IWSG--Book Launch Advice

 Welcome to March! I'm looking forward to spring, even though in the Midwest we can still get snow in April.

 

I assume almost everyone reading this is already a member of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, where we offer encouragement and support to other writers. You can learn more about them on their website or Facebook page.

 

Our hosts this month are PJ Colando, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, and Natalie Aguirre. 

Our question this month is about book launches: What elements do you include in your book launch? Or, what do you have in mind for your future book launch? Or, what advice do you have to offer to others planning to launch a book?

It's been a couple of years since I published something commercially. If/when I ever do resume my cozy mystery series or return to the fantasy world of my Season Avatars, I would probably focus on marketing the first book in each series with sales and ads, hoping that will lead readers to discover the rest of the series. I'm not sure if my newsletter is still active, but I would also send out announcements that way. I wouldn't recommend doing a blog tour, if that's even a thing anymore. The only one I did seemed to attract people more interested in giveaways than my book. I would also suggest to other authors to line up pre-orders and book reviews by readers (not sure if it's still kosher to offer free copies in exchange for honest reviews). I'd also advise other authors to celebrate the milestone but (at least for indie authors) not to worry too much about initial sales. It can take time for a book to find its audience.

What do you include as part of your book launches? Feel free to share in the comments. 
 

Edited to add: Let me clarify what I was giving away as part of the blog tour. It wasn't my book, but items related to the book. This was over a decade ago, so I don't remember everything that was in the prize pack. I do distinctly recall two mugs with Shakespeare quotes, since my book featured an aspiring actor who loved Hamlet. No one wanted the mugs; they just wanted the gift cards. I still own and use the mugs.

IWSG: Second Time Around

We're halfway through winter, so keep slogging on, everyone! Hopefully these posts for the Insecure Writer's Support Group will help make the time pass faster. You can learn more about the IWSG on their website and Facebook pages.

 Our hosts for February are J Lenni Dorner, Victoria Marie Lees, and Sandra Cox. (Yay, another Sandra!)

 Here's our question this month: Many writers have written about the experience of rereading their work years later. Have you reread any of your early works? What was that experience like for you?

I'm one of those people who never stops critiquing her work. Whether I published something yesterday or ten years ago, it's inevitable I'll find something I'd like to change. That said, there have been times  when I've reread a story or part of a story and been pleased with how well it held up, at least in my mind. 

At some point, I would like to return to my fantasy Season Avatars universe, as I have further ideas I'd like to develop there (and two of my characters need an opportunity to get together). I'll definitely have to reread those books at that point to refresh my memory of the setting and the characters. Hopefully I won't cringe so much I abandon the project!

Feel free to share your thoughts about rereading your work in the comments. 

 

IWSG: Writing Plans for 2026

 Happy 2026! I hope it's a good one for you. If you're not already familiar with the Insecure Writer's Support Group, you can learn more about them on their website or Facebook page.

 

Our hosts this month are Shannon Lawrence, Olga Godim, Jean Davis, and Jacqui Murray.

 

Here's our question for January: Is there anything in your writing plans for 2026 that you are going to do that you couldn't get done in 2025?

 

A lot of my goals for 2026 are reading goals, not writing goals. They include reading at least one hour of a paper book each week (I read a lot of eBooks, but by reading more paper, I hope to get some books off my To Be Read pile), reading at least ten books in Terry Prachett's Discworld series, and reading at least one diversity read each month. However, I also have several works I'd like to finish, including my next cozy mystery, a short story anthology in my Season Avatar series, and the first novel in a Season Avatar spinoff series. These works have all been languishing for a couple of years, honestly. I wrote a lot of short fiction last year, but I still have a story involving a harpist and a composer that I'd like to finish.

 

What are your plans for this year? Feel free to share them in the comments. 

 

 

IWSG: Gifts for Writers

My apologies for missing last month; I was so busy the weekend before post day that by the time I remembered the IWSG, it was too late to write anything. I guess I should resolve to do better in 2026! 

Anyway, welcome to my December 2025 blog post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. You can learn more about them on their website and Facebook page.

 Our hosts this month are Tara Tyler, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, Liza, and Natalie Aguirre.

Here's our question for the month: As a writer, what was one of the coolest/best gifts you ever received?

 Well, the answer will definitely show my age, but what came to mind was a typewriter. And yes, this was before personal home computers became as ubiquitous as they are today. I think I was in eighth grade at the time, so I mostly used it for schoolwork like reports, but I remember also typing clean copies of my poetry on it. (I think at the time I would write my poetry by hand first.) By the time I attended college, my parents were able to give me a computer with a built-in thermal printer that they found on the Home Shopping Network. It was a pain finding the right printer paper and toner for it, and the memory/processor could only handle short papers, around five pages. Nevertheless, it was a step forward. Writing/publishing is so much easier with the technology we have today!

What are your favorite writer gifts to give or receive? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. 

IWSG: My Favorite Work

I hope everyone had a good September! My husband and I were able to take a week-long vacation in Boston. We enjoyed the perfect weather and saw a lot of interesting places and things. It's hard to believe how quickly a month seems to pass when you're busy.

Anyway, it's time for another Insecure Writer's Support Group post. Learn more about the IWSG on their website and Facebook.

Our hosts this month are Beth Camp, Crystal Collier, and Catherina Constantine. 

Our question this month is a difficult one: What is the most favorite thing you have written, published or not? Why?

 It's very difficult to pick a favorite story. I was very pleased with how I developed themes and symbols in Lyon's Legacy and Twinned Universes. I'm very fond of my four Season Avatars, but how could I choose a single book from my five-book series? So I'm going to choose something completely different, a story called The War of the Hs, which I've published on Archive of Their Own. This is a Good Omens fanfic I wrote about a quest Crowley (demon) and Aziraphale (angel) must complete to free Crowley from Hell. I particularly like some of the original characters I created for this story, plus this is one of those stories where I just had fun with it and threw in all sorts of crazy but fun bits. For example, here's a bit about angels trying to figure out silly string:

A nearby angel who’s been studying his can removes the green cap and presses something on the top. With a hiss of air, something snakelike shoots out. All the other angels scream and dodge. A couple of them bump into Michael and send them into the path of the material. Green matter clumps onto their chest and arms. Some of it even gets into their hair. Michael tries to miracle it out, but nothing happens. The material is so soft it spreads as Michael tries to brush it away.

 What's your favorite story? Feel free to tell me about it in the contents. 

IWSG: Anti-AI

 

 Well, we made it to September and another post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Learn more about them on their website and Facebook page. 

Our hosts for this month are Kim Lajevardi, Natalie Aguirre, Nancy Gideon, and Diedre Knight. 

Here's our question for this month: What are your thoughts on using AI, such as ChatGPT, Raptor, and others with your writing? Would you use it for research, storybible, or creating outlines/beats?

We've discussed AI for the IWSG before (according to my blog, in October 2023 and March 2024), though I'm sure not only the membership may have changed but also people's attitudes towards AI. My attitude hasn't changed; I'm still irate that Google used this blog to train its AI without my knowledge, consent, and certainly without compensation. See the third line in the photo below:

 

 

 

I have another screenshot showing some of my books were at one point listed in a pirated books site that may have been used to train other AI models. (They might not still be there, which is why I'm not posting the screenshot.) 

 

While I acknowledge AI has been useful for scientific research, I don't think it should be used for creative work. It's a water and energy hog, it takes support from creative humans, and it returns predictive (or predictable) results by design. Earlier this year, I read a cozy mystery that I think was written by AI. (Unfortunately, I can't find the title or supposed author at the moment, as it doesn't look like I added it to Goodreads.) It was very repetitive, and the scenes were out of order. I don't think I would have finished it if I hadn't been on an airplane. I'm a pantser, not a plotter, but even if I did write out my story bible and outlines, I would do it without AI. I hate how it's being shoehorned into sites and software where it's difficult or impossible to turn off. Will I change my mind about AI in a few years? Unlikely, but you never know.

 

Feel free to leave your thoughts about AI in the comments--if you're human! 

 

IWSG: The Perils of Publishing

 

New months just keep on happening, don't they? Welcome to August and another Insecure Writer's Support Group post. You can learn more about the IWSG on their website and Facebook page.

 

Our hosts this month are Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Natalie Aguirre, Sarah Foster, and Olga Godim.

 

Our question for August is an interesting one: What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry? 

 

I've never published anything with one of the major publishing houses; it's been either zines or small presses/anthologies. It's also been a couple of years since I've had a short story published in an anthology. Nevertheless, from what I remember from the days when I was more involved with indie publishing and publishing blogs, the contracts always struck me as one of the worst parts of dealing with publishing. The rights grab that covers technologies that don't even exist yet seems over-the-top to me. My understanding is also that advances haven't, well, advanced much, if any, in the last couple of decades, so you're handing over more potential income streams for less compensation. That's why I prefer to indie-publish my longer works.

 

How do you feel about the publishing industry? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.