When I hired an editor for my first book, I thought I was doing what I was supposed to do. She was the expert and I was the new author. ✍️ So, when I opened her feedback and saw all the things she thought needed to change, my heart dropped. 😔 I remember questioning myself. “Maybe I just don't take constructive criticism well.” And because she knew more about editing than I did, I started making changes. Some were helpful and others didn't feel right at all. 😞 There were a few I refused to make. 😠 And there were others I made even though something inside me was saying: “This doesn't feel like me.” That's one of the lessons I had to learn the hard way. 😮‍💨 Someone can know more than you about their area of expertise and still not know more than you about what your story means to you. Those are two different things. Your story is yours and an editor or an expert will not know how to share it as you want to. They don’t have the image that you have of your story. 🖼️ Today, I want writers to have support. 🫂 I believe in editors. I believe in coaching. ❤️ I believe in learning from people who know things we don't. But I also want you to know that as you work on your story strongly, hear advice and then ask: Does this serve my story? 🤔 You don't have to reject expertise to trust yourself. ❤️ You can have both.

Hey there newbies! So happy that you've come to this writing community to give, receive support, and to be surrounded by other writers! Welcome! @Maya Nova @Rhiannon Bailey @Liz Delton Let's give them a warm welcome and if you'd like, share what you are working on! ❤️ Let's support one another!

During my first read-through edit of Nigredo Manifesto, I noticed something that made me laugh. In one chapter alone, I found seven different uses of “looking back.” At first I thought, okay Rose, we get it. You are looking back. 😂 But the more I noticed it, the more interesting it became. “Looking back” wasn’t just repetitive wording. It was an orientation phrase. While I was writing my own life, especially difficult parts of it, I was constantly placing myself somewhere between then and now. “Looking back” helped me create enough distance to see the experience, interpret it, and put it into language. So yes, I’ll probably rework a lot of those sentences during editing because the reader doesn’t need to be reminded every few paragraphs that the narrator is speaking from the present. But I’m not mad at the phrase anymore. It may have been scaffolding. Sometimes repetition isn’t only weak writing. Sometimes it shows you how the writer was able to approach the material in the first place. Now that the story is on the page, I can remove some of the scaffolding without removing the perspective that made the writing possible. Has anyone else found a phrase they apparently leaned on a lot once they started editing? 😆📖

There were times in my life when I questioned whether I was good enough. Good enough to create the business. Good enough to write the books. 📚 Good enough to do the thing I felt pulled toward. And one of the things I wish I could have heard more clearly was: You matter as you are. Not when you’ve accomplished enough. Not when everyone understands you. Not when someone gives you permission. Just because you exist. I think that’s part of why I care about writers trusting themselves now. Because when you’re writing something personal, it can be very easy to start looking outside yourself for permission. Is this important enough? Am I qualified to tell this story? Will someone approve of how I tell it? Can an expert tell me whether I’m doing it right? Guidance can help. Feedback can help. Structure can help. But none of those things can decide whether your experience mattered. ❤️ That belongs to you. ❤️ And if you choose to turn that experience into a book, I want the support around you to help you become more connected to your story, not less. ❤️

I think writers can be really hard on themselves. We miss a few writing days and suddenly we start thinking: "I'm not disciplined enough." "Maybe I'm not serious enough." "Why can't I just sit down and write?" I've had those moments too. Sometimes the problem isn't discipline. Sometimes life changed. Sometimes the story changed. Sometimes something about the book isn't working anymore and we haven't figured out what it is yet. So before you decide you need to push yourself harder, get curious. 👀 Ask yourself: What is making it difficult for me to return to this story right now? Your answer might surprise you. And it might be much more helpful than telling yourself to "try harder." 💛 What's been making writing difficult for you lately?