K.M. Allan's Blog: K.M. Allan, page 4

The Blackbirch Series One Year On: How It Started

As of November 27th, 2024, it will be one year since I released the fourth and final book and completed my debut series, Blackbirch.

That last book was called The Collector, and it joined The Beginning and The Dark Half, released in 2020, and The Ritual, released in 2022.

That made it four books published in four years, and a whole heap of my sanity. What followed was a lot of learning curves, expectations that were met, soared, crashed, and were both pleasantly—and unpleasantly—surprising.

While every writing journey and outcome is different, they’re made of the same essence, so I’m sharing my experiences of releasing a series in the hope they will help other writers with their own questions or expectations.

How It Started

I started writing this series in 2001 when the idea of a girl saving a boy’s life with magick popped into my head as I walked home from work. I tinkered with it on and off for years, before finally taking it seriously in 2015 after my job was made redundant.

Fun fact: at one point, I was working on ideas for eight books, with one called The Amulet. That book, or parts of it, eventually became The Dark Half, which features an amulet in the story and on the cover.

It’s been so long now that I can’t remember how I settled on the other titles, but they all have a dual meaning. For example: The Beginning is the name of a spell, but it’s also the beginning of the story for the main character, Josh Taylor.

The other duel meanings would be spoilers, so I won’t ruin them here, but I will say they weren’t intentional or something I noticed until the books had been published. That’s one of the reasons why I love writing. It’s so full of fun subconscious coincidences.

How it started: 22 years of drafts, ideas, and notes. How it ended: 4 published books.Paid Writing Assessments/Beta Reading

After completing the manuscript for The Beginning in 2015, I paid to have it assessed. At the time, it let me know that the plot, characters, and my writing style were working. I didn’t have the help of the writing community/friends back then so I needed that guidance.

Lesson learned: looking back, I wouldn’t do this again. I don’t believe it’s necessary unless you are really struggling with your MS and don’t have another writer to help you. It’s money that could have been spent elsewhere. However, it gave me some confidence in the MS, as it was the first round of feedback I’d gotten from a neutral party.

That year I also paid an editor for a line edit, which was also unnecessary. You don’t need to do this to query. As long as the MS is as clean as possible, send it out on submission.

Building An Author Brand

On the advice of the podcast, So You Want To Be A Writer, I created an Instagram account. This was to get my name out there before querying.

Since then, I’ve had social media accounts with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Threads, plus my blog/website.

For my current take on social media, see this post. In relation to Blackbirch, social media and my blog are where I promote my books. I haven’t dabbled in paid advertising as I’ve heard such mixed things, so I can’t offer any advice there, but I’m sure Google can help you if that’s a road you want to take.

If it wasn’t for my social media accounts and blog, I know I would not have sold the books I have. They were where readers willing to take a risk on a new author found my books.

Lesson learned: build an author brand as soon as possible and don’t be afraid to talk about your books. Most of the time, it’ll feel like hitting your head against a brick wall. You’ll also find the algorithm suppresses any promo/book-related posts, and favors literally anything else you post. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t post about your book, though. It’s frustrating, but I have found new readers by consistently posting about my books via weekly review snippets and teasers, even if only occasionally.

The Querying/Rejections

My original plan for Blackbirch was the same as everyone else—to sell it to a publisher!

The idea of indie publishing seemed too complicated and confusing to me, and I didn’t even have it as a backup plan.

In November 2015, I queried my first round of agents. The first rejection came in February 2016.

From 2015 to 2017, and then again in 2019, I submitted Blackbirch: The Beginning to:

11 Agents.4 Publishers.1 Manuscript Competition.4 Pitch Events.

That doesn’t seem like a lot nowadays, especially in the age of 100 agent rejection goals, but back then, that was how far I got with suitable agents/publishers before getting a contract with a small press.

When I was querying, some publishers insisted you wait to hear back before submitting to others. I once waited 15 months for a rejection, which is why there were no submissions in 2018.

In 2019, I received a full request and then an offer from a small press. When I notified the agents/publishers I still had queries with, one agent requested a full too, before giving me my last form rejection.

Fun fact: while querying, I sent out pages I later noticed had typos in them. One rejection gave the only querying feedback I ever got and that was a sentence about not being a fan of the opening scene. Everything else was a form rejection—even the full MS rejection.

The first rejection stung the most. The one I waited 15 months to hear from did too, but mostly because I lost so much querying time waiting to hear from them.

The most frustrating thing about querying was getting no actual feedback. It certainly made me think the book wasn’t good enough. Now that it’s published, the feedback is in the form of reviews and the majority love the plot and characters. Basically, what agents/publishers didn’t like, readers did, so your writing really is as subjective as all the form rejections say.

Lesson learned: querying is soul-crushing whether you’ve sent out 20 or 200. Have something else to work on while on submission. I was writing the first draft of book 4 while querying book 1 and enjoying it so much it got me through each rejection. It made it easier to keep writing rather than use the rejections as a catalyst to quit.

Agents and publishers might have rejected the series, but readers liked it enough to send books 1-3 to the top spots on various Amazon Hot New Releases charts and give book 4 a top 5 ranking.The Small Press

When I signed with the small press in January 2019, they gave me a January 2020 publishing date and I didn’t hear from them again until 6 weeks before that date.

The fact they’d forgotten about my book for almost a year should have been a red flag, but I knew other authors who’d been published by them, and the owners of the small press were always nice in our interactions.

After my MS was sent to their editor, they asked me if I’d heard from their cover designer and to send them any designs sent my way. I didn’t even know who their cover designer was, let alone had heard from them.

I was then asked to send the designer my ideas for the cover and was told the editor found my MS so clean they didn’t need to edit much. The proofs I was then sent had my name misspelled and minor edits I could have made myself.

Now, in case you’re thinking it, this small press wasn’t a scam. They never asked for money, but I did start to wonder what they were doing for me that I couldn’t do for myself.

When they then announced they were making business changes and offered every author on their roster the option of signing a new contract or the option of getting their rights—I opted for my rights.

As I’d spent almost a year promising my book to readers and was disillusioned by the small press and querying process, I decided to do the one thing I thought I’d never do, the one thing I’d been afraid to do, and that was to become an indie publisher.

Indie Publishing

It was a complete crash course, mainly because I wanted to stay with the original release date of my book. I had waited years for this day and had been promoting the date on my blog and didn’t want to disappoint anyone. In the end, The Beginning was published one month after it was supposed to be released by the small press.

Indie publishing is hard work. You’re doing everything yourself, including covering costs for editing, book covers, formatting, promotion, and producing the books.

It’s also up to you to make all the decisions, and/or get your work into the hands of the people that can help you. It’s tiring and endless. It’s also rewarding and perfect for those (like me) who are control freaks and like to do things themselves.

Having said that, I’ve also had generous and wonderful help from fellow writers who have beta read and edited early manuscripts. My husband used to be a graphic designer, and he did the covers based on my vague notes of trees, circles, and colorful magick. He’s also been witness to my rants about the frustrating processes of formatting and filling in the back-end fields for publishing and purchasing ISBNs.

Lesson learned: it’s always scary learning new things, and I honestly thought indie publishing was going to be impossible, but it gets easier each time you do it. It also wasn’t as scary as I originally thought it would be. If you’re on the fence, research if it’ll work for you and dare to make the leap if it does.

Book Release Times

I don’t know if there’s ever a perfect time to release a book. I do know I released my first book just before the start of the pandemic and the second during a time when the state I lived in had 262 non-consecutive days of lockdown.

Then, everyone was at home reading, and that situation likely contributed to my first sales being bigger than I expected.

The final two books were released in 2022 and 2023 when the pandemic and lockdowns were tapering off, but the current cost-of-living crisis was starting.

Whether this is one of the contributing factors to why my books have sold less with each release, I have no clue. All I know is that I’m not the only author with barely any sales this year or last.

Lessons learned: all I can advise is if your book is ready, release it. There is never a perfect time and it’ll do what it’ll do. As for my specific thoughts on publishing, check out: Author Lessons: Indie Publishing, Burnout, Author Extras, Control, and Writing Project Grief.

Fun fact: as shown in the previous image, I’ve been fortunate enough to see each of my books hit the top 5 Hot New Releases on Amazon.com.au. The Beginning is in library systems in Australia and in the US (although for reasons unknown, the other three books “can’t be sourced from library suppliers”). For a few years, books 1-3 were also available to buy at a local Dymocks Bookstore.

Those are milestones I never thought I’d achieve on my own. I’m forever grateful I got to tick them off my Writing Bucket List, and I’m so thankful to readers who requested my book at their local library, and bought a book from Dymocks. You’re the best!

Writer bucket list items: my books on a shelf in a bookstore, library, signed copies, and opening up a box of my books fresh from the printer.

I’ll end part one of the post here. Part two will be published tomorrow and covers how the Blackbirch series is going now in terms of sales (including the number of copies sold to date), more fun facts, and lessons about reviews, promotion, and letting expectations go, so I hope you’ll check back.

If you have any questions about anything in this post, be sure to let me know in the comments.

— K.M. Allan

Find me on Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads, and Threads. You can also sign up for my Newsletter to get my blog posts delivered directly to your inbox!

Author Lessons: Indie Publishing, Burnout, Author Extras, Control, and Writing Project Grief

If you’ve stumbled onto this post without reading part one, Author Lessons: Writing Community, Social Media, Newsletters, and Support, you can find it here.

Part two covers the rest of the lessons I’ve learned in the last nine years. They are based on my own experiences and may be different from yours. I’m just sharing what I know in case it’s of help to any other writers traveling the same path.

Author LessonsIndie Publishing

Like most writers, I took my shot at traditional publication. I queried for several years, got rejections, 2 full requests, and even signed a small press contract.

In the end, all books published under my name so far have been indie published by me. There are many ways to do this, and a quick Google search will no doubt give you step-by-step blogs by more seasoned professionals.

As this post is about my author lessons, this is what my experiences in indie publishing have taught me.

Four years ago, I went with IngramSpark. Nowadays, good practice is using Ingram or Draft2Digital to go wide (all retailers but Amazon), while also publishing directly with Amazon.

I’ve recently heard rumblings you can now also go direct with Apple, and Barnes and Noble, etc, but I suspect that’s a US thing.

When I was researching publishers to go with, I did look at Draft2Digital, but they don’t have a printing facility where I live, and Ingram does. This means it only takes mere days to get physical copies of my books. I also found that the print quality of paperbacks is better with Ingram than Amazon, which is another reason I chose them.

Ingram used to charge to publish books. Now they don’t, but if you need to make changes, such as fixing typos or updating your book content, it will cost you. I have heard Amazon allows you to update your files without incurring a cost, but again, I currently have no personal experience with the inner workings of publishing through Amazon.

Another tick in the going with one publisher box was not wanting to check separate places for sales. Ingram has one dashboard, and it’s easy to run reports from.

Can you now guess where I sell most of my books? Yep, it’s Amazon. A place where I’d get higher royalties if I was going directly with them (and that’s on me). I also have one reader who has so far bought every ebook I’ve released on Kobo, and occasionally I’ll get an Apple Books ebook sale.

As an indie publisher, you’ll set the recommended retail price, but Amazon and others don’t have to stick to it, and they usually won’t.

Sometimes you’ll see your books on sale and be able to tell people who will hopefully take advantage. Other times, you’ll see it so ridiculously priced that even you wouldn’t buy it. No one else does either, and months will go by with no sales.

As for advertising your books and marketing, this is the hardest part of publishing and is a constant uphill battle. I’ve heard mixed things about doing paid ads, particularly Facebook ads, and it’s not something I’ve waded into (yet).

My first book release was at the start of the pandemic when everyone was reading and I reaped the benefits. I’ve also released two books at the end of the pandemic when no one was reading or spending money and suffered the consequences—just like every other author.

I’m in two minds about Amazon. They seem to punish writers who aren’t using them. More than one release day has been marred by people not being able to order my books because Amazon listed them as “Unavailable”—all because they’re coming from Ingram and not them.

I can tell you from firsthand experience that if readers can’t buy your book when they want to, or they see a message that it’s not in stock and there is no date for when it will be in stock, you’ve lost a sale.

I’ve also read recent horror stories on Threads of Amazon suspending writer accounts and canceling pre-orders, which are sales most indie authors won’t get back.

I’m also sure I’ve had some sales they have never been reported to Ingram. That’s not to say Ingram is fantastic either. If you contact either company about lost sales, incorrect listings, missing covers, or outrageous prices well above the RRP, they blame the other companies and say everything is out of their control, leaving you with very little control.

I’d love to sell my books directly from my website, but the cost of postage makes it impossible, even within my own country.

Lesson learned: no publishing place is perfect, and all will frustrate you. Weigh the pros and cons for yourself and go with the company that’ll work best for you. Maybe one day there will be better solutions, but for now, we can only work with what we’ve got access to.

Burnout

Posting on social media consistently, writing manuscript after manuscript, being in the query trenches or on submission, and just being in an endless loop of waiting to hear what others thought of your MS/pitch/query/submission pages, and checking if your last post got enough views/likes/comments or was swallowed in the social media void yet again, takes its toll.

Doing all of that, being in that constant state of waiting, plus the internal drive to get better in an industry where you’re only as good as the last piece of content posted or book published quickly leads to disillusionment, burnout, and self-doubt.

Lesson learned: remember that you got into this because you love to write, that you keep trying because you love to write and you want others to read what you wrote, to connect with it like you do. If you find everything else is robbing you of that love of writing, take a break. Reassess things and always go back to writing.

Author Extras

The trend at the moment for author extras seems to be character artwork (made by fellow artists, not AI) and if that is something you can afford and want to include, go for it.

I haven’t commissioned such work, so I can’t speak on it, but I can say the author extras I’ve spent money on have been bookmarks, enamel pins, a tarot card based on one featured in my series, tote bags, mugs, and chocolate bar wrappers (this post contains some pics if you’re curious). These were done as giveaways to beta readers, book launch comps, and book launch swag.

I’ve also invested in business cards, which I took to my first writing conference in 2017. They were left on a table, along with everyone else’s cards. I still have a box of them sitting in my desk drawer. There haven’t been too many other places to hand such things out as COVID killed off a lot of in-person conferences.

If you go to such events often, it is a good idea to have either a business card, bookmarks, or other swag you can hand out. I suggest using a QR code on them so you can keep the info updated. My business cards have an old domain on them (which still works) but it makes me hesitant to hand them out as I know it’s not the latest and easiest info.

Lesson learned: if you can afford to get some author swag, do it. If you can’t, don’t. As much as social media would like you to believe that a release that doesn’t include sprayed edges, limited edition hardcover copies, or a candle that can be included in a giveaway box means your book will fail is all wrong. Make the best book you can. That’s the priority.

If you want extras and can swing them, go ahead. They may garner attention, but if the book is bad, a sticker of the cover art will not improve its standing amongst readers.

Control

One big lesson I’ve learned is that you have control over what you initially write. And that’s it.

The book those first few drafts will become is something you have less control over as feedback from editors and beta readers will change the book’s shape. Then, when it’s released, you’ll never have control over how it’s received, how and when it’ll be reviewed, how much it’ll sell, if your promo posts work, or if it’ll be picked by readers, let alone a bookstagrammer that will make it go viral.

Lesson learned: all you can control is the words, the next book you’ll work on, and your reaction to everything. Focus on those things, and learn to let go of everything else.

Writing Project Grief

One surprising thing I’ve gone through when finishing a writing project is a grieving process. Wrapping up a book series that was a part of my daily thoughts and life for a good chunk of time (twenty-two years) hit harder than I expected.

Often, a work in progress that spans years becomes part of your life as you write it while trying to figure out who you are. When you finish that project, that part of you is now also gone. So are the hopes you once felt for this idea that bloomed into something so big.

Some books achieve what you want—getting written. Others almost hit that ultimate writing dream. You may have landed goals you never dreamed of, such as signing with an agent, a publisher requesting a full, getting all the way to an acquisitions meeting, and signing a contract. Or you could have watched all those things happen to others as the years and luck passed you by.

Sometimes, even when books achieve more than you dreamed, they still don’t hit the specific expectation you wanted, so you grieve that too.

That writing project isn’t the breakthrough you’d wished for, but now a backlist book you hope will eventually be discovered by others.

Lesson learned: your next book may not live up to your wildest dreams, or it may surpass them. Write the books of your heart, adjust your expectations to reality, but always keep a little sparkle of big-wish hope. It’ll keep you going.

And those are my author lessons. I hope you’ve gotten something from these two posts, and if you have questions about what’s been written, or want to ask more, let me know in the comments.

— K.M. Allan

Find me on Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads, and Threads. You can also sign up for my Newsletter to get my blog posts delivered directly to your inbox!

Author Lessons: Writing Community, Social Media, Newsletters, and Support

While I’ve been writing for over twenty years, as of 2024, it’s been nine years since I launched my author accounts.

Later this month also marks one year since I completed my debut series, Blackbirch. When I started writing an upcoming blog post to mark that occasion, my habit of rambling off-topic led to lessons learned in the authoring game—so here they are!

Author Lessons

Every writer’s journey is different, but we’re all striving for the same goal, and that’s to put our art into the world, hope it finds an audience, and go with the lowest of lows and the highest of highs.

Because of those shared goals, I’m going to share parts of my journey regarding the lessons I’ve learned as an author.

When I started taking writing seriously, there was a lot I didn’t know. There’s still a lot I don’t, but there are some things I do thanks to years of consistently running social media accounts, blogging, and releasing books.

I wish I could say I was a runaway success at any of these, but I’m just like most people—putting myself out there and hoping it works.

The Writing Community

The first lesson I’d advise, and what I did, was join the writing community.

Even though writing is a solitary effort, I would not be where I am today without the friendships made and the support I’ve received.

My intro to the writing community was kick-started by starting social media accounts, this blog, and interacting with fellow writers. I’ve had friendships develop from beta reading and swapping manuscripts with writers in other countries, some of whom I count as good friends today. I would not have made those connections without putting my little introverted self out there, and you can do the same.

What I’ve also found in the writing community are fellow writers who will encourage each other, write with each other regularly for years, meet up in real life, go on writing retreats together, beta read for each other, and support each other’s books. As a part of the community, I’ve also read some of the best books, and found new favorite authors with backlists I’ve devoured.

While a reason to join the writing community is to get your name and work out there, it’s also about making connections. Find friends, not just potential customers/readers. They will help you more than paid assessment services, will lift you up when you get bad reviews, rejections, and disappointments, and encourage you when you feel like giving up.

They’ll support your books and you, and if they’re writing too, they’ll understand. They know what it’s like to put your heart and soul on the page and not have it come out how you want it to.

Lesson learned: the writing community gets the ups and downs because they are in the trenches too. It might take you a while to find others you mesh with, and writers will come and go from groups just as friends do in your life, but it’s all worthwhile.

Social Media

Years ago, I used to worry about taking time off from posting on social media, because if you took time off, you’d come back to no engagement and fewer followers.

Now, there’s so little engagement across all platforms that most people don’t even notice when you’ve taken a break.

You can do absolutely everything in your power on social media and follow every tip posted by those who have been successful, and in the majority of cases, nothing changes.

Don’t burn yourself out over it. Do what you’re happy to do. If you like making and posting graphics, do that. If reels are the only thing you can create at the end of a long day, post reels. If you can swing posting Monday to Friday, but take weekends off, take the weekend off!

I spent years posting 6 days a week, trying to find the exact right time, and the right posts, and you know what happened? My social media numbers grew quickly and then stopped.

On Instagram, I quickly gained over 2,300 followers—and that’s it. For the last 9 years, my follower count has stayed the same. Doesn’t seem to matter what I post, who I follow, or what I do, I can’t grow the numbers. Occasionally I’ll go up by 5, but that number then dwindles back down.

My Facebook author page has limped up to 600-odd followers. Twitter for a brief time was the best and got to around 3,000, but then Twitter went to crap, the majority of the writing community left, and I barely check it anymore.

My blog/website has had the best growth and follower count. Almost 5,000 of you amazing readers follow my posts, but like everything in 2024, the algorithm has strangled reach and engagement is now down here too.

Do you know how I get any new followers now? From real life. The few times a year I go to a book event, everyone just looks each other up on Instagram and then we follow each other to keep in touch. I’ve gained more followers doing that at two recent book launches than I have for the last two years.

Lesson learned: You can’t control social media, you can do everything “right” and still not get anywhere, which you’ll of course blame yourself for even though it’s out of your control. So…

Post what you enjoy and what you’re comfortable with.Post when it suits your lifestyle, not rumored rules that no one can verify.Accept that you can’t control it all.Engage when you can.Don’t expect others to reciprocate with likes, comments, and shares. Most don’t, and most of the time it’s because they honestly don’t see your posts, even if they’ve been following you for years.You’ll find people who will interact with you regularly—do the same for them.If you’ve reached a point where checking social media gives you anxiety, take a break. The world won’t end.

It will feel pointless most days, and as much as I’ve moaned about social media, I wouldn’t have sold the books I have without it. The best way is to run your social media accounts, don’t let them run you.

Newsletters

From July 2019 until October 2020, I ran a newsletter. It was a free version with Mailchimp, so it didn’t cost me anything but time to put it together and send it out, and I enjoyed doing it when I first started.

Like my social media accounts, the newsletter got stuck at 210 subscribers, and then most subscribers stopped opening the emails.

In the end, putting together the newsletter content was taking time away from writing and editing, so I closed it down and now publish the content on my blog as my roundups. My current version of a newsletter is now encouraging readers to subscribe via email to my blogs (which you can do here).

Having a newsletter gives you direct contact with readers who are interested in your work, and isn’t reliant on an algorithm showing your content to others, so there will always be an incentive to start one.

If, like I did, you find the effort is costing you in other areas, no rule says once you start a newsletter you must keep it going for the rest of your life.

Lesson learned: always reevaluate what works for you, and don’t push yourself to do something you hate because social media (or blog posts like this) say you should have a newsletter. If a newsletter works for you, start one. If it doesn’t, don’t.

Support

You’ll never get more support than with the first of things.

First time in the query trenches. First full MS request. First rejection. First published book. You should celebrate all these things, and you’ll find most people will celebrate with you, and support your posts with shares, comments, wishes of luck, cover reveals, and release day announcements.

First books will be bought by friends, family, and followers who’ve been watching your writing journey progress and want to see what your work is like.

The longer you’re around, the more work you release, the different ways that support fluctuates. In a perfect world, every release of anything new will build and become more. In reality (for the majority) support drops off. Not because you’re getting worse, but because that’s life.

Lesson learned: support who you want, and don’t expect the same level of support back, or support to last forever. Always (and I am) be grateful for any support given, especially from those who show up year after year, release after release. They’re worth more than subscriber numbers or sale figures.

As this turned into a bigger-than-expected post, I’ve split it up for easier reading.

Part two covers indie publishing with IngramSpark, thoughts on Amazon, burnout and self-doubt, grieving the end of a project, author extras, and what you can and can’t control. I’ll publish it for you tomorrow, so be sure to check back!

In the meantime, if you have any questions about the topics in this blog post, drop them in the comments.

— K.M. Allan

Find me on Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads, and Threads. You can also sign up for my Newsletter to get my blog posts delivered directly to your inbox!

October 2024 Roundup

Welcome to the October 2024 roundup!

Looking back on this month, I know I sent my Checklist Book off to beta readers, and worked on blogs, and that’s about it. It feels like it went for 2 weeks instead of 4, but that’s the nature of the last few months of the year. As for what else I got up to this month, read on…

What I’ve Been…Writing

Blogs. I did plan to work on my Authoring Checklist book, but I got stuck in a bit of a blogging loop where blogs were what I wanted to work on, so I did. The last week of the month also saw three of four beta readers send feedback for my Writing and Editing Checklist book, so I started going through their helpful notes during the last few days. There are no major issues (so far), but I do have a list of changes and additions to implement, which will keep me busy in November.

Watching

Sweetpea

This dark British drama is based on a book series by C.J. Skuse. Rhiannon is a girl once bullied in high school so badly that she pulled out her own hair. The experience made her a timid adult who can’t stand up for herself. When the death of her father starts a chain reaction of Rhiannon losing her home to her high school bully, she snaps and kills a man who tries to attack her on a night out.

Rhiannon then transforms from Sweetpea (the name her dismissive boss calls her) to a woman who goes after what she wants: a job promotion, a boyfriend, and respect. She even hatches a plan to get back at bully, Julia, all while trying to avoid the suspicions of junior detective, Marina Farrah, who might be the only person who sees the real killer that Rhiannon is. It’s tense, dramatic, and gory at times, but twisty, and every actor plays their part beautifully. Be warned that it does end on one hell of a cliffhanger, so I really do hope it’s picked up for another season.

Joan

Joan hasn’t had a great life. Always running from something, she is forced to put her young daughter into care when her abusive boyfriend gets on the wrong side of some criminals. Determined to get her daughter back and find a place for the two of them, she lands a job working at a jewelry store. When the creepy owner makes a move on her, Joan takes revenge by stealing diamonds. Having gotten away with it, she wants to do more jobs, and befriends Boisie, an antique dealer who also deals in stolen goods. What follows is a gripping series where everything that can go wrong does, but Joan is a resilient character, who sacrifices what she loves most to get herself into a different life.

Nobody Wants This

What happens when you cross a Rabbi who can only date a Jewish girl and a dating train wreck who runs a podcast about sex and is not Jewish? A great new romantic comedy series! It also helps that it stars Kristen Bell and Adam Brody. They play Joanne and Noah, who meet at a mutual friend’s dinner party and instantly hit it off. The trouble is, none of their family or friends think their relationship will work. Thankfully, they don’t want to listen to their naysayers. Featuring a great supporting cast, and some genuinely funny situations, it’s already been renewed for season 2—which is a big deal considering it’s on Netflix.

Reading

They Watch From Below by Katya de Becerra

When 17-year-old Addie is given an early orientation to the University of Arches, she accepts. It’s the same university her mother attended, and Addie knows something happened to her amongst its Gothic walls, an event that still haunts her mother and makes her see things that aren’t there. Addie sees them too, the strange shadows. She wants to find out more, and at the university, she’s put in a legacy group of kids whose parents also act like her mother does. Together, they go searching for the truth, and discover something ancient and horrifying.

Well written by talented author Katya de Becerra, the chapters are interspersed with video recordings of the creepy encounters Addie had growing up, which adds thrilling layers to this quick and clever book, making it hard to put down. Creepy shadow figures, mysterious disappearances, a spooky college campus setting, myths, and great characters and relationships round the book out, which I highly recommend for fans of horror.

Welcome To Hollow Wood by Sim Alec Sansford

This quick read has an instant nostalgia slasher-flick vibe in the vein of I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream. Opening with a girl cowering in the woods, Welcome To Hollow Wood flashes to the present day when that girl has been missing for two years. The town doesn’t know what happened to her, but four of her friends do. They’ve kept the secret, but now someone else knows and is stalking them, leaving threats and forcing them to group together once again and face the consequences of their actions.

This book is part one of the story, and does an excellent job of filling in the events that lead up to Kelsey’s disappearance and why her seemingly close group of friends might partake in the events of that night. The backstory for one character and the reveal of how he got his life-changing injury is both devastating and a great twist in a book that expertly reveals twist after twist in the final chapters, leading to a grisly murder and a cliffhanger for book 2, which I’m hoping isn’t too far away.

At Night We Played In The Road by Chantelle Atkins

Another gritty, well-told story from author Chantelle Atkins, who is a genius when it comes to everyday characters.

Alfie and Tom have grown up coming second to the family business of small-time crime that consumes their father and grandfather’s lives. Motherless after Tom’s birth, the brothers learn to rely on each other as they grow from small children to adults. The story is told in flashbacks to Alfie and Tom’s childhood in and out of foster care, their young adulthood, where any promise of a better life is often squandered by twists of fate and bad luck, and their present-day, where an adult Alfie and Tom are being held hostage.

This might seem like a heavy book, but the author’s grasp of compelling, real characters ensures that you root for these two boys and their bond that hurts yet strengthens each of them. As the story of their lives and the roles of the other characters that drift in and out of it builds in layers, it’s a hard book to put down, and one any readers of strong, character-led stories won’t regret picking up.

Chasing Shadows (The Chronicle of the Crows #1) by Steven Smith

This is my first foray into steampunk sci-fi, and I really enjoyed the mix of technology and pirate adventures. Young Captain Edison Crow, his partner Selah, and their crew are robbers, using their airship to take from the rich. When their fatality-free crimes start being reported as murders, they realize someone on the High Commission is trying to set them up.

An upcoming celebration allows them to confront a leader of the High Commission and they discover not only a big secret but a dangerous new enemy rooted in supernatural superstition.

The world-building of this book is top-notch, as is the writing, the details, and the characters. Crow and Selah have such great banter, and chapters that dip into their backstory shed some light on their ever-evolving relationship. This being book 1, there is a mystery and new questions raised after the overall adventure is done, and I can’t wait to read what’s next for this Victorian-era, ragtag crew.

If you’ve got any good book recommendations, let me know in the comments, or be my friend on Goodreads and share your books/recommendations! You can also find and follow my reviews and book recommendations on Amazon and BookBub.

If you’d like to add the Blackbirch books to your Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf and/or check out the reviews, click the following links:

Blackbirch: The BeginningBlackbirch: The Dark HalfBlackbirch: The RitualBlackbirch: The Collector Taking Photos Of

Halloween. It’s the spooky season and I’ve been seeing lots of decorations on my morning walks.

Blackbirch Teaser Of The Month

This month’s teaser is from The Dark Half. It’s Sarah Randall’s observation/opinion of resident wannabe witch, and fan favorite, Eve Thomas! Eve was such a fun character to write about as she was so determined to have magick for herself, despite what it ended up costing her.

On The Blog

In case you missed any of my posts, or want to reread them, here are the latest blogs.

September 2024 Roundup8 Feedback Questions For Fiction ManuscriptsThe Backlist

Interview!

This month, I also did a fun interview with Sim from Chasing Driftwood Books, talking about writing, the writing community, Blackbirch, and my writing companions, Dash and Luna.

Interview with K.M. Allan

And that’s it for this month. I hope you’ve enjoyed my October Roundup. Let me know what you got up to in the comments!

— K.M. Allan

Find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Threads, and sign up for my Newsletter to get my blog posts delivered directly to your inbox!

The Backlist

A book starts as a dream, an idea, a hope.

If you’re inspired and committed enough, it becomes the draft. If you’re brave enough, it becomes the query and the first rejection. If the stars align and you’re determined enough, it becomes the published.

That book is then your debut, and it’s back to dreams and hopes as it’s released into the world.

Dreams and hopes that may take off.

Dreams and hopes that may never reach the lofty potential you dare them to be.

In that scenario, the debut doesn’t become a worldwide instant bestseller, sparking movie adaptions, and multi-book deals. In realistic reality, it barely makes a blip outside of your forever-thankful-for friends, family, and small social media following.

Initial sales are strong. More people buy it than you expect. Good reviews trickle in. You see others—people you don’t know—post about having bought your book. You may even tick off the childhood dreams of seeing it on a library and bookstore shelf.

Within months, weeks even, those sales, posts, and once-thought-unbelievable goals slow down. They then stop.

Months go by. Then a year.

The book didn’t take off like you thought it would. The expectations borne from seeing every other author around you succeed raised your hopes too high.

That was their journey, you tell yourself. Your time will come.

You move onto new drafts and new dreams, but that debut still lingers in your mind.

Was it everything you thought it would be? Did you really do the best you could?

You wonder if you should rewrite it with your raised skill levels and all you now know about books. Or should you just leave it and let it be a tome of its time and your baby-writer skill level?

Is it as poorly written as you now suddenly convince yourself it is? It must be to not become more than it did.

Suddenly, that debut that once filled you with such excitement and joy is tinged with sadness.

The could-have-been. The should-have-been. The hopes you had when you first put pen to paper, and the dreams you held when it was published, are now a distant, delusional memory.

It didn’t get there straight off the bat like it seems books do for everyone else. It’s not selling steady numbers years later. Sales are months between. Reviews, years.

It’s not a colossal success, but it’s not quite a failure, either. It can’t be when you did what hundreds of others wanted to do, tried to do, started to do, but never achieved.

You released a book.

Now that book has achieved a milestone writers before you have already realized. That book is now your backlist.

It might not have done what you thought it would, and it didn’t suddenly take off on the first anniversary of release or via a random event, such as a social media algorithm actually showing others your book posts.

Now it’s been multiple years and the sales have almost petered out. The occasional new review and the consistent promos you tirelessly post aren’t breathing any new life into awareness of the book, but you still hope it will have its day.

It might be on the tenth anniversary, or it might be with another generation of readers. You might finally enjoy that celebration fifteen years from now or the book might forever be a legacy put into the world that only you and a handful of others truly enjoy.

As a backlist, it is now the book that started your writing journey rather than the star. It’s the to-be-discovered-later debut, not with a rocketing burst or runaway success, but with a slow burn.

It’s also the lessons you learned and the skills you gathered that will give the next book a bigger shine, the one after that the extra oomph, the next that secret sauce, and the one after those the hoped-for recognition and reward.

It’s time to pursue those dreams now, but they won’t exist without that first dream, idea, hope, draft, query, rejection, debut—and the now forever start of your backlist.

— K.M. Allan

Find me on Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads, and Threads. You can also sign up for my Newsletter to get my blog posts delivered directly to your inbox!

8 Feedback Questions For Fiction Manuscripts

Last month, we talked about feedback questions for non-fiction manuscripts, and today we’re going to go through questions for fictional ones!

These are the questions you can include when sending your book off to beta readers, so the feedback they give you can be easy and helpful.

8 Feedback Questions For Fiction Manuscripts

These questions should help guide experienced and new beta readers about what to watch for when reading your work.

Keep in mind that not overwhelming your betas with a million questions is the goal. Try to stick to a set amount, and include questions that are simple and relevant for the type of feedback you need as a writer.

1. What Did You Think Overall?

A great question to get the feedback juices flowing. This general overall question can be answered with as little or as much detail as your beta wants to provide. You just need an overview of the manuscript to know if you’ve achieved what you were aiming for in your story and if it works for others.

2. What Was Confusing?

By asking your betas to highlight confusing sections, they’ll be pointing out the areas of your manuscript that lack clarity, ideas that don’t work, or giving you a heads up if you have a chapter where there is just too much going on at once and it might need to be reworked.

3. When Did You Stop Reading?

While the book may not have been put down because it’s boring, knowing when someone stopped reading helps narrow down the sections where it’s potentially boring. It’s also the kind of question that could show you which scenes or chapter ends lacked a hook to keep the reader turning the pages.

4. What Piqued Your Interest?

While this type of feedback can vary between beta readers, as an action-packed dragon race can be thrilling for one, and skip-able for another, if you’ve noticed a pattern amongst the beta readers of pointing out a specific character arc or chapter as the turning point of when their interest in the story piqued, you know that is your hook.

With that knowledge, you can either play up those things in the edits, or use those parts as your highlights for writing your synopsis for submissions to agents and publishers, or for your book blurb when marketing for publishing.

5. What Did You Like?

As characters are such a big part of fictional manuscripts, asking your beta readers to single out who they liked the best and why will flag that you’re onto a winner with said character.

If you expected a certain character to be highlighted and they haven’t been, take another look at them compared to the “liked” character and see if any adjustments need to be made.

Likes can also cover scenes, settings, ideas, and pretty much any element of your manuscript, so encourage your betas to really mention everything they liked, even if it’s just a list that says the MC, the town they live in, the best friend, and the twist in chapter five. That is enough for you to know what is working in your manuscript.

6. What Did You Dislike?

Even though writers dream of “No Notes” feedback, it’s highly unlikely you’ve written something so universally loved that there’s nothing your betas disliked.

Ask them to give you their honest feedback about what they disliked. You don’t have to action it if you disagree, but knowing what doesn’t work in an MS is just as helpful as knowing what does.

7. Was There Anything Forgettable?

If your beta has just finished your manuscript and can’t remember the main character’s name, it could be that your character isn’t memorable enough (or they have a bad name).

If certain events can’t be recalled, you may need to adjust your detailing or look at how often you’re mentioning important info. If it’s not enough to trigger a payoff or the beta being able to recall that it happened, you need to switch those elements from forgettable to unforgettable.

8. Did The MS Meet Your Expectations?

Don’t be afraid to ask your betas if they wanted more from a character, relationship, plot twist, idea, or ending.

If they were satisfied with your story events and character relationships, you’ve nailed their expectations. If, however, they were expecting something totally different based on the info they had before reading your MS, you may need to analyze anything they raise and readjust.

This isn’t about readers giving you their opinions about what you should do with the characters and storyline, but what they expected to happen based on a blurb or whatever info you gave them about the MS before they read the whole thing.

The last thing you want is readers expecting a book with a happy ending only to realize once they get into the story that there’s no way that will happen.

If these questions don’t cover everything you need, feel free to chop and change them, but they should at least give you a place to start, and feedback that will make the most of your fictional manuscript!

— K.M. Allan

Find me on Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads, and Threads. You can also sign up for my Newsletter to get my blog posts delivered directly to your inbox!

September 2024 Roundup

Welcome to the September 2024 roundup!

Last month I dropped my roundup a little early as I was heading off on a writing retreat. I’m happy to say it was a great weekend with friends and we got plenty of work done on our prospective projects. There was good food, great company, and lots of writing and brainstorming. I managed to complete a draft of one of my upcoming Writing Checklist books, and my fellow #6amAusWriters, KD Kells, Emily Wrayburn, and Belinda Grant helped me come up with titles for each book. Belinda even drafted blurbs as an impartial third party who could sum up what the books are going to be about. It was the perfect way to end August and start September. As for what else I got up to this month, read on…

What I’ve Been…Writing

The writing checklist project. As mentioned previously, I’m working on two books. A paperback and ebook that will be all about Writing and Editing, and a second companion book that will cover Authoring topics, which I’m aiming to offer as a free ebook download. At the retreat, I completed a draft of the Authoring book and now need to work on the checklist graphics for it. As for the Writing and Editing book, I completed the latest draft this month and sent it off to my beta readers for feedback. While I wait for them to get back to me, I’ll continue working on the Authoring book. My goal at this minute is to have both books ready for a January 2025 release.

Watching

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

A sequel that pays great homage to the original. While the story doesn’t stray far from the beats that made Beetlejuice a classic, it does include enough new beats to make it enjoyable. There are plenty of callbacks and little nods with references and even the musical score. When a grown-up Lydia Deetz and her family come together for a funeral, it opens up old wounds and the rift between herself and her daughter, Astrid. Never believing that Lydia can see ghosts (a skill she profits off with her own TV show), Astrid refuses to indulge in the possibility of an afterlife until she’s dragged to the underworld and Lydia has to call on Beetlejuice to get her back. Highly recommended for those looking for light comedy and for fans of Beetlejuice.

The Perfect Couple

When throwing a wedding for their middle son at their beach-side home, Greer and Tag Winbury have to postpone when the maid of honor is found dead. At first, it seems like a tragic drowning, but when the toxicology report comes back, secrets and relationships are put under the microscope as it becomes obvious a wedding guest has committed a murder. Played out over 6 episodes, there are plenty of red herrings, secrets, and star turns as the well-known cast of Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, and Dakota Fanning, work with a raft of new talent to bring this murder mystery to a satisfying close. Recommended for fans of police procedurals with added drama and rich, holiday settings.

Reading

Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson

This sequel picks up in the aftermath of Pip solving the murder of Andi Bell. She turns it into a successful podcast called, A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder, and is asked to use her audience to help her friend Connor. After a memorial for Andie and her murdered boyfriend, Sal, Connor’s brother disappeared. The police rank Jamie as low risk as he’s 24 and has disappeared in the past, but Connor and Pip insist something is wrong, especially after realizing Jamie has been cat-fished.

Digging into the case brings up Pip’s inner turmoil and author Holly Jackson does a great job at showing that even a good girl has a dark side as Pip realizes that she must lean into the shadowy parts of herself that wants to solve crimes. There are throwbacks to the first book, revelations to loose strands, and a villain reveal that isn’t exactly surprising, but still makes sense as the foreshadowing is done so well. I listened to the audiobook and thoroughly enjoyed the voice acting, which added a nice layer to this installment of a series that’s perfect for fans of YA mysteries.

As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson

The third and final book in the A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder series seems to be a little controversial and I’ve noticed readers either love it or dislike it. I found it to be just as entertaining, if not the most entertaining, of the series. Split into two parts, the first deals with Pip and the aftermath of book 2 which has left her with PTSD and a habit of getting illegal pills to help her sleep. She also has a stalker, an event which is once again dismissed by the police who never helped her with cases in the previous two books. This leads to some out there decisions in part 2 of the book when Pip comes face-to-face with her stalker.

Who that is was supposed to be a big twist, but it was fairly obvious, and the fact Pip tried to put her suspicions on someone else is the first controversial issue. The second is how she dealt with her stalker, and the third an illogical decision she makes for the last few chapters of the book. Besides those love/dislike decisions, the overall story was very edge-of-your-seat, and the way it looped around to the very first book and also twisted and closed off threads from the second is a masterclass in foreshadowing. If you’re a fan of murder mysteries with twists that fall into place, this is definitely a series worth checking out.

The Rarkyn’s Fall by Nikky Lee

A sequel to The Rarkyn’s Familiar which is just as entertaining, if not more so, than its predecessor. Picking up where the last book left off, Lyss and the Raykyn, Skaar, are on the run and trying to free their friends who were caught helping them flee. As they trek, their blood bond and mixed magic continue to change them both. Afraid he is turning into a monster, Skaar tries to hide it from Lyss, but as the action of the book ramps up in the final chapters, Skaar discovers he is not the only one undergoing a transformation. Lyss has never had answers about her lineage, and as she finds out more about her murdered Fa and why they were on the run for all of her life, devastating truths are uncovered.

As well as Lyss and Skaar’s story and connection deepening, new characters, allegiances, backstories, and betrayals pepper the book, which is beautifully and masterfully written by author, Nikky Lee. As with the first book, many of the story threads are resolved, and a banger of a reveal ends this book on a high note, setting up the final book perfectly. Highly recommended for fans of fantastical worlds, monsters, and magic.

Silent Sister by Megan Davidhizar

When sisters Maddy and Grace attend a High School trip in the woods, they expect a weekend of bonding with their classmates and making memories to last a lifetime. By the end of the week, Maddy is missing and Grace is found on the side of the road with a severe head injury. She was the last person to see her sister, but she can’t remember anything before the trip or the night everyone said she and Maddy went off alone into the woods.

Switching between Grace’s present, and then Maddy’s past POV, each chapter slowly unravels the events leading up to their disappearance, with each of Maddy’s chapters ending in her own poetry that also hints at her state of mind and a twist in the final few chapters that you won’t see coming. Highly recommended for fans of YA suspense that is very character-driven.

If you’ve got any good book recommendations, let me know in the comments, or be my friend on Goodreads and share your books/recommendations! You can also find and follow my reviews and book recommendations on Amazon and BookBub.

If you’d like to add the Blackbirch books to your Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf and/or check out the reviews, click the following links:

Blackbirch: The BeginningBlackbirch: The Dark HalfBlackbirch: The RitualBlackbirch: The Collector Taking Photos Of

A writing retreat and a writer dinner. Not only did I start the month at the writing retreat with writing friends, but I ended it with a dinner with more writing friends! Both occasions were full of fun and interesting conversations about the industry, books, and writing, leaving my creative cup very full.

Blackbirch Review Of The Month

This month’s review is for the third book in the series, The Ritual, and was such a great review to receive as I spent a good year rewriting this book to get it ready for publication after the first few drafts were a real mess. Knowing readers love the book after the stress and worry of having to rework it so intensely, and almost giving up writing entirely (yep, it was that bad), it makes my little writer heart so happy!

On The Blog

In case you missed any of my posts, or want to reread them, here are the latest blogs.

August 2024 RoundupBlog Idea Clear Out8 Feedback Questions For Non-Fiction Manuscripts

And that’s it for this month. I hope you’ve enjoyed my September Roundup. Let me know what you got up to in the comments!

— K.M. Allan

Find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Threads, and sign up for my Newsletter to get my blog posts delivered directly to your inbox!

8 Feedback Questions For Non-Fiction Manuscripts

This week, I sent my latest project off to beta readers for feedback. While I’ve done this multiple times now, this is the first time I’ve sent out an MS that is a work of non-fiction and it made me wonder about the type of feedback I’ll get and how I’ll use it to approach my edits.

With fictional books, you get told what characters are good, if the plot twist worked, if the action scenes were confusing, and a multitude of other feedback that’ll further shape that story when you edit.

For non-fiction, I didn’t need to know any of that because none of those writing elements feature in the book.

This got me thinking about feedback questions for non-fiction manuscripts, and how good ones can help a beta nail their feedback, while also giving the writer what they need to finish their MS to the best of their ability. With that in mind, here are some suggested questions for anyone working on a non-fiction MS.

8 Feedback Questions For Non-Fiction Manuscripts

Whether you’ve worked with the beta readers giving you the feedback before, or you’ll be giving your MS to someone totally new, having some prompts helps everyone.

It guides even the most experienced or new beta readers about what to keep an eye out for when reading your work, and should help them focus on what they’ve just read.

You don’t want to complicate or overwhelm anyone, so stick to a set amount of questions, keep them simple, and keep them relevant for the feedback that will be most important to you as the writer.

1. What Did You Think Overall?

This question obviously works for the end of a read, but giving it to your betas before they start their feedback will help them keep the question in mind. Then, when they’ve read the entire manuscript and this is the first feedback question they have to think about, it should be an easy answer.

Asking them to give their overall thoughts should also help them sort what they’ve just read in their mind, opening their feedback flow up for the other questions that follow.

Let them know that this question can also be answered as detailed as they like, or with a few summary sentences.

2. What Was Confusing?

Even non-fiction info can be confusing if there’s just too much of it at once, or if you’ve done a poor job of explaining said info. It may make sense to you as the writer, but if a beta flags any section of your non-fiction MS as confusing, take a closer look and make sure you have everything written as clearly as it can be.

3. When Did You Stop Reading?

Asking a beta to let you know when they stopped reading is a good way to pick up on any pacing issues, which can still occur in non-fiction books.

If betas let you know that they stopped in natural places, such as the end of a section, or when a specific topic covered in the book came to a close, that should be a sign that things are fine.

If they tell you they stopped halfway through a section because it wasn’t holding their interest, or that the last 6 chapters had become too repetitive with the info, you know to use your next round of edits to address those issues and see where things can be improved/trimmed.

4. What Piqued Your Interest?

If everyone points out the same sections, you know what’s working. If sections you thought were the most interesting aren’t being mentioned, it’s an invitation to explore if you’ve kept them because they work for the good of the MS, or if you like the topic too much and it should be edited down or cut.

5. What Did You Like?

This is where you’ll ask your betas to let you know which section of the book they liked the best—such as the way you gave them tips, the graphics, or a summary section at the end of every chapter.

Knowing what worked well can help you further highlight those features in your next edit.

6. What Did You Dislike?

Now is the time to be brave and ask your betas if there was any of your MS that they disliked. This could be a section that read as if it was out of place with the other text, or could be a section in your work where the tone of your MS comes across as too preachy.

Knowing what doesn’t work means you can fix any issues before submission or publication.

7. What Did You Expect?

If you’re handing your MS over to betas, they should already have an idea about what the content is about.

After they’ve read it, it’s feedback gold to ask them if the book meets their expectations.

Ask if it covered the topics they were expecting, if they wanted/expected more info on any topic, and if the book could benefit from including a topic that wasn’t covered.

Knowing what readers expect from your book and delivering it is the result that you want. If feedback is saying readers thought your book on Writing Routines didn’t give them any useful Writing Routines to follow, you need a serious rewrite.

8. What Would You Cut?

The last question to ask your beta readers is entirely optional, but one that can help you edit out any author blind spots. After writing and editing countless drafts to get your book to a beta reader level, there are bound to be sections that should have been cut, but you never did.

It happens to us all. We cling onto what we think is the right info, not seeing that we’ve covered it better in other chapters, or that it’s no longer as relevant in the fifth draft of the MS as it was in the first.

Luckily for you, beta readers don’t have those rose-colored glasses we authors develop about our own work and can tell you what needs to be cut, so ask away, and consider their answers (if any) thoroughly before doing what needs to be done and making the cuts.

With these feedback questions, you’ll provide your beta readers with the right prompts to cover their thoughts and opinions on your manuscript. This in turn should help you take that feedback into edits and create the non-fiction book you set out to achieve!

— K.M. Allan

Find me on Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads, and Threads. You can also sign up for my Newsletter to get my blog posts delivered directly to your inbox!

Blog Idea Clear Out

We’re getting to the pointy end of the year where I’ve been looking ahead to see what blog content I need to finish up 2024.

A check of my yearly calendar showed I need 7 blog posts (besides my monthly roundup blogs) and I think that’ll be no problem as I have an entire file of ideas.

When I checked said file, however, hardly anything sparked the inspiration I needed to write the ideas so carefully squirreled away.

One reason is that my blog posts are usually born from a writing tip or editing issue I’m experiencing as I work on a WIP. Since I haven’t been writing a fictional book all year, that source of inspiration isn’t there.

The other issue is that the non-fiction project I have been working on based on my blog posts has made me realize I’ve already covered a lot of the topics in my Blog Ideas File and I’m also not in the same place I was when I wrote some of those initial ideas down.

I’ve written about growing as a writer when I was growing as a writer, but I’ve never addressed what happens when you outgrow your blogging ideas.

This isn’t to say I’ve blogged about everything, far from it, just that I’m no longer a writer who will blog about agent submissions and rejections because I’m not that writer.

Despite this realization, I have numerous notes and blog ideas dating back to 2017 about writing such posts, which led me to the only blog content I was excited about penning this week, and that was having a clear out of my Blog Ideas File!

Blog Idea Clear Out

If you’re like me, you will have a file, notepad, or bookmarked research topics you always intended to write about, but just haven’t gotten to yet. If, like me, it’s also multiple years old, it’s time to look at what you have and give it a cull.

The CutsGet Rid Of Notes That Are The Same

You’ll have them. Those notes that cover topics you’ve already written about or are very similar in ideas and info. You’ll think that it’s okay to write about procrastination yet again and that it’s not a form of procrastination, but it’s not okay and it is more procrastination.

If your notes are going to bring something fresh to a previously covered topic, by all means, keep them and write that blog post to give old readers a fresh take and new readers an introduction to the topic. If it will just be the same topic rehashed with virtually the same info, it’s safe to delete your notes and make room for something you haven’t covered before.

Eliminate What’s Not Relevant

When I started this blog, I was a new writer who hadn’t published anything and was finally taking her writing seriously. All of my early blog posts are about that journey.

From learning to write and edit, having manuscripts assessed, writing submission packages, sending manuscripts off to contests, writing query letters, and surviving rejections—I could write about that stuff because I was doing it.

I haven’t been in the query trenches for years, and as an indie publisher, I don’t plan to revisit those trenches anytime soon. I’m not in that world anymore, and writing about it isn’t something I think I could do with enough knowledge and justice to help other writers going through it.

I still had notes about it, though. Ideas for agents and rejections that could be turned into blog posts, so I’ve put those things to rest. Those old posts are still part of my blog. I won’t delete them. They are helpful for new writers and are a timeline of the writer I was when I first started, but I won’t be writing new posts on those topics.

I’ve moved past that part of my writing journey, and if you have notes and ideas that are the same, let go of those, too.

Combine What You Can

You know those three separate files on editing topics are really all the same, right? Go on. Really look at them and you’ll see that they are.

While there are multiple ways to cover a topic, there’s also you simply repeating the same info with different headlines.

Look at your notes and ideas regarding certain/similar topics and see what can be combined into one post and focus on that.

Get Rid Of The Topics You Don’t Understand

If you’ve noted down a blog topic for something you read that seemed interesting at the time, or a keyword typed into your blog search made you think you should write a post but you really don’t understand it, press delete.

If you can’t research the topic well enough to help yourself and others learn something new, the topic is wasting space in your file.

Be Ruthless

Those notes and ideas sparked enough interest that you made them, but if you’re looking back on them now and there’s no spark to write them, be ruthless with your cuts.

Chances are you would never turn them into something readable/useful. Remove them now and leave space for the ideas that make you want to write them.

Only Keep What’s Viable

Really, really viable. I had notes that were one sentence or just a title. I’d noted them down, but looking at them months or years later, they meant nothing or were now something I’d covered elsewhere. They were no longer viable blog ideas and could go.

If you can look at your idea and it still makes you curious or excited to write about it, even if it’s just a sentence, keep it. If it does nothing for you, say goodbye.

Don’t Force It

If you wrote an idea and feel you have to write it simply because it’s an idea in your ideas folder, it will help no one.

Write about what you enjoy and like; it will come across in your blog posts. If you’re excited about the topic, your readers will be too. Don’t write something just because it’s an item to tick off in your notes file.

The Aftermath

Once you’ve made all of your cuts, don’t freak out. Just because you went from an entire file of ideas to only a handful it doesn’t mean you’ll run out of blogging content. You now have the chance to come up with fresh ideas.

Create A One Day File

While this process is to get rid of blog ideas you’ll never write, if you simply can’t bring yourself to delete an idea, or you know you will be good/knowledgeable enough to do it justice in the future, create a One Day file.

In this One Day file, put the notes you can’t bring yourself to delete. You may look at this file one day and get to write the things written on it. If you’re doing another cull at a later date and haven’t touched the file, you’ll know what to do with it.

Repurpose Your Ideas

When looking at my files, I had notes about making a character relatable. It’s a topic that is relevant and always a good writer trick to learn, but it’s also something I’ve covered in other blog posts. Writing it again would feel like déjà vu, but taking those notes and applying them to make a villain relatable isn’t something I have covered before.

In fact, deciding to go a different route with the initial notes sparked new ideas and got me excited about writing such a post as opposed to covering general character relatability once again.

By switching it up, I’ll be covering a niche topic, a new topic for my blog, and one that I feel will be helpful for other writers.

Before dismissing a topic you feel you’ve already covered, see how you can apply those tips or notes to a related topic and give yourself some new content.

Study What You’ve Covered

As mentioned, the non-fiction book I’ve been working on this year is based on my blog posts. That’s 7 years’ worth of content that I looked back through and it allowed me to see what I’d covered, which topics I’d covered too much, and, made me think about what I haven’t covered yet.

Based on this, I started a keyword/topic note in my Blog Ideas File to keep track of topics I want to cover in the future. This also helped narrow down my blog ideas and ensure future posts are fresher than the old ideas I’d been clinging to.

If you’re forcing yourself to write a blog based on an old idea you have no passion for, it makes it hard to pen new content, to sit down each week to blog, and keep a blog going year after year.

While there will always be times when blogging feels like a chore, there are also times when it’s fun. That comes from working on ideas you’re passionate about writing, so keep that in mind as you update and overhaul your old blog ideas and reap the benefits of your clear out.

— K.M. Allan

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August 2024 Roundup

Welcome to the August 2024 roundup!

I’m dropping this post a little early because I’m off on a writing retreat this weekend. Most of this month has been finishing up projects and book reads so I could be focused for the 3 days I’ll be away with some members of the #6amAusWriters, tapping away at our keyboards over cups of tea, cheeseboards, and chocolate lasagna. As for what else I got up to in August, read on…

What I’ve Been…Writing

The Writing Checklist Project. My first non-fiction book is shaping up nicely. I’ve worked out a format for the checklists, made the graphics, and have spellchecked all the content. Now, I’m just reading through a printout ahead of formatting the entire book and handing it over to my beta readers for a final check.

Watching

Jackpot

Jackpot is set in a future dystopian world where a monthly lottery winner is announced and they have until sundown to survive and claim the cash. During this time window, anyone else can kill them by any means except a gun, and claim the money for themselves. Surprisingly, with this premise, it’s not a dark movie, but a comedy. Starring Awkwafina as Katie, the winner of the largest jackpot in history who has only just arrived in LA in the hopes of reviving her acting career and wasn’t aware of the game, the stakes, or that she’s won. Enter John Cena as Noel, who offers his services to help protect her in exchange for a portion of her winnings. Katie not being aware of her win or what it means makes for some fun scenes when she can’t work out why everyone is suddenly trying to kill her. There’s some witty lines about social commentary, Simu Liu as the head of a rival protection agency, and some genuinely moving moments between Katie and Noel as their true selves are revealed the longer they survive and become friends.

The Umbrella Academy (Final Season)

While the first season remains the best, the fourth and final season of The Umbrella Academy wrapped up in 6 episodes, and that that was all it needed to finish this story of super powered children who became messed-up adults that both caused and prevented numerous apocalypses. After the events of season 3, The Umbrella Academy are living new lives in an alternative timeline, but there are others (excellent cameos from Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally as Dr. Gene and Dr. Jean) who have memories of the original timeline who want to set back to it by bringing about The Cleanse. More time-hopping, family dynamics, and finally an answer to how Ben died, round out the season, which does the final storyline justice.

Reading

The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series by Jessica Radloff

This is a big book, but so fascinating. The interview style made it an easy read, and the behind the scene stories, anecdotes, and interesting facts about the show, the casting process, which actors were originally cast in the show, and some that were almost cast, and the real life relationships of the actors were a real highlight. Also interesting was learning the actors and producers thoughts on how the show got started after the initial pilot failed, when it became the #1 show in the world, and the decision to end it while it was still on top. An insert of photos, most taken by Kaley Cuoco, makes this a book worth picking up if you’re even just a casual fan of the show.

I’m Not Done with You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto

I’m Not Done With You Yet grabs you from the first sentence as you’re plunged into the first person POV of Jane. She’s a mid-list author stuck in a boring marriage, and struggling to write her third book after her first two failed upon release. She had such promise when she attended an Oxford writing program 9 years beforehand and met Thalia. After an incident, which is flash-backed to as the story goes on, Thalia has dropped off the radar. But then Jane sees a publishing announcement with Thalia’s name on it and schemes her way to putting herself back in Thalia’s life. Jane wrote better when she knew her, and as the truth of their history and the motivations of both Jane and Thalia are revealed, the book layers some very interesting twists. Highly recommended for fans of suspenseful thrillers, especially ones involving writers and the writing world who will understand both Jane and Thalia wanting to be their best author-selves— even if it costs them their humanity.

The Girl With No Reflection by Keshe Chow

When 18-year-old Ying is sent to await her wedding to the crown prince, Zhang, she’s horrified to find that not only is the prince cold, but he locks her away in a room where she starts to see strange movements in her mirror. On the night of the wedding, Ying discovers a world beyond the mirror. It’s a place where her own reflection needs help, and the reflection of the prince is a much kinder man who promises her the love she craves. If Ying can help break a seal, and right the wrongs of a past blood-soaked war, she may just get everything she wants—or she may be walking into a trap. This debut from Keshe Chow is full of prophecy, mythical beasts, adventure, and a big dose of Insta-love that is perfect for YA fans who love such tropes.

Under The Bridge by Rebecca Godfrey

Having watched the TV adaption, I wanted to see how the book faired. While the TV series focused on the real-life victim, Reena, her family, the life of the writer of the book, and a fictional police officer investigating the case, the book is focused on the perpetrators of the crime—which was the shocking beating and murder of a 14-year-old-girl. Mixing real interviews in with a narrative that reads part fiction and part magazine article, this was a hard book to put down. Almost every chapter switches to a different person’s perspective on the lead up the murder, the rumors that surrounded the case when Reena was just a missing person, the arrests, and then the trials, some of which dragged on for 7 years. It’s a book that stays with you after touching on bullying, trying to fit in, social standing, prejudice, small-town denial, justice, and injustices, and I highly recommend it to readers of true-crime.

If you’ve got any good book recommendations, let me know in the comments, or be my friend on Goodreads and share your books/recommendations! You can also find and follow my reviews and book recommendations on Amazon and BookBub.

If you’d like to add the Blackbirch books to your Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf and/or check out the reviews, click the following links:

Blackbirch: The BeginningBlackbirch: The Dark HalfBlackbirch: The RitualBlackbirch: The Collector Taking Photos Of

Book Launches and Fake Spring. This month, I attended the book launch for The Girl With No Reflection and met the very lovely author, Keshe Chow. We’ve also hit Fake Spring in Melbourne, which is what happens when the last few weeks of Winter turn into warm weather and flower blooms before Winter chills and usually heavy rains hit again before the start of Real Spring in September.

Blackbirch Teaser Of The Month

This month’s teaser is for the second Blackbirch book, The Dark Half. This and the final book tie for my fave in the series. I feel like the second book is where the story really takes off, and it contains the scene that kick-started the whole idea of the series, so it will always have a special place in my writer-heart.

On The Blog

In case you missed any of my posts, or want to re-read them, here are the latest blogs.

July 2024 RoundupSubplot Do’s And Don’tsWriting Tips: Nailing The Start Of Your Story

And that’s it for this month. I hope you’ve enjoyed my August Roundup. Let me know what you got up to in the comments!

— K.M. Allan

Find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Threads, and sign up for my Newsletter to get my blog posts delivered directly to your inbox!