Back on January the 1st, this blog turned 13 years old.
Unlucky for some, and time for me to cut back, or cut it out.
After the revolting effort 2020 and 2021 put on, I came to the conclusion that in late 2019 I’d hit burnout. And it took me those two years to figure it out.
Don’t mistake that for writer’s block, though, that stupid bitch doesn’t exist.
I had burnout after writing over 1 million words in The Porn Star Brothers family saga, and releasing a book every six months until 2019 when I not only had to write an extra 67 pages for DeLuca, but then write Spiros & Jenny as well. In 2020 it was an overwhelming effort to write the final book, And Always, from April until August, with a September release, no less, run the PSB website, plus this one, and then try and do other things.
A LOT of other things!
I ground to a mental halt and needed a break.
From EVERYTHING!
In January 2020 I had a brilliant idea for a novel, or two, but pushed that insane inspiration aside to try and focus on writing other stuff, namely that final PSB novel. In January 2021, I still hadn’t even attempted to write those new novels.
Why?
Burnout!
Not that I knew at that time.
I battled on trying to get my hardcovers and large prints done after they were delayed from 2020. They were finally released in March 2021. They, for the most part, were finally done.
In September 2021 I had ANOTHER awesome idea for a novel, but had to put it on the back burner for other things, thus extinguishing the inspiration for it. This novel is something else; it actually made me rub my hands together at all of the twists and turns my brain was coming up with. That has NEVER happened with any other book I’ve written.
And so, after small ideas had been percolating in my brain, simmering away under the surface like a volcano ready to blow, I took time off from the gym, wrapped up a few other things, and wrote copious amounts of notes on WHY it wasn’t working anymore.
Why what wasn’t working?
My writing life, that’s what.
I wrote note upon note, had thought upon thought, and came to the decision to change how I do things moving forward. And then over the last month of 2021 I had more thoughts, and changed things again.
But that means changing EVERYTHING moving forward.
Including at this blog.
The choices I’ve made are this…
1 – There is no longer a newsletter.
2 – I’m no longer posting to other social media because some of that social media will be closed down.
My Twitter and Pinterest accounts will be closed, but my Instagram account and Facebook page will go silent and private. FOR NOW.
For those who don’t know, L.J. Diva is the adult author pen name of Tiara King. Any posts here will be posted to her/my social media at @tiarakinghq, or on the publishing house’s social media at @royalstarpublishing.
3 – I will no longer be posting at this blog monthly. The only posts throughout the year will be the yearly plan, the half-yearly catch-up, the full yearly catch-up, the yearly Jackie Collins post, any book releases, and Christmas and New Year’s. So when a book is released, there will be book quotes, character lists, cover reveals, header images, etc.
This blog has been happening for thirteen years. It’s time I stepped back and made more time for myself to once again be creative. To once again write what I want, when I want, how I want, and not set myself ridiculous deadlines that I can’t possibly meet. Because that’s been the main problem. I’ve set myself deadlines and have not met them. I’ve spread myself across too many outlets and the inspiration and motivation has disappeared. I’ve written millions of words across three names, multiple genres, stories, non-fictions, stand-alone novels and a family saga that burned me out, and it’s time to go back to “before”. Before having all of this, before doing all of this, before when I wrote with no stress and no publication date.
THAT is what I want to get back to. Regardless of wanting to release something every year on the anniversary of Jackie’s passing, that is a date that will always be a year in the future. If I can start writing “something” on the 1st of October every year, or just write for a full year whatever the hell I want, then there will be “something” released on September 19th for years. It’s just a matter of letting myself write whatever my muse gives me as inspiration.
Getting back to free writing. My way. Not my brain’s way.
So that’s it. They are the changes.
No more monthly post, and this site simply becomes a website which may get a new logo and a new theme at some point.
Thanks for being here for thirteen years if you have been. Thanks for stopping by to read about my posts on publishing. Thanks for buying my books and the support you gave, even though you have all left. But then again, I did too when I moved on from following and commenting on other people’s blogs and moved from Blogger to WordPress. It has been thirteen years, after all.
It’s time to reduce the weight of work and get back to BEFORE, which is now my word for the year.
See you next blog post.
