Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

It is the first Wednesday of the month, and time for the Insecure Writers' Support Group post. This month is special, because it marks 15 years of the IWSG. I haven't been here the whole 15 years--only about 11 of them. (See my first IWSG post in November 2015 if you are wondering). Reading over my first post, I realize that my insecurities haven't changed, nor has my work pattern and general speed of production. I'm so grateful to this group for the support, the beta reads, the fun interactions, and more for all these years! This is the badge we were using when I joined in 2015. Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about y...

Before I start, I want to share this quote from  Wintering,  by Katherine May. I think it applies to our creative dry spells as much as to anything.  “We have seasons when we flourish and seasons when the leaves fall from us, revealing our bare bones. Given time, they grow again.”  We all have our winters. Go ahead and rest and retreat for a time. My big time of retreat from my work is not the actual winter season, but the summer/fall hiking season. I'm not sure I can claim it as quite the same sort of thing, but my time in the mountains and desert is healing and rejuvenating to my creative self as well as the rest of me (as if they were separate things!). So I have been learning to accept that my work gets put aside, and that's okay, though I could manage the timing better (only I don't seem able to, so...).  Okay, so what have I been doing, to make my Wednesday post so late?  1. Writing. Which, in this case, is revising, editing, and polishing. The book i...

It's the first Wednesday of another month, and time to bare our insecurities!       Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post. And please be sure your avatar links back to your blog! Otherwise, when you leave a comment, people can't find you to commen...

Why, yes, I do believe I am making progress!  The cover art is progressing nicely--I'm hoping to be able to reveal that soon. Meanwhile, I have (with much help from my friends--special thanks to fellow writers  Ronel  Janse van Vuuren and Lisa Frieden ) finalized the back-cover blurb! I'll share that below. If you don't like seeing how sausage is made, skip the next paragraph!   In other news, I've drafted a whole new ending for  Logged Off,  which I think works better and makes more sense than the original version. Of course, I still have to beat it into shape, then go back and make sure everything in earlier parts of the book fits the new ending.    In spite of this, and my travel plans for August, September, and October, I am on track to release the book in November. I've also polished up a few short stories to send out in search of a home. In other writerly news, I've been going to lots of street fairs and hawking my books with the Author Eve...

It's the first Wednesday of the month again already, and time for my IWSG post! I'm excited to be a co-host again this month!   Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds (and come on, we're all insecure in some way)! Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writers - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Be sure to link to the IWSG page and display the badge in your post. And please be sure your avatar lin...

  It's the first Wednesday of the month again already, and time for my IWSG post! I got home last Friday from a 3-week road trip and backpacking adventure, so I've not done a whole lot since last month :)   Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds (and come on, we're all insecure in some way)! Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writers - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Be sure to link to the ...

  It's the first Wednesday of the month again already, and time for my IWSG post!    Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds (and come on, we're all insecure in some way)! Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writers - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Be sure to link to the IWSG page and display the badge in your post. And please be sure your avatar links back to your blog! Otherwise, whe...

Oops--I guess my title kind of gave away the plot! I missed my Monday post due to a) not having time to make one, and b) not having a book ready to review. The reason for that is good, though: I have had visits from my kids the last two weekends, which put me behind on all my work but is totally worth it. Revisions on the book are proceeding, just as slowly and painfully as usual. Meanwhile, in other news, as many of you will have noticed, Draft2Digital has just put a new burden on those of us with lousy sales. I am sad to find that it will now cost me $12 per year to keep my books on all those web sites. I get it--they run on royalties, same as we do, and my books aren't earning them enough royalties, but it's hard on us little people.  I'd love to fix my low earnings, but alas, I have no magic solution, and even less ability to fix last year's sales.  (I also notice they don't say that the fee will disappear if I make more than $100 in 2026).  Since the fee won...

  It's the first Wednesday of the month again already, and time for my IWSG post! I'm honored to be a co-host this month and will be visiting as many of you as possible! Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds (and come on, we're all insecure in some way)! Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writers - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Be sure to link to the IWSG page and display the badge in your ...