Ten years ago, Bix and her team of Dark Ops agents had a mission to rescue one of their own. The mission went pear-shaped; her team died, she was exiled, and the package was never retrieved. But the Fates won’t be denied. The mission’s a go once again, and this time, the survival of the Mid Worlds hangs in the balance.
Pre-Order the eBook:
Paperback & Ebook Release on July 24
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Now that I've shared that bit of fun, let's chat about this week's topic: What do I do to improve as a career author? Easy. Never stop learning.
From story structure to sales, I have lots of things I want and need to learn. To level-up, I read outside my established favorites and I take classes. "Good" books (and by that, I mean my purely subjective rating of books that did something that resonated with me) I'll read twice, once for the story and once for how the author did that "thing" that stayed with me after I closed the book. That "thing" could be as broad as how the author made me like a character I shouldn't have liked, or as specific as the way they painted a verbal picture of a setting.
When it comes to classes, I prefer online classes for the sake of convenience and cost. Yes, there are a few IRL camps/cons/retreats that look hella useful that I have on my educational wishlist. The ideal sitch is to take a class a quarter and use the time in between to apply the lessons. I'm in for one craft class and two business classes this year. Still searching for that 4th class. When I say "class" I'm not referring to the local uni; I mean "hey, there's a recognized expert in the field and they offer to share best practices for a nominal fee." I know the theories on both sides of the business and craft, so my focus is on courses that teach practical applications.
If you have any classes to recommend, dear reader, let me know!
