Writing Q&A

 

In todays blog post I thought I would answer nine questions related to writing and my career as a writer

1. What inspired you to pursue a career in writing?

My mother started writing her own book series when I was a little girl and I wanted to just be like her; and while my life hasn’t turned out how I pictured it would I am very happy that it has turned out that I can write for a living and share my stories with the world. 

2. How do you stay motivated when facing writer's block?

I work on multiple stories at a time so when I face writers block I just put a pin in that book and work on another. At a later date I will reread my story and if I am still stuck I will move on from that scene and come back to it after. 

3. What's your writing process like from idea generation to publication?

I address this in my book on writing An authors guide to writing by Phoebe M.C. But once I have come up with an idea I write a rough plan on what I want to happen; start writing. Put the book on stand down for three months then edit and self publish it. 

4. How do you balance creativity with the demands of running a writing business?

I will manage all my social media and the demands of advertising etc. through the day and work on my books with the creative side at night. 

5. Could you share a memorable writing success story or milestone in your career?

I think it’s he biggest milestone in my career was seeing the first book in The hybrid series get over 60 buys in the first six months of the book release. The most buys I had ever had in any of my books; and while it only had one five star review I knew that with more improvement I would make my dream come true. 

6. What are the most significant challenges you've faced in treating your writing as a business, and how did you overcome them?

Self doubt for sure; thinking my work isn’t good enough or that no one will like it. I overcome this by looking at my previous book sales; learning what I did wrong in previous books and work out a plan to get better with each book I write. 

7. What advice would you give to writers looking to self-publish their work and market it effectively?

My main advice would be to make sure your book is as good as you can possibly get it and don’t be scared when you don’t see people buying it immediately. On the front of how to market effectively; share the hell out of it. Talk about it whenever you can, make a tiktok and market it that way as well can lead to a lot of sales. 

8. How do you manage your time effectively to balance writing, marketing, and other aspects of your writing business?

I write 2-4 nights a week for around two hours a night and in that time I only focus on my book. Once a week I will bulk film/ write up promotional tweets and posts and then upload them throughout the week in the mornings. 

9. How do you measure success in your writing career, beyond just financial aspects?

While I haven’t actually seen a lot of money from my Amazon books (unlike my HiNovel books) I measure my success by any reviews I get, comments on my social media and just knowing that even if it flops that in writing and editing that book that I learned what to do better for my next book

What other questions do you have for me? If you want to start writing but don’t know where to start consider checking out my book on writing. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHM7NBL6?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420

My best writing routine yet

 

Writing with a child is very difficult I find it hard to concentrate as well as find the time to be able to write. 

But with this routine I’ve managed to juggle being a mum and writing. 

i write when I can, Which means when my daughter is playing or watching TV I write on my phone.

which means when my daughter is playing or watching TV I write on my phone.

When my daughter is asleep I write on my laptop; and when she’s feeding I plan out books. 

It’s not great because I don’t get to concentrate for long periods of time only 10-15 minutes here and there throughout the day but it works for us and that’s all that matters. 

When it comes to editing I will edit a chapter a day while she’s playing, watching TV, eating or sleeping whatever she’s doing that doesn’t require me I will be editing that one chapter a day. 

Ways to find me online

I have been getting asked questions recently about the best way to follow what I have going on at the moment and I thought what better time to make this blog post. 

I have a range of social media you can follow me on

My linktrees hold all my information in one place:

https://linktr.ee/phoesrules

https://linktr.ee/Beautyqueensbeautys

To hear about my writing the best places to go are. 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhoebeM.C.Author

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/phoesrules

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phoebe_m.c/

Blog: https://phoebe-mc.blogspot.com/

Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/713VkYcY6p7BVeDLUDbhFF?si=o5DcSPN9SH-f9XEb8WD4qg

If you want to see more of my day to day life the best place for that is my 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phoesrules

And 

Tiktok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZSdjKjnsB/

For YouTube related things. 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/youtubesbeautyqueen/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/beautyqueen145

Writing Sprints

Writing sprints are very useful things to do as a writer but when you don't know what they are you can get quite confused on how to do them so I am here to help.

First, let's talk about what a writing sprint is.

A writing sprint or a word sprint is when you have to sit down for a length of time and write as much as you can in that time without stopping. you then take a five-minute break and do it again. the sprints can be for any length of time but most writers pick somewhere between five minutes and half an hour.

The benefit of writing sprints varies from increasing how many words you can write, getting your story done faster and more.

you can do word sprints on anything. there are websites like mywriteclub where you can do your sprints with friends or by yourself that will time you or you can set up a timer on your phone. during NaNoWriMo and Camp NaNoWriMo you can do writing sprints on twitter. 

if you search up @NaNoWordSprints they hold word sprints every April, July and November. AuthorTubers also randomly hold live streams where word sprints are done so just do some research and you'll find the best way for you after some experimenting.

What I do when I am not writing

I talk a lot about my writing (the whole point of this blog) but some people forget that no matter what you do for work from the police to teachers that we are all people and we do have lives outside of work, and while I don't have an eventful life out of writing I decided to dedicate this blog post to things I do outside of writing.

the main thing I do when I am not writing is my other jobs like my youtube, my business making dreamcatchers and modelling. I also spend a lot of time sleeping.

outside of work though you will find me watching movies or tv-shows, listening to podcasts or music. researching different things (i love to research) you will catch me at doctors appointments or in my back garden taking photos of the sky, flowers and animals. I am also a very big gamer.

as I said nothing eventful but it works for me. 

what do you do in your spare time?

Things to know about your characters

Having started a Pinterest board filled with pins around writing. I have slowly begun to realize while I am a good writer (maybe biased, but I have faith in myself and my abilities) I could have more planning done to make my job that bit easier. 

I have been a panster for as long as I can remember which is why I love book bibles because I can pants my way through the book but remember vital information that I may forget in the long run like the colours of the characters eyes, birthdays and more.

However, because I am starting more series of books, I need to plan ahead in a sense which I find planning some things to be useful, and they could also be helpful in my solo books like full character outlines.

So I have made an extensive list of things both big and small I have found very useful to know from the start, and while your characters will change and grow throughout your the story, it can be a good idea to start with an outline and change it as you go.

characters full name:

reason or meaning of name: 

characters nickname:

reason for the nickname:

gender:

birthday:

age:

mothers name:

fathers name:

siblings:

friends:

how old does he/she look:

height:

body build:

eye colour:

skin tone:

distinguishing features or marks (scars, glasses, tattoos etc.):

hair colour:

type of hair:

hairstyle:

does your character have any disabilities or disorders and what:

family situation:

friend situation:

home town:

type of childhood:

pets:

dream job:

actual job:

education:

religion:

finances:

current location:

currently living with:

bad experiences in life:

good experiences in life:

good traits:

bad traits:

mood character is often in:

sense of humour:

characters greatest joy in life:

characters fear:

nervous tics:

flaws:

hobbies:

does your character smoke:

drink:

do any drugs:

favourite colour:

least favourite colour:

logical or emotional:

daredevil or cautious:

introvert or extrovert:

there you have it my list of things I find useful to know about my characters. let me know what you find useful in the comments if it isn't already on the list

How to make a book bible/ series bible

making a book bible was foreign to me not that long ago, I didn't even know what they were but now I have made five-book bibles for different stories and they are amazing so here is some information on them and how to make your own.

A book bible also known as a series bible is a place like a folder or a notebook where you keep all books information. so this is the place where to write their names, what they look like hobbies and all of that so it doesn't randomly change in the middle of book one or even in the third book of your series.

even if you are a Panster like me it can be really beneficial to have one of these, you don't need to have a book outline in this just the small details you need to remember so you dont randomly change something like eye colour throughout the books.

things you should have/what I have in a book/series bible are

• series name
• start and end date of the book
• mini blurb about each book
• word count per chapter
• goals for the book (word/chapter etc.)
• key information like things that need to go into the next book

• characters name
• age
• race/kind 
• hair/eye/skin colour
• height/ build
• marks on the body (tattoos, scars etc.)
• skills and abilities
• personality
• living situation
• family
• occupation
• history
• life experience
• education
• history

and there you have it, I book these now for all my book series and even just some of my stand-alone books that I am forgetting a lot of information. these can be done digitally or even physically all up to you.

Rant about word counts and hate comments.

I am one of those writers where I love to celebrate different milestones with my followers. things like a higher word per minute total or doing a writing sprint and getting a higher word count, reaching a certain amount of words in my story or finishing it.

but with that comes the hate. it's quality over quantity. messages saying you won't make it and just trying to bring you down and stop you feeling good about your writing.

one of which inspired this blog post. I was asking questions for my book I am writing about endometriosis and someone slides upon the question and wrote a message telling me to get a real job and that I need to stop being happy about how many words I wrote because they will be all shit anyway.

these messages don't discourage me they make me work harder. I am not one to get down and think about what I'm doing wrong, well I am but when it comes to writing I can get all these feelings out on paper and turn it into something more, something amazing.

for the longest time, I took these messages as this is what I should be doing, by stoping every chapter, every page to rewrite and edit and do all the stuff I do now at the end of the book I stopped loving writing, it was no longer something I love but more of a chore. I got myself into writers' block badly, I left books unfinished because I just couldn't make it perfect and now I fix it at the end. my first draft is getting the story down no matter how good or bad it will be and then going through and fixing it, putting it away for three months and coming back with a clear mind, no longer having my head tell me everything that needs to be done still.

on the getting a 'real' job front it's very complicated, I hate to drop out of high school because of endometriosis and any boss says that I would be unreliable and can't have a job there so I made my writing my job. I have a fiver where I offer to ghostwrite and beta read, write blog posts and even proofread and edit things. I also do freelance gigs, working in a normal 9 to 5 job is impossible for me so I had to find a way to make a job out of something I love and can do and that is writing, that is youtube and that is my business.  whats to say that I am no good at writing and cant to make it a career? I am about to query one of my books to publishing houses and I'm excited for how far I have come in this world of writing.

what I'm getting at is that people are going to hate no matter what and what works for you is what matters not what people think you should be doing, keep your head high and push through it, find a way that works for you and stick to it and the first draft is never going to be perfect no matter how hard you try that's what editing and proofreading are for.

about my books | December 2019

I am always going on about project such and such so today i go over all the projects that i am working on or about to work on, what stage i am in all of them and a little bit about each project so you are up to date on my writing journey. (none of these are wattpad books, these are ones i want to publish)
If you would rather hear me talk about it click here.

Project Hope

what stage is the book in: Writing
is this a part of a series: No.
a little bit about it: project hope follows a young girl who inherits her fathers powers after he dies to calm down wildlife, you follow her through her journey of finding out what she truly is and the battles she has to face to expand her powers and make the humans understand that the supernatural world is nothing to be scared of.

Project Love

what stage is the book in: Writing
is this a part of a series: No.
a little bit about it: project love follows a rebel young adult who is in and out of jail and mental hospitals. you follow her along from getting out of the institute and her life-changing for the better after her roommate takes her out for a day, you experience the mixed feelings and the drama she faces coming to terms with these new feelings.

Project Sisters

what stage is the book in: Writing
is this a part of a series: Maybe, i am waiting to see how it ends before i decide.
a little bit about it: project sisters follows a set of twins who are being hunted down for being half-witch half-werewolf. the sisters are the last of their kind. the novel follows them fighting off the hunters and becoming free after years of being chased around the world as well as Madeline taking her rightful place in the ranks. the novel is a mix of each of their point of views going chapter one being on sister and chapter two the other sister and so on.

Project Hybrid

what stage is the book in: Three-month wait before editing
is this a part of a series: Yes, this is technically the last book in the series set after Project curse and project choice in Rubys point of view.
a little bit about it: project hybrid follows ruby finding her mate who is a half-vampire half-werewolf hybrid and coming to accept him for who he is, reconnecting with old friends and finding out the truth about her parent's murder and her life. the novel is full of plot twists and action.

Project Curse

what stage is the book in: Planning
is this a part of a series: Yes this is the prequel to Project hybrid, in Toshas point of view.
a little bit about it: project curse follows Tosha turning into a banshee and eventually recovering from her extream grief, accepting Lou and more.

Project Choice

what stage is the book in: Planning (starting in November)
is this a part of a series: Yes this is the prequel to Project hybrid and the sequel to Project curse in Dees point of view.
a little bit about it: project choice follows Dee from the moment he met Ruby, it shows every aspect of him making the decision to be with Evelin instead of ruby and then realizing Ruby isn't who he thought she was at the beginning of their relationship, jam-packed with fights, real emotion and more.

Project Age gap

what stage is the book in: Beta reading
is this a part of a series: No.
a little bit about it: project age gap is loosely based off a past relationship i have been in. it follows a teenage girl in Australia who falls in love at first sight with an older man from New Zealand. the novella shows the hardship the couple has to go through to be together at last and him waiting for her to be of age so they can be together forever.

Project Gang

what stage is the book in: Planning
is this a part of a series: Yes, this is a novella series.
a little bit about it: project gang follows a supernatural teenage girl whose family is threatened by one of the largest supernatural gangs in America, the girl is then forced to join a gang in order to protect her family. the novellas will follow her journey through the crazy world of supernatural gangs all the while protecting her family and accidentally falling in love.

Project Wolf (may change)

what stage is the book in: Planning
is this a part of a series: Yes, this is a novella series.
a little bit about it: Project wolf is about a female university student studying in England falling in love with a werewolf who just so happens to be her mate. the books follow the challenges they have to face to keep her alive because the supernatural world is no longer safe for humans to be involved in.

author interview with myself

this blog post is a little bit different. i am going to be doing an author interview with myself. i have self-published one book in the past which i later took down. i am in the editing stages of a book as well as writing another book. {if i have the word project when referring to a book name it means i have not come up with a name for the book as of yet.} 

1. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?


i had always had a love for writing but never did anything about it other than writing short stories for enjoyment. it wasn't until around 2015 that i started to write for other peoples enjoyment. that is when i first joined wattpad and have been writing on there ever since. i love rereading my books from when i first started to now to see how far i have come as a writer. i self-published cut a new adventure back in 2018 but took it down in 2019 because i wasn't happy with it. my wattpad 


 
2. How long does it take you to write a book?

it really depends on the book. some of my wattpad books took me two months to finish one even took me two years because i had major writer's block. my project age gap book which is in the editing stages and i am still trying to think of a name took me around seven months to write for just over 26,000 words. i have been writing project transfer for around two weeks and i already have 5,000 words.

 
1. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?


when i am writing it depends on the day. i try and write every day and m goal for the day is 200 words. some days you sit down and can get 30 words and others you can get 1,500 words it really depends on how the ideas flow on the day. i am easily distracted so i find it easy to get the 200 words but once they are done then i find it difficult to go on but other days i find it so easy. but as long as i have a coffee by my side i don't take a break until the coffee is done. i normally start writing mid-afternoon and will be done within half an hour on a bad day but i have spent hours before writing and totally lost track of time. i really need to make a schedule though.


 
2. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

this is a tough one. one might argue it is that i normal turn spell check off, grammar is not my strong suit and i write really fast so letters go in the wrong spots and my keyboard sticks so sometimes it won't add a letter. i notice a lot of my the's turn to he's so i prefer to only turn self check on once i have completed a chapter so i can fix the mistakes up with writer's block/ to work out where to go next.
 
3. How do books get published?

i can't talk much about traditionally published work because none of my books at this stage are published that way. (though i hope project age gap will be) but with self-publishing, i have only ever had one experience so i can only talk about that. i self-published through a website called lulu.com. its a website to buy books as well as self publish both paperbacks, hardback, and ebooks. you upload your writing document and put how many chapters you want on your book. you upload your cover add the blurb on the back and all that sort of stuff. it was a very easy thing to do but is a tad time-consuming.

 
4. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?

most of my book ideas. wattpad, novel and future books included. are thought of in the shower or when i am talking to myself when cleaning etc. while most people find it weird to talk to yourself it is a big part of how i have come up with so many book ideas in the past. once i have the idea i will write out who the characters are there personality, looks, and what i want to happen in the book. if i am basing a location or need information for something i do research both online and in a library.

 
5. When did you write your first book and how old were you?

if we are counting wattpad as my first written book, which i am since short stories for school and just my eyes isn't really the first book it was back around 2015 and i was twelve years old at the time.

 
6. What do you like to do when you're not writing?

when i am not writing i am either working on my projects for the business i run or on my youtube channel. i will also be doing school work but that will be finished as of the first of July 2019

 
7. What does your family think of your writing?

my grandma and grandad don't really talk about it that much. i don't even know if my dad and his family pay any attention to those things in my life but my mum is really supportive. she always listens to bits of my books that i was really excited about and she even beta reads my books for me.

 
8. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

i think the only really surprising thing for me is actually writing it in a way that is understandable. i knew from the get-go things like publishing wasn't easy since my mother herself is a writer and is writing a trilogy at the moment. she sent her first books around different publishers and wasn't accepted to any so she was self-published. and just like myself she took her first book down and is now editing it and writing the other two. i write in first person present tense for my novels and my wattpad books are written in POV present text so it can be really hard to find ways to write says, replies, etc. 

 
9. How many books have you written? Which is your favourite?

i have written three novels only two of which will ever (hopefully) see a bookshelf and i have written 23 wattpad novels. it is really hard to say which is my favourite out of all of them. out of my three novels, i would argue that i love project age gap the most when reading it but love project transfer while writing it. when it comes to wattpad it would probably be my bad boy serious that i wrote. and out of that book, one would be my favourite out of it. while i am loving writing the heartless alpha i couldn't say it is my favourite.

 
10. Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?

while i do not want to give writing advice out i will tell you one way how i get over writer's block. if you would prefer to listen click the link how i get over writer's block. when i am trying to get over writer's block one way i do so is by re-reading my book and editing it at the same time so that i can remember everything i have written already and be able to have some of my editing done.

 
11. Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?

i hear from my readers on wattpad some of the time, most of the time it is them commenting on how they hate one of my characters (normally the villains) personality. or telling me i need to update again because they love the book too much.

 
12. Do you like to create books for adults?

while none of my books are just for adults, i write for young adults. the only reasoning being is some of my books have things like sexual activity, swearing and some even have things like abuse. all things that you would find in a book for a young adult but not a children's book

 
13. What do you think makes a good story?

i think what makes a good story is being able to relate to what is happening or has happened to a character / seeing yourself as one of the characters, which is why it is so important to be descriptive. the book also needs to be able to be written in a way that makes people leave whatever they are going through and be transported into the story.

 
14. As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

         as a child, i always wanted to be a teacher and a lawyer.

Introduction to this blog

Hi, welcome to my blog Phoebe M.C. 

I will post about my writing journey, information about my books and hopefully, interviews with other authors and loads more. 

I have a youtube playlist on my channel for my Author information and a Facebook page linked below
My YouTube Playlist
My Facebook Page

i hope you will stick around and check out more of my posts :) if you would like to check out my other blogs the links are 
My Main Blog
My Endometriosis Blog