It’s been a while since I’ve blogged (having a baby will do that you know), but I’m back and raring to go and thought I’d start my blog for this year (yes I was aiming to publish in Jan) with an overview of some of the key things I have learnt from my writing journey so far.

If anything is helpful to anyone on their own writing journey, or you have any questions or advice of your own, I’d really love to hear from you in the comments section below. Lesson number one – there is a LOT to learn and SHARING IS KEY. I’ll say it again in case you missed it;

#1 Share, like and be kind. Karma is karma don’t you know.

Fortunately, there are many wonderful people to connect with, share with and ask your questions to. Send your questions into the ether of social media, or ask Goddess Google and you’ll find an answer somewhere! Thank you so much to those people that write answers and just, well, know stuff.

#2 The second thing I have learnt is that editing and re-drafting can kiss my arse. I hate it; it’s painful and boring and takes too long and is the place authors’ souls go to die. Make your life more joyful and hire someone if you can, if not, do your best. An upcoming blog post of mine will share some of my own personal tips and tricks for the editing of your draft to help things along a little.

#3 Criticism – yes it hurts, but after the initial wound has faded (and definitely give it time to fade before any reaction occurs) usually it’s pretty useful. Most people are fairly decent and they’re just being honest.

If they’ve thought something could be improved, it’s likely others have too and so it makes sense to adapt. Of course, nice reviews make our spirits shine and our complexions glow; so these are the ones we like the most.

#4 Tactics for bolstering yourself after criticism (especially if you feel its undeserved) – If you want to make yourself feel better have a look at their other reviews; maybe you’ll discover they have a very particular genre they like (which isn’t yours), they have very strong views on certain things (that maybe don’t match with what you’ve written), or they rarely give a good review. Enough said.

#5 Plan your book launches – writing the book is simply the sponge of the cake – you still need the frosting and the decoration to make it complete. Advertising and promotion are like these final things, as is an awesome cover. You need to get people interested so they’ll bite into the sponge. No-one eats plain sponge – not even Mary Berry’s.

#6 Facebook – boosting your Facebook posts has really worked for me in the promotion stakes. As has using a few well thought out hashtags.

#7 Kindle countdown deals haven’t worked well for me, but the free promotion days always seem to result in a bump in sales for a week or two after.

I am certain I have much left to learn – I’ll keep you updated on my adventures into authoring.