RHODA BELLEZA: Silencing Your Internal Editor

Rhoda Belleza is a children’s editor at a publishing house and is the author of “Empress of a Thousand Skies” and “Blood of a Thousand Stars”.  The New York Times Book Review wrote, “Intergalactic political intrigue, family betrayal and coveted thrones feature in this space opera story…real-world analogues and social commentary make Empress of a Thousand Skies an important and relevant novel.” In Rhoda’s episode, we chat all about her love for action movies and how that led her to novel writing. We dive into her experiences as an editor at a publishing house and how that helped her explore the other sides of the publishing world, and how being an editor helped to improve Rhoda’s own writing. We dive into the details about her novels “Empress of a Thousand Skies” and “Blood of a Thousand Stars”, from the inspiration behind the characters, to the world building, and to closing out your characters and ending your story. Further into our conversation, we break down how joining a writing community you trust can help you receive constructive feedback on your writing, why it’s important to separate yourself and your self-worth from the revision process of a first draft, and why we should seek professional opinions during our research process. We chat realistic word counts per week, why we should be writing consistently throughout the week and how that helps us stay intimate with our characters and strengthens our character building. We also cover why it’s crucial to put aside an editing day each week to prevent yourself from editing along the way. Say 'Hi' to Rhoda on Twitter! She will be taking over our Instagram stories for the release of her episode, be sure to catch her takeover by clicking here.  Head over to her shownotes page for a list of resources mentioned in the episode by clicking here. Happy listening! Xo, Yin PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word! --- If you enjoyed this episode, I’d really love your support in growing our community by subscribing to us on iTunes, and leaving a rating and review. These specific steps help to increase our visibility on iTunes which really helps new listeners discover us. A huge heartfelt thank you for your time and support! You can click here to go directly to our iTunes page! --- Meet fellow members in our community and check in about your work-in-progress, and join in on other bookish talks and 88 Cups of Tea related things, join our private Facebook group! You can really feel the love and support in our community. You also get the opportunity to submit your questions for upcoming guests on the show. Click here to join our private Facebook group! --- Warm welcome to our new listeners, be sure to check out our archive of episodes by clicking here! ---  “You’re not on anyone else’s schedule but your own.”  -Rhoda Belleza (Click to tweet!) “There’s nothing to revise unless you write that first bad draft.” -Rhoda Belleza (Click to tweet!) “At the end of the journey...you want it to be crystallized and engaging. There’s all these ambitions you have for the draft, but right now it’s just a draft and it needs to get better. The only way that it will get better is for you to be vulnerable.” -Rhoda Belleza (Click to tweet!)  --- WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN TODAY'S EPISODE:  A discussion on “Empress of a Thousand Skies” and “Blood of a Thousand Stars” How Rhoda’s love for action movies led her to novel writing and editing How joining a writing community you trust can help you receive constructive feedback on your writing Why it's crucial to separate yourself and your self-worth from the revision process of a first draft  Rhoda’s experience as a YA editor and how that helped her explore other sides of the publishing world and improve her own writing  The inspiration behind Rhoda’s characters and world building The importance of seeking out professional opinions during your research process Closing out your characters and ending your story How setting realistic word counts per week will help you reach your writing goals  Why writing consistently throughout the week will help you stay intimate with your characters and strengthen your character building How setting aside an editing day each week can prevent you from editing along the way