Cecelia Mecca, a full-time romance author, shares her journey from being an English teacher to becoming a successful author. She talks about how she transitioned to full-time writing and the challenges she faced along the way.

Cecelia also discusses the importance of finding the right genre and niche, and how it has contributed to her success. She shares her experience with pen names and the need for separate websites, newsletters, and social media accounts for each pen name.

Despite being a one-woman show, Cecelia enjoys the various tasks involved in running her author business. Cecelia Mecca discusses her writing process, including her book production schedule and how she plans and plots her books. She also talks about the importance of editing and the resources she uses to stay current in the industry.

Cecelia emphasizes the value of professional development and building a supportive community of authors. She shares her upcoming projects and where listeners can find her online.

Takeaways

• Finding the right genre and niche can contribute to an author's success.

• Having separate pen names can help target different readerships and genres.

• Running an author business involves various tasks, and it's important to find a balance between creative and business-related work.

• Creating separate websites, newsletters, and social media accounts for each pen name can help with marketing and reaching the right audience. Cecelia Mecca puts out multiple books a year, with a focus on shorter contemporary romance novels.

• She uses Google Docs and Google Sheets for writing and plotting, and she incorporates various plotting mechanisms into her process.

• Cecelia edits for pace and flow, and she relies on professional editors and proofreaders to catch errors and inconsistencies.

• She values professional development and stays current in the industry through resources like the Self-Publishing Formula and conferences like Novelist Inc.

• Cecelia builds a supportive community of authors through Facebook groups and organizes mastermind retreats to share knowledge and experiences.

• She emphasizes the importance of physical activity and takes breaks to walk and go to the gym.

• Cecelia has upcoming releases in her Cecilia Mecca series and the Bachelor Pack series, published by Boldwood Books.

Resources:

KM Weiland - Helping writers become authors

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