Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click here to learn more or sign up.
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Optional Monthly Question: What’s the one thing about your writing career you regret the most? Were you able to overcome it?
I had the perfect job for building a writing career while still working until I could write full-time or retire, but then I quit. I quit because I was miserable. Not just whiny miserable but still need therapy to this day miserable. I worked in a classroom and got lots of vacation time and summers off. Now I find time to write between long work hours and bouts of anxiety commuting to and from my clients due to the number of times others have hit my car. I never get time off, I can take time off and not get paid, but I don’t get time off. Since I quit the job, I legitimately hated, my writing has suffered. I just don’t have the time to write like I used to. It’s just one of the major triggers to my ongoing battle with depression, and yet, I have no regrets. I’m blessed. I thank God every day for family and friends who help me cope with life, even when it’s hard. No matter how hard life gets, at least I don’t have to go back to that job. Never again. Not sure I’ll be able to overcome this, but maybe this is just how it’s meant to be. I’ll do what I can when I can and keep moving forward.
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IWSG BOOK CLUB ON GOODREADS
Member Spotlights
#iwsgbookclub
The books we’ve chosen to spotlight in the month of January are The Glass Gargoyle by Marie Andreas and Satellite Blues by Team Netherworld. Please check these out and consider giving one or both of these a read this month. If you’re not up for reading them, no worries, you can still help spread some love for these publications and or participate in the book club activities.
My co-mods and I have done a lot of research into the books written by IWSG members to help facilitate the current direction the book club is taking. In the process, I’ve learned about how readers find and don’t find books by our members. So, I’ve put together some, hopefully, helpful tips I like to call…
Ways to Make Your Book(s) “Findable”
…and increase their chances to be featured and discovered.
5) This may sound a bit touchy, but after all the searching I did, I found it incredibly helpful when an author not only posted their book cover but also listed the title of the book in text on the page. Sometimes, a beautiful cover comes with the slight drawback of not being very readable. Just something to keep in mind.
Here’s our monthly spotlight schedule.
IWSG blog list 1-50 = Feb, Jun, Oct
IWSG blog list 51-100 = Mar, Jul, Nov
IWSG blog list 101+ = Jan, May, Sep (IWSG Anthologies)
IWSG Registry = Apr, Aug, Dec
In February we’ll feature books from authors in the 1-50 position of the IWSG blogging list. Remember, if you are not currently on the IWSG blog hop list and don’t plan to join, the registry is the only way for your books to have a chance to be spotlighted by the book club. If you are on the blog hop list, please don’t join the registry. We want to be fair and give everyone an opportunity to be featured, which means some of us will have to wait for our turns, including me (the book club admin) and the co-mods.
Please click the hyperlink to fill out the form to be added to the IWSG Book Club Spotlight Registry, and please help us spread the word.
Now, on to the personal updates.
I had a lot I wanted to put into this post, but it just didn’t happen. I hope to catch up throughout the month and recap in February.
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So, any regrets in your writing career?
Read, or written, any good books lately?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will eventually stop by your blog. My response time has gotten slower but I’m still making my rounds.
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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Erika Beebe,
Olga Godim,
Sandra Cox,
Sarah Foster, and
Chemist Ken!
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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #31).
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter