This month, August 24th, marks 25 years since the day I got the phone call telling me that a real publisher wanted to give me real money to publish one of my novels. So I thought I’d write a post sharing the most important things I’ve learned during this long haul. Friends matter Nourish your relationships. Find your tribe of creative colleagues. Let them become your friends. Try to offer as much to your tribe as you get back from it. Share the things you learn. Listen to the

This month, August 24th, marks 25 years since the day I got the phone call telling me that a real publisher wanted to give me real money to publish one of my novels. So I thought I’d write a post sharing the most important things I’ve learned during this long haul. Friends matter Nourish your relationships. Find your tribe of creative colleagues. Let them become your friends. Try to offer as much to your tribe as you get back from it. Share the things you learn. Listen to the

No one can write your story like you can This is the first thing. It’s your unique voice, your one-of-a-kind way of telling a story, that makes you a writer. No one can tell your story better than you can, and if you have to break a few rules to tell it the way only you can tell it, then more power to you. Never let anyone’s voice or wisdom have more authority in your mind, than your own. That’s what it’s there for. To break rules, you should first know what they are So yes,

No one can write your story like you can This is the first thing. It’s your unique voice, your one-of-a-kind way of telling a story, that makes you a writer. No one can tell your story better than you can, and if you have to break a few rules to tell it the way only you can tell it, then more power to you. Never let anyone’s voice or wisdom have more authority in your mind, than your own. That’s what it’s there for. To break rules, you should first know what they are So yes,

No one can write your story like you can This is the first thing. It’s your unique voice, your one-of-a-kind way of telling a story, that makes you a writer. No one can tell your story better than you can, and if you have to break a few rules to tell it the way only you can tell it, then more power to you. Never let anyone’s voice or wisdom have more authority in your mind, than your own. That’s what it’s there for. To break rules, you should first know what they are So yes,

Sisterhood Rocks! The romance genre is empowering to women This is the key to what makes the genre the most popular form of fiction being published today. [bctt tweet=”Romance novels aren’t The Hero’s Journey. They’re The Heroine’s Journey. http://www.blissblog.org” username=”@MaggieShayne”] These stories always pit a woman who could be any one of us, against insurmountable obstacles, powerful villains, and in the end, she always wins. She wins using the gifts and skills inhe

Sisterhood Rocks! The romance genre is empowering to women This is the key to what makes the genre the most popular form of fiction being published today. [bctt tweet=”Romance novels aren’t The Hero’s Journey. They’re The Heroine’s Journey. http://www.blissblog.org” username=”@MaggieShayne”] These stories always pit a woman who could be any one of us, against insurmountable obstacles, powerful villains, and in the end, she always wins. She wins using the gifts and skills inhe

Sisterhood Rocks! The romance genre is empowering to women This is the key to what makes the genre the most popular form of fiction being published today. [bctt tweet=”Romance novels aren’t The Hero’s Journey. They’re The Heroine’s Journey. http://www.blissblog.org” username=”@MaggieShayne”] These stories always pit a woman who could be any one of us, against insurmountable obstacles, powerful villains, and in the end, she always wins. She wins using the gifts and skills inhe

Seven Tips Make the first book in your connected series free for at least a month at a time. Make sure there are links to at least 2 sequels in the back matter. Make sure there is a hefty sized excerpt of Book 2 or a link to one in the back matter. Masterfully and subtly set up the core conflict of Book 2 in the storyline of Book 1. Feature this series on all your social media and websites. Advertise the free book in every conceivable place. Spend money on this. Make Sure Boo

Seven Tips Make the first book in your connected series free for at least a month at a time. Make sure there are links to at least 2 sequels in the back matter. Make sure there is a hefty sized excerpt of Book 2 or a link to one in the back matter. Masterfully and subtly set up the core conflict of Book 2 in the storyline of Book 1. Feature this series on all your social media and websites. Advertise the free book in every conceivable place. Spend money on this. Make Sure Boo

Seven Tips Make the first book in your connected series free for at least a month at a time. Make sure there are links to at least 2 sequels in the back matter. Make sure there is a hefty sized excerpt of Book 2 or a link to one in the back matter. Masterfully and subtly set up the core conflict of Book 2 in the storyline of Book 1. Feature this series on all your social media and websites. Advertise the free book in every conceivable place. Spend money on this. Make Sure Boo

There is a lot of benefit to joining and networking with others who are in the same business as you are. For creative entrepreneurs, there are plenty of organizations, private groups and email lists to go around. (I know about the writerly ones, so those are the ones I’ll discuss.) We go to these loops and groups to share our wisdom, our knowledge, our experiences and above all else….to bitch. We bitch about everything Amazon.com does. They are the evil empire, our fellow au

There is a lot of benefit to joining and networking with others who are in the same business as you are. For creative entrepreneurs, there are plenty of organizations, private groups and email lists to go around. (I know about the writerly ones, so those are the ones I’ll discuss.) We go to these loops and groups to share our wisdom, our knowledge, our experiences and above all else….to bitch. We bitch about everything Amazon.com does. They are the evil empire, our fellow au

There is a lot of benefit to joining and networking with others who are in the same business as you are. For creative entrepreneurs, there are plenty of organizations, private groups and email lists to go around. (I know about the writerly ones, so those are the ones I’ll discuss.) We go to these loops and groups to share our wisdom, our knowledge, our experiences and above all else….to bitch. We bitch about everything Amazon.com does. They are the evil empire, our fellow au