It's the first Wednesday of the month, and that means it's time for our IWSG post!
Why? The
IWSG is here to share and encourage, to offer a place for authors to
admit their insecurities and offer help and support to each other.
How? The
official IWSG posting day is the first Wednesday of every month. Hop
around the list and see who has worries, triumphs, and news to share.
Every month we have an optional question to spark discussion.
Our motto:
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.
The awesome co-hosts for the October 4 posting of the IWSG are Natalie Aguirre, Kim Lajevardi, Debs Carey, Gwen Gardner, Patricia Josephine, and, well, ME!
October 4 question: The topic of AI writing has been heavily debated across the world. According to various sources, generative AI will assist writers, not replace them. What are your thoughts?
I really don't have much to say in regards to the optional question, aside from "maybe so, maybe no," but I hope you do! Let me know in the comments.
I'm going to talk about my writing instead of answering the question. In particular, the things this month that gave me a red face, and the things that made me feel good.
Oops :(
In the "oops" category is mostly a) my failure to get my book out on schedule, which meant that I missed some opportunities to sell paperbacks to people I saw on my recent travels; and b) 6 typos discovered (so far) by my Mom and a friend reading the new paperback. At this point I have corrected them all and re-published the clean MSS, so it's a good time to get your copy of
A Coastal Corpse.
In other fun, while working on my universal links, I found that the linkings for Death By Trombone are messed up, with the paperback box on the Kindle page linking to Death By Donut (and the listings on the series page are messed up, too). I've made a stab at fixing it, and will be continuing to fuss with this, hoping I don't have to completely unpublish things to get them set right. (On a related note, I have yet to find any way to link in the LT books as well. Amazon simply doesn't recognize that a person could have 2 different paperbacks of the same book?).
Yippee!
My "feel good" category is much longer, which itself is something of a triumph. With regard to A Coastal Corpse, initial reader feedback is positive, including my mom and her friends enjoying the story and not being offended by anything (with a lesbian main character I was a little worried about reactions from the senior crowd, though not very, at least not among Mom's crowd). And people are loving the cover, so that's a big plus for my boost to a young artist just starting out--good work, Maggie!
Thanks to Ellen Jacobson, I have created a universal buy link for the new book (see above) and am working my way through creating them for all my books. This has led to the beginnings of a clean-up of my sale page on this blog, a project that may take a while but at least has a beginning and a hint of a vision.
I'm also very pleased with a quick read-through of the draft of Seffi's second book, Washed Up With The Tide, which I drafted nearly a year ago. To my great surprise, I think the plot hangs together, and I feel like it won't need anything like the level of rewriting that Book 1 required. I'll leave it to my beta readers to confirm or deny that, while I work on plotting and writing Book 3. Progress on that has been slow but steady as ideas percolated about my brain while hiking or driving last month.
So-so:
I finished a draft of a mystery short set in the world of the Pismawallops PTA novels, but haven't gotten back to it to revise and polish. I've likewise let drop a second mystery short set in Seffi Wardwell's world, about which I'm more than a little dubious. Instead, I've begun another fantasy short, which distracted me from most of the rest of my work.
Submissions:
Since last month, one rejection, one story (the same one) back out. The rejection seemed slightly more personal and encouraging than usual, and I will be sending other work to them as soon as I have something appropriate.
And, always, there is the giant pile of photos to be edited.
©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2023
As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated.
Congratulations for the positive reviews of your book. And also, the encouraging response to your story.Thanks for co-hosting today.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteHi. Anonymously Esther, East of the Sun.
ReplyDelete'A rejection more personal and encouraging than usual. That sounds almost good, as if somebody realised the recipient would be human, might be saddened. Sending rejection letters, they don't, of course, know about any other problems writers could be dealing with.
As for AI, machine learning...My 6ft 3 IT department almost dismisses fears, suggests that at work, he and his colleagues simply teach computers, and provide the entirely human intelligence behind the so called AI their job needs. Ada Lovelace's caveat about overstating the power of tech even appears in Wiki.
Esther O'Neill
My biggest question was if it was just kindness, or if they meant it about hoping I would send more of my work. Doesn't mean they'll bite on any other stories, either, but... it feels hopeful.
DeleteSorry, no idea on universal links. I've never set any up.
ReplyDeleteThanks for co-hosting today!
The universal links are easy! It's Amazon that seems to be screwed up; I just found that out while testing links. Haven't gone back yet to find out if I fixed it.
DeleteCongrats on the good responses to your book. It's too bad you didn't meet your publishing deadline. But remember, they get moved up all the time by publishers too. Thanks for co-hosting with me.
ReplyDeleteDon't you love it when a plot comes together!! And that picture . . . oh, sigh. I can almost smell the clean, crisp air (something we don't have often enough in mid-Michigan). I also LOVE a good mystery and will be on the lookout for your titles.
ReplyDeleteI kind of laughed about that clean, crisp air, because within a few hours the smoke had moved in on that spot, and even the amount of color in that photo is probably influenced by it. I ended up hiking 3 days in smoke that was unquestionably unhealthy.
DeleteHope you enjoy my books!
It never fails that someone finds a typo after you publish! But at least they got found and you can easily fix them.
ReplyDeleteYes! I'm not sure why so many got past the proof-reader this time, but I do love that aspect of self-publishing, that I can make fixes right away and get the books out to people without the errors.
DeleteHi, here's Pat Garcia. I 'm happy that your goods outweighed your bad. You're moving along nicely even though you may not see it. I have a novella that I have been working on since 2015, and this year, I finally understood, through much writing and research, what I had to do to get my story finished. So, I know you feel. Wishing you all the best and thank you for co-hosting.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely month of October.
Shalom shalom
Right now I'm feeling a lot of excitement and momentum; my biggest danger is jumping from one exciting project to another instead of working steadily to finish something!
DeleteGreat update on what’s happening with your writing, Rebecca. And thank heaven for keen-eyed moms and friends. C. Lee McKenzie
ReplyDeleteYes--I really appreciate getting this feedback right away so I can fix it!
DeleteI am so with you on your answer!
ReplyDeleteYou mean the part where I throw up my hands and say "I have no idea"?
DeleteDebs--I hadn't even heard of them until Ellen asked if I had one for the new book! Turns out it's really easy to set up an account (if you don't already have a Draft2Digital account, which I swear I did but couldn't locate) and create the links.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness you've been on quite a roller coaster ride. I share your frustration trying to fix the links. That should be straightforward. I trust you'll find a way. Why do typos show up after release? Could AI help? I’m only 1% serious with my question. Beautiful photo. Thanks for co-hosting!
ReplyDeleteCheers @ Lynn La Vita
Typos generate themselves when you hit "publish," of course!
DeleteI'm glad the good outweighed the bad this month. Thanks for cohosting the blog hop! And love the photo.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I was surprised when I realized how generally good the month was for me as a writer, given I spent most of it out hiking!
DeleteGosh, I'm hoping some people do end up talking about IA! I enjoyed your updates -- so organized -- and your perseverance. May your writing go well into the coming winter (which, I'm guessing, IA is predicting will be colder than usual).
ReplyDeleteThis winter should be a pretty good time for me as a writer, as I don't have too many distractions scheduled in, at least, not until February.
DeleteI have seen media posts praising those pesky typos that make it through endless rounds of editing. But they happen to everyone!
ReplyDeleteWell, maybe they prove I'm not a robot?
DeleteI believe every book I've read in the past decade has an error - or two or twenty - embedded, so forgiveness must be granted. It's the story anyway - and not the copy-edited perfection - isn't it?!
ReplyDeleteThanks for co-hosting today and continued success with book sales and such.
I have always been bothered by typos found in books I read. Yes, it's the story--but for a word nerd like me, errors distract. I hate that they are there in my works, but it's inevitable.
DeleteSounds like you've accomplished a lot. At least you found the typos and have the power to correct them. That's always nice. Thanks for co-hosting!
ReplyDeleteWell, Mom and various friends found them :) I am grateful for that aspect of self-publishing--that I can immediately fix them and have a corrected version out in hours.
DeleteThanks for your thoughts on AI. And for sharing precious insights of your journey ;-) Your plans are inspiring. Oh, and thank you for co-hosting!
ReplyDeleteI've gotten a lot of inspiration from others who share their writing progress and especially their submissions and rejections, so I thought I'd try sharing, too. Plus, having to report what I've done helps keep me honest!
DeleteSounds like you've had a pretty good writing month! Here's hoping this month is even better. @samanthabwriter from
ReplyDeleteBalancing Act
I'm not staying home, so we'll see. I want to have my outline for the new book ready to go Nov. 1!
DeleteWhat a gorgeous picture. Sounds like you are pushing forward with your writing which is something to be proud of. No red face there!
ReplyDeleteNo, I'm pretty proud of what I've accomplished. Only a bit red in the face over those danged typos (really relics of editing--extra words that didn't get deleted when I moved things around, mostly).
DeleteYou are amazing, Rebecca, in all you accomplish. And good for you to continue to move forward and not dwell on what wasn't accomplished on "time." Bravo! And thanks for cohosting this month's IWSG question. All best to you!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Victoria!
DeleteThanks for the shout out to Maggie! Congrats on the new book-- enjoying it very much!
ReplyDeleteThanks! And congrats--you figured out how to comment :D
DeleteYou're doing more than I am doing. Good for you!
ReplyDeleteLee
I hope your writing goes better for you! We all have our down times. It took me over 2 years to finish Coastal Corpse, after all.
DeleteThe book link thing is Books2Read, but is run by D2D, and you can use the same account.
ReplyDeleteThey say if you want to find typos, hit publish. Ha ha. Happened to me too.
ReplyDeleteSometimes you have to reach out to Amazon to get all forms of your novel on one page. It usually takes 72 hours.
I also have a fantasy distracting me from my main work. Ha ha ha.
Great picture!
“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” ― Sylvia Plath
J Lenni Dorner (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZchallenge
My mom is my proofreader too! It’s great to have family who are supportive.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had fun and learned new things. As J suggested, email Amazon. They're (usually) good with fixing things. I've found it easier through my Amazon Author Central account to get these kind of issues sorted out. It might be a bot that keeps the books separate -- happened on Goodreads with me.
ReplyDeleteRonel visiting for IWSG day Keeping the Muse Alive
I did finally figure out how to contact Amazon, and I *think* they've taken care of it. There seems to be some problem with my author page, though, and how the books come and go.
Delete