Before she was AM Scott, the author of space opera, military romantic suspense, and urban fantasy, she spent 20 years in the United States Air Force. After retiring, she found herself reading voraciously—until a poorly written military romance inspired her to try writing her own.

“I thought, I can do better than this,” she laughed. But the journey wasn’t instant. AM wrote eight full novels before publishing a single book.

Finding Community Online

The turning point came when she discovered a Twitter-based writing community called Just Add Tea. Fellow writers encouraged her, gave constructive feedback, and offered one piece of advice that changed everything: publish only after you have three books ready. That way, readers of her series wouldn’t have to wait years between installments.

“Community was absolutely key,” AM says. “Even online, you can find people who will cheer you on and give you the push you need.”

Facing Self-Doubt Head-On

Like most authors, AM faced imposter syndrome. The first time she hit “publish,” it was terrifying. “My writing friends, and my sister who read my awful first drafts, gave me the courage to do it.”

Even now, with multiple published books, she admits self-doubt never really goes away. “I know monetarily successful authors who still struggle with it every single time.”

Her strategy? Daily self-talk and movement. “I take my dogs for a walk every morning. That’s when I tell myself: You’ve done this before. You can do it again.” Hiking, she adds, works even better for silencing negative thoughts and sparking creativity.

Productivity Hacks: Pomodoro & Sprints

AM also relies on the Pomodoro method: 25 minutes of focused writing followed by a 5-minute break. She and her writing group meet online daily, sprint-writing together even if they’re working on different genres.

“If you don’t have a group, you can find sprints on BlueSky, Threads, or Discord. Writers will post, ‘I’m sprinting for 20 minutes—join me!’ And suddenly you’re not alone.”

She recommends the method not just for writing, but for dreaded admin tasks like newsletters. “Give yourself 25 minutes to write a newsletter, and somehow, you’ll make it work.”

Encouragement for New Writers

For anyone starting out, AM points to free resources like David Gaughran’s Starting From Zero course, and emphasizes again: find your writing community.

“Writing is solitary, but you don’t have to do it alone,” she says. “Every single writer battles imposter syndrome. What matters is sitting in the chair and writing anyway.”