Powers-that-Be: Ha, mortal! We just stole an hour from your life!
Me: You’ll be sorry.
Powers-that-Be (6 months later): Here! You can have it back!
Me: Nu-uh. You took it… it’s yours, now!
In addition, until one of my novels gets published, it seems a pointless way to spend my time. Perhaps one or two people out of a thousand will follow a link to a short story…
#pretendpanel #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
Finding the spoons. I only have so much energy, and I spend it on my writing and the needs of those close to me. Things like “finding a public” or “building brand loyalty” seem
nebulous and daunting
Yes… 18 of my short stories have been published. Three more are pending.
I HAAAAAAAATE it. I hate talking about myself at the best of times, and sometimes that's what marketing feels like. (But hey, this is why I started #pretendpanel...)
1/4>>>
Mostly I feel lost. I've never been particularly good about selling myself, but as this is going to become a necessity now that WIP 1 is mostly ready to go out into the world, I'm stuck trying to figure out how the heck I do that.
#pretendpanel #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
Trying to market prose online looks like an uphill battle. At least artists have pictures to show you! People like pictures! I have some words which, um, it feels like it will be hard to make stand out amongst everyone else's words. Kinda dreading trying! #pretendpanel
I used to worry about 'taking up space' to mention my books online & off, but I got past it. Always enjoyed graphic design & writing teasers
Its encouraging when people like or repost book posts & collectively marketing Itch bundles has been great; sharing the load, support & sales!
#PretendPanel
#pretendpanel #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
I hate it. It's the worst thing about publishing. I have no ability at sales...zero. As an autistic, I find it very how to evaluate what others find appealing. Trying to imagine why others might find something appealing paralyzes me.
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity
Another story sent off to three different publications. Fingers crossed one of them likes it.
A coast guard officer is dispatched to a remote community to install a navigational aid, only to discover that the locals have no need of it.
4) In Canada, print sales were up by 1.71%, with around 48 million units shipping. Unlike the US and UK, YA was strong, with around 13% growth.
3) In the UK, there was an overall decline in book sales, although fiction remained strong, and there was 21% growth in Science Fiction and 9% in graphic novels. Some 190.6 million print units were sold.
...4
2)
Adult fiction was the leader in this uptick. Since 2023, fiction sales have increased by 6%, with romance books alone increasing sales to 44 million units, or about 3.9%. Science fiction sales exploded, up by 22%
...3
#pretendpanel #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
Some data to encourage us writers:
Sales of print books were up in 2025 in the US market. Some 762.4 million books were sold, up almost 1% from 2023. A modest gain, but a gain nonetheless.
...2
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity
Whether something gets published usually depends on factors outside your control — timing, taste, luck, who reads it on what day. You're absolutely in the game. Keep submitting.
#pretendpanel
It's all about being fit for purpose. That's why I am often involved with so many groups at once.
I love a workshop for short stories, which is why Jade and Jamie and I built a workshopping process into our Auckland Queer Writers Anthology (which releases tomorrow, link below!)
1/2
My positive writing group experiences have been 1) group RPs, 2) 1x1 for content editing and proofreading, and 3) writing out a thing with another person. I really like the idea of being a part of a writing group or a writing forum or discord, but I haven't found any success yet #PretendPanel
#pretendpanel #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts
I do appreciate feedback share though. I kick around the idea of going to courses, workshops, or even a face-to-face writing group, but always pass on it. I feel too uneasy and anxious in groups -- part of being autistic.
Thanks... 25 stories, 89K words. About 2/3 of them have been published.
tRUMPSTEIN STEALING OUR MONEY!!! 🤬🤬🤬 IT'S GONE!!
AND HE PLANS TO STEAL EVEN MORE THIS YEAR!! 💯💯💯
MONEY ALLOCATED FOR SENIORS HEALTHCARE ...
AFTER SENIORS WORKED OUR ASSES OFF OUR WHOLE LIFE ...
NOW STRUGGLING JUST TO SURVIVE ...
AS THE MORBIDLY RICH JUST KEEP GETTING RICHER!!!
That's sad... It's never a good idea to drive with a round chambered, but you won't convince people of that.
Anyway, I took the idea and ran with it. I should send it to you.
#5a.m.WritersClub
Final edit on a short story about suicide that's due on the 25th.
Also edited another story for an anthology that's due on the 28th. (I'm pretty sure they want "hopeful", but I'm not up to "hopeful" at the moment. The best I can manage is deep regret.)
#Trivia
The average adult human is host to 38 trillion bacteria -- mostly gut biota -- and probably 380 trillion viruses.
Now you know why your mother insisted that you wash your hands.
WINGS IN THE VALLEY was a baby fever dream lmao. I mean there's a lot of other stuff too but let's be real. #PretendPanel
My biggest revelation was that I could write *and* I could write character-focused, emotion-centric stories!
I have spent literal *decades* with false starts at writing exciting action stories but never got anywhere. Then, summer of '24, I had a romance story bopping around in my brain.
1/3
When I first started writing seriously, I had so many stories in my heart inspired by my background but I didn't feel "enough". Setting that fear aside unlocked me & my stuff became good. The revelation was: stop listening to the nay sayers. I am that I am & these stories are mine.
#pretendpanel
#PretendPanel 2/21:
The Stars Will Be Our Ocean was 100% a revelation to me. I'd been struggling for years to write something special and important enough to make me a Real Author™️, and I was so frustrated I ended up starting this book as a self-indulgent break, almost a joke. (1/4)
#pretendpanel
Writing Gut Feeling was incredibly eye opening for me. As I started to realize that my lead character was autistic, I found myself just writing her perspective on the world as if were mine, and she became even more autistic. Until finally, it became a story about being on the spectrum.
