Why is writing blog posts so hard? Better: why am I making it so difficult?
Back when I first published, I wrote a blog post daily—first on MySpace and then on Blogspot/Blogger. Yeah, it was a while ago! I would talk about my books, writing process and the characters/places populating the pages of my stories, but mostly, they were chatty little pieces about what was going on with me, the writer life, a little about my kids and also my thoughts and observations on current events and celebs. They were nothing to write home about, LOL. Or maybe, they were. It was my daily connection with you.
Then I went and made it difficult. I made it about business…all books, all the time. That’s what people wanted, right? Actually, the more I reflect on it, I don’t think so. I think it truly was about that “connection.” And then I quit blogging because it was a struggle. I tried to restart from time to time, but really, it was just too much an effort. Why spend two hours drafting a post only a couple people would read when I could be doing actual writing? You know?
So here’s an announcement that’s a non-announcement: I’m going back to my old ways. The daily life posts with a little bit of book stuff splashed in. Sorry, if that’s not what you came here for. But if you want an inside view of my life and convoluted thoughts, pull up a chair, have some tea or coffee and be my guest! There might even be cookies (or a cookie recipe) from time to time.
Welcome to my Anything Can Happen blog.
On today’s goal agenda: Become a Bestselling Author.
Oh snap! I did this already. Sadly, it was before Amazon started handing out little flags, ‘cause you know, some of my books have had definite sell through and been the top of their categories. So maybe, on today’s agenda should be “Re-become a Bestselling Author.”
Obviously, this is an ongoing goal, lol.
And today’s post is far more transparent than I ever am.
If you’re a writer and you feel like you’ve made it, don’t get too comfortable there. In this volatile market, things change in a snap. You can go from making six figures to making five or four, in what seems like a blink. Don’t get complacent. If you’re a newbie, same advice.
I guess this post is more about writing than I thought it would be.
Without sharing too many details, because I tend to be pretty vague about my personal life
(again, some advice to newer writers: don’t hang it all out there!), I went through about a five-year period where my life went from pretty okay to pretty train-wreck-y. As a result, I went from putting out 10-13 books a year to struggling to do 1-2 books a year. My mojo was gone, a casualty of my personal life. I definitely tried to hang in there, but writing and marketing my books was like pulling teeth, and occasionally, advertising wasn’t even financially feasible. Trust me, you don’t want to talk about your books when you feel like you’re a fraud and a has-been of an author. (NOTE to SELF: you are not a has-been and you know it)
So, for lack of purpose, I invested myself deeply in my other career, which is also in the publishing field and helped other authors achieve their dreams while basically back-burnering my own goals. I figured at least that had some stability—until about a year and a half before the company closed for business.
Oy vey! This is the instability of the market. You have to be brave and made of tough stuff to hang in there. You need very strong glue.
So now, it’s recover and rebuild time. Actually, that’s been going on slowly for the past two years. It hasn’t been progressing as well as planned, but things are moving. This year, I have couple new books out already and put out several last year, too. I’m actually on track to have a year much like those of old. No, seriously, I’m on track to have an 8-10 book release year. I’m very excited for where things are going and how everything has shaped up.
And I have some older books making a comeback. If you’ve made it this far in the post, thanks for sticking around, LOL!! As your reward, I’m going to tell you about one of my recent rereleases and about my next book and let you in on a little secret.
First up: Tempting Tamera
Right now, this book is only available on KU, but it will be available on all my vendors mid-May.
I fully revised Tempting Tamera before its recent rerelease. It hadn’t been available for a couple years (much like many of my books – all of which will be rereleased over the next few years). It’s interesting how technology can change in less than a decade. In reviewing some of my books, I’ve had to really think through how to make plot lines still work because of technology changes. This book wasn’t too bad to change up, but Buried Secrets, which I had written before Tamera but never released, had some huge technology changes (EEK!).
Anyway (see I’m chatty), Tempting Tamera is the first ménage book I wrote and I was darn proud of it at the time. Actually, I still am. It’s a sweet little story and I love it. It’s the second in the Circle of Three series. But wait, Brynn, you said Tamera was the first ménage you ever wrote. How is it second in the series? Long story, but Boy Toys, the first book in the series, was actually written as part of an anthology about a year later, but it takes place before Tamera. So when I did rereleases, I put them in the correct order. I have two more Circle of Three books that will be available soon.
I really enjoyed writing Tamera, learning a lot about ménage and exploring my take on it. It was just fun.
Next: Upcoming… My next book out will be Billionaire and the Beast. It’s part of the Sexy Beaches project, with Lacey Thorn and Dakota Rebel. Though it sounds like a take on Beauty and the Beast, it’s actually a spin on Cinderella. I mean what if Cinderella was a manipulative bitch and her stepsister wasn’t really ugly. What if things aren’t as they seem?
I’ve written the blurb, but I’ll be sharing that, along with an excerpt, closer to the release of the book at the end of this month. Psst! It’s releasing on 4/30, to be exact.
And the surprise? Well, it’s not just Lacey Thorn, Dakota Rebel and Brynn Paulin in the Billionaires collection. I’ll be releasing a fourth book in that group under another pen name, the first week of May. More to come on that!
~~Brynn
