Fictionistas Office Hours takes place on the last Tuesday of every month, starting at 7am EST. This is the time and place to ask questions about the Fictionistas community and writing fiction on Substack. Introduce yourself, say hello, ask and answer questions. As a community we’ll be here all day, so come and go as you please.
We’ve hit a milestone! Fictionistas has over 2000 subscribers, and we continue to grow. Start off the conversation by sharing your proudest writing moments and milestones.
Sounds like a productive day. I am not able yet to work on multiple creative projects in the same day. Somehow my brain wants to start and finish something before continuing with the next thing. I'll need to skill up in this department! 😅
🤣 That kind of writing (aka Notion) I can do in parallel with anything. Though I'm taking a break from Notion right now. I want to focus on reading newsletters from my favourite writers here on Substack and hopefully writing more.
I wish my brain did this! Every day I sit down and mentally sift through the 8 or 9 things I could be working on and try to devise a plan to touch on all of them just a little. Impossible, obviously. It kind of feels like scrolling through Netflix titles, looking for something to watch, and then realizing you spent your hour of TV time watching trailers. 😂 Here's hoping I can settle on a task or two today and move them in a forward direction.
A lot of the episodes of my serial are getting looooong. Like 10,000 words a pop. I'm kinda okay with it, but it does make me kinda want to try my hand at a proper novella, but I have no idea what I'd do with it. Is there any hope in publishing something in the 30,000 words area? Or is the length just too in between.
Especially on Substack, I don't think people are as concerned with total word count, so much as they are about starting a serial they know the author will finish and reading work they enjoy at an established frequency, say 1-2 times per week.
This is great input, Brian. especially the part about serialising on a schedule. Like this, the readers don't forget what the story is about in between episodes.
I also like your point about reassuring your readers that you are going to finish what you started. I guess this is where writing and publishing on a schedule comes in.
Hi, I'm very new on this. But I've got a short story up and had 2 spontaneous followers. So that's something. I've got more stories to upload, and plan to write some opinion pieces too although I guess it will be better to keep the two in separate stacks.
I'm running with a kind of steampunky persona as opposed to my actual name. Not that my name's secret, but the chance to develop an online character just seemed too fun to miss. Does anyone have any thoughts, positive or negative, on pen names/personas?
Congrats on publishing your first story and getting your first subscribers. Personas are cool and can be a great tool to pulling the audience in if done well. I can think of a great example from music that I found quite fascinating: the musician Poppy who started her career by portraying a weird character named Poppy and everyone was wondering if she is even human (which was of course a bit exaggerated). But she created a whole world with interviews, looks etc.
I use a couple of different pen names for stuff that parents / administrators might not appreciate. The traditional reasons. I haven't tried expanding any of them into an online persona. Mostly I exorcise that role-playing urge through tabletop RPGs.
That is such a cool concept about an "online persona" that fits with the story you're telling! I write on Substack, though I write prose about my real experiences. It's not fiction, but it's also told through a romantic or rose-colored lens, if that makes sense. My online persona absolutely fits with that vibe.
All that to say, if I reach a point where I'm seriously considering publication, I am absolutely writing under a pen name. Why? Because my name is Megan Smith, and I want to have a fighting chance at standing out on the shelves...😂
I'm not that much further into Substack than you. My Riley Chance persona is totally a persona. I did it originally to separate my work from my writing (which was occasionally critical of my work until they got rid of me and many others!) and also to make it gender neutral so readers could see who they wanted to see.
I really enjoy have a different persona which I use in a wide variety of situations - like here.
And, a bit like @megansmithh said below, you get to have a name that stands out more.
Hi, I'm Claudia and although I've been writing for about a year on Substack and subscribing to Fictionistas almost from the beginning, this is the first time that I'm introducing myself here. But it's never too late.
I think that one of my proudest moments this year is publishing my first fiction story on Substack in March. And a milestone... I would say writing and publishing the first three short story from what I hope will be my first book.
I noticed that when publishing serialised short stories the first part always gets more engagement than the last part. I wonder how it works with books. Does the engagement decrease with every new chapter?
Great community and looking forward to reading from other writers during the day.
I'm currently writing serialised stories (about a woodsman who frees a fairy from a tree) on here as well. So far, I've gotten good feedback, a few friends have told me that they can't wait to see what happens next. So that was nice to hear!
Hey all 👋🏾 I'm Stephen! I've been serialising my fantasy novel on Substack since December 2021. Honestly, publishing every chapter feels like a proud writing moment, though I am a few subscriptions away from hitting a major milestone at 100 subscribers. Just engaging with other writers here has also been a joy.
Thanks Zoe! I'm by no means an ace in getting subscribers but these things have worked well for me:
1) Share it with everyone you know - That's how I got my first big influx of subscribers 🤣 Mostly friends and family. I posted on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp.
2) Posting on Twitter every time I uploaded a new chapter helped. It hasn't worked for everyone but outside of the Substack network, a decent percentage came from Twitter.
3) By far the most successful method for gaining subscribers has been engaging with other writers on Substack notes. Whether that's commenting on and engaging in conversation on other writers notes or posting my own and starting discussions. Since Notes were introduced in April, my subscriber base has more than doubled and almost every new subscriber I get is through Notes or threads like this one!
Here's a question for y'all....does anyone use an editing app or program? MS Word is.....ok at best. I downloaded Pro Writing Aid the other day and well....wow, I see why I've gotten five rejections for stories that I've submitted to various places. Grammar has never been a strong point of mine. Hence my comment earlier about spending the day re editing stuff I've already written.
I've heard great things about PWA. I know seasoned writers that use it prior to putting their books out for query. I will have to check it out. (*silently wishes she had used it prior to her contest entry on Sunday)
Hi all, I've entered stories for the Lunar Awards a couple of times but never stopped by here before.
I was inordinately proud of my first sale, to Lackington's Speculative Fiction, in response to an open call. I didn't frame the check, because it was a PayPal thing, and printing that out myself would have felt silly. They're gone now, which is sad but not at all unusual in magazine world.
Hi all! I'm celebrating relaunching my stack with more focus and a firm set schedule to get my words off my desk- or out of my private computer files and into the world.
Going forward I see the benefit of dividing out the work I do into three sections- my weekly oracles, my essays, and then my stories or if I'm brave poetry.
My question is- how to separate? Utilizing the pages feature or the sections feature? How are others addressing this issue on their stack when you have multiple facets of our work in one space? I can *see* all the great tabs others create however I'm unsure how they are going about doing that on the back end.
Congratulations and good luck! I've only been here a short while and still discovering things myself, but indeed sections are the way to create "tabs" - you can also reorder them in your settings.
Congrats on your relaunch! I've been polishing and updating my stack as well in preparation for my one-year anniversary. I haven't played much with sections. I write mostly short fiction, but I also write poetry, short essays, humor etc. all under one umbrella. I think it's okay to believe that when someone subscribes to a writer's publication, they're subscribing to that writer and whatever they choose to write. 🙂 I actually have a mission statement for my Substack: “To provide entertainment for open-minded people who like surprises and enjoy reading whatever I throw at them.”
That said - A serialized or complete novel might be deserving of its own section, or a podcast series, just to keep the chapters accessible in one place for readers, rather than having them get mixed in with your other posts.
It's really up to you! And it's okay to experiment and backtrack if something isn't working. I personally like the simplicity of posting everything under one roof. I think too many tabs can overwhelm readers venturing onto your Substack for the first time. I do recommend "pinning" your best and brightest pieces to your homepage. Lots of times those are the first things newcomers will click on and read.
I'm John - caretaker and lead cashier at Postcard Inkblot. Just recently Substacked my 30th short story and having done that crossed over the 100,000 word threshold. Is that a milestone? I have no idea. But, as I'm sure you all know, it is very difficult to rearrange 100,000 words into the correct order. Some of those pesky words didn't fit quite right so I had to use a mallet.
I hope your summer is going well and your keyboards are constantly clacking.
Hi all! I still consider my Substack in the "buildup" phase and am looking for tips on discoverability and finding an audience here. I've seen a lot of success stories from non-fiction authors and from authors who already had a platform elsewhere, but what does one do when they're just starting to build? Have a fabulous day, Fictionistas!
The best method I've found is to engage with others—a lot. Read and comment on other fiction stacks and those of like-minded people. I've heard Notes has helped many people but I only started using it because I was on hiatus for a while. But yeah, engage, talk to others, and support others' work. Best advice I have.
I started fresh from zero back at the end of Jan and never had any expectations other than to simply use it as a space to write. As Corey notes, I really think the best method is to engage as much as you can. Find Substacks you enjoy and be active there, discuss and leave comments with the author and fellow readers. It can be slow going at first (well, and beyond), but it's the best organic way to go about things. That's how I've found it anyway :)
The weekly Office Hours on Substack are also great places to meet and find new Substacks (and receive vistitors in return).
Re-watched the last episode of Netflix's THE SANDMAN last night, a pair of short stories. The second, "Calliope," concerns a writer who abuses his Muse, and the revenge taken by Dream. Good story.
Gaiman says nobody had ever written about this before, which I find hard to believe,
Hi, everyone. I'm new to this group. I'm a published novelist (self-published and conventionally)...former Doubleday editor and literary agent, although those latter jobs are in the distant past. (Happy to answer questions on the mechanics of publishing, but I can't help much with contacts at this juncture.) In any case, I already have a niche gardening Substack called Backyard Stewardship, but I'll soon be launching a Substack serialization of my new novel, which is currently available on Amazon. I am likely delusional, but I view this both as a way to find new readers and maybe make a few bucks from paid subscribers who would like to interact with me on the novel. I welcome advice on how to get this thing going!
That's great about serializing and congrats on taking the plunge! My suggestion is to be clear with your audience about what they're going to experience. What genre will they be reading, how often will each story chapter be published and is the novel already completed? As far as going paid, there are likely too many options to go over in this comment, but my personal suggestion is to keep the chapters free, and then monetize another aspect of the process, either author's notes at the bottom of each chapter, or a free downloadable ebook for the paid subscribers when it's finished. Another option is to keep it free, but your essays (if you write them) are behind the paywall, or you can also place your archives (say after 90 days) behind the paywall. Some writers are releasing everything serialized free, and then a few weeks after it's done, changing the chapters to paywalled. Tons of options!
Hello, everyone! I’m new to Fictionistas though I’ve been writing on Substack (nonfiction) since spring. I’m getting ready to serialize my first novel in September and am excited to do so. I’m celebrating six months of consistent writing.
7am Eastern, eh? Well, now I'm the guy wandering around the empty ballroom downing what's left of everyone's drinks and eating the leftover hors d'oeuvres, I guess...
Lol, sorry, Mark, one month we'll have to do an office hours taking into account the other end of the globe. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the leftovers?
What a fantastic milestone. I’m relatively Nee to this space on Substack; I switched from nonfiction beat reporting on the outdoors, to sharing speculative fiction.
I think my biggest win has been the success I’ve seen sharing my stories on Reddit. The community there seems to have a strong appetite for them.
A few respectably sized YouTube channels have reached out to me asking for permission to narrate their work in exchange for direct credit links back to my Substack, which I’m hoping will expand my reach! If nothing else I’ll meet more cool people
Hi Cole, what subreddits are you sharing them to? From what I can tell, Reddit is my next best choice on getting the word out about what we're doing on Substack.
They don’t allow self promotion off site, but do let you share your own personal subreddit. By sharing 2 stories so far, I’ve amassed a following of about 130 people on Reddit this week. Some are starting to trickle over to Substack.
I think the biggest bump will be from the narration channels though. One channel that approached me has 125k subscribers. Another had 75k.
I also shared a little to r/nosleep but didn’t link my author site, foolishly. I will link it next time and see how it goes.
I hit 20,000 words in my current novel, which is only 5K short of my intended halfway point, so that's sort of a milestone. :) I'm definitely a pantser, not a plotter, and I wrote myself into a situation where the main character went and took someone's head off with a talking sword; you can get a surprising amount of words out of that.
Hello. Let me help add to the milestone. 2001, at least (probably more, honestly.) I'm celebrating my own milestone of 100, but it came up so fast, I haven't had time to think of something special to do.
I'm new here - just found out about this space and subscribed! I'm writing a mixture of fiction and background stuff about fiction here on Substack, all tied in to my new book series. It's gay romance and as such, with not as much of an existing audience, growth is gradual. But I'm seeing people coming over after seeing the link in the books, which is fun!
Hi Everybody! I write history + future essays and Sci./Spec. Fiction novels (and I lurk a lot, reading everyone's great writing, and learning from you about how to do things).
I'm coming in on the tail end but I'm here thanks to Brian Reindel, after I launched a 'Stack last September. I started it to finish a second novel, from last Halloween to Thanksgiving, with daily Substack chapters, and to start a third one. (I later find out that this is called "serial fiction", this is how new I am to it all.)
I wrote my first novel, over six "30 day" streaks, published on what is now called "X" in 2021, and I wish I knew earlier on about Substack's growing community of fiction writers.
It took a year, but I finally got comfortable with saying "Hi" in addition to hitting "send" thanks to everyone here.
A fantastic milestone, congrats! Lovely to see so many commenting in here, too.
Well, I still feel somewhat stunned by this, but my proudest writing moment/milestone is certainly having been featured at the weekend in the latest Substack Reads. I feel equal parts honoured and equal parts not worthy haha.
I'm not sure how much fiction we've had in there before (if any?), but I hope it's the start of the Substack team giving all the fiction a little more spotlight. Hopefully many of those here will be gracing people's inboxes via Substack Reads.
Hi Everybody! Glad to be here. Looking forward to scanning this post all day!
Morning, y'all! Off today, so it's a day of editing a few stories and working on a couple of more.
Sounds like a productive day. I am not able yet to work on multiple creative projects in the same day. Somehow my brain wants to start and finish something before continuing with the next thing. I'll need to skill up in this department! 😅
Oh trust me, I'll be refreshing Notes every now and then! Or something else will capture my attention.
🤣 That kind of writing (aka Notion) I can do in parallel with anything. Though I'm taking a break from Notion right now. I want to focus on reading newsletters from my favourite writers here on Substack and hopefully writing more.
I wish my brain did this! Every day I sit down and mentally sift through the 8 or 9 things I could be working on and try to devise a plan to touch on all of them just a little. Impossible, obviously. It kind of feels like scrolling through Netflix titles, looking for something to watch, and then realizing you spent your hour of TV time watching trailers. 😂 Here's hoping I can settle on a task or two today and move them in a forward direction.
I know that feeling, when I'm in scrolling mode I don't accomplish anything 🤣
A lot of the episodes of my serial are getting looooong. Like 10,000 words a pop. I'm kinda okay with it, but it does make me kinda want to try my hand at a proper novella, but I have no idea what I'd do with it. Is there any hope in publishing something in the 30,000 words area? Or is the length just too in between.
Hi Ethan, I that would qualify as a novella. My last short story turned out also quite long at 11,000 words.
Especially on Substack, I don't think people are as concerned with total word count, so much as they are about starting a serial they know the author will finish and reading work they enjoy at an established frequency, say 1-2 times per week.
This is great input, Brian. especially the part about serialising on a schedule. Like this, the readers don't forget what the story is about in between episodes.
I also like your point about reassuring your readers that you are going to finish what you started. I guess this is where writing and publishing on a schedule comes in.
Hi, I'm very new on this. But I've got a short story up and had 2 spontaneous followers. So that's something. I've got more stories to upload, and plan to write some opinion pieces too although I guess it will be better to keep the two in separate stacks.
I'm running with a kind of steampunky persona as opposed to my actual name. Not that my name's secret, but the chance to develop an online character just seemed too fun to miss. Does anyone have any thoughts, positive or negative, on pen names/personas?
Congrats on publishing your first story and getting your first subscribers. Personas are cool and can be a great tool to pulling the audience in if done well. I can think of a great example from music that I found quite fascinating: the musician Poppy who started her career by portraying a weird character named Poppy and everyone was wondering if she is even human (which was of course a bit exaggerated). But she created a whole world with interviews, looks etc.
I use a couple of different pen names for stuff that parents / administrators might not appreciate. The traditional reasons. I haven't tried expanding any of them into an online persona. Mostly I exorcise that role-playing urge through tabletop RPGs.
That is such a cool concept about an "online persona" that fits with the story you're telling! I write on Substack, though I write prose about my real experiences. It's not fiction, but it's also told through a romantic or rose-colored lens, if that makes sense. My online persona absolutely fits with that vibe.
All that to say, if I reach a point where I'm seriously considering publication, I am absolutely writing under a pen name. Why? Because my name is Megan Smith, and I want to have a fighting chance at standing out on the shelves...😂
Hey
I'm not that much further into Substack than you. My Riley Chance persona is totally a persona. I did it originally to separate my work from my writing (which was occasionally critical of my work until they got rid of me and many others!) and also to make it gender neutral so readers could see who they wanted to see.
I really enjoy have a different persona which I use in a wide variety of situations - like here.
And, a bit like @megansmithh said below, you get to have a name that stands out more.
Go well......
Hi, I'm Claudia and although I've been writing for about a year on Substack and subscribing to Fictionistas almost from the beginning, this is the first time that I'm introducing myself here. But it's never too late.
I think that one of my proudest moments this year is publishing my first fiction story on Substack in March. And a milestone... I would say writing and publishing the first three short story from what I hope will be my first book.
I noticed that when publishing serialised short stories the first part always gets more engagement than the last part. I wonder how it works with books. Does the engagement decrease with every new chapter?
Great community and looking forward to reading from other writers during the day.
I'm currently writing serialised stories (about a woodsman who frees a fairy from a tree) on here as well. So far, I've gotten good feedback, a few friends have told me that they can't wait to see what happens next. So that was nice to hear!
This is great to hear! If I ever serialise a book I hope to have the same experience. :)
Congratulations on your accomplishments! That's huge. :)
Thank you, Meghan! 🤗
Hey all 👋🏾 I'm Stephen! I've been serialising my fantasy novel on Substack since December 2021. Honestly, publishing every chapter feels like a proud writing moment, though I am a few subscriptions away from hitting a major milestone at 100 subscribers. Just engaging with other writers here has also been a joy.
Congratulations on your milestone, Stephen! any tips for new-to-the-platform serial writers on gaining their first few subs?
Thanks Zoe! I'm by no means an ace in getting subscribers but these things have worked well for me:
1) Share it with everyone you know - That's how I got my first big influx of subscribers 🤣 Mostly friends and family. I posted on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp.
2) Posting on Twitter every time I uploaded a new chapter helped. It hasn't worked for everyone but outside of the Substack network, a decent percentage came from Twitter.
3) By far the most successful method for gaining subscribers has been engaging with other writers on Substack notes. Whether that's commenting on and engaging in conversation on other writers notes or posting my own and starting discussions. Since Notes were introduced in April, my subscriber base has more than doubled and almost every new subscriber I get is through Notes or threads like this one!
Just posted my entry to this contest. Still open until 9/1.
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/gYxY5Mr2srBnrbuaT/announcing-the-ai-fables-writing-contest
Here's a question for y'all....does anyone use an editing app or program? MS Word is.....ok at best. I downloaded Pro Writing Aid the other day and well....wow, I see why I've gotten five rejections for stories that I've submitted to various places. Grammar has never been a strong point of mine. Hence my comment earlier about spending the day re editing stuff I've already written.
I use PWA, mostly for pesky commas and all those repeated word usages that my own eyes just cannot see.
New band name! The Pesky Commas. :)
haha! I love it!
I've heard great things about PWA. I know seasoned writers that use it prior to putting their books out for query. I will have to check it out. (*silently wishes she had used it prior to her contest entry on Sunday)
I use Grammarly. But I'll check out Pro writing Aid as well.
Hi all, I've entered stories for the Lunar Awards a couple of times but never stopped by here before.
I was inordinately proud of my first sale, to Lackington's Speculative Fiction, in response to an open call. I didn't frame the check, because it was a PayPal thing, and printing that out myself would have felt silly. They're gone now, which is sad but not at all unusual in magazine world.
https://randallhayes.substack.com/p/when-the-hawkweed-blooms
That's awesome, Randall! Definitely a big accomplishment. 🎉🎉🎉
Hi all! I'm celebrating relaunching my stack with more focus and a firm set schedule to get my words off my desk- or out of my private computer files and into the world.
Going forward I see the benefit of dividing out the work I do into three sections- my weekly oracles, my essays, and then my stories or if I'm brave poetry.
My question is- how to separate? Utilizing the pages feature or the sections feature? How are others addressing this issue on their stack when you have multiple facets of our work in one space? I can *see* all the great tabs others create however I'm unsure how they are going about doing that on the back end.
I have some of the same questions.
Randall, hopefully these replies helped.
Congratulations and good luck! I've only been here a short while and still discovering things myself, but indeed sections are the way to create "tabs" - you can also reorder them in your settings.
Thanks, Zoe!
Hi Lenaleah!
Congrats on your relaunch! I've been polishing and updating my stack as well in preparation for my one-year anniversary. I haven't played much with sections. I write mostly short fiction, but I also write poetry, short essays, humor etc. all under one umbrella. I think it's okay to believe that when someone subscribes to a writer's publication, they're subscribing to that writer and whatever they choose to write. 🙂 I actually have a mission statement for my Substack: “To provide entertainment for open-minded people who like surprises and enjoy reading whatever I throw at them.”
That said - A serialized or complete novel might be deserving of its own section, or a podcast series, just to keep the chapters accessible in one place for readers, rather than having them get mixed in with your other posts.
It's really up to you! And it's okay to experiment and backtrack if something isn't working. I personally like the simplicity of posting everything under one roof. I think too many tabs can overwhelm readers venturing onto your Substack for the first time. I do recommend "pinning" your best and brightest pieces to your homepage. Lots of times those are the first things newcomers will click on and read.
Thank you, Meg, for the suggestion of pinning my “best and brightest “. I hadn’t thought of that. Thanks also for the feedback on sections.
I'm also preparing for my one year anniversary. I'll have a look at your page for inspiration 😁
Do you plan to write a special newsletter for this occasion?
Hi all,
I'm John - caretaker and lead cashier at Postcard Inkblot. Just recently Substacked my 30th short story and having done that crossed over the 100,000 word threshold. Is that a milestone? I have no idea. But, as I'm sure you all know, it is very difficult to rearrange 100,000 words into the correct order. Some of those pesky words didn't fit quite right so I had to use a mallet.
I hope your summer is going well and your keyboards are constantly clacking.
Hi all! I still consider my Substack in the "buildup" phase and am looking for tips on discoverability and finding an audience here. I've seen a lot of success stories from non-fiction authors and from authors who already had a platform elsewhere, but what does one do when they're just starting to build? Have a fabulous day, Fictionistas!
The best method I've found is to engage with others—a lot. Read and comment on other fiction stacks and those of like-minded people. I've heard Notes has helped many people but I only started using it because I was on hiatus for a while. But yeah, engage, talk to others, and support others' work. Best advice I have.
I started fresh from zero back at the end of Jan and never had any expectations other than to simply use it as a space to write. As Corey notes, I really think the best method is to engage as much as you can. Find Substacks you enjoy and be active there, discuss and leave comments with the author and fellow readers. It can be slow going at first (well, and beyond), but it's the best organic way to go about things. That's how I've found it anyway :)
The weekly Office Hours on Substack are also great places to meet and find new Substacks (and receive vistitors in return).
Re-watched the last episode of Netflix's THE SANDMAN last night, a pair of short stories. The second, "Calliope," concerns a writer who abuses his Muse, and the revenge taken by Dream. Good story.
Gaiman says nobody had ever written about this before, which I find hard to believe,
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheMuse
but I don't know of any specific examples, either.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muses_in_popular_culture
Hi, everyone. I'm new to this group. I'm a published novelist (self-published and conventionally)...former Doubleday editor and literary agent, although those latter jobs are in the distant past. (Happy to answer questions on the mechanics of publishing, but I can't help much with contacts at this juncture.) In any case, I already have a niche gardening Substack called Backyard Stewardship, but I'll soon be launching a Substack serialization of my new novel, which is currently available on Amazon. I am likely delusional, but I view this both as a way to find new readers and maybe make a few bucks from paid subscribers who would like to interact with me on the novel. I welcome advice on how to get this thing going!
That's great about serializing and congrats on taking the plunge! My suggestion is to be clear with your audience about what they're going to experience. What genre will they be reading, how often will each story chapter be published and is the novel already completed? As far as going paid, there are likely too many options to go over in this comment, but my personal suggestion is to keep the chapters free, and then monetize another aspect of the process, either author's notes at the bottom of each chapter, or a free downloadable ebook for the paid subscribers when it's finished. Another option is to keep it free, but your essays (if you write them) are behind the paywall, or you can also place your archives (say after 90 days) behind the paywall. Some writers are releasing everything serialized free, and then a few weeks after it's done, changing the chapters to paywalled. Tons of options!
Thanks, Brian. Plenty to think over here!
That's awesome, congrats!
Seems like Brian has given you lots of advice and thoughts. Hope it goes great with the new Substack for your novel.
Thanks, Nathan. Perhaps it will slake your thirst for good fiction!
Hehe, I'm sure it will ;)
Hello, everyone! I’m new to Fictionistas though I’ve been writing on Substack (nonfiction) since spring. I’m getting ready to serialize my first novel in September and am excited to do so. I’m celebrating six months of consistent writing.
Great job, Priya!
Hey everyone.
7am Eastern, eh? Well, now I'm the guy wandering around the empty ballroom downing what's left of everyone's drinks and eating the leftover hors d'oeuvres, I guess...
Lol, sorry, Mark, one month we'll have to do an office hours taking into account the other end of the globe. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the leftovers?
What a fantastic milestone. I’m relatively Nee to this space on Substack; I switched from nonfiction beat reporting on the outdoors, to sharing speculative fiction.
I think my biggest win has been the success I’ve seen sharing my stories on Reddit. The community there seems to have a strong appetite for them.
A few respectably sized YouTube channels have reached out to me asking for permission to narrate their work in exchange for direct credit links back to my Substack, which I’m hoping will expand my reach! If nothing else I’ll meet more cool people
Hi Cole, what subreddits are you sharing them to? From what I can tell, Reddit is my next best choice on getting the word out about what we're doing on Substack.
I am sharing in r/shortscarystories
They don’t allow self promotion off site, but do let you share your own personal subreddit. By sharing 2 stories so far, I’ve amassed a following of about 130 people on Reddit this week. Some are starting to trickle over to Substack.
I think the biggest bump will be from the narration channels though. One channel that approached me has 125k subscribers. Another had 75k.
I also shared a little to r/nosleep but didn’t link my author site, foolishly. I will link it next time and see how it goes.
Very cool! Thanks for sharing.
I didn't even know that there are fiction narration channels on YouTube. Which ones contacted you?
I hit 20,000 words in my current novel, which is only 5K short of my intended halfway point, so that's sort of a milestone. :) I'm definitely a pantser, not a plotter, and I wrote myself into a situation where the main character went and took someone's head off with a talking sword; you can get a surprising amount of words out of that.
Well congratulations! Those big, round numbers do feel pretty good, don't they?
Hello. Let me help add to the milestone. 2001, at least (probably more, honestly.) I'm celebrating my own milestone of 100, but it came up so fast, I haven't had time to think of something special to do.
I'm new here - just found out about this space and subscribed! I'm writing a mixture of fiction and background stuff about fiction here on Substack, all tied in to my new book series. It's gay romance and as such, with not as much of an existing audience, growth is gradual. But I'm seeing people coming over after seeing the link in the books, which is fun!
Welcome!
Hi Everybody! I write history + future essays and Sci./Spec. Fiction novels (and I lurk a lot, reading everyone's great writing, and learning from you about how to do things).
I'm coming in on the tail end but I'm here thanks to Brian Reindel, after I launched a 'Stack last September. I started it to finish a second novel, from last Halloween to Thanksgiving, with daily Substack chapters, and to start a third one. (I later find out that this is called "serial fiction", this is how new I am to it all.)
I wrote my first novel, over six "30 day" streaks, published on what is now called "X" in 2021, and I wish I knew earlier on about Substack's growing community of fiction writers.
It took a year, but I finally got comfortable with saying "Hi" in addition to hitting "send" thanks to everyone here.
A fantastic milestone, congrats! Lovely to see so many commenting in here, too.
Well, I still feel somewhat stunned by this, but my proudest writing moment/milestone is certainly having been featured at the weekend in the latest Substack Reads. I feel equal parts honoured and equal parts not worthy haha.
I'm not sure how much fiction we've had in there before (if any?), but I hope it's the start of the Substack team giving all the fiction a little more spotlight. Hopefully many of those here will be gracing people's inboxes via Substack Reads.