I think the biggest highlight of 2023 was author events. I got to meet YA Fantasy readers and chat about my books. I got to meet fellow authors and make new friends. I’ve learned so much and surprised myself.
Highlights:
💛 Dial Lane Books, Ipswich where I signed copies of Ocean Heart & the owner displayed a copy in the front window.
💛 Herts Book Festival, Hertfordshire was my first book festival. I had so much fun, I was buzzing! Was like an author getaway, meeting up with two of my long time author friends.
💛 Felixstowe Book Festival, Let’s Talk Fantasy – This was a long time dream of mine coming true & made a new friend that I shared the event with. 🥰
💛 Legends Comic Con, Stonham Barns where I got to befriend the Bury & Beyond Writers thanks to an intro by author Rachel Churcher. I’m looking forward to doing more with this bunch.
💛 MK Lit Fest, Milton Keynes was another excuse to meet up with some author buddies and we got interviewed about our books.
As a shy person, my dreams of being an author involve hiding in a cupboard to write with no peopling. I definitely did not want to make any public appearances! But, the author community is so welcoming and supportive, they gave me the confidence to get out there. Moving into 2024, high on my plans is to do more events. With each one, I get more confident and look forward to the next.
For 2024, I am already booked to do the Foreword Festival on 11 February in Bury St Edmunds’s. And, looking at another Comic Con in the Summer. Please come along and meet the authors. There’s such a good vibe, it’s infectious.
Pagan is brilliant. One of the things I love is how she isn’t afraid to share things she has tried but didn’t work. She learns from these, and saves others from the sane pit falls.
She has experience in traditional and indie publishing. Over the years she’s developed a ton of tips for success. These have been organised into a range useful resources especially for authors.
By following Pagan, I have picked up so many useful nuggets. She has been a credit to my personal author journey, and I won a place on her Story Seller Academy.
Recently Pagan offered a free Authorship Breakthrough Session. I didn’t know what to expect and was a little scared, but decided this was a good opportunity to find out what it is about?
The Booking
Booking in couldn’t have been easier. Pagan sent me a link. The link to me to a calendar where I could see the times available for each day.
Pagan lives on the other side of the world to me. The slots were either very early or late but I found a time that I could make and booked in.
I had to fill in a form that asked some simple questions about where an now and what I’d like to work on. I found these hard to answer and realised how unfocused I am on my goals. Due to my limited time I’m often very reactive which isn’t what I want to be.
The call
I was late getting back from the school run. Then Zoom kept being “clever” and trying to log me in using a different account. Then it decided my browser wasn’t compatible. I used Zoom earlier that week.
I messaged Pagan on Facebook and she suggested we use FB Messenger (video call) instead, as we were both logged in already.
The chaotic start had me a little flustered, and my negative inner voice was already telling me give up! But, Pagan was her usual lovely self.
She had come prepared and identified questions she wanted to ask me based on the form I’d completed during booking. It was quiet evident I was in good hands and she knew what she was doing.
I relaxed and opened up to her. We talked about a recent opportunity to talk at a school that fell through because of work, a secret project I’m nervous about launching, and how I struggle to find time for my goals. She even challenged me to identify where I want to be in 5 years.
Pagan asked questions to explore my ideas and gave feedback and made suggestions. She clarified at the end what I planned to do, so I left with an action plan.
The outcome
After the call, I had to hurry back to my 2y old for a fun filled day of paint and slime. And after school my son helped with some errands, like the vets and food shopping. It was a crazy busy day, and messy, very messy.
But, Pagan motivated me. Talking about my fears with someone that encourages me to overcome them, and can provide strategies, was empowering. I feel like I can make being an author my business.
Giving Talks: Pagan got me to think about what I could offer to do talks on. She encouraged me to set a date to reach out to local schools (my target audience), and offered tips on how to approach this and how to price this.
Secret Project: Talking about what I’ve been up to was liberating as I’ve been keeping it to myself scared the idea is naff. Pagan was excited for me, had words of encouragement, and got me to focus on the first steps instead of being overwhelmed by the end product.
Marketing: Pagan was impressed by my book launch and marketing so far and I had to admit that a lot of that was thanks to her FB micro sessions and Storyseller Academy course. She still had more wisdom to share with me & she highlighted how I could tie in talks with a launch to raise awareness, and how to do this. She also recommended I have a Marketing Day to strategise. I do most my Social Media scheduling on Sunday but the actions Pagan set me was different and I realised I’m not marketing… not sufficiently.
Final Thoughts
Pagan is enthusiastic about publishing and helping authors. Chatting to her felt like talking to a good friend that knows the industry. Her confidence and knowledge was reassuring, and I left the session feeling empowered.
As an Indie Author I often have to figure things out for myself. It was really good to be able to solve problems with someone, that knows what I’m doing, or trying to do.
Pagan also recommended we meet again in a month to check I’m still on track with the goals identified. One month felt too soon for me. The accountability pressure was causing my walls to come up, so we decided to go for 2 months instead. I felt I could breathe more easily with that.
If you follow my blog then you will already know that my big plan for 2020 is to publish my debut novel. Publishing a novel has always been my big dream. I want to see my book in bookshops, online stores, on bookstagrams but not just one book, many.
I’m so focused on publishing my novel I often forget about my previous published works. Today, I am going to delve down memory lane and share my previously printed work.
Articles
I was born in East London and raised a Leyton Orient Football Club fan. My dad took me to matches every Saturday. We would sit in the stands, eating a hot-dog and listening to Tijuana Taxi and chanting, “Come on you Os!” and some other chants with naughty words that you wouldn’t believe crossed my lips.
The Os Fanzine were the first official publication to print my writing. I was just a kid but I decided to design kits and merchandise for fans (especially kids) and they shared my article and drawings in the magazine.
Since then I have written a number of blog articles on a wide range of topics (writing, gaming, sex and fashion). The most recent was on conservation regarding Orangutans for Ginger Parrot.
Stories
These pics were taken in 2010 when my short contemporary romance, Cherry Blossom, was printed in the Scribblers Anthology. The proceeds of the sale went to charity.
Scriblers is a local writing group in Felixstowe that I once was a regular member. The fortnightly writing challenges were a lot of fun but the best part about the group was meeting up with other writers that were as passionate as me. I like to check in with them from time to time and it is always a joy to see familiar faces.
Have you published anything?
I often don’t count any of the above as be published, but the articles and anthology have been stepping stones towards my ultimate goal. I am so thankful for opportunities I have been given and that the above deemed me worthy of printing.
Sometimes I am so focused on what I’m trying to achieve I fail to acknowledge my achievement along the way. This year, I am going to try to be more mindful and take a moment to acknowledge how far I have come.
I’m not an aspiring author, I am an author. I have published works. Next, year, I hope to be able to add novel to this list of accomplishments.
