with this fan fiction thing. Don’t worry. This is not going to be something I’m publishing and claiming as my own. It will probably just go on since that is where I’ve been reading fan fiction. I like that site because you don’t need to create an account to read the stuff on it. I don’t know about anyone else, but I am tired of keeping track of usernames and passwords for every single thing I do.

The Progress of my YouTube and Rumble audiobook adventures.

Tagalong Bride Chapter 17 is now up. It’ll be finished up by the end of this month. I am currently working on Eye of the Beholder since a lot of people seem to like that book a lot. If anyone has a book they would like for me to put up on those sites, let me know. I’m up for suggestions.

I am reading these myself. I am not hiring someone to read these books for me because I know where to take out the “spicy�� content better than they would. I can also afford my prices (free). I also don’t want to take the time to modify AI narration to remove spicy stuff because as I’m reading the book, I can just adjust things as I’m going along.

At the end of the day, I have decided I will only do things I enjoy

Worrying about making money led to my burnout. For other authors, thinking about the money might inspire them and make them better at this stuff. It’s not like that for me. I am tired of trying to be a circle that needs to fit in a square hole. I need to do the stuff that best aligns with how I operate. When I started writing and publishing in 2009, I was doing things I enjoyed. Then everyone realized there was money in this business, and over time, I think it sucked the life out of me. I’m not saying the money isn’t nice. Of course, it’s nice. But I’m learning that it can hurt some authors (like me) to focus on the money part of things.

I have discovered that I love making these videos. I love reading my books. I love rambling on about things that I’ve learned or things I think about writing, publishing, and marketing. (With any luck, I have helped other writers like me.) I have learned I even enjoy sitting down and verbally saying what I’m working on as if I’m sitting in someone’s living room having a conversation with them. Very low key. I’m not into the bells and whistles that some videos have, but my goal isn’t to be “professional��; it’s to have fun.

An update on my eyes

I can’t believe what a difference avoiding stress has done for my eyes. A large part of it was the “fear�� factor. I swear, the news runs on instilling fear in people. Another big part was worrying about making money with my writing. Focusing on factors I can’t control (like whether people buy my books or even see them) don’t help my eyes at all.

This is why I’m focusing on things I enjoy. Ever since I’ve made this mental shift, my eyes are normal again. The only things I struggle with are reading paperbacks and magazines. I suspect it’s because I have a Reticare screen on my computers and my iPhone. But who knows? I’m just happy to feel this good again.

I have included this information in this video if you would rather listen to it:

For those who prefer reading, let’s get to it.

Regardless of what you write, there’s probably going to come a day when someone lets you know that they want you to change something about your book. Once upon a time, I did do some write-to-market books, and I think if you are writing to market, then you need to be more willing to accept this feedback IF this person represent the audience you are writing for. If you are writing for passion, then you have a lot more flexibility because you are your primary audience.

Let’s consider the factors that go into making the decision on whether to change things or not:1. Is the person a fan of the genre you’re writing in?

If the person isn’t a fan of the genre, they might think they know what to best do for that genre when the truth is, they really don’t. Only someone who is a fan of the genre understands why people love that genre. Understanding why people love the genre is key. They will be reading your book through the lens of what makes the genre great.

For example, I was recently taking to a Historical Fiction author. She’s got talent. She’s also pretty impressive to listen to. She takes journals written in other languages and translates them to do her research on royal families who have lived in the past. (You know what? I’m going to give her a shout out in this post in case anyone reading this enjoys Historical Fiction that features royal families. So it’s fiction based on real events. She’s taken some liberties to craft her stories. ) The problem here is that I am not a Historical Fiction reader. I am primarily a romance reader (though my second love is horror). So my advice for her was wrong because I wasn’t looking at her story through the lens of a Historical Fiction reader. I wanted the main characters to go in a certain direction that would have been great for a romance novel, but it would not have fit into the real life events she needs to build around. It took me a while to figure out I wasn’t helping her. I was only going to get in her way. So I backed off.

Now, if you come across someone who understands your genre and what makes it work for its readers, then that advice would be worth taking into consideration. I’m not saying you have to take it. Just consider it. Just because the advice might be a good rule of thumb, it doesn’t mean it works for your specific book.

2. Is the person nice or a jerk?

In my opinion, rude people don’t deserve your attention. I automatically delete and block these types of people. I don’t bother answering them. If you want to reply to them, you can. I just have never found a situation where things ended up better because I answered a rude person. For me, silence has been the better option.

I will, however, listen to the nice ones. Maybe the advice is something you don’t want to put into your book, but I would acknowledge the advice, thank the person, and politely decline if you want to keep your book as is. If you end up changing something, then I would still thank the person and then let them know what you decided to change based on their suggestions.

3. Is the person right?

If the person is nice and if the person is right, then I would seriously consider their advice.

If the person is nice but the advice is not right, then I would say no.

I go into two examples in the video, and I don’t think I was that clear on what I was getting out with the comma thing because I was just going off my notes. But essentially, the example with the comma is as follows:

Two independent clauses need to be separated by a period, a semicolon, or a word like “and��, “but��, “so��. This person thought the independent clauses should be joined together with a comma instead.

So I was writing this: “I went to the store. I bought bread.��

She thought it should be this: �� I went to the store, I bought bread.��

I do not know what they are teaching people in school today because my oldest kid thought the same thing she did. I took a look at his writing and saw the teacher was okay with all of these commas instead of putting in the period, the semicolon, or adding a word like “and�� with the comma. My kid knows better now, but I don’t think I can blame this person completely on believing what she did with the commas because she probably had a teacher like the one my kid did.

I made a brief mention of an independent clause and a dependent clause but got sidetracked. Essentially, this is what I was getting at in this case:

So let’s say I write this: “I went to the store and bought bread.��

This is correct because you don’t need a comma. The subject goes for the “went to the store�� and the “bought bread��.

This person thought I should write the sentence like this: “I went to the store, and bought bread.��

Again, my son would have agreed with her.

But they were wrong. So it would be wrong for me to take this advice.

(As a disclaimer, I am not an expert on grammar. I will still consult a grammar guide from time to time.)

I didn’t think of it in the video, but let’s say someone is telling you that your character should not be a certain way. Well, this is your character. Who better knows this character than you do? Maybe the character IS supposed to be that way. You will have to disregard that advice because it doesn’t fit what you intend for this character.

I’ll give an example. When I wrote Eye of the Beholder, Chapter 1 ended with the heroine’s parents shaking her hand when they were saying goodbye to her. Someone told me the parents should not be so cold. That person wanted the parents to hug my heroine and tell her how much they would miss her. But that was NOT who these parents were. These parents were cold. That was my point in writing them the way I did. So if you run into a situation like that, then you will need to go with your instincts and let the character be the way that character is.

This could go for anything in the book, of course.

Let’s say they are right, though. If they are correct, then their advice is worth considering.

For example, years ago, I remember writing the phrase “for now on…�� I thought that was the right way of doing it until someone pointed out (nicely) that it supposed to be “from now on…�� I have since changed to writing the phrase the correct way.

Here is another example I didn’t think about while making the video:

I’ll give an example on one of my characters where I did decide to make the change. I have some help with my first draft. I trust two people to go over it while I’m writing it to give me their thoughts. One person did not like the way the hero was acting. Since this was early on in the book, I had enough time to look at him, examine the plot, and what my goal was for him. It turned out to be very helpful. I adjusted the plot, tweaked his personality, and the story is stronger for it.

As an aside, I also decided to let a character who was never actually IN the story live so that he will get a story later in a series I’m working on. That is because one of those two readers told me they would like to see a reunion between father and son.

I do think it’s helpful to get feedback, and there are times when the changes are for the better.

4. How much work is this person asking you to do?

Unfortunately, time is a finite resource. You can’t do two things at once. In this case, you may hire someone to do that second thing for you. If you hire someone, you will need to pay them. Do you have the money for that? And if so, can they correctly do the task? Or will you need to hold their hand through it?

If you need to do this change yourself, is the change something quick? It’s easier to fix a typo or a small inconsistency issue than it is to do rewrites of your book. The more time and effort you need to spend on making someone happy, the less inclined I would be to do it. I mean, if someone doesn’t like my plot or my character (and I have already finished the first draft), I am not going to take the time to rewrite the book. When I finish the first draft, I am done. I’ll do small changes, but I won’t do big ones. Rewriting a book means I can’t write a new one, and since I write for passion, I prefer to focus on new “shiny�� projects.

Now, some authors will rewrite the book. You certainly can. There is nothing wrong with that. If you want to rewrite the book because you will be happier with it, then I think that’s a good reason to invest this much time and effort into changing the book. But I’m not a big proponent of rewriting an entire book because someone out there doesn’t like it. Chances are, you can find someone who likes your book just the way it is. Taste is subjective. You will always find some people who love something that others hate. Take a look at the reviews on your favorite books and movies. You’ll find a wide range of opinions on them. It doesn’t make those books or those movies bad. It just means that those books and movies did not please everyone.

5. What do YOU think of the book?

Are you happy with it? If so, there’s no reason to change it…as long as this is a passion project. The rules of writing for passion are different from writing to market. When you are looking at passion, you have the luxury of doing things your way.

Now, if you are doing this for the market (which means you are writing books in order to make money, rather than to write stuff you love), then I would ask, “Are your sales number making you happy? Is your income where you want it to be? If you change the book to fit what the market wants, is there a chance you can make more money?�� When you are writing to market, I don’t think your opinion on the book itself is the driving factor. I think the driving factor is how happy the target audience is with the book because that is who you wrote it for. I didn’t think to specify this last point in the video, so I am doing so now.

I have joined other authors on BookFunnel to run a promo where you can get free historical romance books until the end of March. There are two books I have put in this promotion, and I decided to pick one Regency and one historical western romance.

For the Regency, I picked The Rake’s Vow.

I had someone request a romance where the hero has a broken past and the heroine makes him whole with her love. The heroine is a virgin. The hero used to be a rake, so he isn’t. However, he is reformed and has taken a vow of celibacy. Given that this is a romance, and I write spicy content, we all know there’s going to be some spice.

For the historical western, I picked The Convenient Mail Order Bride

Someone else requested a mail-order bride story. The hero and heroine in this one are both virgins. The hero’s half-brother posts the mail-order bride ad on the hero’s behalf–something the hero did NOT want. When the heroine shows up, the hero doesn’t know what to do with her. This is a spicy book. There are a couple of sex scenes.

Of course, there are other great books in this promo, so I encourage you to check them out, too!

You can find the promo here or by going to this url:

Well, I had intended to make this a short post, and yet, I wrote an entire book on the topic. (You can’t get me to shut up sometimes.) At least I created a video to go with it so you can listen to it instead of reading it.

Years ago, I made a post on a different blog where I mentioned the fact that writing income doesn’t always remain steady, nor does it always go up. I don’t have this post on hand anymore. I don’t remember the year I made this post, but it was at the point when my income peaked. There was a tipping point for me. Do all authors have this? My bet is no. We are all going to have different experiences. But what stuck out to me was how quick a couple of authors were to blame me for the fact that I was seeing a decline in income.

One said that I should get on Kindle boards where other authors hang out and mention my books to them. Because writers are readers, too. Yes, I understand that writers are also readers, but you can’t just market your book to anyone and expect you book to please everyone. Your best bet is to reach people who read the kind of books you write. For example, a science fiction lover probably won’t enjoy a romance. I know I don’t enjoy reading science fiction. And besides, there are divisions within a genre that narrows down the specific type of book the person will want to read. For example, if you’re thinking of marketing your historical western romance book to a person who loves contemporary billionaire romances, that person probably won’t enjoy it. There are also other factors that play into a person’s enjoyment for a book. Some people want a literary style of writing. They want flowery, poetic words. Some people want a lot of description so they feel more immersed in the world these characters are moving around in. Then there are people like me who would rather get to the dialogue and action. That’s why some books resonate more with certain people instead of others. That doesn’t mean the book is bad. It just means the book targets a different audience. There are so many nuances within the fabric of storytelling that makes it challenging to find the right kind of reader for your books. However, I do stand by my point that other writers not buying your books is not the reason you’re not making the kind of money you want to make. So I would not suggest hitting up other writers to buy your books.

Another author said I wasn’t writing good books, and therefore, I wasn’t selling. That’s fair. My books are not good to everyone. I have enough 1 and 2-star reviews proving that. The reasons I mentioned above help to point out why. I do believe there is a book for everyone. I think that whatever an author writes has an audience waiting for it. I don’t think we should think of our books as something that will appeal to everyone. I like the idea of niche marketing. This is where you narrow your focus. But to do a general marketing approach where you figure “there is something in my book for everyone, and that means everyone will enjoy it if they just give it a chance�� is flawed. My suggestion, for what it’s worth, is to not worry about the people who don’t like your books. Instead, connect with people who do like your books. Find out why those people like the books. Then you can better fine-tune your storytelling to pleasing them.

Now back to the income side of things��

A lot changes in the publishing industry, and these changes can impact your income. For example, back in 2009 when I started publishing books on Amazon and Smashwords, there were very few ebooks out there. Kindle had just come onto the scene. People were buying Kindles and needed content. I put up books that were $0.99, and I didn’t have to do anything else to get noticed. I mean, I had a website, a blog, and a social media presence. I uploaded some of my books available for free on some “free ebook�� websites. I honestly didn’t think I’d ever make money but still wanted to share my work with the world. But the money came. And it didn’t just come for me. There were other authors I knew who made some pretty good money back then. Then word got out across the writing community that self-publishing wasn’t where books went to die, and even traditionally published authors jumped onto the self-publishing back wagon. That meant more books. That meant lower visibility. And that’s fine. I think the more books, the better because when I was a teenager, I got upset in bookstores and libraries for not having the specific book I wanted to read. I don’t have that problem today. You can find just about anything these days. Kindle Unlimited came along in 2014, and that is an industry change that did shift income around for a lot of authors. Some did very well with it. Some didn’t. Two of my friends who were making a living at it, no longer made a living with their writing. I still made a living, but in the subsequent years, my income did steadily decline. I had some years where it would go back up, but then it dropped again. So it’s been like a rollercoaster, but I will say it never has been what it used to be.

As the industry changes, the way we promote the books is also changing. There are a lot of places where authors can run ads. Then there are the one-and-done ads, which is where you pay for the ads to run on a certain day (or days) and that’s it. Then there are keyword ads that you have to constantly adjust and watch every day. There are videos you can make. There are graphics you can create. There are podcasts, blogs, etc, etc. Really, there is no end in sight to all the different marketing strategies available to authors these days, and it would be too exhausting to go through them. Quite frankly, my strength (and my interest) isn’t in this area. I am the wrong person to look to for this stuff. If I enjoy it, I do it. If I don’t, I avoid it. Life is too short for me to spend time doing stuff I dread. I get enough of that when I have to manage my bookkeeping for tax season.

And now we are being told that no matter how much we do, it’s not enough. I’ll tackle this in other posts (and I already have tackled it before, really), but I’ll say something about it here since it does coincide with the topic. Rapid release of books used to mean getting something out once a month. Then it became twice a month. Last I heard, some author was putting out a book every week. Then I listened to an audiobook last month where the man said to make social media posts and videos all the time. Like several times a day every single day. And another author was saying if you want to make money on YouTube, you should upload one audiobook a week. Let that sink one. One complete audiobook. Every single week. I mean, all of this is crazy. When are authors supposed to have time to relax?

But I guess we aren’t supposed to relax. We’re supposed to put out more and more content because the income has to either be steady all the time or the income has to go up.

That’s a lot of pressure to put on someone. Maybe you can get by with hiring help, but the moment you hire help, you have to make more money so you can pay them and make a profit. To me, that ends up spinning the hamster wheel as much as doing everything yourself. Because when you have help, you’ll probably want to do more. And the more we do, the more we feel like we have to do. More means money. And when we’re in the mindset that we need to make money in order to be successful, we can’t afford to stop.

I hit burnout back in 2018-2019 or so because of this “more and more�� mentality. I wrote through some of that burnout, but the day came when I couldn’t write anything else. My entire creative well had dried up. I had no choice but to stop. I didn’t get the ability to write with enthusiasm again until Spring 2024. I am still recovering from burnout. My income has significantly dropped, and I have had to let it drop. I don’t have it in me to fight this slide down. I’m doing good just to write again.

If you haven’t ever hit burnout, I hope you never do. It’s the worst. Seriously, nothing is worse for a writer to hate the one thing they used to be most passionate about. You feel like you lose a part of yourself when that happens. My advice is to let go of this belief that you always have to make more money in order to be worth something as a writer. Once you do that, you’re able to relax and enjoy the process of creating stories.