BRI EBERHART

Hey Strangers,

Maybe this is a little too candid for a newsletter, but it’s been weighing on my mind, and what better place to try to parse my feelings and figure out what’s going on in my head?

Simply put, writing is hard. 

Not just writing, but all of it. Editing, my favorite part of the process, is even hard. But then what comes after? Depending on the journey writers take, it can branch off into more than one headache. As many of you know by now, I would like a hybrid career. 

Strangers is, of course, self-published, and should be a three-book series (for the most part, more to come later, but Gemma and Theo’s story was always supposed to be a trilogy). But I’ve also been querying agents and submitting directly to smaller publishers since March 2023 for my adult romantic fantasy. Yes, you read that correctly. 2023. I have been querying this ONE book for nearly three years. Before that, I queried two other books, and have been doing this dance since 2020.

I’m also nearly finished with MonsterHouse, which I’m going to send for a few rounds of beta readers, and then end up querying that one, too, before circling back to finish off self-publishing the Strangers series. 

And all of it is hard.

When you’re querying, the most given tip is “write the next thing.” Because this industry is as slow as molasses, and if you were to quite literally wait until something happens, you could be waiting for years, like me. Others land somewhere quicker, others don’t land at all. It’s a wild business.

So, what do you do in the meantime? You write. You “move on.” You might have to shelve something because the timing just isn’t right. But “no” now doesn’t mean “no” forever, so you write, and you write, and then you write some more.

But then, how does that factor in self-publishing? And more importantly for some, marketing?

Well, friends, that’s where things get even more complicated. 

Sometime next year, I’ll end up querying MonsterHouse as I finish and publish Strangers # 3. Once I query MonsterHouse, my current adult romantic fantasy is out of the running. It doesn’t mean it won’t land with a smaller publisher who still has it currently, or maybe I’ll even self-publish it someday, but for the most part, you only submit one book at a time, so I’ll be “moving on” to query MonsterHouse instead.

But Bri, you might think, What about Strangers? 

Yes, finishing this series is my number one priority for 2026, but I had to get MonsterHouse out of my head first to give S3 the justice it deserves because most of my time was spent thinking of Ellis and Hannah’s story instead. BUT! I’m going full steam ahead on Strangers # 3 as of the New Year, and unless I land a book contract for my adult romantic fantasy or something unimaginable and have to abide by their timelines, then nothing is stopping me. 

The hard part, though, is marketing. There are only so many times you can say “I wrote a book. Do you want to check it out?” It becomes salesy, and bleh. So, then you try to think of other ways to connect with readers, while gently reminding them that hey, you have written something, it’d be neat if they were interested. But then that becomes another part-time job. 

So, while most of us work an unrelated day job (me specifically, a full 40 hours a week), I’m then writing or editing on top of that, and then somehow, SOMEHOW, factoring in time to market. And then before I know it, I’m spiraling because there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done, and how am I supposed to read books or god forbid watch a movie when time is just tick, tick, ticking away. 

It’s all just… there. 

As I’m writing this, I’m currently one day in on a three-day social media hiatus, and already, I’ve more or less written what can be considered a journal entry, lol.

But I’ll figure it out. I’m not entirely sure how yet, but I will. I will write all the books, and publish all the books, and somehow learn to market all the books. I have a somewhat vague plan in mind, so now it’s about executing it.

For now, though, once MonsterHouse is off my plate and with beta readers, I’m going to take a nice long break, play some Animal Crossing, and absorb every second of calmness before 2026 hits, because if this rant is any indication… It’s going to be a busy year.

If you’ve read all of this, wow. Thank you for coming to my TedTalk. I’m sure little of it made any sense, but if you’ve kept up with my ramblings, then it’s appreciated. Sometimes, I just need to spiral for a second before righting my compass, picking a direction, and getting back on course. 

(PS – For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t change it for the world, but it would be sweet to be a full-time author, so universe??? Someday, maybe???)

ANYWAY… let’s move on. 

Yesterday, I finished my first read-through of MonsterHouse. I have five pages of notes to implement, and a whole list of scenes I still need to add, but we are SO CLOSE TO FINISHING. AHH!

I’ve also asked nearly everyone in my life to hold me accountable on S3, so as I wind down with MonsterHouse, I’m starting to wade back into the Strangers Universe to see what Gemma and Theo have been up to. I’ve missed them!

I also wanted to get this newsletter out asap this month to highlight the indie advent calendar over on Indie Visible. Each day, you can download a new eBook (most are holiday-themed, others—like mine—are not). The books will be either free or around 99 cents, so it’s a good deal, no matter the day!

Be sure to check it out. It starts today and runs until Christmas. 

Additionally! The eBook for Strangers in Our Heads is currently free to download on Amazon today only for Cyber Monday.

Yesterday was my last event of the year FOR REAL THIS TIME. I was invited to two more events, but I had to say no. I can’t even explain how much I need this break, and the sooner MonsterHouse is off my plate, the sooner I can take the rest of December off to just exist. 

No plans.

Animal Crossing.
Hallmark movies.
Books.
Sleep.

That’s it.

(I do have an event in Newfane on January 17th, though, 12-2 pm at the Newfane Library.)

Okay, Twilight in Concert was AMAZING? WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO DO NEW MOON? I would watch the entire Twilight Saga in this setting. The music? Perfection. The gaggle of screaming women around us? Priceless.

Also, happy to report that Charlie Swan received the most screams.

(I did not make this. I found it on Pinterest, lol.)

Since last month’s newsletter, I’ve read A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn, The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager, The House by Phillip R. Eaton, People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry, My Vampire Plus-One by Jenna Levine, Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson, and Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito.

I’m currently reading Hollow by Taylor Grothe.

I’ve been listening to my MonsterHouse playlist nonstop. Here it is again if you’re interested in the vibes of this world. 

TV watching comes in waves for me, and right now, I’m not watching much. I switched to The Haunting of Bly Manor after finishing Hill House, but it doesn’t have the same grip on me. I’m not sure why, but my obsessiveness has definitely slowed, so I’m not flying through this one. 

I also still need to finish Wednesday, watch the new Stranger Things episode, and remember when I was talking about Ghost Whisperer all those months ago? Yeah, I never finished that, either. Oops. 

(By the way, did you guys watch the Bills Hallmark movie??? It was adorable. Cheesy, of course, but adorable.)

Please take note that this is a system to spotlight other indie authors per their request. These titles have not been vetted and readers are encouraged to do their due diligence beforehand.

Until next time friends!
Stay strange, and Go Bills
Bri