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TB has two writing deadlines before her trip to London in a handful of weeks. It’s becoming clear, she’s a slow learner and makes her life harder than it needs to be. On the plus side, she was part of a panel discussing why queer representation is important in fiction. The audience was fab, but TB forgot to get a photo and she called herself annoying to a group of strangers.
Clare’s life is centered around 3 things at the moment: work, desk chairs, and Ikea. An expert has informed Clare that her work environment is a disaster and she needs to make corrections in order to keep writing for years to come.
On the writing front, Clare is prepping Before You Say I Do for launch. Woot! She’s planning to release it on March 10, which is during TB’s visit with Clare. TB will do her best to keep Clare calm during the first few days of publication because that’s what writing friends are for.
On March 8, there’s the LWW meetup in London at The Somers Town Coffee House. Please let them know if you’re planning on attending. Either email them (lesbianswhowrite@gmail.com) or message them on the socials. They need to reserve enough space.
The duo turns to this week’s topic: why authors need a mailing list. The simple answer is if you want a writing career, having a mailing list is an absolute must. They breakdown all of the reasons why mailing lists are essential, but it all comes back to one key fact: they give authors a direct line of communication to readers. They outline when they started their lists and how they grew them. The key part about mailing lists is it takes time to add subscribers, but it’s one of the best investments you can make for your career.
Resources and links:
The Somers Town Coffee House: www.yummypubs.co.uk/the-somers-town-coffee-house-home
Read the first chapter of Before You Say I Do: www.clarelydon.co.uk/2020/02/before-you-say-i-do-first-chapter-preview/
Join Clare’s Mailing List: www.clarelydon.co.uk/books/free-stuff/
Join TB’s Mailing List: lesbianromancesbytbm.com/join-tbms-mailing-list/
South Coast Lesfic Hang-Out: www.facebook.com/events/360533681474017/
Please let them know if you have a mailing list or enjoy receiving emails from authors. Head over to www.lesbianswhowrite.com, and leave a comment on the episode. Or you can email them at: lesbianswhowrite@gmail.com.
Stop back next week for part two of mailing lists: how to set one up and autoresponders.
Happy listening!
Clare and TB
Welcome to the golden anniversary episode!
Clare calls TB the Emperor of Doom. Is she right, LWW listeners?
This week TB has good and bad news. The good: she sent off the Lizzie book to be proofread and started outlining her next two books, including one that’s a cowrite with Miranda MacLeod. The bad: she had a truly horrible, hellacious, hate-her-job day when one of her programs had a bug and she couldn’t complete a task she’s done hundreds of times.
In a dramatic turn of events, TB has made major progress on the Lizzie book and the end is in sight. Hopefully this means she’ll stop whining about it.
It’s a little over a week into the new year, and TB has suffered two writing disasters, which resulted with her losing 32,000 words. Not a great start. On the plus side, she’s been going for more walks (instead of punching a wall) and reading more for pleasure.
It’s the first week of the New Year, and the duo is reflecting on Christmas and 2019, tallying up how the past 365 days were for them. First, Clare can’t believe another Christmas has gone by and she’s still not Mariah Carey’s lover. She’s consoled herself by baking cookies and buying Ellen DeGeneres’s drying mats. They’re a thing. TB can’t wait for 2019 to be done, as emotionally, it’s been testing.
TB prepared for the festive chat by rocking her Grumpy Cat T-shirt, staying true to her grinchyness. In shocking news, she’s not freaking out about Lizzie at the moment because she took Clare’s advice to pull back and not rush to the finish line. Once again, Clare has TB’s back. Also, the IHL mega sale page is almost ready for the December 26th start date.
The duo is back together after two weeks apart! TB had a fab research trip to New Orleans but is also in the midst of a meltdown about writing her final Lizzie book, ending an 8-book series. Will she make her editing deadline? Tune in next week! Clare’s writing is going well – she’s 10k from finishing a first-draft of her new book, although it’s getting longer and longer. She also enrolled in a craft course and saw a George Michael tribute act. She’s living her best life.
It’s the run-up to the holiday season, which as everyone knows is the time where we all go bonkers buying presents and drinking too much eggnog. TB has been busy writing all the words for her final Lizzie book (sob!), as well as doing three weeks of work in seven days so she can take a vacation. She managed it. Go, TB! Meanwhile, Clare is back to writing every day, and her new book is coming on at pace. Expect a title reveal very soon. Yes, she finally has one. Whoop!