Publishing a Series through Kickstarter- a Guest Post by Jonathon Mast

My three children are voracious readers. While I love seeing their excitement as they immerse themselves in imaginary adventures and mysteries, the speed with which they read makes it hard to keep them in fresh books! That’s one reason why I was fascinated when my friend, author Jonathon Mast, told me about his plan to…

When Does the Research End?

Photo by Dariusz Sankowski on Unsplash I recently got into a social media conversation with a historical fiction writer who is just starting out. He mentioned that he enjoyed research—enjoyed it so much, in fact, that he was having a hard time knowing when to stop. He asked me how I know when my research is done. My…

The Challenges of Writing That Second Book

Photo by energepic.com on Pexels.com Or third, or I suppose now I'm starting on a fourth... I first published this post after releasing my first novel in 2019. Since then, I completed the second book that I was writing about and released it as Where Shall I Flee? in November of 2021. Now I'm working…

Whaddya Mean You Don’t Like My Protagonist?!

I'm on the verge of launching a new story, which means introducing new protagonists and hoping they "play well" together. While their personalities are different than the characters from my first book, (i.e. the characters this post was about when I wrote it a few years ago) the lessons are essentially the same. I hope…

The Five Stages of Emotionally Preparing to Release a New Book Into the Wild

Photo by energepic.com on Pexels.com Hello again, Readers and Writers! My 2020-2021 school year, also known as "Teaching in Covid-World: Take Two" is all wrapped up. Summer break has started, and in good Pacific Northwest fashion it's been drizzling fitfully and will probably continue to do so until July 5th. Ah well. Who needs sunshine?…

The Challenges of Writing That Second Book

This June, after years of research, rewrites, and editing, I published my first novel. Putting my paper and binding "baby" out into the world was exhilarating, terrifying,  exhausting... but it's done! That mountain is scaled! And then... I had the first reader ask, "When's the next one coming out?!" Don't misunderstand me- having people ask…

What If My Setting is ALL WRONG?

There are plenty of things to poke fun at in Minnesota. Don't get me wrong, I love the state of my birth- even after years away, it still feels like home. But just as it's easy to give a beloved family member a hard time for his quirks, it's easy to laugh at the little…

Whaddya Mean You Don’t Like My Protagonist?!

I first posted this over a year ago, before most of you had joined me here. It seemed worth a revisit, in hopes that the little writing lessons I have learned (sometimes the hard way!) will be useful.  -Anne Playgrounds are difficult. Supervising three children on our morning excursions leaves me longing for my afternoon coffee.…

Writing the (Gulp!) Love Scene

I do not come from an emotive people. I’m a Midwesterner by birth. The joke goes that there are three standard responses in our conversations. #1: “That’s not too bad.” This is suitable for any event from neutral to amazingly super awesome. #2: “That’s not too good.” This choice works for anything from a minor…

What If My Writing Stinks, and I Don’t Know It?

“I was given a manuscript to read, but it was so bad I sent it back/deleted it immediately.” “A friend asked me to read their writing. I tried, but I couldn’t think of anything nice to say, so I just gave it back and said I didn’t have the time.” “I wrote my first novel…