Reflections at the start of 2025

Posted byjenniferannerainesPosted inUncategorizedTags:, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The start of a new calendar year almost forces you to reflect on where you are and where you’re going as an author. Why am I still doing this?

Basically because a voice inside my head says write.

I’ve heard lots of presenters at conferences and in articles say—“Write what your heart tells you to write. Write what you want to read, and you’ll find an audience.”

I write about the kinds of characters who interest me, characters with personality traits I admire, people I’d like to have a chat with, then have wild monkey sex with.

However, long before I was published, an editor for a major publishing company told me, “It doesn’t matter how well you write. If your book isn’t the book we want at that moment, then we won’t touch it. We might pick up that same manuscript sometime in the future without you changing a word.”

I think a lot about the publisher’s “moment”. Has my story just missed the moment? Has the character type I have the hots for gone off the boil for the wider reading public?

I also think about the phrase “how well you write”? Some people write elegant, grammatically correct, lyrical prose, but their stories fail to captivate. Some writers have magical stories in their heads, but their prose is faulty. The second problem is far easier to fix than the first, and to be honest, I think a lot of readers don’t care about the prose if the story is compelling.

I’ve written a few books now. Not having the skills or resources for indie publishing, I queried some major publishing companies with manuscripts that had won or been finalists in competitions. The rejections were encouraging, often lengthy and involved real conversations. Then I got picked up by Inkspell Publishing, a small independent US publisher, from a competition. Having support makes a difference.

Next step—finding your audience—and in today’s remarkably interconnected world, it’s complicated. It’s hard to find numbers for how many new books Amazon publishes or uploads or distributes each day, but a figure that pops up in searches is 4,300. That’s a lot of competition for your book on any given day, unless you have some other claim to fame, a bottomless marketing budget, endless time, and influential friends—hey, I know Meaghan Markle. Well, not personally. Taylor Swift—she loved my book. I’m sure I saw her reading a book that looked exactly like mine.

Stop writing! whispers a voice in my ear. You should be marketing! Which brings us to social media and the constantly changing algorithms that highlight extremes rather than messages of hope and love, loyalty, enduring passion and happily-ever-afters. You can spend lifetimes navigating your way through this maze and never go viral. That’s before AI gobbles up and regurgitates your book under someone else’s name or a scam creams off any royalties.

And given that I’m baring my soul here: it’s incredibly difficult to cut in on established relationships between much-loved authors and their readers. There are only so many hours in a stressful day. Why wouldn’t you choose someone you’re familiar with, who you know will hit all the right spots for you, instead of taking a risk on a new to you author whose name you’re seeing for the first time? This is especially true if you’re offered a discount, or a chance to review a freebie. If you love an author, and you’re offered their next book or someone unknown, of course you’ll read your fav’s next book.

Would I like to see my name flown across Sydney on a banner, or written in the sky to float and fracture into single letters across suburbs, so people whisper my name in hushed tones—have you read Jennifer Raines’s latest contemporary romance? Of course, I would. But doubt is a constant companion. Am I a fraud? Is this a vanity project?

Out of the blue, I received a sms from someone I know, but rarely see. She’d read Betrayal—Choosing Family Book 3: she said

Out of order, but really enjoyed it. You are very good.

It only takes one voice, one person, and your day changes. Encouraging reviews and reader support are what keep me and other writers going. Oh! And that voice inside my head that says write, write, write.

As an author, my offer to you is hunks with depth, women who care, and heat with heart.

My 8th book, A Just Man, and the fourth in my Choosing Family series will be published on 18 March 2025, just in time for A Romantic Rendezvous in Sydney—23 March 2025. Tickets still available: bit.ly/arr2025tix  Follow on FaceBook

I’d love it if you dropped by to say hello and tell me what you like to read.

A Just Man—Choosing Family Book 4

No matter where you run, the past will find you

Kelly needs to enhance her resume. Why else would she accept a placement in Tullamore facing her phobia about country towns? Years ago, a rookie cop humiliated her during an illegal strip search. Problem is, that former cop is now the deputy principal of her new high school and her boss. Sharing a house, a commute, and now an investigation to unravel a series of disasters that look like sabotage, Kelly takes the previously unthinkable step from enemies to allies to lovers.

Taking a job as deputy principal to uncover suspected corruption at the school, Mick plans to use the appointment as a stepping stone to principal of his own school. Then Kelly, his biggest mistake in his short time on the force, walks through his door. Given the chance to make amends brings peace for both, until Kelly is caught in the crosshairs of his investigation. Protecting her is his only goal.

Find me on

You can also contact me directly via the contact page on my website if you have any other questions.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.