What a rollercoaster - six years of blogging: from wannabe to bestselling author!

 My dear readers and writer friends,
What a long way we have all travelled together here! I can hardly believe that I've been writing this blog since October 2012! Yes…six years, sharing all the ups and downs on my long journey to becoming an author. So I thought – especially for the benefit of writers still yearning for a book deal – that I would mark the New Year by looking back over some of the key blogs that I hope you will find useful.
Getting started. Hello social media…..and thank you Google and Youtube!
Back in 2012, I had already been trying to get published for some years. I had a literary agent...but no book deal. There were several rejected manuscripts stashed under the bed. To be frank, I was a bit fed up but no way was I prepared to give up. So I decided to start blogging to share how I was feeling. My first blog HERE was about the hiccups of setting up this very website with limited technical ability. I used google… and watched a lot of You tube videos to work things out as I went along. So you don’t need to be an absolute whizz to get started with blogging and social media as a writer -  just prepared to experiment and learn as you go. I have always tried to be very open and honest while blogging – even when feeling low about my writing life. My top advice for social media and book marketing is – just be yourself. After all, who else would you want to be?!!
How to write short stories that SELL
While trying to get a book deal, I wrote a lot of short stories for magazines – a very welcome income stream as a freelance and a great place to experiment too. This 2012 blog sums up what I learned about the short story market – with tips on how to get your stories accepted.
The TURNING POINT in my writing life
So the rest of 2012 passed with more rejections for my novels, sadly. Boohoo! And then in October 2013, I had this lightbulb moment. I changed the way I wrote, after reading some advice from Stephen King. This blog explains how I learned to write in forward gear ..and how EVERYTHING suddenly fell into place for me, in terms of first draft momentum.
Signing with a NEW AGENT!
By July 2014, I had edited my new manuscript and found myself a NEW AGENT. Here’s the blog which explained how I handled querying for the second time. Daunting…but very exciting too.
Writer on tour!
In the autumn of 2014, I toured Devon libraries with my short story workshop…and what a time I had! It was so wonderful to share tips and enjoy the company of other writers. Here’s a blog after my stop at Exeter Library. Such fun!
A book deal AT LAST!!
And then….oh wow – the blog announcing that I was finally to become a published author. This one still gives me goosebumps…
First book is OUT!
…followed, of course, by the blog I feared I might NEVER actually write - celebrating publication week.  I was still pinching myself…
A change of genre….The tall story of how I finally wrote a BESTSELLER!
And now we fast forward (through book two and being published abroad – hurrah!) to  my change of genre….from writing women’s fiction to writing psychological suspense. THIS BLOG explains why and how that happened and how my whole career was riding on how the genre switch was received by readers. I still remember how incredibly nervous I was…and then how blown away I felt when I hit number #1 on Kindle in the UK, the USA and Australia. It was surreal.
Why publishing is a marathon not a sprint…..keep going!!
This blog - to celebrate half a million books sold - sums up why an author’s career is never about one book. Or one genre. Or even one publisher. Getting published is just the beginning. Staying published brings a whole host of new challenges – and you NEVER stop learning…
Bring on 2019
And now we are up to date – which means it is time for me to once again thank you all for sharing so much with me over the years. Thank you to the wonderful readers who are kind enough to message me when you enjoy my books. And here's wishing the best of luck to all those still working hard for that first book deal. I really do know exactly how you feel.
Happy New Year, one and all!! May it be a special one for you and yours.
Much love,
Teresa x
 

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