So here's something I've been thinking about a lot lately. Most authors approach YouTube like a billboard — "BUY MY BOOK." And honestly? That's why it doesn't work. Here's what I've learned running Wandering Creative Life: YouTube is the one platform where someone will sit and listen to you talk for 10, 15, 20 minutes. That's not an ad impression. That's a relationship. When I talk about my writing process, the retreats I host, what it actually looks like to be a queer author making $6 in royalties some months — the people who stick around aren't casual scrollers. They're the ones who end up in my DMs, in my community, buying the book because they know me. The algorithm doesn't find readers. You do — by being the author they want to follow. So my question for the group: are any of you using YouTube (or thinking about it)? What's stopped you so far? Drop it in the comments — let's have a conversation about it. 👇 www.youtube.com/@wanderingcreativelife

I've decided that for my next book, The Crown We Bury, that I'm going to put a lot of the budget toward artwork. I've noticed that many author's that share more artwork of their characters seem to have more engagement and results from their marketing so I'm going to give it a go! I've just started putting my characters into mood boards and reaching out to artists. I'm planning a Spring 2027 release of The Crown We Bury so I think now is the perfect time to get started on artwork requests!

I’ve been working on my romantasy, The Crown We Bury, and honestly… some days it flows, and some days it doesn’t. I'm feeling a little disconnected from my characters, and I think it's because I didn't take the time to fully develop them before I started writing. In the past, I've used this method, but I've had a deep understanding of my characters and where I wanted them to go. For TCWB, I feel a little uncertain. So...what should my next steps be? My friend suggested that I use a character sheet to do a deep dive on each of my characters, and I think they are spot on. There are tons of character sheets out there, but I've decided to use a Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) character sheet to build my characters out a bit more. Should I share them once I'm finished? How do you develop your characters?

Quick writing tip ✍️ If your scene feels flat, ask: 👉 What does each character WANT right now? Conflict comes from competing desires. Try rewriting a scene with that in mind and see what changes 👀

👉 Write a scene where your character has to tell a truth they’ve been avoiding. Set a timer for 10–15 minutes and go. Drop a ✨ when you’re done and tell us a bit about what you wrote!