Notices by Sarah J Hoodlet (sjhoodlet@writing.exchange)

#SilentSunday

#LunaMoth #Moth #Nature #Wildlife

Happy Pride Month! 🏳️🌈

I just finished writing this scene from my WIP, and I wanted to share it with you all.

Francis + Caius ❤️

(I'm not a member of the LGBTQIA+ community myself, but I am a strong ally. I included the pride hashtag below, but if that's inappropriate, please let me know and I'll remove it.)

#WIP #WritingCommunity #Writer #Pride

Addendum: There are other experiences I've worked through as well. Sometimes I do it subconsciously, and only realize it after the fact.

That's when I sit back and I'm like, "Oh. *Oh.*" 😅

#WritersCoffeeClub 5May—Have you ever worked through a bad experience by writing fiction?

Before I left my job, I had a condescending, narcissistic manager who refused to promote me because I didn't agree with her.

So I wrote a book where the antagonist—a condescending, narcissistic ruler—begins losing her control over the empire. And when one young woman (from a class the ruler looks down on) comes into her own power, the ruler meets her end.

There's more to the story, but... yeah.

#SilentSunday

#Spring #Crocus #Florespondence #Bloomscrolling

#WritersCoffeeClub 6Dec—Sentence fragments? Punchy? Cliché? Essential? Wrong? What's a sentence fragment?

Sentence fragments are sentences that are missing the main verb or subject.

They're a tool in the proverbial belt. I like using them for emphasis, mostly, although they're great for pacing and dialogue as well. In narrative, I often use them after an em-dash—like this.

Used too much and they can make reading difficult, so like most additives, they're best used sparingly.

Earlier, I was talking with my husband about my plan to run a Kindle Countdown Deal next week, ending on Small Business Saturday (the Sat after the US Thanksgiving holiday).

He said, "Instead of Small Business Saturday, why don't you call it: Self Published Saturday?"

I think that would be a really neat way to support self published authors on Mastodon this holiday season. What do you think?

#SelfPublishedSaturday has a nice ring to it...

#SelfPublishing #Writers #Writer #WritingCommunity

#WritersCoffeeClub 22Oct—What's your favorite writing convention to eschew?

Bless you. 😆

I don't think there's one writing convention I avoid more than another.

Generally, if something prohibits me from telling my story how I want it to be told, I'll overlook it.

Many writing conventions are helpful, but they shouldn't be used broad-stroke. Instead, use them when it makes sense for your story and style.

I don't get out much these days. Gotta make friends where I can—even if they can't talk back. 🐸

#frog #wildlife #nature #gardening #garden

@saposcat @nlowell It is indeed! And I'm eternally grateful. 🙏

I understand and respect that influencers are trying to make money, or are dedicated to the craft of influencing others. But it does seem a little…manipulative.

In the end, I wish authors didn’t have to worry about paying for reviews and/or ratings. I wish readers would leave them, with honest opinions and gentle feedback, and we could all live peacefully.

I know. That's never going to happen. Wishful thinking.

-end-

#WritersCoffeeClub 22Sep—Would you ever pay for a review? Have you? Do you feel it’s worth it?

A thread.

I've never paid for a review. However, I’ve offered my book for free (to ARCs) in exchange for one. Of the 8 that took me up on that, only 1 left a review.

I’ve also used BookSirens (again for ARCs, although my book’s published). Technically, I guess I’m paying for that, because each time someone downloads it I get charged $2. So far, 10 have downloaded it, and 2 have left reviews.

...

As a new author, I was experimenting with ways to get my book into the hands of readers. Going forward, I probably won’t use Book Sirens again (not worth it, IMO), and I’ll limit the free books to those people who have read the first one (because it’s a series, and offering the second one for free when they haven’t read the first seems a little odd).

…

Like others mentioned yesterday, I feel like there are a lot of instances where self-published authors are getting scammed or taken advantage of. Even if an influencer only asks for a paperback copy of the book without a fee, there’s no guarantee you’ll get a review.

And it’s not actually free. In fact, between the cost of the author copy and shipping, it’s more expensive for us to send it than it is for them to just buy it themselves.

…

#WritersCoffeeClub 18Sep—Do you believe the magic happens in the edit, or do you have a different approach?

My darlings, it's all magic. ✨

Drafting is magic of the heart.
Editing is magic of the mind.
Proofing is magic of the eyes.

But I do find editing to be particularly magical. To me, drafting is almost like speaking. I ramble a bit, and I'm a little unsure, but I get my point across.

In editing, I take my time fine-tuning things into the story I want to tell. It's quite magical, indeed.

Not that I particularly care what the neighbors think, but in case anyone's wondering why the steep hill in front of our solar array isn't mowed...

🐝 🌱 🌻 ☘️ 🐝

(I even saw a couple of frogs and several birds, so it's not just bees!)

#Wildlife #Weeds #Wildflowers #Landscaping #Wild #Bees #SaveTheBees #Solar #Bloomscrolling @securingdev

@selimpensfiction That's interesting, I didn't know that. I'll look into that. Although, I may have my book available through other booksellers as well, so I'm not sure how valid that will be. Hmm. Thanks!

Question about ISBNs.

According to what I've found online, I need an ISBN for each format of my book (so two - one for a print edition, and one for e-book). I can buy those online, at: https://www.myidentifiers.com

I haven't bought them yet, so I don't know what happens next. Do I just purchase a bundle (of 10), register the book/format, then get the barcode for the print copy?

Thanks for any insight, friends! 🤗

#WritingCommunity #SelfPublishing

Happy #NaNoWriMo to those who are partaking!

I'll be working on The Way of the Wielder, Book 3 (full title TBD) starting today. I've set up a project on the NaNoWriMo website, in case anyone wants to follow along with me (sjhoodlet). I don't imagine I'll get to 50k words, but 30k would be nice.

And because I'm writing again (after editing for so long), it's time to switch to my other "f-off" mug. 😆

Happy writing!

CW for image: profanity (but funny)

#WritingCommunity