aj22writes

[aj22writes]

Anti-Writing Advice #17

Too broke or too cheap to hire an editor? Save money by posting your writing online! You'll immediately find all errors and typos seconds after it's too late to delete or fix it.

[aj22writes]

With my book coming out soon, I thought I'd take this as a chance to answer a very tough question:

What's the Best Way to Support an Indie Author? Where should you buy their books? 🤔💵

Big post incoming!

Before we start talking about the wild, wild world of 👑royalties👑, I want to make this crystal clear:

The best way to support an indie author* is to BUY OUR BOOKS. Straight up. Paying for our hard work is good enough.

You want to support me? Easy. Buy my book.

*Now, let’s say you don’t care where you get the book from or your goal is to make sure most of your hard-earned money actually goes to the indie author rather than some corporation… then, in that case, read on!

So… what the heck are book royalties anyway?

When you purchase an indie eBook the money you spend is split between the author and the retailer. Depending on the split, more or less of your money will actually end up on the hands of the author you’re trying to support.

This differs from traditional publishing, where the author receives a lump sum as an advance from the publisher (which is then split between author and agent).

The publisher then sells this book on other storefronts, which further splits where the money actually goes.

PS: It is not until the book has actually generated as much revenue as the advance that said author begins to *actually* earn royalties on books sold, which may be as little as cents per book to a percentage of each sale.

To further confuse matters, different retailers offer different royalty rates! 😵

Where should you purchase books from if you want to super-duper support an indie author?

Well, let me give you a tier list—beginning from the TOP!

S TIER: Author's Personal Shop

Buying a book directly from an author's shop is by far the best way support 'em. Outside of a small % that goes to cover for credit card fees (~5% in my case), pretty much all of your money goes to the author.

If the author has a shop—buy it from there!!

A TIER: Itch.io

It's not just for games, you know! Its royalty rate is one of the most generous with a default 90/10. This is crazy-good compared to most other retailers.

Seriously, more authors should start selling their books on Itch.io!!

B TIER: Most Retailers

Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Google Play Books, and Kobo all offer a 70/30 split. It didn't use to be like this, tho!

If you like to have all of your books on the same platform, buying an indie author’s book through these platforms is honestly A-OK! 👍

C TIER: Amazon

Amazon has a default 35/65 rate (ouch) and has the option for a 70/30—but it's not easy. The latter option is not available in all territories and has many prerequisites.

Also, one way to get the 70/30 split is to *exclusively* sell your title on Amazon (ooof).

As if Amazon’s system wasn’t already confusing enough—there’s also *delivery fees*. Yes, you read that right. Amazon charges the author for the delivery of the digital item based on the file size, nickle-and-diming you like it's 2004 and you went over your text message limit.

I don’t want anyone to feel bad for buying books through Amazon. Like I said before, the best way to support us is to buy our books—no matter where you get them.

A sale is better than no sale at all. 🤞

The reason I set out to write this is because the average person has no clue that where you buy a book from actually matters.

You spend your hard-earned money wanting to support an indie author and the bulk of that Hamilton doesn’t even go to them.

And now you know. 🧵🔚

[aj22writes]

Hello. It’s me.

[aj22writes]

How to write kids, if you don't remember being one or haven't lived with any

1. Kids never feel as small as you see them. A three year old thinks a one year old is a baby and a six year old is grown up. A six year old thinks a three year old is a baby and a twelve year old is an adult. Age is about perspective. One year is a huge age difference to a little kid.

2. Little kids might not be conscious of their physical limitations, but they can still be frustrated by them. A seven year old might see an adult do something relatively simple, like draw a straight line or perfectly crack an egg, and try to do the same thing, only to be frustrated when it doesn't work.

Imagine suddenly having an injury that makes a skill you use every day become difficult- you feel you should be able to do the thing, and you understand the thing should be easy for you, but it isn't. It can be immensely frustrating to have a brain that grasps a concept that language or fine motor skills haven't caught up to.

3. You know when you forget a word, and have to make something up on the fly to describe the word? That's pretty much exactly what learning your first language is like.

You know what you intend, but you don't have a way to express it, and it can move you to tears with frustration when everyone around you is suggesting the wrong thing, or seems completely certain they understand what you mean, and they don't.

You don't have a word for "Later"? You might try saying "next time", or, "after", or, "before tomorrow".

This might result in saying, "Are we going to the park next time?", "Are we going to the park before tomorrow?", or, "Are we going to the park after?", all of which can result in different answers.

4. Kids feel like adults are a different species. They don't get why we do certain things, and they don't understand why we don't want to run around with them all the time.

If sitting still is boring, coffee tastes bitter, and long conversations only happen with weird-smelling strangers who talk to them like they're stupid, then they truly will not understand why anyone would *want* to be left to have coffee with a friend without welcome distractions to make it bearable.

Aren't you bored? You aren't doing anything. How could you possibly be stimulated without any food or toys or music or anything? Why don't you just leave? Do you *have* to be there, the way you had to go to work? Adults are weird.

5. Children have complex social relationships that are just as varied as yours.

A room full of third graders might look like indiscriminate chaos to an adult, but pick a well connected kid, and they'll tell you that Megan is the fashion icon who can do hair really well, Thomas is the athlete, Gray gets mean when he has to share so nobody wants to play with him, Paisley can't read and the boys make fun of her for it so don't make her work in a group with Anthony, Dillon put a bug in their food once so they'll never trust him again, and Matthew's parents let him watch family guy so he says bad words and makes grown-up jokes that make other kids uncomfortable.

You don't see this stuff because you aren't inside the society. They are, and they do.

6. Time. Moves. So. Slow. Five minutes really does feel like half an hour. Sit still for five minutes? That's like you sitting in a waiting room at the DMV for an hour. Wouldn't you get annoyed and impatient? They haven't learned to hide their irritation yet. That's really the only difference.

7. "Reading in your head" requires understanding that you have a Voice, which people can hear, and Thoughts, which are audible only to yourself. This can be a difficult concept to grasp. If a kid is reading out loud, and you tell them to read quietly, there's a good chance they're going to whisper or mouth the words instead of going totally silent the way you might. Splitting the self into multiples like "Internal monologue VS public perception" or "What I look like VS how I think I look" is alien and bizarre. If a kid thinks they look like a Dragon and you laugh at them? Ouch. They might be mad for a while.

8. Repetitive chores make no sense when your awareness of time doesn't extend beyond a week or so. Why should I wash my blankets? They don't look dirty and I don't smell anything bad. Blankets don't get dirty unless you put dirt on them. If you put a blanket in a washer, you can't use that blanket AT ALL the ENTIRE TIME it's being cleaned. That might be an hour, but it will *feel* like a week. And you have to do that every two weeks?? That's overkill. Why even bother?

9. Kids have opinions about adults. They will have a sense about whether an adult is "real-kind" or "fake-kind". An adult who listens respectfully to what they have to say, asks thoughtful questions, and takes their concerns seriously? That's a good adult. An adult that oversimplifies their struggles, ignores their complex social rules, and gives bullshit advice like "just walk away from bullies" and "turn your chores into a fun game"? That's not a trustworthy adult. That's an Adult™. An Adult™ doesn't consider them to be a real human being with thoughts and emotions. An Adult™ sees them as an inferior, amusing pet. And they will actively sabotage An Adult™ like that.

10. Emotions are physical at a young age. Joy might make their body buzz until they can't help but wiggle or jump around. Sadness might be a huge physical pain in their throat and heart. Everything they experience is still relatively.New to.them, so there is very little frame of reference to decide if this is a "big hurt that will last forever and ever and never go away", or a "small hurt, that can be fixed easily and won't matter in five minutes". If someone lies to them about getting a cookie, that very well might be all the betrayal of your best friend sleeping with your husband.

Fortunately, a child probably won't be able to burn all your clothes in the yard without your notice.

[aj22writes]

calling all authors!!

i have just stumbled upon the most beautiful public document i have ever laid eyes on. this also goes for anyone whose pastimes include any sort of character creation. may i present, the HOLY GRAIL:

https://www.fbiic.gov/public/2008/nov/Naming_practice_guide_UK_2006.pdf

this wonderful 88-page piece has step by step breakdowns of how names work in different cultures! i needed to know how to name a Muslim character, it has already helped me SO MUCH and i’ve known about it for all of 15 minutes!! i am thoroughly amazed and i just needed to share with you guys 

[aj22writes]

[aj22writes]

Any tips on writing romantic relationships in stories?

lol I am not the person to ask this. But here goes.

Jo and Karen, the main couple in my books from the second one onward, are weird. They're both awkward in their own ways. But they're always making some limited form of physical contact when they're together. Leaning on each other, holding hands, fighting with each other competitively, stuff like that. They have little pet names and stuff. They pull each other out of the ways of their enemies' energy blasts. Karen needs stability, and Jo needs someone who she can just be herself around, so I write them as comfortable and chill and supportive of each other.

Just keep in mind what your characters' personalities are and how they would overlap, temper, and magnify each other, and what they would want out of the relationship in the first place and...do...that.

[aj22writes]

Me every time I write

[aj22writes]

Pro-writing tip: if your story doesn't need a number, don't put a fucking number in it.

Nothing, I mean nothing, activates reader pedantry like a number.

I have seen it a thousand times in writing workshops. People just can't resist nitpicking a number. For example, "This scifi story takes place 200 years in the future and they have faster than light travel because it's plot convenient," will immediately drag every armchair scientist out of the woodwork to say why there's no way that technology would exist in only 200 years.

Dates, ages, math, spans of time, I don't know what it is but the second a specific number shows up, your reader is thinking, and they're thinking critically but it's about whether that information is correct. They are now doing the math and have gone off drawing conclusions and getting distracted from your story or worse, putting it down entirely because umm, that sword could not have existed in that Medieval year, or this character couldn't be this old because it means they were an infant when this other story event happened that they're supposed to know about, or these two events now overlap in the timeline, or... etc etc etc.

Unless you are 1000% certain that a specific number is adding to your narrative, and you know rock-solid, backwards and forwards that the information attached to that number is correct and consistent throughout the entire story, do yourself a favor, and don't bring that evil down upon your head.

[aj22writes]

Hot take: Actual literary analysis requires at least as much skill as writing itself, with less obvious measures of whether or not you’re shit at it, and nobody is allowed to do any more god damn litcrit until they learn what the terms “show, don’t tell” and “pacing” mean.

[aj22writes]

i made a guide for ppl

[aj22writes]

;)

"i would die for you" this, "i'd walk through fire for you that"

what about "i'd live for you" romances? what about "i never thought i'd be worth the work it would take to piece myself together"?

what about "i don't believe i'm worth it, but for you i'll try"

[aj22writes]

Don’t know if it’s of interest to anyone, and I hate plugging my stuff, but the protagonist from my book, Jo, is ace (and nonbinary, but I don’t know if I’m ever going to explore the latter in the text itself). It’s not what the book is about, and she doesn’t actually discuss being ace or use the word in book one, but it will be plot relevant later.

She’s also gay if that matters to anybody. She and book one’s girl villain date.

So recently I was talking about my friends about Dan Povenmire saying Perry the platypus is asexual after a fan asked if Perry was LGBTQ+, and while I’m all for it because it is just a fun little bit of fan service that Dan was kind enough to give the community, it’s still extremely tiring that we can be this excited about a cartoon PLATYPUS not having sexual attraction. I have a list of asexual characters that I know of who are canonically ace, and most of them are from shows I haven’t even gotten around to watching:

Jughead Jones, asexual (Archie). Confirmed in canon using the word “asexual”.

Felicity Montague, ace (Montague Siblings). Confirmed in canon without using the word “asexual”.

Raphael Santiago, ace (The Mortal Instruments). Confirmed in canon using the word “asexual”.

Peridot, ace (Steven Universe). Confirmed outside of canon.

That girl from Sex Ed, ace. Confirmed in canon using the word “asexual”.

Varys, ace (Game of Thrones). Confirmed in canon without using the word “asexual”.

Mr. Clean, ace. Confirmed that cleaning is his only love.

Spongebob, ace. Confirmed outside of canon.

Todd, ace (Bojack Horseman). Confirmed in canon using the word “asexual”.

Jessica Rabbit, ace. Confirmed outside of canon.

Ash Lynx, ace (Banana Fish). Confirmed outside of canon by creator without using the word “asexual”.

Kusuo Saiki, aroace (Saiki K.) confirmed outside of canon by creator without using the word “asexual”.

Emma, ace (#muted Webtoon). Confirmed in canon using the word “asexual”.

Perry the Platypus, ace (Phineas and Ferb). Confirmed outside of canon by creator using the word “asexual”.

Like... these are the only ace characters that I know. It’s SAD. I do appreciate implicit representation because it has its value in its own way, but it does nothing when it comes to asexuality becoming a commonplace term outside of the community.

To cap off this post, I want to create a list of asexual (and aromantic) characters that will be available as an additional page on my profile. I may later turn it into a public google doc, but for now it will just be on my profile. I do want to collect sources of confirmation for each if it is not confirmed within canon, so if anyone has any more ace and/or aro characters outside of this list, please let me know (probably in my asks).

[aj22writes]

So I haven’t been updating you guys because I didn’t want to jinx it, but I just approved the final version of my book! It’ll be up to three days until it’s posted and ready to purchase/borrow through Kindle Unlimited, but I don’t foresee any issues at all. I had to compromise a little on the cover layout for the print version, ‘cause it’s Amazon and they’ll only come so far out to meet you, but it looks good. I even have a physical copy on hand right now that I ordered entirely to make sure. It doesn’t have page numbers yet, and the table of contents is formatted a little wrong, but this is effectively what the finished product will look like!

I couldn’t be more excited. It looks like a real book! I want to crack it open and read it, but I don’t need to because I wrote it!

[aj22writes]

Writing advice from my uni teachers:

If your dialog feels flat, rewrite the scene pretending the characters cannot at any cost say exactly what they mean. No one says “I’m mad” but they can say it in 100 other ways.

Wrote a chapter but you dislike it? Rewrite it again from memory. That way you’re only remembering the main parts and can fill in extra details. My teacher who was a playwright literally writes every single script twice because of this.

Don’t overuse metaphors, or they lose their potency. Limit yourself.

Before you write your novel, write a page of anything from your characters POV so you can get their voice right. Do this for every main character introduced.

[aj22writes]

villains are hard to design. making them ugly is dangerous, depending on what traits you choose to frame as monstrous or undesirable, you could very well end up saying something fatphobic, racist, anti-semitic, etc

but if you make a hot villain then people will get thirsty and demand redemptions and refuse to acknowledge their evil actions, no matter how despicable