Sammi Cox Writer Newsletter April 2023

Posted on April 6, 2023 by sammicoxwriter

So, I decided to give a thing a go…an author newsletter, and I would love to hear what you think!

I’ve been thinking about starting a newsletter for the past couple of years now. After all, it is a big part of the writer’s marketing toolbox, and in so much of the advice for writers I’ve come across, it says that you should have one, no matter where you are on your writing journey.

However, I’m not one for signing up to newsletters (I think I’m only subscribed to maybe 5 across all my interests!), so how could I expect anyone to sign up to mine?

The compromise I came up with is this: to create a PDF newsletter and host it on this site. The notification stating it’s available will be sent out to those who are already following my blog, and if they have opted not to receive notifications, the post about it will appear in the reader. This way I’m not asking anyone to sign up to anything (and there will be no need to unsubscribe from anything in the future either!) A reader won’t see it unless they want to, and given all the wonders of wordpress and its stats page, should anyone need to know how much interaction my newsletter is getting, or how many views it’s had, I’ll be able to say. Also, I’ll not be collecting anyone’s information. Bonus!

At the moment, this feels like the right option for me. And I guess this is a bit of a practice run, in as much as I don’t know how well received it’s going to be, or whether it will be worth doing (in this format, or any other, for that matter) in the long term. The newsletter content and style on the other hand, is as professional as I could make it, and I’m really pleased with the finished product.

I really enjoyed putting this together. I loved using Canva to create the design, and I had fun putting together the updates, creating a mash-up of prompts for a writing challenge, adding an inspiring quote, as well as including a piece of flash fiction exclusive to the newsletter.

You can find my first attempt at writing a newsletter, here:

sammi-cox-writer-newsletter-april-2023

Don’t forget to let me know what you think. And, if you don’t think this works, please let me know. I want to hear the good, the bad and the ugly…only if it’s constructive, of course! 🙂 Do you write / send out newsletters? If so, what format do they take, and how successful have you found them to be?

Thanks so much for your time and help.

Take care.

Love, Sammi x

And I’m back…I think… (an update)

Posted on February 3, 2023 by sammicoxwriter

So, you might have noticed I haven’t been present on the blog since the end of November. If you haven’t, well thank goodness for scheduled posts! 🙂

Here’s a quick catch up of what’s been going on at Sammi Scribbles HQ:

First, I did not complete NaNoWriMo last year, but I came very close with a total of 48,281. I had one day set aside to write those final words, the last day of the month, but on that very same day my grandmother was admitted into hospital, and I spent it with her in A & E. All the staff at the hospital were wonderful and I have nothing but love and admiration for all NHS workers 💖. Thankfully, my grandmother was released a week later and is now doing great, but the run-up to Christmas was certainly hard.

Then, over Christmas itself, I picked up one of these horrible colds that have been doing the rounds, so I couldn’t do very much for a couple of weeks, and Christmas was a very low-key, quiet affair, which was necessary but I didn’t like it much. 😦 I was greatly cheered though by the many Christmas greetings I received here on the blog, so thank you to everyone who sent one. I appreciated them all.

At the start of the new year, I found it difficult to get back into blogging, with one thing and another. I managed to get a few posts up on a couple of my other blogs, whilst scheduling WWP posts here, but at the minute I still lack consistency, but I’m working hard to overcome it.

I have, however, been writing. Currently I’m working on the sequel to my medieval romance novel, which is coming along a treat. Also I’ve been working on my Andromache Jones series, and I’m planning on reposting The Magician (the first in the Andromache Jones mystery short stories) here on the blog soon. The ONC (open novella contest) over on Wattpad released its prompts for this year’s event a couple of days ago, and I’m wondering if I’ve time to join in with that too, because the ONC is probably my favourite writing contest of the year…

Another thing I’ve been working on is designing a couple of free writing resources, one is on how to use writing and photo prompts to write a novel, so if anyone is interested in this, let me know.

Apologies to those waiting for a Tolkien Tuesday post to start the read along for The Two Towers (thank you Dale for the nudge! I needed it 😀 ). I aim (fingers crossed!!!) to have that out this coming Tuesday, 7th February. For those new around here and want to join in, please do! It is a low commitment read-along, where we read half a chapter a week, and discuss what we have read. All are welcome!

Finally, speaking of scheduling posts, I have just scheduled the 300th Weekend Writing Prompt for the end of the month! Don’t worry, I’ve scheduled the prompts for the Saturdays in between too!

Well, I think that covers everything and you are now update. I hope you have had a great start to 2023 (a belated Happy New Year to you!) and that things are well in your world.

NaNoWriMo 2022 Update – 20 Days In

Posted on November 23, 2022 by sammicoxwriter

Here’s the second of my accountability updates for this year’s NaNoWriMo…

And things between days 10 and 20 did not go so well.

Day 11 I only added 1000 words to my total, but this wasn’t really an issue at the time as I was still on course to hit the month’s goal, which influenced my next decision. Days 12 and 13 were a Saturday and Sunday, and I’ve been trying to limit my screen time over the weekend in recent months. So, I made the conscious choice not to switch on my computer, and to be fair, I do write more in the week than at the weekends anyway. I thought I would easily make up the deficit. However, I then hit a snag. Technology failed me for 3 days, so no words added then either. That means 5 days straight and not a single word written. Sigh.

I had managed to close the gap by the end of Day 20, between where I was and where I would like to be, but I was still around 4000 words short of that target.

Unlike my first update, my contemporary romance novel is no longer the sole focus of my attention. Hitting that bump in the road knocked my concentration a bit, and so some of my other ongoing writing projects got a bit of time and effort spent on them. I do hope to return to the novel before November’s out though…

Hopefully days 20 to 30 will be kind to me…we shall have to see.

Are you joining in with NaNoWriMo this year? If you are, how are you finding it?

NaNoWriMo 2022 Update – 10 Days In

Posted on November 11, 2022 by sammicoxwriter

Here’s the first of my accountability updates for this year’s NaNoWriMo…

And things are going surprisingly well after 10 days. I’m where I need to be if I’m to hit 50,000 words by the end of month. Interestingly though, my focus has shifted slightly compared to what I thought I would be working on this month.

My contemporary romance novel is still the centre of my attention, and I think it will be for the whole month, rather than turning towards some of my other ongoing writing projects. (We will have to wait and see).

I’ve found that not only am I am enjoying writing this story (no surprise there! – why would I be writing it if I didn’t like it?) but I am also enjoying editing it as I go along (something I don’t often do), whilst simultaneously planning some of the later unscripted chapters. This is not my usual writing process, but I am having so much fun flitting between the different aspects of crafting this novel.

Fingers crossed, the next 10 days will be as fruitful and enjoyable as these have been. I’m guessing that will all depend on whether I stay on target to reach my goal.

Are you joining in with NaNoWriMo this year? If you are, how are you finding it?

Camp NaNoWriMo July 2021 – Update

Posted on July 23, 2021 by sammicoxwriter

An update on my Camp NaNoWriMo Project, accompanied by random yet soothing photos…

Not surprisingly, given my easily distracted mind at present, I haven’t written a poem and piece of flash fiction every day of July so far for my Camp NaNo challenge. I have however, already smashed my writing goal and have a combined total of 15 new poems and pieces of flash fiction.

My goal was 3100 words in total. I’m currently at 3510. Yay. My aim at the moment is to take the pressure off, to not make myself write on this project if I don’t feel like it. I have been writing other things (I’ve being planning a couple of novels and writing chapters for a handful of WIPs), and I do feel this is enough, which is new for me.

Photo by Avery Nielsen-Webb on Pexels.com

Usually, I’m determined to push myself, to ramp up the pressure, until I have completed such-an-such a thing, for the simple reason I said I would do it, and if I didn’t, I would feel the failure considerably for not having done so.

So, am I going to have 31 poems and 31 pieces of flash fictions written by the 31st? No. But that’s ok.

Perhaps I would feel differently if I hadn’t hit the word goal? May be. But it doesn’t matter. Along with accepting that I am not going to complete this challenge in the given the timeframe, I’ve decided to turn this into a longer term project. This collection will have a combined total of 62 poems and mini stories at some point in the future, I just don’t know when.

And I’m content with that.

I’ve been away, thinking… (an update)

Posted on May 10, 2021 by sammicoxwriter

Thanks everyone for your patience. I took an unexpected blogging break at the beginning of April. My intention had been just to slow things down for a few weeks, coinciding with a hiatus over at Whispers and Echoes, but it was clear I needed to do a bit more than that. Sometimes, you need to stand back from everything and just breathe and have a think about what you’re doing and where you’re going, and what you want to be doing, all without the pressure of committing to anything. And I decided to give myself the time and space to do that.

So here we are six weeks later…Is the blogging break over? More or less.

Although I’ve not been blogging, I have been busy doing other things, many of which are related to the blog. The only one I’ll mention now is about starting a found poetry series, using classic works of literature. The first one is inspired (if that’s the right word? Perhaps utilising would be better…) by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which I’ll start posting later today and continue daily until Friday.

I’ve also been writing (of course!), and been working towards finding my historical romance novel a home. I’ll go more into this and the journey of this story another time, but in between putting together submission packages, I’ve started on the first draft of the book which follows on from it.

My favourite part of the writing process is writing the first draft. I don’t often deviate very much from my first draft once it’s committed to paper / screen, so it’s here where I find the magic happens. There’s something very exciting about seeing the story unfold for the first time and witnessing how your characters respond to what’s going on around them. What’s you’re favourite part of the writing process?

And that’s my update. I’m going to go and start my poetry series, and then I had better get working on the next 52 prompts for the Weekend Writing Prompt, as the one posted on Saturday was the last prompt of year 4! I can’t believe how long we’ve been doing this, but I hope everyone is still enjoying it! After that, I have a fair few blog visits to make, and comments to catch-up with.

Take care,

Sammi

Happy New Year, Somewhat Belatedly ;-)

Posted on January 6, 2021 by sammicoxwriter

Like most people on planet Earth, I’m glad to see the back of 2020. What with the pandemic, and then flooding to hit our village on Christmas Day (thankfully the floodwater stopped about three feet from our front door, but not all those who live locally, as well as in the villages both up and downstream from us, were as lucky), 2020 felt somewhat mentally exhausting. Which is why I’ve been quiet for a while online.

It’s going to take me a while to get caught up with comments and posts and responses to the WWP, but I will get it done. I’ve a few writing projects on the go at the moment which is where I am focusing most of my energy (the final read through of my Historical Romance Novel, the finishing touches to The Winter Ghost, and a bit of editing for The Dreamer), all of which I hope to complete this month, just in time for Wattpad’s Open Novella Contest to open again in February. I failed at it last year due in no small part to poor time management and thinking I could commit to more projects than was actually possible (if you know me, you’ll know that is an ever-present obstacle!).

This past weekend, I rewatched The Lord of The Rings movies, which is always a joy, but specifically to celebrate J.R.R. Tolkien’s birthday. I remember the first time I read the books. I was about 10, and from then on, Middle Earth has been an obsession for me, as it has been for many. If you follow my book review blog, Sammi Loves Books, you will know last year I started reading the seven books that make up C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. Currently, I’m on book 5, but I have a sneaky suspicion those remaining books will be set aside for a while as I pick up LOTR – I’ve already been thumbing multiple copies. I keep telling myself it’s only because I want to look at the maps – which I do as I love maps – but I know it’s only a matter of time before I start reading…and then everything will stop until I finish it. And I don’t mind; I find it inspiring.

Do you have any reading or writing goals for this year? Do you have a book obsession? Indulge yourself and tell me all about it in the comments…

Wishing everyone all the best for 2021! Stay safe and take care,

Sammi x

Season’s Greetings and All the Best for 2021

Posted on December 24, 2020 by sammicoxwriter

I would just like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support and words of encouragement this year. It has, we all know perfectly well, been a strange one…

But whether you’ve joined in with the Weekend Writing Prompt, talked NaNo goals with me or wished me well with my writing (yes, my historical romance novel is complete! Woohoo!), it’s been appreciated. I’ve been quieter than I would have liked these past few months, and keeping up with blogging has been a struggle, but I endeavour to do better in 2021 🙂

I’ve enjoyed connecting with new blogging friends and enriching friendships with old ones. I find so much inspiration in your blogs, writing, art, photography and creativity, and know you will continue to inspire me into 2021 and beyond.

Wishing you the brightest and most blessed Christmas and all the best for 2021! Be kind, especially to yourselves.

Stay safe and take care,

Sammi x

Checking in…a quick update

Posted on September 1, 2020 by sammicoxwriter

It’s been a while since I last shared an update. Here goes…

Blogging Break

a random photo…

For a little while I’ve been planning a bit of a blogging break. Trying to keep up with blogging (on three websites), with writing and editing my WIPs (of which, I accept, I have far too many), submitting work to various places and searching out venues to send it, social media and wattpad, as well as everything life has to throw at us…well, it’s just too much, and in some instances I am failing completely (I’m looking at you Wattpad…). Hence the need for a blogging break, to give this brain of mine a bit of a rest because it needs it. It will also give me the time to think about which projects would benefit most from my energy. A little bit of focus and clarity can go a long way…

This means things will be a little quiet around here for the next few weeks. I will however, schedule the next few Weekend Writing Prompts…

The Winter Ghost

Last week I made this announcement on Wattpad / Facebook:

This is just a quick update to say that yesterday I put the finishing touches to the final edit of The Winter Ghost. Woohoo!

This little story has come a long way since I wrote the first draft as part of 2019’s ONC. The finished manuscript doesn’t look much like the version that’s posted here – it’s been restructured, extended, there are maps…With the help of some fabulous beta readers I’ve really tried to make this story the best it can be.

Since it can be hard to find a traditional publisher that accepts fantasy novellas, I’m probably going to publish it myself, and with that in mind, I’m going to unpublish the first draft posted here, but not before 13th September 2020. That should give anyone reading it the chance to finish it – or those who have yet to read it, the chance to read it from beginning to end, should they wish.

So if you want to read the original draft, you’ve only a couple of weeks to do so. You can find the story here:

With this story now completely completed, as I mentioned in the announcement, the next logical step would be to release it out into the world. This will be one of my main priorities for the next little while. If I can find a traditional publisher who accepts fantasy novellas I will consider submitting it to them, but it’s highly unlikely, and so I will probably publish it myself. There is going to be a lot of hard work in my future, but it will be exciting also, I’m sure.

Submissions

I’ve had a few pieces of work accepted recently. A couple of poems and some short fiction. It always feels good to keep my list of publications ticking over, albeit slowly, even if it’s just for confirmation that someone somewhere thinks my work is ok and maybe…hopefully…enjoys it. I’ll share more on these closer to the time they become available to read.

WIPs

As I’ve already said, I have more WIPs than I think any sane person should admit to…My goal at the moment is to make enough progress on some of these projects to at least give them a complete rough draft, just to see what’s looking promising and what needs a lot more work. With others, I’m trying to be sensible and mark at least some of them as “On Hold”. The problem I have is, as soon as I put a WIP on that list, I’m struck by a level of inspiration that I can’t ignore…Sigh…

Current projects I’m actively working on are:

an as yet, not ready to be revealed, historical romance
The Dreamer – An Andromache Jones Mystery novella
Oathbreaker and other books in the series / world
The follow-on to The Winter Ghost

I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe. What projects are you working on at the moment? What plans do you have for the near / distant future?

Sammi Cox

Author Aspiring