Blog

Notes on writing, books, and the author's life. Three series — three angles on the same journey.

All Author's Diary Writer's Kitchen Letters to a New Writer

Author's Diary

The emotional throughline — an honest account of how it actually happened. Each piece ends with a takeaway, or an open question.

01 Why I Didn't Start Writing Until After 45 June 10, 2025 02 What My First Manuscript Looked Like — the One No One Was Supposed to See June 24, 2025 03 The Day I First Said Out Loud: "I'm a Writer" July 8, 2025 04 What I Felt When I Wrote the Last Line August 19, 2025 05 Why Finishing the Book Turned Out to Be Not the End, But the Start of a New Job September 2, 2025 06 The First Reader, the First Review September 16, 2025 07 Why I Decided to Record the Audiobook in My Own Voice September 30, 2025 08 Translating the Book into English: Expectations and Reality October 14, 2025 09 My First Rejection from a Publisher, and What It Taught Me November 11, 2025 10 Looking for a Literary Agent, Without Illusions November 25, 2025 11 What Turned Out to Be the Most Expensive Part of Self-Publishing a Book December 9, 2025 12 How a Book Changed Me December 23, 2025 13 Why I Keep Writing Even When I Don't Know How Many Copies Will Sell January 6, 2026 14 How the Third Book of the Trilogy Is Being Born January 20, 2026 15 What I'd Do Differently Today Than I Would Have Three Years Ago February 3, 2026 16 If I Had to Start From Zero Again February 17, 2026 17 Why an Author's Journey Doesn't End When the Book Is Written March 3, 2026 18 Three Months When I Didn't Write a Single Line September 2, 2026 19Does an Author Have to Become a Blogger to Get Noticed? I'm Not SureSeptember 13, 2026

Writer's Kitchen

The professional side of making a book — editor, design, translation, cost. Not a how-to guide, just “here's how it went for me.”

NEWWhy Book Bloggers Ignore Your Novel: How Indie Authors Can Get Honest ReviewsOctober 26, 2026 NEWRomance, Fantasy or Thriller? Who Indie Authors Should PitchOctober 26, 2026 NEWWhy AI Search Can't Find Your Book: A No-Budget Visibility ChecklistOctober 26, 2026 01 How I Chose My First Editor March 10, 2026 02 Why Good Proofreading Is Almost Invisible March 24, 2026 03 The Synopsis: The Most Hated Part of the Writer's Journey March 31, 2026 04 The Island Where You Don't Have to Prove Anything: How Bali Taught Me to Write Honestly April 7, 2026 05 How I Chose My Cover and Illustration Designer April 14, 2026 06 What turned out to matter more than a beautiful cover April 21, 2026 07 Book Layout: The Work Nobody Talks About April 28, 2026 08 What Preparing a Book for Print Actually Looks Like May 5, 2026 09 What Turned Out to Be Harder — Writing the Book, or Single-Handedly Building the Team Around It May 12, 2026 10 Why a Good Translation Is Almost Co-Authorship May 26, 2026 11 How I Recorded My Own Audiobook Myself — and What Happens Next June 2, 2026 12 What to Do When Manuscript Versions Multiply on Your Desktop Like Rabbits in Spring June 9, 2026 13 Self-Publishing Is the Fastest Way to Find Your Reader June 12, 2026 14 What I Definitely Wouldn't Pay for Again Today June 16, 2026 15 How the Title of My Book Was Born June 18, 2026 16 If This Service Had Existed Earlier, I'd Have Saved Months of Work June 20, 2026 17 Why We Started Building a Helper for Authors June 22, 2026 18 A Blogger Wrote About My Book — and Sales Didn't Budge. Here's What I Learned August 19, 2026 19 How Much Should My Book Cost — and Why I Got It Wrong the First Time August 26, 2026 20“Now You Can Write a Book in a Week.” Then Why Spend a Year?September 9, 2026 21 The Tools I Actually Need Before Sending a Book to a Publisher October 25, 2026 22 What I'd Send to a Literary Agent Now: My Submission Checklist October 25, 2026 23Publishing After AI: What Gets Cheaper and What Still MattersOctober 25, 2026 24Will AI Replace Literary Agents and Publishers? What Writers Still NeedOctober 25, 2026 25Where to Submit a Manuscript in 2026: Publishers and Agents by GenreOctober 25, 2026