Category Archives: A blog about the topics of writing

Do you hear from your readers?

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Do you ever hear back from people who read your books? It could be in a review, purchasing more than one of your books, or perhaps they tell you whether they like it.

One of my favorite reviews came from a grandfather who told me about his grandson who had read the first volume of my Jasper, Amazon parrot series. He told me his grandson put down his electronic device and started to read. When he finished the first volume, he asked his grandfather where volume two was. It makes me happy.

One will not always get five-star reviews, and you might even get a one or two-star review. It happens. We need to evaluate how to keep going.

Writing for our target audience, whoever they are, must be kept at the forefront of our minds when writing our books. It is so easy to veer left or right during the writing.

Writing for children is hard, or so I have been told. You have to write in a way that is not over their heads or below their intelligence. Adults will read a book, and if they are not a fan of the book, they will still read a bit more to see if they can salvage it to finish the book. A child doesn’t give that kind of commitment. If they don’t like your book by the first few pages, they will look for another one. Parents pay attention to what their kids like.

I had a mother who wrote what her son told her about the first volume of my Jasper series.

My kid: it made me feel happy, calm, and emotional in some parts. 📗🦜🦜

 I enjoy reading this book to my kid.

That made my day, and it still does.

Kids are enjoying what I write. And I try to make sure I always write for the target audience. Insulting your readings by not doing so does no one any favors.

Here is to the next book and hopefully more happy readers.

When do you end a series?: Regardless how many volumes is out

How do you decide when it’s time to move on from a series?

At the moment, I have three volumes in my Jasper, Amazon parrot series, with the fourth one about to be published. I have my Squirrel Mafia series. One is out, while the second is about to be released.

I have many manuscripts to work on, which I know is a thing with writers. Something else in common is having a notebook of ideas to work on. The list will be long, and we will not get to them all.

It is those projects I want to work on.

I need to decide if there is more material I can expand with the series I have out. I already have a list of ideas for ten chapters for a third volume of my Squirrel Mafia series. But I need to decide if people also are interested in reading a third one.

For Jasper, I have received many great reviews and feedback from parents, teachers, and children who have read the book themselves. Do I have material for a fifth book? I am not sure. The series talks about problems with the rainforest. I need to develop a story around one if I can come up with something. For this series, that is what it comes down to.

I have discussed this topic on this site before. Apparently, I am uncertain where it lies.

Hopefully, soon, the answer will come to me.

Until then, I will continue to write.

What are your writing goals for 2024?

So, it’s a new year. It is time to shed off what didn’t work with my writing. It is time to try new things. It is a chance to shine even further with your WIP and books.

Where do you start?

I will check my social platforms, seeing how active I was on them, if anyone interacted with me, and so on. There are always new platforms to try out. I also like to clean my office. I have a few WIPs waiting for me to do something with them.

Getting the ducks in a row helps me get started with the beginning of another year.

I have two books in the editing/final stages with two publishers. I will incorporate the things that go with releasing a book.

I told myself repeatedly last year to join contests, which I did not do once. May this be the year I do so.

There are no writing groups in my area like there used to be. I can start one, I started a few, or try one online. I have never tried a writing group online.

As you can see, I have ideas floating in my head. I am hoping to get them straightened out so I can improve on my writing career.

I hope to see in a few months changes that will advance where I was in 2023. If nothing else, I hope I will write more in 2024 than the previous year.

Good luck to me and others on this journey in 2024