When my first book was getting ready to come out, I was excited. 😆 I did the countdown. I told friends and family. I reached out to people. I promoted it. ✨ There was energy around it. ✨ And then eventually, I stopped promoting it. And when I stopped getting the book in front of people, the book stopped getting those eyes on it. 👀 It went to the sidelines… That taught me something I hadn't fully understood when I started. I had been so focused on creating the book that publishing felt like the finish line. 🏁 But putting a book into the world and helping people discover it aren't the same thing. That's one reason I now think it's important to ask: What do you actually want this book to do? Maybe you want it to reach certain people. Maybe it's connected to your business. Or maybe there's another purpose behind it. ❤️ I don't want to decide that purpose for you. I want you to know it. 👍 ❤️ This is YOUR story. ❤️ Finishing your manuscript is a huge accomplishment. 🎉 Publishing it can be another. And then there may be another part of the path waiting for you. Knowing where you want to go helps you make decisions before you get there. And understanding if you want support along the way is good to think about. That way you don’t have to do it ALL alone. 🙌

As many of you may know, it’s helpful taking a step back from work and to be in the moment. Enjoy life! That’s what I’m doing! My family and I have made it to Portugal and we’re planning on going on a road trip through this country! Yay! 😁 Starting in Porto and working our way down to Faro! Anyone here from Portugal!? 🇵🇹 Or anyone like to travel?? 🧳

Hi community, Any BETA readers in here? I'd love your help with my first mystery/suspense novel. I reached just under 60,000 words and would love some input where to add the remaining 15,000-20,000 words best. This is my elevator pitch: Soon after face-blind Mila, twenty-eight, moves into her dead grandmother’s cabin after her dad’s untimely death she uncovers a dark family secret and finds herself entangled in a mystery surrounding missing girls. If anyone here is into this genre, please let me know and I'll send over my manuscript. Thanks! And thank you Dani, for your friendly pushes :)

Let’s think about this week. If you celebrated Easter maybe there was a lot of chaos. Or maybe it was nice a calm. ☺️ If you had a chance, let’s focus on the time you had to just breathe. 🧘‍♀️ Not what you wrote. ✍️ Think if you had a chance to realize something. Because Story First is about awareness before output. Start becoming more aware and you’re a step closer to becoming more clear. Then this is something you can use towards your book with Story First method. 👉 What became clearer for you this week?

Let’s play a game! I’ll give you a prompt and I want you to turn it into whatever genre you want. Prompt: “Two people meet unexpectedly.” Write it: 💥 As a thriller 💥As a romance 💥 As fantasy 💥 As comedy Notice how structure shapes tone. Drop your version below and interact with someone else’s! Let’s work on learning more about the different ways to present the scene from one another! Plus, it’s interesting reading others’ stories. So, why not let them know your thoughts?