writinginthebox

[writinginthebox]

Ok, if a duology (two-book series) is coming out, how would rather get them? (this poll is about the ebooks, so pricing for one book would be around £4. the first book has already been published but it's gonna be phased out for a revised edition)

Staggered release – book 1 comes out, then book 2 a while later (two separate purchases)

Bundled release – Both released at once, and you can get them as a pair / bundle for a single purchase at a special bundle price

Simultaneous release – released at once, but you can get them as two separate full price purchases

(I'm currently thinking of both a simultaneous release and a bundle, esp out of fairness for people who've read the og wdww, but doin a little half-assed market research via Tumblr poll never hurt anyone ig)

[writinginthebox]

I know advertising in pride month can smack of rainbow capitalism, but hear me out: I am not A Rainbow Capitalism. I’m a queer professional freelance editor with five years of experience, here to celebrate and polish queer stories throughout the fruitiest month of the year (and all year round). From now until July 1st, you can get 15% off any of my single editing services so long as:

a) you have a story that’s longer than 10,000 words, and

b) there is some flavour of queerness in there that’s relevant to the story (i.e, more relevant than the off-page second cousin of your main character being mentioned as gay in an otherwise cishet cast).

Rest assured that I won’t ask you to share or ““prove”” your own identity unless you want to tell me, because that’s none of my business and also gatekeeping sucks.

Plus, this discount stacks – so if you’re also eligible for one of my self-published author discounts of 10% (30,000–99,999 words) or 15% (100,000 words or more), you can get a nice 25–30% off.

I can edit:

UK or US English (+ I do my best to factor currency conversion into the rates for international clients)

Fiction – SF/F is my happy place, but all genres are welcome.

Creative non-fiction – e.g., memoir, biography, essays and essay collections.

Middle Grade through to Adult.

If you’re not quite ready for editing but think you will be within the next two months, you can secure an editing slot with this discount now and use it later (ideally before September 1st, but I do understand writing doesn’t always happen when you want it to; just be aware that if you don’t pre-book my services for a specific time or if you need to re-schedule the edit, you may need to wait until I’m available again).

If you’re interested (or just have questions), check out my services page and get in touch:

[writinginthebox]

aw hell yeah

goth manta goth manta goth manta goth manta goth manta

Link.

[writinginthebox]

Non-mage Hawke who has very strong opinions about the Circle, knows more about magic than the average person, and gets real standoffish toward Templars. Which is to say that in an ironic twist of events, Hawke starts being rumored of being an apostate.

Pros: it gets the heat off Bethany!

Cons: it leads to some deeply awkward encounters with Templars

[writinginthebox]

That Time a Published Author Told Me to Un-Queer My Novel

So, I don't think I ever shared this story on Tumblr before.

As you may know I've spent the past ten years turning my old Welcome to Night Vale fanfic into a stand alone novel called Echo of the Larkspur. Now, I haven't been working on it ten years straight. I'd pick it up, do a bunch of editing and rewriting, submit it to agents/publishers, get turned down, put the book away, wait 2-3 years, dust off the book, re-edit and rewrite, etc etc. A cycle that repeated itself far too many times that I would like.

Well, during one of these cycles when I was in the 'get rejected by every agent and publisher I submit to' stage I asked the writing group I was in what I was doing wrong. Because at this point I had reached a hundred total rejections and I was starting to suspect that the issue was with me.

One of the members of this writing group, a male author who was traditionally published, offered to read my first chapter and give his advice on how to fix it. This was, in retrospect, a mistake. But I was desperate. I sent him the first chapter and waited for his response.

Folks. The email he sent me changed my life.

First he said that agents wouldn't publish my novel because it was Sci-fi with hardcore gay erotica in it. This is curious because while the book certainly is queer, at no point in the conversation with this man did I say it was hardcore erotica. Nor did the first chapter feature any. It's almost as if he assumed that just because something was gay, it had to be hardcore erotica. Interesting.

He went on to say that a Human/Robot pairing was weird and that there was "No Way" my story could seriously address the issues of a relationship like that. Once again, he only read the first chapter. He just...assumed I wouldn't think of that? And that my book wouldn't cover it?

The author then said “I also felt that the LGBTQ inclusion really seems to cloud things.” Direct Quote.

And then this is when he said my favorite quote of them all:

The idea of a book being a sci-fi with romance AND a mystery is a Modern Art Marzipan Owl. It's just too confusing! No one can handle a story that is a mystery in a sci-fi enviroment AND has a romantic subplot! THEIR BRAINS WOULD LITERALLY EXPLODE!

Thankfully he had a solution to my book problem. His answer? Turn the book into an Action Spy Thriller and turn S.A.G.E., a robot that identies as a gay man, into a sexy lady robot who needs a MAN to teach her what it means to be human.

(I assume the male lead will teach the 'confused' female robot how to be human via his penis.)

Now my favorite part about this advice is that at no point did he outright say "Remove the gay part". No, instead he sneakily changed the robot love interest into a female robot as if I wouldn't notice. Just sort of swept away the gay bits as something totally unneeded and just mucking up the narrative. Also that's not the plot of my story, I have no idea where this virus thing came from.

(Also note that the female robot can't be robotic-like at all. Must preserve the average straight-man sex drive at all costs I guess)

He then finished his email basically saying that I should remove everything that 'traditional publishers' don't like (aka the queer parts) and make it easier for 'your average reader' to digest and my book will be good as published!

When I said this email changed my life I meant it. Because it made me realize I'd rather be self published and unknown than traditionally publish milquetoast trash like he suggested. Like holy fuck. If I removed all of the "Difficult" to digest stories out of Echo of the Larkspur then there wouldn't be a book left!

So here I am. Self publishing my Marzipan Modern Art Owl of a book. I know it'll never see the inside of a bookstore or top the charts on Goodreads but hey, I'd rather it speak to one person than have a thousand people get excited for the part where the male lead teaches the lady robot how to be human (via his penis).

If a Queer Sci-fi/Romance/Mystery novel sounds like your jam then consider preordering it!

Looking for something to read now? Can't afford the book? Willing to read in exchange for an honest review? You can join my ARC book readers here!

[writinginthebox]

10 (free!) yves. Stories to Start With

I am asked relatively frequently where to start with my fiction, which is an excellent question—there is over half a decade's worth of it now across all genres, much of it free, and who is to say what is most representative? Well, I am, and I shall, and here we are: the official beginner's guide to the yves. Canon. Please pass this one around; I don't quite have a marketing team to do it for me. ^__^

Tragic Accident gets across the major themes of borderline-supernatural "historical-aesthetic" transgender family problems in the rest of my writing... in under 1000 words! It's a classic "girl in the walls" story with a little transition-as-death for flavor; the genre-ambivalence (perhaps this is slipstream?) is characteristic.

Paper Tigress is my current favorite piece, featuring a stealth trans woman on a reality TV show with a tiger. Goes t4t early and stays there. A lot of my fiction explores gender (or existence) as performance, and this is one of the most pleasantly straightforward about it.

World Got Smaller was my favorite piece before Paper Tigress came out. Because the best way to deal with your boyfriend breaking up with you over your Deeply Unresolved Gender Issues is to go as your own plus-one to the same event. Shakespeare references, puns, and genderfears that had my transfeminine friends saying "no this actually happened to me pretty much exactly." Written as a spite piece which is, I think, a fun metatextual fact. Also got me invited to a class discussion to talk about the piece with real human college students! I think they expected me to look older.

Long Line should by all rights be higher because it is the best thing I have ever written (never mind my little favorites) but it is admittedly quite long (14k+ words). Fat transmasc butch x weird trailer femme who meet through online gaming, have ambiguously d/s phone sex, and catch awful terrible feelings... It gives me the feeling of reading really good porny fanfiction, which I can say, because it genuinely feels like something that was written for me rather than something I wrote.

Exhaustively is incredibly embarrassing because it's so personal and so personally self-indulgent—what if, instead of abolishing the family, we just did fathers but this time they're good and are physically incapable of hurting you?!—but let's be honest, sometimes self-indulgent writing is exactly what you need. This is Black Butler (for the dadbastian truthers) but with a college student and a golem instead, and if you don't understand that, you will still enjoy the snarky dialogue between this horrible lesbian and her even worse gay Creature.

Something Weird I Heard About Rebecca is about the elementary schooler Rebecca, who has this whole "girl" thing pretty much figured out: you grow up to become a woman, or a vampire. Finally someone takes vampire symbolism seriously... enough that they also wrote a companion essay.

The Traveler Wife is one of my early big hits; many people's personal favorite. Extremely lightly inspired by Afrofuturism, self-indulgent space politics, and the Twin Paradox but about a lesbian couple this time. I may be in a different place than I was when I wrote this but it is still a cornerstone of a particular style of my writing: something that is deeply emotional and wound very loosely, rather than hitting tightly-manicured plot beats.

Bride & Groom is the other early big hit. Quite a few people read this, were emotionally compromised by the ending, and began following me in the hopes of someday taking their vengeance. I still get very kind tags on it every time I reblog, and further vengeance threats. Do not read this if you like lesbian pairings to work out.

The Hands and the Mouth is a representative piece from my published queer monster short story collection, Something's Not Right. The book may be paywalled, but this story is free! You get a sense, I think, for a very sweet comforting style I used to write in more often five years ago, which allowed me to fulfill my dream of doing for (other) queer teens what I had had done for me. The paywall is truly the only reason Something's Not Right isn't on here, and I've always said that you're welcome to contact me for a free copy if it's something you can't afford. I wrote it so people could read it; I don't want to keep it from you.

Band Girls - You're not going to read Long Line and NOT read Band Girls. Two girls in (rival?) musical acts, 14k words of Unresolved Sexual Tension and a few thou more of Resolved Sexual Tension. Best read after an absolutely awful year; this will remind you there are reasons to keep going. Even if those reasons are lesbians who are actively fumbling you and covers of Bowling for Soup.

Thanks so much for reading this post, and/or the fiction listed. If you liked it, you know what to do: give it a reblog, tell us what you thought in the tags, and spread this post around to give someone else a good read. 🩸🌿

[writinginthebox]

Hey hey!!! ☆ :]

my friend is a beta reader and also an editor, and they're currently looking for any kind of client ! They're name is WriterElpis :)

If you'd like any of your works beta read or edited, whether that's fanfiction, original works, short stories, or chapter by chapter, they're happy to help you!

here's some current price estimates:

Beta Reading:

- less than 50 pages

- $5

- 50 - 100 pages

- $7.50

- 100+ pages

- $10

Editing:

- less than 7,500 words

- $5

- 7,500 - 40,000 words

- $10

- 40,000+ words

- $15

If u want to contact them, you can email them at wryderelpis@gmail.com OR you xan message them on Discord! The username is justawriter and the number ID is 596684089377947650

For anyone who doesn't know:

Beta reading = giving notes on possible changes, but not directly doing anything to the work in question

Editing = Fixing and changing the work in question themself

[writinginthebox]

Portrait of Divine Victoria, Hero of Orlais

Version without frame

[writinginthebox]

i think about this comic at least once a week

[writinginthebox]

Tis Commission Time! :D

I have mostly gotten my shit together and am ready to open a few comm slots while I try to putter at getting my website for this stuff to work.

I am opening 5 slots and they will be a first come, first served basis. If I end up with more interest than slots, I will add you to a wait list and contact you when a slot opens.

Request a comm via this form here and feel free to send me any questions you have via Tumblr! (4/5 slots open)

Google forms wont allow a file upload for references without a google sign in, so fyi it wants you to use drive. If you want to avoid google, but still want a comm, just send me a message to talk about it.

Character Outfit Design:

A half to full body piece of a character featuring an outfit that you request. Posing will be relatively simple. Additional angles, outfits, or characters can be discussed.

Character Portrait:

A detailed piece of one or two subjects from at most the waist up. The characters can be original or from some existing media. Simple backgrounds and frames can be discussed.

Profile Picture/Icon/Avatar:

A relatively small piece featuring a subject or two intended for use as an icon or profile picture. This is less detailed than a character portrait, so best for simple compositions.

Twitch/Brand Assets:

A Twitch emote or badge provided as a png file at 300 DPI at the three different sizes. Other assets, such as overlays, or pieces for other media platforms can be discussed.

Full Illustration:

A full illustration with at least a simple background and one subject. Generally lean towards character art, but more scenic options can be discussed. Priced per request.

Custom/Something else:

Is there something else you have in mind that won’t fit into the above categories? I am open to a variety of ideas, but I encourage you to read the Content section of my terms first.

Terms and Conditions below the cut!

General Information:

Please be specific with your descriptions and provide several references. To make it easier for me to keep track of your references, please compile all the images into a slide show or word document and export it as a PDF to upload. If you have questions, please send them in via Tumblr. I will also be sharing most completed commissions on my social media platforms and uploading them to the appropriate portfolio here.

Content:

Much of my art is character design and I really enjoy fantasy settings, so most of my art reflects those genres. I am fairly open to ideas, but I will not be shy in telling you if something is not gonna happen. I will no do mecha or machine heavy pieces because it is not the kind of detailing that captures my interest. If this is what you are looking for, I’d recommend a different artist. I am not opposed to gore and horror, animals and anthropomorphism, or NSFW material. However, none of these genres are ones I have much practice in, so I don’t know how good the final product would be. If you do submit a NSFW request, know that I will only do consenting adults. If you have an idea that you are unsure if I will draw, feel free to send me a message on Tumblr. I will let you know if it is okay, what specific points are a no go, or inform you that a different artist would be a better option for that idea.

Wait Time:

I will complete commissions on a first come, first served basis. So depending on complexity of your commission and the number of commissions I have received, you are looking at about a 1 to 2 week wait time before your first design sketch will be emailed to you for review.

How long it will take from sketch to completion depends on how many revision rounds are necessary and how complex the commission is. More accurate wait times can be discussed once I have reviewed what you have requested.

If you want an estimate of time for an idea before you make a formal commission, feel free to ask via Tumblr.

Payment:

The email you entered at the beginning of this form is for purposes of contacting you, sending drafts and the final product, and for sending you the invoice for your commission. You will be expected to pay for the cost of at least the base price of the item (a clean sketch without color or extras) before I will begin working on the commission. Any additional cost due to complexity, additional subjects, etc. must be paid for in full before the final piece will be delivered to you. When you receive the invoice, this is your chance to look over the pricing and give the final decision on whether or not you will purchase this commission. I will have reviewed your request and discussed with you any details necessary to determine the commission pricing, including any potential complexity adjustments. Please do not hesitate to reach out to discuss a simpler idea or to decline the commission if you feel it is more expensive than you can afford. I am very aware that commissions are expensive, and so is everything else. I am willing to discuss payment plans to make commissions a more affordable thing. These will be discussed on a case by case basis, so please reach out to me when you receive your invoice if you wish to explore this option. Once you have received the invoice, you will have one month to pay at least the base price of the commission, unless a payment plan was discussed. If this is not met, then I will email you to reject the commission request due to lack of payment. This time frame is to help me keep commission slots open and not end up waiting indefinitely for responses.

Refunds & Cancellations:

If I cannot complete the commission at all, for what ever reason that may arise, then I will contact you as soon as I can via email and refund your money in full. If I have not started the commission, and you chose to cancel, then you will be refunded in full. If I have started working on the commission, and you chose to cancel, then you will be refunded half the paid amount. If I have finished the commission, you will not be refunded due to having at least one stage of the commission to review and see what I am going to be providing you. All refund communications will be handled via email. Also, please know that I can refuse to do a commission for what ever reason.

Permissions:

All listings by default grant permission to use the image in private use. You can use it for anything you are NOT monetizing, but you must give credit to me where ever you use it. Also, do not remove the watermark I have placed on the image to minimize theft. If you are ever unsure how you are allowed to use the image, please contact me with your questions. Twitch listings automatically come with commercial privileges by nature of the platform I am creating them for. You may use them to represent the brand of your stream without royalties being required. However, I must still be given credit for the images you use from my commissions (My twitch is Siriskulk). If you have any questions about providing me proper credit, feel free to contact me. No one, under commercial or non commercial privileges, may use my art for NFTs or AI art training.

[writinginthebox]

psst.

*throws a wild TKOR excerpt at you*

As the days had rolled out into weeks and Rostfar finally realised that she was free from obligations for the first time in all her adult life, she began to love mornings in Eahalr. She didn’t have to steel herself each time she left her front door. Didn’t have to worry about watching eyes and lies of omission. She could leave before anyone else woke and simply relish her own company in a way she’d rarely been able to in Erdansten. Not that there was a lot of time for that this morning. The door creaked behind her. She knew that if she turned around she would see Arketh and Magna peering around the gap. “They’re still a little way off yet,” Rostfar said, smiling to herself. Two loud sighs came in answer. Magna started to whisper, “But can’t we just—” “No,” Arketh told him, her voice equally hushed. “We have to wait until Mama says it’s okay to come.” “How much longer?” Magna asked. A gentle tug on Rostfar’s sleeve. “Mama, how much longer?” Rostfar closed her eyes for one long inhale and exhale. She had quickly learned that the wyrdsight wasn’t something that could be accessed at will and then left dormant, like a hrafmaer’s magic. It was constant, a never-ending cacophony of information that changed everything about how she experienced the world. But she could choose how deeply she was attuned to it. Myr had been teaching her how to lessen her awareness of it, and she’d finally reached the point where the wyrdness seemed to fade away to a faint haze. Sometimes the wyrdsight even felt normal. She still couldn’t shift her attention without closing her eyes though, much to Myr and Yrsa’s amusement. Rostfar opened her eyes onto a world aflame with life. She was learning from the hrafmaer how to look ever deeper, right into the tiny particulates that made up everything from the tiniest speck of dirt to a mountain. The more she looked, the sharper her wyrdsight seemed to become. There were worlds within worlds and layers within layers, and everything was connected by the ever-shifting web of the wyrdness. “The pups, Mama,” Arketh reminded her, whispering more quietly than ever. Rostfar blinked and drew back into herself. Right. The pups. The wolves were already waiting at Eahalr’s northern boundary – she could see the bright quiver of their excitement and anticipation like a gentle sea mist rising beyond the ruins. When she concentrated, she could actually feel it like her own. [They are near you can come] The answer to Rostfar’s unasked question came to her like a Bloom breeze, laden with Myr’s fierce pride and care-borne worry. It wasn’t in words, exactly; communication through the wyrdness wasn’t the same as speaking, even though that was how Rostfar explained it to Isha and Mati. It was an ebb-and-flow of information that came in fragments of memory and emotion and thought. The meaning appeared in her mind like boot prints forming in the snow without anyone there to make them. “We can go,” Rostfar said, and flung her arms wide to bar Arketh and Magna’s path as they both made hurtle past her down the wooden walkway. “Slowly.”

��� The Kindness of Ravens, Draft 4, Chapter One (WIP info)

[writinginthebox]

REMINDER!

Issue #10 submissions are STILL OPEN until 11:59pm EST on June 30!

We are currently looking for

Short fiction (only 1 piece at a time, max 15k words; if flash [under 1k], you may submit up to 5 pieces in one document)

Nonfiction (personal essays, articles, or meta, max 15k words)

SUBMIT HERE

[writinginthebox]

When the Stars Were Brighter, a speculative fiction collection by @authoralexharvey — AVAILABLE NOW

THE SHORTS

The Temple on Cicaro Hill - Born and raised on Cicaro Hill, Muirenn's suffering comes to a head when they remember a simple gift given to them long ago.

Within These Twisted Vines - Isabella is the latest in a lengthening string of missing women. Macy, her best friend/girlfriend/Facebook-Status-It's-Complicated, is desperate to find her.

I Would Enter Haides - When Agape and Aspasia cross paths, it is love at first sight. Alas, it cannot be. Engaged to another, Agape thinks her fate sealed, until a hand in the dark changes everything.

You Are Not This Person Anymore - Resurrected after an untimely death, you struggle with the life you have come back to. What happened to you? Why can't you go back to being the person you once were? And why, after his delight at your return, does your husband continue to scorn you?

Following a Northern Star - As a worker for [COMPANY], Jane's life is thus: piss away the dredges of her mother's death stipend, eat shitty reconstituted meals from the Five-Dollar Store, and try to keep her head down long enough to avoid starting a fight. But when she is selected as a pilot for the next Salvage Suit, a job her mother did prior to her suicide, Jane's life spirals further out of control.

Morning Afters - Quinn's body changes every morning when they wake up to fit their current dysphoric needs. The system works for them—mostly. Thus far, they haven't had a chance to tell their latest friends-with-benefits, electing instead to sneak out in the dead of morning. Today, however, it could all change.

Also includes an ASMLP teaser!

THE LINKS

Goodreads

Info page/Purchase links

[writinginthebox]

I don't know who needs to hear this

But if you go into the comments section on AO3

And type

Then replace image url (keep the " marks) with the url of a picture

You can leave fan art in the comments of a fic

[writinginthebox]

writeblr intro.

hi! i'm flori: twenty two, she / her. white latina and sapphic. i speak fluent english and spanish, and am doing a pregrad in literature. my interests go from languages to crocheting, and i'm a huge fan of ghibli and the kpop group riize!

when it comes to writing, i write in english. my comfort zone is fantasy, magical realism, and coming of age. lots of female characters. big fan of third person present tense. i currently have two projects i'm focusing on!

one. project river

the week belén dies starts with a body being hung on the square. fantasy, inspired by chilote legends and mythology. crazy worldbuilding, sapphic characters, accidental found family.

two. project star

isidora hopes she's wishing on the right thing this time. magical realism, lesbian main character. actually have no clue what this one is about if i'm being honest.

if you're 18+ and have a writeblr, let's be mutuals!

[writinginthebox]

I have made a pay-what-you-want zine about... How To Make Zines!

I go over my entire process, so you too can learn how to supplement your income with zines. Please give it a look, and share if you find it helpful!

[writinginthebox]

I shouldn’t do this here because this is the “no marketing” website and I want it to stay that way but… I have just snuck into the realm of traditional publishing and my weird book about assassins (aka The Murder Siblings TM) focusing on stupid jokes, sword fights, masked balls, 🏳️‍🌈gay sex🏳️‍🌈, mental health issues, and rebelling against the rich isn’t being seen in the jungle of hetero TikTok picks and Sarah J Maas books. (Even tho it’s been sold as Six of Crows meets The Princess Bride.)

If Snowblooded doesn’t start getting noticed by people, I think my career in trad pub might be over just as it started. So during this our pride month could I perchance ask you to signal boost this post to support a lesbian and poly author trying to break in to the trad pub jungle? (Also, the book can be bought HERE )

Blurb:

Valour and Petrichor are esteemed members of the Order of Axsten, an assassin’s guild tasked with keeping order in the rough city of Vinterstock. Plucked from the streets as children and raised to compete for their guild’s approval, Valour uses her brawn to survive, while Petrichor strives to be a gentleman assassin. When they’re given their biggest job yet—to kill Brandquist, the mysterious leader of the city's illegal magic trade—it’s a recipe for disaster. If they can quell their rivalry long enough, the reward will be enough to settle their debts with the Order and start new lives.

If this job wasn’t dangerous enough, Valour is saddled with looking after a famed hotelier, Ingrid Rytterdahl. Valour finds her dangerously attractive, but the aspec Petrichor can’t wait to be rid of them both. He begrudgingly accepts Ingrid’s knowledge and connections as they navigate the city’s criminal underbelly in pursuit of Brandquist.

As secrets bubble to the surface, the duo must outwit the thugs on their tail, keep Ingrid alive, and—hardest of all—work together without murdering each other.