Most of us authors and writers will come across people close to us (common) and people who are not so close to us (also common) that doesn't believe in our authorship. Writing takes up a lot of our dreams, hopes and time and it's therefore vital that we have full support. But it's not always possible to switch out people in our lives just because they're unsupportive, so what can you do?

I have someone close to me, not my partner, thank goodness, who doesn't believe in my wri...

At the beginning of the year, we celebrate World Typing Day. What better time but now to test out your skills in a typing test!

Whoever wins get 15% off on my new merch site. 

Please send a photo of how you did to me at contact@sarahjwilliams.com within ten days from now. Whoever gets the best result wins! 

Go to Typing Test and select 1 Minute Test and Medium Text. Start Test and get started!

And remember, even if you feel that you got a low score; ...

Today we're celebrating Cuddle up Day, which is a great day to cuddle up with a great read or to cuddle with a loved one. Therefore, I have listed three cozy winter activities for families to try this month.

1. Read a book
Wheather you read it out loud as a cozy bed night story to a loved one or read it during the day on your own, is totally up to you. We always read three different books to my daughter when she was little at bedtime. It may seem like much but she needed it to...

Now you can order your digital copy of my new book, Sophia and Mr Rocket!!!

It took ages, errors and a lot of hard work to put together, but it's finally here: the eBook. Just in time for Christmas too! 

It has the lowest price I could set it as, £1.49, and it's practically a steal for a children's book. Next year it will be £4.99, standard price for an eBook. So make sure you grab your copy now!

Read, enjoy and leave an honest review on Amazon and Goodreads....

I wrote a poem yesterday that I would like to share with you. It's about my life, viewed as a book. 

I am me
A unique book of a million pages
Each breath a different word

It tells of who I am
What I want to be
Of my shortcomings
and also my positives

It's a special book
told and made by me
Every page is written in gold
and deep, red blood

I've poured my soul out
on these pages
Beautifully and true

Words from my heart and soul
Slipping through my fingers
Like melting ice

Each word in ...

I just received ten marketing tips from Amazon on how to market your books. Here's what I learned from their advice:

1. "Create a compelling cover," Amazon writes. We authors need to have a front cover that looks good as a full-sized image and a thumbnail. Both sorts of images are going to be used on Amazon's sites. They have a Cover Creator Tool that can be used to design a front cover. 

2. "Edit and proofread read your book well," they write. "Books filled with typos a...

I'm currently having a Black Friday sale on my latest book, Sophia & Mr Rocket!!! 

It's now only £2.25 on amazon.co.uk and can be delivered worldwide. 

The Sophia & Mr Rocket book is a lovely children's story about friendship and reaching your goals. 

Review of my book: 
This was a good entry in the Sophia series as a rocket successfully gets Sophia to play games and put on the right clothes like gloves and a scarf. The red and white rocket wa...

As writers, we may come across the issue of when applying for work, and we need to hunt around for many of our published/unpublished work to send to our employer. And frankly, it takes time. The time that the employer nor we have. 

This is why I discovered clippings.me! It saves so much hassle for me that I just had to tell you more about it. But, unfortunately, they do not sponsor me.

Clippings.me tells the employer what you are qualified to write and lists ten links or...

I have ordered my author copies of my latest book and finished with the updates to the text, design and illustrations.

Yay!!!!

It's been so much hard work that I've, the illustrator, the beta testers, the editors and the whole publishing team at Rowanvale Books have put in.

It demands a whole team of people to write a book, I always say. Often new writers don't know this, but it's true. Each member of the team is equally as important but for different aspects of the process.

I al...

I finally have my latest book in my hands!!!!

It's just for me and the beta-readers to go through and find errors and changes that needs to be made.

The book have already had two editors look over the text three times, but we still found things that needed to change. Little things but things nevertheless.

For example, Mr Rocket was spelled Mr. Rocket three times in the book. I can't see how we missed that! But, now it's all fixed and sent in to the publisher.

I worked on the chan...

My latest book, Sophia & Mr Rocket, will be launched on the 30th of June 2021!!!!

The book is about Sophia, who doesn't want to get her outdoor clothes on. It stars a fun little game at the end of the story, which you can play with your kids. Of course, the book has a great story too, which you can read to your child when going to bed, in the bath or whenever you like.

The same Mum and Sophia from the first book, Sophia & the Dragon: Who Came for Dinner will feature i...

As an author I get to experience a lot of cool stuff, one of them is now when I've been interviewed. I got ten reading and writing-related questions, but there were also personal questions regarding me as an individual.

I talk about my next book too and reveal its title! It will also be revealed what publisher I'm going to publish my book with.

The interview will go live now on Sunday evening GMT, so be sure to follow me on my social media to take part in this exclusive inter...

I'm currently looking for more work experience and therefore I have signed up to help out at the local second-hand shop at the Red Cross.

I may also help out with their copywriting tasks too. So, I'll get more writing skills.

The work experience means that I'll work in their shop for Thursday's and Friday's every week. Which means that my daughter has to get up on her own those days. Which she doesn't like. And, my husband has to check that she's getting up. Which he likes...

In the book Sophia & the Dragon: Who Came for Dinner it features a magnificent green dragon. But how was it made?

This dragon must be my favourite thing about the whole story! He is kind but has a bit of a temper when it comes to his food. Something that Sophia handles brilliantly in the story. I won't say how because it will spoil the ending!

The Dragon was made by Jay, one of the amazing artists working for Rowanvale Books. The Dragon was drawn with big teeth and a ...

If you're on Twitter you've probably come across the pinned tweet feature. The question is, are you making good use of it?

Using the pinned tweet has many advantages. It means that followers can quickly see what your most important tweet is. If you're selling something, this is especially important. Viewers can quickly see what you're selling and share, like, comment and buy your goods. If you got a blog or sell merch, you can also pin it on top!

Maximum of pinned tweets ...

I've started a new merchandise range over at Teespring! You can find several sweatshirts, hoodies, t-shirts and tote bags with writing and reading-related themes. In men, women and unisex sizes. Now also in toddler sizes too.

Available in Europe and The United States, but delivers across the globe!

My favourites must be Alice in Wonderland t-shirt and the "Write much, Worry little"-tote bag. I own them myself and love wearing them. The tote bags are perfect for a day out sh...

Today I launched my newsletter! It was not as easy as it may sound. Turned out that the information that you get my latest short story, The Queen of Hearts when you sign up, didn't show up on the first newsletter registration bar. So I had to re-do all registration forms for the newsletter!

Then, it turned out that only one of the form sent you an automatic email together with a link to the short story. Sigh. So I had to re-do it all over again!

Now all newsletter forms on...

I always like things that make the world easier to authors. Book Brush is such a thing that does just that. Ever wondered how you make pretty marketing pictures for your books? Well, the answer is Book Brush!

This is not sponsored. I found Book Brush thanks to another author's recommendations and she uses it for all of her book campaigns. So, I decided to try it myself and got four really good marketing pictures for free for my book, Sophia & the Dragon: Who Came for Din...

I became a member of clippings.me a site for freelancers where we can show our work to editors. This is what it says in my bio:

"Fulltime freelance journalist and author. A freelance journalist working for the English market. Write articles on the topic of mental health, relationships and history. Author of the published children's book Sophia & the Dragon: Who Came for Dinner.

I've written for: Magazines Companies Websites Blogs Social media

I'm qualified in: Intervi...

This week I've already made the following changes to my website:

I've added it to Google, and I've done SEO. Buttons have had their links updated, and I've checked that all links work.

The contact section has had a whole revamp! It's now in English, and I've added where you can get hold of me on social media too.

I've also added a whole new page which is called Portfolio Freelance Work, where I have updated two articles that I have written for magazines. My portfolio is p...

Today I applied for membership with the Swedish Author Union (the UK equivalent is Society of Authors). In my case, they wanted to see my published work and, it can be that I get rejected because I published my book in the UK, not Sweden.

But, I need to have a UK address to be allowed to register with the Society of Authors. I don't know just yet if I'm allowed to use my husband's parent's address for my application. If I am allowed to, then I'll apply for the Society of A...

I've finished and sent in an article to two magazines! I have re-started the writing course that I began in 2007 and have decided to finish it. When I'm finished I'll get a diploma in freelance journalism and creative writing.

But, while I'm doing the course I get to send in work to magazines and publishers. Once, the tutor find the piece ready to be sent in that is, and that's what happened the other week. My tutor said that my work was good enough to be sent in to the ma...

Currently I'm going through new ways to market my sites and blogs. One thing that I've come across which sounds the most interesting is Growth Hacking. Here's what it is, what it can do for you and suggestions on where you can learn it.

What is Growth Hacking?

With a mixture of IT strategies and marketing tactics, Growth Hacking sprung from marketing. Growth Hacking is a way of driving more traffic to your webpage and/or blog.

Back in 2010 and Silicon Valley, it was Sean E...

One of the books that I've found the most helpful to my craft is the New York Times bestseller, Steal Like an Artist: 10 things nobody told you about being creative, by Austin Kleon.

It's easy to read the book that is quick to read and quick to learn from. It's 140 pages long but Steal Like an Artist is small and have very few words on each page and many pictures and quotes. Therefore, it feels much shorter than it is.

Steal Like an Artist is cramped with valuable advice...

"Notebooks are not to write in," some writers have said to me, but I disagree. I have several notebooks that I fill with scribbles, poems, to-do-lists, stories and much more.

I am a rather visual person, and I like to hold in my hand and see what I need to do. This is important to me, but I don't judge those who don't need that; who says that "unless if it's on a computer it hasn't been written."

We are all different when we write, and when we work, and the bottom line is...

Wishing all of my readers and viewers a happy weekend!

Back on Monday.

Follow your dreams!

There are many questions regarding my writing that I have both received and seen over the years. Here is my take on them. Today's question is:

Which music do you listen to when you write? Mostly I listen to Yiruma. He has composed incredible piano solos that are amazing to listen to while you work!

When I'm writing on my current work in progress, Thomas then I listen to 30 Seconds to Mars. It's a sci-fi book, and it fits the style of the writing perfectly!

What do you...

Over the years I've received and read many questions on writing, uniquely my own. Here is my take on answering some of them!

What are your writing routines? My goal is to write from 8 am to 5 pm every weekday, but the truth is: I'm ill. I need to sleep around 18 hours a day, and therefore, I work around it. Currently, that means that I write non-stop between 2 pm and 5 pm every weekday.

It's not much, but it's what I can manage now when I'm not feeling well.

It's some...

Over the years that I've seen and received many questions. Here is a list of a few of them and my answers:

Why do I write? It is almost impossible to answer this question without being poetic. I write because, without writing, it doesn't truly feel like I'm alive. Writing is an extension of my soul and a way to get my thoughts on paper.

If I didn't write me a.) would lose a significant part of what makes me who I am, and, b.) I would probably go insane. I think that this...

Today I've written six letters to libraries in Kent, where I used to live and still visit often. I have friends and family there, and something that I love visiting is libraries.

There are some remarkable libraries in Kent and Gravesend's one of my favourites. High, whitewashed ceilings, white decor and blue walls. The style looks Ancient with a Roman entrance door on the outside and Greek pillars on the inside. It's beautiful!

I sent my book, Sophia & the Dragon: Who...

Hi! I'm currently working hard to get an eBook published of Sophia & the Dragon: Who Came for Dinner.

It's been a roller coaster so far! At first I had to make a kdf template of the digital book that fitted the template for Amazon KDP. Once that was done I needed a pdf of the front page of the book and to fill in a lot of information about the book on https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/ and then I also needed to name my price for the book.

I wanted to offer the eBook f...

Many writers who have created a magic system says that there is no right or wrong when you create a magic system. However, you're going to create your own rules that can't be broken. If you write that the magic user ends up in pain for using magic you can't write that he/she can use it unaffected. You need to be consistent and keep to your own rules.

Some magic systems are not named or explained and fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson calls these systems for "soft magic". "Har...

One way to create a plot twist is to steer the reader to a certain ending or event and then change it completely to something unpredictable. You can also take a scene in the book and tweak it into another direction and see what happens.

Rachel Scheller from Writer's Digest says this about creating plot twists. Ask yourself the following:

"What do I need to change to create a more believable world for each separate twist I’m including?

How can I drop the gimmicks and depe...

Have today begun and finished an article for Cosmopolitan magazine, UK. The article is about teenager's and young adult's mental health.

I have yet to figure out a good title for it. As it's for the course I'm currently doing with Writer's Bureau, I will first send my article into them for evaluation. Wish me luck!

Remember to follow your dreams!

Even though I've had a sleepless night tonight I would like to make an announcement: I have started and finished Into the Lane this past couple of days!

Into the Lane is a romantic story about finding love on a bus. But things are not what they seem, and they definitely don't go as planned. The short story is made for Woman's Weekly magazine and will be posted to them shortly.

Wish me luck!

Remember: Keep following your dreams!

It's time to share another poem. This one I wrote too when I was young, Autumn 2001, to be more exact. This poem doesn't have a name.

If I had you here tonight

Would you listen and would you make it alright?

I hear your voice

echo through my heart

I remember my last choice

and then my depart

I stand here on my empty road

I want you near, I feel so cold.

I said no more,

and continued into the emptyness

I threw the masks I wore,

and am left bare in my loneliness

I'm bu...

I often write poems, here is one that I wrote when I was young.

"Devil's Heart/Black Rose

Oh, beautiful rose of mine,

How you have sprung this lovely spring.

You gave it all to me,

Still I can not feel a thing.

As black as my heart might be,

You are still inlove with me.

Or maybe you just have yet to see,

How crypled my heart is?

But, how I love you

under the fogs of mist.

You are the bright horizon

at my dark, night sky.

So, I ask in my own devilish way:

Where ...

Finally finished writing Winds of Change! Have sent it off to be looked over by two friends of mine, I'm excited to see what changes they will come up with!

After the short story is completely finished it will be sent off to The People's Friend Magazine. We currently have a death in the family so it may take a while until the short story is ready to be sent in. But, stay tuned! I will get there! Haha

Keep following your dreams!

As an artist, you may think that you can carry it all on your own, but there is where you thought wrong. As artists, we need to surround ourselves with great influencers to create something new and to find our voice.

You don't have to find out who you are first to write, all you need to do is start writing and then after you've been published for a great while; THAT's when you should begin to evaluate who you are as an artist.

However, to begin.

Pick an artist who inspi...

To send in your manuscript to publisher after publisher is - to say the least - a daunting situation. The worst is that you often won't find out why your book was declined and it leaves you guessing. For a lot of us, it can also make us start doubting not only our manuscript but our capability as writers. This is why we need to keep our head cool through this process and keep sending our manuscript to the publishers.

Don't give up! Remember, it is only those who keep trying ...

I'm currently writing on a new romantic story for People's Friend, called Winds of Change. It's actually a very old manuscript which I started to write several years ago for People's Friend but never finished.

We should never toss anything we write because we never know when it will be useful again, the same goes for this little manuscript.

I'm not sure how many words it's going to end up at but I'm roughly guessing at between 2000 and 3000 words. Which would fit nicely i...

Just finished reading The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and it's a remarkable read. It's completely written in American slang which takes a bit to get used to - if you are a grammar nazi like me - but once you have, it's well worth the read.

The book begins with Star going to a party where she meets her best friend, who she hasn't met for a while. A shooting starts and Star makes a run for it but the danger doesn't end there. It ends with her watching her best friend die at t...

I'm currently negotiating with my book publisher for my book "Sophia & the Dragon: Who Came for Dinner". There are quite a few things that I want them to do for my book:

1. Add a Look inside on Amazon

2. Translate the book into Swedish

3. E-book for Kindle, smartphone, iPad

4. Audio-book: Apple CarPlay, Google Auto, Amazon

5. Publish the book in many more countries

6. How to purchase my book on my website

7. Libraries orders the book

8. Major bookstores sell the book

9....

Just finished reading this little gem, Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. The book features Mia and Pearl who moves into a new neighbourhood and the impact they come to have on Richardson's family. But it isn't only Richardson's who are affected by the newcomers, Richardson's comes to change Mia and Pearl too.

I can highly recommend this fantastic little read! It's full of profound life lessons and words for thought. It isn't, however, a fast read, so bear that in mind....

Many writers wonder how they can increase their income, but look no further: here are the tips!

1. First, write a book and publish it. 2. Publish your book in many countries. As many as possible. 3. Publish an e-book of your book. 4. Write several articles, short stories, YouTube-clips and blog posts based on your paper. 5. Publish your book in many languages. For example, Spanish, Mandarin and Swedish. 6. Publish an audiobook of your novel. 7. Publish a comic book b...

Early bird catches the worm, or does it? Yes, of course it does but that doesn't mean it needs to be done every morning nor does it have to be done at all. The importance is that you find a time during the day (or night) when you write. It doesn't need to be at 5 am in the morning, it can be whenever. Really. The importance though is that you take your writing serious enough to write every day.

In my case it means getting up at 5 am.

I get up, I start my morning routine a...

Are you a beginning writer and have plans to start on your first book or want to start writing for magazines? Look no further, my blogged is packed with advice on what you need to do to start your writing plans for the new year!

If you want to become a writer, the first thing I would suggest is to find time and a place to write. I address more in detail of how you can do that here.

The second advice if you want to be a writer is to buy yourself this year's copy of Writers'...

Wishing you a happy new year and great year to come, with lots of published work! Remember that nothing comes to those who give up, you have to keep sending in good quality work to eventually get published. It sounds like a silly thing to remind you of but it's a uphill climb to be published in a new place and every encouragement is well needed. I believe in you!

Keep following your dreams!

This and next week I'm taking a well deserved break from blogging and writing, to celebrate the holidays with my family. But, of course I want to stop by briefly to wish you good tidings!

I hope that you will have a great holiday and keep following your dreams!

I've been battling illnesses lately therefore it's taken me considerably longer to finish my short story for Woman's Weekly. Today it's finally finished and I'm looking forward to hearing back from them. Can't wait!

Still waiting to hear back from People's Friend on a short story I sent to them. As it can take a while to hear back from the magazine that you send stories and articles to, I recommend that you use an Excel document to keep track of what you send in, to whom an...

Lately, on Twitter, there has been a considerable ordeal regarding JK Rowling's writing space, and it's ridiculous because as writers we need somewhere to write. It doesn't matter if it's a studio or the kitchen table (which was my go-to place before we moved into our house and I got my dream library. It's an office actually, but it has 1000 books in it).

It doesn't matter where you write, your preferences or what resources you got: make do with what you got. You don't even...

Last week I started on a short story which I got the idea for from an old essay that I wrote for English class. I store it all in magazine files, and it's become quite a few cutouts and texts over the years.

Save everything you write and whenever you need a new idea, revisit your file and be inspired! If you hate everything you write, try to overcome it but why not save what other people have written and be influenced by them?

Keep following your dreams!

Have you ever ended up feeling at loss of what to write and on how to write it? There is a simple solution to your problems: scrap filing.

Gather all the magazines that you like to write for and start cutting out each article that you like. Glue them onto a piece of paper, store them in a box or store your cut outs in a magazine folder. If you're a author you can instead copy sentences that you like into a note book.

Needless to say, you should never copy someones' work bu...

The biggest trick to succeed with social media is to give your readers/viewers something that they want, without expecting something in return. Imagine what needs they may have and give it to them. It can mean that you're good at for example photographing and are telling them how to take great pictures. Keep a theme on your social media and only give them what they want to know more about.

This is very important, but sadly many forget about this, and that is to write back t...

We've all seen the little notes but how can we use them to our advantage when we write?

1. Use Post-it notes to write down your positive affirmations and mottos, such as "I can have everything I want when I'm patient", "I am a published author", or "The world doesn't reward perfection. It rewards productivity. So stop worrying about being perfect and get the car moving!" Keep the notes in front of you where you're writing, stick them on your computer or your notepad. Fridge...

Currently writing on a new short story for Woman's Weekly called The Beginning of the Day. The story is about a woman who is in search of a husband and it's filled with wit and romance.

If you would like to know how to write for Woman's Weekly, please check out their guidelines here: Woman's Weekly's guidelines.

Many people don't understand the point of blogging and can't see the great things it can do for our businesses. As an author it's a great idea to blog, especially if you have it attached to your upcoming book and webpage.

So what does it do? If you update your blog regularly it's going to increase your hit rate on search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo. In short it means that people can find you easily when they search for you. The more you post, the higher you will ...

I recently read this marvellous little book and enjoyed every minute of it! Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine begins with an introduction to Eleanor's life which shows that her days and weeks looks pretty much the same. On weekdays she goes to work and avoids her co-workers - whom she finds annoying - on Wednesdays her mum calls and on weekends she spends them alone with two bottles of vodka.

Most of her days are spent alone. She has no family that she meets and no frien...

Finished a new short story for Woman's Weekly and can't stop humming the song The Lady in Red. The story is about Angela who is feeling under the weather and ends up in an unexpected situation. By loosing her footing she eventually finds new meaning in life. The colour red has a theme throughout the story, in various ways...

If it isn't accepted by Woman's Weekly, I'm going to re-write it and send it on to Reader's Friend. In the future I'm planning to collect all of my sho...

In every single movie I've watched and in every video game I've played, I've held a great fascination to the misfit, the outsider, the bad person. He or she, that only knows how to play by ruining the whole situation. He/she that is the reason to why you're concurring tasks and leaving your comfort zone.

That person is my favourite.

You probably recognise Loke in the movie Avengers who when he tells the crowd to neal, gave me goosebumps. A tyrant, a sadist and an outsider...

A writing teacher once told me that a writer without ideas is like a chef without ingredients, and as it's painfully true to our craft what do we do when we find ourselves without writing ideas? Luckily, there are many ways in how to see them, with or without a muse.

The foremost thing you need to do is find out what you like to write about and surround yourself with that subject. Don't just look at what is currently written within your favourite subject, look at what's be...

This summer I have focused on writing for the amazing magazine Woman's Weekly which is located in the UK. What I'm focusing on is writing short stories in 2000 words.

Woman's Weekly have strict guidelines that are important that you follow from start to finish. You can get their guidelines by e-mailing them at WomansWeeklyPostBag@timeinc.com or read this blog post.

First of all, Woman's Weekly doesn't accept short stories by e-mail so you will need to send it to them by ...

When you're a professional writer, you also need to re-use your work to make "new" material. This is an essence of how to make more money out of your writing.

For example, if you have a document which has been declined by one magazine, make sure to submit it to the magazine's competitors. Often one piece that works in one magazine works just as well in their competitor's so make sure to check out their market too.

If you have had your manuscript declined you can also re-su...

For any creative artist, we often forget that we need to re-charge and take time off work to regain our productivity and well-being. This year I have therefore taken three weeks off work to charge my batteries.

Taking your time off can be hard when you're unused to it. But there are a few things which will help you to calm down:

1. Read a book. Only 6-8 minutes of reading is enough to support your heart rate slow down. 2. Go for a walk where you can see a lot of trees. ...

Finding time to write can be tricky for most of us, especially if we lead busy lives with work and small children. This is how I found time to write even when I held down a full-time job, school and had a small child.

1. Download a writing tool to your phone (for example Word or a free app) and take your child outside in the stroller. Find a bench and sit down to write while you push the stroller back and forth.

2. Put on your child's favourite TV show and write for 15 mi...

Alla som har en diagnos vet vilka svårigheter som det kan ställa till för oss i skolan. Själv har jag diagnosticerats med Bipoläritet typ 1, C-PTSD och utmattningssyndrom, att säga att det kan vara svårt att koncentrera mig ibland är en underdrift! Att studera inför prov har visat sig vara omöjligt men som tur vad finns det hjälp att få på skolor, gymnasium, folkhögskolor och universitet. Anmäler man bara sina diagnoser innan du börjar dina studier finns det mycket hjälp att...

(Posted 24 July 2018) Hello everyone, hope you are all doing okay in this summer heat. I am fortunate to have two AC, and this has made writing and working much more manageable. What do you do to keep cool during summer?

I've just been in contact with Woman's Weekly to get their guidelines for short stories. You guessed it, and this is because I am currently writing on a new short story for them! I'm so excited! Can't wait to hear back from them and start to do some profess...

(Date 20 July 2018) Looking forward to a holiday when you can focus on your writing to end up not writing at all? This is a common occurrence for most writers. Try these five tips to combat writer's block!

1. Learn which hours that works best for your writing and also find a place which keeps you inspired. It can be a secluded place in your home or at a local library or coffee house. Don't be afraid to experiment in finding what is right for you! Listen to your thoughts rega...