Tag: marketing

Hello 26, Let’s Do This.

After my little blogging hiatus, my birthday is next week, and I’ve officially hit that age (basically any age after 21, am I right) where every birthday is less fun and usually comes with a dose of existential dread.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my life and all the amazing experiences I’ve had that brought me here.

But there are moments where I’m like “woah, I’m closer to 30 than I am to 18” and that’s seriously terrifying. In many ways, I’m happy with where I’m at. And in other ways, I feel like I’m way behind. That might just be the way things are, perhaps a bigger commentary on the human condition as a whole. Whatever it is, I feel it big-time whenever another birthday rolls around.

But this year, instead of feeling sad, I plan to fully emerge myself in all the blessings I’ve experienced recently. Having an attitude of gratitude is the way to go, right?

Right. Okay cool.

That’s why I decided to spend my birthday blog post this year with thankfulness. Thankful for the blessings I’ve been given and all the blessings yet to come.

There are too many to post, but alas, here are my top 5:

#1: New publishing opportunity

A recent book I read to help me develop my story!

This one I can’t talk about a whole lot yet, but it’s going to be the secret sauce that makes Breakup Queen the epic saga that I know it will be. If you’re newer to my blog, you might not know that I’ve been publishing books since I was in college (and my debut novel was published when I was 19). So this is going to be an amazing milestone for me and my creative work, and it’s going to happen this year when I’m 26.

#2: More freelancing work

I also am self-employed, and recently I’ve gotten more gigs that are getting me closer and closer to hitting my personal financial goals — and that’s a really exciting thing. If you also graduated from college semi-recently like me (class of 2019, what’s up), then you probably know the job struggle all too well. But things are looking up, and networking like crazy actually paid off. I’m so happy with where things are at and all signs point to more work and opportunities on the way. My professional life is blooming, and I’m so grateful for it because I know it was a steep climb to get here, and there’s still so much more I want to do.

#3: Boyfriend ❤️

Aren’t we so cute? I adore him so much.

This one appeared out of nowhere (jk, we met online but it still felt super sudden). But Andrew, is very possibly, the best thing that ever happened to me. He’s the most kind-hearted, mature, and sweet family-oriented guy I’ve ever met, and can’t wait to see what’s in the future for us. Oh, and did I mention he’s in the national guard? It’s impressive, for sure. I wouldn’t be brave enough for something like that, but I’m so grateful God makes people who are ❤️

#4: Friends both near and far

While I sadly don’t have many local friends, I am so grateful for the friends I do have that are only a text or call away. I know it takes a village, and I count myself so blessed to have people all over the country that care about me. Even one or two in other countries, isn’t that wild? Distance is no problem with technology, and I’m so glad to have met these kind souls any way I could.

#5: Never Growing Up

Back when I had pink hair, pictured with one of my crocheted unicorns and very apropos Yarn Punk leggings.

I’ve been so surprised at the value and joy I get out of re-connecting with my inner child. Sticker books have been one way I love relaxing when I’m stressed, or watching shows that take me back to a simpler time (Gilmore Girls, I’m lookin at you). And I think anytime a birthday rolls around, it’s so important to connect with the younger version(s) of you too. Before you were twenty-something, you were 18. And 16. And 12. And so on, and so forth. A birthday is a wonderful time to give yourself a hug from every era, in preparation for your next eras and adventures to come.

Anyone else with a birthday in March? Let me know, we can share ideas and celebrate!

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The Benefits of NOT Writing

Yes, seriously. No, I’m not losing my mind.

I’m just saying that although if you’re reading this blog, writing is your bread and butter (like it is for me), but there’s more to you than just that. I’m also saying that unfortunately, try as we might, writing just doesn’t happen outside of work. That’s been the case for me for the past six months, I think. Or maybe it’s even been more.

No matter how long it’s been since the words were really flowing without having to try, I went through a bit of writer’s guilt. Then not far behind that comes the imposter syndrome, and that can be really hard to claw your way out of.

Instead of penalizing myself for not feeling motivated with my latest concept, I’m trying to refocus on this season, knowing that the inspiration will come back. What I blame for this seemingly endless dry spell are the following (which, aren’t bad things by any means, they just may be to blame for my lack of creative motivation):

My table at the Scituate Farmer’s Market in RI recently!
  • Having a boyfriend (don’t get me wrong, I love him SO MUCH – but it’s like now that I’m finally happy in that area of my life, suddenly I’m lacking the need to escape from monotony by writing a story). I call this the “Taylor Swift syndrome” (you know, when she openly started dating Joe Alwyn and suddenly fans worried all the angst would be gone from her songs, leaving us with nothing but sugary-sweet garbage). I don’t want to lose my angst either!
  • My freelance gigs (as much as I am so grateful to be able to pay off my car as fast as I have been, there’s something really tricky about saving any creative juices for my own work after writing about pest control and personal care products all day).
  • My other interests (in this case, my crocheted art that I make by hand for my vendor shows, as well as my independent guitar studies that have also sadly, fallen quite a bit to the wayside). After I get through all of those things, I feel too tired to sit and craft the story that’s been bumping around in my head for like a year now.

These aren’t meant to be viewed as excuses, but rather a self-awareness tactic to diagnose the issue, and then bring some much-needed balance back to my life. What I would suggest if you find yourself in a similar boat, would be to sit down and make a list of all the things you’re juggling in your life (professional, and otherwise). From there, try and compartmentalize / prioritize the things that you most want to tackle first, and what you feel okay with waiting on for a little while.

And in return, you’ll gain…

  • A renewed sense of self
  • A fresh start
  • Better quality writing
  • More motivation (ironically, but it’s true!)

And if you have the opportunity to enjoy a different facet of your interests for a while besides writing, don’t feel badly about it. Instead, soak up the rest of this summer with all the amazing things that make you unique!

Keep in touch with my latest book signings and art shows via my events page!

Girl Bossing to the Highest Degree

I’m exhausted just writing this post, but I wanted to check in with you guys before I buckle down for the remainder of the holiday season.

You know those memes about Girl Bossing too close to the sun?

That’s me right now. I’ve literally got a few different paid gigs to juggle, alongside my art business (Custom Crocheted Critters on Instagram if you’re curious). And I’m on the board for my author association (you know, the Association of Rhode Island Authors) coordinating their volunteers for the big expo THIS WEEKEND (December 11th). And on top of that, I’m also mentoring a couple high school seniors interested in the writing and journalism fields. So short answer: that’s a lot. I love all of it, but it’s got me pretty stressed lately.

What I’m doing to mitigate the effects of such a packed schedule is the following:

Me at one of my recent book signings – a nice warm up for next week’s ARIA Author Expo!
  • Listening to my body: When I feel tired, I rest. Sounds simple, but it’s way underrated. And rest doesn’t always mean sleep! Sometimes it’s as simple as curling up with a good book instead of working myself to exhaustion.
  • Minimizing my carb intake: This is something I’ve definitely spoken about before, and I don’t do it perfectly. But small changes like swapping out a midnight bag of chips for a protein shake are huge.
  • Advocating for what I’m worth: Yes, in the freelancing world, there are countless smaller gigs that are fine for beginners who need to pad their resumes. But you know what? I’m now an expert in my field with a resume a mile long. And this is because I spent the last few years post-grad honing my skills. I’ve learned a lot, and now I’m quite literally, worth more. So I charge accordingly.
  • Constantly working on myself: This is as simple as tracking my mindsets and fixing them. Not that it’s necessarily easy, but there is so much you can do to enrich your life by taking up journaling. Self-awareness is where it’s at, so start creating the life you want instead of complaining about it all. My faith in Jesus has also been a major part of this. Feel free to reach out anytime if you’d like to know more about that!
  • Exercising regularly: Okay, this is one I’m actually still working on, but I typically love going to yoga class weekly. And walking the dog counts, right? Lilly appreciates the chance to sniff around the neighborhood and handle her outdoor business.

These aren’t one-size-fits-all suggestions, but I do believe they can help you live your best life.

Over time, you’ll create new habits – and what better time to do that, than at the end of the year? That’s right – I too keep forgetting that 2021 is virtually over. But that’s kind of perfect, since my book is called Forgetting What I Couldn’t Remember. And no – it’s not about senility. I’m only 24, after all!

It’s actually about the intriguing way that trauma affects how memories are stored, and the way we have to work through that to be our best.

My character, Vera, deals with all of this alongside time travel, old bullies, and new romance. Want to dive in?

Read more about this book (and all my other ones) on my website.

Wherever you find yourself this holiday season, I truly hope you take time for you! There is so much to be grateful for, as long as you take the time to remind yourself.

If you’re still shopping for any readers in your life, may I suggest some books? Mine are somewhere in between sci-fi and romance, with a dash of sass and sparkle.

Have a very Merry Christmas and a lovely holiday season!

Liz on Biz Podcast Appearance and 1.2k Followers?!

Just when I think things are about to settle down, they always seem to ramp up again, LOL. I spent this past weekend selling a ton of my books at Burrillville Arts Festival in RI – which was super fun! It never gets old meeting other creative people and bringing new readers into my work. I know summer is pretty much over, but I’m always the last to put the shorts and crop tops away for the season. Maybe if I add the flannel (like in this picture) I can wear them longer?

I also wanted to pop on here to firstly, say thank you for 1.2 followers on Instagram (like seriously, what even is that?!?). You guys are amazing. If you haven’t seen my page because you’re new here, you can access it HERE. And you just might hear about a giveaway I’m doing soon… so it’s worth your while!

The second big thing I wanted to talk about here is that my good friend Liz Theresa invited me onto her entrepreneur podcast recently, and my episode just aired today! Ugh, it was SO MUCH FUN and I am so grateful to be given another platform on which to share my life and my creativity. You can listen to that episode HERE.

Listening to my segment now reminded me of how far I’ve come as an author and freelancer. Not only am I happier (and busier) than I’ve ever been, but I’m finally stepping into my full potential. It took years of healing and mindful adjustments, but I got there – and you can too! So if you have a spare few minutes, take a listen. We discussed…


🌸 balancing sense of self with personal branding
🌸naming your fears so they don’t eat you alive
🌸 where I got my story inspiration

So no matter where you are in life or what you want to accomplish, I think there’s something in here for you that could make all the difference! B sure to let me know if it helped you! At the very least, I hope that the lessons I’ve learned in my life can help others avoid frustrating things. Because then you’ll have your own struggles, but at least they won’t be the same as mine. Life sure is fun, isn’t it? LOL.

Regardless of all this, I am so humbled by your support. Please do pop by one of my upcoming events, which you can find on my events tab @ angelinasinger.com!

What are your upcoming plans for this fall? Anything in particular you’d like to tackle? Tell me in the comments! Stay well, live your best life, and if you see me at one of the aforementioned book signings, don’t be shy – come say hello!

So I Finally Caved and Got a Tik Tok Account…

I’d been putting it off for months. It’s a time-sucking, highly addictive platform that I knew would probably be more irritating to deal with than it was worth. But I did it anyway – because marketing reasons.

Yep – in any marketing endeavor, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that you’ve got to go where your target demographic is. And for me, as a Young Adult / New Adult author, I know that my readers probably are hanging out on there. So engaging on that platform was a no-brainer, even if learning the controls was slightly clunky at first. But in many ways, it’s not really all that different from Instagram (which I’d like to think I’m pretty well-versed in).

The concept of Tik Tok is fun, because it’s pairing music with trends and ideas that bring people together. I’m not typically a huge fan of taking selfies, but I do that anyway for marketing reasons. If there’s anything I learned from my college marketing classes, it’s that people want to see the human behind the product. Even though I’m selling books, they want to relate to and see who they’re supporting. So if Tik Tok is a way for readers to catch a glimpse into my illustrious life of sitting at my desk blogging, then so be it.

If you want to give me a follow on Tik Tok, I’d surely appreciate it, but by no means do you have to, of course! I just appreciate that you’ve read this far, and care about my stories.

FOLLOW ME ON TIK TOK HERE.

I always try to limit how much of the irritating “buy my book” posts I do, but I have to tell you that my sequel is getting SO CLOSE to being finished! Well, the first draft anyway. If you want to read the first installment of my time-travel coming-of-age bully-ass-kicking snark-story, you can find a copy of Forgetting What I Couldn’t Remember HERE.

“Maybe getting older lets you finally see all sides of the dice – not just the ones that are facing up.”

Vera Bartlet is a soon-to-be college graduate with absolutely no idea how messy her life is about to become. It’s not just the job search looming on the horizon or her lack of a boyfriend that’s got her stomach in knots – rather, her dad has been missing for almost a decade, and no one knows what happened to him.

When Uncle Edgar mysteriously arrives back onto the scene, he comes armed with some interesting new ideas about what may have happened to Vera’s dad – and an even more revolutionary idea of how to find him. With nothing short of bending time and space, Edgar sends Vera back in time in the hopes that she might find the clues they need to get her dad home.

As she sifts through the mangled pieces of reality and her altered memories of middle school drama become jumbled in between truth and fantasy, Vera has to choose which elements of her past should stay in the past, and which she might like to incorporate into her future. Time travel is never simple, and there are always side effects – but in this case, it might just hold the key to finding her dad. Will Vera stay sane long enough to find her dad and make peace with the bullies who made her miserable?