Taste of Cyn

The Ebbs And Flows Of Being A Writer

By Cynthia Sax on July 7, 2020

I’ve heard the speculations about whether or not a writer can be successful without access to Facebook, a place I find myself residing in now.

Facebook is a key part of many writers’ promotional strategies, interactions with reading and writing buddies, online business and social life. It is challenging for many writers to imagine enjoying this wonderful career without Facebook.

I’ll admit that I miss Facebook. I miss interacting with my buddies there. I miss hearing about writing news. I HAVE seen a dip in sales and in pre-orders because I haven’t yet figured out how to spread the news about releases without Facebook. I relied on that platform THAT much.

But Facebook isn’t why I write. It isn’t why I publish my stories.

Readers aren’t the reason I write either. I love my reading buddies (big hugs) but I wrote stories long before I met them.

If disaster strikes and all my reading buddies abandon me, leaving me with zero readers, I will continue to write and likely continue to publish my stories.

I know this because I HAVE gone to zero in the past.

I had found a solid readership for my contemporary romances many years ago. Then I participated in a year-long experiment, the 12 novella serial. Most of my reading buddies weren’t interested in that project.

I had about 100 readers who read that serial. Those 100 or so readers are and will always be cherished. They were the bright spots in an otherwise dark time in my writing career and I love them for that, for their support, their caring. (even bigger hugs)

The $30 or so I earned on each installment of that serial, however, didn’t come close to paying for my expenses associated with the project. And I had disappointed readers who had counted on me to write the stories THEY wanted. That was really hard to accept.

At the end of it, I had a daunting amount of rebuilding to do.

Another writer might have quit or she might have reinvented herself under a different pen name. Those are two very valid options and I would completely understand if other writers grasped them. Everyone is different and has different paths.

I continued writing, continued publishing…as I will continue to write, continue to publish now and likely forever. Something minor like being kicked off a social media platform won’t stop me.

I doubt anything could stop me at this point. (grins) And that’s a powerful thing—that certainty that the only route is forward, to continue. I don’t have any doubts about what I’m doing, what I am meant to do with the gifts I’ve been given.

Writers often have a vision of an ever-increasing readership for their stories, that our careers will become more successful (whatever our definitions of success are) with each published story. That might be true for a rare few but most of us will see ebbs and flows with our careers.

The world changes. Readers change. We, as writers, change. We can’t count on straight line growth for…well…anything. There will be dips. Heck, there will be cliffs, straight downward plunges. If you are a writer, you might want to prepare for them, might want to think about how you’ll handle them.

Know that these ‘retreats’ are natural. They happen to almost every writer. And you CAN survive them.

You can also survive without Facebook. (grins)

As an aside, I’ve been enjoying the best writing of my lifetime since I’ve been kicked off Facebook. The words are flowing. I’m in the groove. The views of my stories have been excitingly clear and detailed. I don’t know if this is because I’m not on Facebook or that is merely a coincidence.

Whatever the reason is, I’m savoring it.

***

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Other Chameles view him as the enemy.

She sees the warrior hero he never believed he could be.

* * *

Tolui is a Warlord in search of a planet to rule. He has been leading his fellow clones in a stealth battle, fighting for both control of the Chamele sector and the right to exist. The brave warriors he commands warrant respect, and they deserve the best.

That best isn’t the barren, dangerous terrain on Chamele 4. When Tolui crashes on that planet’s surface, he’s determined to leave it as soon as possible. The tiny human female rescuing him might be as beautiful and as wild as the land she inhabits, but her flowing words, trusting gaze, and enthralling submission won’t stop him from rejoining the war.

After many solar cycles of living alone, Lea is overjoyed when a tall, scarred, muscular warrior falls from the sky. Her savage stranger is strong and severe, and he makes her feel safe, an emotion she hasn’t experienced in a long, long time.

He also insists they must part. Before they do, she’ll show him the splendor of her home, and she’ll enjoy his big form, collecting passionate moments she can revisit when she’s solitary once more.

Every additional moment Lea and Tolui spend together increases the chance they’ll both die. Lea is being chased by female-hating fiends. Tolui is being hunted by the best bounty hunters in the universe. War will soon arrive on their threshold, and the blood spilled might be their own.

* * *

Warlord’s Mercy is based on a much shorter story sharing the same title.

It is a STANDALONE Alien Barbarian SciFi Romance featuring a villain turned hero and a brave, chatty heroine set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.

Warlord’s Mercy is the fifth of six core stories in the Chamele Barbarian Warlord series.

Book 1: Warlord Sky

Book 2: Warlord’s Bounty

Book 3: Warlord Unarmed

Book 4: Warlord Reunited

Book 5: Warlord’s Mercy

Book 6: Warlord’s Return

Buy Now:

Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0886K65F9

Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0886K65F9

Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0886K65F9

Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/warlords-mercy/id1511995733