After missing a number of weeks due to summer break, we’re back with our weekly posts for Writer Wednesday. Today’s topic is at the request of an author friend of mine, who asked me to share my experiences on how to work with a PA. I’ve had a PA (personal assistant) since pretty early on in my career. Her name is Vicki, and she’s my right hand in my whole publishing career. If you’ve read my books, you’ll see me thanking her in every damn acknowledgment, because I couldn’t do what I do without her. I was just six months in when I found her, and she and I have been a strong team ever since.

So, let’s talk about how to work with a PA as an author and everything it entails. To do that, we need to start at the beginning and that’s the simple question: why and when would you need a PA? [Read more…] about How to Work With a PA

In this week’s edition of the weekly Writer Wednesday post, I want to talk about the concept of reader space and author space and the crucial difference between the two. It’s not gonna be a super long post, because this isn’t that complicated, and yet it’s something I see newbie authors get wrong. That’s because it’s simply something they don’t realize and the reason I know, is because it took me a while to figure this out as well.

[Read more…] about The Difference Between Reader Space and Author Space

I’m so sorry for not posting this last week. In my defense, things got a little crazy trying to finish one book while getting another one ready for release. Anyway, here we are, and we’ll be continuing our conversation about how to write a blurb that sells. Last week, we learned that the primary goal of a blurb is not to summarize, but to sell. And I hinted that the things readers most look for are tropes and familiar elements they love. We also looked at an old-style blurb, as I called it.

This week, we’re gonna bring it all together.

[Read more…] about How to Write a Blurb that Sells (part II)

Let’s talk about the one thing almost authors hate: the blurb. It’s that pesky bit of text on the back flap of your book or what readers see when they look up your book on for instance Amazon. For many authors, writing the blurb is the worst thing ever, as some funny memes demonstrate, haha. [Read more…] about How to Write a Blurb that Sells (part I)

In today’s post, I want to talk about how to measure your performance as an author. Now, I get that this may be a touchy subject because if you feel you’re not doing well or that you should be doing better, looking at the evidence may discourage you. But I’ve always been a firm believer in that you need to measure things, because if you don’t set goals, you’ll never know if you reached them. So today, let’s look at the rankings and numbers you should track. Because I’m exclusive to Amazon, I can only discuss those. [Read more…] about The Rankings And Numbers You Should Track

Today, I’ll be answering a question from an author, who asked me to share a little about collaborating with another author on a book or series. As most of you will know, I co-write the Ballsy Boys series with K.M. (Kyleen) Neuhold, so I can share a little about that experience and talk about some important aspects to keep in mind. [Read more…] about Collaborating With Another Author