Hello, writers!

As promised, I’m back with a quarterly newsletter. While most of you were enjoying(?) warm weather, here in Cape Town it was a blustery winter. I tend to want to hibernate in the cold, so of course I didn’t get as much done this quarter as I wanted to. C’est la vie. 

But, the sun is shining and I’m starting to want to leave my blanket nest again!

Print Editions! But what sort?  

Back in 2020 I temporarily added a printable version of the Monster Novel Structure Workbook to the downloads set. I’d been working on a print edition for purchase when everything went pear-shaped, and there were suddenly delays in manufacturing and supply chains that made the whole exercise feel very fraught. I decided to make the print-it-yourself version free, because I know folks really wanted hardcopies and I didn’t know when I could offer them.

In the first quarter of 2023 I’m going to prioritize a print version. (Yes, that does mean the printable file won’t stay up forever, save a copy while you can!) 

Cue ramble: There are a ton of factors to consider when making a print book–and the Monster really ought to be in color, which bumps the price up significantly. But maybe you’d rather have a cheaper book in black and white, or grayscale? In looking for cheap color POD, I discovered a way to print smaller spiral-bound workbooks and started thinking about, say, a book of blank worksheets accompanied by a cheatsheet to help you fill them out. But maybe you hate spirals. And should it be US Letter/A4 size, or smaller? Is it worth paying more for the format you want and will use? And if I sink a lot of time into designing these but choose a POD service that makes crummy books, who’s going to want them anyway? 

So I’ve got some questions for you! The really big one is, what do you want? (And how can we make it affordable?)

Answer For Print Editions You Really Want

And yes, a new follow-up book is brewing. I’ve been plotting a serial and I’m learning all sorts of interesting things about the process and myself. When I’m satisfied that I have something sufficiently valuable to offer I’ll let you know! 

Polish your Viking helmets, NaNoWriMo approacheth! 

October means we’re less than a month from the start of NaNoWriMo! (How did we get here so quickly?!) 

Rather than tackling a novel, my goal this year is just to write fiction throughout November. Snippets, shorts, meandering novellas, anything. I want to immerse myself in that creative prose zone and fall back in love with it.

I wrote Taking Care of Yourself During NaNoWriMo in 2020, and I stand by all of it as good advice. 

Sarra Cannon has updated her free Preptober guide for this year, and it’s very thorough! If you like workbooks and motivational strategies, start here. 

The best of luck to everybody!

I’ll be back in your inbox around New Year’s, and let you know if this quarterly model is going to continue in 2023 or start to pick up speed. I miss writing these! But I also don’t want to overpromise and underdeliver. 

The end of the year can quickly get hectic, so my wish for you all is that you find or make some time for yourself and your writing. 

Be well!