WritersEra |OT| Publish before you die, writing writer writes

[aidan]

All! I've started a newsletter called Astrolabe. It'll be a great place to share writing news, but I'll also be doing a lot of exclusive content like link-roundups, a LTTP series about retro JRPGs, and the first issue has the very first peek at my WIP novel, The Thousand Shattered Gods.

If you're interested, you can read the first issue here: https://aidan.substack.com

 

[FlowersisBritish]

All! I've started a newsletter called Astrolabe. It'll be a great place to share writing news, but I'll also be doing a lot of exclusive content like link-roundups, a LTTP series about retro JRPGs, and the first issue has the very first peek at my WIP novel, The Thousand Shattered Gods.

If you're interested, you can read the first issue here: https://aidan.substack.com

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Cool cool!!! Looks good!! How difficult was it to set up a newsletter anyways? Also any tips on setting one up?

Quick edit: read the excerpt and the book seems fun, hope you find a home for it!!

 

[aidan]

Cool cool!!! Looks good!! How difficult was it to set up a newsletter anyways? Also any tips on setting one up?

Quick edit: read the excerpt and the book seems fun, hope you find a home for it!!

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Thanks! It's tough to choose a short excerpt from a novel because it has to do so many things at once. "Fun" is definitely a keyword for this book.

As for setting up a newsletter, it's super easy and quick with Substack. However, the thing that held me up from actually being able to write and send out a newsletter for months was that the CAN-SPAM Act requires that all newsletters include a legit physical mailing address. Since I didn't want to use my home mailing address (for obvious reasons) and a PO box wasn't worth the ROI I was out of luck. However, my agency is cool with me using their mailing address, since the letters will go to my agent, so I was finally able to get it up and running.

As for tips/advice, it's all pretty straight forward stuff:

• Know what your newsletter is going to be about before hand and land on at least some sort of structure. Your subscribers will look forward to each issue if they know what they're getting.
• My audience covers SFF book stuff and gaming, so I'm making sure to have a nice balance of both instead of focusing heavily on either.
• It feels like having a variety of content is good for me and my audience: Essay-style stuff, link collections, exclusive content, etc. Though there are lots of successful newsletters which are basically just a new essay each time. Whatever works for you.
• You're supposed to stick to a schedule, but mine's going to be sporadic, so, I dunno.
• Make sure it's got a really clear voice that's definably YOU. People are signing up because they want to hear what YOU have to say, so a generic voice isn't really going to get you anywhere.
• Start spreading the word before your first issue. Set up a subscription form and let Twitter, ResetEra, your friends and family, etc. know that it's coming. Give them an idea of what they'll get in the first issue.
• Ask your first subscribers to spread the word. Word of mouth is THE way to get new subscribers. I emailed about 50 friends/professional acquaintances to tell them about the launch, as well as preview of the first issue, and asked that they share the news if they liked it.

Keep in mind that I've only JUST launched my first issue, so I'm not exactly experienced, but this advice comes from what I've seen and the feedback I gathered from a lot of readers and content creators on Twitter. I managed 100+ subscriptions before my first issue dropped, and I'm at nearly double that now. I honestly don't know if those numbers are good for a new newsletter, but I'm pretty happy with them.

Always happy to answer more specific questions, too!

 

[Shoeless]

Man, you're being a real trooper about the newsletter. I looked at the potential workload involved and rapidly just "noped" out of that situation.

 

[Hawkster]

Just finished the third chapter for my fifth short story. Writing chapter 4 as we speak. Not gonna lie, it really feels good to finish writing a chapter I sat on for a while

 

[Hawkster]

Just finished my fifth short story and I'm working on the sixth as we speak.

Unfortunately, I had to correct grammar and formatting errors when I posted it in google docs, but oh well.

At the very least, it shows how much I enjoy writing stories

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Slowly been coming back to writing again.
Hardest thing is trying to do some writing, in addition to teaching my five or so courses this semester.

 

[Delio]

Been stuck in a writing slump for a while. Not even sure if i can power through it.

 

[kyle mechlachlan]

Posting this this thread.
I recently quit my job because I hated it and I've been starting to get into writing more. My initial direction is to work on short stories and try to get myself published somewhere. I feel pretty good right now as I managed to "finish" my first two and I want to start another soon. I'm in a good position because my partner is a professional editor and has been helping me refine my style and structure. I've also been reading a lot more in the last month.

No real point other than to put this somewhere, lol.

I read the OP and got some good info from it. Gonna see about submitting my stuff to Critique Circle and then cry myself to sleep when it gets slammed in every direction.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

Posting this this thread.
I recently quit my job because I hated it and I've been starting to get into writing more. My initial direction is to work on short stories and try to get myself published somewhere. I feel pretty good right now as I managed to "finish" my first two and I want to start another soon. I'm in a good position because my partner is a professional editor and has been helping me refine my style and structure. I've also been reading a lot more in the last month.

No real point other than to put this somewhere, lol.

I read the OP and got some good info from it. Gonna see about submitting my stuff to Critique Circle and then cry myself to sleep when it gets slammed in every direction.

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Welcome aboard!

 

[zulux21]

Posting this this thread.
I recently quit my job because I hated it and I've been starting to get into writing more. My initial direction is to work on short stories and try to get myself published somewhere. I feel pretty good right now as I managed to "finish" my first two and I want to start another soon. I'm in a good position because my partner is a professional editor and has been helping me refine my style and structure. I've also been reading a lot more in the last month.

No real point other than to put this somewhere, lol.

I read the OP and got some good info from it. Gonna see about submitting my stuff to Critique Circle and then cry myself to sleep when it gets slammed in every direction.

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all I can say is keep it up :)

oh and if you are bored you can always join the discord.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

Posting this this thread.
I recently quit my job because I hated it and I've been starting to get into writing more. My initial direction is to work on short stories and try to get myself published somewhere. I feel pretty good right now as I managed to "finish" my first two and I want to start another soon. I'm in a good position because my partner is a professional editor and has been helping me refine my style and structure. I've also been reading a lot more in the last month.

No real point other than to put this somewhere, lol.

I read the OP and got some good info from it. Gonna see about submitting my stuff to Critique Circle and then cry myself to sleep when it gets slammed in every direction.

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Also if you are going to do Critique Circle send me a message and I'll give it a read on there. Ive been doing critiques on there as I prep a short story.

 

[Xagarath]

Posting this this thread.
I recently quit my job because I hated it and I've been starting to get into writing more. My initial direction is to work on short stories and try to get myself published somewhere. I feel pretty good right now as I managed to "finish" my first two and I want to start another soon. I'm in a good position because my partner is a professional editor and has been helping me refine my style and structure. I've also been reading a lot more in the last month.

No real point other than to put this somewhere, lol.

I read the OP and got some good info from it. Gonna see about submitting my stuff to Critique Circle and then cry myself to sleep when it gets slammed in every direction.

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Best of luck, sounds like you're doing all the right things!

 

[Hawkster]

So.... I've been thinking lately about where to go about the character arc of my main character. Like, by the time she's 28-29 years old, I'd envision her as an overly cynical woman who believes that resolving conflicts in the galaxy won't matter as there will be similar conflicts that will repeat itself till the end of time

For my main novel concept, her character arc will be about letting go of that cynical shell, especially when she becomes close to her companions.

What do you guys think?

 

[FlowersisBritish]

What do you guys think?

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Its a pretty common character arc which isn't necessarily bad. I've been consuming a lot of Sanderson this year and he's got a half dozen characters that go through that exact arc and I've enjoyed every one of them. I think it really comes down to the strength/likability of the companions. Each time I think of where this works, I also super loved the cast that hung around the characters.

 

[Shoeless]

What do you guys think?

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It's always down to the execution. Tropes or cliches or "Ther Hero's Journey" archetypes are by no means bad, and with the right tweak or spin can be amazing. There's nothing wrong with doing something familiar if you can do it well and/or in an engaging manner. But of course, that's the tricky part.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

It's always down to the execution. Tropes or cliches or "Ther Hero's Journey" archetypes are by no means bad, and with the right tweak or spin can be amazing. There's nothing wrong with doing something familiar if you can do it well and/or in an engaging manner. But of course, that's the tricky part.

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Execution is always such a pain if only because it comes down to experience most times.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

Maaaaaan I swear, I kick up such a fuss about editing until I actually do it and then feel a lot better not only about the story but about my writing quality. Its just a universal win-win with the only con being time commitment.

Anyway what are other people's editing processes like? Mine is always in such a constant flux I don't really have a set "process"

 

[Xagarath]

Maaaaaan I swear, I kick up such a fuss about editing until I actually do it and then feel a lot better not only about the story but about my writing quality. Its just a universal win-win with the only con being time commitment.

Anyway what are other people's editing processes like? Mine is always in such a constant flux I don't really have a set "process"

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I'm part of a writing group where we take turns tearing each other's work to pieces every 3-4 weeks, so I make most of my edits based on that.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

I'm part of a writing group where we take turns tearing each other's work to pieces every 3-4 weeks, so I make most of my edits based on that.

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Have you been bringing them a book or anything? Because I'm curious what that pace is like?

 

[Xagarath]

Have you been bringing them a book or anything? Because I'm curious what that pace is like?

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It's only a chapter a time from each of us, so we take a while to go through anyone's full manuscript, but it means we've got time to do really in-depth feedback.

 

[zulux21]

Maaaaaan I swear, I kick up such a fuss about editing until I actually do it and then feel a lot better not only about the story but about my writing quality. Its just a universal win-win with the only con being time commitment.

Anyway what are other people's editing processes like? Mine is always in such a constant flux I don't really have a set "process"

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For CWC - finish story, do quick 10 minute editing pass, hand off to SO.
SO points out things, I rewrite a few things, do another quick 10 minute editing pass, and hand off to SO
SO points out more things, but ideally no more rewrites, and we pass back and forth for a while, with my SO hating some parts and me not wanting to get rid of them, and others they hate I change instantly.

with my kids story it was like that as well, but much slower since they were 7-10k chapters and required a lot more work, but I was still trying to get one edited a week or so (which involved me doing a complete rewrite as it was original written in present tense and my SO prefers past tense. And I had various things to change and tweak.)

 

[Love Machine]

Hi all, been writing on and off as a hobby for several years and starting to think seriously about getting something out there.
All the resources and advice are really helpful. I might try joining the chat to collaborate or get some feedback going forward.
Cheers!

 

[GARlock Spiral]

Is it strange that I WANT to write as something of a hobby? I have bits of ideas i'd love to develop more into some sort of Fantasy series, but my main problem is that I want to start at the beginning, and I don't even know where to start with characters. I have very little of a main character, bits and pieces of others, but nothing substantial, let alone the shenanigans that ensue.

 

[zulux21]

Is it strange that I WANT to write as something of a hobby? I have bits of ideas i'd love to develop more into some sort of Fantasy series, but my main problem is that I want to start at the beginning, and I don't even know where to start with characters. I have very little of a main character, bits and pieces of others, but nothing substantial, let alone the shenanigans that ensue.

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I don't think it's strange that you would want to write as a hobby. Writing allows you to create ideas that don't otherwise exist, and can help transport you into those ideas away from what can sometimes be a harsh reality (especially in 2020).

And while I wish everyone who is writing to try to eventually earn money the best, it's a hard and very competitive industry to break into and make any significant money off of. Even a lot of new york times best sellers still have at least part time jobs to help pay the bills. Thus in general it's better to do writing as a hobby with the hope of some day your stories selling rather than doing it as a full time job and hoping that you can earn enough to survive.

 

[Shoeless]

Is it strange that I WANT to write as something of a hobby? I have bits of ideas i'd love to develop more into some sort of Fantasy series, but my main problem is that I want to start at the beginning, and I don't even know where to start with characters. I have very little of a main character, bits and pieces of others, but nothing substantial, let alone the shenanigans that ensue.

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You could always writing short stories first. That gives you a chance to get your feet wet with writing full fledged scenes that don't have to be part of an overall structure that goes on for hundreds of pages. Whenever I have an idea for a novel, or characters for a novel, I like to "audition" them by trying things out in short fiction first to see how it develops. If I like what I see, I tackle the novel afterward for the full upgrade.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

Is it strange that I WANT to write as something of a hobby? I have bits of ideas i'd love to develop more into some sort of Fantasy series, but my main problem is that I want to start at the beginning, and I don't even know where to start with characters. I have very little of a main character, bits and pieces of others, but nothing substantial, let alone the shenanigans that ensue.

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Welcome aboard. I personally am more supportive of writing as a hobby where you just have fun. Like Zulux said, its a stupidly competitive industry and the constant stream of rejection really wears you out. If all you want to do is have fun with it, then that's awesome and probably the way to go.

As for characters, there's a lot of different philosophies on how to approach them. Some are big fans of character questionionares where you go through a questionnaire asking questions about them from what their favorite color is to where they want to be in 5 years or something. You don't need to answer every question, but the idea of them is to try and think about your character from angles you might not have before. Other people are more into no character planning where you just write and have the character speak to you as you figure out all the stuff in the moment.

I'm a fan of an in-between. You should figure some stuff out but the character shouldn't be 99% (I don't even think 20%) figured out. At the very least, I think you should have a conflict in mind for your character--some recurrent problem that keeps popping up for them to overcome at the end. I find with conflict you can figure out a lot of stuff and when you're not sure where to go, conflict acts as a compass to help get you back on track. If you're having trouble thinking of a central conflict, look at your world-building since you've got some ideas already. What are the big problems in the world and how do they relate to your characters?

 

[Jive Turkey]

Just finished my first round of queries and I'm having mini panic attacks. I thought finishing this was going to be freeing!

 

[Shoeless]

Just finished my first round of queries and I'm having mini panic attacks. I thought finishing this was going to be freeing!

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Nah, queries just another level of anxiety. Welcome to the trenches and take care of yourself it can get a little rough sometimes.

 

[Jive Turkey]

Nah, queries just another level of anxiety. Welcome to the trenches and take care of yourself it can get a little rough sometimes.

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Well, glad to see I'm on the standard trajectory. I honestly thought it was going to be like an audition where, regardless of whether I nailed it or not, it's over and there's nothing I can do about it now.

 

[Shoeless]

Well, glad to see I'm on the standard trajectory. I honestly thought it was going to be like an audition where, regardless of whether I nailed it or not, it's over and there's nothing I can do about it now.

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There's always going to be another level of anxiety. If you get an agent, there will be anxiety about submitting to editors. If your book gets acquired, there will be anxiety about reader reception, etc, etc. Lots of people here have different levels of experience with writing and publication, so many of us have been there.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Hopefully CWC will get me in the short fictional writing again

most ly been editting/rereading a 120K word story that has just been sitting unfinished for two months now :(

 

[Alcoremortis]

Instead of attempting to finish either of the multihundred page novels I have been working on, I did the only sensible thing and started a third one [facepalm].

In my defense, the new project is experimental to see if the format is feasible for fixing some of the structural issues in the other two?

 

[Hawkster]

Finished writing the first chapter for my sixth short story today.

Always nice to get productive with writing a story with an outline as the blueprint

 

[FlowersisBritish]

As a heads up I've got the NaNoWriMo Thread up so for all the people depressed (like me) about the world at least we've got this to look forward to.

 

[Grudy]

Hey everyone. Over the summer I've built my own writing app partly as a programming exercise and in part because I wanted to take my mind off not being able to write while I was stuck at home during the quarantine. It's in an almost-finished state now and I hope some of you might get some use out of it.

I've always been a big fan of Q10 and I built my app by using it as a template. It's a full-screen, distraction free and minimalist app with some additional features like being able to store and tag notes inside the app in a - hopefully - intuitive manner.

I also implemented the word-finding website OneLook directly into the app that's available at the (double) click of a button. However, this unfortunately requires an additional but easy setup step to install openSSL to access the word-finding API. If for any reason you have openSSL already installed, the feature should work right away. I also included an easy link to install openSSL in the help card which you can view by pressing F1.

You can download the latest version here [Link approved \o/].

Simply extract the folder and launch the .exe file inside. Click Ok if it asks you to configure a new database the first time. Press F1 inside the app for help and shortcuts.

That's it! I'm preemptively sorry for any bugs that you might find inside as I'm still trying to iron most of them out, especially with the notes system. I hope it helps some of you with your writing process and I wish you the best with your writing :)

p.s UnderTheSheets is a temporary name because I suck at naming anything.

 

[Chrome Hyena]

So I had taken some time off from writing, got frustrating. But I want to get back into it seriously. So what's a good editing program? A friend of mine told me Auto crit is worth the subscription, anyone here have experience with it?

 

[Shoeless]

So I had taken some time off from writing, got frustrating. But I want to get back into it seriously. So what's a good editing program? A friend of mine told me Auto crit is worth the subscription, anyone here have experience with it?

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What exactly do you mean by editing program? Are you talking about word processors with more fiction-centric features? Scrivener is one of the most popular pieces of fiction writing software, I know a lot of authors that swear by it. I don't use it myself, MS Word is good enough for me, but that's because I don't take advantage of most of the additional features something like Scrivener offers.

 

[kirby_fox]

Didn't know this place existed. I launched my first self-published novel back in January and I could've used this thread for the breakdown in marketing tips. Started secretly writing the second and third in the series, and going to look into all those programs too. I feel they may have been better than having a bunch of documents open with ideas and information.

If anyone has any tips for doing audiobooks, I'd love to hear them!

 

[zulux21]

Back up your projects.

 

[Timu]

Back up your projects.

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I already did that on the cloud!=O

 

[FlowersisBritish]

Honestly I probably should but I'm lazy and I don't actually do a lot with my writing if I'm being honest. I've been trying to publish short stories here and there but I could always be putting more effort into that and I haven't even touched any of the books I've written editing wise. They just always feel.... not good enough? Like they're one step conceptually away from being actual "good" publishable work but I can't quite reach that level yet. Which is frustrating in itself but also trying not to focus on that.

 

[zulux21]

Honestly I probably should but I'm lazy and I don't actually do a lot with my writing if I'm being honest. I've been trying to publish short stories here and there but I could always be putting more effort into that and I haven't even touched any of the books I've written editing wise. They just always feel.... not good enough? Like they're one step conceptually away from being actual "good" publishable work but I can't quite reach that level yet. Which is frustrating in itself but also trying not to focus on that.

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Just back it up. Worst case you never use it, which is better than the alternative of you waking up 10 years from now and going

and then having that smile fade because you remember you didn't save that story that you suddenly had an amazing idea on how to make it better for and would have to start from scratch :P

 

[Deleted member 24079]

I have my Internet-free iBook G4 and Apple Works installed. I am ready to write something out. I am also working on my typing skills as never learned to touch type efficiently. I have my own method which I am trying to un-learn. Anyways where is the October writing challenge? I am not seeing it in the thread-marks.

 

[weemadarthur]

I have my Internet-free iBook G4 and Apple Works installed. I am ready to write something out. I am also working on my typing skills as never learned to touch type efficiently. I have my own method which I am trying to un-learn. Anyways where is the October writing challenge? I am not seeing it in the thread-marks.

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Creative Writing Challenge #65: Taking a Break

Theme: Taking a Break As these challenges will be doing the same come November, it's time to relax and have a well-deserved break. Put up your feet, watch the world go by, and do some writing. Word Limit: 2000 Optional Secondary Objective: Small Stories I thought a secondary objective like...

www.resetera.com

Sorry, I don't keep the Archive at current-time very well. I catch it up more, monthly.

 

[Ether_Snake]

Anyone uses Google Doc?
I have an issue where in one document, pressing enter creates a new paragraph, whereas in another document it creates a new line. I have no idea how to control this, but I'd prefer the former.
Like this:

You can see the space above the new line, instead of being just another line like the others.

 

[Grudy]

Anyone uses Google Doc?
I have an issue where in one document, pressing enter creates a new paragraph, whereas in another document it creates a new line. I have no idea how to control this, but I'd prefer the former.
Like this:

You can see the space above the new line, instead of being just another line like the others.

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Did you check the line spacing is set to single or 1.15 in the document that makes smaller spaces between lines? I believe it behaves the way you want by default, and some of the settings might be different in that one document.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

Yeah I'm a little confused too? Is it the formatting where the space between lines of the paragraph are thinner than the linebreak? (This is an issue that's annoyed me about google Docs personally)

 

[Ether_Snake]

Did you check the line spacing is set to single or 1.15 in the document that makes smaller spaces between lines? I believe it behaves the way you want by default, and some of the settings might be different in that one document.

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Yeah I'm a little confused too? Is it the formatting where the space between lines of the paragraph are thinner than the linebreak? (This is an issue that's annoyed me about google Docs personally)

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The line spacing is set to 1.15 in both cases. And yes the line break is wider. But looking quickly at a few books, it seems I should expect the line break to be of the same width.

 

[Deleted member 80231]

Hi! I'm kind of new at ERA, and I wanted to drop by and say hi. I'll try to post relatively often. I'm a Spaniard and, as such, most of the stuff I write is in Spanish. I've been writing for a long time, but I've recently started on self-publishing. I'm still figuring out stuff about marketing and promoting my works, but 2020 has mostly been a "get stuff on stores" years, since I need to have some stuff published before I well, try to sell my books and myself as a writer lol.

If you also self-publish and have some problems with formating the book you can send me a PM or quote me and I'll try to help you.

Honestly I probably should but I'm lazy and I don't actually do a lot with my writing if I'm being honest. I've been trying to publish short stories here and there but I could always be putting more effort into that and I haven't even touched any of the books I've written editing wise. They just always feel.... not good enough? Like they're one step conceptually away from being actual "good" publishable work but I can't quite reach that level yet. Which is frustrating in itself but also trying not to focus on that.

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I've suffered from this for a long time, to be honest. The first thing I've self-published was a 15k words short novel this year. The fact that you most of my friends didn't care about my stuff didn't help.

I think you just need other people to read your work. We can be too harsh with our own stories at times. And the feeling that you're stuck is quite depressing. Things have (slowly) been improving for me since I got my shit together in May this year. I started using Wattpad and a friend of mine has actually started reading the story I've been publishing, enjoying it and giving me feedback. I've also become friends with a profesional proof-reader recently that enjoys the stuff I write about (both my mailing list and the stories I write), which has also been a huge boost to my morale.

I'm still figuring out how to promote myself and my works, but even the tiniest victories can give you the energy to keep pushing forward.