About Riley Edgewood:
Riley lives in the DC area and spends most of her time with her characters, playing with her toddler and husband, and pretending she knows how to be an adult. Former dancer. Current writer. Lifelong lover of accessories, books, and the beach. And cats. Can’t forget the kitties. Of which she has two. Sign up for Riley’s newsletter and never miss out on new book releases and other fun things: http://eepurl.com/5iSKn
What inspires you to write?
Honestly, everything inspires me! Songs, poems, images. Other books. People. Life experience. My imagination. My friends. My family. My dreams. Pretty much you name it, I draw inspiration from it in some way or another!
Tell us about your writing process.
I’m an in-the-middle sort of writer. I outline, but loosely, allowing lots of room for the story and characters to go in unexpected directions. I can’t start until I know the first line and the way the book will end. I whiteboard a LOT. Both in the planning stages and then while writing. I usually revamp the plot about halfway through the book to renew my excitement for the story and to keep myself focused. One thing I’ve learned is never to say never. My process varies in some way or another with almost every book. And, honestly, I like it that way. 🙂
While writing, I use an application called Scrivener. It allows me to keep chapters separate (which makes scrolling through to find specific scenes so easy), to leave notes in the margins for things I need to remember to add or tweak in revision, and to keep an entire research folder easily accessed with character descriptions, and songs that inspire me, and any research I do to make the book feel authentic.
I set goals for myself. Daily word count goals, monthly word count goals, finishing date goals. And I revise while I write, so that the end of my first draft is really the end of the fourth or fifth. After I revise again, I send the manuscript to my first round of beta readers. I revise based on their feedback and send to my next round–and then repeat the process one more time after that. Next it goes to my editor. So…lots of revision. 🙂
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
My characters usually wait to talk to me until the most inconvenient times. Right as I fall asleep, while I’m driving, or in the middle of a shower. Thank goodness for the ability to take notes (or dictate them) in my phone. (I’ve been known to enter thoughts so I won’t forget them later while dripping wet with the shower still running. My husband loves walking into my puddles, haha.)
What advice would you give other writers?
Don’t give up. Really, that’s it. Everything else is secondary.
Read as much as you can. Know the industry. Write often.
But don’t stop.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I decided to self publish my Summer Love series for two reasons. 1. I wanted the ability to release it right away (after all my rounds of revision and edits, or course) and sometimes going the traditional route gives authors more of a wait while they’re scheduled into a publisher’s release calendar. And, 2. I wanted to keep complete control over my books. I hired a cover artist. I get to set the prices. I get to set the sales. Granted, I’m also responsible for marketing and promoting. But these are things I enjoy doing anyway 🙂
That all being said, I’d love to go hybrid in the future, self publishing some of my titles and taking a more traditional route with some of the others.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think there is–and will remain–room for authors along every path. There will always be readers eager for the next book–to hold in their hands *or* to read on their devices. 🙂
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers
What genres do you write?: Contemporary romance, new adult romance, sexy romance 🙂
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Riley Edgewood Home Page Link
Link To Riley Edgewood Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
