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I’m sure we’ve all heard that publishing industry phrase, “You need to have a thick skin.” And I’m sure we all assumed it was being uttered by a person who was using it as an excuse to be a dick. No? Just me, then? Well, anyway. Given that a thick skin really is essential if you intend to pursue a career in publishing, I thought it would save us all a lot of therapist’s bills if we took a minute to deconstruct the bullshit—ahem, myths—behind this popularly used phrase. Having a Thick Skin… Is NOT: Getting negative feedback and thinking, “Yay, they hated my book!” “They didn’t connect with my main character and thought my plot was flimsy and didn’t notice the stakes…oh my! This is just the moment I’ve always dreamed of!” I know you were all hoping there... Read More

Welcome to the Abridged Smut Writing Bible! Recently, I did a blog post giving tips about how to write sex scenes. It’s a great resource if you’re just getting started writing your first fictional sexy times, or if you want to take the scenes you’re already writing and boost them to the next level. I wanted to link it here on my website so all my writing resources are in the same place. It goes along really well with my past posts on How to Write Steamy Sexual Tension and Writing Sex and Violence: What Your Action Scenes Can Teach to Your Getting Action Scenes. LINK: The Smut Writing Bible: How To Write Better Sex Scenes If you want to hear my credentials for writing sexy times, or my philosophy on why writing steamy sex is of critical cultural importance... Read More

Marketing Plan…these are words guaranteed to make most authors run for the hills. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Promoting your books can be an excuse to fall in love with your characters all over again, or ogle abs, or show off your arts and crafts skills. Romance Writer’s Chat (#RWChat) recently hosted me on their blog to talk about just this topic. I wanted to link it here on my website so that all my author tips resources are in one place. And also because RWChat itself is a fantastic resource for all romance (or non-romance!) authors. They do a weekly Twitter chat on Sunday that’s a great place to meet other authors, share writing craft and publishing knowledge, and, of course, deploy all your favorite Daenerys dragon fire gifs. After you read my post, feel free... Read More