IWSG January 2026: Starting the year off strong

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! Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

The awesome co-hosts for the January 7 posting of the IWSG are Shannon Lawrence, Olga Godim, Jean Davis, and Jacqui Murray!

The following link will allow you to peruse everyone in the Blog Hop.

Link | IWSG Blog Hop Participants 

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January 7 question - Is there anything in your writing plans for 2026 that you are going to do that you couldn't get done in 2025?

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Hello, friends!

Welp... if you read my blog last month, then you might remember that I mentioned I had some big news concerning my book The Tinsel Twist.

HERE'S THE NEWS!!!!!!

Uh, so yeah. My debut novel comes out in 329 days!

I am so excited.

On a Tuesday, my agent and I were talking about shelving this book because it had been on submission for 14 months, and starting fresh with my next manuscript in January, And on a Wednesday my agent and I were freaking out about an offer.

I still can't quite believe that someone wanted to publish my book, and even gave me an advance and everything! This book was so hard to find a good fit as a debut because it's a holiday book but it's also a genre mashup. I was very happy to see that Turner blurbed it as "romantic suspense" because I'd been hesitating to put it squarely in that sub-genre, but it definitely has the suspense!

So far, my experience with Turner has been amazing. I completed my dev edit over the holidays and found out yesterday that they are happy with the edits I made, and the manuscript is off to the line editor!

I apologize in advance that I will be in the Christmas spirit all year long as I promote my book, coming out December 1st, 2026.

The best way to keep up with any news around the book, like the cover reveal, preorders or ARCs or other goodies, is to follow me on either Instagram, TikTok or Bsky. All my social links are in my linktree.

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The other thing I did was start up my editing services! This is something I've been thinking about doing for a couple of years now. I've been taking a developmental editing class from the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA). I'm also offering Query Package Critiques and mentoring sessions.

All the information about those can be found on my Author Services pages in the menu, including my launch special pricing for my first ten bookings.

I already have two clients booked and two more I'm completing sample edits for. I love leveling up my writing career, and I'm happy to offer services. I do a lot of beta reading every year, and it's one of my favorite things to do, so I decided it was now or never to jump in and go for creating my editing business. I would love nothing more than to one day be able to do this full time, so I figure the sooner I get started, the better!

So, you can say December was extremely eventful. All of this happened around the holidays, traveling, oh and my partner getting run off the road and having to put his car in the shop. There had to be something bad to balance out all the good I guess.

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If you enjoy RomComs, check out my book review and author interview with debut author Libby Tanner.

Her new adult romcom Better Than Gelato came out in August 2025 from City Owl Books.

Link || Book Review and Author Interview with Libby Tanner

December Question

Today's question asks: - Is there anything in your writing plans for 2026 that you are going to do that you couldn't get done in 2025?

Well, you could say my writing plans for 2026 shifted drastically last month. I just received my production schedule for my book, so I have a general idea of when I'll be editing and when I'll have downtime.

That being said, I'll be doing a few things I hadn't planned on for 2026, like working on proposals and the first few chapters of books 2 and 3 of my debut to be prepared to pitch to my publisher later on to see if they'd like to pick up the next two books set in Tinsley Falls. I've been dying to write the book for the best friend in The Tinsel Twist, so I'm stoked to get to dive into that this year.

Thanks for stopping by!

Let me know what you're trying to get accomplished in 2026.

Looking forward to traversing the blog hop and reading about other people's writer gifts.

For now,

Rosie J.

Link | Linktree

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