Since February I have been querying my young adult murder mystery manuscript called The Final Chapter. It's set in a fictional small-town near Philly and takes place primarily at an indie bookstore during Halloween. The main character, Emmie, and her friends team up to solve who killed a bookstore patron, Bette. Emmie was the last … Continue reading Taking a Step Back
Tag: editing
Writing in Different Genres
I've been a guest on various podcasts and have been getting asked the same question a lot: You write in a lot of different genres. How did that happen and how does it work? It's a great question and might reflect my reading tastes. I read all kinds of books, therefore it makes me interested … Continue reading Writing in Different Genres
Reflections on 2024
This year has gone by like a blink of an eye, but I have to say, despite having a lukewarm second book launch, my writer mental health was much better this year than 2023. In 2023, my debut book, Does Love Always Win?, released and for some reason I decided to set up my own … Continue reading Reflections on 2024
Asking for Help
This summer I finished writing the first draft of my newest book, a young adult cozy murder mystery set in an indie bookstore during Halloween. After going through and making edits, I made the next important step on my manuscript's journey; I sent it off to a beta-reader. What are beta-readers? Beta-readers are readers that … Continue reading Asking for Help
Pivoting
I was at 42,000 words in my new young adult murder mystery work in progress when suddenly the developmental edits (the first round of edits that are more big picture) hit my inbox for my upcoming young adult superhero novel, Superficial. No! I was in a really good spot with the work in progress and … Continue reading Pivoting
Plotting vs Pantsing
I'm a known pantser in my writing, aka, writing by the seat of my pants. This can be freeing and a lot of fun, not knowing what will come out of my fingers as I type, but it also can be a detriment and makes for extra cleanup during the editing phase of a story. … Continue reading Plotting vs Pantsing
Writing Conundrums: Tried-and-True or New and Challenging?
It's so hard to start a new project, especially after finishing two books. That's the place I'm at right now. My young adult sapphic novel, Does Love Always Win?, has been published for three and a half months, and my young adult superhero book, Superficial, comes out in a year. So now what? What kind … Continue reading Writing Conundrums: Tried-and-True or New and Challenging?
A Year of No Resolutions
A new year is always a good time for reflecting on the previous year. And let me tell you, at this exact time last year I had no idea at all what 2022 would bring. I was in a pretty sad state. I wasn't happy at all in my day job, I was receiving rejections … Continue reading A Year of No Resolutions
Deadline Driven
It's been hard to juggle all the various commitments I've had lately, between starting a new day job that's very writing based, editing my book that's being published, marketing for my book and all that it entails (social media, answering Q&A's, creating a newsletter, updating my website, creating business cards etc.), and trying to write/edit … Continue reading Deadline Driven
If At First You Don’t Succeed…
It's been four months since I restarted my querying journey after a year of deep edits, and I still haven't found success. I've received lots of form rejection emails from agents and small publishing houses, so much so I've started becoming numb to reading the words, "I wasn't pulled into the opening pages as much … Continue reading If At First You Don’t Succeed…
Diane Billas 