My Heart is in The Writing

These days branding is a hot topic and it’s becoming increasingly obvious to me that my brand pretty much revolves around my teaching. And that’s a good thing, isn’t it?

Sure it is. I love my students, love watching them thrive, take what they learn and move forward. Many of the published authors in my local Romance Writers of American chapter are my former students and it’s a pleasure to see their careers growing. Except . . .

When I sit at the keyboard and compose my own books, this is when I feel the most alive. Yes, the joy of seeing a student grasp a complex concept or learning they’ve won in a contest are wonderful gifts from the work I’ve chosen to do. Building and running Bootcamp for Novelists has been more than gratifying.

Yet my heart is in the writing.

For the last few years I’ve been doing almost anything except marketing my work. It’s not that I haven’t been writing. I’ve completed 2 and 9/10th books (yes, that’s about 90%). But each submission brings suggestion for revisions and each revision takes time away from the current book in progress. And while all this time is swirling down the drain, I still have to eat. So what I’ve really been doing the past few years is chasing my money.

The trouble with publishing is that unless you’re pulling in the big bucks (and maybe not even then) you don’t know when your next contract will be offered, when the contract will arrive, or even when you’ll get the signing check. The insecurity is a killer which is why most published authors have the day job.

When you take a hard look at this reality, mixed with the constant merging of the publishing houses, all of a sudden independent publishing looks very attractive. And I do have a backlist of well received novels, so my latest not-writing project has been getting them back in print.

Harlequin reissued two of my romances as ebooks. I personally published my debut paranormal SHADOW ON THE MOON and its sequel, SHADOW OF THE WOLF as ebooks that can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords and other online book retailers.

Since I’m again promoting my Connie Flynn Author name, I had to dust off a website that I’d neglected so long that it had spider webs. As if that’s not enough, now Connie needs a blog . . . and a Facebook author page . . . and a twitter name — @connieflynn, in case you’re interested.

Because I figured that wasn’t nearly enough, I e-published my first short mystery story, OLD BONES. So now I need a website for my mystery pseudonym, K.C. Flynn . . . and a Facebook author page . . . and a blog. K.C. already has a twitter address @kcflynn2. (that's her picture, off to the right, trying to look mysterious) Already my names are getting out there and sales are trickling in and I wonder how I’ll ever keep it straight.

What matters now is that I’m carving writing time out of my overloaded schedule and setting my priorities because however the details turn out I’m now declaring myself as Connie Flynn Author and K.C. Flynn Author. These ladies are alive and writing and have a promising future ahead of them whether through traditional or independent publishing or a combination of both.

All because I finally found my heart again.
In the writing.

So long until next month,
Connie/K.C.

P.S. Email me at kc.flynn@cox.net if you'd like to read K.C's short mystery Old Bones and I'll send you a coupon good for a free copy.