Zoe Carmina's Blog: Zoe Jane Carmina, page 16

My Latest Writing Slump

Click this link to hear this blog post as a podcast with your favorite podcasting app!

Hello Lovelies and welcome back to the blog.

I recently pulled myself out of a writing slump. This week, I’m going to be talking about my writing projects, my mental health, and give you an update on what’s happening. This is going to be a long, chatty blog post, so if you’re not into that, no worries, feel free to skip this week’s blog.

You may have noticed in both my last quarterly update and my las...

Is it Time for a Change?

Click this link to hear this blog post as a podcast with your favorite podcasting app!

Hello Lovelies and welcome back to the blog.

We’ve talked a lot about writing a series, and about the pitfalls of how writing an especially long-standing series in a set genre can box you into being a writer of one genre and only one genre, when that may not be what you want to write for the rest of your life. Last week I talked about the traditional publishing side of this, and about the author/agent re...

The Author/Agent Relationship

Click this link to hear this blog post as a podcast with your favorite podcasting app!

Hello Lovelies and welcome back to the blog.

We’ve talked a lot about writing a series, and about the pitfalls of how writing an especially long-standing series in a set genre can box you into being a writer of one genre and only one genre, when that may not be what you want to write for the rest of your life. This week, I want to talk about the author/agent relationship, how you can approach your agent ...

How to Fast Draft a Series

Click this link to hear this blog post as a podcast with your favorite podcasting app!

Hello Lovelies and welcome back to the blog.

I am going to apologize for not getting a post out last week. If you’re following my TikTok you may already know that my cat Tigger passed away last week and I needed to bury him last weekend. I was too upset and emotional for a blog post or podcast. Tigger was born in April of 2009 and has battled kitty asthma for the last two years. While his passing was not...

Write a Successful Series

Click this link to hear this blog post as a podcast with your favorite podcasting app!

Hello Lovelies and welcome back to the blog.

It’s all the rage. Publishers and readers alike agree. Writing novels in a series is where it’s at. Last week we talked about some of the drawbacks of writing a series from the author’s perspective. This week I want to talk more seriously about what you can do to write a series successfully.

Fast Drafting

Have you heard of fast drafting? It’s a specific ...

The Drawbacks to Publishing a Series

Click this link to hear this blog post as a podcast with your favorite podcasting app!

Hello Lovelies and welcome back to the blog.

It’s all the rage. Publishers and readers alike agree. Writing novels in a series is where it’s at. But did you consider that for an author, this may be a hard bill to pay? Have you considered that there might be drawbacks? This week, we’re talking all about the drawbacks to writing a series from the author’s perspective.

You will be locked into that series...

The Pros and Cons of a Standing Desk

Click this link to hear this blog post as a podcast with your favorite podcasting app!

Hello Lovelies and welcome back to the blog.

A while back, I got a standing desk. I made the decision to move from a giant metal teacher-style desk that looked like it was straight out of the 80’s to a desk that is sleek and more my style. 

I want to say upfront that this is not an ad of any kind. I am not getting any kind of kickback by telling you about my desk purchase. I did not get any part of th...

When Do You Need a Critique Partner?

Click this link to hear this blog post as a podcast with your favorite podcasting app!

Hello Lovelies and welcome back to the blog.

Today we are talking all about critique partners. When you’re rewriting your manuscript and figuring out how to make your second draft even better than your first, sometimes it’s not enough to work on your own. As a writer, it’s hard to read your own story with an impartial, critical eye. If you feel you’ve reached a wall with your writing, where you either ca...

Ultimate Guide to Alpha and Beta Readers

Click this link to hear this blog post as a podcast with your favorite podcasting app!

Hello Lovelies and welcome back to the blog.

If you’ve been in the writing community a while you’ve maybe heard of two terms, alpha readers and beta readers, and wondered what they are and why you need them. We’re going to be going over that today and a lot more.

Alpha? Beta? What’s the difference?

An alpha reader is one of the first people who gets to read your book. Those who read your really, really rough m...

3 Reasons to Attend a Writing Conference

Click this link to hear this blog post as a podcast with your favorite podcasting app!

Hello lovelies and welcome back to the blog.

I recently went to a statewide writer’s conference. My state puts one on every year, but because of COVID-19, they didn’t have one last year, and this year’s conference was very small and the details were constantly in flux as COVID rules and regulations changed almost daily leading up to the conference.

Still, writers from across the state braved it and ca...