Alyssa, thank you for your honesty about the (corporate) traditional publishing model. Doing meritorious work in an industry that is not a meritocracy can be maddening. Your honesty is what caused me to finally pull the trigger on self-publishing. It's been challenging in its own ways, but I'm glad I did it. It's helped me drill down on what "success" means for me.
I was one of your first subscribers from when you were still DM'ing people on reddit to invite them to your YouTube channel. Thanks for your body of work on this topic, it's been helpful to me and, I'm sure, to many others, as publishing continues to change.
Omg, you've been here from the very beginning! Thanks so much for the longtime support! And I'm thrilled you found the publishing path that works for you. "Success" in publishing is absolutely not tied to one publishing method.
I've come to similar conclusions about the publishing process, based on my experiences with work rejected in one market, and eagerly received in another.
If they only pick up books based on existing trends, they'll never be ahead of them. And if literary agents and publishers actually understood the market, then more books besides those 1% of big titles with huge marketing budgets would actually sell
I want to use your service, however, I want to have a better version of my manuscript as I may only be able to afford your service once or twice, eg right now it's about 130,000 words. The target audience is adult ( & YA) queer post apocalyptic. I watched several of your videos, which I appreciated, and found out I need to bring my word count down.
I agree that those early pages are the hardest, whether in a short story or a novel. Back when I was trying to nail down plot structure, I'd often start things "en media res" without really understanding what that meant. I'd get the story going with a bang to jump-start the plot, but at the cost of reader attachment because they didn't know who to root for and why.
It's a delicate balance, but now I err more on the side of character interiority. Beginning tightly in a POV (whether third or first) and a conflict that could be major or minor, and then slowly expanding from that. It can lead to a slightly slower start, but one I think better grounds the reader in both the setting and the protagonist.
I appreciate all your insight, Jennifer! And "Siren Says" looks amazing. I love how well-paired the first and last lines of the opening page are, (from the sample on Amazon):
"I had, of course, known that my mother was a witch, even though she'd always referred to herself as a Siren" followed by -- after a paragraph of further detail about the POV's mother and the ways in which she used magic -- "If I'd ever harbored any doubts about what my mother really was, all of those were put to rest on the day that she died."
A page-turner, and not because of fireballs and car chases. A deeply personal bit of exposition, sandwiched between question-raising statements. Why is "witch" not capitalized by "Siren" is? And after seeing the kind magic her mother could practice and the cost it sometimes inflicted upon her, why is it only the day she died that all doubts were dispelled?
Alyssa, thank you for your honesty about the (corporate) traditional publishing model. Doing meritorious work in an industry that is not a meritocracy can be maddening. Your honesty is what caused me to finally pull the trigger on self-publishing. It's been challenging in its own ways, but I'm glad I did it. It's helped me drill down on what "success" means for me.
I was one of your first subscribers from when you were still DM'ing people on reddit to invite them to your YouTube channel. Thanks for your body of work on this topic, it's been helpful to me and, I'm sure, to many others, as publishing continues to change.
DRM
Omg, you've been here from the very beginning! Thanks so much for the longtime support! And I'm thrilled you found the publishing path that works for you. "Success" in publishing is absolutely not tied to one publishing method.
I've come to similar conclusions about the publishing process, based on my experiences with work rejected in one market, and eagerly received in another.
So true — the same book can land completely differently depending on the market and the timing.
If they only pick up books based on existing trends, they'll never be ahead of them. And if literary agents and publishers actually understood the market, then more books besides those 1% of big titles with huge marketing budgets would actually sell
Good intel about the writers group
So glad it was helpful!
That's great and all, but what if I lack friends?
Great isn't enough, but good does just fine when it ticks the boxes, most of which have little to do with the promise of an excellent read
As ProWritingaid uses AI then is that a program we shouldn't use for grammar checks etc?
This page designates which reports use generative AI and which do not: https://help.prowritingaid.com/article/297-does-prowritingaid-use-ai
Thanks.
I want to use your service, however, I want to have a better version of my manuscript as I may only be able to afford your service once or twice, eg right now it's about 130,000 words. The target audience is adult ( & YA) queer post apocalyptic. I watched several of your videos, which I appreciated, and found out I need to bring my word count down.
I agree that those early pages are the hardest, whether in a short story or a novel. Back when I was trying to nail down plot structure, I'd often start things "en media res" without really understanding what that meant. I'd get the story going with a bang to jump-start the plot, but at the cost of reader attachment because they didn't know who to root for and why.
It's a delicate balance, but now I err more on the side of character interiority. Beginning tightly in a POV (whether third or first) and a conflict that could be major or minor, and then slowly expanding from that. It can lead to a slightly slower start, but one I think better grounds the reader in both the setting and the protagonist.
I appreciate all your insight, Jennifer! And "Siren Says" looks amazing. I love how well-paired the first and last lines of the opening page are, (from the sample on Amazon):
"I had, of course, known that my mother was a witch, even though she'd always referred to herself as a Siren" followed by -- after a paragraph of further detail about the POV's mother and the ways in which she used magic -- "If I'd ever harbored any doubts about what my mother really was, all of those were put to rest on the day that she died."
A page-turner, and not because of fireballs and car chases. A deeply personal bit of exposition, sandwiched between question-raising statements. Why is "witch" not capitalized by "Siren" is? And after seeing the kind magic her mother could practice and the cost it sometimes inflicted upon her, why is it only the day she died that all doubts were dispelled?
Looking forward to reading it!