#publish books (as well as my own lol) sounds really lovely...

[wuntrum]

mentioned maybe switching to something in tech career-wise to my therapist and he told me someone he knows who got a certification in cyber security w/o any other schooling and 2 years later is now making 300k/year working from home. grits teeth

[thelaurenshippen]

this is a genuine question not at all meant as a rude gotcha, but I feel like I've seen lots of people cite the relatively low barrier of entry as a huge advantage of podcasts as a medium, "if you have access to decent audio tech you can make a podcast" etc etc. So where does the need to sell a script come in? Is it a financial thing, and IP thing, something else?

this doesn't read like a rude gotcha at all, it's a really good question! there is a much lower barrier to entry when it comes to podcasts compared to tv, film, theater, etc. (though not as low as writing a book if we're talking about hard resources - you can technically write a book with just a laptop and a dream and then self publish! though as a writer who has written a lot of scripts and four books (3 published) writing a book is a much bigger psychological burden imo lol).

the need to sell a script, for me, is entirely a financial thing. if I had the money to produce podcasts at the level I want to entirely independently, I would! I know how to do it! but, unfortunately, I really only have the funds to produce something like @breakerwhiskey - a single narrator daily podcast that I make entirely on my own.

and that show is actually a great example of just how low the barrier is: I actually record the whole thing on a CB radio I got off of ebay for 30 bucks, my editing software is $50/month (I do a lot of editing, so this is an expense that isn't just for that show) and there are no hosting costs for it. the only thing it truly costs me is time and effort.

not every show I want to make is single narrator. a lot of the shows I've made involve large casts, full sound design, other writers, studio recording, scoring, and sometimes full cast albums (my first show, The Bright Sessions had all of those). I've worked on shows that have had budgets of 100 dollars and worked on shows that cost nearly half a million dollars. if anyone is curious about the nitty gritty of budgets, I made a huge amount of public, free resources about making audio drama earlier this year that has example budgets in these ranges!

back in the beginning of my career, I asked actors to work for free or sound designers to work for a tiny fee, because I was doing it all for free and we were all starting out. I don't like doing that anymore. so even if I'm making a show with only a few actors and a single sound designer...well, if you want an experienced sound designer and to pay everyone fairly (which I do!), it's going to cost you at least a few thousand dollars. when you're already writing something for free, it can be hard to justify spending that kind of money. I've sound designed in the past - and will be doing so again in the near future for another indie show of mine - but I'm not very good at it. that's usually the biggest expense that I want to have covered by an outside budget.

but if I'm being really honest, I want to be paid to write! while I do a lot of things - direct, produce, act, consult, etc. - writing is my main love and I want it to be the majority of my income. I'm really fortunate to be a full-time creative and I still do a lot of work independently for no money, but when I have a show that would be too expensive to produce on my own, ideally I want someone else footing the bill and paying me to write the scripts.

I love that audio fiction has the low barrier to entry it does, because I think hobbyists are incredible - it is a beautiful and generous thing to provide your labor freely to something creative and then share it with the world - but the barrier to being a professional audio drama writer is certainly higher. I'm very lucky to already be there, but, as every creative will tell you, even after you've had several successes and established yourself in the field, it can still be hard to make a living!

anyway, I hope this answers your question! I love talking about this stuff, so if anyone else is curious about this kind of thing, please ask away.

[wannab-urs]

The Spreadsheet Digest - Vol 20

Hi friends!!

Can't believe we're at the 20th week of me doing this rec list! I also hit 400 fics on the Spreadsheet, which is wild. We've got 14 fics this week. It was a bit of an angst fest, but there's plenty of smut and even a few threesomes!

As always you can find the Spreadsheet here and the other Digests here. You can tag me in literally any Pedro boy fic (except RPF) and I'll add it to my TBR! You can also send me fic recs if you want, and even ask me for fic recs. I'll dig through the sheet so you don't have to :)

Fic recs below the Pedge:

Blackmail - a Javi P/Joel series by @milla-frenchy

Javi is the new Fedra officer you have to deal with and he wants something instead of credits to let you and joel go on your supply run... he wants to fuck you! The way it starts with Joel getting cucked and then just.... descends into beautiful smutty depravity. This was so fucking good. I loved how Javi wasn't mean? Idk like the whole experience just sounded good as hell for reader after the initial discomfort of having to fuck someone to get what you want lol.

You need to relax, sweetheart - a Joel/Tess one shot by @walkintotheriveranddisappear

You're Tess and Joel's babysitter and they come home from date night and decide to help you unwind from a stressful night of caring for children... ya know... with their bodies. -- TW dubcon/noncon -- also there's some breeding kink in here and Tess is also pregnant. This fic is so good and twisted and delicious and wonderful byeeeee

Shore Leave a Frankie/Santi one shot by @theywhowriteandknowthings

Ok so you're a bartender and Frankie and Santi come into your bar sometimes on shore leave and they always flirt with you. And then this time they flirt with you and you like actively consider going home with them... and then you um find something out... spoilers sorry.... and decide to go home with both of them. And it is wonderful, sexy, and sweet. I'm gonna need a 30 part loose fit series on these 3 immediately <3

Rendezvous in Reno - a Dieter one shot by @theywhowriteandknowthings

AHHH okay so erotica writer!reader has a book signing and the subject of her first published erotic short story walks in knowing full well the story was basically fanfic of HIM. Heavy flirting ensues... then he comes to your hotel. This fic??? It's so sweet and fluffy and like... indulgent? It's like eating dessert for breakfast. There's a lovely surprise in relation to Dieter himself, also. I just love his personality in this and I love the sexy intimate smut and I want to die I love Dieter so much.

An Open Invitation - a Joel one shot by @walkintotheriveranddisappear

Joel watches reader and her girlfriend? fuck buddy? whatever. fuck from his window cause girl has got her curtains WIDE open and she is doing it fully on purpose.... anyway some stuff happens and Joel ends up in her house with her and her friend and then he gets used like a sex toy and loves every second of it and I loved every second of this fic. It's perfect. No fucking notes. 10/10.

Aches!Joel - a Joel series by @toxicanonymity

At the time of this rec, there's four parts. This features virgin!reader and a Joel that shows more restraint than I really expected him to be able to. This fic is sweet and the teasing and the will-they-won't-they throughout is so good. It's like edging but you're reading. And then... ya know. Aches!Joel owns my whole heart. fuckin wanting to wait for a soft bed to fuck her PLEASE... whatta man (the bar is in hell, I know, leave me alone).

Linger On - a Joel series by @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin

So you and Joel broke up 10 years ago and you moved on! You moved away from Austin and you got married and you have a kid and everything is great right? It's not. You're soooo not over Joel Miller. And then!!! Some events happen that put you face to face again and not just like.. briefly or temporarily. I don't want to spoil too much of this fic here in the review... just read it. It's angsty and yummy and I love it. (smutty also, who do you think I am?)

Carnal - a Joel series by @pascalsbby

Another camgirl!reader fic because I literally cannot help myself lmao. This one has the delicious twist of also being dad's best friend!joel AND best friend's dad!Joel... how fucked up is that? The correct amount of fucked up. The dirty talk going on in this fic is literally insane. My body went into fight or flight I was so turned on. And then on top of the crazy freaky yummy sex and like perv!joel and dom!joel and just all that going on... the story itself is really fucking good!!!

A Feeling That Never Came - a Javi P series by @theywhowriteandknowthings

You show up to your birthday/engagement party (i will not elaborate on that) and it's all kind of terrible and then your ex, Javi Peña shows up. Which should be a bad thing. Who wants their ex at their engagement party? You do. I promise you do. Desperately. So like... read this lovely bucket of angst as a bedtime story, cry yourself to sleep, and anxiously await the next part just like me.

It's always been you - a Dieter one shot by @alwaysmicado

Dieter Bravo is not a good boyfriend and after a year you are faced with the brutal reality of that fact. This fic destroyed me emotionally for real. Like the way Dieter is so.... pathetic? The perfect depiction of that push and pull where you can't let yourself fall into him but like all you want is for him to hold you because you're upset? GOD DAMN. Perfect. And then the interlude time period and what happens there and the ending? All so fucking perfect. I would love more of these two. They're broken and sad and it hurt and I can't stop thinking about this fucking fic AH

Light Only Shows You Where the Shadow Are - a Max Phillips one shot by @oonajaeadira

You've got this friend that can't take a fucking hint and won't understand you don't want him like that, but thankfully a handsome and unsettling stranger is there to save the day... several times.... and it's a little weird that he's always there and that you can't quite remember what he looks like when he's gone... and he makes you feel a little off. This is such a wonderfully spooky fic and it really captures Max's vibes while, despite the stalker behavior, somehow being more tolerable than the canon Max. I desperately hope you get the inspo to write a full Max series. It would be delightful

I Know Places - a Din one shot by @beskarandblasters

So you're a bounty and Din catches you and he has to take you all the way from tatooine to coruscant. It's a long trip and due to some mitigating circumstances he can't carbon freeze you as you'll probably die and... dead people don't pay their debts so that just won't do. 3 weeks cooped up in the Crest with a tin can man you don't know and who is carting you off to certain death... surely that couldn't be a love story. Or could it? This fic is so fucking good. I love the story and the smut???????? To die for.

You Shook Me All Night Long - a Joel series by @macfrog

You are Joel Miller's assistant and he's the CEO and he is... handsy. But it's not making you uncomfortable, at all. This starts at the official work party, moves over to a bar, and then keeps going after that. I really loved this. Joel was the perfect amount of rich corporate asshole and possessive sexy man.

Plaited and Braided - an Ezra one shot by @bonezone44

Ez wins a bullwhip and learns to use it on a tree... then he learns to use it on you. This is so delightful. It's a little dark there for a bit, but it's much much sweeter than you'd expect a sadist!Ezra bullwhip fic to be. I would very much love to see more of these two.

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Here's some art I saw this week

Joel and Ellie by @vickisigh

Din by @gaytedlasso

Frankie and his shifter form by @littledozerdraws (commissioned for SNAFU by @theywhowriteandknowthings)

Pedro by @bonezone44

Pedro as popular raccoon memes by @iamasaddie

Joel Miller Apologist badge by @sin-djarin

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My Masterlist

My Kofi

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Happy Reading!

[bonesandthebees]

Hi Bee! You seem to read a lot of books, and I've been trying to get back into reading books rather than fanfiction as of late (which is going good atm). I used to read a lot of actual books when I was younger, but once I was a pre teen I'd discovered fic and had trouble reading actual books unless I had to for school lol. Anyway, my question is do you have any book recs? While for right now, it is going well, I only have two books I'm planning on reading after I finish the two I'm reading simultaneously right now. So it'd be nice to have some more for once I finish those as well. :D

Another reason for my wanting to get back into reading actual types of books is studying a more formal written literature to improve my writing, and to observe what author's do with their writing style that I'd want to incorporate in my own writing. If you have any tips for studying/observing, I'd also love some of those.

While this doesn't really have to do with the whole book thing, I just wanna say that you definitely inspired me to want to write more. Most of your titles always sound so cool and make me wanna read anything of yours solely based off them, and your plot, descriptiveness, metaphors, Greek mythology references, and so many other little things about it make it so enjoyable to read and something I'd strive to be within my own writing. A little silly, I know, considering it's MCYT fic, but your writing is genuinely so cool.

That's all I wanted to say, bye bye.

this is so kind thank you!! it seriously makes me so happy anytime someone tells me my silly fic writing inspired them to start/improve their own writing. writing is such a beautiful art but it's also a skill you have to put so much time into. you're off to an amazing start already with recognizing that you have to read published novels to improve your writing. it seriously helps so much.

I can definitely give you some recs! I'll put them under a read more, but since you asked for tips when reading novels:

try to pay attention to things you like and don't like about the author's writing style. like if you're reading a novel and there's a line of description that's particularly gorgeous or sets a scene super well, consider annotating the book with a pen or highlighter or if you don't own the book itself, copy down the line/paragraph somewhere (notebook, notes app, smth like that) to refer back to later. or if you find yourself super immersed in a conversation going on between two characters, take a step back to notice how the author writes out the conversation. is there a lot of physical description of what the characters are doing while they speak that lets you picture th escene easily? or is the dialogue rapid fire back and forth which forces you to just be sucked into it? what about it do you like?

or, on the contrary, if you find yourself struggling to enjoy a book try to notice what about the writing style is pulling you away. is there too much flowery description that makes you want to skip ahead? is there too much exposition so you feel like you're just getting an infodump instead of a narrative? take stock of what your own thoughts are as you read and then try to figure out why that is.

also, a tip I heard once is that you can always try to emulate a specific style. if you want to improve your writing and you just read a book with a writing style you really want, maybe try and write a random scene in that same style. it doesn't have to be anything original or even good, no one ever has to see it, it can just be for your own practice. just keep the book beside you and try to pick out what makes the writing style distinct, and try to emulate that. not saying you have to adopt that style, but just trying out a new style can give you some variation to help you develop/improve your own.

okay now book recs time, this'll get long so putting it below

now you didn't specify what kinds of books you like to read so I'm going to just throw in a few from a few different genres I've read. most of these are books I've recced here on my blog before but they're all a bit scattered so I'll rec them again. now, I mostly read fantasy or historical fiction because I just like those genres but I'll try to include some variety here

Genre: Fantasy (Typical Medieval)

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

one of my all time favorite novels. incredibly expansive fantasy worldbuilding that draws from a variety of cultures that's not exclusive to just europe. of course there's one country that's fantasy england, but you also have countries that take inspiration from asia, africa, and the middle east. you follow several characters that vary in age, race, gender, sexuality, etc. and they're all wonderfully fleshed out and fascinating. the story itself is also just fantastic and the world really swallows you whole. there's also a prequel to this called A Day of Fallen Night that I actually think I liked a bit more than Priory, but I'd recommend reading Priory first because it's easier to get into the world through that one whereas ADOFN is a bit more dense.

Genre: Fantasy (Apocalyptic? Sci fi? Kind of?)

The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin

similar to priory, the fifth season is a masterclass in worldbuilding and creating interesting worlds. that's where the similarities end though. technically speaking The Fifth Season is a fantasy and not a sci fi, although it feels more like sci fi to me tonally. The Fifth Season explores a world that is so regularly tormented by apocalyptic natural disasters that everything is formed around survival and it makes for such an interesting culture. the story also does an incredibly interesting and unique thing with POV that I rarely see in novels so that's also super fascinating to dig into for writing study. currently reading the sequel to this one and I love it so far.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Hild by Nicola Griffith

alright if you really wanna stretch some writing/reading muscles this is definitely a book you can try out. but be warned, it is dense. I'm a fairly fast reader and it took me so much longer to read this than I was expecting just because of how dense the writing is. this story takes place in 7th century Anglo-Saxon Britain so there's a lot of Old English words thrown in, and while there's a glossary at the back it doesn't cover everything. this is a really interesting novel though that dives deep into the time period and the specific life of one girl as she grows up at the heart of the political machinations of the Anglo-Saxon kings. really great if you're like me and think learning a lot about what life was like in this time period is super fun, but I could see it being a drag for people not super into history like that. I still think it's a really good story though on its own, especially with how the main character is characterized as she grows up, and how it represents all the politics going on at this time

Genre: Satire/Dystopian Fiction

Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

I'm including this because I'm trying to give you a bit of genre variety. If you want to read an adult dystopian book for our modern day this is definitely an excellent one to pick up. warning, it's incredibly effective as a dystopian novel because all I felt was dread and fear after finishing it. it takes place in the near future where the prison industrial complex has been combined with the entertainment industry. prisoners who are serving a sentence of either 25+ years or life are given the option to compete in televised gladiator style death matches. if they survive 3 years, they'll be released. the novel is incredibly on the nose and not subtle whatsoever about it's criticisms of capitalism and racism, especially the racism that the prison industrial complex is built on. the horrifying thing about reading it is how easily I could see this becoming a reality, especially the brand sponsorships. it made me want to laugh and cry at the same time because of how ridiculous but realistic it was.

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

And here we have my all time favorite novel. this novel is a great example of unreliable narrator and how to tell a story two different ways. if you don't know the twist for this already, go into it blind, I promise it'll be more fun that way. the premise of the story seems simple—the morning of their 5th anniversary, a man's wife goes missing and the story follows his attempts to find her. but it gets way messier than that. this novel is an excellent example of how to characterize horrible people and still make them enjoyable to read about. also, if you're like me and enjoy media about two shitty people having an unhealthy and fucked up relationship, you'll adore this.

Okay that's a lot so I'll stop there for now, but feel free to pop into my inbox if you want anymore recs! especially if there's a specific genre you're looking for. if I've read anything that fits what you're looking for I'd be happy to throw it your way!

[yandere-sins]

Heyo! Can you please answer Q6, Q4, Q2, & Q16. Also have a peaceful and lovely day/night<3

[Writer asks here]

Thanks so much for asking ♥ I am surprised so many of you were curious!!

»»———————— ♡ ————————««   

#2 Do you listen to music when you write? What does your current writing playlist look like?

I actually do! And very specific ones, I have a few selected youtube videos which are either lo-fi hip hop or writing/studying music and just run on repeat. I'll link some of my favorites to give you an idea!

1 | 2 | 3

Most important is no lyric (especially not if I can understand it, but I usually also don't like the songs that are have people humming or singing to the songs and will skip these), upbeat but I keep the volume low so it really is just a background music (but that means like classical music doesn't really hit the itch), and preferable with ambiance sounds like rain or waves or so.

Sometimes music can be almost too much, so I use mynoise.net for either the Irish Waves or the white noise, depending on what suits me that day. It's my personal recommendation for anyone wanting background noises.

Lastly, yes, I am very jealous of artists who can do their art while watching movies or the like. But I can't even have someone talk to me while I write so that is just the biggest no-go lol

#6 When (and not if) you ultimately finish your WIP and publish, do you picture yourself giving readings and signings and interviews, or would you prefer to stay out of the public eye? 

Hm, complicated. I am not a super private person and I love talking with people (I am an introvert but my family and my job raised my tolerance lol) so I'd probably do well if I wanted to do events. But, if I ever get to finish my book, I'd go for self-publishing so the chances that I'd ever have a signing or reading is just super low because pulling it off on my own just seems... harder. Not impossible but harder. I don't think the genres I want to go into could be picked up by traditional publishing, so it would be a lot of work, and I don't know if I have enough dedication to see it through. Passion, yes, time and resources, no.

However, I think if I did have a book, I might start tableing at my conventions! I see a lot of authors there and that might lean towards my target audience more!

I think I'd still like to sign books though, maybe have a special sale and then sign them and send them to people or something. That would be cool. It was nice to write a special note to everyone who got my Yantober book, so I know I'd really like to do that!

#16 CHALLENGE: Tell us about your current project in three sentences or less. 

Oooh, hmmmm, let's see. It's something all of you guys chose in a poll a while ago, so how do I tease it without revealing too much hmmmm...

It's an isekai story and inspired by an existing manga (manhwa?). The concept is similar but I haven't read the original, I am just turning the core idea around and making it properly yandere (although the idea has been done in different versions a lot). The main character/reader misjudges the effects it'll have to just level up one certain stat and it comes back to bite them in the form of a typical noble getting overly obsessed.

Hope that keeps everyone guessing lol! :D

[astarioffsimpmain]

Writer Interview Game

Thanks for the tag, @brabblesblog!!

When did you start writing?

I started writing in fifth grade when one of my favorite teachers I've ever had set a short story assignment, but I didn't truly fall in love with it until sixth grade, when - for a poetry memorization assignment - I discovered a book full of Edgar Allan Poe poems and short stories. I memorized the whole of The Raven for the assignment and pretty much became obsessed with his works. Poe's writing was the spark to my writing flame, and he is my favorite author to this day.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

I loooove reading adventure fantasy. I'd love to write adventure fantasy too, but I'm not confident enough in my world building just yet. Eragon, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Inkheart, The Hunger Games, Gothikana, Cirque Du Freak, etc. I love it!

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

As previously stated, I would love to emulate Poe. He's my inspiration and pretty much the reason I started writing for more than school assignments. I haven't ever been compared to another writer before, except in the spirit of spite, so I've got nothing there. haha

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

Anywhere I feel I can tuck away. I have a spot on my couch with a blanket, my laptop, and a spot for my coffee. I have my multiple soft blankets on my bed and a pillow to prop my Kindle on for ambience and music, and my side table - for my coffee, of course. But I've also written curled up in my seat on a bus driving through the Scottish Highlands, as well as in a corner seat in a hotel lobby in York, England, and in a little bookstore nook in London. I write where I feel inspired, however or whenever that may be.

What’s your most effective way to muster up a muse?

Mustering it up myself is not often an option for me. My ADHD brain seeks dopamine where it can, but anyone with a dopamine deficiency will tell you that it's not an easy feat. lol But I always feel my most inspired before and during thunderstorms, or when I go to a location that excites me. I love abandoned places, cozy coffee shops, old libraries or bookstores, and castles/cathedrals. They give me a rush of energy which helps propel me to write. Hopefully once I get my physical health sorted, I'll be able to travel more, and therefore write more as well!

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

I want my readers to know just by reading my writing that I come from my heart. Everything I write is a part of and an extension of me, and I put care and consideration into every word that ends up on the page once I publish. I want them to be able to feel that my work is a labor of love in every word.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I think scene setting and narration is probably my strength. I'm someone who is very detail-oriented in everything I do, and I tend to do more narration than anything else. Over the years I've been forcing myself to write more dialogue-based pieces just so I could practice getting better at it. So uh... hopefully I eventually do. lol

How do you feel about your own writing?

I'm of two minds about it most of the time. When I don't settle into my "writing trance", which is where words are essentially flowing out of me without anything to hinder them, I'm not too fond of it. When I am forced to kind of slug through the words until I have a flow, I usually don't like what comes out or how it sounds, and it takes me much longer. The writing trance happens very rarely, but when it does happen, it's amazing. I usually really enjoy what comes out of those moments.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely for yourself, or a mix of both?

It's definitely a mix of both, because often times I garner inspiration from what others get excited by. I know that when others get excited about what I'm doing, I'm far more likely to be excited about it too, and my excitement is essential to me even hoping to finish something. But on the flip side, I will also write things that I feel like will only mean something to me, but they end up meaning a lot to others as well. I feel as though that's somewhat of the human experience: sharing the things we accomplish through the insistence of our hearts. When we share and are received positively, we are inspired to continue sharing.

~

Tagging, Darlings: @senualothbrok @thechaoticdruid @dark-and-kawaii

[samuelroukin]

hi! not here in favor of you making Actual Books (i don't even read any of the newly published books anymore for reasons and reasons and reasons), just complimenting your work in general

i dont really care for cod at all but i really enjoy how you write the characters!! and tbh the only reason i watched some playthroughs of the games was so i could understand your work better. sure, fandom is the main reason people click in, but it's definitely not why they're staying. and it's not why people are writing paragraphs of praise to your stubborn ass even though you work so hard to never listen to any of it 💖

also id be enchanted to hear more about your ocs on future works or even here on tumblr!! you're great at creating made up people that actually feel real. they're pretty round (funnily enough that is the actual technical term), even when you don't tell us a lot about them

also 👀👀 say you have original stuff in mind?????? i would love love love love love to know more about that!! you're getting pretty darn good at worldbuilding and ambiance. better with each update now that you're trying out this AU thing. it would be infinitely interesting to see what you come up with when working with your own stuff only

anyway what i mean is. even though I don't quite believe in Published Books on this day and age, please know that your writing is definitely good enough for the editorial market (even more so now that those dark romance things are going mainstream and a lot of them read like the stuff 12yos post on wattpad. what tf is the deal with that? but I digress. out of those circles your work is still definitely good enough) it's legit like Good Work, even if the tiny mean bully whispering in your ear disagrees. it's good realism. good introspection. good porn and also good narrative and great junction of those. it's lovely seeing how far you've come in so little time and we're excited to see you reach new heights in the future (because you will, with absolute certainty, unless you stop. but i don't think you could really stop yourself at this point lmao)

and please know that achieving that level of quality with no help or instruction or training in so little time is a grand fucking accomplishment

point is: Who Care? We Care (even if we're not an enormous audience)(...yet?). and not just because it's cod

it's def a nice compliment to get thank u 🙏💖

and so is you reading my stuff without caring much for cod! though i wouldn't be able to write this much about them without (clearly) being completely insane about Them and the basis the games laid (haha laid) because without them i'd be nowhere at all, these characters are so. well they clearly took over my brain lol, though i worry a Lot about them being ooc when i write them 💀

i actually feel like my guys are so barebones and one dimensional rip, which is fine since i mostly created them as little more than a joke and they're just being used as set dressing, so that means a lot 🙏

my Main story is this sprawling urban fantasy thing, which if i ever did write it would need serious adjustments since it's. old and not aged very well. the gist of it was the main character (30 year old barista) has Visions, cue road trip with his bestie (ex bf from high school that he reconnected with years later) to figure out The Deal after they suddenly get much worse. it's about that on the surface, and below about dealing with missed chances and not living up to ur potential. it sounds stupid but i've been Thinking about it since i was like 14 so cringe is to be expected lol

lsklhkjhffghst yeah no offense to them but despite this fic being what it i i wouldn't really want to fall into that category even if that sound like i think i'm better than them (i'm not it's just not my thing. or i guess it is and i just have a superiority complex. anyway) um thank you once again 🥺i def feel like i haven't improved a lot but you're dead on about not being able to stop myself anyway lmao

idk why you're being this nice to me but 💖💖💖

[feminisedlad]

How might one get into "reading for a living" because that's a dream job

it is not a dream job, its called publishing and i make less than 40k a year LOL.

to be less arch, im an editor, and i work in editorial which is the 'flashy' department (lmao), but it's a pretty stressful job. obviously it's one i enjoy because no one would stay in the industry unless they got some reward for it. but still. i say 'reading books' is my job but thats probably only like 40% of it. a lot of my day to day work involves nagging people for deadlines, having meetings abt whether XYZ feature will cost extra, researching marketing trends, etc. YMMV if you work as a book designer or some other dept, i know they have different rules. this isnt to bitch but i think publishing has REALLY good PR among english majors and these are things i wish someone had told me before i sunk money into a publishing degree. BTW: dont get a publishing degree. experience > MA in publishing

so like, i cant in good conscience recommend the industry -- its sort of like going to grad school except with worse pay (the phd candidate gets a stipend; the unpaid intern does not.) but if you already have prion disease and you want to go into publishing, heres what i got

publishing advice below:

first things first, you need book experience. you can get this through the obvious ways (working on ur college lit mag, unpaid internships, copyediting freelance work) but i feel like that prob goes without saying. so what ill say is: if none of those options work, you could always work at a bookstore. lots of the editors i work with actually got their start by saying in the interview, "i worked at barnes and noble and noticed that [category] sells well. i love noticing which books resonate with people" or what have you

i will say that i work in nonfiction publishing, which has some differences from like, editing queer YA fiction. one of those jobs is more competitive than the other. and the industry standards are pretty toxic (if your author misses his deadline and sends the manuscript at 6pm, tough shit, you have to work late to make sure the book doesn't miss its pub date. if you're not thinking about all your books constantly, you must not really care. etc.)

that said one of the best things i can recommend is looking into publishing jobs in different departments. most people are competing for editorial department jobs (things like acquiring and signing books, and being the main point of contact for an author.) but if your passion mostly lies in editing or making things pristine, managing editorial departments often hire production editors who still read through all the books, but their day to day work is more like proofreading, checking barcodes, and other printing related tasks.

theres also finance. finance publishing jobs are never anyones first choice, but on the plus side, you wont have to tell the author why his advance is late. thats the acquiring editor's job. and also lots of people pivot to editorial after they have some years doing finance, design, production, etc.

i will say there are way more remote publishing jobs now than ever. theyre all super competitive but you should apply anyway. if youre entry level, look for "editorial assistant" type roles. some of these actually pay really well: to give an example, harvard hires copyeditors and editorial assistants at a rate which is more than my yearly salary. i mean, its harvard. you gotta look around. but there are more options besides the big 5 publishers. academic publishing is its own field! work at your favorite journal/database! work at JSTOR or wiley!

i dont think theres anything else i would add, other than just random shit talking abt industry standards and quirks of the industry. i dont want to sound whiny because i realize im lucky to be working in my field -- but, i think people oversell publishing as one of "the only career options for english majors."

to be totally honest, most people could make double or triple my salary from being a project manager or corporate editor. so if you enjoy reading and editing, there are better options to you than trade publishing. if you enjoy the act of connecting with authors and making their vision a reality, you might enjoy publishing. or you might not. idk!

[v171]

My year in books, 2023

2023 was a pretty good year as far as reading went. Was my lowest reading year for the past three years with the goal of finishing 40 books, and ending up finishing 45 (finished 50 last year), but that's okay. This happened to be a very good video gaming year, so reading took the backseat a bit. Watch me nerd out about my book stats below!

I like crunching some basic metrics around my reading each year, mixing some stuff from Goodreads, TheStoryGraph, and some of my own calculations. Let's start with the basics.

God The Priory of the Orange Tree was the first book I read last year, and it feels like forever ago. I really did try to get to the prequel this year, but it fell through the cracks!

Otessa Moshfegh has quickly become one of my favorite authors. I can't wait to read her entire backlog of works. And of course I stan Ann Leckie, I'll always read whatever she puts out. Was so thankful to get to read an advance copy of a short story collection she has coming out.

Man I read a lot of sci fi this year. Usually sci fi and fantasy are a bit more balanced, but I read some really good sci fi this year, so I was stuck on it. Notably, I didn't read any nonfiction, romance, or thrillers the whole year. I usually get a couple of those in.

My book ratings look pretty good for 2023, lots of 4 stars and few 2s and 3s. Standard disclaimer, I usually stop reading books that I really don't like, so I generally don't have many one-star reviews because I just stop reading them and I don't rate books that I don't finish.

This is interesting, because in previous years, I didn't really read any ebooks ever. What changed this year was that I got on Netgalley, a site where you can read advance copies of books to provide feedback to publishers before the books release, and they generally provide an ebook for you to read. Extra surprising that I read more that way than audiobooks, which have been on a slow decline given the fact that I don't do a ton of activities that can be paired with listening to a book these days.

I read at least one science fiction book for six months out of the year. Actually pretty surprised to see so much Historical Fiction on here as well as I don't really like that genre.

Damn, I sound like a broken record, but this makes it clear how much I really enjoyed science fiction 13 of the 16 sci fi books I read got a 4 or 5 star. Surprising to see that contemporary fiction got mainly middling ratings, that's generally my second favorite genre. I know I read a lot of fantasy, but I don't actually tend to love a lot of it lol. But this looks like a successful fantasy year as far as ratings go.

Man, 100-200 page books had it rough this year. This is interesting to me, I think the 300-400 range is my ideal, and while it had a similar number of 4/5 star ratings as the 400-500 range, it obviously had some duds in there too. But I'm surprised to see how much I seemed to enjoy the really long books, usually I start to get pretty bored at the 450 page mark.

This is one of my favorite graphs because it shows the months where I rush to finish short books so I can keep up with my reading goal of the year. July seems to be particularly egregious with reading 5 books but not even reading 1000 pages total. I always start the year with the long books...

This is a new metric for me, I decided to compare my rating of books with their average rating on goodreads to see how much I generally agreed/disagreed with the average. This was honestly probably not the best year to do this as I mentioned before, I read a lot of ARCs (advanced reader copies) meaning they have few to no ratings, so my ratings of them skewed the average quite a bit, throwing this whole thing into question (I didn't record number of ratings so I couldn't put in error bars, and I'm lazy and don't know stats that much). Anyway, in this graph, the size of the bubble indicates the number of books I read at that rating during the year, so you can see the 1 star bubble is small because I didn't read a ton of books I rated 1 star. This is such an interesting pattern though, my 1 star books aren't the lowest average, but they're pretty low, but my 5 star books are definitely the best. But the 2-4 star books are a bit all over the place. I'm interested to see how this will map over time when I throw in some of the previous years in

Anyway, that's all I have. I'm going to bump up my goal back to 50 this year, hopefully I can tackle it. I'm hoping to get involved in some book clubs as well, so I hope that'll keep me honest. I don't think people actually care about these posts, but keep an eye out for some more bookish posts soon as I dive into some of the notable reads of last year. To end, here's all of the books I read in 2023

[rollercoasterwords]

I’m so here for all this book hate, and I’m just laying in bed kicking my feet besides you listening to all these people rant. And I so agree with the ‘this book is gay’ thing. Like ESPECIALLY now during pride month everyone is like read these 5 queer books and the only thing it says is oh this mc is bi, oh it has a trans character, oh the main ship is sapphic. I’m like okay, cool, what more? Is that it?

I had this with ‘the priory of the orange tree’ which I loved, but the only thing I was told is ‘there’s a sapphic ship’ and ‘it’s high fantasy’ which yeah it is to both. But that’s not even what the book is about and you could’ve just told me what it was about and told these other things. just imagine if they would do that with other big fantasy books ‘yeah it’s fantasy and straight, enjoy’

Same thing with they both die at the end. Fun book, not revolutionary, I agree what the person said, the mcs are the most boring in the book. But it’s gay so it’s amazing… sure

lol yeah i love a good hater sesh <3 and YEAH like. i understand people compiling lists of books w certain types of representation etc bc obviously there are lots of people who want to seek out books that reflect certain experiences etc, but. if the rec begins and ends with just 'it's [x type of queer] and [x genre]!" then i'm like....ok. anything else or....

and i do think it happens particularly often with queer books but also i don't think it's entirely devoid from straight books either lol it's just that instead of going "it's straight and fantasy!" they'll go "dark love interest and fantasy" or some equally surface level label lol. same with the lists that are like "dark academia books" etc i think...i mean i don't necessarily know that this is a new phenomenon but maybe it's just become more visible/common 2 me bc of the shifting landscape of social media that prioritizes shortform algorithmic content but it feels like this widespread practice of packaging books as aesthetic products more than like. literature. if that makes sense...idk still parsing through my thoughts on this but. yeah just feels like a very surface level way to engage w books--and the thing is it seems like it's a growing way that writers/publishers are marketing their books as well. like i don't really fault the authors for this bc ik in this day and age they have to do a ton of legwork to market their own shit to get it like picked up by publishers or whatever and so they kinda have to play the game (<- try desperately to go viral on tiktok) but every time i see a video that's like a writer going "would you read THIS??" and then it's like. a list of their protagonist's identities and then just a general/vague nod to some subgenre that sounds like a pinterest board title i throw up in my mouth a little ngl. and it's not like i think literature is some sort of Higher Art Form that must always be Venerated it's more that consumerism feels so fucking inescapable and every art form has to be boiled down into something that will go viral on tiktok these days and it makes me want 2 scream!!

anyway this turned into a little rant of my own lol but. agree w u ty 4 partaking in this hater experience w me <3

[strang3lov3]

Hello Bug 💚

First of all congratulations on reaching 5000 followers( which I’m very happy to be one of) and happy one year writing anniversary 🤯🥹

I really wish I could tell u what exactly brought me here but my brain is not braining. However I’m certain it was a Joel Miller One Shot cause they are sooooooooo good, there’s not one I haven’t read and the most recent „Dirty Laundry“ made me look at my Washing Machine in a different way. 👁️👁️

My current mission is to show my favorite writers(which u are obviously one of) some love and appreciation cause u most definitely deserve it 💚

Even though I’m always excited for everything that you put out I want u to know please don’t ever feel pressured or forced to write I will gladly wait, it’s worth it 💚🙏🏻

I hope I’m not to late for the extended sleepover 🫠🫠

👯‍♀️So I’m a Scorpio and I’m interested in knowing which sign u are?(maybe we’re greatly compatible)

Favorite ice cream flavor? (I don’t think I could make a decision but recently they started selling bowls of bubblegum ice cream in a store close to me and yeah I want that 🤩) 🍦

👩‍💻I don’t think this will really be a writing request because my „idea“ is not that special or creative but I’ll just tell u whenever I’m like daydreaming/ making up scenarios in my head it’s Sugar!Daddy Joel idk saving me from my toxic family. In the beginning there are no feelings manly because I don’t trust easily and rather avoid feeling stuff but he breaks through all that. He accepts me for who I am even with my so called flaws. He shows me that I can trust, that I’m worth it and acknowledges my struggles and just helps me with my anxiety and self doubt. In the end he makes me his housewife so I can stay home take care of my plants 🪴,read books 📚 and paint 🎨. (if you do think about writing something like this, I will be very excited, but if it’s not your cup of tea, I am absolutely not mad just letting you know.) 💚

Now for the end I want to show u my sweet pets 🐈‍⬛ 😍

The grey beauty is Luna, then we have my white fluff ball Milly and the oldest is my boy Jonny ❤️

Hi!! You're not too late at all. I'm taking my sweet time with all of these asks lol so if you've sent something and it's not answered yet, I know and I'm getting there. Just going at my own pace.

You're so kind <3 I'm glad you loved Dirty Laundry and I'm glad you love my other pieces. I always feel pressured to write lol, but I am glad to know that you and everyone else is patient. I couldn't ask for a lovelier audience.

I'm a Scorpio too! Leo moon and Saggitarius rising <3 I don't keep up with astrology though lol, I think it's awesome but it's a lot of work.

My favorite ice cream flavor is probably pistachio or Scoops Ahoy Cinnamon Bun Bytes LMFAO

I think your sugar daddy Joel idea is fucking fantastic and I think you should write it. Even if you don't end up publishing it, it sounds like it means a lot to you and it could be very rewarding to write <3 No way to know unless you try! I never wrote before last year, like the most I'd write was a haphazard diary entry and that was that. But I've found writing fic to be very soothing and gratifying, especially with some older fics that were a little more personal. I have a hard time getting personal with my fics now, but it's so amazing to write nonetheless.

You're too kind <3 this was such a nice ask to get. I hope your week is going well! Cute animals btw 🩷

[hislittleraincloud]

I'm confused (but not at ALL hating on!) the concept of Wenovan. I guess I could say I'm confused how they work together and how their age gap isn't a strange thing to you (again, not trying to hate OR come off as passive aggressive!!)

I understand that you (I do think it was you) mentioned that it's similar to Cairo and Mr. Miller. I'm confused on how exactly Wenovan relates to Cairo and Miller though, when their situations are much, much different (a barely grown high schooler lusting after her English teacher and a freshly 16 year old and her sort of ex's dad who hated her dad and tries to stop her from butting into a close case).

Also age gap thing, like I said.

I really do hope that this doesn't come off as rude or passive aggressive or anything, I know the part comparing Miller's girl and Wenovan definitely sounds that way (even to me) but I pinky swear I really don't mean for it to. I'm just curious about your thought process with all of this, that's all.

To answer this means examining both Wednesday and Cairo as characters and how they relate to those around them. That means comparing both, and I've been meaning to do this since I learned of MG (through a fic wife and an anon).

Like I had written in shortform before when I ranked on Ortega for being a bit airheaded when she said she'd never read a character like Cairo before: Both Wednesday and Cairo are (supposed to be, there's evidence in both canon that they're not) gifted characters whose vocabularies allow them to write the stuff that they write as aspiring authors (I would actually say that Wednesday is the better writer). They both live in 'haunted mansions', they both love their solitude/find interests in books over ✨boys✨, and their one goal in life seems to be to harass the old men around them into spending time with them.

You don't have to see a direct parallel, because it becomes more direct in my portrayal of Wednesday, i.e. 'Afterburn Wednesday'. I was wholly unaware of Miller's Girl (well before it came out, and before I was sent the old script) when someone told me that it sounded like Afterburn Wednesday, and that was before I published Chapter 7.

Chapter 7 contains a flashback where Wednesday is trying to seduce her English professor. After she goes to him about her research paper/midterm. Because she asked if she could do it on a controversial book/author, and he was now telling her that it might not be appropriate.

🤦🏽‍♂️

It's about a type, not about all sixteen year old girls. Given how scarily similar my passage is to that of the premise of MG, ABW draws from the same archetype/the Precocious Girl trope (type).

I wouldn't be able to write this stuff about Enid Sinclair (though I tried to conceptualize it, and now that I look back on those notes, it just doesn't work well and would have to be a complete AU), or most of the other Nevermore girls that we know. It doesn't work like that. And the type that I read from the show is the same rare type that can be read from Cairo (Wednesday actually strikes me as slightly smarter than Cairo--she definitely would have a better shot at Yale than Cairo LOL--but we also have to consider the two different worlds). No, there was no literal romantic entanglement between Wenovan on the show, but there was an entanglement, starting with the little grin she gave him after he threatened to keep his eye on her all the way to the end when she warned him that his own son would turn on him too.

And that type who hates being around high school things and high school boys and types her novels on an old typewriter in 2022 and listens to records on a freaking gramophone* wouldn't think much of a man's age more than he is a man who can offer her intellectual stimulation (among other things 🫠). I hate to sound like Winnie Black's parrot, but hot slabs of man meat trump deli meat every single time. Pretty sure I recently reblogged someone's post about that.

Hope that helps.

*ETA: There are canon indications that Cairo also likes 'old'/vintage things too (she uses corded earbuds, listens to Celine Dion and the Gin Blossoms, watches old movies, is obsessed with a classic porn writer, etc.)

[morphinejunkie]

hi!! i recieved my copy of Crush today and im loving it!! the book design is really well done. can i ask about how you went about like, printing and publishing it? id love to do something like that with my own fic but have no idea where to start! (if thats too big an ask i understand!! thanks anyway!!)

glad you got it safe and sound and thanks so much for being patient with the orders.

for the book, i formatted the contents with a scriptwriting program called highland 2, which has a novel making template (non-watermarked is paid). it's not terribly robust but gets the job done. i know most professionals use indesign, tried it before but it was honestly unfeasible for me since crush was just way too huge. i definitely would recommend using it if you want more control over your margins, text, layout, etc.

i used a printing house called lulu, which has really high-quality printing and manufactures books on a made-to-order basis (a lot of printing houses usually make bulk orders, so lulu was preferable to me in that way). they provide the cover templates that i used to create the actual cover, and that was just a photoshop job. they sell at retail prices for smaller orders. i've also had friends use amazon to self-publish and i believe they also provide an isbn, but i preferred the quality of lulu's paper to amazon's.

of course crush is self-published, so i didn't go through any publishing companies or anything, it's just a story with a cover and a spine. don't know if i even could get crush published with the copyright issues. but i am planning on getting actually real-human published someday with my original fiction, so hopefully i can help you out in that regard in the future lol.

thanks again for the ask!

[the-pale-goddess]

Hii, so I came across your recent fic and OMGGG your writing is soo beautiful I gotta ask, is there something in particular that inspires it? like certain books that shaped your style?

OMG PLEASEEEEEE, this is hands down one of the most wonderful compliments I could ever receive! There are no words to properly convey the extent of joy your ask has brought, so allow me to turn into a puddle of tears and gratitude 🥹❤️ Thank you for giving my writing a chance!

Apologies for the tiny essay below ksbksbskbs

To be completely honest, my number one rule is not to seek inspiration in published works or specific authors 😅 Whenever I was inspired by someone, I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that I was shamelessly copying bits of their work (even though I wasn’t)...It was detrimental to my sense of self and, inevitably, the project. The line between inspiration and imitation is extremely thin, and the anxious Virgo in me would never let me dance on its verge ksbskbsksn I pursue the kind of writing that has my signature on it, and to achieve that I had to find my own voice and the means to write free of the constraints imposed by the ever-present mainstream preferences.

I would say that poetry and music had the biggest impact on developing my writing style. I’m a poetry kid; I used to write the most heart-wrenching poems in my native language at 11 (tbh they’re better than anything I have ever produced as an adult lol), so the massive need to turn everything into a metaphor is probably rooted deep in my brain 😅 I love toying with symbolism, I love gorgeous vocabulary, I love playing with words to evoke the desired imagery, I love focusing on my characters’ inner musings and making a vivid painting out of their thoughts. I just love, LOVE the process! I draw inspiration from songs, language, certain phrases, sounds, memories, emotions, images, life in all its bittersweet glory. 

My writing style has changed so much since the beginning of my fanfic journey, I cringe every single time I revisit those bland, old pieces, constantly fighting the urge to erase them from planet Internet permanently ksnksnslnd But in the end they’re testament to my evolution as a writer, and—what’s particularly important—brought a smile to many faces back in the day. 

Can’t thank you enough for stopping by and showering me with kindness, it truly means everything ❤️ I’m rather self-conscious about my flowery writing style because, well, it’s not really popular in the fandom and I have seen some pretty vocal aversion to it (not to my writing specifically or someone else’s for that matter, just in general). From my observation, most fanfic readers don’t look for this type of descriptive word vomit, so it may be difficult to find an audience at times, especially in a fandom running on fumes. But your wonderful comment proves that all the hard work isn’t in vain! 

Sending you loads of love, dear Anon 🫶🏻

[moonjxsung]

Hello dear moonlight!!

I’m so happy that you like it your nickname!! 🥹💕 I think in reveal myself for you soon, but only for you because I’m still shy for comment in the public ><

Theses days I sick with covid again… it’s my 3th time with the sickness, but because of the vaccine it’s not that bad like the first time I had it. I’m almost full healed.

I gonna shared something with you, I’m a artist, my area is music, but I act, dance and write as well (sometimes I drawn 2 🤭)… and I’m think about start make my on aus in the future…? I dunno… it’s for exercise my creativity and movement my mind, cs sometimes my mind is so stuck with my stress that I can’t work with my books and my on things…

Any way…. I love it your Hyunjin story!!! Is so sensitive and raw! I can SEE that happening with our flour boy yk?? And who much poetry you put in the smut scene when they turn them self’s in the canvas!! OMG!

Their own body’s spoke so much there is sooo beautifully sensitive I can only imagine after they still remember their love one being the most beautiful canvas, their love being the ingredient of the mix of the colors I’m soooo touch ;0;

For us, the art we produce is the most raw, intimate and important things. They speak everything we feel even if we don’t know. And that scene for me said EVERYTHING!! *chefs kiss*

Tysm moonlight for always touch us with your precious vision of the world and for your art!

Bye bye!

~🐺

Aww that makes me so excited!! No pressure to reveal yourself, it’s always entirely up to you! 🥹🫶 I’m so sorry you’re battling Covid again AND for the 3rd time?? :( I still never got Covid somehow (hopefully I don’t jinx anything lol) but it seems really scary and I really hope you get well soon :( sending you all my love and healing vibes!!! Take care of yourself :( BESTIE you literally sound like Hyunjin with all the art you do omg that is SO COOL!! What kind of music do you do, is it like instruments? Or singing?? I used to play 4 instruments when I was in high school (idk HOW I had so much motivation and stamina 🤨) and I honestly miss music so much but it’s such a stressful hobby 😭 props to you for sticking with it <3 yessss definitely take a shot at aus! The more creativity the better (even though you’re definitely not lacking in the creativity department LOL) Thank you for your lovely feedback on the recent fic too! It was so much fun to write and I’m so glad you enjoyed reading it 🥹 sending you love and light always and I hope you’re enjoying the art you’re working on! Publishing more work very soon and excited to continue sharing exciting pieces with you <3 take care my lovely wolf anon! 🫶🐺🩷

[amymel86]

Hello!

Now that two Jonsa Legends (vivilove and you) are publishing your own work I was wondering what kind of author you both were?

Does it feel different from writing fanfictions?

Do you find your self relating to GRRM's pace of writing like the long years between books?

How did you like your covers for your original works?

Hey luv! ❤️

Thanks for the ask! I’ll try and answer below…

First, ‘Legend’ sound far too grand a title for the absolute feral, foaming-at-the-mouth goblin I was (and still am tbh) for my beloved Jonsa, but thanks 😫🙈😅

What kind of authors are @vivilove-jonsa and I?

Very different lol

We’ve chosen very different niches within the romance genre and as I’m sure you’re aware, Vivi is much more tenacious than I am, so it’s much more common to see her actually cross the finish line! But that’s ok, and it’s something I’m working on. We still share our ideas with each other and often use each other as a sound board of sorts.

Does it feel different from writing fanfic?

Yes. Very. For one, I don’t get to share it with anyone until it is DONE! No writing one chapter and then posting and getting lovely comments – although, Vivi and I do swap chunks of our writing with each other to cheer each other on so that’s handy. As for the actual writing, it’s different in the sense that I’m not writing characters that readers already know and love. I have to try and get my readers to love them all on my own and that’s something I’m very conscious of. There’s also no risk of writing the characters OOC because they’re your own.

Do I relate to GRRM?

No, not really😆 But then the self-pub romance market is very different to the trad pub epic fantasy market so it’s a bit like comparing apples and oranges 🤷🏼‍♀️

Do I like my cover?

I LOVE my cover! I created it myself, researched and analysed covers that were doing well in my niche, put it up for critique in a self-pub discord I'm in, adapted it, put it up for crit again etc etc until I (and my crit partners) we're happy with it.

Thanks so much for the ask, btw! apart from @vivilove-jonsa I don't get to talk about this sort of thing much so I really appreciate it!

And if anyone else is thinking of trying self pub, I would encourage you to give it a go! ❤️