January | 2014 | Steph Nuss

Last night, I finished up with a few tweaks and edits on WANTED BY YOU. It’s headed to the copy editor now which means we’re getting closer and closer to publication!

*throws confetti!*

Let’s talk about the art of writing for a moment…

I think some people think writing a book is like taking a crap. You just sit down and write, and boom, a masterpiece is formed. No. That’s not how it works. There’s anxiety involved. A lot of anxiety and edits and rewrites. And the voices in your head never shut up. And they’re begging you to tell their story, but you can’t write fast enough to get everything down at once so you have notes all over the place. Inside your old college notebooks. On your Notes app on your iPhone. On your laptop’s sidebar sticky notes. It’s a mess of notes all over the place; sometimes in places you can’t even remember putting them. It’s exhausting and time consuming but completely magical all at the same time.

All of the anxiety and edits and perfecting is totally worth it because writing a book is not like taking a dump. It’s not an everyday occurrence that everybody does. It’s a big deal. It’s crossing off a bucket list item. It’s chasing after the dream you’ve had since you were a little girl. A dream of one day becoming that author who inspires others to write because being a writer is their dream, too.

So, as I get closer to publishing my first book and think about all the excitement and nerves that will come with release day, I can’t help but smile and think, bring it on! I’m not going to let anything or anyone bring me down. I’ve worked hard to get where I am as a writer, and I’m not going to let one person’s opinion or a bad review or whatever bring me down because writing a book is not like taking a poop. If it was, everybody would do it and nobody would judge anybody on how they do it because nobody would care.

I’m thankful for the people who care about me and my book and the Love in the City series, the people who have taken the time to help me through the writing and editing process and given me sound advice, and to the people who read my book early on and gave me their honest opinions.

I will forever be grateful for people’s honesty and feedback, but honestly, writing a book is nothing like taking a shit. Not everybody can do it. Not everybody has the guts to do it. So, cheers to all of us who have the courage to put ourselves out there, and to all the people who continuously support and encourage us to pursue our dreams and who care enough to share their thoughts with us.

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to write more posts on here. In 2013, I neglected my website quite often, but that’s all going to change in 2014. I like my new layout. I finally figured out how to create my own widgets. Life on here will be good! It will be!

My other resolutions consist of eating healthier, working out more…the usual resolutions most people have. I’m fairly good at watching what I eat, but I’m hoping to start eating a paleo diet again. The “caveman” diet, as it’s been referred to, is a very clean eating regimen. It really does make the body feel a hell of a lot better and I’m excited to jump back on the bandwagon. I lost about 10 pounds from eating a paleo diet earlier in 2013.

Of course, I don’t believe in completely cutting out the things I love. I think it’s important to reward yourself for living a healthier lifestyle by enjoying some of the not-so-good-for-you foods maybe once every two weeks or every Saturday because it’s the weekend, but with that being said, I think it’s important that that “treat” doesn’t morph into binge eating. A fun-sized candy bar or a bowl of cereal would suffice.

I recently started pinning and using polyvore and you can find links to my profiles on the side of my website. I’ve been building polyvore boards and pinterest boards for my book and I’ve grown addicted to them. I’m positive 2014 will be filled will lots more pins and polyvore sets. It’s all just so addicting, I can’t help it! None of my sets on polyvore are published yet because they’re a big, fat secret until my book comes out…which is soon! I can’t wait for you all to see them as well as my pinterest boards.

As for the rest of 2014, I’m planning on writing a hell of a lot more! I’m hoping to at least get two books published this year. That’s my goal anyways. The first book in my Love in the City series, Wanted By You, is currently with the beta readers and I’m really excited to hear their thoughts! I’m just really excited in general with everything in regards towards my book and writing and publishing. My cover is hot! I can’t wait to share it with the world! Bandit Publishing has made this entire process a dream come true. They just get me and I really, really appreciate that.

One of my other goals for 2014 is to write everyday no matter what. Like Nora Roberts says, “I can always fix a bad page. I can’t fix a blank one.” I’m currently in the process of writing book two, and I’m hoping this goal pushes me to finish it and publish it before 2014 ends!

I hope everyone has set some resolutions and/or goals for themselves this year. I think it’s important to push yourself towards your dreams because life is too short to do anything else. I sat down at my laptop in April 2013 and started writing. In July 2013, I signed a contract with Bandit Publishing and have had the opportunity to work with some of the greatest people to bring out the best in me as a writer, and I know 2014 will be full of awesome things for us! I can’t wait! May you all have a wonderful New Year’s! Cheers to 2014!