Alignment is kind of a buzzword right now. (But that’s not a bad thing. Keep reading to find out why.)

You’ve probably seen a ton of “experts” use it. You’ve maybe even heard them say you need it. And honestly, you do need it, especially as an author.

But what does it mean to be “aligned” — especially on social media, where you probably spend a lot of your time as an author? And why does it even matter when all you want to do is write and sell books?

Let’s break it down.

Live Authentically

Being aligned simply means you’re living your life authentically, as your truest self. Easier said than done, I know! So I’ll go over some tips on how to do it below.

Ten Tips to Combat Writer’s Block

Do you struggle with writer’s block? Do you know you want to write but just can’t seem to sit down and do it?

Watch this video for ten tips to combat writer’s block and help you get unstuck in your manuscript.

Check out the video below! 👇🏻

On the last day of 2020, I shared a post on Instagram. And because I loved it so much, I thought I’d share it here. Seemed fitting for my first post of 2021!

Enjoy!

UNPOPULAR OPINION: I’m grateful for 2020.

Let me just say it: There are some scary things going on in the world right now. The Coronavirus is threatening our health, our economy is crashing, and our jobs are, at best, uncertain.

The responsible thing is to stay home. The safe thing. Because this keeps everyone safe, not just you.

If you’re home, you’re not out catching the disease. If you don’t catch the disease, you can’t spread it to others. And if you’ve minimized your exposure to COVID-19, you’re less likely to contribute to it spreading when you do have to go out.

Because there are vulnerable people in this world, some more vulnerable than you. Even if you’re relatively young and reasonably healthy, what could present as a cold to you could send a compromised individual to the hospital, or worse, to their death.

So please, STAY HOME.

Okay, I’m glad we covered that. Now let’s talk about what’s next.

Ever struggle with staying consistent on Instagram?

Maybe you don’t know what to post.

Maybe you have some ideas, but you’re not sure how to put it into a plan.

Or maybe you’re stuck in the planning phase and you struggle with actually creating the content and getting it posted.

I was the same way. Until January of this year (yes, just two months ago), I didn’t plan ANYTHING. Everything you saw on my IG was basically last-minute. Which meant that it was sporadic at best.

I knew if I wanted to level up and really start taking my social media author presence seriously, I needed to start planning.

And, at first, it was PAINFUL.

But I’ve learned so much, tried so much more, and I’m starting to find out what works for me.

And what works is having a simple plan to GET THINGS DONE.

Enter the Instagram Planning Calendar.

If you’ve read my first book, The Secret of the Codex, you know that I love romance. Kayla and Grady are #couplegoals, and I just loved writing their story.

But except for some fairly steamy-but-still-clean kissing scenes, I didn’t get too much into the romance part. It didn’t feel true to the characters or the story.

In the second book, The Prophecy of the Codex, I explore this a little further. Don’t worry — I don’t get into a lot of details, but you definitely get the point.

I suspect the subsequent books will stay in that same vein.

You have to write what works for the story.

But on February 9th, I started a new book. And this one’s a romance. Like a full-on steamy romance. For mature audiences.

Why the switch?