Writing and Publishing MM Romances

A term you’ll often come across in publishing is brand. But what do we mean when we talk about your author brand, and more importantly, how do you create an author brand? We’ll dig into that this week for Writer Wednesday. [Read more…] about How to Build an Author Brand

I’ve been traveling a lot the last few months. Too much, maybe, but I attended two events that were absolutely worth it. In both cases, I came back with pages full of notes, inspired to try new things. And I have. I’ve experimented with new ads, new marketing ideas, some approaches to writing I hadn’t considered before, and much more. And I freaking loved it. Some of it worked, some of it needs fine tuning, and a few things didn’t work for me as hoped. But at least I tried.

Granted, I’m someone who loves to try new stuff, but when’s the last time you tried something new? When did you experiment with something you’d never attempted before, just to see if it would work? [Read more…] about When’s the Last Time You Tried Something New?

After missing a number of weeks due to summer break, we’re back with our weekly posts for Writer Wednesday. Today’s topic is at the request of an author friend of mine, who asked me to share my experiences on how to work with a PA. I’ve had a PA (personal assistant) since pretty early on in my career. Her name is Vicki, and she’s my right hand in my whole publishing career. If you’ve read my books, you’ll see me thanking her in every damn acknowledgment, because I couldn’t do what I do without her. I was just six months in when I found her, and she and I have been a strong team ever since.

So, let’s talk about how to work with a PA as an author and everything it entails. To do that, we need to start at the beginning and that’s the simple question: why and when would you need a PA? [Read more…] about How to Work With a PA

I’m so sorry for not posting this last week. In my defense, things got a little crazy trying to finish one book while getting another one ready for release. Anyway, here we are, and we’ll be continuing our conversation about how to write a blurb that sells. Last week, we learned that the primary goal of a blurb is not to summarize, but to sell. And I hinted that the things readers most look for are tropes and familiar elements they love. We also looked at an old-style blurb, as I called it.

This week, we’re gonna bring it all together.

[Read more…] about How to Write a Blurb that Sells (part II)

In today’s post, I want to talk about how to measure your performance as an author. Now, I get that this may be a touchy subject because if you feel you’re not doing well or that you should be doing better, looking at the evidence may discourage you. But I’ve always been a firm believer in that you need to measure things, because if you don’t set goals, you’ll never know if you reached them. So today, let’s look at the rankings and numbers you should track. Because I’m exclusive to Amazon, I can only discuss those. [Read more…] about The Rankings And Numbers You Should Track

Today, I’ll be answering a question from an author, who asked me to share a little about collaborating with another author on a book or series. As most of you will know, I co-write the Ballsy Boys series with K.M. (Kyleen) Neuhold, so I can share a little about that experience and talk about some important aspects to keep in mind. [Read more…] about Collaborating With Another Author