Mid-Month Author Update

Welcome to the BIG UPDATE post. I have a lot to share in this blog post, and it's for everyone which is why I am not doing another newsletter. If you read this and actively follow my author journey, then this post is for you. It's a little lengthy, so read at your own pleasure. Let's get started. 

NEWSLETTER ISSUES:

Some of you who subscribed to the newsletter have spoken to me about not being able to access the emails. I'll be honest, I don't know how to fix that outside of instructing you to check your spam folders. Email these days, Yahoo and Gmail, are weird in how they separate all your emails into things like priority, offers, newsletters, etc.  I've invested in a unique email address to send the newsletters and it's suppose to make it to where it doesn't go into the SPAM folders. The only thing I can suggest that I haven't already is to add my newsletter email address to your contacts. That Email address is: hello@sarahlouisedale.com. Let me know by emailing me there if this issue doesn't get resolved. I do not want to pay for a newsletter service if half of my subscribers are not getting them. I can see analytics, so I do know who may or may not be struggling. Also, each month, I'll be removing those who are not opening the emails...though I'll reach out first to see if you still wish to be a subscriber, just in case. Any questions, please email at hello@sarahlouisedale.com. I'd be happy to answer any questions. 

FB DISCUSSION QUESTION- REFLECTION:

Over on my FB Author Page, I recently asked and opened a valuable question about "buying book awards" and was quickly, but respectfully put in my place. This question and the responses really opened my eyes and I'm so grateful for those who replied with their thoughts and opinions. It helped me sit back and remember that not always do I have an open-mind and maybe I should change that. I will be revisiting this topic in the future as I research more on this topic. That said, I would want to have a few more novels under my belt before I enter anything. While I do believe Chasing Time is an exceptionally written story, I'm not naive enough to think it's award winning. I'll get there, some day.   

WORD OF THE YEAR- FORWARD:

At the start of 2025 I chose my word for the year. You can read about it in this post: My Word of the Year 2025. The facebook question I mentioned above really ignited in me the desire to begin reconsidering how I am doing my author business. Yeah, I'm still new...it takes me a while to write/publish a novel, and I have a outside of writing job, but this is something I am passionate about and I need to start using my resources to the best of my ability. I am a really proud of how well I did Chasing Time. When writing/publishing Shattered Yesterdays, I had a lot of hands in that pot. Some worked well, some did not. It was a HUGE learning experience for me and going into this publication I knew I wanted to do things differently. I accomplished that. Chasing Time is doing well...though not best seller...and minus a few professional hands (my editor mainly), I completed this new project all on my own. It's empowering to do something for yourself. The skills I've picked up from others along the way shouldn't go unnoticed and while I won't keep mentioning them publicly (as it doesn't serve anyone at this point), I will never not remember "where I started from." 

I am going to keep moving forward. I miss brainstorming with fellow authors, but as much fun as that was...it's a distraction. I've learned that about myself. I get distracted easily. I'm also learning more about the kind of writer I want to be. Picking a genre for example isn't me. I like writing a little bit of everything and the key there is finding the audience for it. I love writing romance, but more on the tragic side. I love writing second chance stories, but the amount of crap my characters have to wade through to get it, that's what I like writing. So in an effort to keep moving forward, I want to continue to explore the stories I want to write. Sadly, I'm kicking myself in the butt because right now, a lot of readers prefer stories that are similar and comfortable...which I totally understand. I have reread The Hunger Games Trilogy probably 45 times in my life, because it's comfort reading to me. One day, maybe the readers will change their minds and give someone like me a chance. At least at the end of the day, I'll pass on enjoying what I write. 

WHAT'S NEXT, STORY WISE:

Now that Chasing Time is out in the world, and in an effort to not sit there and panic about whether people like it or not, I want to look forward to what's next. In March, I have a wonderful trip planned to an undisclosed location (I'll share more about that after my trip). I am really excited about the trip as it'll be great to have some alone time to really center my focus on writing and creating a great story for my readers. 

I have two story ideas that are similar but different and they are fighting like cats and dogs who hate each other inside my head. It's rather unsettling. So, I think I may combine them so everyone is happy. Thankfully I think I have a way of doing that where it won't seem weird, and I think the peace and quiet of this trip is just what I need to map out the storyline. I'll be bringing my trusty, Save The Cat Writes A Novel book to help me outline, and my laptop to jot down ideas. I also have plans to attend a play, visit a winery, and I'll be taking loads of pictures of the small town to inspire me to create a new town for my book. Who knows, maybe more than one book will be written there. 

I'd like to eventually try my hand at a series (trilogy or 4 book series), though I'm not sure if this next book will be part of that. We shall see. I can't wait to share more with you all after my trip. 

SOCIAL MEDIA & THE REST OF THE WINTER:

That dang groundhog saw its shadow so we're in for six more weeks of winter and here in Minnesota it feels like it. I'm not complaining, but I am ready for Spring. So many plans and I miss the outdoors. Because I want to get ready for spring, plus I'll be starting my Master classes in March, and working my other job to save money for writing expenses, I want to keep active on social media but not be active. Let me explain. 

Starting Monday, February 17th, 2025, I'll be doing scheduled posts with 1 hour of social media time on Sunday afternoons. I would love to have some engagement on any posts I schedule, but would be replying on Sunday afternoons during an allotted social media hour. I feel this is part of the self discipline I need to be successful and bring you wonderful stories, faster than once every 7 years. Ha! Don't worry, I'm here to support other authors, and connect with my readers, but this makes the most sense to me. 

In 2027, I hope to limit my time on social media even more and focus more on sharing author news for my readers over on my newsletter. In 2027, that will upgrade to once a month so sign up if you're a reader and want to stay in the loop. 

FINAL THOUGHTS:

This has been an incredible journey. I am so thankful to my friends and family for offering their support, and for those who are just discovering who I am as an author. Only good things to come from here. I'm so grateful for this experience and hope you stick around to see what comes next. I can't wait to see growth in the years to come. Thank you again for being here. 

xoxo, 

Sarah Louise Dale

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