Michelle Deerwester-Dalrymple's Blog, page 69
January 21, 2019
Marketing, Marketing, and more Marketing . . .
Marketing, Marketing, and more Marketing . . .
Marketing, Marketing, and more Marketing . . .
Marketing, Marketing, and more Marketing . . .
January 20, 2019
Writing while working . . . Many authors, both traditiona...
Writing while working . . .
Many authors, both traditionally published and indie, struggle to make ends meet on writing alone. Or, we came late to the writing game and have worked the entire time we wrote. Either way, what is it like to work upwards of 40 hours a week (or more!) and still write/publish?
First, it is time-consuming. Having to balance work and a writing schedule alone is difficult. Then add to that a significant other, kids, pets, and their events that require your time, and perhaps other obligations you may have, such as hobbies, workouts, community events, work-related events, and hoping to find time to read.
Our time is like a pie. We can cut the slices into little slivers of pie, but there is still just one pie of time we have for a day. Some days, some slivers just don’t get cut — they are absorbed into the larger slices, and that is ok. As long as it isn’t like that every day. Mix up those pie slices!
It is self-effacing. If we feel like what we are writing is crap or won’t be well received, that can affect how we feel our work at our job is going. As an English professor, I feel that I am the last person who should be telling people how to write if I am A) not writing or B) not writing well. And if we receive bad feedback or a bad review? UGH. These challenges may make us feel depressed and that does spill over into our regular work.
And then there is general burnout — where nothing gets done. We have all had that moment where we are home from work, kids are in bed asleep, and we are burning our midnight oil, cup of tea, coffee or wine in hand, hoping the miracle of writing overcomes us, and. . . . Nothing. Just that blank screen, that accusatory blinking cursor, mocking us. Our brains are fried; we are tired; our significant other is snoring lightly in the other room, and we ask ourselves why. Why do we put ourselves through this?
Why indeed. But from a writer’s perspective, we would most likely respond, how can we not? To us, this is normal. There is a pull, a need — the same as a need for food, for sleep, for air to breathe.
So to all you writers pulling double duty, I raise my wine glass to you. Good luck with cutting your slices of pie this week.
Many authors, both traditionally published and indie, struggle to make ends meet on writing alone. Or, we came late to the writing game and have worked the entire time we wrote. Either way, what is it like to work upwards of 40 hours a week (or more!) and still write/publish?
First, it is time-consuming. Having to balance work and a writing schedule alone is difficult. Then add to that a significant other, kids, pets, and their events that require your time, and perhaps other obligations you may have, such as hobbies, workouts, community events, work-related events, and hoping to find time to read.
Our time is like a pie. We can cut the slices into little slivers of pie, but there is still just one pie of time we have for a day. Some days, some slivers just don’t get cut — they are absorbed into the larger slices, and that is ok. As long as it isn’t like that every day. Mix up those pie slices!
It is self-effacing. If we feel like what we are writing is crap or won’t be well received, that can affect how we feel our work at our job is going. As an English professor, I feel that I am the last person who should be telling people how to write if I am A) not writing or B) not writing well. And if we receive bad feedback or a bad review? UGH. These challenges may make us feel depressed and that does spill over into our regular work.
And then there is general burnout — where nothing gets done. We have all had that moment where we are home from work, kids are in bed asleep, and we are burning our midnight oil, cup of tea, coffee or wine in hand, hoping the miracle of writing overcomes us, and. . . . Nothing. Just that blank screen, that accusatory blinking cursor, mocking us. Our brains are fried; we are tired; our significant other is snoring lightly in the other room, and we ask ourselves why. Why do we put ourselves through this?
Why indeed. But from a writer’s perspective, we would most likely respond, how can we not? To us, this is normal. There is a pull, a need — the same as a need for food, for sleep, for air to breathe.
So to all you writers pulling double duty, I raise my wine glass to you. Good luck with cutting your slices of pie this week.
January 14, 2019
It is time! She is here! The Lady of the Glen ...
It is time!
She is here! The Lady of the Glen release TODAY: 1/16/19! Download your digital copy or get your paperback! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KVQYWH6
She is here! The Lady of the Glen release TODAY: 1/16/19! Download your digital copy or get your paperback! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KVQYWH6
It is time! In one day, she will be here! The ...
It is time!
In one day, she will be here! The Lady of the Glen releases tomorrow: 1/16/19! Pre-order your digital copy or get your paperback on the 16th! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KVQYWH6
In one day, she will be here! The Lady of the Glen releases tomorrow: 1/16/19! Pre-order your digital copy or get your paperback on the 16th! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KVQYWH6
January 10, 2019
It All Is Coming TogetherI feel like Hannibal from "the A...
It All Is Coming Together
I feel like Hannibal from "the A-Team" (wow, just dated myself!): I love it when a plan comes together.
Book 2 (stand alone - if you haven't read book 1!) came together with relative ease. The story flowed well, I received great feedback, and the cover artist/editors did their jobs! Now that I have the proof copy sitting in front of me, the beauty of the book makes me tear up!
There is nothing quite like a book baby, except maybe the second book baby. Perhaps it is because we know the work involved, the time commitment, the effort, and to do it all again? That is the stuff of madness. But if you look at writers, authors, the greats throughout history, they were all little touched in the head. And maybe that is what makes writers able to do what they do.
I am over the moon to have book two come out. Book three is in the works -- it will also be a stand-alone, but a continuation of the theme, if you will, and if I'm lucky, that sucker may come out in late spring, early summer. Let's keep our fingers crossed, shall we?
I have other works, too -- a few short stories (another is due out VERY soon) and a novella series, both contemporary. But the historical romance has always been my fave, and so I will always come back to it. We always come back to what we love.
I feel like Hannibal from "the A-Team" (wow, just dated myself!): I love it when a plan comes together.
Book 2 (stand alone - if you haven't read book 1!) came together with relative ease. The story flowed well, I received great feedback, and the cover artist/editors did their jobs! Now that I have the proof copy sitting in front of me, the beauty of the book makes me tear up!
There is nothing quite like a book baby, except maybe the second book baby. Perhaps it is because we know the work involved, the time commitment, the effort, and to do it all again? That is the stuff of madness. But if you look at writers, authors, the greats throughout history, they were all little touched in the head. And maybe that is what makes writers able to do what they do.
I am over the moon to have book two come out. Book three is in the works -- it will also be a stand-alone, but a continuation of the theme, if you will, and if I'm lucky, that sucker may come out in late spring, early summer. Let's keep our fingers crossed, shall we?
I have other works, too -- a few short stories (another is due out VERY soon) and a novella series, both contemporary. But the historical romance has always been my fave, and so I will always come back to it. We always come back to what we love.
January 4, 2019
Being Sick SUCKS! This whole week, since New Year's ...
Being Sick SUCKS!
This whole week, since New Year's Day, has been nothing more than me in bed sleeping, or sleeping. Not much reading, work, or writing. The worst type of sick!
So my recommendation for all you readers and writers out there - don't get sick! And if you are sick, take it easy and let yourself heal. Don't push it (do as I say, not as I do!
This whole week, since New Year's Day, has been nothing more than me in bed sleeping, or sleeping. Not much reading, work, or writing. The worst type of sick!
So my recommendation for all you readers and writers out there - don't get sick! And if you are sick, take it easy and let yourself heal. Don't push it (do as I say, not as I do!
December 28, 2018
WHEW! The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of a...
WHEW! The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity!
Between final exams, Christmas (our holiday of choice), completing final edits on book 2, and prepping for spring classes, the end of the year passed more quickly than I anticipated. But now that we are rolling into the new year, I have a bit of breathing room.
The first vacation task I took on was to read the book I received for Christmas: Elevation by Stephen King. Usually I am not the largest fan of shorter literature, but as is often the case with King, his shorter works are more than worth it. And as a runner, I especially enjoyed the running aspect of the story. The read was also good in that it reflected on some social issues of the day, another win for me as a King fan.
The remainder of my vacation free time will be occupied by indie reading. As a newer indie author, I am trying (more than I had in the past) to read, respond to, review, and advocate for the indie writing community. I have some reads and reviews on deck for the next week, and I am SO excited about that reading. I was never a "mainstream" person, to say the least; why should me reading be that way?
While this will not become a "review" blog -- I am not a reviewer in the strongest sense of the word -- I will be posting about what I am reading in general and what I like (or don't) about it, and hopefully more regularly than I have been posting.
The last part of my vacation will involve editing and the release of The Lady of the Glen. Thus far it has received such positive feedback, and I am excited about the upcoming release date of Jan 16.
I hope that everyone has the most amazing end of the 2018 year. May 2019 be the year you want it to be.
Between final exams, Christmas (our holiday of choice), completing final edits on book 2, and prepping for spring classes, the end of the year passed more quickly than I anticipated. But now that we are rolling into the new year, I have a bit of breathing room.
The first vacation task I took on was to read the book I received for Christmas: Elevation by Stephen King. Usually I am not the largest fan of shorter literature, but as is often the case with King, his shorter works are more than worth it. And as a runner, I especially enjoyed the running aspect of the story. The read was also good in that it reflected on some social issues of the day, another win for me as a King fan.
The remainder of my vacation free time will be occupied by indie reading. As a newer indie author, I am trying (more than I had in the past) to read, respond to, review, and advocate for the indie writing community. I have some reads and reviews on deck for the next week, and I am SO excited about that reading. I was never a "mainstream" person, to say the least; why should me reading be that way?
While this will not become a "review" blog -- I am not a reviewer in the strongest sense of the word -- I will be posting about what I am reading in general and what I like (or don't) about it, and hopefully more regularly than I have been posting.
The last part of my vacation will involve editing and the release of The Lady of the Glen. Thus far it has received such positive feedback, and I am excited about the upcoming release date of Jan 16.
I hope that everyone has the most amazing end of the 2018 year. May 2019 be the year you want it to be.
December 19, 2018
Book 3 -- The Exile of the Glen -- is blooming wond...
Book 3 -- The Exile of the Glen -- is blooming wonderfully!
With the release of book 2 scheduled for January 16, book 3 is beginning strong! Look for an excerpt of The Exile of the Glen in The Lady of the Glen. This story picks up with a character from The Lady of the Glen and tells what happens as plans go awry!
With the release of book 2 scheduled for January 16, book 3 is beginning strong! Look for an excerpt of The Exile of the Glen in The Lady of the Glen. This story picks up with a character from The Lady of the Glen and tells what happens as plans go awry!
December 17, 2018
Sexy Jay by M.D. DalrympleMy rating: 5 of 5 starsOnce aga...
Sexy Jay by M.D. DalrympleMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Once again, of course I'm going to review it - I wrote it! This is a fun read if you like contemporary romance short stories.
View all my reviews
