It’s been a while since I’ve written about writing. Â With my babyloss memoir, the NetGalley Marketing Experiment has about a month left in it, and I’m continuing to get really good feedback, which makes me feel validated, but hasn’t resulted in a lot of book sales yet. Â In fact, I got this review last week:
Heart-wrenching and poignant look into infertility and the true thoughts of someone who’s been through it. I learned a lot about this unfortunate world, and had lumps in my throat from reading what the author went through. Her emotions leapt off the page and grip you by the throat, and they don’t leave you for a long time, haunting and staying there as a reminder that such devastating loss occurs in the world… Really poignant and not for the faint of heart…
It’s nice to see so many positive comments, and people saying that it’s helped them understand the world of baby loss and infertility. Â And really, that was the point of the book. Â But I would like for more grieving and struggling mom’s to be able to see it, and so that takes more marketing. Â Now that I have all these good reviews, and an average rating on goodreads of 3.85 stars, what do I do with that? Â How do I take those reviews, these 50-odd people who have submitted reviews and said they’d be willing and interested in connecting with me, and how do I take that to the next level? Â That’s my dilemma with that book right now. Â I’m still working on an answer. Â If you have any ideas, by all means, tell me!
But, moving on, the #NaNoWriMo Fiction Edition. Â In 2014 I was really pleased with my NaNoWriMo book. Â I had an idea I could see myself working with, and wanting to live with for the time it took to edit. Â So now, a year later, I’m up to about 67,000 words, and while I don’t think it’s the best fiction I’ve ever read (I’m not being hard on myself – just honest) it’s definitely as good as the romantic Christmas fluff I’m reading right now.
And so, I’ve put it up on wattpad to get some feedback from beta-readers. Â I’ve posted in two forums of which I’m a part – Tribe Writers and the Leonie Dawson Shining Academy – asking for readers. Â I will start working on a cover and final title, and then I will take the feedback and make the necessary edits. Â Then, finally, I will publish. Â Below is an embedded version, and here’s a link if you’d like to read it yourself. Â I’d love any and all feedback.
It’s interesting to see what’s come out of this fiction experiment. Â To start with, I really don’t think I’m meant to be a fiction writer. Â It just doesn’t flow for me. Â I keep finding holes in the story and wanting to patch them up. Â But at the same time, it was fun to live vicariously, and to stretch my creativity, and that’s the point of all of it, right?
And so, if you’re interested in a book that combines time travel with chick lit, I’d love your thoughts and feedback. Â For now, I’m going to finish the romantic fluff novel I’m reading, and then go to sleep. Â Merry Festivus-Eve!
Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast,  the original Tudor history podcast, started in 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. In 2019 she created Tudorcon, which is now a yearly event, in addition to writing books, and running TudorFair.com - a whimsical Tudor Merch shop.
She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 30 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history (how exciting when she got to interview Alison for the first time!). In addition to history, she is passionate about travel, and has lived in 3 countries and 4 states (not counting her perpetual state of confusion), and her family (who help her host her YouTube channel occasionally).
