As of today, Dec 1, 2023, I am closing Romance Lives Forever. Why? I'm organized and efficient, but with as much as I want to do going forward, I can no longer maintain RLF. I used Triberr to amplify the blog on social media, especially Twitter. The new requirements and limits from Twitter cut exposure by a huge margin. Triberr brought 80%+ of all readers to the blog. Since it's no longer active, that cost another huge drop in traffic.

It costs a bit to run the blog, register its domain name, pay for the signup/reminder service, and it takes time to chase down people who send things last minute (or not at all). Plus I have to let authors know the service is available. Then I format the material, resize the images, upload everything, and schedule its promotion. Alas, time and money won out.

I started the blog in 2009, and went to daily posts in 2010. I've explored many ways to do all this and still find time to write and market for myself. I hired an assistant last year, but only I can write the stories in my heart. I am loath to give up, not being a quitter by nature.

When it's Time to Quit

Last month, I heard Becca Syme (one of my mentors) say that it's time to quit when you no longer love what you do. Becca is brilliant. I took her Strengths for Writers and Write Better-Faster courses in the last 12 months. Each came with 6 months of follow up calls and targeted counseling. Changed my life in so many ways. Here's the video I'm referring to if you're curious. https://youtu.be/GRG5UeFYihE

Daily monitoring this blog is not what I love. What I love is supporting other authors, and the blog was how I did that. I will still support them but in ways that leave time for my own priorities. It took more than a year for me to decide to do this (or rather, stop doing this). I almost didn't commit to 2023, but felt guilty for quitting. It wasn't until I heard Becca's comment last month that I gave myself permission to do what I had to do. She wasn't talking about blogging, or anything even close to what I was doing. She was talking about writing in the golden age of publishing (the new era we've recently entered), and how to know what to do next (or stop doing).

The video was from Ream, which is a new subscription platform for authors. I've just launched mine. I attended an accelerator class with a handful of other authors in a small-group setting for mentorship. Wonderful support and I learned things I never expected.

Adriana Kraft, Alexa Aston, Alina K Field, Amber Daulton, Anne Kane, Brenda Sparks, Daryl Devore, Dee S Knight, Effrosyni Moschoudi, Faye Hall, Iris Blobel, J Arlene Culiner, Jami Gray, Jana Richards, Karen Cino, Kate Hill, Kris Bock, Linda O'Connor, Lisabet Sarai, Livia Quinn, NJ Walters, Seelie Kay, Tena Stetler, Tina Donahue, Veronica Scott, Vicki Batman

I'll miss the blog. It's been a part of my life during most of my career as an author. I look forward to what comes after this, and having the time and freedom to pursue the next steps.

Romance Lives Forever Blog (RLFblog) is closed as of Dec 1, 2023. Comments prior to 2021 have been deleted. This site will remain online until July 2025.