In today’s Writers in the Storm blog, Joseph Lallo talks about “Restarting Old Projects / Continuing a Series After a Hiatus,” saying, “Chances are good that any author who’s been at it long enough will have at least one project that’s been simmering for years, either in an unfinished state or begging for a follow-up.”
I wish I had only one project that’s been simmering for years. Instead, I have dozens! Extremely prolific in the ‘90s, most projects were drafted and not polished. Those that were finished weren’t finding a home, as this was well before indie publishing, when one needed an agent—a difficult task to achieve.
Fortunately, I managed to get published with two different publishers, and having made lots of cold calls to Hollywood producers, I was working with half a dozen who wanted to see everything and anything I did. But then in 1998, a divorce, a move across the country, and then returning to school as a non-traditional student, my creative writing got put on hold for fifteen years.
Oh, I was writing. More academic than creative, but I did manage to write papers with topics I could later use for more projects. Silly me. Adding to the pile of unfinished ideas.
I’d been teaching professionally for a decade, and it was two years after receiving my Ph.D. that I was let go from my job—two years before I could officially retire with full benefits. Two years later, I officially retired, and within months, I created my production company and became an indie publisher. The first book was Grendel’s Mother, an idea generated after studying Beowulf in three different classes and realizing Grendel’s mother had no voice. My book gave her one.
After that, I began pulling projects off the shelf, blowing off the dust, and giving them life.
It’s been quite the journey.
Looking at my list of books published, they all have ties to earlier projects I’d written or had been teaching since the ‘90s, except for last year’s publication, Harbor House: Deadly Intentions. That story was a new historical Gothic novella for an anthology, published in 2024, which I then tied into a newly written contemporary story, allowing me to create a split-time thriller.
The current thriller I’m working on, Buried Trash: A Shelby Hale Thriller, is a mystery series resurrection from the ‘90s that I’m turning into a thriller. It’s the characters who hooked and convinced me to make the conversion.
From that 1996 manuscript, let me introduce you to the main character…
I’m Shelby Shawn Sherman Roberts, one month shy of turning thirty-nine. I hate gossips and love cotton candy. I’m slim, with shoulder-length dark hair and brown eyes. I squint too much (need glasses), drive too fast, and laugh too loud.
My first name belonged to my grandfather, and my mother protested it being hung on me, but Dad told her, “It’ll make her strong.” The only thing it did for me was get me a bloody nose or a black eye every first week of school until I entered fifth grade and I was finally able to return the favor. I guess Dad was right, after all.
Mom named me Shawn after her first actual boyfriend. The one that made her toes tingle when he kissed her, she said. In her mind that was what love was all about. Of course, Stuart, my ex-to-be, never did make my toes tingle. I thought he did once, but then I realized he was standing on my foot.
I’m constantly asked—or rather used to being asked when I was single—if I was related to that Sherman. I guess my Southern accent lends one to think I don’t mind hearing that question. It was usually asked by some drunk fraternity boy who always had a leer on his face. You’d have thought I’d have learned my lesson and stopped going to those kinds of parties. What can I say? I was young. I was more stupid then.
Come to think of it, I met Stuart at one of those parties.
While she starts out as Shelby Shawn Sherman Roberts, she changes her last name to Hale. A name she creates for herself now that she’s creating a new life and moving back to her small hometown and a pecan orchard she inherited some time ago. Her plan is to live in the trailer her ex installed on the property when she first inherited it.
And then, her first morning back from Atlanta—after the court appearance to finalize the divorce and collect the rest of her belongings—she finds a body in her trash can.
From the current rewrite, the book begins:
Had I known ahead of time that what I’d find in my trash can would put my life in danger, I would have done the smart thing: say nothing, not call the sheriff—my best friend and my first husband for all of about a month when we were 19—and let the garbage truck pick up the trash, as usual, letting the truck empty its contents into the country landfill.
Unfortunately, I’m not known for doing the smart thing. I react, not thinking things through well enough.
It’s how I ended up married three times.
I’m 38 and starting over.
Again.
The potential for this book to become a series is there, but it’ll depend on the readers. Hopefully, it’ll garner enough fans who want to read more.
Be sure to follow me here, and then go subscribe to my What’s New with Dr. Diana? announcement-only newsletter/blog on my website, so you can follow my progress via email. I plan to publish Buried Trash in the fall or late summer. With over 25k words already written and the story plot revised, my goal is to finish the first draft this month.
Embracing Change and Letting Go
For the first time in at least three years, I don’t have a book, a project that I’m currently working on or have touched in over a year.
Last month, I published the grammar book that everyone was asking, “When are you going to publish it?” Interesting how my royalty report isn’t reflecting the desired demand. At least, not yet. That was a book I’d been working on in between other projects for the last half decade.
But, hey, at least Freida McFadden told me that “You’re my new grammar expert!” and gave me permission to use her comment made in public in her readers’ fan group. Even if this book doesn’t turn out to be a best seller, that comment alone—in my mind and seeing it on my first hardcover book—made me a best-seller.
And, an hour ago, I uploaded the last of the three formats (hardcover, paperback, and eBook) for the November 18, 2025 publication of Harbor House: Deadly Intentions, my first psychological thriller. A book whose origins began in summer 2023, and which I thought had been ready for publication October 2024. Boy, was I wrong! To read the origin story, click here.
Why I never pursued romance instead of thrillers in the beginning is beyond me. No, actually, I do know why. There were and are no nearby thriller writing groups—at least not that I’ve found. At the time I began writing books, Romance Writers of America was huge, and there was an area chapter starting up, which I joined.
I learned a lot and have a pile of best-selling writer friends and just as many like me—not best-selling-authors-yet writer friends. The support is incredible.
Two days ago, I participated in my first author get-together through a Potluck Book Sale. In getting ready for my hour of hosting, I learned a few tricks to combining Canva with PowerPoint in creating reusable, promotional graphics. YAY!
I had fun chatting with some of the readers and ended up giving away seven books and sharing three recipes. I’ll definitely do another potluck party in the future.
So, what other significant changes have I made this year? Surprisingly, the theme has been about cutting back or letting go. Less is more mentality. Without providing all the details, the endgame is that I’ll be writing more books, using my time more effectively.
Once I clean some files, clear off my desk, and restock the printer, my plan for 2026 is to:
- Rewrite the optioned script, Miss Mississippi, and publish it.
- Plot out the 180-year-old story based on a true event and write it as a book. I always thought it should be a screenplay. I still believe it, but…I think it can gain legs as a novella first. A project I’ve been considering for 30 years.
- Add another book or two to my Finding Your Fire series.
- Plot out a story I’ve been mulling for about 20 years that reminds me of Nicholas Sparks’ books and the movie Somewhere in Time.
- Plot out two thriller ideas that were solidified in a write-in weekend two summers ago.
- Consider writing Harbor House and the true event story as screenplays.
- And finally, plot out a 10-second idea that raced past me from start to finish with a shocking ending that came out of the blue while I was playing a game a few days ago. I heard the character talking and could see many of the events. Yup, all in 10 seconds. (I wrote it all down quickly, so I wouldn’t forget.)
All of these projects are nagging at me—as all projects do—with this last one close behind me and whispering in my ear, “You know it’s gotta be me, don’t you?
Finding Your Fire & Keeping It Hot
Finding Your Fire & Keeping It Hot
A new year and a new me! What an explosion of events and opportunities that have come my way the last couple of months!!! And, I’m on fire, as a result!
Truly ironic on a night of fireworks as we usher in the new year. It’s 2 a.m. and I just finished the final edits of my newest book, Finding Your Fire & Keeping It Hot. It goes out tomorrow for a second round of beta readers. It’s a how-to book a number of friends and writer friends have been asking me to write, and it’ll the first of a series of how-to books.
This book is one of the projects going on my New Year’s Eve of 2022 to-do list. You probably do a list of New Year’s Resolutions. I’ve always created a to-do list for the year. Way more fun than resolutions! And, these multiple explosions that have been happening are all going on that list!
2022 is going to be a happening year!
I’m in the process of creating a newsletter where subscribers are going to get the first reveal of these exciting happenings, which includes a sneak peek and details of my mystery, the first in what I expect to be a series.
To those who are wondering about my Laurel Ridge novella series, yes, I’m in the process of finishing the series this year—publishing the entire series. Details will be in the newsletter.
And, don’t forget – I’m teaching Time Management for Writers in February through Laurie Schnebly’s WriterUniv website. It’s a class for writers and anyone else who wants to manage their time better. To enroll or to get more details, go here.
You can subscribe to my newsletter here and follow me on my Facebook author page here so that you don’t miss any of my upcoming announcements and postings.
May 2022 be a successful and happy year for us all!
Decluttering an Office and Finding Gold!
Decluttering an Office and Finding Gold !
I don’t know of any writer who doesn’t either have a collection of files—online and/or hardcopy.
Personally, I’m a hardcopy writer, meaning I want hardcopies of my material to read and edit. It’s how my career began, and I like being able to spread the manuscript pages out in front of me rather than switching screens or scrolling.
The problem is: the paperwork accumulates. Scraps of papers—even a few napkins—with ideas start piling up.
To make a long story short, I had the equivalent of three file-cabinet drawers worth of story-idea files—some started and some finished with a rough draft.
I had three shelves full of other projects in three-ring binders: screenplays, plays, three mystery series, and several how-to manuscripts, all having multiple drafts written. Some even had beta reader drafts with comments.
The files were arranged alphabetically by title. And, everything but the plays and poetry had been written in the 1990s. I was more prolific at that time than I had remembered. Extremely prolific.
I pulled every project, every file, every binder out of the drawers and off the shelves and started sorting it all, first by category, and then genre. What I discovered was that I had distinctive groupings of novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, academic papers & presentations, poetry, and nonfiction.
I found one letter from a well-known Hollywood production company where a staff member had written that I was a “writer to watch.” (Talk about gold!) Sadly, at that time I had to shift my focus from creative writing to academic writing. I had returned to school fulltime while working fulltime. There was no room for the love of my life then–screenwriting.
It took me three days to fully sort everything. From this sorting, I now have these pure-gold projects to work on:
- A collection of short stories—romance and mystery—and short plays.
- Screenplays to rewrite, a few others to plot and write out for contest entries or publication, including a horror idea that I started on Halloween night in 1998, scaring myself so much, I had to put it away and have only now taken it out again. Another new genre is a time travel romance—a story I’ve been wanting to tell for decades based on an idea that came from a song.
- Book-length mysteries! Two series and a stand-alone.
- A collection of my paranormal experiences, which I started as my Into the Core blog a decade ago with the intent of turning those blogs into a book. The blog is ready to be turned into a book as there are so many other blogs first-draft written.
- A collection of how-to books. Ideas I had decades ago. At the time, I didn’t have the authority. Now, I do. NOTE: I’m now nearly finished writing the first one, hoping to publish it yet this year. If not, then at the beginning of next year.
I’m going to become that “writer to watch” again.
I just got a 1- or 2-star review! What do I do now?
The Insecure Writer’s Support Group
The May 6 question of “Do you have any rituals that you use when you need help getting into the ZONE? Care to share?” is one I can answer that in two simple sentences: Not really. It’s just a matter of starting because I can write anywhere.
As a result, I decided to write instead about 1- and 2-star reviews. I do look forward to reading about my fellow writers’ rituals, though.
I just got a 1- or 2-star review! What do I do now?
As writers, we want reviews. We love reviews when they’re great. But, when they’re not, how are we supposed to feel?
I belong to a dozen or so writing forums and groups on Facebook and Twitter. If I had a nickel for every time I’ve seen someone groan and moan because they just got a 1-star review, I could retire happily, never to write again.
Why is it that we love 4- & 5-star reviews, but absolutely hate the 1- and 2-star reviews? Two reasons.
First, it feels like a grade, like when we were in school. We forget that a 3 is average and that most of us are probably average.
Second, we feel like we’re being judged. And, no one likes being judged. For any reason. Well, except if we’ve entered a contest.
We all like to believe we’re better than average and that someone else’s opinion of us doesn’t matter. If it doesn’t matter, then why do we allow ourselves to get upset?
Here’s the thing. Those numbers simply represent someone’s opinion. Nothing more. It doesn’t mean your book is good or bad. It means they either liked it or they didn’t.
How many books have you read that you didn’t like? Did you recommend them? Of course not. Likewise, how many books have you loved and raved about to others?
I don’t like everything I read. Can I really expect someone else to love everything they read?
That’s all that those numbers represent, nothing more. Someone’s opinion. It doesn’t make your book good or bad. A masterpiece versus a dud. It’s just an opinion. ONE OPINION.
If you get a pile of 4s and 5s, hey, lucky you! You found your audience. Is there an occasional 1 or 2? Lucky you! Someone was trying you out as a new author because they were told by someone they know or because they were enticed by all the 4s and 5s but discovered the book wasn’t to their liking. And, they wanted everyone to know it.
An example. I hated Fifty Shades of Grey. I was one opinion in an immense sea of “love it!” Did my opinion make a difference? Not one bit. Would my opinion have made a difference if I had been the first one to post a review? Not a bit. There would have been enough others following me to overcome my low ranking. Word-of-mouth advertising sold that book. It wasn’t the reviews. It was people talking to other people. The same thing happened with Gone With the Wind, Bridges of Madison County, The Martian, and others.
It’s all about perspective.
Getting all 1s and 2s? Now, that’s a problem. Not with them. The problem is with your book. It’s probably ladened with errors, has plot holes, or has character issues. Did you have it proofed? Did you use beta readers to help you uncover those plot or character problems? If not, unpublish it, fix the problems, get a new ISBN, a new cover, and sell it as a 2nd edition, stating that previous issues have been addressed.
It’s not the end of the world to get the occasional 1- or 2-star review. It is a problem, though, if as a writer you think it’s a problem. And generally, it is the new writer who wails about these first 1- and 2-star reviews. Experienced writers ignore them.
Step back, look at the big picture, stop giving each review an all-or-nothing power, and keep writing. Look at the overall ratings, instead. If most of them are healthy, then you’re good.
If the problem is you only have a few reviews, then your job is to get more. Give your book away to reviewers. Find a reviewing website or two. At the back of each of my books, I talk about reviews and how they’re important to writers, showing them how they can quickly write a review.
Your goal is to find your audience. Your ultimate goal is to write a book that creates word-of-mouth advertising because those are the books that fly off the shelf and become the book-to-movie stories. Nothing sells books faster or better than word-of-mouth.
***
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer – aim for a dozen new people each time – and return comments. This group is all about connecting!
Check us out! http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/
The One Trait Every Writer Needs
The One Trait Every Writer Needs
Originally posted on June 25, 2014 on my Only for the Brave blog, I offer this advice again. It’s advice that never gets old.
This trait is the one trait that finally saw me getting my first novel published. Originally, I had said if I wasn’t published with a novel by the time I turned 40, I would quit. At 40, I was so close, I couldn’t quit. At 42, I published my first book.
It’s a trait no writer should be without.
The one trait a writer can’t be without is PERSISTENCE.
The persistent writer:
-
- Submits their work.
- Accepts rejection. (It’s not personal).
- Accepts criticism.
- Wants criticism because they know growth occurs when mistakes are pointed out. Plus, criticism means the writer engaged the reader, of if nothing else, hit a nerve.
- Pays attention to the details.
- Rewrites or revises, and rereads for polishing again.
- Resubmits.
And, repeats steps 6 & 7 repeatedly until SUCCESS (acceptance/publication) is finally achieved.
Should’a…Could’a…Would’a…
Today, I have a guest blogger.
Keri Kruspe, fellow writer and friend, writes this blog and shares with you her experiences as a first-time author and what she wished she had known beforehand. I wish I had known, too.
SHOULD’A…COULD’A…WOULD’A…
What I wished I’d done differently
By Keri Kruspe
Now that I’ve gotten more than six months of being an indie author under my belt, I wanted to take a step back to see what (if anything) I would have done differently to start my publishing career.
The short answer is yes…yes, I would do a couple of things differently if I could do it all over again. In order to give a clear reason as to why I say that, let’s take a look at where I was back in October of 2018 when I launched my first novel.
Back then, I had to start everything from scratch–
- Website (you mean I need my own…?)
- Media Presence (i.e. Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest – which ones – how do I use them?)
- Author email
- Author Brand (Brand…what in the world…)
- Decide to go “wide” or “KU” (huh?)
- What software to use to format for electronic readers as well as paperback (never heard of epub…mobi…again huh?)
- Newsletter or blog
- Create your newsletter subscribers (where in world would they come from?)
- How do I find an editor who will work with me? What about a proofreader – do I need both or more?
- Where do I find a good cover artist for my genre (heh…I read/write in a genre?)
More importantly – where in the world do I go to learn how to do all of this??
Instead of diving deep into each one, I thought I’d give an overview of what I strongly feel I’d like to do different if I could go back into time and have a do-over.
WIDE OR KU?
Ah, the ago-old question. In all of the training I’ve taken, the overwhelming answer you get is, “it’s up to you…it’s a personal decision.” A very nice, safe, gentle non-answer that doesn’t help much.
So, here’s my two cents worth: If I only had one book to release starting out – I’d do KU first.
Let me explain.
When I started as a new author, I had A LOT to learn (see above). I figured, no big deal, why not go wide and reach not only Amazon customers, but everyone else in the universe as well. Why get stuck for 90 days in only one vendor – I planned to release the other books right after the first.
Well, things didn’t work out quite that way. Because of my inexperience, I didn’t realize how much time it took to get each novel ready (and I’m talking about after I’ve written it and done my own “due diligence” in editing it on my own).
Because I had so much to learn and do – if I’d gone with Amazon exclusive with the first one, I would have gotten a little “boost” in launching my book – plus have a little extra “time” to learn the ropes while I got the other books ready. I could have stayed there for 90 days, and by then at least my second book would be ready and I might have gone wide then if I wanted to.
READER MAGNET 
In all the “noise” of trying to get advice on what makes a successful author (by noise I mean, training, websites, various advice on social media) the one that stands out the most is you have to have a healthy mailing list (okay, had to admit I didn’t know what a mailing list/reader magnet was until after I launched by first book). And in order to get that list, you need to over a “reader magnet.” Which, loosely defined is a prize your readers gets when they join your mailing list.
There were several suggestions on what to offer for a reader magnet: a book in a series (ack – only had one book…so this was a “no go”) or a short story or even something exclusive to what I was writing. So, I used my “writers bible”, something I created about the universe of my trilogy. It was a thirty-page “encyclopedia” with various info of my characters and the aliens (the trilogy is a sci-fi romance). Should work…right?
Wrong.
Seven months after my launch, I only have 40 subscribers on my list. If I could have this “do-over” I’d have a short story reader magnet ready to go before I launched my book. Because I thought my little catalog would be a good incentive, I waited until three months into my publishing career to rethink the whole thing.
So, taking a deep breath, I pulled out an old short story (around 35,000 words) I wrote ten years ago and gave it a complete overhaul. I’m hoping to release it in July and then start a mailing list campaign (fingers crossed). My goal is reaching at least 100 subscribers by the end of the year.
Wish me luck.
VARIOUS STUFF
In hindsight (don’t you love hindsight?…it’s always so spot on…), I wouldn’t have tried to learn everything at once. It’s so hard to figure out how to make a website from scratch while learning the ins-and-outs on how to create/maintain several social media business accounts. Add to that how to effectively create visual ads (Canva and BookBrush are my friends). Also, how do you make those ads profitable? What makes them profitable?
Let’s not mention that at the same time I had to learn how to polish my writing skills (this includes eliminating my unnecessary adverbs/filler words and creating an in-depth point of view for my characters).
What I should have done was finish learning my writing craft first. This may or may not include working with an editor. Then I would have mastered these skills one at a time (instead of trying to do them all at once) and I would do it in this order:
- Hire a reputable cover artist
- Find appropriate editors
- Design and create my website
- Sign up for an EMS (email mailing service) and produce a landing page with my reader magnet ready to go.
- Learn how to upload/format my books (including paperback)
- Discover how to upload formatted book onto the appropriate retailers (i.e. Amazon, Barns & Nobel, etc)
- Marketing – this could include making ads (and how to determine if they’re viable). How to join/create a blog tour, and/or newsletter swaps. Let’s not forget social media. Learn when and how to use them.
WRAP UP 
Okay..whew..got my frustrations out. Now that I’ve finished venting, what’s next?
Now it’s catch-up time. My trilogy is out in the world and it’s time to create a new story. I’m getting back into the habit of reaching my writing goal every day. As I mentioned before, I want to finish working on my reader magnet and start the campaign to increase my subscription list. Still trying to master making ads and monitoring them. I’m sure I’ll be working on that for the rest of my career.
As for the “should’a” part of this article, well, wallowing in regrets isn’t quite my style. I’d rather learn from my “mistakes” and move on. If my experience helps others, that makes me happy. Please keep in mind this disclaimer…what I’ve written is only my opinion. There’s no guarantee what I think should have worked better actually would. You know what they say about opinions…everyone has one!
*****
Keri Kruspe, author of Otherworldly Romantic Adventures – writing about feisty heroines who aren’t afraid to take chances in life or love.
Keri has been an author since the age of twelve and has always been fascinated with otherworldly stories that end in Happily Ever After. Her current sci-fi romance trilogy, An Alien Exchange (winner 2018 SPF Galaxy award) had its first release winter 2018. The story continues with D’zia’s Dilemma and concludes with Ki’s Redemption.
A native Nevadan, Keri resides with her family in the wilds of Northwest Michigan where she enjoys the stark change in seasons and the pleasures each one brings. An avid reader, Keri loves an enjoyable bottle of red wine, a variety of delicious foods and watching action/adventure movies…usually at the same time. You can find her most days immersed in her fantasy world on her latest novel while foot tappin’ to classic rock. When not absorbed in her writing, Keri works alongside her husband in building their dream home or discovering intelligent life in America in their RV. Join the fun and sign up for her mailing list at www.kerikruspe.com
