Ruth Ann Nordin's Blog, page 17
February 22, 2022
The Loner’s Bride is up on Pre-Order
I got The Loner’s Bride up on pre-order across multiple retailers now.
This is Katie and Jeremiah’s romance. It wraps up the Wyoming Series.
The release date is March 13.
For people who don’t do pre-orders, I will make a post when this book goes live. Someone recently asked me about when my pre-orders are up, so I’m going to try to be more diligent about keeping everyone updated on the pre-orders.
Here is where you can find this book:
The only thing I can’t do right now is Payhip. That’s my personal storefront. It doesn’t allow for pre-orders, at least not that I’m aware of.
February 18, 2022
I’m Going to Add Two More Books to The Marriage by Obligation Series
Here are the books slotted for the Marriage by Obligation Series so far:
Today while I was writing a scene in Secret Admirer, I got an idea for another story that will fit perfectly in this series. Right now, I’m thinking of slipping that idea between Midnight Wedding and The Duke’s Return.
You see, while the ladies are talking after the dinner party, and during the course of the conversation, Miss Anne Carnel confides that her widowed brother has to get married, but Lord Quinton pretty much “snagged” the lady he had hoped to establish a possible marriage with. If you read The Cursed Earl, you’ll remember that Lord Quinton is highly superstitious. He was supposed to be paired up with Anne Carnel, but the fact that she wore a red gown, has a cameo that looks too much like a peacock feather, and her name is similar to “carnal” made him swap ladies for the evening. I got a chuckle out of this event, though Lord Wright (Anne’s brother) didn’t see the humor in it. Lord Wright is quite annoyed.
Anyway, it wasn’t until I was writing in this book today that I realized Lord Wright’s first marriage was arranged and that his wife was cold. She spent most of her time at the country estate while he pretty much lived in London. She died of something, so he’s looking for another wife to take care of his child. His problem is that he feels awkward around ladies, and because of that, he has a lot of anxiety about being a suitor. This emotional discomfort stems from his first marriage, and I have decided (while writing) that this child isn’t really his, though he is raising this child as his own to save the child from scandal. I’m thinking this child is a product an affair between his first wife and a servant. As I was thinking over the fact that he had such a bad first marriage and that he loves this child, I thought, “I want to write this guy’s romance.”
People ask, “How do you come up with ideas?” This is how. The ideas spring up while writing a scene in a book. I don’t plan for these moments. They just happen.
I still like the idea of writing about Reuben St. George. So I might end up slipping that story into this series, too. Years ago, I had an idea for a sickly hero who needed a heroine to show him what having fun in life is all about. (Note: I don’t want a hero who is so sickly that he’ll die. I just want one who has been protected most of his life from having fun because the family is afraid if he gets out of his comfort zone, he will die.) Reuben does have some health issues established from the book I introduced him in. (That book was If It Takes a Scandal.) So I think this plot idea I had years ago will fit for him. All I need to do is have some event happen in Secret Admirer that will freak his family out to the point where they start to take measures to protect him. Or, to put it another way, they’ll attempt to put him in a bubble. Their intentions will be good, but he’s going to be miserable.
The question is where to place all of these books. Obviously, Secret Admirer is first because this is the one that sets the stage for the other books in this series. I’m thinking Midnight Wedding will still be next because the heroine of that one is going to have a hand in kidnapping Lord Quinton, and there’s going to be a question as to why she doesn’t take Lord Wright. Lord Wright can’t be married again at this point if people are going to wonder why she went with Lord Quinton instead of him.
So Lord Wright and Reuben’s books will probably come before The Duke’s Return. I have some stuff I need to do in order to set the stage for The Duke’s Return, and it’ll probably take those additional two books to lay down the foundation well enough to do The Duke’s Return justice. The only question is if I’ll do Lord Wright’s or Reuben’s book first. Right now, either of the two books can be #3 or #4 in the series. I’ll just have to keep writing and figure out the best arrangement.
February 13, 2022
PDFs of My “Book List” and the “Crossover of Characters Between Series” List
I finally sat down to create a PDF of these two different lists. 
I’m hoping the PDFs will make it easy to print these lists out.
Below is a PDF for all of the books I’ve written and published (or will publish within the year).
Entire Book ListIf you prefer, I also have this list right here on this blog at this link.
I only do the overlap of characters in my romances because that’s what I enjoy writing the most. It is color-coded to help make it easier to find the characters and their books, BUT since I keep bringing back the same characters over and over, it will probably take some time to figure this list out. I did my best to keep it simple. Below is the list I came up with:
Crossover Characters in my RomancesIf you prefer, I also have this list right here on the blog at this link.
February 8, 2022
Draft2Digital is Acquiring Smashwords
This is big news in the world of indie publishing. I have an account at both places, so I’m not sure how this will play out. I have been using D2D for my pen name and paperbacks. Smashwords has been for ebooks. So wow. I hope the transition won’t get complicated.
There’s going to be a live Q&A on Feb. 9, 2022 at noon Central Standard Time (US time). I’m not sure what that translates to in other countries. The event will be on You Tube and Facebook. Here’s a link to the live event.
There is an initial FAQ about this transition on the Smashwords site. I’m sure D2D has one, too, but Smashwords is where I just uploaded a book, so it’s the one I ran across.
January 28, 2022
Why Spreading Your Marketing Net Wide is a Good Idea (A Post for Writers)
I recently received something unsettling in my inbox. Mei Pak has experience making crafts, but I find that her videos have some crossover appeal to creatives of all types, including authors. I’ve been on her email list for a couple of years now. Long story short, in this email, she said that Instagram shut down her account. This is a lady who makes scented food jewelry. Her site is here. She was using Instagram to promote these items. I have never seen her do a post or video that is the least bit controversial. I’ve been hearing about content creators of political commentary getting their accounts removed on various social media platforms, but this time, a jewelry creator has been hit. She said she followed all of Instagram’s rules, and I have no reason to doubt her.
This got me thinking about what we, as authors, can do to help buffer ourselves in case we find ourselves being removed from a social media site, too. I’m not saying this “will” happen to us, but why not build a wide net?
Before I give my thoughts, I do want to mention that she is offering a Live You Tube event tomorrow titled “How To Create A Profitable Handmade Business Without Keeping Up With Social Media”. It is tomorrow (January 29) at 9am PST / 11am CST / 12pm EST. (This is US time.) She might be in crafts, but a lot of her advice has crossover appeal to authors.
I didn’t want to leave her tips out since I’m sure they will be useful. But here is what I came up with specifically for authors:
Photo credit: ID 105330423 © Ppy2010ha | Dreamstime.comThe first thing I recommend is being on multiple platforms.
Diversification is a strength. Fortunately, Mei Pak is still on Facebook and You Tube. She still has a website. She still has her email list. She was smart. She laid a foundation across multiple platforms.
I’ve always believed the best practice is to “never put your eggs in one basket”. You just don’t know what the future will bring. While you can’t prevent something bad from happening, you can buffer yourself by diversifying. I realize you can’t be everywhere. There isn’t enough time in the day to do everything. My advice is to pick the marketing platforms that most interest you AND the ones you have time to maintain. There are plenty to choose from. Facebook, MeWe, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Gab, Gettr, You Tube, Rumble, Bitchute, TikTok, Odessey, Minds, Patreon, Substack, Goodreads, Blogger, WordPress, Live Journal, Booksprout, BookFunnel, and (last but not least) selling books in person. I’m sure there are more marketing venues out there, but these were the ones that came to mind while writing this post.
If you wake up one day and find out that one of your accounts has been removed, at least you have other sites where people can find you. I know that’s not much consolation when you put a lot of time and effort into building a following on a certain platform, but it’s better than not having a presence on other platforms at all.
The second thing I recommend is having an email list.
The way I found out about Mei Pak’s experience was through the email list I subscribed to. There have been times I questioned whether it was worth having an email list or not. My list never gets that big, and only about half of the subscribers ever open it. Well, after learning about what happened to Mei Pak, I’m convinced an email list is a must-have in an author’s arsenal. This is your direct line of communication to your readers. You can use this to notify your readers if one of your accounts gets removed. Then you can point them to other accounts that are still available. Maybe they’ll follow you to another social media site. Maybe they won’t. But at least they’ll know where they can find you.
I don’t do anything fancy for my email list. I only let the people know when I have a new book out. This is because I’m swamped with all of the other things I have on my plate. What you do with your email list is up to you. Some authors like to send emails about once a week and share personal stories, some do giveaways, some run cross promotions with other authors, some offer free short stories, and some ask their readers questions. The key is to pick the things you can commit to.
The third thing I recommend is having some books wide.
I’m not in KU at all, but I can understand why some authors are in KU. My advice, for what it’s worth, is to have some books wide. Amazon is one retailer. I realize it’s a large retailer with a large following, but what if they remove your books? I’ve heard of authors losing their accounts at Amazon. The reasons vary, but sometimes innocent authors who have done nothing wrong will get the “your account has been deleted” email. For whatever reason, their accounts got flagged. Then they had to go find a representative who could help them restore their accounts.
Wide authors can get hit as well as KU authors. This isn’t specifically a KU author’s problem. But if you have some books wide, at least you have a readership on other retailers to fall back on while you’re fighting with Amazon to restore your account. I sleep much better at night knowing I have books on other retailers. If Amazon hits me, it will truly suck, but the suck won’t be as bad because I’m not dependent on Amazon for all of my writing income.
Again, this is just my advice, but if you’re all in KU and would like to put some books wide, I would pull the books that aren’t performing well in KU. If you have KU books that are making you good money, you don’t want to rock the boat. You have a right to make the money off of your work. But if there are a few books that aren’t moving on KU, why have them there?
I want to add a side note about having direct selling. Some authors are doing well with a personal storefront. My personal storefront sucks. I make (maybe) $2 a year over on Payhip. But I do like having it there for a “just in case” moment. It’s just another part of the net.
The fourth thing I recommend is creating an author page on as many retailers as you can so that people can “Follow” you to be notified of new releases.
To date, I only have an author page on Amazon, Smashwords, and Bookbub. I believe authors can request one on Google Play. I’m not sure if the option is available anywhere else. But I am happy to see that I’m slowly gaining traction on these sites. (It’s not huge numbers, but it’s still an extra avenue that I don’t have to actively work for.) The perk about these authors pages is that the sites will send the email to your followers to announce your new release. You don’t have to collect emails yourself. With Bookbub, you have to remember to add it to your book list within a week (I think) of your book’s release date. But that’s an easy process. You just search for your book, it comes up, and you add the book. Bookbub does the rest.
The fifth thing I recommend is having a website.
It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but a place that showcases all of your books in one place is a good idea, whether you worry about having an account removed or not. Your website should be clean and easy to navigate. My website isn’t perfect. I’m still working on it. You can keep tweaking it to get it the way you want it. The main things you want on the website are the genre(s) you write, what series or standalones you have, and where people can buy them. Other stuff is nice, but those are the basics.
I have seen some authors post a pdf file of their entire book list that readers can print out. This is a good idea that I want to work on in the future. I can see how this would be a helpful sheet for people who are interested in your books. A brief description of the books may or may not be necessary, but it probably would be neat if you do series to list out where key characters show up in other books. I’ve learned that readers love to reconnect with past characters by seeing them in another book, and they want to know what other books they’ll find those characters in. If you only do standalones, you could divide those books up by the “type” of books they are. For example, “fantasy romance”, “psychological horror”, “technological science fiction”. That way, readers can go right to the books that interest them the most.
Having books in multiple formats is probably a good idea.
This isn’t a “recommend” really, but it’s a final thought I have on this topic. Ebooks are dominant in the indie author world, but it’s probably a good idea to also have paperbacks, audiobooks, and/or serial formats, too. Paperbacks are simple enough, and the cost of making them is pretty much the cost of printing the book. Serials are digital, so really all you have to do is divide the story into episodes. While that takes time, the cost is nothing. Out of the three on the list, those two seem to be the easiest option to spreading the “net” on the formats you have available. The audiobooks, however, are a bit more difficult, and some of us aren’t gifted with voices that can hit a wide range for different characters. With AI technology, this could simplify the process.
January 24, 2022
Updates on What I’m Doing
The Loner’s Bride is currently with an editor. Suitable for Marriage will go out to the editor soon. Making a Realistic Publishing Schedule has already been edited. I’m just going to give it another pass through before I publish it.
Now for books I’m currently writing.This is the good part. 
That puts me at the 15,000-word mark. My average book length is 60,000 words to give you an idea of how far I am into this one.
I am thrilled to say that I was able to bring in a past Regency character. Mr. Tumilson, the hero in this book, has ordered the heroine’s husband to hire a lady who can teach the heroine how to make herself more attractive so she’s not such a wallflower. (Her father has been fretting that our heroine has no suitors.) Well, I remembered that I had a past Regency character whose job was helping ladies be more attractive to potential suitors. So I was able to bring back Helena from Love Lessons With the Duke!
Marriage by Deceit: Book 2She goes by the Duchess of Ashbourne instead of Lady Seyton in this book. Every time I bring in past characters in a meaningful way, it’s like bringing in old friends. 
I’m having so much fun with this. As a side note, I can’t wait for Mr. Tumilson to see the heroine once Helena is done with her. Not only will he be surprised, but he’s going to have to fight his attraction for her.
This is why I write books I’m passionate about. I get to look forward to moments like these.
I’m in Chapter Three of Daisy’s bookAnd I finally have a cover and a title.
I am also bringing in a character from the past in this book, but the character comes from another series. That series is the Montana Collection. He showed up for a very brief time in Boaz’s Wager.
Montana Collection: Book 2His name was Otis Mills, and he was the one who raced horses in hopes of marrying Eva Connealy. If you recall, Boaz won the race, and he got to marry Eva. Well, while I was writing Suitable for Marriage (which is Book 3 in the Husbands for the Larson Sisters Series), I had a couple of scenes where Daisy and Eva are talking. As I was struggling to come up with a husband for Daisy, it occurred to me that I never gave poor Otis as wife. So I decided that this book will start in Montana.
Based on the conversations Daisy and Eva have, I knew going in that Daisy doesn’t want to be with someone like Otis. Otis is a ranch hand. She has this dream in her head that she’s going to end up with a textbook example of a “prince charming” kind of guy. And Otis isn’t it. He’s not inclined to book learning. He works with his hands, so he gets dirty a lot. I thought it would be funny to set her up with someone who is pretty much the opposite of what she has in mind.
And he’s going to follow her to Omaha. Tom and Jessica (her parents) are going to fall in love with him right away. Tom will like the fact that Otis is willing to live at their farm because he could use the extra help around the place after losing Nelly and Erin, the two girls who did the most farm work with him. Jessica is going to push for Daisy to marry Otis because Otis is going to be a bit clumsy and awkward around Daisy, and this will remind Jessica of her courtship with Tom and sweet Tom was. I expect references to A Bride for Tom to come about in this book because of that. All of this is going to be fun, and with any luck, we’ll end up with a romantic comedy.
I’m in Chapter Two of Secret Admirer
I did a calculation on the Regency timeline, and I realized I can finally bring Lord Durrant’s younger brother into a book. If you’ll recall, Corrin St. George, Lord Durrant, was the hero in If It Takes a Scandal, and Reuben was his sickly brother.
Marriage by Bargain: Book 4Reuben was eight when the events in If It Takes a Scandal took place. I’ve been waiting to bring him back, and I have the perfect story idea for him. But…his story is not meant for this particular book. I’m thinking it might be suitable for Book 4 in this series, but it’s too early to tell yet. Right now I’m laying the foundation for his story. I’m currently doing a scene at a dinner party, where Reuben is a guest. I think I have introduced the lady he’ll end up with. It won’t be the heroine of Secret Admirer.
***
On a final note, the perk of having series that take place within the same world is that I can bring in past characters. I like to think of this as “layering” the series together so that, if you take a step back, they all form one large series. This is what makes writing so much fun!
January 21, 2022
New Romances You Might Enjoy
I received an email in my inbox letting me know that Tanya Anne Crosby mentioned the release of my book, The Cursed Earl, along with other recently published romances on her Facebook timeline. It was an unexpected honor, so I thank her. I’m passing along the Facebook post because I know a lot of you have an account there, and you might find a new author this way. (Click on the graphic below to get the Facebook post.)
I also encourage you to check out Tanya Anne Crosby’s books, too. Go to “Book Shelf” and click on the genre that interests you. She writes a variety of books. Just browsing on her site, I saw a variety of historical romances, contemporary romances, and romantic suspense. She has an impressive number of books. I have a feeling some of you would enjoy her work.
January 12, 2022
My Thoughts on the Blog Post Regarding Publishing Trends in 2022
The article I am referring to is at this link if you want to read it. The post was written by Clayton Noblit at Written Word Media. This was a really good article. I enjoyed it a lot. I encourage authors to check it out.
Now for my thoughts…My initial thought as I read the blog was, “I’m screwed.”
Photo credit: ID 177830495 © Photojogtom | Dreamstime.comI laugh as I write that, but it’s how I was feeling the entire time I was reading it. Things are changing so fast in publishing that I don’t know if I can keep up. I’m currently at my mother-in-law’s taking care of her for a few days. I have a husband and four kids, and while one is now in college and the other is a senior, I do want to spend time with them before they move away. Then there’s the regular stuff that takes up a day (car repairs, school stuff, appointments for the dentist/doctor, and on and on). On top of that, I have to get enough sleep and take care of my health. I might not have a “real” job, but I don’t have all day to sit and write like people assume I do. This is why my marketing is pretty much nil, and it’s why I take so long to answer blog posts and emails.
I think authors that can keep up with all of these changes are those who have a ton of free time on their hands or have a qualified assistant to do the bulk of the “legwork” for them. While I’m training my oldest to help me out, it’s taking time. We have a ways to go before he can do the business end of things himself.
But before I slip into the “this is the end of my writing career” mindset, I have to stop. There’s a thing called the self-fulfilling prophecy. The self-fulfilling prophecy is when you plant an idea in your head that ends up becoming a reality because you end up acting in a way that ensures your expectations are met. So I’m not going to give into the “I’m screwed” mindset. What I need to do is take a step back and think over what things I changes I can handle given my hectic life.
When you feel overwhelmed, the first thing to do is remove the stuff you’re not interested in. Then you can look over and prioritize the things that are interesting.
You can’t do everything. Being on every single social media platform will wipe you out. Likewise, focusing on every marketing opportunity will wipe you out. The best chance of long-term success when you’re looking to stick with something is to pick things that you enjoy. I’m all for trying new things, but when you don’t have much wiggle room, you have to be pickier about the things you’ll experiment with.
Writing with the help of AI
Right away, I can tell you that I am not using artificial intelligence (AI) to help me write my books. I can see the appeal. In a world where everything is “right now”, readers can get impatient for the next book. To complicate matters, a lot of them want to binge read an entire series, which means they won’t even buy Book 1 until the series is finished. That can be stressful when you need every book sale you can get to pay the bills. For authors driven to get books out as fast as possible to keep up momentum, this AI is probably going to be fantastic. You can have assistance to get books done quickly, and you don’t have to worry about ghostwriters possibly plagiarizing someone else’s work.
Despite the appeal, this isn’t for me. I’d rather write all of my books. I love the creative process. To me, the fun part is writing. I like going into a book and not knowing how things are going to play out until I’m writing the scene. It’s an adventure. It’s like going on a road trip without a map. The surprises that pop up along the way is what makes writing enjoyable. The part I hate is the marketing aspect of it. That’s why I do so little marketing. But some authors prefer the marketing, and they are probably the ones who will benefit from AI’s assistance.
Some authors are doing great with direct sales
I’ve had a Payhip storefront for years, and I might get one or two sales a year. I used to offer coupons to help generate interest, but people told me they buy from their preferred retailer because it’s easier to press the “buy” button and get the book directly loaded to their e-reader. As a reader, I do the same thing. Convenience matters. I don’t know who these authors are who are doing great with direct sales, but no one I personally know are among them. Maybe you have to be a big-time author to generate the interest. I would only recommend this to authors who have a good following or are super awesome with marketing.
More authors are upping their prices
I have actually decided to decrease the price of my new releases. This was a personal decision. In my house, we aren’t doing so great financially due to repairs and the cost of food, gas, utilities, etc, going up. This past year was an expensive one for my household. In light of my experience, I decided to go from asking $3.99 to asking $2.99 on new releases in hopes that I could give my readers a break. I did keep my current $3.99 books at $3.99 because I don’t feel like going across multiple retailers and adjusting the price. As I mentioned above, my time is limited. But I did lower the pre-orders to $2.99.
This is a personal thing each author has to decide on. I know a book is cheap compared to a coffee or a movie, but I had to follow my heart on this one. When it comes to business decisions, I tend to go with my feelings. Some authors think I’m crazy. Maybe they’re right.
Small publishers are finding success
I want to make a comment about the small press part of the blog post. Years ago (probably back in 2010), I read a post by a man who made a prediction about the future of publishing. He said indie publishing would explode for a time. Then small publishers would step in and take momentum. Then, eventually, the small publishers would merge and eventually become big publishers. He based this theory on what happened in the US in the past. Perhaps he is right. They say history repeats itself. Maybe we’re going to see the transition from indie to small press in the next decade or so.
This could be due to many things. Maybe changes in publishing will be so overwhelming that authors would rather hand off the harder part of the business to a publisher than navigate those changes alone. Or maybe smaller retailers will fold under until only one or two big players remain who will decide not to accept indies anymore. Or maybe subscription services will pop up all over the place, and authors will get paid so little (due to lack of representation by a publisher) that they’ll go to small presses who can negotiate good contracts for them. Anything is possible. Then again, maybe indies will always have a place in the publishing arena. Unlike the past, we have the internet now.
Either way, I’m grateful I got in when I did in 2009 because this has been one of the biggest blessings God has granted me. I never could have written my books with full creative control without the invention of the internet, the ease of indie publishing, and the popularity of the ebook reader. Since I was 12, my big dream was to be a published writer. My exact entry in my diary was that I hoped I would one day be a bestselling author (meaning “successful”) and have a loving husband. I then added, “I hope I don’t have to choose between the two, but if I do, I’d rather be a successful writer.” (Sorry to my husband, but it’s true.) I wrote this in my bedroom while looking up at the night sky. I still remember writing that down even after all these years. Thankfully, God didn’t make me choose between an author and having a loving husband. He granted me both things. No matter where things go from here, my life is complete.
Digital ads will become more expensive and difficult to track
The reason I never went into Amazon, Facebook, and Bookbub click ads is that I felt like they would end up losing their effectiveness over time, and I didn’t want those ads to be the main way I produced visibility. I’ve seen authors get so reliant on ads that they stop making money when the ads lose their effectiveness. Then they panic. I never wanted to be in that position. I might have left some money on the table by not buying those ads, but I’ve never regretted that decision.
That being said, there are some ads I do run every once in a while. My favorite ad sites are Freebooksy, LitRing, and Booksends. Some authors love tracking a bunch of click-through rates and tweaking keywords, but that’s not my kind of thing. I’d rather be writing.
Audiobooks are ready to boom
For years, people have been saying audiobooks are a hot market, but in my experience, the money is still way better in ebooks. ACX is awful for a return on investment. ACX will let readers return those audiobooks, and that cuts into an author’s and/or narrator’s profits. Findaway Voices is much more friendly to creators. Things might change with Spotify taking over, though. I worry the acquisition will turn Findaway into another ACX. I don’t know, guys. Making audiobooks is fun, but it’s a lot of work and time, and quite frankly, it doesn’t bring in enough money to do in earnest. AI, however, could be the game changer authors who are strapped for cash need. If AI does a fantastic job and cuts the cost and time of doing the audiobook to almost nothing, then we could probably see a real boom in this aspect of the business.
Serialized reading apps are becoming more mainstream
Out of everything on the list, I think the serialized app might be the thing that’s worth my time to look into. But not Wattpad. Wattpad requires authors to participate on there with readers to get paid. I don’t have time to participate on Wattpad. I barely have time to answer blog posts and emails, and it can take me weeks to do that. For busy authors, the best thing to do is invest in places that will pay without requiring engagement with readers. A site like Radish might be a good option. So I applied to join. There are other serialized apps out there, too. So much to learn, so little time. I’m starting with Radish, and then I’ll continue from there. Out of everything in that blog post, I’ve decided this is going to be my goal for 2022. If I have time, I’ll look into AI for audiobooks, too.
January 9, 2022
The Cursed Earl is Now Available!
This is Book 2 in the Marriage by Necessity Series.
Here are all of the books that are in this series:
This is Algernon and Reina’s romance. Reina fell in love with him in A Perilous Marriage, and while he felt an equal attraction for her, he’s hesitant to do anything about it because he can’t give her a real marriage. He, however, ends up following his heart (rather than his head) and marries her anyway. Then a series of bad things happen that makes him wonder if he has unwittingly put her in harm’s way.
I was hoping this would be a romantic comedy, but it took on a suspenseful turn. That was fine. I don’t force the story. I let the story take its own direction because the story is always stronger that way. But I do still want a comedic angle to a hero who is convinced he’s a victim of bad luck. That’s why I’m going to write Lord Quinton’s romance. I think I can reach this particular goal in his book. I’ll get to his romance in Midnight Wedding (which will be Book 2 in the next Regency series).
If you’re interested in reading about Algernon and Reina, you can find their book at these sites:
January 3, 2022
Going Into The New Year
The good news is that I have The Cursed Earl uploaded and ready to go. I have the second drafts done for The Loner’s Bride, Suitable for Marriage, and Making a Realistic Publishing Schedule book done. I’m sending them to my editor to get a look through.
Since I have this much progress made on those books, I don’t foresee any problems getting them out on their release dates. The Cursed Earl will be out January 9. The Loner’s Bride will be out March 13. Suitable for Marriage will be out May 15. Making a Realistic Publishing Schedule will be out in January or February.
The Chaos Schedule is my new writing routine.My life has become chaotic. My mother-in-law is dealing with some stuff. Father-in-law is no longer alive, and my husband has to report to work with fixed hours and days. I’m going to step in to help her out. There are other things going on, but it’s a long list, and I don’t feel like going into all of it on this blog. Suffice it to say, I don’t know from one day to the next when (or if) I can get any writing in.
A few people have recommended that I just take time off. That’s not an option for me. My writing income pays the bulk of the bills in my household. I can take a day here or there off, but I can’t take extended breaks like people are suggesting. What I’m going to do is revert back to how I wrote back in 2008-2011 when I had at least one pre-schooler at home with me. If you have small kids in your life, then you know that, at any moment, something unexpected can pop up, and this something will pull you away from the computer.
It’s just a matter of being purposeful with the time I have. I know I can do it, but writing has to be the priority. Everything else has to come second in my writing “business”. I realize the government says I run a small business, but writing is a passion so it doesn’t really feel like work. (Though it does feel like work when I have to get all of the bookkeeping done for the accountant. I hate the administrative parts of this gig. But it’s a necessary evil, so I do it.)
I’m only going to get Meant To Be up on You Tube, Rumble, and Bitchute. I’m scheduling these chapters out in advance so I don’t have to worry about them later. I was going to put more romances up, but it takes a lot of time and work to do that. That is time I could be writing.
As for the other audiobooks I have in the works, I do plan to finish up the Wyoming series on audio. I’m already a good way into The Rancher’s Bride. I hate to leave a series incomplete, so I will do The Fugitive’s Bride and The Loner’s Bride. I’m going to go slow on these books, though. My goal is to finish the series on audio by the end of this year.
I was looking to do some short horror for fun, but I doubt that will happen this year. I am eager to wrap up the Writing Tips Series, which is why I put the Making a Publishing Schedule book up on the priority list. Then I can say that is done and focus on the romances.
While this final paragraph has nothing to do with changes with the my writing plans, I want to address it since I’m making a post about the new year and stuff I’m doing. I am now going to price my new releases at $2.99 to help people afford my books when they come out. I realize that inflation is hitting a lot of people (myself included) hard, so I decided to bring the new release price down to $2.99. I need the 70% royalty I get from a $2.99 sale to help pay the bills. (That’s why I can’t price a new release at $0.99. The book has to be at least $2.99 to get 70%, at least on Amazon where I am making most of my money.) I know it’s only $1 in savings on my new releases, but it was the best compromise I could come up with.
