We all have had those moments when we’re talking to others and want to share something that we’ve learned. But sometimes, in the moment, we have forgotten what we wanted to share, who we learned it from, or how to explain it. Those “nuggets of wisdom” that we want to share, just sort of disappear from our minds at the drop of a hat. The same thing happens when we research for a book. We save a link or jot a quote on scrap paper, and when it’s time to write, we can’t find it o

Part Two of The Production Schedule INTRODUCTION Some of us write way too much, and I’m one of them. When I sit down to edit, I scroll and scroll, and it all feels important, so I don’t know where to start cutting. Sometimes I overshare and infodump, but I’ve recently realized that readers only need what’s necessary at the right moment, without drifting off or giving them information that isn’t relevant yet. In this post, I’ll share how I take inventory of a draft and decide

You’ve got an idea to write and publish a book, but you’re not sure where to start or what the steps are. At some point in the early stages of your writing, you’ll have to make some of the biggest decisions for your book. You’ll need to decide which format(s) to sell, and which platform(s) to publish them on. If you’ve never published before and you don’t know what your options are, how do you know which ones are best for your book? In this blog, I’m breaking down the top for

In Part 1, we explored ways to supplement your income through direct writing activities. In Part 2, we look into alternative ways to earn extra money through affiliate marketing, paid reader clubs, physical and digital products, merchandise and e-commerce, and YouTube and multimedia content.

For writers, the book is the order, and publishing is the delivery. We’ll start with your release date and work backward from there, and along the way we’ll line up what you need: your team, writing space, and your supplies.

The last three months of the year are when many of us push hardest to finish a book. They're also full of things we can't plan for, like a sick week or a family emergency that pulls us away from our writing for days. So, before you plan out every day's worth of writing, why not plan for what you can't see coming?

For many writers, the hardest part isn’t about finishing the manuscript. It’s about stepping out and saying, “This is who I am, this is what I write, and this is why readers should pay attention.”

Time management is important when you are a writer, just as it is for any role. To put rest into practice while keeping up with deadlines, you need a system that breaks up your work into manageable focus blocks and built-in breaks.

It may seem a little distracting to be an independent writer, but the perks of self-publishing are that you are the one who gets to choose who is in your writing space. So today, I’m introducing you to mine.

Researching is one of the Stages of The Writer’s LifeCycle that writers often dread the most. It doesn’t have the freedom of brainstorming, and it doesn’t feel like real writing at all. It’s easy to put off, easy to tell yourself you’ll get to it later, and easy to avoid because it means facing your competition and wondering if you measure up.

Every morning, I wake up with a brand-new idea that I want to use, and I have to write it down. In this blog, I share a few methods I use and invite you to try one of them out this summer.

The Writer’s LifeCycle is my personal framework for the entire self-publishing journey, giving a specific name and place to every stage a writer goes through. From the first idea all the way to running your book like a business.

Removing Distractions & Unlocking Your Speed If you seem to get distracted by the words on the screen as you write, this one is for you. WHAT IS THE BLIND TYPING TECHNIQUE? If you find yourself constantly staring at a screen, fixing typos, and overthinking your writing, you are killing your momentum. I know this firsthand because I used to do it constantly. In my experience, the visual feedback of a monitor acts as a distraction loop. When you see the words appear, your brain

This blog will help you map out your nonfiction topics and lock down your fiction beats, so you can stop taking one step forward and three steps back.

Research is how writers gather the information they need before they begin drafting. It helps you build confidence in your details, stay accurate, and shape your ideas into something clear and usable.

If you have ever written a memoir, or a collection of stories from your own life, and would like to imagine and set your raw lived experiences into a story, then this blog will set you up on where to go.

How to Hook Your Reader and Never Let Go Have you ever watched a movie or a show and, in the middle of a scene, felt it hit you in a way you weren’t expecting? You might have felt chills move from your arms down your spine, or found yourself frozen in place, completely focused on what was unfolding. In those moments, you are no longer aware of your surroundings. You are inside the experience. Reading can create that same effect. You may come across a line that feels so close

Most writers have at least one person they trust with their work. I trust my writing to no one else like I trust my son. But if you are being honest with yourself, maybe you do not even have that. Maybe the only reader your work has ever had is you.

Inspiration can come at any time of the day or night (if you’re like me, a night owl). You might be washing dishes or going through your routine, and get inspired by something so simple. The point is, when inspiration hits, you need somewhere to put it. And that somewhere needs to make sense.

It is almost Easter. And while the kids are out in the yard hunting for plastic eggs filled with candy, I want to talk to you about a different kind of egg hunt. One where the stakes are a little higher than what is inside a bright or pastel-colored shell.