Julie Stock is an indie author of contemporary romance from around the world: novels, novellas and short stories. Her latest novel, Over You, is now available. Follow Julie on Twitter @wood_beez48

What was the first writing advice you were ever given?

The first writing advice I remember being given was in November 2013 when I attended a Festival of Romance in Bedford, near where I live. I’d been writing my début novel for about 8 months by then and I had about 80,000 words of my story written but I just couldn’t seem to finish it. I sought feedback from so many different places and my head was spinning from the conflicting advice I’d been getting.

I remember being so excited to find there was even going to be a Festival of Romance in Bedford, of all places! I went to a session in the morning where I saw Sue Moorcroft and listened to her reading from her latest book. Then I walked around the big hall in Bedford town centre, meeting romance authors who were selling their books. Straight after this, I sat down to listen to a panel of authors chatting about writing and publishing their books. Bravely at the end, I asked them for advice about my dilemma. That was when Phillipa Ashley and Rowan Coleman both advised me without a second’s hesitation to join the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s New Writers’ Scheme. I went on and joined in the January of 2014, and published that début novel the following year. I’m now an independent member of the RNA, and I wouldn’t have achieved that without their support.

What is the most recent writing advice you’ve been given?

Along with many writers, I suffer from doubts and insecurities about whether my writing is any good on a fairly regular basis! Usually, this happens when I’m struggling with a first draft or when I get feedback telling me that something in a book isn’t working. I find rewriting and editing the hardest job, and really have to force myself to do it. So, when I felt like this most recently and mentioned it to one of my writing friends, her advice was not to give up. She reminded me that I’d felt like this before and that I’d probably feel like it again.

It is hard to keep going when you’re finding it hard to write or to rewrite, but it is also true that you can find inspiration in the strangest of places. I know as well that rewriting has definitely made my books better, and sometimes this is all that keeps me going to get through to the end. Then when you publish and someone takes the time to tell you how much they enjoyed the book, it makes all the pain worthwhile!

What is the piece of advice you’d most like to pass on?

I didn’t start writing until I was in my late 40s. I was having a tough time in my job then and I began writing as a way of taking my mind off things. It became a form of therapy. When I started, I hadn’t even heard of self-publishing, although I had recently received a Kindle from my husband. Then I read Sealed With a Kiss by Rachael Lucas, and she explained how she’d self-published it. As I was approaching my 50^th birthday by then, I didn’t want to waste any time approaching agents/publishers, I just wanted to get on and do it. And I did. So I think my advice is not to let yourself be put off from doing something you really want to do. Reinvent yourself if you want to – it’s never too late!