2022 Roundup

My word for 2022 was "push," partly to make up for what I felt was the sluggish pace of my former publishing journey, and partly, well, to push myself into actually doing all the things on my list.

How did I do? You tell me.

• Published Lady, in Waiting in February.
• Re-released Songbird's audiobook, finished edits for A Wider World's audiobook and learned to master audio so I could get that one up as well.
• Finished writing and editing Coming Apart.
• Formatted and released omnibus edition of the first Tudor Court trilogy in August.
• Wrote a prequel novella for Coming Apart which was released as a newsletter exclusive. Haven't read it? Sign up here. 
• Released Coming Apart in October.
• Wrote a novella (Princess of Spain) which was included in the Alternate Endings anthology, released in November.
• Six podcast guest appearances to talk about Coming Apart and historical fiction / writing generally. 
• Two in-person visits with writer friends, which were hugely inspiring for all concerned.
• Participated in a Zoom writing group (monthly until we fell off, but still keeping up by email) and a weekly writing salon on Twitter. Talking to other writers feeds the best, y'all.
• Writing the first draft of Coming Closer, which is the second book in the Ava & Claire series. It's done, it's resting, and I'll start in on edits in a week or so. Release is scheduled for April 18, 2023, so I'd better get on it...

Still thinking about my word for 2023, even though it's 2023. I can't repeat push, I might injure myself.

November Roundup

November has been a month, let me tell you.

Figuring out how the launch went. Moving all my books from wide ebook distribution onto Kindle Unlimited (apparently that's where my readership is, because I've gotten more page reads than I ever expected - for which I am very, very grateful), keeping up with all those other November obligations and pleasures (family, holiday, craft shows), and getting ready for the big push at the end of the year.

Plus continuing on with book 2 in my Ava and Claire series, which is titled Coming Closer. The completion of the book is also coming closer, but my original December 1 deadline was derailed somewhat by life, which I will detail, at some point, in a regular post.

One thing I've learned from these roundup posts all through the year. It's absolutely exhausting to sit down ta the beginning of the next month and figure out what the heck you did for the past 30 days. It's either a blur or a cliff looming over your head, ready to topple.

October Roundup

October was a sufficiently crazy month that I forgot to even do my roundup until this morning. How's that for busy?

The first few weeks were lead-up to the release of Coming Apart, which came out on October 18. Also included in that were four podcast interviews, which I will add to the Articles, Interviews and Podcasts tab.

Because nothing succeeds like excess - and because I wasn't involved in the scheduling - the Alternate Endings anthology also dropped on November 1, so there's been a lot of marketing directed toward that, as well.

Add in some family medical drama (mostly resolved), a few craft shows (more to come), and working away at the sequel to Coming Apart (hope to have a full draft by end of month), it's been... a blur. Hoping for more clarity in November, but thus far it's not looking promising.

How was your October?  

September Roundup

Well, this was a month, wasn't it?

Much of September was spent in either prepping for the release of Coming Apart or working on the sequel. Both are coming along nicely, and there are only 16 more days until Coming Apart is released!

In prepping for release, I've been working on marketing graphics, guest blog posts, and I did two podcast interviews (with another one coming on October 6). They haven't aired yet - they'll be out the week of release - and I'll make sure I link to them if you're curious to hear me blather on about the project.

I shouldn't say blather. It's disrespectful to both me and my work, but occasionally I do. Blather.

It was an interesting month for sales, because generally 70-75% of my sales come from the UK, and when the queen died, those sales fell right off a cliff and are still recovering. At one point I looked at the nice little pie chart that Amazon provides on my publishing dashboard and thought, "Wow, look how many more US buyers I had this month," but actually it was probably the exact same percentage as always, it just looked better because 15% of my UK sales vanished in a puff of royal smoke.

Still. I can't count on UK sales for Coming Apart. I imagine Pennsylvania during the Great Depression will be a bit of a harder sell over there - not to say that I won't try.

One of the podcast interviews I did asked why I chose self-publishing. Aside from the fact that I'd already tried everything else and it didn't suit me, it's because of the trying. When I'm not in charge, there's only so much I can do. If it's all on me, I have to try. Again and again. Until I find something that works.

August Roundup

August feels like it's been all new book, all the time.

Probably because it has been. 

I did a few final edits to the Coming Apart ebook file and got it uploaded and ready for pre-order. (The paperback file is still waiting for one advance review to come in, for the inside front page - if I don't get it by Labor Day and/or one reminder, I'll do without). 

Many marketing graphics were made, many marketing tweets and FB posts were scheduled. 

I sent out a newsletter alerting subscribers to the pre-order on August 18. (Are you a subscriber? You'll not only have access to even more of my ramblings, you'll get a FREE prequel novella to Coming Apart which gives even more insight to the characters. Sign up here.)

Aside from the new book, I worked on an editing job, wrote about 20k words on the new WIP (sequel to Coming Apart, because the sisters weren't done talking to me), and made an attempt at recording the audiobook for Lady, in Waiting. I think it will work, with a bit more practice, but I'm going to hold on the project until cooler weather - it's pointless to try to record anything during lawn care season; I'd have to stay up until all hours to get peace and quiet.

I've also been experimenting with advertising on Amazon, and I think I'm finally getting the hang. I tweaked some ads and the other day I set up ads in Australia and Canada. I get very few sales there - I've had more sales in Germany than I've had over our northern border.

I also prepared for and had a podcast interview - Authors Over 50 - which will air sometime in late September. I'll share a link when it comes out. It was a really fun interview, some about the book but mostly about the experience of starting a new career over 50, what took so long to write that first book, etc. I really enjoyed it!

Lastly, a fun bit. (Well, it's all fun, really - I have a weird sense of what's fun). The other Saturday I attended a Zoom social of historical fiction writers. We met on Twitter under the tag #HFChitChat, and while there's a fairly steady conversation going online, it was nice to get together and see each other's faces. Several of us have books out recently or coming soon, and we got to prop each other up, soothe nerves, and cheerlead for each other. 

It takes a village to make a book these days.

July Roundup

Well, this was a fun one. Lots got done, and I even remembered to keep track of most of it.

I formatted and uploaded the ebook files for The Tudor Court omnibus, which I hadn't planned to do so soon.

I started recording the audiobook for Lady, in Waiting. Very slowly, as I wasn't sure at first that it would work, but I'm feeling more positive with a bit more practice. It'll be slow going, though - a chapter, then editing, then uploading. Rinse and repeat. I'm fitting it in between other tasks.

Advance reviews for Coming Apart are coming in - the book will be available for pre-order on August 18, although it's already uploaded and ready to go. I would just pull the trigger early, but I've got a plan here, and I'm trying to stick to it.

Work is going well on the sequel. I'm at about 50k words on Coming Closer, which is nearly the halfway point for a draft for me. I tend to run out of words at about 120k, then edit it down to something a little leaner. 

I also took a course this month on Amazon advertising. Now that I have three books listed, there are more organic sales than there were with just one or two, but advertising is a good thing, done right. I had already had some luck with an automatic ad (Amazon choosing who sees it) in the UK, but my US ads weren't working. This helped, so now I'm just waiting to see how it goes.

By this time next month, I'll be celebrating the launch of Coming Apart's pre-order, and I'll hopefully have some other news.

June Roundup

June has been another month where I feel like I've done nothing but chase my tail - which is why this roundup post is so useful for me.

What I think I've done all month - a little writing, a little editing. Far too much time on social media. A craft show where I sold a few books. Other stuff?

Looking at my planner, what I've actually done is: 

Mastered and uploaded the audiobook files for A Wider World, which is/will soon be available on all retail sites and for purchase by library systems. 

Organized a one-day discount for Songbird, which netted some nice sales and will hopefully bring readthrough for the rest of the series. 

Worked with my designer to come up with a cover for the Tudor Court box set, which will be an ebook only compilation of the first three books of the series. For people who haven't purchased yet, it will be priced at $9.99; in other words, three books for the price of two. I'm not doing a paperback; it's just too chunky.

Light editing on Songbird's text file so that it flows better with A Wider World and Lady, in Waiting. I haven't changed the book at all, but its chapters were very long as compared to the other two, so I split them to make the reading experience more consistent.

A farmers market/craft show in my town, where I sold 5 books, including a copy of A Wider World to an elderly neighbor who texted me from her doctor's office and told me that she'd just finished Songbird and I'd made her cry in public.

May Roundup

 

Well, May 2022 has been my best sales month ever that didn't include a new book being released, so I'm a little over the moon.

This month has been a busy one, too. I did final tweaks on Coming Apart, and worked with my cover designer to complete covers for all three books in the series (you've just seen the first one). 

I also wrote and edited a prequel novella for Coming Apart, which is intended as a free gift for newsletter subscribers - of which I hope you are one. 

You're not? Subscribe here and get your freebie.

I've also been doing a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff, working on the website, planning the October launch for Coming Apart, formatting the paperback files, and ordering advance paperback copies for a few reviewers.

There's also been much scheduling of social media to promote the newsletter/prequel and the cover reveal. I'm writing book two of the series, Coming Closer, and making notes about the third book because my characters won't shut up. They should, but they won't.

Another fun thing - nerve-wracking, but actually kind of fun - is that I've started pitching book podcasts to talk about either the Tudor Court books or the upcoming ones. Fingers crossed it comes to something. I've done a few podcasts before and I find them really fun once I relax and remind myself that listeners actually want you to do well. It's not junior high, where everyone in class is secretly hoping you fall on your face during public speaking so that they feel better about themselves.

Lastly, I've been working with a graphically-inclined neighbor to tweak the covers for the Tudor Court books so that I now have hardcovers listed on Amazon. I'm sure I won't sell a ton of them, but since I had to buy those 100 ISBN numbers, I'm going to use them with reckless abandon.

April Roundup

 

Where does the time go? That's what I want to know.

It feels like I've been constantly busy, but when I sit down to write these posts, I look back and wonder what exactly all that busy has been.

This month, I finished (again) final edits on Coming Apart. I sent out multiple requests for endorsements from authors - those lovely complimentary words you find on book covers - and actually got a few in response. Still waiting on a few others.

In case you've ever wondered, there are three responses to any request: yes, no, and no response. No response is by far the most common.

I've also been working away on the sequel to Coming Apart, and a prequel novella which I want to use as a newsletter sign-up. (If you're already a newsletter subscriber, don't worry - I'll announce it there and insert the download link. If you're not already a newsletter subscriber, why not? I won't spam you or give away your email address - you're trusting me, and I'm well aware of the responsibility involved - and I'll only email once a month unless I've got a book coming out or some special announcement.

Like a prequel novella. So sign up here, if you're so inclined.

I've also been working on some edits for other writers, which is not only a good way to give back to a community I love, but also brings in income and teaches me to be a better writer. Editing someone else's work without changing their voice is hard. 

Last but not least, I've been figuring out behind-the-scenes stuff like putting A+ content on Amazon (those are the pretty graphics you see on some book listings, an option formerly only given to traditional publishers - see example) and I'm working on a launch plan for Coming Apart. I know it's not until October, but this one is a bit of a departure in the audience - more women's fiction than historical, though it's both - and I want to get this right.

March Roundup

 

How have we finished the first quarter of the year already? It still feels like February. Hell, some days it still feels like 2020.

All things considered, though, it's been a productive period. I had three things written on the white board by my desk for January-March, and I crossed them all off:

Publish Lady, in Waiting ✔

Final draft Coming Apart ✔

Send ARCs and endorsement requests for Coming Apart✔

Coming Apart, by the way, is the new title for My Sister's Child. I changed it because there's a thriller by the same name where a woman kills her sister so she can have her baby, and I know that the genres are totally different, but that wasn't a confusion issue I wanted to risk.

One thing that was on my list for the first quarter as a possibility was researching whether or not to do hard covers of my Tudor Court trilogy. I still haven't decided. I can't tell you the last time I purchased a hard cover book that wasn't for research purposes, and I'm not sure if the sales would be worth the effort involved. On the other hand, I've already purchased the ISBNs, so maybe I'll just wait until I have some extra money to throw to my cover designer to adapt the covers (of course they're just slightly different dimensions so I can't use what I have).

The third item on my list of achievements there was a nerve-wracking one. ARCs (advance reader copies) get send out to early reviewers and authors who might consider reading and endorsing the book. Endorsements go on either the front or back cover, or sometimes on what's called a "praise page" just inside the cover. I sent to a few indie authors whose work I like, and also to a few traditionally published, including a few writers who I know are out of my league. I haven't heard from most of those yet, but hope springs eternal.

My goals for April include sending out more ARCs and requests, formatting Coming Apart's paperback so I can get a final page count so I can in turn reach out to the designer to finish the full wrap cover (page count is necessary so that the cover fits properly, and Amazon and the other printing sites are very specific about their wants). 

I'm also accidentally working on the sequel to Coming Apart, because I was no sooner finished the book than the characters woke me up and told me they weren't done with me yet.

February Roundup

 

Keeping track has been fun this month. Not. 

It's hard to pay attention to what feel like trivial things when the world has basically set itself on fire.

But work matters. Words matter. And stories can take us away from the flaming dumpster that is life, at least for a little while.

Lady, in Waiting

This got released on February 14, and the evening before, I survived a live reading on Facebook. It wasn't that bad - at least, I think it wasn't, I'm not watching it - and it always surprises me after the fact that I get so worked up over doing them.

I also was interviewed on the Joined Up Writing podcast about the new release, and my transition from small press published to being an indie author. Check it out here if you're interested.

My Sister's Child

Completely finished going over this draft, tweaked it a bit, and sent advance copies to several people who have offered to give me quotes for the cover. This is the nerve-wracking part, folks, letting real writers read my unpublished stuff.

Since I had to turn Sisters into a Kindle-ready book to send to them, I also loaded it onto my own Kindle for another read, because your eyes catch different things in different formats. In ebook, I notice repetitive words and excess words far more than I do on the screen of my computer. So it's undergoing another round of tidying.

The sequel is almost completely planned (as much as I plan). I've done most of the research for national and local events which will affect my characters, and I've got the high and low points of the story marked down. They will connect themselves as I write. I'm not sure how I know this - it's part of the magic.

Songbird and A Wider World

Nothing new to report. Still marketing both, and Songbird did have an unexpected number of sales in February, which is good because even though the books can be read as standalones, it is the entry point to the series for those who read in order. Hopefully, these new readers will keep going.

Once these final edits of Sisters are dealt with, I'll start working on the audiobook for A Wider World. I have the files; I just need to learn how to make them sound as good as they can. 

January Roundup

 

This has been an interesting month. Sometimes I feel like a lot got done, and other times I feel like I've been spinning my wheels and spattering myself and my surroundings with mud.

But here goes. Accountability for the win:

Lady, in Waiting

1. Got the e-book uploaded and set up a pre-order. (You can get yours here).

2. Finished working with formatting friend and got the print book uploaded and set up for order. (Link above).

3. Did an abundance of scheduled social media posts for January and into February to make the world aware of its existence. (How can anyone not know by now? I feel like it's all I talk about.)

My Sister's Child

1. Edited 38 out of 44 chapters. Will finish these edits by end of first week of February and then put this book to rest for a while.

2. Mostly planned out the sequel. Mostly. I'm not a natural outliner, but the story has some shape and I'm trying to work with it. If I have hooks and some wire, I'll have something to hang the rest of the story on.

Songbird

1. Audible finally transferred the audiobook back to me, so my narrator and I got together to change the opening and closing credits. I learned how to upload an audiobook to Audible and Findaway Voices, which will distribute the audio to everyplace BUT Audible (including your library, if you ask them to buy it).

2. Asked my cover artist to update the audiobook cover to remove publisher name. Re-uploaded cover art to Audible/Findaway.

A Wider World

1. Audiobook isn't mastered yet, but nevertheless got updated cover so it's ready when I am.

Looking forward to February 14 and getting Lady, in Waiting out into the world!

2021 Roundup

I used to do roundup posts, way back when this was my sewing blog, and it was a good way to keep myself organized and accountable. I think I'll start doing monthly posts this coming year and see if, by announcing it publicly, I actually get everything done that I plan.

This year, continuing pandemic weirdness notwithstanding (or perhaps because of), was a pretty productive year.

I submitted Lady, in Waiting to my publisher and finished edits.

I finished a solid draft of my 1930s book, My Sister's Child, which I'm editing now.

I got my rights back to Songbird and A Wider World, and I figured out the formatting and self-publishing process and got both of them back up before the end of the year, and I've actually sold some books!

In non-writing, I did a few craft shows, and apparently it felt as good for customers to be back out again as it did for the crafters, because they were overall good experiences, plus - again - I sold some books!

Since it's almost the new year, I'm trying to get a few more odds and ends tidied away, not to mention actual, physical tidying of our house, which looks a bit like a craft store exploded in the downstairs. Which is not good, since the sewing room is upstairs.

What about you? What's your biggest accomplishment for 2021, other than making it through with sanity mostly intact, and hopefully still liking the people you share space with? Let me know.

Back soon with my goals for 2022.

Weekend Roundup

An letter from Anne Boleyn to her king.
16th century handwriting transcribed
by the folks at Hever Castle.

I post a lot of interesting historical goodies over on my writer Facebook page, but for those of you not on the festering dumpster-fire that can be Facebook, I thought I would share the more interesting links over here, on a semi-regular basis (as in whenever there are enough of them to make it worth our mutual while).

To the left, a transcription of a letter from Anne Boleyn to Henry VIII. It wouldn't pass as a love letter these days - then again, neither would a letter - but that was apparently enough to keep the king hot and bothered.

When I was a kid, I was fascinated by metal detectors. This treasure hunter found a ring which may well have belonged to one (or two) of Henry's queens.

And for readers of Songbird, you'll have noted that the sweating sickness was mentioned several times. It was a strange and often deadly disease in Tudor times. There were only five documented outbreaks, but they were memorable. History.com has a good article about it here.