Author Diary Entries

Learn why vulnerability matters so much, 9 examples for how you can embrace vulnerability in your own author career, and why every writer needs to get comfortable with the discomfort of being "bad" at their work in the beginning...

Any time that we create content, we are uncovering a piece of ourselves. We are sharing something of ourselves through that creative process. And so, when we then share that creative work with the world, we are essentially allowing other people to have a peek into our psyche and innermost thoughts.  

This is especially true for writing fiction. That’s not to say that we agree with everything our characters say or do, for example, because let’s remember that they are their own people with their own individual wants and needs—but even so, everything we write contains some element of ourselves by the very nature of the creative process.  

... and that can be a very vulnerable thing!  

The difference between fiction and non-fiction also gets interesting because when we are writing non-fiction, we are “telling it like it is,” through our perspective. We are creating through our own lens, but it is grounded in reality. Fiction, on the other hand, shares a much deeper part of ourselves because it is rooted in the imagination.  

Basically, there’s a lot of newness and a big learning curve anytime we start something that we haven’t really explored before! A lot of vulnerability. At the end of the day, I think we can all agree that any type of creation or trying something new has the potential to be an act of vulnerability.  

Is that a bad thing? Not at all.  

In fact, now that it’s the new year, and you might be thinking about goals you want to accomplish or resolutions you want to stick to, this is a great time to embrace vulnerability as a content creator.  

TUNE IN to this week's episode of Indie Author Weekly to find out why vulnerability matters, 9 examples for how to embrace vulnerability as an author, and why it's (more than!) okay to be bad at something in the beginning of a new project...  

Resources & links mentioned in this episode:  

• Learn more about all of Sagan's books at SaganMorrow.com/books .
• Tune into Indie Author Weekly on your favourite podcast platform at SaganMorrow.com/podcast .
• Rate & review this podcast on iTunes .

Let's chat about this episode:  

• @Saganlives on Twitter and Instagram .
• Hashtag: #IndieAuthorWeekly .
• Email [email protected] .
• Share your thoughts (or submit requests for future episode topics) in this survey at SaganMorrow.com/question 

Send fan mail! Click HERE to leave Sagan a voicemail & share your thoughts about this episode.

Support the show

In this episode of Indie Author Weekly, learn how to plan out your book projects for the next year in a simple, straightforward 5-step process.  

You might be struggling to figure out how your book projects fit into your plans over the upcoming year, because you don’t see how they can bring in much of an income. But just because your books don’t bring in a huge income now, it doesn’t mean that it’s any reason to give up.  

Here are just a few of the incredible benefits of writing and publishing books, which might not seem so tangible at this early stage of the process…  

1. It’s a great practice to improve writing style, character development, storytelling ability, and so on.  
2. It’s a platform to begin being known for a particular genre or for your unique voice as an author.  
3. It can open the doors for potential collaborations and publication opportunities. 
4. It begins building your readership base.  
5. It positions you with legitimacy and credibility for your messages and writing.  

Now, obviously, having an income is important! Authors work really hard, and they deserve to be compensated fairly. Absolutely. I just want to stress here that sometimes that income aspect of it is part a longer-time plan, and we shouldn’t discount the stage we’re at along the way, if we happen to not be making much income at this point. Sometimes these other benefits lead to bringing in an income further on down the line. 

So, when you’re planning out your book projects for the year, having that balance in mind is important. You want to make sure that you are allocating energy to keep at it with writing books, but you also don’t want those book projects to get priority over other things all the time if they aren’t bringing in much of an income, for example. This is particularly true if you’re a solopreneur like me, in which case we need to ensure other aspects of our business are getting the attention they deserve, so we can make a living. 

It is a balancing act.   

All right. Here are a few ways you can figure out where your book projects fit into your life and business… tune into this episode of Indie Author Weekly to get the simple 5-step process! 

Resources & links mentioned in this episode:  

• Learn more about all of Sagan's books at SaganMorrow.com/books .
• Episode 8 of Indie Author Weekly: How many hours goes into writing & publishing a book?  
• Episode 21 of Indie Author Weekly: Which book should you write first? (Step-by-step guide to figuring it out) . 
• Episode 26 of Indie Author Weekly: 5 questions to ask yourself when your writing plans change . 
• Tune into Indie Author Weekly on your favourite podcast platform at SaganMorrow.com/podcast . 
• Rate & review this podcast on iTunes .

Let's chat about this episode:  

• @Saganlives on Twitter and Instagram .
• Hashtag: #IndieAuthorWeekly .
• Email [email protected] .
• Share your thoughts (or submit requests for future episode topics) in this survey at SaganMorrow.com/question  

Send fan mail! Click HERE to leave Sagan a voicemail & share your thoughts about this episode.

Support the show

In this episode of Indie Author Weekly, learn how to embody your "word of the year" in your writing life as an author!   

Your host, Sagan, shares how themes from her previous "words of the year" (2017 - 2019) were reflected in various aspects of her life and business. Find out Sagan's 2020 word of the year, what it means to her, and how she'll be applying it to her author life.  

Click the play button to get the inside scoop...   

Resources & links mentioned in this episode:  

• Learn more about all of Sagan's book at SaganMorrow.com/books .
• Candid Conversations small business podcast .
• Productivity Powerhouse: SaganMorrow.com/powerhouse .
• Tune into Indie Author Weekly on your favourite podcast platform .
• Rate & review this podcast on iTunes .

Let's chat about this episode:  

• @Saganlives on Twitter and Instagram .
• Hashtag: #IndieAuthorWeekly .
• Email [email protected] .
• Share your thoughts (or submit requests for future episode topics) in this survey .

Send fan mail! Click HERE to leave Sagan a voicemail & share your thoughts about this episode.

Support the show

This episode of Indie Author Weekly shares practical tips and ideas for how to get your book out of your head and onto paper. If you’ve ever said “I have a book in my head… I just need to write it,” or if you’ve ever found that you can write the first chapter but then find it difficult to get past that and keep writing the story to actually finish your book, then this podcast episode is for you!  

When we continue to postpone things, we need to figure out the real root issue of what’s happening, so we can deal with it accordingly—which is absolutely necessary to making progress with our goals.   

These 6 tips are just what you need to get FINALLY get that book of yours out of head and onto paper! Tune into this indie author podcast episode to get the tips now…  

Resources & links mentioned in this episode:  

• Learn more about all of Sagan's books .
• Productivity Powerhouse: SaganMorrow.com/powerhouse .
• Episode 5 of Indie Author Weekly: how to write a book in 10 days .
• Time saving tips cheatsheet (23 tips for how to save 10 hours every week): SaganMorrow.com/savetime .
• Episode 31 of Indie Author Weekly: how to get through the "messy middle" .
• Episode 38 of Indie Author Weekly: how to use your learning style to write a book .
• Tune into Indie Author Weekly on your favourite podcast platform .
• Rate & review this podcast on iTunes . 

Let's chat about this episode:

• @Saganlives on Twitter and Instagram
• Hashtag: #IndieAuthorWeekly
• Email [email protected]
• Share your thoughts (or submit requests for future episode topics) in this survey

Send fan mail! Click HERE to leave Sagan a voicemail & share your thoughts about this episode.

Support the show

This episode of Indie Author Weekly shares tips and ideas for how to apply your personal learning style to writing your next book. Whether you are a visual learner, auditory learner, verbal learner, kinesthetic (physical) learner, logical (mathematical) learner, social learner, or solitary learner, you'll get a few ideas for best practices in using that learning style to more effectively write a book. 

The ideas outlined in this author tips podcast are just to give you a starting point, but they’re definitely worth a shot depending on what your learning style is! 

If something seems out of sync in your business or life, it could be that the way you’re going about it simply isn’t conducive to your learning style—so that’s something you might wish to explore further, to see if there are ways you can adapt to your methods and therefore get more out of any experience. That goes for writing a book or doing pretty much anything else in life or in business. 

Use the 7 learning styles to write your book now! Tune into this episode to get a few tips and ideas on adapting the book writing process to best suit your learning style... 

Resources & links mentioned in this episode:

• Learn more about all of Sagan's books at SaganMorrow.com/books . 
• Free learning styles quiz: https://www.learning-styles-online.com/ . 
• Solopreneur tips in the SaganMorrow.com School . 
• Productivity Powerhouse: SaganMorrow.com/powerhouse .  
• Rate & review this podcast on iTunes   
• Access sample chapters of Sagan's novels, transcripts of each episode, cheatsheets and spreadsheets relevant to the episode topics, and additional resources, at SaganMorrow.com/secretpodcast.  

Let's chat about this episode:

• @Saganlives on Twitter and Instagram  
• Hashtag: #IndieAuthorWeekly . 
• Email [email protected]  
• Share your thoughts (or submit requests for future episode topics) at SaganMorrow.com/question . 

Send fan mail! Click HERE to leave Sagan a voicemail & share your thoughts about this episode.

Support the show

This episode of Indie Author Weekly shares an easy (and fun!) step-by-step guide for how to write a back-of-book blurb… 

Book blurbs MATTER. They are the foundation of your book marketing and sales pitches, after all: one of the biggest things that can make all the difference for potential readers to actually purchase and read your book is to have a great book blurb. 

The problem is that we, as authors, assume it’s a complicated and frustrating and annoying process to write a blurb for the back of your book… the good news? It doesn’t have to be that way at all! 

Steal my method for writing an intriguing back-of-book blurb that gets results (yes, real readers interested in your book), in a fun and painless step-by-step process—tune into this episode of the author tips podcast to get the inside scoop now. 

Resources & links mentioned in this episode:

• Learn more about all of Sagan's books at SaganMorrow.com/books . 
• Out of Control (Polyamorous Passions, Book 6) . 
• Solopreneur tips in the SaganMorrow.com School . 
• Episode 35 of the Indie Author Weekly podcast: a reading from Out of Control . 
• Rate & review this podcast on iTunes   
• Access sample chapters of Sagan's novels, transcripts of each episode, cheatsheets and spreadsheets relevant to the episode topics, and additional resources, at SaganMorrow.com/secretpodcast.  

Let's chat about this episode:

• @Saganlives on Twitter and Instagram . 
• Hashtag: #IndieAuthorWeekly . 
• Email [email protected] . 
• Share your thoughts (or submit requests for future episode topics) at SaganMorrow.com/question . 

Send fan mail! Click HERE to leave Sagan a voicemail & share your thoughts about this episode.

Support the show

This episode of Indie Author Weekly shares a step-by-step guide for what to do AFTER writing a first draft of your manuscript...   

So, you wrote a book. Congratulations! That's a huge accomplishment and something to feel really proud about.   

...But, this is also just the beginning of your author journey. If you want to become a published author, then there are a few more steps you need to take. And that’s what I want to talk about in this episode of the Indie Author Weekly podcast: what to do after you write the first draft of your book.   

Because it’s not enough to write a first draft. If you leave it here, then you’re going to continue to be an aspiring author, rather than an actual author. If you want to be published, then there’s a lot more to do after you write that first draft.  

You can totally do this. It’s about committing to the process and following through. The world wants to read your work.  

But you might be at a point where you really don’t know what you should do next. You might be sitting there, thinking “okay… now what? How do I continue moving forward and ensure my book sees the light of day?”   

Tune into this episode of Indie Author Weekly for a step-by-step guide for making that happen… the actions you need to take after you write that first draft of your novel. 

Resources & links mentioned in this episode:  

• Learn more about all of Sagan's books .  
• National Novel Writing Month . 
• Episode 25 of the Indie Author Weekly podcast: how to get back into book writing after taking a break . 
• Out of Control (Polyamorous Passions, Book 6) . 
• Episode 15 of the Indie Author Weekly podcast: how to edit your own work . 
• Kobo Writing Life . 
• Amazon KDP 
• Draft2Digital  
• Rate & review this podcast on iTunes   
• Access sample chapters of Sagan's novels, transcripts of each episode, cheatsheets and spreadsheets relevant to the episode topics, and additional resources, at SaganMorrow.com/secretpodcast.  
• Submit your questions for future episode topics at SaganMorrow.com/question   

Connect with Sagan (@Saganlives) on Twitter and Instagram. Feel free to use the hashtag #IndieAuthorWeekly to chat about this episode.

Send fan mail! Click HERE to leave Sagan a voicemail & share your thoughts about this episode.

Support the show

This episode of Indie Author Weekly features a reading from Sagan's upcoming release, "Out of Control" (Book 6 in the Polyamorous Passions series). 

Polyamorous Passions will include 9 books in total. Basically, there are three “trilogies” within the entire series, and each trilogy follows a different main character, all of whom are best friends: Emma is the main character in Books 1 - 3, Helen is the main event in Books 4 - 6, and Scarlett will be featured in Books 7 - 9. 

Each of the books in Polyamorous Passions can be enjoyed as stand-alones, but you’ll get much more out of it if you read all of the stories in the series, since the characters show up again and again across the books and the storylines continue from one to the next. In this book, Book 6, you also get a glimpse of what’s going to happen for Scarlett’s story—so for those of you who are fans of Scarlett, you’re really going to like that.   

Some background on Helen's story: Book 4 shares the story of how Helen is planning her wedding with her fiance, Ben… but when she finds herself falling for their wedding photographer, she starts to wonder if maybe monogamy isn’t something she wants for her life, after all. Book 5 features the wedding and honeymoon between Helen and Ben, and their experience in trying out a non-monogamous lifestyle for the first time.   

Book 6, Out of Control, which will be released on December 10, is all about what happens next. As Helen’s career takes off and as she and Ben begin practicing an ethically non-monogamous lifestyle, we get to see some of the pitfalls that they run into, and whether Helen can can handle it when she lets someone else take control of a situation for a while.

As with the other books in the Polyamorous Passions series, Out of Control is a contemporary new adult romantic comedy. It includes plenty of sexual tension in the workplace, a cute homage to When Harry Met Sally, and a pretty funny conversation on the proper etiquette of sexting.   

Learn more at SaganMorrow.com/books, or visit Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, or your favourite e-bookstore. 

With that background on the book out of the way, let’s get into the excerpt. The excerpt today is from Chapter 4. Helen is at the workplace after hours with her boss, Jack, as they prepare for her new job. Unbeknownst to Jack, Helen is secretly sexting with her boyfriend, Grant, in between working. What could possibly go wrong?   

Tune into this episode to find out what happens! 

Resources & links mentioned in this episode:  

• Learn more about all of Sagan's books .  
• Grab your copy of Out of Control .  
• Rate & review this podcast on iTunes   
• Access sample chapters of Sagan's novels, transcripts of each episode, cheatsheets and spreadsheets relevant to the episode topics, and additional resources, at SaganMorrow.com/secretpodcast.  
• Submit your questions for future episode topics at SaganMorrow.com/question   

Connect with Sagan (@Saganlives) on Twitter and Instagram. Feel free to use the hashtag #IndieAuthorWeekly to chat about this episode.

Send fan mail! Click HERE to leave Sagan a voicemail & share your thoughts about this episode.

Support the show

In this episode, I want to answer a question that I’ve seen come up a few times over the past month from aspiring authors: how do you practice self-discipline as a writer, and how do you force yourself to write when you’re not in the mood for it? 

The timing of this question is rather interesting since I have recently been working on a brand-new e-course for the side of my business where I teach solopreneurs about productivity. In fact, the new program is called Productivity Powerhouse, and it is all about how to manage your time and energy effectively. So to see this question crop up on social media lately from new authors is really timely! 

And since authors are a type of solopreneur, if this is something that you struggle with, then you might want to check out Productivity Powerhouse. Visit SaganMorrow.com/productivity-powerhouse to learn more. 

But for today’s episode, let’s address that question about how to manage self-discipline as a writer. 

Self-discipline is absolutely crucial to your ability to start and finish a project. This is especially true for indie authors: with a traditional publishing house, you’ll have deadlines to meet based on your contract with that publishing house. 

But as an indie author, you’re really working with your own deadlines. You are the boss of you. You get to decide when your book gets published. And that can be a great thing—after all, it gives you a lot of freedom and flexibility… but if you struggle with managing your time and energy effectively, then it can be problematic. You might never get around to actually finishing that book of yours! 

The other side of the coin, when it comes to self-discipline as a writer, is that sometimes, you might not want to write. You might not be in the mood for it.  

Tune into the episode for 10 practical tips for how to handle it when you are struggling with self-discipline as a writer!  

Resources & links mentioned in this episode:  

• Productivity Powerhouse e-course: SaganMorrow.com/productivity/powerhouse  
• Learn more about all of Sagan's books: SaganMorrow.com/books .  
• Episode 32 of the Indie Author Weekly podcast: list of writing prompts .  
• Bonus: writing prompts to get to know your characters better (worksheet): SaganMorrow.com/secretpodcast .  
• Bonus: writing prompts to play with your story (cheatsheet): SaganMorrow.com/secretpodcast .  
• Episode 5 of the Indie Author Weekly podcast: how I wrote a book in 10 days .  
• Episode 33 of the Indie Author Weekly podcast: benefits of writing novellas .  
• Toggl time-tracking software .  
• Bonus: word count tracker spreadsheet: SaganMorrow.com/secretpodcast .  
• Access sample chapters of Sagan's novels, transcripts of each episode, cheatsheets and spreadsheets relevant to the episode topics, and additional resources, at SaganMorrow.com/secretpodcast.  
• Submit your questions for future episode topics at SaganMorrow.com/question   

Connect with Sagan (@Saganlives) on

Send fan mail! Click HERE to leave Sagan a voicemail & share your thoughts about this episode.

Support the show

Learn 7 reasons why you might want to write a novella instead of a full-length novel for your next book... 

If you’ve been following along on this book writing adventure for a while, then you’ll know that in the past year and a bit, I’ve written and published 5 novellas—with my next one in the Polyamorous Passions series coming out in a month! 

So, today I want to talk about why I bother writing novellas in the first place, and some of the benefits around writing novellas instead of full-length novels. 

First of all, what is a novella? A novella is a short novel. It’s about 20,000—40,000 words long, whereas a typical novel could easily be closer to 100,000 words. So, a good example of a novella is The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, which clocks in at 37,000 words. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, on the other hand, is 111,000 words. So far, my own novellas are all 23,000 to 30,000 words each.   

So hopefully that just gives you some context, moving forward for this episode.   

Okay, so why write novellas instead of full-length novels? What’s the point? Why could it be a good idea for you to do this? Find out in this episode—7 reasons why you might want to write a novella, too, instead of a full-length novel...   

Resources & links mentioned in this episode:  

• Learn more about Sagan’s books at SaganMorrow.com/books   
• Episode 16 of Indie Author Weekly: how to write a book series .  
• National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) . 
• Get the writing prompts cheatsheet at SaganMorrow.com/secretpodcast   
• Access sample chapters of Sagan's novels, transcripts of each episode, cheatsheets and spreadsheets relevant to the episode topics, and additional resources, at SaganMorrow.com/secretpodcast.  
• Submit your questions for future episode topics at SaganMorrow.com/question   

Connect with Sagan (@Saganlives) on Twitter and Instagram. Feel free to use the hashtag #IndieAuthorWeekly to chat about this episode.

Send fan mail! Click HERE to leave Sagan a voicemail & share your thoughts about this episode.

Support the show