It's Open Thread O'Clock. Please enter ye comments section to introduce yourselves, ask questions, and discuss publishing, contracts, subrights, the writing process, etc.
Today and every day, please remember that anxious obsession is a trauma response and not actually going to solve any of your problems (or the world's).
Tip #1: it's okay to just not do that kind of work right now. (I do have some ideas for trying to do it, though, if you're determined to do so...or you just need to.)
None of us can whine, plead, or argue our way out of life's messiness and emotional pain. Understanding this is going to be vital not just to your sanity, but to your publishing success.
Editors create profit and loss sheets to quantify authors' platform and market in the present and make projections about the future. Our job is to make THEIR job easy.
Understanding a human psyche—our own, others', and our characters'—requires paying as much attention to our negative spaces as we do our conscious thoughts and external circumstances.
You may or may not believe tarot cards are magic. I don't: I think they're a delightfully aesthetic way of accessing one's own subconscious needs. May this reading help you find yours.
My thoughts on a common question authors ask (or scream) in the throes of proposal and manuscript development. TL DR: the answer is something you feel in your body vs. know in your head.
As stress runs rampant through our bodies and deep focus remains as elusive as a greased watermelon, it's vital that all of us doing creative work surround ourselves with sensory comfort.
Creative genius is not a function of structure, force, or control; it's what happens when external chance and circumstance meet your own unconditional love.
Your author photo is hugely important, but probably not for the reasons you might think. My notes on the when, how, and why of getting your headshot done
Who ISN'T in a terrible mood here at the end of this godforsaken week? Oh, not you, BARBARA? Well, that's just great, you little peppy-ass bit--oh, hi, everyone. TGI Friday lol :)
Don't worry, I'm not going to tell you to make dumb things like "sleep" and "your sanity" priorities 1 and 2. There are actually more important things to do *as a writer.*
Your questions in this round were mostly about big author feelings: fraught professional relationships, uncertain futures, and longing for connection. WHOMST AMONG US.
By all means, have a book party if you're vaccinated. I mean, unless you hate parties. You should celebrate this huge achievement! Just be honest about about what, how, and why you want to celebrate.