So I wasn’t able to squeeze in a fellow author, today, so I thought I’d interview myself ahead of Valley Con which begins tomorrow in Fargo, ND.
How do I make time to write?
I’m pretty lucky – I’m almost a full-time writer, meaning it’s my day job. I get up in the morning, eat breakfast and head to write. I have an office in our guest-room where I write, blog, e-mail, go on Zoom Calls, Stream on Streamyard and craft on Saturdays. I leave the office between 4 and 5 weekdays. That’s not to say I don’t sneak writing in at other times, cuz I do. I don’t write full-time June-August when I’m helping my husband with his crop-dusting business. I take it easy the month of December because I’ve usually finished NaNoWriMo and also the publishing industry as a whole seems to be taking a break.
Do I believe in Writer’s Block?
Yes, but not in the sense there is this great muse that won’t give me words. I think writer’s block is a manifestation of stress in your personal life or an indication there’s a problem with the story that needs to be fixed. When I have too much going on, I will cut back on my word count goal for the week and manage self-care along with refilling my creative well. I find small breaks are helpful in maintaining momentum. If I step away from a project for more than a week, I have a very hard time getting back into story. So, I find if I at least open the page and stare at it or edit or write a few lines, I don’t lose my place, but I try not to pressure myself to write.
How am I publishing my recent book and why?
Currently my back-list and my most recent work, “Alchemists of Archangel” are published with Book Boutiques. They are a small distributor that takes care of the copy-editing/line editing, provides a cover, does the formatting and distributes my book on digital platforms. This removes a lot of components about self-publishing that scare me. While they don’t do developmental editing, that was unnecessary when I released my back-list as those books were already edited. I found editors for my two recent novels in the “Archangel Revolution” series to help fix issues with them so the editing was already completed.
My current manuscript – “The Widow Spy” (this poor ms. has gone through about ten title changes), is being shopped around. I’m hoping to get in traditionally published but I fear it may be too short for NY and will happily settle for a larger digital press. I like small presses, but I really want more exposure. I may Self-Publish it if I have a hard time finding a home, but I still have concerns about doing Indie publishing correctly.
What is my favorite motivational phrase?
“Just Do It!”
It’s so cliche’ but when it comes to writing, you have to put butt in chair and muddle through until you reach the end.
What advice would I give aspiring writers?
There’s so much, but I think most important is find your tribe of writers. There are so many out there and the connections can be invaluable. I’ve found that my writing friends are supportive when you need to be lifted, ground you when you are floating away and commiserate with you through troubles. It’s no surprise that many have become life-long friends.
I hope you found this interesting and feel free to ask questions below. I’ll be happy to answer them. If you’d like to read some excerpts of my work feel free to hop over to my Books page. You can find my social links on the About Tina page.
The Clog Blog 