Exciting News, Adventures, and (side)Steps!

First, the News!

As my readers know, I’ve been preparing my book proposal for Operation Lionhearted (the title I finally decided upon!), and it’s about 80% complete. When I got to the section about marketing and promotion, however, I stalled. Me? Marketing myself and my book?! How is one supposed to even do that without coming off as a snake-oil salesman?! Clearly, I needed some help with this publishing thing.

Praise God, I found that help just in time! Mere hours before the window of time for admitting new members closed, I joined Emily P. Freeman’s HopeWriters community at the beginning of October! I haven’t even gotten to the book proposal part yet, but I’ve already learned so many things about blogging, publishing, and the true purpose of marketing/promotion that I never knew before. I’ll be putting some of that knowledge to good use here on Trekking Thru Hobbit Holes in the near future, so watch this space! I have so many awesome things to share with y’all, and I can’t wait to make those official announcements and invitations.

And now, the Adventure!

A week and a half ago I got a call from my friend Caroline, author of the Cosmos and a Cuppa blog. She had won two tickets to the Art of Writing Conference in Nashville, and wanted to know if I was interested in attending it with her! Needless to say, I was so blessed and grateful for the invitation, and we are heading to Nashville tomorrow!

Lysa Terkeurst (whose book Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely* had a profound impact on me), will be the keynote speaker, while Anne Bogel of the Modern Mrs. Darcy blog will have a workshop about using the Enneagram to develop your characters. I’m personally looking forward to the “Publishing Pros Share Their Marketing Secrets” panel–but I’m also just really excited about exploring Nashville with Caroline, her husband, and their adorable little boy. We’re going to have so much fun together!

And last but not least…the (side)Step!

I had fully intended on doing NaNoWriMo this year. I really had. But as November crept closer and closer I started to wobble under the weight of all the things I already had on my plate. So…thanks to my mom’s counsel and an encouraging/convicting podcast from Lancia Smith (highly recommended for all creatives!), I’ve decided to bow out of NaNoWriMo 2019.

In fact, I’ve decided to put all new novel projects to bed until my book proposal is complete. I just don’t have the time or mental energy for a whole new novel at the moment. I need to focus on Operation Lionhearted, and once I’ve sent it off into the world, then I can work on a new story.

My brain still loves presenting me with images and bits of dialogue. I may even have a fanfic idea to chase on the weekends. But I’m not driving myself to create new fictional content right now…and that is very freeing.

So there’s my News, my Adventure, and my (side)Step! I’ll be sure to tell you all about my time in Nashville in my next post, so stay tuned!

And by the way, Happy November—and Happy NaNoWriMo to my writer friends! I may not be participating, but I will be cheering you on from the sidelines.