The blog has been quite quiet lately – but a whole lot of little bits have been going on. They’re not big enough to warrant individual blog posts, but I thought it might be fun to share what I’ve been doing behind the scenes.
Growing my author socials
Various people (publishers, friends, fellow authors and more) have all emphasised the importance of having a healthy following on social media. So I’ve been trying to create amusing or meaningful book-related content and grow my author social media accounts. I find this time-consuming and a bit of a maze as I don’t really know how to do that, but I can see it’s worthwhile.
Working on the work in progress
My beta-reader-turned-friend CJ is currently making her way through my work in progress. I particularly wanted CJ’s perspective as she’s a phenomenal author and her ability to pace a story and keep the reader on a simmering tenterhook is second to none. While my stories tend to get going, get in and get it over with, CJ could run a masterclass in creating and maintaining anticipation. So I really wanted her to consult with me on how I’m doing when it comes to the book I’m currently working on. This book has absolutely nothing to do with Mirrordom and is a stand-alone novel set in the future. And, yes, I’ll be trying to get it published. I have such a deep and abiding affection for this book.
Lots of reading
I’ve been accepted as one of Stag Beetle Books’ Street Team, which means I now get ARCs of their latest books and be able to review them. I’m currently halfway through my very first read for them.
I’m also reading a book I was sent by author, Sue Moorcroft. Sue and I have been chatting on and off as some of her lovely books are set near where I live. I always enjoy reading books set in Scotland as it feels familiar.
Learning about gardening
I love salad so I’ve always wanted to try and grow my own lettuce. This desire hasn’t developed further than me thinking: “I’d like to grow my own lettuce” but I have successfully kept a jasmine plant alive for over two days and some mint for over three. Not to mention the fact that I planted some sweet peas in tubs and they grew! I never saw the appeal of gardening before at all, but the idea that something grew and thrived because I had a tiny hand in it is just lovely. So I’m trying to learn this new skill.
Waiting for the print copy of Venom and Blaze to arrive
I’ve been reliably informed this should come by next week, so I will probably do an unboxing video to celebrate. Then I’ll go through it for my final proofread and sign off on any changes to be made. That will be the last review and edit I ever do for my debut novel. Once that’s done, it’s off into the world.
The day job
I am not a full-time author, so all of the above needs to be balanced around my day job. I’m lucky enough to work from home in the main, which takes away the stress of travelling, but it does mean I can’t just sit and write novels whenever the mood takes me.
What’s next?
I have three books accepted, with two due to be released this year. So, I’ll need to do editing, admin and promotion for all three of them. I also have plans for more in the series, so I need to actually get on and write them!
The work in progress has pulled me out of Mirrordom for a bit as well. I’ll need to get on with editing that, especially once CJ gets back to me as her eagle eyes will no doubt have spotted grammatical issues and typos. Then I will try and find a good home for it with a publisher. I would be really sad if this one never saw the light of day as I love the story and am very proud of it.
What are you up to this week? Tell me all about it in the comments.
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