The Authorpreneur Blog
Amelia D. Hay is a virtual writing and business coach for fiction writers and the host of The Authorpeneur Podcast. Every week, on this blog, she will teach you how to develop a story idea, create compelling characters and outline your novel. Learn how to write your first draft, revise your story, self-publish, establish your author platform, and reach readers. In her, Behind the Scenes Podcast Diary (BTS) she shares an honest account of her journey to self-publishing her novels.
How to Overcome Writer’s Block
The blank page can often seem a difficult foe to overcome. This is because of a wonderful thing called resistance. It’s that feeling of tension between taking action and staying where you are. Everyone, no matter what goal they set will have to overcome resistance. The interesting thing about resistance is, the longer you put off taking action, the greater the resistance you will experience. Do you wonder how other authors manage to get words out of their head and onto the page? Do you want to know their secrets? This is exactly what I am going to share with you in this blog post, four ways to overcome writer’s block and banish it for good.
How to write a non-fiction book
Do you dream of writing a non-fiction book? Are you struggling to figure out where to start? If so, then this blog post is for you. This blog post will take you through a step by step process on how to write a non-fiction book. It starts off with helping you to chose an idea or topic, then it launches into giving your idea structure, and finally completing your first draft. The more structure or work you do before you write your first draft the easier the book will be to create and publish.
My Love-Hate Relationship With Scrivener
There’s more to writing a book than putting words on paper or to digital memory. Regardless of the genre of your book, you will need to go through a similar set of steps before you publish your book. To do this you will need a tool. When I first started writing, I started off using Word. Using a word processing programme was difficult. I had to format the document correctly from the first moment I typed my first word. This lead me to use Scrivener. It got a tonne of rave reviews from other well-respected authors, so I downloaded it to try. Fast forward 18 months, I’ve developed a love-hate relationship with scrivener. I would like to add my relationship is more love than hate. Here is my list of the pros and cons to using scrivener to write your first or next book.
5 Tips on How to Balance Writing, Work and Your Personal Life
One of the biggest challenges new or aspiring authors face is life balance. The act of balancing their personal life, a corporate job, as well as writing books. This balancing act can be overwhelming and can feel like you’re making no progress at all. This leads to many aspiring authors feeling like they don’t have enough time, and wanting to give up.
How to Create Great Writing Habits
If you’re anything like me, then you dream of being organised but consistently fail. You’ve read a lot of information on creating great writing habits. But, these blog posts seem to be written by people who don’t get you. This blog post is different. It’s written by someone who is just like you. So, I’d love to invite you on my journey to overcoming writer’s procrastination and create great writing habits. So, let’s get started
How to Outline a Nonfiction Book
Have you ever started to write a nonfiction book only to give up halfway? Some aspiring authors write a few chapters before running out of steam. While others fail to get started. These aspiring writers all face the same dilemma, the blank page. There are a few writers that manage to keep going and overcome the blank page, but their writing journey is like a never ending battle. You’re reading this blog post because you don’t want to give up half way. You also don’t want to face the nightmare of restructuring a book. You want to set yourself up for success. In this blog post. I will discuss the exact steps you need to take to outline a nonfiction book.
The Importance of Knowing Your Ideal Reader: Who Are You Writing for?
It’s time for you to understand what takes someone from Internet surfer to avid fan. And discover, how you can apply this principle to writing a non-fiction book. Before I share this information with you, I have an important question to ask. Do you know your ideal reader? Could you spot them in a bookstore or on social media?
10 Questions You Need to Answer Before You Write a Non-Fiction Book
Aspiring writers fall into the trap of starting to write the second a great idea comes to mind. Before you start writing it’s important to evaluate your book idea. Evaluating your idea will help you determine whether your book is worth writing. To help you, I’ve created a list of 10 questions you need to answer before you write a non-fiction book.
How to Come up With an Idea for Your Non-Fiction Book
So, you’re dreaming of writing a non-fiction book for your business, but you have no idea where to start. Almost 82% of adults dream of writing a book. 78% of these aspiring authors want to write a book to inspire others, to position themselves as a thought leader, or to make money. A further 42% of these aspiring authors don’t know where to start. The path to publication is overwhelming and confusing for many aspiring authors. This is why I started this blog, to provide actionable advice and clarity around the publication process. Before you start writing a non-fiction book, you need an idea. So, how do you create an idea for your non-fiction book?
TAP001, Defining Success: The First Step to Writing A Novel
Congratulations, you’ve decided you want to become an author and publish your first book. Before you start writing your first book or next book, you need to consider what you desire. There’s nothing worse to waking up one morning and realising what you’ve created isn’t what you wanted, it’s the opposite, your worst nightmare. To avoid this not so pleasant event, you need, to begin with, the end in mind. But first, it’s important you define what success or failure means to you. What is your definition of success?
Have you found the blog and podcast useful? Wish you could buy the host, Amelia D. Hay, a cup of coffee? Now, thanks to Buy Me a Coffee and PayPal you can!
Hello!
My Books
A van Gogh is Missing and A Body is on the Lawn
When Will Thatcher, doesn’t show up for work, James Lalonde is forced to attend an afternoon tea with Alistair Carmichael in his place. The lovely autumn afternoon tea comes to an abrupt end when a body turns up on the lawn of the Carmichael Estate with strange markings on his neck.
But, something is missing, a priceless painting is off the wall. However, it’s no ordinary painting, it’s a Van Gogh purchased in an auction a few months ago. After discovering fresh tracks, most likely left by the murderer James realises the murder is still in the estate.
Can James figure out who the thief and murderer are before he or Alistair is next?
A killer is on the loose, Excalibur is missing, and his career is on the line…
James, the chief editor of a small newspaper, returns home to discover that his girlfriend, Valentine has unexpectedly left. Later that morning, he fails to reallocate her story. To avoid blank space in the paper, James decides to write the story on the local museum’s latest acquisition, Excalibur. But, there’s one thing he didn’t count on… Excalibur is Missing, and his girlfriend has been kidnapped.
£1.99
Find it on Amazon:
What I’m Writing Now!
Revised Draft
52,029 of 65,000 Words
Right now, I’m preparing Book Two in the James Lalonde series, for a final round of revisions. The next step is to send the story off to my editor. I aim to have this eBook published on all major ebook retailers by the end of April 2021. And, I will be making this novel available for free to my James Lalonde Insiders reader club. You can become an insider here.
Publishing Updates
First Draft
0 of 60,000 Words
I’ve decided to add an extra book between the second book and the start of the byline series, where James arrives in New York. Book Three will be set in a 24 hour period in London. This novel will be available in ebook in Kindle Unlimited by the end of July 2021. And, the paperback editions soon after. I will be making this novel available for free to my James Lalonde Insiders reader club. You can become an insider here.
Revised Draft
112,960 of 99,000 Words
Book Four in the James Lalonde series needs one final round of revisions before I can hand it off to my editor. This longer novel will be available in ebook in Kindle Unlimited by the end of November 2021. And, the paperback editions soon after. I will be making this novel available for free to my James Lalonde Insiders reader club. You can become an insider here.
FAQ’s On Writing
Choose a Topic
Behind the Scenes, My Author Blog
I’m A Proud Member of ALLi!
Follow Me on Goodreads
Tools I Love + Use
