Ceara Nobles's Blog, page 4

Author Mom - A Day In The Life

Have kids, they said. It'll be fun, they said.

...Okay, having kids is actually pretty fun. But nobody warned me how HARD it is to get things done with little kidlets running around! And I only have one; I see you author mamas out there with multiple kids! You are warriors!

In the two and a half years since I gave birth to Annabelle, I've struggled with my identity as a mom and author. It felt like two full-time jobs were trying to pull me in separate directions, and I lived on the precipice of being torn apart. (Dramatic? Probably, but the feeling was real!)

I wanted to work on my art, but this little human required so much of my attention. By the time I gave her what she needed, I had zero mental energy or willpower to work on my author career. I coasted through the first year postpartum, struggling to keep all the balls in the air at once.

Then I learned to delegate. To take the time I needed to work on my passion.

And THEN? Annabelle started preschool.

Okay, she's only going 2 days per week, but WOW. 12 hours per week of uninterrupted work time. What is life??

I thought it would be fun to break down what a day looks like for me as a full-time mom, part-time author, and part-time freelance editor! Here we go!

Morning: Mom Time & Mom Duty

I've made a resolution to wake up earlier than Annabelle. Some days I succeed, some days I don't, but when I do, my day always starts on a positive note. I've read countless blog posts about productivity as a mom, and the number one advice is always to get up early. I didn't think it was true until I tried it!

On preschool mornings, I get Annabelle up, fed, and ready for the day so we can get out the door by 8 am. On non-school mornings, I let her sleep until she wakes up, which is usually around 8. We spend the morning playing and getting some chores done. Sometimes we take the dog for a walk or go to the park to kill some time before lunch.

Nap Time: The Ultimate Work Sprint

Annabelle takes one nap every day from 1 pm to 3 pm, which gives me two hours to get ALL the work done. As soon as she's down, I shut myself in my office and tackle my task of the day. Since I'm working 6 hours a day on Annabelle's preschool days, that's where I do my long writing sprints and editing sprints. I reserve naptime on other days for random tasks that need to be done, like business courses, marketing, social media, and blog posts. Those are usually pretty easy to complete in a two-hour block.

If it's a preschool day, I'm working from the time I drop Annabelle at school to the time I have to pick her up. It's a huge chunk of time that I’ve organized into blocks with certain tasks. It's been so helpful to have long blocks to get stuff done and be productive!

Evenings: Shift Work

On weeknights, my husband and I take shifts on Annabelle duty. Two nights per week, I have the night "off" to work on whatever I need to, and my husband gets the other two days. Often, we end up hanging out as a family, but it's nice to have the responsibilities delegated! If I have the night off, I'll sometimes work on editing projects if I'm on a deadline, but I'm trying to shift away from working during the evenings when I can avoid it. I'm trying to spend more time intentionally focused on my family!

Final Thoughts

In the past two and a half years, my daily schedule has shifted more times than I can count. This is a snapshot of what my schedule looks like today, but tomorrow it may be different. As a mom, I have to be flexible and adjust my schedule to what's needed on any given day. That being said, I'm really working on dedicating time to my author career and finding a work/life balance that works for me.

Any other writer moms out there? What does your daily schedule look like? Let me know in the comments!

Writing Update: January 2022

Wow, it's time for another writing update already? They say January feels like the longest month of the year, but it flew by for me. And boy was it productive!

Last month, I finished SPARKS AND SHADOW (ahhh!), created ARC copies, arranged several book tours, updated covers and assembled my ARC team, and did a bunch of projects for my editing side hustle.

I know I've said this a million times over the past couple months, but I'm so ready for Everly to make her debut. *cue happy tears*

CURRENT (FINAL!) WORD COUNT

Current word count: 68,884

Target word count: 65,000

I can't believe how much I added to Everly's story with the help of Alex, my developmental editor. When I sent it to her in October, I had a whopping 49,000 words on the page. She gave me so many good ideas and highlighted so many areas where I could expand the story. I'm forever thankful to her!

WRITING THOUGHTS

Four weeks. We are four weeks away from release day. It's going to be here so fast! I'm so ready, but my to-do list is still a mile long.

ARC copies went out today, so if you're on my ARC team, check your email!

SPARKS AND SHADOW is participating in several blog tours over the next 8 weeks, so I'll be doing lots of interviews and shares on my Instagram page. I'll be sure to share some here as well, but be sure you're following me on Insta for the most up-to-date information.

I set up paperback pre-orders on my website store for signed copies, so you can click here to order one now. They'll come with exclusive character art, a signed paperback, and a fun little surprise in each box.

I'm also gearing up for some fun giveaways over the next few weeks before release day, so keep an eye on my social media pages. ;)

I can't wait to share Everly's story with you. In my next update, she'll be AVAILABLE everywhere books are sold! I still can't believe it.

Anyway, that's all for this update. See you on release day for the next one!

How I Overcame My Fear of Self-Publishing

Writing a book is scary. Publishing it? Now that's terrifying!

You put your heart and soul into this book. You slaved over it for months (years?) and it's your baby. Now it's finished. You've done the research, and you're thinking about self-publishing to share it with the world.

But self-publishing is a terrifying idea. What if your book flops? What if you get a bunch of negative reviews? What if you're no good at marketing or business management or any of that stuff? WHAT IF YOU FAIL?

I've been there.

I've wanted to be an author for as long as I can remember. I let the dream fade during my teenage years and throughout college, and then it reignited when I graduated with my Bachelor's degree. I had written a romantic suspense book, and I wanted to get it published. At first, I considered going the traditional publishing route, but I quickly realized that my book didn't quite fit into the romantic suspense niche. It wasn't steamy enough for many of the books in the market, but I knew it had a solid story and some readers would love it. So I decided to self-publish.

But oh, self-publishing is terrifying. I knew nothing about what it took to do it, and the more I researched, the more I realized how little I knew. There were so many things that could go wrong. So many ways my book (and my business) could fail.

I overcame that fear, and I'm so glad I did. Now I want to share with you how I did it.

Research, Research, Research

They say knowledge is power, and they're so right. The first step in overcoming your fear is to research the heck out of it so you know what you're getting into.

Self-publishing is a huge undertaking... and yet it's not as difficult as it sounds. It can be as simple as purchasing a pre-made cover and uploading your book to Amazon, or it can be as complicated as hiring editors and cover designers and engineering a massive wide book launch with stacked marketing promos and book tours.

If all of that sounds like nonsense to you... it's time to do your research. ;)

A great place to start is the 20Booksto50k Facebook group. You can find answers to ANY question you can think of about the business of self-publishing. If classes are more your thing, you can check out their YouTube page where they post videos of all the sessions from their annual conference for free. There's a wealth of information there that's yours for the taking, and you'll never meet a kinder group of people!

If you like online courses, Mark Dawson is a big wig in the self-publishing community, and he offers a self-publishing course that outlines everything you need to know about self-publishing.

The more you know about the subject, the less scary and overwhelming it will become. I promise!

Set Realistic Expectations

Now that you've done a bit of research (and realized how much you don't know), it's time to set some realistic expectations. As I'm sure you'll realize from the 20Booksto50k group, if you want to make a living as an author, it likely won't happen with one book. According to Craig Martelle's calculations, it takes approximately 20 books to make $50K per month... hence the group's name. ;)

Let me be real with you. I have 4 books published (soon to be 5), and I make about $50 per month in a good month. Granted, my first 4 books are not written to market, and they're in a tiny niche. I've learned a lot since I published them, and book 5 is diving into a new genre that I'm hoping will be more lucrative!

The important thing to remember is that your first book likely won't be a best-seller. Never say never, but also don't expect to make a million bucks with one title! If you want to turn your writing into a career, release this book into the world and focus on writing the next one. According to Craig Martelle, the founder of 20Booksto50k... nothing sells this book like publishing the next one.

Prepare to Fail

You WILL fail. You will choose a terrible cover for a book. You will receive one-star reviews. You will blow money on marketing that never sees a return. It's inevitable in the publishing business, especially when you're first starting out. It's scary, but if you dive in knowing that you WILL fail, then you won't be surprised when it happens.

But you know what? With every failure, you'll learn a valuable lesson. You'll learn about cover design and matching it to the market. You'll see your book's flaws in those one-star reviews and learn from them. You'll learn how to track your marketing to minimize money wasted. With every book you release, you'll get a little better and you'll make a little more money. And before you know it, you'll have 20 books under your belt and you'll be making a living as an author.

The Bottom Line

If you take one thing from this blog post, let it be this: PUBLISH THE DANG BOOK. It's terrifying and you might fail, but I promise you won't regret making the leap anyway. Support and learn from other authors on your journey, and someday when you're living your dream as an author, reach down a hand and help another author who's just starting.

To quote the 20Booksto50K moniker, "A rising tide lifts all boats."

My Top 3 Fantasy Reads in 2022 (So Far)

It's been a minute since I've gotten the chance to binge read. Between my editing job and getting ready for the SPARKS AND SHADOW launch (plus my toddler falling sick for a week--not the dreaded virus, luckily!), life has been a little hectic lately! So I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite YA fantasy reads with you. These are books that I've actually gotten to read or listen to within the past few months. Let's dive in!

A Shadow In the Ember (Flesh and Fire Series Book 1)

To say I'm obsessed with JLA would be an understatement. This series is one of my favorites, and book 4 is coming out in just a few weeks.

This series is about a girl named Penellaphe who is chosen as the Maiden to serve the gods. But everything isn't as it seems, and she soon leaves her sheltered life to join a handsome alpha male on a swoon-worthy adventure!

There's so much to say about this book (and this series). Penellaphe is a strong female who, despite a sheltered upbringing, isn't afraid to kick butt and take names. The romance level is steamy, and the love interest is... wow.

House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City Book 1)

SJM is a powerhouse in the romantic fantasy genre, and if you read this book, you'll understand why.

This book is about a woman named Bryce, a screwup who teams up with a fallen angel to solve her best friend's murder.

SJM's worldbuilding is just... it's unreal. Crescent City comes to life with every turn of the page, and the twists and turns just keep coming until you reach the end. This book is definitely geared more adult than YA, but it is SO GOOD!

Oathbound (The Royal Rose Chronicles Book 1)

I received an ARC copy of this book, and I'm in love with Victoria's storytelling! The two main characters have so many secrets between them, and the pirate details are just... *chef's kiss*.

Emme has spent her life avoiding pirates, but now she must join a pirate crew to find a cure for her hidden sickness on a mysterious island no one has been able to reach.

If you love Pirates of the Caribbean, you'll love this book! It releases on Feb 8th, so preorder your copy now!

If you're looking for a great fantasy series to dive into, I highly recommend these three!

... Now excuse me while I scrape some time together to get some pages read myself. ;)

How I Organized My Writing Schedule for 2022

It's a new year, and if you're anything like me, you've got lots of goals for 2022. I'm a big goal-setter (I thrive having new goals to work towards), but I'm not particularly successful at achieving my goals most of the time. Life always seems to get in the way!

If you've been following me here on my blog or on Instagram lately, you probably know I've dedicated this year to my author business and the release of my new fantasy series, the Rising Elements series.

One of my goals this year was to get organized with my business and plan a detailed editorial schedule for my fantasy series.

The first thing I did was watch one of my favorite YouTube authors who is a whiz at planning and organization. Her name is Sarra Cannon, and she recently released a video about planning her 2022 writing schedule. If you like goal-setting and are looking for a great method for this, I highly recommend you check this out!

It's a bit long, but it's worth every second.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evFrAA-ACv8

After I watched the video, I downloaded her Writing Plan worksheet and followed the steps she outlined in her video. (The instructions to get that download are in the video notes - you have to subscribe to her mailing list, which is 100% worth it!)

By the time I was finished, I had a production calendar that looked something like this:

It looks like a mess, but it totally makes sense to me. That's all that matters, right? :P

Basically, Sarra walks you through how to figure out how to organize your schedule into working days and count backwards to determine how long you need for each project so you can set realistic deadlines. The best part is, she does it in a way that allows for real-life stuff to come up - sickness, weather issues, non-working days - so even if you miss a day or two, it won't throw off your whole schedule.

Once I had determined all my deadlines and added them to my calendar for the entire year, I knew I could publish 3 books this year and a 4th in February of next year, which will complete the Rising Elements series! That's exciting and terrifying to think about.

Now that I know my writing schedule for the year, I can use my time wisely and stay on task during each work session. I've been working on this schedule for 2 weeks now and it has already been a game-changer for my business and productivity! I can't wait to see what it brings for the entire year.

If you're looking for a fun and effective way to organize your writing schedule for the year, I highly recommend you check it out!

Do you have a system for organizing your workload? Please share in the comments below!

Writing Update: December 2021

Hello, 2022! I can't believe it's a new year already. Technically I should have posted this update last week, but I'm a week behind. And what better way to start off a new year than by reviewing the old one?

December was a super productive month for me! I took some time off from my side hustle as a line editor and really focused on revising SPARKS AND SHADOW based on feedback from my writing critique partners. Then, just before Christmas, I got the book back from my amazing developmental editor and created a game plan for editing, the book release, and beyond!

CURRENT WORD COUNT

Current word count: 61,826

Target word count: 65,000

Woo, I'm so close to my target word count! In truth, though, I still have quite a few items to add on my edit list, so I may end up closer to 70,000 when all is said and done. I'm so pleased with the edits I've made so far. This book is really starting to shine!

WRITING THOUGHTS

To tell you the truth, this was my first time hiring a developmental editor. I worked with beta readers and CPs exclusively for the ESI series because I felt like I had that pretty nailed down, but with my genre switch to fantasy and all the complicated parts and pieces involved in creating a brand new world, I thought it was time to bring in the big guns. And let me tell you, it was 100% worth the investment! Alex honed in on exactly what my story needed and gave me great feedback to use in my editing process.

With that game plan in mind, I took some time last week to set up my editorial calendar for 2022, and guys, it's going to be a GOOD ONE! I'm shooting to publish books 1-3 in the Rising Elements series this year, and book 4 in February of 2023. That means the entire Rising Elements series will be complete by this time next year. *cue brain explosion*

I also spent the last week of December lining up all sorts of fun marketing projects for release day in March for SPARKS AND SHADOW. The book will be embarking on THREE book/blog tours, which I'm hoping will create some buzz around it before release day. I want this book in front of as many eyes as possible, and I really think we'll succeed.

I'm due to finish my final edits by Jan 15th (NEXT WEEK ahhhh!) and then I'll finish formatting and the ARC will be ready by the first week of February. That means my ARC team will be reading Everly's story in less than a month! I'm so excited!

(By the way, if you haven't signed up for my ARC team, click here. My ARC readers get exclusive access to free copies of my books up to 4 weeks before release day. Plus quarterly giveaways and lots of other fun stuff.)

Anyway, that's all for this update. I should have lots of fun updates for you in my January recap. See you then!

Sparks & Shadow - Available for Pre-Order Now!

I'm so excited to announce that the first book in my new series, Sparks And Shadow, is now available for preorder!

If you've been following me for a while, you know I've been working on this book for more than four years. Now we're only a little over 3 months away from release day! I can't wait for you to meet Everly and explore the world of Thios.

Ready for a blurb? Let's do this!

Seattle is full of monsters, and I’m the only one who can see them.

I’ve spent the last 17 years (AKA my whole life) pretending I can’t see the monsters who disguise themselves as humans. I may not have a place to live and my best friend may be moments away from getting in too deep with the city’s most dangerous drug lord, but I’m rolling with the status quo.

That is, until I save my arch enemy’s stupid life and find myself in a warehouse full of monsters.

Next thing I know, I’m in Monster Land (AKA not Seattle) and up to my ears in monsters, magic, and inevitable mayhem. If I want to get home, I have to join a band of revolutionaries and stay alive long enough to get back through the portal before war breaks out.

This’ll be a cinch.Sparks and Shadow is the first book in the Rising Elements series, a modern, action-packed YA portal fantasy series featuring Fae mythology, magic, and slow-burn romance.

Sparks and Shadow is coming to a bookstore near you on 3.4.22!

Preorder the ebook today!

Merry Christmas - and THANK YOU!

It's Christmas Eve, and I wanted to write a blog post dedicated to YOU.

Thanks for being here. Thanks for supporting me by reading my blog posts, engaging with me on social media, joining my mailing list, and most importantly buying my books!

Because of you, I get to wake up every morning and do what I love. I get to sit in coffee shops for hours and write and write and write. I get to support my family with a business that never feels like work.

I've learned so much this year. My business is young, but I've got big things planned for 2022 and beyond, and I can't wait to show them to you.

May you have a Merry Christmas with your loved ones!

<3 Ceara

How I Created a Magic System from Scratch

If you're a fantasy reader, chances are that you've read books with killer magic systems.

Harry Potter, anyone? Mistborn? Okay, ANYTHING by Brandon Sanderson?

Fantasy authors have two unique challenges that other genres typically don't: worldbuilding and magic systems.

Worldbuilding (especially fantasy worldbuilding) is another blog post altogether, but today I want to talk about the magic system I created for the Rising Elements series.

I read an excellent article by Hannah Yang from ProWritingAid about building a magic system. She talked about types of magic systems, when to use those certain types, and how to build them.

There are two types of magic systems: hard magic and soft magic. Hard magic has defined rules, logic, and boundaries, while soft magic is more atmospheric. The reader doesn't know all the limitations of soft magic, but it doesn't detract from the story (think Harry Potter, which is somewhere in the middle of both magic types - we know some of the spells Harry can do, but we don't understand the exact limitations).

For Rising Elements, I knew I wanted to create a magic system that centered around the four elements (earth, water, air, and fire - plus a bonus fifth element that I threw in for fun), but I had to be sure that my magic system took that common magic system and twisted it into something new.

In the world of Thios, the creatures worship a goddess known as Seraphine. She is the mother of the forest, a benevolent goddess who believes in balance above all else. If you perform a ceremony called the Rite and she finds you worthy, Seraphine grants you a bond with a single element. It appears in the form of a tattoo somewhere on your body and allows you to control that element.

But every good magic system (at least hard magic like mine) has limitations. *cue suspenseful music*

To use your element, you must draw upon that element from within your own body. For example, if you're bonded to water, you draw upon the water in your own body to fuel the magic. Water users have to drink absurd amounts of water. Earth users are always hungry. Air users are constantly out of breath. And fire users are always cold.

But that's not all! Seraphine's magic bonds you with your element forever. If your tattoo is broken - AKA cut, pierced, burned, etc - you will lose your bond with that element and it will kill you. And the more powerful you become with your element, the more your tattoo (and thus your Achilles heel) grows.

This magic system has been so fun to play with! It has gone through many iterations since my first draft, and I'm loving the final product!

What's your favorite magic system you've ever read? What questions do you have about my magic system in the Rising Elements series? Let me know in the comments below!

Love Free Books? Join My ARC Team!

It's no secret: 2022 is almost here, and that means the release of SPARKS AND SHADOWS is just around the corner!

Do you want a free copy of the ebook WEEKS before its release date?

Of course you do. Who doesn't like free books?

Then it's time for you to join my ARC team! (ARC = Advance Reader Copy)

My ARC team is an exclusive group for my favorite people in the world: the ones who LOVE to read and support authors. When you sign up, you'll have exclusive access to all this fun stuff:

Free copies of my ebooks (WEEKS before their release dates) Quarterly drawings for fun goodies like Amazon gift cards, signed copies of books, and more! A signed copy of my book of your choosing every year for christmas Exclusive updates and behind-the-scenes information And so much more!

My ARC team is the backbone of my career as an author. As a part of the crew, you'll be on the front lines when I release my books. Your job as an ARC reader is simple: read the book and leave me an honest review on or near release day. If you're feeling really adventurous, you can even share my books on your social media pages on release day.

Want to join the crew? Click HERE to sign up.

Got any questions? Drop them in the comments below!

I can't wait to party with you!