Okay, this will be my first. I've tried 2 times before, but (a) forgot and (b) had an important family trip come up. This time, it's on my calendar and I have no appointment with my shrink and Tuesdays are one of my favorite days and even though I may not say much, it'll be great to see live faces and voices.
I have put it in my calendar and put faith in those annoying notifications in my old-guy memory device. To get you, us, thinking a bit in the meantime, here are some topics I'd love to see touched upon.
But first a bit of background.
I am on my sixth draft of my first novel and had/have every intention to publish it myself here as a serial with audio (professional actor reading) and podcast (here and on podcast sites, both free); audiobook (the podcast in one shot) and e-book (in exchange for donations); and a paperback (at cost). My intention of doing multiple formats is that it broadens the possible audience.
As you might tell, the book is a non-profit affair; I've been fortunate to gain a few sponsors to cover expenses, and I plan to encourage my readers/subscribers to donate to three nonprofits that are helping me. Any donations I receive directly, I will pass onto those nonprofits.
A professional editor (also a NYT best-selling author) I hired to read my most recent draft (I have a covey of beta readers, some of whom have been with me since the beginning) is urging me to submit the book, when it is finished, to small indie presses first. I will do it, but I am not keeping my hopes up. And, frankly, even if someone does want it, how much control do I lose?
So, at minimum, I will be delaying the planned release here on Substack.
Whew. Thanks for staying with me.
What I would love is to know more about are fellow fiction writers' experiences in three areas:
-- Do subscribers actually stick with serial novels, or is there a big drop off? And, related, what are the percentages for reading the email or following the link to the site or using the app?
-- Has anyone also done audio and if so, what's been the experience?
-- I am currently planning to run an edited version of my process journal, perhaps starting it after I've started releasing the novel. Is that a mistake? Is it an entirely different audience?
I appreciate you holding this kind of an event and I certainly don't expect you to answer all my questions or, for that matter, any, but I thought I'd put my questions out there as food for thought.
Chapter 4 of my first serial novel on substack (or anywhere) is out and I am super excited to hear from all you experienced substackers (is that a phrase? thing? description?). See you all on January 24th. Have a great rest of the week!
I have been following Fictionistas for some time but only recently segregated my fiction writing to it's own substack (Gibberish, see here: https://gibberish.substack.com/), so now I feel I can engage a little more here without pointing to my other, spiritually themed substack and asking people to sift through it for the fiction.
Does Fictionistas have a place to cross-promote? Is there a place I can tell people about my writing and investigate the Substacks of others? Please let me know!
Would love to join but bedtime for my house is 7:15pm EST. Maybe the next one if it's convenient. I am excited to see what is planned for the fiction community at Substack.
Thanks so much for the discussion last night. It was great to meet new folks, learn what works for them (and what doesn't or what they are wondering about). I love the idea of having a regular zoom prompt sessions here ('Pop Fiction'?) and the opportunity to participate on your own if you can't make the Zoomerista. (We'll have to be on our own honor to keep to the time limit.)
I also liked Geoffrey Golden's (imagine two 'gg' folks in the same group) idea of commenting on more of fellow fiction writers' posts. And that got me thinking about two things:
1) For all of us to undertake a similar initiative would those of you who have paid subscriptions consider giving some of the more active members of this group 'guest' subscriptions to paid content? Frankly, I don't have the money to sign up to all of your paid content despite my desire to do so. And I would argue there is more gain than loss for you (and us).
2) Most of us are posting finished work. Receiving comments on the work both affirms and encourages us, as Geoffrey pointed out. It also might encourage other readers to respond. In my experience in lots of areas, most people are very reluctant to comment, particularly with regards to finished work and particularly if there are no other comments on the piece. Yet for the author, those comments are extremely valuable.
3) Which gets to the third thought: I have found in all my various iterations as a writer and editor the most beneficial commenting occurs in the early stages of a writer's work. For an author, getting a raw, respectful observation from a reader is extremely valuable in considering how to revise the work. I used to tell kids (and adults) that you are an expert in what your brain did while you were reading a piece -- did you drift? were you confused? did you want more? were you deeply moved? did it make you think of something in your own life experience? etc. By articulating what you noticed in a way that is well-received, you are offering the author great insight and valuable information. All that said, I don't know how we might be able to share an early draft of work on Substack for some careful, respectful feedback from a few fellow authors. Nor do I know whether there would be any interest in that idea if it is possible.
And a final thought is whether there is a place, an ongoing forum perhaps here on Fictionalistas, where people can post their observations, questions, problems, successes here for other fiction writers on Substack. Perhaps there is. I don't know. I was struck by Heidi V.'s questions about audio and realized that there could be an extended and interesting discussion about it. (For instance, Brian R. sorry you had to cut out early; your perspective is different and we would have liked to hear more about your sense that audio is not that successful for you.)
Anyways, thanks to all of you who participated and, particular thanks to those of you running this space. Huge gift to all of us out here struggling in the weeds.
Yay! Another chance to prove we're not robots. 😁 See you there!
Woo, a new year of Fictionistas! See y’all soon! 🎉
Okay, this will be my first. I've tried 2 times before, but (a) forgot and (b) had an important family trip come up. This time, it's on my calendar and I have no appointment with my shrink and Tuesdays are one of my favorite days and even though I may not say much, it'll be great to see live faces and voices.
Ohhh nice, too bad I won't be able to make it as I'm in Europe :-( But I look forward for the recap.
Looking forward to this.
Super excited for this! :)
I have put it in my calendar and put faith in those annoying notifications in my old-guy memory device. To get you, us, thinking a bit in the meantime, here are some topics I'd love to see touched upon.
But first a bit of background.
I am on my sixth draft of my first novel and had/have every intention to publish it myself here as a serial with audio (professional actor reading) and podcast (here and on podcast sites, both free); audiobook (the podcast in one shot) and e-book (in exchange for donations); and a paperback (at cost). My intention of doing multiple formats is that it broadens the possible audience.
As you might tell, the book is a non-profit affair; I've been fortunate to gain a few sponsors to cover expenses, and I plan to encourage my readers/subscribers to donate to three nonprofits that are helping me. Any donations I receive directly, I will pass onto those nonprofits.
A professional editor (also a NYT best-selling author) I hired to read my most recent draft (I have a covey of beta readers, some of whom have been with me since the beginning) is urging me to submit the book, when it is finished, to small indie presses first. I will do it, but I am not keeping my hopes up. And, frankly, even if someone does want it, how much control do I lose?
So, at minimum, I will be delaying the planned release here on Substack.
Whew. Thanks for staying with me.
What I would love is to know more about are fellow fiction writers' experiences in three areas:
-- Do subscribers actually stick with serial novels, or is there a big drop off? And, related, what are the percentages for reading the email or following the link to the site or using the app?
-- Has anyone also done audio and if so, what's been the experience?
-- I am currently planning to run an edited version of my process journal, perhaps starting it after I've started releasing the novel. Is that a mistake? Is it an entirely different audience?
I appreciate you holding this kind of an event and I certainly don't expect you to answer all my questions or, for that matter, any, but I thought I'd put my questions out there as food for thought.
Be well.
🙌🙌🙌🔥❤️
Chapter 4 of my first serial novel on substack (or anywhere) is out and I am super excited to hear from all you experienced substackers (is that a phrase? thing? description?). See you all on January 24th. Have a great rest of the week!
I have been following Fictionistas for some time but only recently segregated my fiction writing to it's own substack (Gibberish, see here: https://gibberish.substack.com/), so now I feel I can engage a little more here without pointing to my other, spiritually themed substack and asking people to sift through it for the fiction.
Does Fictionistas have a place to cross-promote? Is there a place I can tell people about my writing and investigate the Substacks of others? Please let me know!
Would love to join but bedtime for my house is 7:15pm EST. Maybe the next one if it's convenient. I am excited to see what is planned for the fiction community at Substack.
Thanks so much for the discussion last night. It was great to meet new folks, learn what works for them (and what doesn't or what they are wondering about). I love the idea of having a regular zoom prompt sessions here ('Pop Fiction'?) and the opportunity to participate on your own if you can't make the Zoomerista. (We'll have to be on our own honor to keep to the time limit.)
I also liked Geoffrey Golden's (imagine two 'gg' folks in the same group) idea of commenting on more of fellow fiction writers' posts. And that got me thinking about two things:
1) For all of us to undertake a similar initiative would those of you who have paid subscriptions consider giving some of the more active members of this group 'guest' subscriptions to paid content? Frankly, I don't have the money to sign up to all of your paid content despite my desire to do so. And I would argue there is more gain than loss for you (and us).
2) Most of us are posting finished work. Receiving comments on the work both affirms and encourages us, as Geoffrey pointed out. It also might encourage other readers to respond. In my experience in lots of areas, most people are very reluctant to comment, particularly with regards to finished work and particularly if there are no other comments on the piece. Yet for the author, those comments are extremely valuable.
3) Which gets to the third thought: I have found in all my various iterations as a writer and editor the most beneficial commenting occurs in the early stages of a writer's work. For an author, getting a raw, respectful observation from a reader is extremely valuable in considering how to revise the work. I used to tell kids (and adults) that you are an expert in what your brain did while you were reading a piece -- did you drift? were you confused? did you want more? were you deeply moved? did it make you think of something in your own life experience? etc. By articulating what you noticed in a way that is well-received, you are offering the author great insight and valuable information. All that said, I don't know how we might be able to share an early draft of work on Substack for some careful, respectful feedback from a few fellow authors. Nor do I know whether there would be any interest in that idea if it is possible.
And a final thought is whether there is a place, an ongoing forum perhaps here on Fictionalistas, where people can post their observations, questions, problems, successes here for other fiction writers on Substack. Perhaps there is. I don't know. I was struck by Heidi V.'s questions about audio and realized that there could be an extended and interesting discussion about it. (For instance, Brian R. sorry you had to cut out early; your perspective is different and we would have liked to hear more about your sense that audio is not that successful for you.)
Anyways, thanks to all of you who participated and, particular thanks to those of you running this space. Huge gift to all of us out here struggling in the weeds.
Be well, folks.
g-squared