Yikes. Catching up on Blogging.

Thank you so much to the attentive person who pointed out I've been neglecting my blog. It's one thing that seems to fall off the To Do List the most frequently, yet it's one of my most enjoyable tasks.

I seriously have a LOT of tasks.

It's bizarre how many little things are involved when writing a book. It fills up the To Do List very quickly.

(Yes, my life really is held together by the power of lists!)

First, there is the scribbling of an idea. Then a little bit more gets added to it here and there as more thoughts arise. Eventually, it's time to sit down and sketch the entire thing out.

Names are chosen, occupations are determined, personalities are defined. It's where the flavor of the story really comes together.

Then the first fast draft is written, then refined. Somewhere during the first third of the writing, a draft of the book blurb must be drafted to really nail down what the heck is going on. Also, the cover needs to be designed to visualize what the woman, man, or couple looks like.

From there on, it's kind of a blur because I've probably set a deadline by now.

The book is finished and polished, and I send it to my fantastic beta reader for feedback while I go over the blurb again.

Once I've incorporated her suggestions, off it goes to my editor, then to ARC readers, then it's published.

(ARC = Advanced Reader Copy. These wonderful people are given a free copy of the book in return for their honest review. This enables reviews to be posted quickly once the book is actually published. It's unbelievably helpful for sales, and the Amazon algorithms that decide which books are shown to people when they search, "Instalove romance.")

Then it's published! It's done!

But I'm not done yet. Now the book must be promoted. A couple of sales graphics need to be made, and several promotional newsletters need to be booked. Maybe a Facebook ad. The new book needs to be posted on Twitter, Instagram, and many Facebook book groups.

Now I finally get to sit back and rest for a minute… As soon as I scribble down this idea about a rough alpha type obsessed with the pretty little princess he just met…