After the discussion in the library, I thought I would write up some of the things we discussed and provide you all links. To quickly reset context: I do indie publishing (self-publishing) not trad. Never tried trad. I have a day job, which means (1) I have money to invest in writing and (2) I have little time for writing/marketing Advertising For advertising, I historically used (1) Amazon, (2) Facebook/Instagram (FB/IG), and (3) Bookbub. To start with some helpful guidance. I have used...
1 day ago • 7 min read
The Dripping Springs Community Library invited me to be featured in their Author Spotlight. Date: Wednesday, Feb. 11thTime: 5:45-6:45 PMWebsiteInstagramFacebook Okay, admittedly, it was because they had a sudden cancellation, and they were clearly desperate, but I'll take it! I know most of you are not local to Austin, but a few are, so I wanted to send this out. I thought I might talk about what I included in my last email: learnings about marketing from being hacked and losing FB Ads. At...
11 days ago • 3 min read
Kids are back at school and I’m back at work. Had to cancel a vacation to Venezuela. Then I took that money and almost bought Greenland, but the price jumped up. Weird, right? Maybe I’ll head to Iran. Busy month. My last email was a pretty dismal writing update: FB account hacked, no story progress. This newsletter gets to smack that one around a bit. 🥊 FB Hack Update No, I don’t have my Facebook account back. But I learned something genuinely valuable when my ads shut down—something I...
26 days ago • 2 min read
Happy 2026 everyone! I hope you had a great year and a relaxing vacation. I loved having my oldest back from college for the holiday. My Facebook business account was hacked on December 10th and still hasn’t been recovered. Dealing with Facebook’s responses was exhausting and derailed my focus completely. As a result, I barely wrote at all in December. Consider it a lost month for the next book. My account is still lost, but I’m distancing myself from it, beginning to let it go as...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
I wanted to update folks on my FB Business Account hack. First, they haven't resolved it. It's been super-painful. Happy to tell anyone about the pain if they want to hear, but after a week-and-a-half of crazy stress, I've let it go (mostly). If I get the account back? Okay, I may use it. If not, I may just give up on FB. Here's the weird thing that makes that easier. My sales dropped to about 1/3 to 1/2 of what they were without the FB Ads. But my spend dropped tremendously. The last two...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving—with family, friends, or a bit of quiet time if that’s what you needed. My heart’s with those who find this season hard, missing faces no longer at their table. We hadn’t planned to host this year, but plans changed (as they do). I ended up smoking a turkey, starting at 4 a.m. It turned out great—despite some new smoker equipment that didn’t want to cooperate. A few changes to the newsletter: I’ve removed the opt-outs for family updates and the Indie...
3 months ago • 5 min read
My youngest landed her layout with a twist this week—that was quite cool to see. She hit it on her first attempt. Just had to overcome the fear of it. Prolly a life lesson there somewhere. I do have a video, if anyone wants to see it. They asked her to move up to the elite level after class--for those few of you in Austin, that's Westlake elite, so moving pretty high up the ladder. Speaking of ladders... here was my fun for the week: a hole in the roof that probably happened last winter…...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Today, there's a podcast interview out for Guardian of The Palace. I think it'll get archived, but not 100% sure. Might be a today-only thing. Honestly, I have no idea why anyone would want to listen to authors talk about their books. I sometimes listen with a writer's ear, but as a reader? I don't get it. I'd love for someone to explain to me. I'd also be interested in knowing if my sentiment is right, and no one wants to listen to an author. I downgraded my email plan, so I can no longer...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Halloween season hit full stride here—first with “Scare for a Cure,” our annual messy adventure (this year: mind crawlers!), then a “Trunk or Treat” at my mother-in-law’s nursing home, where the residents—one of them 101!—handed out candy to the little ones. Never fear on that mind crawler issue, our group saved the world. Missed you this year, Sienna! Click here to be removed from family content. It’s been a whirlwind few weeks—edits, algorithms, and endless coffee. But progress is progress,...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Just a quick follow-up after my last email. I notified GoodReads of the odd reviews. They jumped on it and ran it through some checker and said it raised all their red flags, so they took down the reviews and removed the accounts of those folks entirely (so they said). I have a couple of marketing thoughts/questions for my fellow writers. 1) The first book of my epic fantasy series, Mother of Trees, almost constantly has a better ranking on Amazon than Guardian of The Palace, even when sales...
4 months ago • 1 min read