The Dream...

Have you ever gone through a transitional time in your life where you feel like the path you're on isn't the best one? Or that it isn't working like you wanted? Or that even though it's you're dream, there are some things that are more important?

I've been in the publishing world for more than seven years and it has changed me in ways I never could have imagined. The connections I've made and the things I've pushed myself to do--stepping far out of my comfort zone--has had such an incredible impact on my life. 

Long story short--once upon a time I learned that making connections in the publishing industry was essential. It was a painfully terrifying truth. Step by step, I did it. Pushing myself into scary situations. From my first writing conference, to publishing a book, to my first book signing, then connecting with authors online and over Zoom during the pandemic. Then came the podcast. I could have said I wouldn't do it. I didn't have to do it. Talking on a podcast was such a scary thing. But I did it and by doing it, interviews weren't so terrifying anymore either. 

I could go on. There's more, but I'll stop there. 

Earlier this year I was running all my 2024 numbers--royalties, book sales, expenses, etc. In doing this, I realized that for the first year since I began publishing in 2018, my author business didn't perform at a loss. I made more in royalties and book sales than I ever had and I made a tiny profit. 

But in looking at my family expenses with my husband, my tiny profit with my books isn't enough. With the economy and our personal situation, I need to find a way to bring in more income. 

Here's the part that ties into my question at the top. Writing books and doing this author thing full time is my DREAM. It's a dream that has proven to be even more amazing than I could have imagined as a nine-year old girl who wanted to be an author. But my family needs me. 

So I took a few weeks to mourn this working out the way I want. After talking with a dear friend, I'm working on a solution* that would allow me to still have time for my writing while doing other work to help pay the bills (and still have time for my kids and family). 

I pray it works. If it does, you won't see much change around here. I'll still send out regular newsletters. I'll still be writing and posting on Ream. I'll still be at book events and book signings. 

I'm still sad that this isn't exactly how I wanted things to turn out (make enough so my husband can leave his 9-5 and sell real estate full time), but I'm hopeful. I'm pushing myself out of my comfort zone again and I hope that I can look back in seven years and be thankful for this next chapter.

I hope you'll join me!

I've been working on some things for several weeks and now it's time to tell you about the changes and begin implementing them. I'm very excited about these plans, but it means some things will be changing here on my blog.

I love writing these posts and connecting with all of you. However, my time is very limited. I'm a mother of three young kids--one who has special needs--and I need to pivot and use my time and energy more wisely. 

That doesn't mean I won't be writing weekly posts. In fact, I hope to write more thoughtful posts each week. But that writing will in my Ream community. (I will likely post snippets here).

What you can expect from me , is a monthly post with brief updates of my writing, upcoming events, occasional giveaways, book promotions, and recommendations. (You'll likely hear from me more often around book releases, Kickstarters, etc.) 

I want to make Ream my homebase--the place where readers and I can connect with each other. (And readers can connect with other readers!)

It means that I will be sharing more and doing more there, but it also means that I won't be sharing as much with free followers. I understand that not everyone can support a writer, but please understand that I need to do what's best for me and my family. 

My tiers are changing soon, but they'll look like this on April 1st and start at just $1/month. (Use the code: 1SWEETREEDER in the Sweet Reeder tier to get $1/month for 6 months)

Do you love social media? 👍 Or hate it? 👎

Do you follow me on Instagram or Facebook? If you do, you might've noticed I've been very MIA on both of those for the past several months. I tried to get back into it a few weeks ago, but then fell off again. 

I used to post regularly on both and it was ‘easy’ to get content posted, but when life got busy, social media was the thing that had to go. And, unfortunately, I can't seem to get back into it.

If you're a follower or subscriber on my Ream, however, you know that I post there all the time. With the recent read a thon, there were posts nearly every single day for four weeks. 

I'm finding that I enjoy that platform mostly because I'm talking to people who want to be there and I'm not fighting the algorithm to reach people.

 I'm also regularly posting new chapters of Fae Thieves and Crowns on Ream. 

I don't think I'll ever be as active on social media as I used to be. I mean, never say never, but I don't see myself spending a lot of time there anymore so I can focus in other areas. (writing stories, and connecting with readers on Ream). 

As I finalize some things, I'll be making announcements. 

It's been (almost) seven years!

I'm coming up on seven years in the publishing world. Seven year ago, I was prepping for the release of my debut novel (which released in March 2018) and trying to get all the things in place. 

At the time, I had already spent more than a decade learning the craft and writing stories and novels, but I knew very little about the publishing world. I knew next to nothing about marketing and all the things it would take to find readers. I had just a small number of contacts in the business.

I have learned and grown so much since then. I've published twenty-two books! Many of those were co-written with others, but they're still mine. I'm a USA Today bestselling author. I was a Whitney Award Finalist. I've spoken on panels, been interviewed as a guest on many podcasts--even HOSTED one--and YouTube channels (my kids think I'm “YouTube famous," lol). I've gone to many successful and unsuccessful live events. I've had a Patreon subscription--now a Ream subscription and I had a successful Kickstarter last year. 

In these past seven years I've met so many wonderful people--both readers and writers. I've taken courses and gone to conferences. I'm constantly learning. And I put my heart and soul into everyting.

Don't worry, this isn't goodbye. 

 But I'm prepping a new stage of my business and you'll see some changes. Once the Read a Thon is finished in my Ream group, I'll start making some announcements and inform you of the changes.

Thank you so much for being here!

—Joanna

I did a scary thing... (but if you don't read it, it's like it never happened)

Do you make goals this time of year? I love making goals throughout the year, but there's something so fun about making new goals after the craziness of the holidays are over. 

It's also when all of that stuff that was January Joanna's problems need to get done! I'm really glad I did a lot of staying home and hanging out with my family so that I can handle it all!

I used to hate January. It was always so bleak and dark with nothing to look forward to. I also deal with SAD. But as an adult, I love getting back into the routine--and starting new ones! And, we've had a mild winter so far. I've seen the sun a lot more than is typical for this time of year.

What you can expect from me this year:

This is a scary thing, but I want to share a few of the things I have planned this year. Some are confirmed, some are in the works with soft deadlines, and some are things I hope will happen.

  • January 20 - February 20: In Her Dreams Read-a-thon ←Click here

    • Where: My Ream page. I already have some of the posts and quizzes ready to go!  The last one was so much fun and it's FREE to join and read and be eligible for prizes.

  • Febuary 21-22: StoryCon ←Click here

    • Event in Salt Lake City, Utah

  • March/April: Siren Prophecy Special Editions Kickstarter

    • The other Shifter Academy authors and I have some super fun things planned for this!

  • Mid-July: Completion of Igniting Fae Flames and Stars

    • With my chapter schedule, IFFAS should be finished posting on Ream in mid-July. Perhaps slightly sooner.

  • September: FanX 2025

    • Event in Salt Lake City, Utah (There are some snags with this that may prevent me from attending this year that are out of my control, but I'll let you know as it gets closer and when I know.)

  • Fall/Winter 2025: Igniting Fae Flames and Stars Kickstarter

    • This date will depend on when the Siren Prophecy Kickstarter is fulfilled.

What do you think? Are you particularly excited about one (or more) of these things? Let me know!

New Years Announcements!

Happy New Year! I didn't mean to take such a long break before posting, but I had a lovely time with my family over the holidays. I hope yours were joyful too. 

If you're a follower on Ream, then you know I was posting on that platform over the holidays and shared some exciting things that I'll share with you now!

Title Reveal

First… is a title reveal for book three of Fae Thieves and Crowns! After polling you, my lovely readers, and my readers on Ream… then thinking and thinking over several months… and lots of re-arranging words, I finally found the perfect title for this book! (Which is halfway written if you're curious 😉).

Here it is: Igniting Fae Flames and Stars

Read a Thon

The other thing I announced in Ream over the holidays, is an upcoming Read A Thon in my Ream for all Followers (which is FREE)! This time, we're reading In Her Dreams!

"When was the last time you had cryspes?"

I had the opportunity to be a guest on Hanna Sandvig's Patreon video call last Friday. She and I are good friends, so I knew it would be a good time, but several of her fans were there too asking questions. We talked about baked goods, the holiday season, and our fantasy books. 

Hanna has been sharing recipes with her fans from different books during these Zoom calls and asked me for a recipe. So I looked up the recipe for cryspes which is Amberle's favorite treat in Courting Fae Thieves and Crowns. I sent her the recipe a few hours before the event and she made them right before the call to tell us how they tasted!

It's only about 30 minutes and Hanna recorded it, so you should watch or at least listen! It was so fun.

This is what I sent to Hanna for the recipe (and an explanation about why it's Amberle's favorite):

Fae Thieves and Crowns is two generations before Raven Court but since the fae--even half-fae--live much longer than humans, it’s much farther in the past. The human world is contemporary times during the events of the Raven Court series, but it’s around the 14th century during Fae Thieves and Crowns. We haven’t gone to the human realm in Fae Thieves and Crowns, but there are small hints with the one human in the story, and Amberle’s favorite treat: cryspes.

They’re similar to funnel cakes or fry bread. The original recipe is written in old English, but I found a few translations and an easy recipe.

Cryspes (or cryppys, crisps)

1/4 c. flour
2 egg whites
1 tsp honey
1/4 c. water
lard (or oil)

 Combine egg whites, water and honey and whisk together. Add mixture to flour and mix to create the batter. Drop a tablespoon of batter into lard (or oil) and fry over medium heat until golden brown. Flip to cook evenly. Drain on paper towel and serve.

(Recipe from A Dollup of History)

Vulnerable Post

I'm going to be honest and vulnerable for a moment. If you've been around for even a small amount of time, you know that I love live/in-person events. I didn't always love them because they scared me and I felt too “salesy" but I've come to love them because of the amazing people I've met and connected with over the years. I love talking to people whether they love my books or don't. I've had some valuable conversations and made some incredible friends.

There's also nothing like hearing that a reader does, in fact, love my books, or that my books helped them through a particularly difficult time. That's one of the reasons I write and release my books. In the hopes that they can brighten someone else's day. I was so happy to see the readers who came to see me at the Family Christmas Gift show over the weekend to tell me they enjoyed my books and some of them purchased more. 

But, overall, the show was not great. It was three long 12-hour days with very little sales and honestly not a ton of interaction. The event was packed, but so many people just walked by. Partway through Saturday--the busiest day and the last day--I was feeling so down on myself because there were so many people, but none seemed interested in even hearing about my books. As an author who puts so much of myself into my stories, I couldn't help but feel it as a personal rejection (logically I know it wasn't, but it's harder to tell that to my emotional self)

There were some moments that I wondered why I was still doing this thing. Why I even bothered. I should just throw in the towel, quit writing and focus soley on the house and the kids.

Fortunately, I went home, licked my wounds, and slept a ton for a few days and now I'm feeling much better. It was just a bad show and I can move on from it, but it definitely throttled my pride for a minute. 

 If you're here reading this, thank you!! I don't think I could ever stop writing even if the entire world hated my writing, but it helps to have a handful of readers who think my books are pretty great. And I know a lot of you are counted among them, so THANK YOU!

Catch up...

A lot of things have been happening in my personal life and so I’ve missed posting here on my website for several months. I have been sending out regular emails though, so if you want to make sure you don’t miss anything, get on that list!

joannareeder.com/getmyfreebies

Here are a few highlights from my recent emails:

  • We got a puppy!

  • I’ve been working on fulfilling my Kickstarter

  • I accidentally plotted a 12 book series…

  • and FanX 2024 in Salt Lake City was incredible

Writing Update:

Even though I have 22 books published (some are co-written with other authors) you'd think I would have a tried and true system for writing books. But I don't. Not because nothing works, but because the systems I've used to write all of my books worked great for those particular books. Then I learned something new or wanted to try something different and the next thing worked great for that book/series.

When I began writing Fae Thieves and Crowns, it was an experiment in serial writing and I LOVED IT. Of course, I had to change the structure of the story when I turned book one into novel form, but the drafting of both books one and two as a serial story has worked beautifully.

Mostly thanks to my amazing editor and friend, Kristin Dawson. 

I have loved figuring out the story as I go (though I do have a rough idea in my head and a bullet-point list of important moments that need to happen in each book.)

If you're following the story on Ream or Kindle Vella, book three is about ⅓ into the story. Last week I talked with Kristin because I was getting a little bit stuck due to so many life things taking my energy and attention lately. She suggested I quickly draft the rest of book three instead of doing it the serial way since we are so far into this massive story. 

So I did! I wrote 5,000 words (About 20 pages) with a quick summary of what will happen in each chapter until the end of book 3 and I'm so excited!  

I think this will really help me get this book written quickly and with fewer stumbling blocks. I think it will help me mention things and add things at the right times in the story to make the serial experience that much better!

Listen to Silver Wings and Shadows!

Good news…

I'm writing again! It's been a rough creative year with the move and other personal struggles, but I sat down a few days ago to write the bonus scene for the Stealing Fae Hearts and SecretsKickstarter and it just flowed!

I also have an new episode of Fae Thieves and Crowns almost done!

I hope it sticks and I can get into a good groove of writing again, especially with my kids going back to school next week.

Listen to Silver Wings and Shadows!

I'm really excited for this, because Karyne Norton is an excellent audiobook narrator. For her Finding Fantasy Reads podcast, Karyne read Silver Wings and Shadows (the prequel short story for Courting Fae Thieves and Crowns.)

Click the link to listen for free!