Wednesday writing

Today is my birthday. And since my last birthday I became an author!

So my Wednesday writing slot is going to be about highlighting all the things that have happened to me in the world of writing since my last birthday in sort of the order they happened:

1. I got my very first book accepted at the end of May last year!
2. Got my first edits and nearly fainted until I discovered all new authors make the same mistakes! (July)
3. My first book cover came out (August)
4. My first book – Just Good Friends - came out (September) – I became a PUBLISHED AUTHOR
5. Passed the 100 book sale milestone (Oct)
6. Book 2 – The Submission Challenge - came out (Nov)
7. Started my blog to advertise my books (Nov)
8. Got my first professional review (about Dec)
9. Went to my first workshop at Sh! to do practical research for my books (Nov – also attended another in Feb).
10. Book 3 – Friendly Seduction - came out (Jan)
11. Started a collaboration with Finnish writer, Susan Laine, on a werewolf story. It has been so invigorating bouncing ideas of someone like-minded (Jan).
12. Book 4  - Submissive Training - came out (Feb)
13. Books 5-6 got accepted – Friend or Foe and The Sub Who Switched (in Jan/Feb - both out in May after birthday)
14. Attended my first writing conference – Eroticon (March)
15. Passed the 500 book sale milestone (March)
16. Gave my first talk about becoming a writer (March)
17. Got an absolutely FABULOUS review from Coffee Time Romance for Friendly Seduction which was terrific as that one has sold the least but was my favourite to write.
18. Book 7 – Wife for Three - got accepted (due out in June) which was great as this is a new series, new genre (sci-fi), new direction (ménage) (March)
19. Helped a friend finish revising her book and get it accepted after having had problems with it previously. Thoroughly enjoyed mentoring her. And she called me ‘beyond fabulous’ and ‘a hero’ – WOW! (March)
20. Got Facebook and Twitter pages set up to promote my writing (and not very easily – I am either very untechnical or they are not very user-friendly or I am getting old (or all three!) (April)
21. Sent my latest BDSM story to a different publisher because I want to see firstly if another publisher is also interested in my work and secondly to attract a different readership – at the point of writing I have passed the initial review. (April).
22. Got my first royalties for the sales on Amazon for the quarter to the end of December. Made me feel like a real writer somehow?! (April)
23. Passed the 800 book sales milestone (April – only because of those sold on Amazon for the Oct-Dec quarter were paid, not that I suddenly sold tons in one month!)
24. Continue to have great fun writing and making friends with other writers (in particular Angela, Susan, Lea and Janine) and sit back in astonishment at how much I have achieved in my writing this last year!!

 Jen