Goodbye, Substack ... and hello, 2024
Goodbye, Substack ... and hello, 2024!Hi there, Hope you're having a good week. I'm emailing to say "Goodbye, Substack!" and to let you know about a new blog post. Now, I loved the simplicity of Substack and the fact that so many writers are there, but I've chosen to move my newsletter over to ConvertKit. I've done this because Substack isn't ethical about the content they allow to be published and earn money from, and I don't want to support them by being there anymore. Now for the interesting stuff – a new blog post on beginners' hubris! Rejection and beginners' hubrisBeginners' hubris is an exaggerated sense of self-confidence that comes shortly after starting to write. It might accompany reaching a certain milestone. For instance: “I’ve written a first draft! Now’s the time to query” Or it could be born out of ignorance: “Okay, I’ve written a few chapters, and I just know I’m going to the next bestseller!” Or an often gendered sense of entitlement: “I’m a maverick, I’m exceptional in ways other writers aren’t.” I've just written a blog post on this particular affliction, and how to solve problems that can emerge from it. Check out the post here! That in-between weekFor many people, the final week of the year is a kind of liminal, or limbo-like, space. It's a great time to reflect on what you've achieved this year and what you'd like to change and achieve next year. It's easy to just list work achievements and goals, but that can easily end up lopsided, so I like to list wins in my personal life too. Here are a few of mine:
What's on your list, and do you write down personal wins too? Let me know! I'll be back next week with some more thoughts on other reasons why authors get rejected by literary agents, publishers, or magazines. In the meantime, I hope 2024 starts smoothly for you. Take care, Andrew Hodges from The Narrative Craft |
The Narrative Craft
Narrative tense Week 9, 2024 Hello! You’ve received this message because you registered for a webinar or course organized by The Narrative Craft, or you signed up for these weekly updates separately. Don’t want these messages anymore? Unsubscribe Hello Reader, Before I say anything, I want to share that I now have my first complete novel draft in my hands! I’ve made more time for it this year, and the number one thing that helped me was booking a developmental editor for May: this raised the...
Character Art Week 7, 2024 Hello! You’ve received this message because you registered for a webinar or course organized by The Narrative Craft, or you signed up for these weekly updates separately. Don’t want these messages anymore? Unsubscribe Hello Reader, Last weekend I went through a process familiar to almost everyone! I wanted to commission a piece of character art for my novel to put on my website (I’ve just set up an author page). I’ve not hired an artist in seven or eight years, and...
Nailing Genre Week 6, 2024 Hello! You’ve received this message because you registered for a webinar or course organized by The Narrative Craft, or you signed up for these weekly updates separately. Don’t want these messages anymore? Unsubscribe Hello Reader, How is your writing going this month? It feels like time is speeding up again as the nights get shorter. My writing is in sync with the grass – it grows in leaps and bounds from late spring and then lies dormant over winter. This month I...