Hi everybody, I am so sorry that I didn’t post Sunday evening like I usually do. In a mad dash to fill up work for August, I reached out to clients I hadn’t heard from in a while, including to a publishing company that creates and edits company histories. I got into their editor network last month, but they hadn’t sent any work my way yet, so I shot an email to my contact telling her I was available for anything she needed. I highly recommend doing this if things are slow. It’s so much easier to reach out to people you already know rather than hunt down all new clients. And it works! I immediately got a response and an assignment, but it was a fast and furious job that swallowed up my weekend. It didn’t help that I was out of town and out of my element. Thus, no blog post.

However, I think this is a great opportunity to toss out a quick (Ha! Unlikely) post about some changes I’ve been making and update you guys on a few things.

1. Newsletter

So, I’m in the process of creating a newsletter to keep in contact with subscribers, rather than just having you guys get impersonal updates via WordPress. It’s been a real chore and a steep learning curve, but I’m looking forward to the outcome. The newsletter will update you about new posts, with a personalized message from me about what it’s about, what inspired it, and what’s going on in my life; alert you if any of the programs or products I like go on sale; and give you access to some exclusive material that I’m working on developing. All of that material will be completely free, don’t worry, and my blog posts will stay the same massive length (I have a problem; I couldn’t write a short post if I tried) and contain just as much step-by-step info as before! I haven’t forgotten the reason I started this blog. Anyway, I’m thinking I can send out some exclusive tips, some useful templates that have helped me land clients, and hopefully a short ebook or two that goes into more details about some of the topics I’ve covered on the blog.

So, if you have anything you’d like to learn more about, drop those requests in the comments so I can get a better handle on what you lovely ladies and gents want from my newsletter.

To sign up, just look in the right-hand side of the screen. Where it used to have the WordPress “Follow” button, you should now see a place to enter your email and Subscribe. Even if you’re already following me via WordPress, you’ll need to subscribe again this way (sorry!) because I need your actual email address to send you the newsletter. If you don’t have a WordPress account and you signed up via email, you don’t need to do this; I already have your email. If you don’t want the newsletter, you can unsubscribe from it on the bottom of the email. I promise not to spam you. You’ll get a letter once a week when I post something new, and then a few extra here and there when I announce things or post an income report (like I plan to this weekend).

Feel free to go into your WordPress settings and unsubscribe from those updates, if you sign up for the newsletter, so that you aren’t getting two separate emails each time I post.

Lastly, please bear with me while I figure all this newsletter stuff out. They may not be pretty at first, and there may be some glitches. Please let me know if you’ve signed up but aren’t receiving weekly updates, or if things look wonky on your screen. I want to make sure I fix any kinks.

2. Novel

Depending on how long and how often you’ve been reading this blog, you may or may not know that I have a novel in the works. It is a rewrite of a novel I originally conceived and completed at the age of 14. A few years back, I sent it out for consideration to a publisher who had taken on my mentor’s book. They were kind enough to give me feedback and said they loved the story, but they could tell a young teen wrote it. Fair enough. After I fought back that writer insecurity that made my tummy flip and flop, I realized that was actually awesome news, and I decided to revisit and revamp it. I posted it on Channillo as I did so, and it became one of their most popular series, and I earned $160 and counting to edit my own manuscript as a result.

Well, now the overhaul is done, but I’m not finished yet. I met some extremely talented fellow fiction writers in my favorite Facebook group, Writing Revolters, and we are swapping novels and acting as each other’s beta readers. We only just started, but I’m already loving their feedback and insight. I know it’s going to make the book the best it can be. I’ve also got my mentor looking at it for me.

However, I wanted to also reach out to you awesome people because I want two rounds of beta readers. This first round is about polishing and refining. The second round, however, will happen right before I publish. I’m pretty sure I’m going to self-publish this one because I plan to use it as a career stepping stone, and I don’t want to have to wade through the politics and whatnot of traditional publishing. Plus, I don’t have an attractive fiction writer platform at the moment, cutting my chances even further, so I’m planning to use this novel to start building that platform. Anyway, this second phase is where you might come in. I would send you a free copy of the book in exchange for your honest (I repeat, HONEST! I’m a big girl; I can take criticism) review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Having reviews—good, bad, or in-between—on those sites helps generate buzz and credibility before launch. It also helps my ranking. You would just need to disclose that you received a free copy at the very beginning of the review.

As for what you would be reading, it’s a paranormal/fantasy crossover. In simplest terms, think medieval badasses fighting vampires and werewolves in a high fantasy world. For a full description, you can view my Channillo listing, here.

If you’re interested, you can shoot me an email (see my contact page) or say so in the comments below.

3. New Blog and Possible Author Site

Another thing sucking up my time is the new blog I’m planning to launch on my freelance business website, purpleinkpen.com. I’m behind in the development of the staple posts. I still need to write two more, even though I planned on launching August 1st. Whoops! Life will do that sometimes.

I’m also considering starting another website showcasing my personal fiction. I’m still debating, though. I think it would be nice, but that’s a lot to juggle, and I already display my publications in my PurpleInkPen portfolio. But I’ll probably do it anyway. I need somewhere to release sneak peeks and whatnot, and it’s good for marketing. But I think it would also mean another newsletter. Ugh! My brain. What do you guys think? Do you check out author pages regularly? Would you want to subscribe to something like that?

See you later, alligator!

Thanks for listening to me ramble about myself for a little while. And sorry again about the lack of a post. You’ll be getting two this weekend to make up for it: my regular post and my income report. If you decide to sign up for my newsletter, I look forward to sharing some extra stuff about myself and the freelancing world with you, and connecting on a more personal level. Here’s to the future of I Just Want to Write! Happy writing!