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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 September 6 posting of the IWSG are Sonia Dogra, J Lenni Dorner, Pat Garcia, Sarah - The Faux Fountain Pen, and Meka James!
The following link will allow you to peruse everyone in the Blog Hop.
Link | IWSG Blog Hop Participants
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September 6 question: The IWSG celebrates 12 years today! When did you discover the IWSG, how do you connect, and how has it helped you?
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Hello, friends!
Wow! It's September! Which means it's almost October! Which means it's almost NANOWRIMO TIME! AAAHHHH!
Whew. I can't believe it.
I'll talk more about NaNoWriMo in the coming weeks, but I feel like it's sneaking up on me this year. This entire year has flown by! I've been so busy.
For those who aren't familiar, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and it happens in November every year, where tons of people attempt to write 50k words in 30 days! It's a lot of fun. I'll link to the website and also one of my favorite blogs I wrote about NaNoWriMo in 2017 and the benefits of participating in a writing event with others.
I also have tons of other blogs talking about NaNoWriMo if you want to take a look around!
Ghostwriting
If you read any of my blog posts since May, then you've been hearing about the ghostwriting journey I've been going on.
Last month, I'd just sent in the final draft of the book to my client. This month, it's been out on Amazon/KU for a few weeks now and has received mostly positive reviews!
It's been such an interesting journey to see these reviews as kind of a fly on the wall. I can't claim the book, but I can certainly revel in its successes and learn from its shortcomings.
It's been such a cool journey. My client seems happy! So happy that I've started work on another book for her (completely opposite end of the spectrum with a grumpy/sunshine strangers, forced proximity trope this time). I sent her the first 10k on Monday, and she's reviewing it now to see if she likes where I'm heading or wants to do something different.
At some point I have to start thinking about what I want to write for NaNoWriMo though. I told her I couldn't write for her in November.
Last month was: HOLY CRAP I FINISHED ANOTHER NOVEL THIS YEAR!!
This month is: HOLY CRAP THE NOVEL I FINISHED GOT PUBLISHED AND IS DOING WELL ON AMAZON!!
Ghostwriting has given me a lot of confidence in my own writing, honestly. And a lot of ideas for the future.
Querying Trenches
Something else I kinda jumped headfirst into since last month was querying my holiday romance.
It's been a rollercoaster ride, because my very first query I sent out got a full manuscript request, AND THEN AN OFFER. *dies*
I spent about two weeks absolutely freaking out about someone wanting to publish my novel, but I eventually came back down to earth, dug into the contract, and the pros and cons, and decided that this wasn't the right offer for me at this point in time. Nothing against the publisher. They're fantastic. I'm on the ARC team for one of their authors right now. It just ultimately wasn't the path I wanted for this book.
I have a few more queries out that haven't received rejections yet. Although, I fully expect them all to get rejected. I don't know if I'll keep querying or not through the holidays. I fully plan to self-publish this novel by November 2024 if I don't get any bites though.
In different querying news, I have a short story out on submission as well. It's a horror story I wrote on a whim and actually felt pretty decent about, so I've answered a few calls with it. Time will tell!
IWSG Monthly Question
The IWSG celebrates 12 years today! When did you discover the IWSG, how do you connect, and how has it helped you?
I had to dig back in the blog for this one. My first post on The IWSG Blog Hop was in August 2017.
Six years ago! IWSG was six years old then. While I haven't been posting this entire time because my life utterly fell apart at the end of 2017, I somehow managed to post from time-to-time in 2018 and early 2019 before I stopped for a while, and I'm happy to have returned in November 2022.
I try to visit at least ten blogs each months. Sometimes one I try to check out every month, but I always try to also pick a few blogs at random from throughout the list, and visit the newest people on the list to make them feel welcomed! It's always so fun to read about what everyone is doing in their writing lives each month, whether it be exciting things or struggles or even no progress. It's important, in such a solo endeavor, to hear about the journey everyone else is on.
I hear a lot that blogs are dying, but I really enjoy having this space to talk about writing and having a community connected to it. I sometimes find people who participate through posts on social media as well. And I always recommend joining the blog hop to writers who do have a blog!
It also helps me make sure I write at least one blog a month. I usually try to do a second one each month, or more if I'm feel extra motivated, but I'm happy to have a reason and a prompt to write about each month. And, it's cool to go back and read these little markers from each month in the past to see where my head was at during that time and what I was up to!
So thanks for 12 years IWSG!
What about you? Tell me in the comments about your IWSG journey!
Twitch Writing Sprints Reminder!
Shameless plug! Look at the cute little Clawdia Scribbles the Caticorn commission that I got for my Twitch channel!! She's just writing away.
I'm still having a blast doing Writing & Productivity/Coworking sprints
on Twitch every week! Come join me to hang out, have fun, and get shit done!
Wednesdays at 8 pm EDT and
Fridays at 1 pm EDT
on Twitch!
Having an accountability group is so wonderful!
Thanks for stopping by and let me know in the comments about how/when you found IWSG or tell me about your general writing goals for the month or what's happening in your writer life (or life in general).
Be sure to see my links down below for other places to keep up with me online and other related blog posts!
For now,
Rosie J.
Link | Rose on Twitch
Link | The Rose Garden on Discord
Link | IWSG August - Conflicted
Link | IWSG July - Where do the ideas come from?
Link | IWSG June - Replace writing? No way!
Link | IWSG May - Inspiration
Link | IWSG April - Spring has Sprung!
Link | IWSG March - Author Envy
Link | IWSG February - Writing Update and Cover Art
Link | IWSG January - Theme Word for the Year
Link | Linktree
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May 2023 #IWSG