#WEP #Winners #GuestPost - Jemi Fraser on being a newbie author!

Hello everyone! Denise here! The winner of each WEP challenge gets to do a guest post, and today we have Jemi Fraser, whose flash fiction, Sin and Sunshine blew us away. As Nick Wilford, our judge said: "Beautiful, romantic, devastating. The ending hits hard."

Today Jemi is going to post about being a newbie author. I'm sure we'll all find something helpful and encouraging within Jemi's words of what she's learned in her short time of self-publishing. I'm currently reading an ARC of her latest, Reaching for Roots in her Bloo Moose series and can attest to her writing skills!

 So, take it away, Jemi!

Thanks so much to Denise, Renée, Olga, Laura, & Nila for allowing me to take over the blog for the day!

 I think of myself as a newbie author.

 A couple of years ago, my first published story Until Release, was published in a DLP anthology Tick Tock: A Stitch In Crime.

 In a few weeks, it will be a full year since I published my memoir/self-help Dancing With Dementia. I wonder if then I’ll think of myself as an author without the newbie label.

In July of 2020, I published the first 3 books in my Bloo Moose romantic suspense series. Will I feel like a fully-fledged author when that anniversary rolls around?

I’m currently working on the 8th Bloo Moose book and the first book in the next series. Will publishing that new series be the time?

 I’m not sure.

 This is an industry with a long and bouncy learning curve. Learning one thing leads to more questions and more learning and I don't know if I'll ever lose the newbie feel.

 I started writing about a decade ago when I didn't know agents did anything other than represent famous actors. When I'd never heard the term query letter or first draft or even show not tell.

I've learned a LOT both about writing and the publishing world over the years. I stockpiled stories and ideas until I knew enough to write them properly. I've got multiple stories that will never see the light of day and others that are waiting for a rewrite and so many Shiny New Ideas. But I still feel like a newbie.

 I thought pressing Publish would be the moment.

I thought the first 5 star review would be it.

Or the first 5 star from a complete stranger.

Holding my paperbacks in my hands.

The first contact on social media from someone who loves my books.

The first email where a woman called me a favourite author. (eek!)

Hitting 100 reviews on my freebie series starter.

 Those are AMAZING moments.

Yet, I still feel like a newbie.

 There is so much to learn. Not only about the craft and publishing, but about marketing and promotion (definitely a newbie there!).

 There will always be a lot to learn.

Thankfully, that learning is also part of the fun!

 How about you? Anyone else feel like a newbie? Anyone else looking up the steep hill of the next learning curve?

 Jemi Fraser writes romantic suspense filled with hope, heart, and humour. Her stories combine her love of mystery with the satisfaction of a Happy Ever After.

 For a peek at the Bloo Moose small-town romance series, sign up for her newsletter for a free short story or check out Reaching For Normal (free at all retailers). For more info, check out jemifraser.com

 Armed with a mug of tea and freshly-baked cookies, Jemi is living out her own HEA in beautiful Northern Ontario.

 Book & Social Media Links 

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Thanks Jemi! Very shortly Laura will be with you to kick start our April challenge! Please join us! You could be guest posting for us in May!