Looking Back and Looking Forward With Writing and Publishing

Looking Back, last year was a productive year for my writing. My devotional articles were published in five magazines; in a Christmas devotional book with other authors, included in a Sweet Romance box set with 11 other authors, published a standalone sweet romance, and one children's picture book based on Psalm 139. As with most authors, my main complaint is wishing the results were more sales. But that's a continuing learning process as all writers know.

Now it’s time to look forward to what I hope to accomplish in 2025. First off, my goals have to be realistic and something I can stick with -- unlike New Year's resolutions to lose weight or exercise more that disappear within the first 30 days. January is a hard start for me in those areas because I have a birthday this month and like to celebrate for several days.

So here are my tips for achieving success and maintaining productivity in writing. I hope that they will help you as well.

Creating Effective Writing Goals

Be Specific: Don’t say, “I want to write more,” set a target like, “I will write 2,000 words weekly.” Then determine how you can achieve that goal on a daily basis. Some days the writing will flow like a gusher. Other times the words will fall on a page like intermittent droplets of water. Don't beat yourself up. Just keep working at it.

A first draft is not a finished product: When you're starting a new story don't try to make it perfect with each paragraph. Instead let the story flow and only go back to it once you’ve finished the chapter, but only go back if you want to add a scene to that chapter. Do not rewrite it! That's for when the book is complete.

Keep a notebook handy to jot down ideas: When you're out and about and not writing, let your mind be attuned to conversations around you. They might just spur your brain into ways those conversation tidbits can be used in your story. Often times when I'm watching a movie or reading a book I get ideas for new ways for my characters to react to one another.

Keep the big goal in mind but focus on the interlocking parts: Completing a book is a large goal and may be overwhelming. Focus on completing chapters instead. That way the project will provide a sense of accomplishment as you complete each smaller task. Think of it like sewing a dress or building a table. It takes several steps before the project becomes the right shape and design.

There will be bumps in the road: Life can be unpredictable, and writing can be affected by unexpected events. While it’s important to set goals, it’s equally important to stay flexible. If you miss a goal, reassess and adjust your plan without losing momentum. Watch one of those baking competitions on TV with people who bake for a living successfully. They sometimes come up short in their goals as well, but they keep trying.

Celebrate Mini-Successes: Remember when you were a young child and your teacher would put a gold star on a chart for doing a good job? Do a chart for yourself to show what you've accomplished. Or give yourself a treat or a break to maintain enthusiasm.

Find a writing support group to keep you accountable to your goals: Get involved with online or local writing communities and forums to network with other authors. They can be great sounding boards for when you have writers block, need help with a book blurb, or tips on adding more oomph to a scene.

And here's a special bonus for my readers...💝 Starting January 3-15, my Christmas boxset will be priced at only 99 cents!!! That includes 12 sweet romance novellas, by 12 authors (including me) Buy it now before it's gone and archived!

https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Love-Christmas-Heartwarming-Christian-ebook/dp/B0CVBDBNT5

What are your writing goals for 2025? Got any suggestions on how to achieve them? I’d love to hear your ideas.

Celebrating Christmas Books 2024: Author Interview with Danae Little

What made you decide to write Christmas themed books? 
I LOVE Christmas! It’s such a magical time of year. I have a big family and my childhood consisted of what my hubby calls “movie-type holidays”. I love adding those memories in with a good dose of small town Christmas traditions and a sprinkle of romantic moments.

Could you give a short synopsis on the books for my readers?
I have two new releases, both are Clean Cowboy Christmas Romances. In fact, they are set in the same world.

The first is The Cowboy’s Chocolate Covered Christmas which is a bite-sized novella that sets the stage for the rest of my Cowboys at Christmas Tree Ranch series. In this prequel we follow Ellie and Jim in their second chance romance. Ellie returns to their small hometown to help Jim bring the magic of Christmas to their families.

I’ve jam packed this work with all the ingredients for a wonderful small town Christmas story: baking, snow, sleigh rides, Christmas Tree cutting & decorating, small town traditions, and, of course, Christmas miracles. Ellie and Jim become Grams and Gramps in the rest of my Cowboys at Christmas Tree Ranch series.

And what about the second book?
My newest release is The Cowboy’s Romantic Christmas which is book four in the series. The first three books follow the older grandsons and granddaughter of Ellie and Jim. The Cowboy’s Romantic Christmas follows another granddaughter, cousin to the first three characters. When Rachel falls for her cousin’s friend, Drew, a secret he’s too afraid to share threatens their love and her greatest desire—to become a mom.

This book is full of even more small town Christmas traditions, a ton of family, Christmas in July, super swoon-worthy mistletoe kisses, and a sweet girl in foster care who brings more Christmas miracles than she’ll ever know. If you love Small town Christmases, this series is for you.

What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?
Do you have a few hours? 😂 I did mention how much I love Christmas, right? In real life, my favorite Christmas traditions are decorating the Christmas tree with my son, baking and making homemade presents, hanging out with family, opening presents next to the Christmas tree, and the food—can’t forget all the yummy food!

In real life, I’m somewhat socially anxious, so a lot of the small town traditions I love to write about, I don’t necessarily attend most years. Though I grew up and live in small towns, so I know them very well.

In fiction, I love including parades of lights, cookie sales, dances, Santa, and anything in the snow—snowball fights, snowmen building, sledding, sleigh riding, and catching snowflakes on the tongue, just to name a few.

What’s next? (future books, novellas, special appearances you want to mention)
I have at least three more books in the Cowboys at Christmas Tree Ranch series to get through all of the siblings. I normally release my holiday books at Christmas time and sometimes for Christmas in July. In between those releases I work on my Clean Cowboy Romance with a touch of suspense series called Hope Lake.

What’s the best writing tip you’ve learned or been given you’d like to share?
The best tip…can I only share one? 😂 I’ve learned so much over the last forty plus fiction books published. I guess if I could only share one it would be to write as if you’re watching a movie. Visualizing your story as a movie playing out in front of you helps you to see how the characters are moving, their gestures, their facial expressions, and what else is going in the scene around them. It will also help your dialogue to become more natural if you think about your characters as in a movie where not everyone talks the same—or even proper. 😉

What do you know now about writing and publishing you wish you had learned sooner?
This is a great question! In the beginning I saw the entire experience about the actual writing of the book, and though that is the heart of being an author, there is so much more to it.

New writers (this was me too) have the tendency to feel the work is done once we write The End. That way of thinking can cause a lot of heartache. Not only is the book not really finished until several rounds of editing, but the next and essential step is publishing, which can look different depending on if you go indie or traditional.

Editing is an important part of the process, vital to having a good, professional book. And its hard! Even those who say they love editing end up having times of struggle when it comes to this stage. Having someone else critique your baby…because all books become your babies…it’s easy to take an editor’s comments and corrections as a personal attack, leaving the writer feeling discouraged.

So, here are my tips for working with an editor (regardless of who that editor is).
1. Keep reminding yourself that this is only making your book better, more relatable, more able to shine the brilliant story we have created.
2. Do the easy edits first. Go through the edits and correct the easy things like punctuation and grammar.
3. Then go through the more in-depth edits. If your editor’s comment triggers you, move on to the next one. Give yourself a day, and go back to the comments that made you react emotionally. Sometimes that space allows you to see things from a different perspective and with less of an emotional charge.
4. Repeat until all edits are corrected OR you have decided after multiple sessions that the suggested correction would go against the grain of your book. This happens, and it’s important to keep your voice when working with others, but you want to make sure that you have looked at the correction several times to make sure that you aren’t solely reacting emotionally.

Those steps have helped save me from very emotional and discouraging editing sessions. As for publishing…that’s quite the long response that I’m not sure you want me to get into here…

Any last words or tips?
My greatest advice is not to give up. If you want to write and become an author, don’t stop for nothing. Learn everything you can about writing, read books in your genre and study them, and be open to edits—see it as a way to improve your already wonderful story. I feel like writing is a skill that anyone can learn, but a storyteller is born. If you have a story, don’t let a skill not yet honed stop you from succeeding, keep learning and keep writing. You’ll get there!

Oh…and find a community! A supportive writing community is so vital to succeed as an author and to keep your sanity. 😉

Are there any other books that you’d like to tell my readers about?
Besides my Cowboys at Christmas Tree Ranch series and Hope Lake, I have a few other series: More Than Friends Holiday Romance, Faithful Cowboys, and my best selling Unforgettable Cowboys series.

That's all for today's interview. Hope you've enjoyed learning about Danae's stories and writing esperiences. Check out her books. There are a lot to choose from! 

Danae's bookstore: https://store.danaelittle.com

Facebook reader group: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1043326012501406/?ref=share_group_link

The Cowboy’s Chocolate Covered Christmas:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DJY6FWRX
The Cowboy’s Romantic Christmas:
https://www.amazon.com/Cowboys-Romantic-Christmas-Cowboy-Romance-ebook/dp/B0CNR81ZZF/

And here's a tip for my readers...If you sign up for her newsletter, you can choose either the prequel for Unforgettable Cowboys or the prequel from Hope Lake as my gift.
Her Forever Cowboy: Unforgettable Cowboys:
https://dl.bookfunnel.com/7i6wvq54f6
Hoping on Forever: Hope Lake:
https://dl.bookfunnel.com/vq7zfkfyys