I read the other day that writers don’t need to obey writing rules and they gave the example of using Was and Were. Writing rules are strong guidelines to a tight and well written piece. You can only break the rules now and agin IF you know them and adhere them. No one is above the rules. I’m a stickler about using WAS. I forgot to do a search on my new MS. It was a rough draft and the publisher said we’ll edit it. My editor sent it back saying she found 200 of those pesky things. Me! She fixed them and I told her next time don’t. I need to do it. As I’m reading through the work I shook my head. Next MS do a search/find. I’m embarrassed. It’s a lesson I’m working on. No one is perfect 😉

Hey friends & future authors: If you aren't a techie and you want to build an author website, I would recommend Tertulia. Thanks to @Delis Guzman for recommending this platform, I built my website in ten minutes! Here's the link to build your author website quickly and easily. https://authors.tertulia.com/invite/8aslp0

Hey, awesome community members! I wanted to add a feature to our community so that members can share their book launch, event, or freebie (a checklist, mini-ebook, Skool community, or free online course) with other members. But, I don't want our community to be full of promotional posts, so this is how we're going to do this: @Paula Yap is my Admin, so make sure to DM her with your event. Your event or offer needs to have three pieces of information: 1. A two to three-sentence description of the event or offer so members understand what you're offering. If you send Paula an entire paragraph, it won't be posted! 2. The date of the event (if applicable) 3. ONE link to your event or offer - one place to send community members. An example post would look like this: Free event! I'm hosting a workshop on training your dog to stop barking at the mailman. This is a one-hour workshop via Zoom. Bring your dog, yourself, and a notebook. July 2nd, 2026 at 9am PST www.stopyourdarkfrombarking.com Paula will post our members' events and offers each Monday, so make sure to send over your information at least one week before your event date. Questions? Put them in the comments below!