Kelly Russell

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Kelly Russell

30 Day Writing Challenge for 2019

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For those of you who really want to start writing your first novel as one of your goals for 2019, I put together a 30 Day Writing Challenge checklist for 2019 that you can download, save, and use. What’s so great about this free template is that you can start this challenge whenever you like, and you can use this template for anything related to writing.

The goal is to become inspired and write something every single day for 30 days.

Even though I really enjoy writing and I’m really, really excited to write my second novel. I do find it hard sometimes to feel inspired to actually sit down and write. Whenever you are feeling this way, here are a few of my tips to help you get motivated when you are feeling especially unmotivated.

  1. Read a book: It’s easy to become inspired by others. If you are wanting to write your first novel, I suggest reading a few novels in the same genre as you want to write in.
  2. Find a space to write: Go to a coffee shop. The vibe of others working can often help get you excited to start writing. Or make a cozy area in your home to write in. A space that is all yours.
  3. Get tips from others: Follow some of your favorite author’s website, read their blogs, or other bloggers you enjoy following. Again, inspiration is key.
  4. Make a plan. It sometimes can be difficult to just open up your laptop and start to write. Before you start this challenge, I would make a list of all the things you are wanting to write about. For example, journal topics, blog topics, notes for a short story, or even outline your first novel. This will save you a lot of time trying to decide what to write about.
  5. Don’t listen to others: If you have the passion, anyone can write. You do not have to go to school to be a writer, and you don’t have to have the best grammar. You don’t even have to know how to edit. You can hire people to do all of that. If writing is something you have always wanted to do (even if you want to start a blog! Just do it! I love to blog! Sometimes it’s all I want to do), just get started. The hardest part is actually starting.

So, what you are waiting for? Click on the image below to get the 30 Day Writing Challenge Checklist for 2019.

 

30 Day Writing Challenge for 2019

2018 Reflections and Goals for 2019

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2018 has been a good year. My husband and I did some traveling, I published my first book, I’m back working part-time at a job a love, a job that gives me the flexibility to pay my bill and gives me time to write my next novel and market my current book.

I really can’t complain.

I feel like a really grew this year (aren’t we always?) and I also learned a lot about how to publish a novel and how to market my novel (it’s not easy.)

I feel very proud of all of my yearly achievements.

I’m excited for the upcoming year. I definitely have some new goals this year including writing my next novel. Last year, I created a vision board checklist which was really helpful to keep all my goals organized. I truly believe when you put something out in the universe you are more than likely to achieve your goals, dreams, or aspirations.

No matter what you wish to achieve, write it down. Trust me, it works.

If you need some help to get started, you can download and save my Free Vision Board Checklist for 2019. I created it for my other blog, Girl’s Guide Chicago.

Whether your goal for the new year is writing your own first novel, or just getting your life organized for the New Year, this checklist is really helpful.

Vision Board Checklist for 2019

I can’t wait to share with you all about my new novel, my writing process, and I will also share my writing tips. If you are in Chicago, I also hope to do some more book signings and even a few girl’s nights.

Stay tuned and Happy New Year! xo

Interview with THE AUTHOR SHOW

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In honor of Thanksgiving week, I have to say I do feel really grateful to have been an author interviewed for THE AUTHOR SHOW. This whole experience of being a new author and getting to do fun things like being interviewed for a podcast is just such a really cool and exciting experience.

I chatted with Linda Thompson of THE AUTHOR SHOW, who by the way, couldn’t have been nicer, all about my new novel, A Girl’s Guide to Chicago and about my love for the city of Chicago, why the city means so much to me, and why I wanted to write this book, and hopefully more novels in the future.

I think the interview came out really well but I hope you will listen for yourself! Just click on the image below to listen.

 

Author Kelly Russell

Interview with EYE ON CHICAGO

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A few weeks ago I sat down with Molly Dare, host of EYE ON CHICAGO  to chat about my new novel, A Girl’s Guide to Chicago. I was so excited to do this interview and it was so much fun! We shot the interview at my home and my dog, Bella and my cat, Gracie were definitely the stars – haha!

During the interview, I talked about what inspired me to write this book and what my favorite things to do in Chicago are during the fall and holiday months. You can watch the entire video below!

 

My Novel, A Girl’s Guide to Chicago was Nominated for Cover of the Month for September 2018

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I was really excited when I received an email saying that my book cover was selected to partake in All Author’s cover of the month contest for September! I really so appreciate everyone who voted for my cover! It’s truly the little things like taking a few minutes out of your day to vote for me that really mean so much.

 

Cover of the Month

A Girl’s Guide to Chicago

My book has been nominated for Book Cover of the Month on AllAuthor.com. It would be greatly appreciated if you could take a moment to vote.
Vote Now »

 

A Girl’s Guide to Chicago is Launched and Published, So What’s Next?

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When I started writing my novel, A Girl’s Guide to Chicago, I never knew how the book would turn out, if I would finish, it or let alone even published it.

But I did.

Writing a novel is something I’ve always wanted to accomplish. Now that I have written my first novel it has definitely sparked something in me. I’m so proud of all the hard work I put into this book and I truly LOVED the whole process.

I decided to self-publish this novel for a few reasons. First, because my novel is very niche, being focused on Chicago, and second, because I do really enjoy the challenge of marketing my book. I want to learn everything I can about marketing my first book.

But let me tell you, it’s hard work.

A very different kind of hard work than the time, creativity, character building, plot development, chapter flow, sentence structure, basically all the things that make a great novel.

Marketing a novel is summed up as, as much as you LOVE your own book, trying to get others to see your book the same way is very difficult. It’s not impossible. However, I’m figuring out every possible way to be creative while also continuing to research daily about all the different ways I can get my book out there.

I’m not afraid to admit that I’ve already made some mistakes and definitely would do some things differently next time. But that’s okay! It’s a learning process and going forward I now know what to do and what not do.

With that being said, now that I have written, A Girl’s Guide to Chicago, I’m very excited to start the process again. I’m currently working on an outline for my next novel. Yay! But, my next novel will not be about Chicago.

Currently, most of my book marketing is focused around my blog, girlsguidechicago.com, which works perfectly hand in hand because the two are very closely related. However, since my next novel is not based in Chicago and I want to also focus more on all things writing, sharing my future novel updates, press, etc, I thought I needed a proper author website. 

On this blog and on my newsletter, I will share updates on, what I’m working on, sneak peeks at my newest novel, exclusive book giveaways for my readers, exclusive invites to my events (mostly in Chicago for now), favorite books I’ve read lately, and more.

I hope you are as excited to follow along on my journey as I am to continue it. I’m a true believer in following your dreams and passions. When you work hard and put in the effort, dreams do come true.

Oh and I just got an email today that my book has been selected to partake a Cover of the Month contest for September. Yay! If you can take just a second, you can vote for my cover. Just click on this LINK and click on the orange anonymous vote button.

xo,

Kelly