Transition to Success: When the Goalposts Move

When the goalposts move

By Donna Alward
Posted on 11/5/2018

In this month’s column, we’re going to talk about dealing with change. None of us really enjoys having the rug pulled out from underneath us, and it can leave us floundering and asking that oh-so-familiar question: Now what? We resist change because we’re wired to follow the path of least resistance. We like things to stay the same. There’s security in it. It’s familiar. The challenge comes when there are events that are out of our control, and we are forced to adapt.

The Art of the Side Hustle

By Hope Tarr, PhD
Posted on 11/5/2018

For many romance writers, publication isn’t the catapult to the cosmos we might wish it to be. My own twenty-plus-year career trajectory has been one of two steps forward, one step back. There was the year I had a book optioned for feature film by Twentieth Century Fox and another released in hard cover. And then that other year when Fox released the option and the hard cover, “cowritten” with a celebrity, tanked.

Transition to Success: Learning the Word No

Learning the word no

By Donna Alward
Posted on 10/1/2018

As I’m writing this article, the RWA conference is recently over and I’m back home in reality. That means working the day job, juggling vehicles with kid summer jobs, and a vegetable garden that grew two feet since I left (and is now producing huge volumes of green beans and cucumbers in particular). I’m tired, and I have a to-do list to catch up on that makes me want to nap just looking at it.

Hiring an Author Assistant

A-Game Advice: Bragging Rights

Bragging rights: learning to crow without eating crow

By Damon Suede
Posted on 10/1/2018

A-game Advice is a monthly column offering practical tips for winning promo that fits your personal style, strategy, and measure of success.

The Author-Assistant Connection

You don’t have to be a bestseller to get a little help

By Maria Connor, Mel Jolly, and Angie Ramey
Posted on 10/1/2018

An article previously published in the April 2018 issue of the RWR inaccurately reflected the professional virtual assistant/author relationship that we personally and others in our network have cultivated with our clients. Many thanks to the RWR staff for allowing us the opportunity to address some of those misconceptions as they relate to the publishing industry’s professional freelancer community as we know it.

Transition to Success: Grow Your Readership with Radish

Grow your readership with Radish

By Donna Alward
Posted on 9/1/2018

The romance fiction industry is constantly changing, and we, as authors, need to stay on top of what’s happening so we can make the best decisions for our careers and growth. So many authors I speak to wonder how they can leverage the market to be more lucrative—it’s tough out there! And, sometimes, that means shifting into something new, both in format and delivery. It can be scary but pretty exciting, too.

Protect Your Time and Energy with Boundaries

Guard your writing time and teach others to respect your commitment by establishing boundaries

by Jane McBride Choate
Posted on 9/1/2018

As writers, we know the importance of establishing boundaries to protect our workspace. An accidental touch of a computer key by a curious toddler can wipe out a day or week of work. The delicate steps of a cat as she tiptoes across the keyboard can render a manuscript unrecognizable. (Both true stories.) If you are fortunate enough to have a space dedicated to your writing, congratulations. For the rest of us, we safeguard our writing places the best we can.

You Want Me to Change That? How to Receive Constructive Criticism

The Importance of Own Voices

Why it’s vital the publishing industry creates space for these stories in the marketplace

By Preslaysa Williams
Posted on 9/1/2018

The own voices movement began when children’s literature author Corinne Davis created a hashtag of the same name (#ownvoices) on social media. Davis wanted to emphasize the importance of own voices in children’s literature because, despite the rallying cry for diversity in her publishing community, historically marginalized voices were being left out of their own narratives. Since then, own voices have been championed in other genres, including romance.