#i'm also going to be selling some copies of this book in person at markets in september

[galaxia-art]

[image description: 3 images, the first a display of a book with multiple copies, two on stands, and a few splayed across the table in front. the second image is the front cover titled "where we are & where we should be: shaping a future for trans young people" the cover image is of 5 people holding banners with the title on. the 3rd image is the back cover, which reads "A guide for trans, non-binary and gender queer people to help navigate through life and the systems around them as well as educating others on the experiences and truths of trans people. Whether you are questioning your gender identity or wondering what being trans even means, this book is for you! From accessing trans health care, being an ally exploring your identity and getting answers about who you are, this incredible guidebook will hold your hand through it all and show you the safest most accessible ways to being your true self (and supporting people in your life to do the same). In a world full of systems that can be a maze to navigate, especially as a marginalised person, we have got your back and are clearing the way for simple support. Take a look inside and feel your tense shoulders relax because the answers you've been looking for have found you" end id]

So here's a cool project that some very cool and incredible people and I have been working on!!

I've been working with our publication team with the non profit organisation Comics Youth since 2020 (one of the few good things that happened that year lol) as one of the illustrators- the other being rowanfrewin on instagram whose awesome work can be seen on the cover here! If you want to see what I've done though, guess you'll have to buy it >:3c

It's so incredible to see this finally printed and I cant wait to hold it in my hands omg. If you (or someone you know) are trans, nonbinary, questioning, or an ally then I highly reccomend checking this book out!!

#trans #transgender #nonbinary #booklr #lgbtq #i am so fucking excited #and cannot wait to have a copy in my hands. soon #i'm also going to be selling some copies of this book in person at markets in september #at pride comic art festival in bristol and also lakes international comic art festival in the lake district #unless i run out at pridecaf #so will not (yet?) be selling them online so if you want one #go get one there! #but yeah i helped make a book!!! #fucking wild one day youre making shitty homestuck fanart and 10 years later you're a published illustrator

[ms-demeanor]

Also I have to say "but bands are using AI art for their album covers" is not a winning argument.

That band wasn't going to pay you. That band was going to beg somebody's artist brother for a freebie or they were going to have the people in the band who can kind of draw draw something or they were going to use a moody photo someone took with their cellphone. Best possible scenario is "they were going to trade for something from someone in the scene," and this is still the most likely scenario for bands that *give a shit* about that kind of thing.

And I've been the one doing freebie artwork for my musician friends; I've made album covers and done promo shoots, I've drawn logos and I've got a standing offer to make buttons for the cost of materials for every band I've ever played a show with. The people who give a shit in the scene are already doing this because everybody knows that everybody's broke.

I'm certain that there's not *zero* overlap between "bands that can afford to pay artists and photographers to create album artwork" and "bands that are using AI art for their album covers" but if you think "indie musician" is a demographic that has money to spare on commissioned artwork, I'm pretty sure you're mistaken.

Like. Okay, I mean my *big* argument is that AI image generation is fair use, full stop.

But the secondary argument that I've got is that I'm not sure there's a market to have the bottom fall out of.

The person making shitty covers for their amazon romance novel was not going to pay you. They were going to pay someone on fiverr eight dollars *at best* and that's only if they couldn't find a way to DIY.

That band that's trying desperately to sell ten tickets so they can play a show at the cool venue was not going to pay you to do their cover art. Their last fifty bucks just went to covering those tickets because their friends aren't even coming to their free shows. They were going to stage a photoshoot with a cellphone and a timer and someone's sister's selfie stick.

That person who made an AI avatar was not going to pay you for a custom avatar they were going to take a screenshot of your work and use that.

The people who are able to afford to pay artists and who are interested in paying artists are not the people who are replacing artists with AI. The t-shirt dropshippers, the shitty book cover designers, the bland corporate artists, and the art reposting instagram pages were the ones who undercut your market.

If you're concerned that someone is going to use AI to make art that is materially similar to yours and sell it, you're just concerned that someone is going to make art that is materially similar to yours to sell. The concerns about AI doing it are functionally exactly the same as what happens when someone says "wow, I want that on a t-shirt" under your drawing. If someone were to draw a character similar to but distinct from yours with words similar to but distinct from yours and put a link to that on a reblog of your post, that person is not actually infringing on you. They're a shithead, but that's not actually art theft. If they used your character and your words, or if they directly copy the image, that's art theft and you can try to get their post taken down. It's the exact same thing with AI.

The people who care about art and can afford to pay for it are always going to pay for it. Your problem isn't with AI, your problem is with the fact that people don't value art and that's as true now as it was a decade ago.

You are trying to sell a complicated, crocheted sundress made with 100% hand-dyed alpaca wool on Etsy and are complaining that the loose knit acrylic sundress from walmart is undercutting your market. Some people are always going to make the effort to save up and pay for your work because they value the craftsmanship, but those people didn't want to shop at WalMart in the first place. And the ones who value your craftsmanship but just plain can't afford it were going to dig through the bins at a thrift store until they found a crocheted swim cover from the seventies that they could pass off as a dress with a few alterations.

[olderthannetfic]

Maybe I'm just dumb and uneducated, but the publishing world just sounds a bit like a scam. Not in the traditional sense, but more in the sense that everyone for some reason thinks they'll make the break through so you should aim to get a publishing deal because you might end up being the next big star! You'll be the one who's books will lead to having a movie made*, you'll get the merch, the comics, the games, you'll be lauded and remembered for your writing and how YOU changed the publishing world. You just need to be a human machine who managed to write exactly what the publishing chefs at the top want. Please keep individuality to a minimum. In reality you might get a boost in money maybe if your book ever gets deigned to be bought up, how much is the average? 10-20K? Everything after that is just dead air. You will probably never be able to survive on the royalties, your book is most likely gonna end up side by side with books with the exact same premise as yours, because publishing prefers just copy pasting the same things over and over. Maybe you'll be the rare "token" #NotLikeOtherBooks that's there to test the waters for the next big trend, but most likely not, because those spots are for nepotism publications or big social media names. Oh but maybe you'll be the super big social media star who managed to get a huge social media following, so maybe you'll get a publishing deal that way, not because you're a good writer, but because you already got an audience. Oh the writing of this famous person is subpar? Oh who cares, just buy their book, we can sell with their name! While you're at it, do all the advertisement yourself, we don't really want to bother anymore. What do you expect us to do? Actually promote your book? Pfff, do that yourself. Oh you don't have social media? Welp, goodbye!

*from what I've seen studios might buy movie deals but that just means they'll keep the right to making a movie, not that there ever will be a movie, and you obviously lose the tiny nugget of chance that another studio does it.

--

I think you're being unduly pessimistic, not because this stuff isn't true of publishing but because this is how most sexy jobs work.

You become an accountant because the pay is steady. You might also enjoy it, but it's not one of those sexy jobs with a zillion people flinging themselves at the opportunity to be perpetually underpaid. Most arts jobs and a fair number of other over-mythologized ones, however, are in this same category where people have romantic ideas that they'll be the lone success... and they won't be.

Sure, it's sad that the dream of buying a mansion from your book royalties is out of reach, but... lots of life is like this? I don't think it's a big deal.

--

Now, as for the movie deal thing, you've misunderstood that one totally. What studios buy is options. That means they're tying up your movie rights for a few years so nobody else can have them.

The key feature here is that options run out.

If you keep being successful for a long time, you can sell an option on the same work over and over and over. It's a great deal for the author!

The chance that your thing will actually be made and that, if it is made, the adaptation won't be an absolute abomination is low. It's not worth worrying about. (If you want to make movies, go pursue that, not book writing.) But that sweet, sweet option money is great if you can get it.

--

A lot of people like to get huffy about how "good" books don't sell and "bad" books do, but this is short-sighted nonsense.

Like other commercial art, a good marketing campaign can sell an inferior product, but a lot of what makes the difference is a book being appealing or not. Yes, yes, the plebes have bad taste, boo hoo. More people want to buy a romance novel than a very depressing and dense literary one in general. News at 11.

But for every genuinely shitty book with a lot of buzz, there are a number of solid genre fiction works that are obviously fun for the audience for that genre.

Celebrity memoir sells, sure, but the majority of novels aren't by famous people. There are some gimmick books on the market, including, yes, novels by social media stars, but a lot of "bad" books sell because people just actually do want a Wattpad-sounding crap romance with an alphahole dude and a girl who's pretty when she takes her glasses off—or whatever other cliche you can name.

--

Like other products, books benefit from a strong brand. An author who's been writing for years is more of a sure thing. As a reader, one has limited time and energy to vet newbies.

This is sad for us as authors, but think about it as a reader! How much of your free time do you want to spend magnanimously giving a chance to people who are probably wasting your time vs. picking up something you know you'll enjoy?

And also from a reader's perspective, I don't want surprises. Sure, I don't want a book that's so predictable it's boring, but when I pick up a romance novel, I want a happy ending. When I pick up a mystery novel, I want the mystery to get solved. When I'm reading on AO3, I expect your ship tags to be accurate.

It's a great mistake to focus on how ~nobody likes originality~. This is just pretentious art student puffery that ignores how normal human tastes and emotions work. People with this attitude are ill-suited for creative professions.

--

I think that, in general, most publishing pros, whether authors or not, are fairly up front that it's hard to live on royalties and that most authors have day jobs. This isn't new. It's something people have been trying to educate prospective authors on for decades.

I'd blame starry-eyed outsiders for these kinds of misconceptions more than I'd blame the industry.

I do support trying to inform hopefuls about the realities of choosing this as a career though. They need to know they're not going to be making rent money in most markets on writing alone.

--

All of that said, the two big changes that I do see are a couple of things related to publishing companies getting ever more beholden to corporate overlords. The profit margin has always been slim, and this can be an issue when the bean counters are too involved.

First, editorial standards have slipped a lot. 1990s trash fiction did often get at least a little bit of developmental editing from the publisher. 2020s trash fiction might get that from an agent, but often, it's expected that an author shows up with a publication-ready manuscript.

I think the idea that the publisher wanted to sit around with their thumb up their ass workshopping your baby forever was unrealistic even back in the day, but there has been a change and most people acknowledge it. I've also seen way worse basic proofreading in recent books that I don't see in used books from years ago. It's still rare to see many errors because publishers do provide this type of editing, they're good at it, and correctness is far more objective than for developmental editing, but I used to see basically zero typos and malapropisms in big publishers' books, and that is no longer true.

I'm no insider, but from what I hear, the basic issue is that publishers are being squeezed and they just don't have time or budget to do more than cursory editing now compared to some times in the past. (Of course, plenty of greats did come out of the world of pulp fiction, and I'm sure that was edited in ten seconds too, so...)

Second, yes, publishers offer very little in the way of marketing help, book tours, etc. now and expect a lot from authors. Again, I gather they're being squeezed.

It's that latter issue that made me just not bother to pursue traditional publishing. I don't trust them to understand BL-y type aesthetics in most cases. I don't want to write books within the word count that is most profitable in traditional print. And I really, really don't want to be asked to do marketing within specific parameters while not being given access to timely sales data like a normal marketer who works for the publisher or a selfpub author would have.

--

But all in all, people who work in publishing are not the enemy. They like books. If they have to make some commercial decisions over artistic ones or bow to popular tastes you don't like... well, that's life.

[barbwritesstuff]

I really enjoyed Crying Wolf (after about one page of being a bit scared cause the words "prison" and "romance" used together can be really...not good in the hands of other people lol) so i'll be buying any book you were to publish. :D

Okay.

Story time.

Perhaps also rant time.

I don't know. We'll see where this takes us.

For those that don't know, Crying Wolf is a novel I wrote that was published in 2021. It's about twin brothers who get sent to prison for a crime only one of them committed. They're also werewolves.

You can buy it here if you're interested.

Now for the drama.

Crying Wolf is not a romance. At least, I never intended it to be a romance when I wrote it. It was inspired by the Australian TV show Wentworth (which is a prison drama) and me wanting to explore werewolves in a world where their existence is not secret.

But, peeling back another layer, it was really about me missing my sibling who I'd previously been very close to who suddenly moved to the other side of the planet, and processing some feelings I had about being in intimidating environments.

Ali's romance with Morgan was not nearly as explicit or important to the story in the first draft, and Amir's relationship with Ben was much more queer platonic.

But, I was told very unambiguously by several people, that I needed to increase the romantic elements. A lot of early readers felt the drama between the brothers wasn't enough to hold their interest.

Which is fair enough. I made the romances a bigger part of the story, but they still aren't the story. The story is still the brothers surviving a very dangerous environment while learning to let each other go.

It was, even then, still not a romance.

I never once tried to sell it to publishers as a romance. I always said it was a family drama. I distinctly remember making a point about this because I didn't want publishers to be disappointed.

But family dramas set in prisons which also happen to be full of werewolves isn't really a marketable category. Gay paranormal prison romance is.

I think this is was even more true back in 2018 when I signed Crying Wolf's publishing contract.

I noticed during the editing process that my editors really wanted to increase the romantic elements of the story even more, but that didn't really bother me. I don't think I 100% realised they intended to market it as a romance until later.

And I don't hate that. I guess I can see why they did it. And, with the edits, there is very much a romantic feel to it now. But, I still don't think it fits well within the category.

The literal climax of the story is about the brothers calling out to each other and giving each other strength from a distance, even if they can't be together in person. It's not about the kissing.

I don't know how readers feel, but that's how I feel. Especially considering how dark prison romances can be, I just don't think it fits the label.

Ultimately, Crying Wolf did not sell very well. Sure, there are a few hundred copies floating around out there, but it doesn't pay any bills. A part of that, I think, is it came out at a weird time in a weird market. COVID changed a lot of things. However, I also think some people picked it up thinking it was a dark romance and were disappointed... while others who may have liked it didn't buy it because they thought it was a dark romance.

Or maybe it just isn't the sort of thing a ton of people would be interested in. I dunno.

I still really like it. I think I did a good job writing it and reread parts of it from time to time. But, personally, for me, it isn't a romance.

It's about twin werewolf brothers being bad at emotions in a very fucked up situation.

Anyway, I'm really glad you enjoyed it, and would buy other things I publish. I hope you'll get that opportunity and I hope this sort of cleared up the marketing weirdness with Crying Wolf. 💙

#crying wolf #long post #bookblr #publishing industry

[woodelf68]

For @nostalgiamonth's "Food" prompt. The classic Jell-O recipe book, first published in 1962 by the General Foods Corporation as far as I could find. There's no date inside my copy of it.

Powdered Jell-O gelatin was first introduced in America in 1897, as a way to make gelatin-based dishes quicker and easier to make. It's popularity soared in the 1930s with the advent of electric refrigeration, with sales peaking in 1968, after which they began a slow decline over the next two decades. As more and more women entered the work force, they didn't have time or energy to craft elegantly molded desserts and salads to show off their creativity in the kitchen, at least not on any kind of a regular basis. By the late '80s, with sales having decreased by 50% since their peak, the brand changed to marketing their product as a kid's snack, and selling it pre-made in plastic cups. I can't imagine anything more boring, so let's return to the sixties, when Jell-O briefly offered such flavours as celery, Italian Salad, Mixed Vegetables, and Seasoned Tomato to use as bases for their salad recipes. None of them lasted long, however although personally if I wanted to encase cole slaw or potato salad ingredients in Jell-O, the Italian Salad or Celery flavours sound much more appealing than adding them to a fruit flavour. So get ready to add some veggies to fruit gelatin! Mm, doesn't this Vegetable Trio Loaf look delicious?

You could also try the Barbecue Salad, which doesn't actually feature any barbeque sauce in the basic recipe, but which does offer suggestions for extra flavour!

Ingredients: 1 package Lemon or Orange Jell-O 3 Oz 1 1/4 cups hot water 1 8 oz. can of tomato sauce 1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar 1/2 teaspoon salt Dash of pepper Directions Dissolve Jell-O in hot water. Add tomato sauce and other ingredients. Blend. Pour into individual molds. Chill until firm. Place on crisp greens with mayonnaise. For extra spiciness, add any of the following before chilling: onion juice, seasoning or celery salt, cayenne, Worcestershire sauce, tabasco sauce or horseradish.

If you are having Uncertain Thoughts about the edibility of this recipe, don't worry! You can simply watch this brave soul who made and taste-tested a bunch of vintage Jell-O recipes in her New Joy of Jell-O Project. (Fascinating viewing, and while I'm not going to spoiler you, I will say that not all of the recipes got a complete thumbs down, some much to her surprise.)

Or there's Chicken Mousse, if you need something to serve up at your next Sunday luncheon if you want the guests never to come back.

Last, if you by now are desperate to cleanse your palette with a more fruit-based dessert dish, I offer the Avocado Strawberry Ring, since avocados seems to be a big thing right now. I'm not a fan myself, but if you like them, this recipe got a passing grade, and since the strawberries are only a garnish for the center of the ring, you can substitute any other fresh fruit of your preference. I'd think a smaller berry like blueberries or blackberries would like nice, myself. Or cherries.

And if anyone grew up on any fancy Jell-O recipes, I'd love to hear about them -- both the good and the bad.

#jell-o #recipes #vintage recipes #nostalgiamonth #jell-o salads #jello #yes this was supposed to be for last friday but i got sucked into watching all those videos in the name of research

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hi! So my question is if it would be unlikely that a series of novellas could sell well? I'm hoping to make money writing, and I think each mystery (the books are going to be mysteries set in a fantasy setting.) could be a lot more interesting if it were more focused, and I would get that wonderful feeling of finishing a story about 3 times as often. But also I wonder if novellas that are so unconventional to the genres they're in could sell well no matter the length... I'm probably over thinking this. I appreciate any help you could give me.

Viability of a Series of Fantasy Mystery Novellas

This is a tough question to answer because there are so many variables. I'll do my best to address them all, though. :)

The most important variable is the general viability of a fantasy-based mystery. Is that something that would sell? Yes. Fantasy mystery is a growing genre, though the "fantasy" part tends to be more urban fantasy, paranormal, and alternative history. Which isn't to say more traditional fantasy settings and mystery don't or wouldn't sell. There are readers for pretty much anything--if you can find them. Which brings me to the next variable...

If you pursue traditional publishing, you're likely looking at a small, independent publisher. Their reach won't be as wide as a traditional publisher, but if they already publish fantasy mysteries, they would have some built-in audience. For self-publishers, it can be very hard to find readers--particularly for hybrid genre books. So, the viability of your series will really depend on your ability to market well and find readers. Fortunately for you, mystery is one of the genres that does well in self-publishing. That's not a guarantee of viability, though. It just means the readers are definitely there if you can get their attention. Which brings me to the final variable...

Even if you find an audience, your ability to sell books is going to depend on the quality of your product. Readers gravitate toward covers, blurbs, and marketing that looks professional, and books that are well-edited and polished. If you don't put in the time, effort, and often money that is required to produce a quality product, your books aren't going to sell well. And, even with that quality, if you don't have a compelling enough plot to draw people in, all the effort in the world won't be enough to sell copies.

So, is there a market for fantasy mysteries? Yes.

Does this mean your novellas will definitely sell well? No.

Is it possible they'll sell well with the right investment of finding readers and producing a quality product? Yes.

Is finding readers and producing a quality product a guarantee the novellas will sell well? No.

The bottom line is no one can say... you just have to give it a try, do your best, and see how it goes. Get that first novella out there and see what the reception is like. Get a feel for how big an audience you can personally reach, how engaged they are, and how willing they are to read another book. If it all goes well, get that second one out there, and so on. That's how you get a series out. Book by book. :)

Finally, a word of caution: I shudder when I see people say they're hoping to make money with writing. Unless you can get a paid writing position (such as a journalist, technical writer, copywriter, speech writer, etc.), it's difficult to make money as a writer. And writing books isn't the cash cow a lot of people imagine it is. Very few authors (even traditionally published ones) make enough money to quit their day jobs. With self-publishing it's even harder to make money, because not only do you not get the cash advance you can with traditional publishers, it's actually very difficult to get your book into brick and mortar stores. And you absolutely can't do that unless you invest money in your book--professional cover, professional editor, ISBN number, etc. Even then... even when you have a really professional, well-written book that makes it into bookstores, you still really have to become a viral hit in order to sell enough copies to make back what you put into the book quickly and still have money in your pockets. For most self-published authors, making money is a long game, requiring years of putting in the time, effort, and money to create a backlog of quality books that are well-marketed. If you have a solid backlog, you'll probably make a little money. But you still probably won't be able to quit your day job. ♥

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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#writing tips #writing help #writing advice #wqaadvice

[cara-delaney-author]

Author brands 'n shit, I guess

So I somehow managed to lose a post I really wanted to reblog to an unexpected re-log. The post was about a Vox article talking about how the concept of a personal brand and a platform is poisoning artistic industries, particularly writing and music. So we're just doing a new post instead.

The article makes some really good points, especially about how now more than ever, authors (and musicians, but I write books so that's what we're mostly looking at) can't just do the thing that's in their job description. We have to do the marketing as well. And that is such a wild concept to me, who grew up convinced that I would one day land a publishing deal and be a famous author. I had this idea of how the traditional publishing industry worked, and for a long time, that idea was fairly accurate. Now?

If we now also have to do most of the marketing for our book to even stand a chance.

If advances are shrinking to the point where even successful authors are forced back into day jobs.

If print-on-demand means that nobody has to shell out thousands for a print run anymore without knowing that they'll even sell a fraction of the books.

What do we even need the traditional publishing industry for anymore?

Midlist books and authors are disappearing. The focus is on bestsellers, on "the next big thing", to the exclusion of almost everything else. That's not a sustainable plan. Sure, in theory, producing nothing but bestsellers would make you thrive. But you can't. You simply cannot guarantee that 100% of your books are going to be bestsellers. The vast majority are not. Even big pre-existing audiences don't guarantee that. Just look at these incredibly funny numbers provided by the New York Times, about celebrity books that "flopped". And I'm using that word loosely - tens of thousands of copies sold are GREAT, actually. But when you calculated your sales potential based on an audience of millions? It's nothing.

This really pokes a lot of holes into the idea that big platform = big sales, but here we are, being asked to flap our arms about and make silly voices in funny little TikToks to promote our work. When that should be the publisher's job. So, again - what are they even still good for, if you aren't coming to them already famous?

Though the article also comes with some questionable takes, albeit when it cites other writers. Specifically when it cites Defector writer Israel Daramola about music criticism, and how more and more professional outlets are closing or get incorporated into other publications. How this means that the ecosystem of criticism is shifting to "a loose collection of Youtubers and influencers", and how "This has all helped produce a mass of music fans who don’t understand the value of criticism and outright detest being told the things they like might suck." Which is just so baffling to me. Of course they don't like that! Do you?! If you think the point of criticism is to forcibly explain to people why the thing they enjoy is bad, actually, you really suck at criticism. Criticism is meant to give you an idea before you engage with something, of what the quality might be and whether or not you'll like it. It's not meant to make you go "oh, well, if this artist I love is bad, I should probably not listen to them". Stop doing that! Let people enjoy things, it doesn't matter if you, personally, think the thing in question is "objectively not good". People are allowed to enjoy "bad" things, for fuck's sake. This is the exact kind of elitism that drives people away from professional, thoughtful and educated critique.

I find this particular citation odd, because Daramola does make a point much more related to the subject of the article - that the reduction of music criticism to subsections and listicles is a symptom of a similar problem as "author brands" in the music sphere. If you don't already have a big platform, a successful brand, you won't find support. Budding artists struggle the same as budding authors, where the industry whose entire business model is built upon taking risks on new talent and building that talent up is now refusing to do that, and shifting all of that work onto the artists. This has very little to do with the audience, and everything to do with the business people calling the shots behind the scenes.

There is a whole lot wrong with my industry these days. Art gets more and more commodified. The content doesn't matter anymore as long as you, the author, can sell a lot of it. Once you have proven yourself, the publishing gods might decide that you're a guaranteed success, and deign to give you the kind of support they should have given you from the beginning. Only now, there is no risk for them anymore. That risk was all taken by you, the person with the most to lose.

One last time - if that's how traditional publishing works now, what is it even still good for?

And I haven't even gotten into how this entire system is also rigged heavily in favour of the (white, attractive) Anglosphere, while the platforms themselves have global reach. So the Anglosphere is actively sucking the air out of the room with its ever-growing cultural hegemony even on the level of individual artists. The article touches on this, too, though it brushes past that pretty quickly, and one of the linked articles in the section basically just says "if you're from a different culture, consider simply ignoring that and doing it the American way". Fabulous.

I don't have any quick, easy fixes for this problem. I don't think anybody has. But if you're a reader, if you're a music lover, maybe next time you're looking for something new, consider looking past the big hits. Ignore the huge platforms, and maybe go and find some indie artists to try. There's a lot of gold to be mined here, even if it's getting harder and harder to find. It takes a little more effort, but it would mean the world to the indie artists on the other side.

#writing #books #publishing #self-publishing #publishing industry #music industry #author marketing #author branding #American hegemony #long post

[xavier-elrose]

I Wrote A Book!

I wrote two A Books!

I'm gonna try this. I am gonna try this. I'm gonna try and be an author, and NOBODY is gonna stop me!

Not even me. Take that, me!

If you enjoy my writing on here, you should probably check them out.

"I'll Pontificate When I'm Dead" is a collection of stories from my time on Reddit, with some stories expanded slightly (and galling errors removed. I know other people don't care much, but I hate typos in my work so much).

It also includes four new stories you can't get any other way, because that seems to be the way you entice people to buy a thing? I am many things, but a marketing expert is not one of them.

Seven stories in four different 'categories'- straight high fantasy (I entitled that section 'going your own way', because that is also a theme in the section), the afterlife (I have written a bunch about different afterlives, which kinda caught me off guard), a silly section (do you want to know the real meaning behind "The Twelve Days of Christmas"?), and a section where I do a lot of pontificating.

Sometimes I just like to talk.

"Lightning Wolf" is a...novelette? (Too short to be a novella, too long to be a short story) about a young sorceress out on her first adventure. Things...don't quite go according to plan. And now she has to abandon her party, and civilization, to try and deal with the werewolf curse. Will she succeed? Or will the curse consume her?

Recommended reading for anyone who has ever wanted to be able to zap things with lightning.

And remember: every book I sell makes it more likely that I write more. I'm quite encouraged when things actually work.

Available on Amazon, Apple, Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble, Bibliotheca, BorrowBox, Gardners, Hoopla, Kobo, Odilo, OverDrive, Palace Marketplace, Scribd, Smashwords, Tolino, and Vivlio.

I would be tickled pink by any reviews, and if you asked your local library to carry a copy. I approve of libraries. Shocking from an author, I know. (That was heavy sarcasm, just in case).

Ebook only, though it looks like it's possible to also set it up to be distributed as a paperback? I probably won't do that, but let me know if that's something you, personally, would want.

#Guys I wrote a book! #“I'll Pontificate When I'm Dead” #“Lightning Wolf” #I need money #Support is how the author thrives #Support is how *everyone* thrives #But it's not less true for authors

[i-wear-the-cheese]

Okay so I just saw a tumblr post from February getting aggy about books which are marketing using phraseology like 'queer polyam disabled vampires' and then saying 'but what are the themes? Why should I read it?' And look, I didn't want to drop a huge essay on OPs post but like, here it is, here is a thesis on why you should read a book about queer polyam disabled vampires, or what the other options are instead of throwing this entire marketing technique in the bin.

From the outset, so you know I've put some thought into the matter, I'm going to admit I have a masters degree in critical and creative writing, then worked in a bookshop, then went into publishing, and then got engaged to an author (who I will be marrying). So pretty much all levels of book marketing are things I've looked at professionally and academically. Okay credentials established, here is why I think that's not only okay but actively good as a marketing method AND totally necessary:

Genre is a key feature for selling books. When one says "I'm into cozy crime", they needn't say "I'm into books which have themes of subterfuge , greed, and death; frequently featuring small towns and family drama but ultimately in a setting or narrative style that makes the reader feel safe and provides catharsis". That whole long thing has been handled by Genre. In the above example, vampire is the genre! This means that themes of lust, dominance, power, and taboo are implied or even expected. This is true of Dracula, The Vampire Diaries, Carmilla, and Twilight. Vampire novel fans know what to expect from their genre. This alone means you can recommend a book just on "vampire novel" but it also means if you wanted to market a book containing none of these themes you might say "not your average vampire novel" to deliberately let them know that's being subverted.

Marketing is a battle against attention spans. When you're reviewing a book or talking to a friend about why they should read something, you absolutely should go into more depth and detail and certainly anyone looking at it critically should go further still. But "what are the themes" is a question we've all been taught academically but which holds generally little use on its own. The majority of readers don't respond well to "this book deals with the complexity of familial relationships in a cult setting and with regards to long term polyamory". Now that may have been the exact style of sentence original OP wanted and I personally love those sorts of descriptions when I'm getting into the nitty gritty, but I don't need or expect them from book marketing when I know marketing copy writers (often the authors themselves) have to be brief in a wide range of modern marketing formats. Scroll culture basically means if you can't catch someone in the first half second you've lost them.

The main issue I think that the original OP of that post was getting at was the sense that 'queer disabled polyam' was tokenism and was using those minority groups to sell books. This is a multi faceted bit so hold tight. From the outset: everything a marketing person says will be to sell a thing. They're not going to say 'it's got disabled characters but they're a bit shit so don't read it'. Let's not ever pretend that honestly and sincerity are the goal here. That being said it still isn't by tokenism and that's because of the actual definition of tokenism. Tokenism is a concept which arose during the mid 20th century in the civil rights movement and pertained specifically to parading around one or two examples of a minority person being included in a group to show apparent societal progress without affecting the genuine underlying issues or making things better for all. So tokenism applies to things like Disney claiming 7 separate times that their first gay character was in a show or film, because the purpose of that was to market media for which the main focus was NOT the gay characters. But if someone tells me that a vampire novel is about a 'queer disabled polyam' it is a fairly safe assumption from the language use alone that the MAIN character is queer, and disabled, and involved in polyamorous relationships. Main characters are not tokenism, they are representation.

So why does representation rather than tokenism make it an acceptable marketing method? Because that is precisely how you reach the audience who need it! People who are craving literature which makes them feel seen, and reaches the place within their own identity that mass media tends to conveniently ignore will absolutely be looking out for those sorts of buzzwords. So many people fish about for years and years of their lives for a little blip of representation that it really isn't fair to ask them to have to wade through the initial description of the themes of the novel when they are searching for the single book in 10,000 which will have a disabled lesbian as the protagonist. Representation is not an indicator of quality, but quality is subjective anyway and I personally think I'm really picky about book quality but you can bet your arse I have read books which were recommended on such pithy lines as 'Arthurian legend but in space in the future and wlw' because I love books set in space and I love retellings and I love queer shit. But the next stage is to go 'oh that has a load of things I love in it, I should see if it fits my vibe'. Check out some reviews, or read the first chapter, or ask for some opinions, or just take a fucking chance on a book that ticks some of your boxes. OR (and here is the most important bit) ignore it, and accept that sometimes advertising and marketing is NOT targeted at you and if you aren't in those demographics or you are both that's not what you base your reading choice on, you weren't the target audience for the marketing.

In conclusion, there are a fuck ton of reasons this is a perfectly acceptable and even highly useful method of marketing a book and individual preference shouldn't put authors and copy writers of using it. Fin

#bookblr #publishing #book marketing #book blogging #critical writing

[mermaidsirennikita]

The Rebel King by Gina L. Maxwell

3/5. Releases 7/25/2023.

For when you're vibing with... modern fair folk with a touch o' kink, boss/employee vibes, and a bit of a bad boy.

Thanks to his brother, rebellious prince Tiernan is on the verge of being pushed into the role he wants least: King of the Dark Fae. Not only will this take him away from his freedoms; it will take him from Fiona, a lower-caste fae with whom he has a complex (and very physical) relationship. But with war on the horizon, Tiernan may be forced to make a final choice.

I really like the fey/fae/fair folk in fiction, and I'm kind of mad that so much of the bygone "fey wave" was largely centered around YA books and urban fantasy novels that weren't actually romance. They're perfect for romance novels! Gimme!

This one didn't quite work for me, I'm afraid, but I appreciate the sentiment, and I think it may work for readers who prefer a lighter touch with their paranormal romance.

Quick Takes:

--You'll see this marketed as a standalone in the midst of a series. I don't know that I agree with this. After I received this ARC, I read the first book in the series. To me, it feels like it imparted some pretty important plot information? I mean, Tiernan and Fiona begin this book with an established situationship. Context is important.

--Our setting, because I feel that's important, is Las Vegas! I do love that. It feels like a place exiled fair folk would enjoy. All hedonism, all easy access. And it also feels like these creatures would be super into the kink scene--that tracks. I appreciate these adjustments to a contemporary setting.

--Here's the thing. You can write the fey/fae and keep them mystical while retaining a modern vibe. I think Kresley Cole, with some exceptions, does this well with her paranormal creatures. Rune is a dark fey, and he's fully ingratiated into contemporary America in his book... But he's still very much not human, and you can tell from the way he presents himself, the choices he makes. I feel this is especially important when you're dealing with ancient, immortal, notoriously capricious creatures like these.

Maxwell has a couple instances of characters speaking in emoji slang here, and in general--these characters just don't present themselves as truly inhuman. It took me out of the story.

--Similarly, a lot of the plot is rushed, and it felt like Fiona in particular was taking hit after hit and just not... absorbing them? It felt like it didn't truly matter, which affected my ability to emotionally connect. And that is kind of crucial for a love story. Like I said before, Tiernan and Fiona were already in a Thing (if not a defined romantic relationship) before the book began. Which I'm not against! But I need full emotional absorption if I'm not going to get the full relationship arc from beginning to end, and that didn't happen here.

--This is a pure personal taste thing, but I just didn't find Tiernan intimidating or scary. Reckless, rakish, hedonistic--yes. A feared magical creature? No. Now, for some people, that will make this book more palatable, and that's fine. I think that in many ways this could work for someone who wants a sprinkling of fairy dust, versus full "inhuman animalistic vibes".

The Sex Stuff:

The sex scenes were solid, but not especially memorable. I went into this book series sold on "kinky fairies", and I don't know if that's how I would sell it. But that could just be my warped perception.

Again--didn't work for me, but I didn't find it offensive, and it was put together well enough. If you're missing the YA fair folk boom but want something a bit more adult, I think this could potentially work--if you don't want your fairies to feel tooooo creepy.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks to Netgalley and Entangled: Amara.

#romance novel blogging #netgalley #arc reviews #book reviews #books

[casual-eumetazoa]

So, publishing news: i got an R&R (revise and resubmit, an invitation to change a bunch of things about the book and submit it again)... and I'm probably not gonna take it. I haven't answered the email yet because I want to give it a full day of thinking at least, but I'm leaning towards a no.

Some of the changes they suggested are great feedback and I will probably incorporate it in later edits. However, two things they asked for is to adjust the themes/stakes of the book and to make the protagonist less snarky and more likable. These changes would probably make the novel more appealing to a broader audience and more marketable. However, it also wouldn't be the story I always wanted to tell.

Up The Entropic Hill is a book chuck full of absurdist philosophy; it's a story about finding happiness and peace by rejecting the need for purpose and coping with tragedies of life through friendship, love, and kindness. It combines humour with tragedy because that's what life is, it's ridiculous. Which is a combination that probably a lot of people would dislike, and that's okay, this is not a book with mass appeal.

And yes, Amber is a jerk at the beginning. That's her character arc: she becomes a better person over the course of the book. Also, she's autistic, which doesn't explain her being a jerk, but does make it less likely that an average NT reader will connect emotionally with her. That's also fine, there are plenty of books with NT protagonists, i don't feel the need to create more.

So yeah, perhaps this is unreasonable and ridiculous, but I'm probably gonna reject the R&R... I still have about a dozen queries out, including one full, and I might send some more. But I'm starting to realize that trad pub is really not for me - right now I have the control to say no to this publisher, but if I had an agent and a book would sell, I would lose everything by disagreeing with editorial requests. I'd have no say in it, after signing the contract. And I'd rather make something that I love than sell more copies.

In conclusion, I probably have too strong of an opinion about this book to go through with the changes they proposed. I have changed a lot about this book after feedback from beta readers but some things I feel sure about, like Amber being the snarky smartass that she is. And if that costs me a spot in publication, so be it, I guess.

#random #personal

[noodlesandpanic]

♡ Friday (so far) ♡

Good Afternoon, I made progress already towards getting into Cosmetology school! I got in contact with admissions today and they gave me info for the next start dates, and I submitted my Fafsa! So once it processes in the next few days, I'll be able to go in person and talk to them about the cost after financial aid is applied, and hopefully get registered for the next part time cosmo course which starts on March 14th. I have a feeling it may be full already or heavily waitlisted since it's only a little less than a month away, but I have my fingers crossed that it will find a way to happen for me. Otherwise, the next start date is May 16th, but of course I want to get a move on it now.

I definitely already notice a difference since starting the Latuda. I'm doing just 20mg for the first week to start, then I'll increase to dosage to 40mg. Today will be my 4th day of taking it, and I've quickly released that I need to take it in the evening. It initially makes me tired, and then it reaches it's full effect in the evening (since I've been taking it with breakfast) when I'm trying to prepare to sleep. So while it's nice to actually feel like a human being with a little piece of hope once again, it's also important that I sleep because the last 2 nights, I can't shut my brain off. Other than that though, no negative side effects I'm noticing! It's already helped boost the serotonin in my brain because it was at a definite zero. I'm very very grateful for that, and hope I don't develop any bad side effects as I increase the dosage.

I've also done a lot of cleaning and almost completely finished re-reading "You are a Badass" since starting last night between the physical copy, and listening to the audio book version while cleaning for hours today. Though the title and a lot of the comments she makes are pretty cheesy/somewhat cringe at times, the book overall is wonderful and definitely makes me feel motivated to make big changes in my life. I need a lot of that right now, and lucky for me I have many self help books I've been neglecting both in physical form/on Audible. I'll definitely be diving back into them along with journaling (in my journal at home some, but also on this little blog I've made for myself. I like typing. It feels nice, and I like my cute lil bubblegum pink background with purple text on here.) so that I can't get my mind out of this dark, dark well that I've been trapped in for a long time.

I also plan on going to the gym after a long break to at least do some cardio today. It'll be good for my body and brain chemicals, and sleep tonight I'm sure. Maybe I'll go stay at my boyfriend's house tonight if he's available? Then tomorrow I have a pop up market I'm doing with my sister for her crochet items. I'll also bring my art stickers, in case I can sell a few this time.

♡ I hope you have a good Friday, if you're seeing this ♡

#word vomit #online journal #medication #bipolar disorder #cosmetologyschool #self help #oversharing

[on-stardust-wings]

Now that we art all here, let us recount the deeds of the day.

*puts on Crowley sunglasses*

So, I'm not living in one of the privileged countries that get to legally buy and listen to the new Good Omens Full Cast Audiobook. I have tried buying it the normal way, but it won't show up, or it disappears as soon as I log in or try paying something. I decided to give the Audible part of @fuckyeahgoodomens guide a try first, before coming up with own (and potentially worse) ideas.

I am also a gremlin child of the late 2000s internet, I live almost entirely on open source software, I avoid the likes of Microsoft, Google, Apple and Amazon as much as I can in my digital life, and I grew up enjoying TV shows and comics that did not sell in my country. I do not actually pirate things unless it can't be avoided, I'm happy for the creators to have my money, but I also hacked my Blu-Ray player into forgetting that region locking exists a week after getting it and I have tricked Amazon and Audible into selling me things that aren't for my backwater country before.

On a tangent, region locking is such stupid capitalist bullshit they do for digital content. If I want a hard copy of something in another language or from another country, I can usually buy one online. I can go to a website and buy a copy of a book from Australia or a CD from Brazil. I'll have to pay extra shipping probably, and possibly import tax, but that's the extent of the problem. I can also, technically, just travel somewhere and buy something that's only selling in this country. I don't have to give back a copy of a book I bought in the states when I cross European borders. That's not a thing.

In the same vein is the issue of DRM/copy protection. I understand it's purpose in preventing black market sales; I do not understand that I'm not legally allowed to have copies for my own personal perusal. If I bought a hardcover book, I own it and I can do whatever with it. I can draw in it. I can cut out pages I don't like. I can legally take that book and if I own a printer/copier, I can copy it page by page and have one real book in my living room and a stack of self-made paper copies on my nightstand. Short of selling the copies, all's fine. It's mine because I bought it. Same with CDs or suchlike. Turn the tracks on the CD into MP3s to put on my mobile player or in the car or whatever? Cut a track in half and listen to only the first half because I don't like the second part? Fine. It's mine. I bought it. I am not allowed to sell any copies, but for my own use, I can do with it whatever I like.

So, with this overall background and mindset, I logged into Audible.com instead of my local version, looking to pick a small fight with a multibillion dollar company and their idea of media rights and property.

And what does the multibillion dollar company do? It goes "Oh hey, you haven't been here for a while, do you want a free trial? Here, you can choose one free title, whatever you like."

I don't often listen to audiobooks, in fact, I only listen to audiobooks of favourite books I reread all the time anyway, so whenever I buy one, I immediately cancel my membership after buying the book I want, because there's no point in paying a monthly fee if I buy, like, one book per year. And instead of being mad at me for this, half the time I get offered gifts.

So, I log on, full of spite and looking for trouble, and am offered a gift instead.

Joke's on you, Amazon.

I still have to go through the 'set your credit card to US' thing described in the guide, but since I don't actually buy anything with this card, because I've been given a free book of my choice yay, I don't have to contest with any of the weird and scary messages some people get about their credit card info being fishy. I am now powered by spite as well as glee.

I manage to buy the book for my free credit. I get an email about my purchase.

That was easier than I thought.

I go to open the Audible app on my phone. The Audible app on my phone currently contains two books. None of them were bought in my own country (I think they're from the UK? But it's been a while so not sure). Its purchase history says this account never bought anything, because the account is registered to where I live, and I have indeed never bought a book there. (Look, I like books in other languages.)

The new Good Omens book does not show up. Not even after clearing the cache on the phone and refreshing everything.

The link in the email I got takes me to my country's audible website. The book cannot be found anywhere. I spent quite some time searching, too.

By now I'm back to being more spiteful than gleeful. I log back onto the Audible.com website, and whee, there it is in my previous purchases. I can listen to it in the browser (nice, but very impractical), and I can download it. Yay, download. (I also do not really like streaming things. Parts of that is the shitty internet connection in my parts, the rest of it is that sense of "I want to have a copy of it on my own hard drive".)

The downloaded file is .aax, Audible's own audio format, which is basically an MPEG-4 audio file encrypted with a 4-byte key that's unique to your account. 4-byte is super cheap in terms of encryption, so it's not very hard to get around. This is relevant information to this story because that's the next thing I did.

Could I have tried to somehow get my downloaded file into an official Audible app on my phone or computer to get it to play? Probably. Maybe. But here I was with the full file on my own hardware while also being just about done with All Things Amazon. If I want to burn this on CD or put on my MP3 player or my phone to listen to with a music player app of my choice, you can't stop me, Amazon.

Did you know that you can open your browser of choice, go to https://audible-converter.ml/ and drag and drop your .aax file into it, it'll spit out your activation bytes (that's the key to decrypt it with)? You can do that. You can then run it through a command line tool to decrypt it on your computer, or you can tell it to do so in the browser window (slower, but works on all platforms, just pick an output format of your choice and there ya go).

So, I now happen to have an unlocked MP3 of mildly dubious legality (I think it's illegal to strip the DRM, but as long as I'm not selling it *shrug*), for free.

I have that file because region locking exists and I was not able to easily purchase the thing I wanted in my own country. I would have given you money, Amazon. I would have been happy to. It was your own choice to make it a gift, and your own choice to refuse playing it on the regular players. But it was a pleasure doing business with you. Sincerely, fuck you.

PS: I'm off now to donate the money I didn't spend on the book to Alzheimer's Research. GNU Terry Pratchett.

Ciao. *takes off Crowley sunglasses*

#adventures in international copyright #look I tried to be a good person #and then this happened #good omens #good omens audiobook #p+a

[system76]

System76 Spotlight with Adam Balla

Welcome to the first of an ongoing series where we get to know some of the amazing people behind System76! This week, we kick things off with one of our newest members, Adam Balla (AKA chzbacon), who has just joined the Marketing Team as our Content Producer. Learn what makes his content creation heart go pitter-patter, and why his electric smoker is his must-have cooking appliance.

When did you first become interested in Linux computer systems?

When my roommate introduced me to Slackware in 1999, he was working as a Linux system admin and he really got me interested in Linux. I was going to the Art Institute of Houston at the time for a Multimedia Design degree, and the thought that you could create your own desktop operating system really appealed to me. I didn’t need to stare at the same old tacky operating system I’d used for years.

I found myself, like many nerds of the era, at a Micro Center in the early 2000s rummaging through the discount software bins, trying to snag up multi-CD Linux distributions. This journey exposed me to several of today’s most popular Linux distros. One of those was SUSE Linux 5.3, of which I still keep the tattered book on a bookshelf as a reminder. I did however finally find my place in the world of Debian, which is where I essentially live today. Honestly not much has really changed other than using Pop!_OS as my main distribution—though like any Linux diehard, I still love to download, test, and sometimes install all the Linux.

When did you start becoming a champion for open source hardware and software?

It was a few years after that. Once I got back from the Art Institute and I was working in the area, we needed a server for the screen printing shop that I worked at. Knowing about Linux at that point, I was able to set up a server using consumer-grade gear that we could store all of our artwork and assets on. Moving forward, I set up a server for the newspaper that I worked at for a decade, which I know is still running to this day. After using Linux in that sort of environment and knowing it was good enough for a business, I knew it was good enough for me and my needs.

How did you get involved in content creation as a career?

My father was an engineer. When I was young I was always, like most kids, into drawing cars and doodles and cartoons, but I was used to having a drafting table at the house. Computing came around, and my father bought an IBM 486 and one of the original digitizing tablets, and so I got to play around with that. Eventually, he got upset because I was on the computer more than he was, so he bought me an IBM 386 to use.

Around 1995, my dad learned from a coworker about Photoshop. I begged him to get me a copy, and he finally did for Christmas. That’s when I started playing around in Photoshop and really fell into wanting to create for a living. Similar to what my father does, but maybe not as stringent in the decision that I make—no building is going to fall down from my creative process.

And that’s how I got into the whole content creation piece. I created a cover for the album of my high school bands and then started doing work for more local bands. Back then, there were no digital art courses, so I learned a lot by doing and trial/error.

What is your favorite part of the creative process?

Working together as a team during the initial brainstorming process. Going through all of the ideas and details, sometimes writing them down, sometimes not, and even laughing at myself at how ridiculous an idea may sound. I love the process of the very first step. I love to set the vision for the project work from there to turn that vision into reality.

How did you first learn about System76?

I first learned about System76 through Chris Fisher and Jupiter Broadcasting. I believe they were reviewing the Leopard Extreme in 2012, on what at that time was the Linux Action Show. That’s when I started to look at System 76 and their offerings and wondered if it would be better for me to build my own Linux desktop, or adopt something and support the open source community. It’s been a little while since then, and I’ve always kept my eye on System76. Then with the release of Thelio, that really pushed me to the point of, “Wow, these guys are creating their own beautiful custom chassis and they’re incorporating different materials together. What a beautiful machine.”

I was speaking to my wife (financial advisor) about purchasing one in 2019, and I spoke to Emma and some other people at System76 about my desire for one, and I don’t know how, but Emma encouraged me not to buy one! And then I was given the opportunity to come to System76 for the Superfan event, where I was fortunate enough to be one of a dozen people who were gifted a Thelio desktop. It sits on my desk to this day; I even bought a larger desk just so I could put it up there and see it every day. I really appreciate the humble beginnings of System76, and I’m so glad to finally be a part of this amazing team.

Let's get into that creative brain. What is your favorite viral video and/or ad, and why do you love it so much?

I have a few ads that I like. I’ve always liked Honda’s messaging and their ads.

I like these ads because of the way in which they go through their history and lineage and the way that Honda itself has marketed its products as “People First” products—very similar to when they introduced their motorcycles to the US with their “You meet the nicest people on a Honda,” campaign. I think that was in 1962, so this was during the height of the motorcycle gang craze. Then comes this little Japanese motorcycle company and markets their products in a completely opposite image from the rest of the industry. They dared to be different and it paid off for them. Selling over 100 million Honda Cubs since 1958. Being given the title of most produced motor vehicle in the world.

This may come as a surprise to some, but I also really love the original Orwellian-inspired Macintosh commercial, which only aired once during the 1984 Super Bowl. Created by Steve Hayden, Brent Thomas and Lee Clow. In my opinion, these guys really created disruptive advertising, so much so that the ad still resonates today as much as it did then. While I don’t think you need to incite fear to sell a product, it showed that Apple dared to be different.

I’m not sure what constitutes a viral video these days. I’m not sure if it’s having a billion trillion views or just simply infecting one person who saw your video. One that always gives me a chuckle has to be “News Anchor Laughs At Worst Police Sketch Fail”. The honesty on the anchor's face makes me lose it every time.

When you’re not helping to lead the Open Source revolution, what do you like to do with your free time?

I really like going on walks and taking photos. Photography to me is one of the last honest art forms. What you see really is what you get. I love to tinker and make things, I have a 3D printer that my wife and I purchased as a joint valentine’s gift to each other last year. We started using it right when COVID broke out, so we made around 900 face shields which we distributed to schools, day cares, dentist's offices, anyone who needed one. That’s what we did for about the first 6 months when we first got it. Now, my wife loves to print earrings, for example, and I like to build different fun electronics projects.

I also love to cook, especially for large groups. I just got done with an Easter Weekend + Birthday celebration where we cooked 100 lbs of crawfish, 10 lbs of pork shoulder, sausage, and boudin (which is basically rice and pieces of pork that have been mixed together with seasonings and then put into a casing like sausage). One of my main requirements actually for a place in Denver is somewhere I can bring my electric smoker. It’s a must-have for any Texan.

What are you most excited about with your new role here at System76? To help change the computing landscape as we know it today. Into a future where technology is free and open. A world where you're encouraged to break things, fix things, and learn how they work. Aside from changing the world and stuff, I'm really excited to have a chance to work with such an insanely talented group of people.

#system76 #open source #content #content creation #linux #hardware #software #firmware #laptops #desktops #servers #Thelio #Pop!_OS #Launch #Adam Balla #chzbacon #Jupiter Broadcasting #meat #nerd #covid 19 #Ubuntu #Debian #SUSE #engineering #design #STEM #3d printing #creative #Denver #Texas

[monster-bait]

Hi, do you have any tips for someone starting out who would like to make money off my own writing. I think I may use patreon, and self publish, I Mainly write Poto Leroux and would like to take request for original fiction, but I have a very small following and am put off sharing my work because I'm afraid not many people will see/read it. Sorry for the really long ask but if you have any tips and/or advise that would be greatly appreciated.

Oh wow, I don’t know where you guys got it into your heads that I’m any good at making money, lol!

Soooo...first off, I’m far from a publishing professional and I’ve only had my own Patreon up and running since September, so I’m a questionable authority at best. 

I can only speak to my own experience and schedule, and time tends to be my most limited commodity, so I put a lot of thought into considering what I was and was not willing to commit to my Patrons each month, and for how many patrons I was willing/able to make that commitment. My patrons are guaranteed to receive one (1) exclusive story between 5-10k words a month, in addition to exclusive viewership of my multi-chapter work. Since that’s not an insignificant time commitment, in addition to commissions, side projects, and real life responsibilities, ensuring I had an audience first was a priority, because it’s *not* a time commitment I’m willing to make for 3 people. (Even though I’d be supremely grateful to @thelampades and two others regardless. 😜)

Since you’re specifically asking about monetizing, I’ll be blunt: if you don’t put the work in to build a readership, you’re not going to see much financial return. Now, that’s absolutely not an indictment of your work. That’s simply the nature of commerce and marketing: people won’t buy what they don’t know exists. This is especially true for what they’re willing to pay for, particularity when fanfic is free. If transformative fanwork is what you’re writing, then you already know the market is crowded. 

I would ask yourself why you’re unwilling to share your work now, when you also want to make money from it. (I don’t mean give everything away for free, but presumably there’s going to be considerable overlap with the audience with whom you’re currently not sharing and the audience you eventually want to buy your work.)

If you search my #writing woes tag, I’ve answered questions previously on how to build and sustain a following, and that would be my advice, if it’s advice you’re seeking.

As far as self publishing goes...people self-publish for myriad reasons—because they have a pet passion that’s under-represented, because they’re trying to launch an authoring career, because they simply want to own a book on their shelf with their name on it, etc, so your experience will depend on your motivations. @jamiepage19 has self published an absolutely lovely bit of poto fiction, so she would be a good resource to whom you could reach out! 

If you’re seeking to self-publish to make money, be prepared to spend money. Everything costs money. Covers, formatting, editing, advertising. But! Again, it depends on your expectations for “making money”. 

If you’re interested in selling a dozen copies to family and friends, KDP is completely free. If you are bringing your own audience to the table, it might mitigate some of the advertising need. You can edit your own work, you can make your own cover from free-use stock images, and your investment is minimal. 

If you’re looking to enter the realm of author as a career, it isn’t. The average spend for a self-published author is about $2k/book, including edits, cover, ISBN numbers if you’re selling anywhere other than KDP, and ad campaigns. 

I will say, if it’s fanwork you'd be publishing, because its so niche you’d have an easier time finding readership than authors of broad categories like murder mysteries or fantasy romance (OMG, I’m going to sell 3 books, what is wrong with meeeeeeeeeeee 😭) *Ahem.* People who read niche fiction tend to browse the whole list of offerings, so there’s that. But again...with writers like, say, Michelle Rodriguez out there, a known quantity with multiple POTO works and followers, the main thing separating someone from buying your book is going to be the unknown factor.

Bottom line: you’ve got to put yourself out there. It’s never easy to share something you’ve created, because it’s personal and it hurts to have it be overlooked or ignored or criticized, but that’s the nature of the beast. *Especially* if you want to monetize it. People should keep their opinions to themselves and move along with fanfic; if it’s something they’ve paid for? They have the right to pick it apart and review it and that means growing a relatively thick skin as a creator.

If you want to write original fiction, start doing it. Create a Writeblr side-blog to share, if you want to move away from the fandom aspect. If you’re asking me how to start writing original work, you just need to take a breath and do it. I left the poto fandom and fanwork in general about 2 years ago and I’ve never looked back or felt the need to, so don’t feel like you’re locked in place. There IS life after fandom, I promise.

(I could honestly write a small book about planning and executing a launch, because that’s actually what I did in my day job and it really grinds my gears the way people can be so utterly clueless in assuming they can flip on a light switch and the whole world will know about it...there are entire departments dedicated to product launches in every retailer in the world, so if/when you get to that point, feel free to ask questions!)

My advice is to start sharing! Not sharing because you’re worried about your writing being overlooked and then jumping to monetizing seems like a sure-fire way to become discouraged over a lukewarm reception. (Patreon has its own pitfalls to be prepared for even without the question of ‘will people find me’ looming over it.) Build a readership, even if it’s a small one. Small and loyal is just as important as large and transient. Keep your readership. Work on making you writing the best it can be. And good luck! Please don’t be afraid to hit me up again...I’d love a progress report, and I always reblog work I’m tagged in on my Bookshelf page.

Check out my #writing woes tag for more typo-riddled writing advice-type posts on navigating Tumblr as a creator and building an engaged audience!

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