A Writing Life Catch-Up
- Kerrie Paterson
- Dec 6, 2024
- 3 min read
It's been months since I last wrote a blog post, sorry! Time has absolutely flown by, and so much has happened in my writing life. If you've been following along on YouTube, you'll have seen some of these updates, but I thought it was time to bring the blog up to speed.
The Romance Writers of Australia Conference
The biggest highlight of my year was definitely attending the RWA conference in Adelaide back in August. I hadn't been to one since 2018, so it was wonderful to be back amongst the romance writing community after so long.
The weekend was packed full of professional development workshops, and I came away with pages and pages of notes. One workshop that really stood out was Anne Gracie's session on writing series. She challenged us to think about our favorite series, and I realized that all the ones that came to mind – mostly Nora Roberts series – had some overarching story premise running across all the books. That got me thinking seriously about my own approach to series writing.
Elana Johnson's marketing workshop was another game-changer. As a seven-figure romance author, she had so many valuable strategies around backlist promotion and reader engagement. Her separate workshop on blurbs gave me a completely new framework for writing them, which I've been slowly implementing.
It was also great to hear from authors writing clean and wholesome romance rather than very sexy books. Some of my books have been stuck in that awkward middle ground – a little bit of spice, but not enough to compete in the steamier categories. That conference really solidified my decision to move toward cleaner romance.
A Big Series Decision
Speaking of series, I made a major strategic decision after the conference. Instead of continuing with Hope Creek Book 4, I decided to start a completely new, more tightly linked series with stronger tropes. It was a bit scary to pause an established series, but I'm excited about this new direction and the potential it has.
Before I moved on though, I had some work to do on the existing Hope Creek books.
Rebranding Hope Creek
One of my biggest projects was re-editing Books 1 and 2 in the Hope Creek series to tone down the spice and make them clean and wholesome. I also redid their covers and blurbs to better reflect their new positioning.
It was quite a bit of work, but I'm so pleased with the direction. The books feel more authentically me now, and I'm much more comfortable promoting them. They seem to be finding their audience too, which is encouraging.
Hope Creek 3: Finding Forever
October was a big month with the release of Hope Creek 3, Finding Forever. It felt like such an achievement to get that third book out into the world, especially knowing it would be the final book in the series (at least for now).
The reception has been really positive, and it's been lovely hearing from readers who've followed the series from the beginning. There's something special about completing a trilogy and giving readers that satisfying conclusion they've been waiting for.
What I Learned This Year
Looking back, this year has been about finding my authentic voice as a writer and making strategic decisions that align with who I am as both a person and an author. The conference reminded me how important it is to stay connected with other writers and to keep learning.
I've also learned the value of being willing to pivot when something isn't quite working. Moving away from that middle-ground spice level and embracing clean romance has felt like coming home creatively.
The business side of writing continues to be a learning curve, but I'm getting more comfortable with things like blurb writing and thinking strategically about my backlist.
Looking Ahead
I'm excited about what's coming next. The new series is taking shape, and I have some other projects in the works that I can't wait to share with you. I promise I won't leave it over a year before the next blog update!
Thanks for sticking with me through this long absence. If you're a writer yourself, I'd love to hear what you've been working on this year. And if you're a reader, thank you for your patience while I figured out my direction – I think you're going to love what's coming next.
Until next time (and it won't be months this time, I promise!),
Kerrie
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