If you give a writer a Substack.
A fable for writers adding and adding to their plates.
Have you ever read the beloved children’s book “If You Give A Mouse a Cookie” by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond? It’s a story of actions and consequences and the premise shares that if you give a mouse a cookie, then it’s going to want a glass of milk. And if you give it milk, it’s going to want a straw, and so on, until ridiculous requests become the norm.
Last month, this cycle came to a head in my writing world…
If you give a writer an idea, then he’s going to want to write a novel.
It was 2018. My kids were still home, so I kept my writing a secret. Holidays are filled with stories of people starting but never finishing a book. By 2019, I had finished.
If he writes a novel, he’s going to need to edit it.
Like all first-time writers, a first draft is only the beginning of a long process toward publishing. There is receiving feedback, reimagining, rewriting, editing, and more editing.
If he edits his novel, he’s going to want to publish it.
Once I understood that my “Why” for writing took me toward self-publishing, I needed to understand cover design and professional typesetting, book tours, book reviews, marketing, advertising, and navigating BookBub and Facebook Ads.
If he publishes a novel, he’s going to want to write another.
With Friends in Low Places’ modest success, I began work on my next novel, Lose Yourself. I understood that my novel wasn’t one-and-done. I was willing to write another novel and another one after that.
If he’s going to publish multiple novels, he’s going to want to start a novel-writing business.
Making OT Press a small business meant formalizing it through several steps. These included filing a business entity with the county to create its tax ID, opening a dedicated business account, setting up an accounting system to show revenue and expenditures, and monitoring these expenses.
If he’s going to start a writing business, he’s going to have to learn how to run one.
I knew nothing about starting a business, let alone a writing business. Unlike writing a novel, which relies on imagination, I needed advice to understand the business of publishing. To do this, I needed to research, read, join organizations like the Alliance of Independent Authors, listen to indie writer podcasts, and subscribe to author business Substacks.
If he runs a writing business, he knows he will need to create and build a mailing list on Substack.
I began on Substack from scratch with friends who were willing to sign up. In order to build a customer base, I needed to understand what readers wanted from me (
) and keep my product front in mind. I needed to have a weekly newsletter. I needed to send the content to readers at 5:00 AM (PT), every Friday morning.If he creates a weekly newsletter on Substack, he will need specific topics to write about each week.
My fear of starting a weekly Substack was trying to chase a newsletter. I didn’t want to sit at my computer on Thursday and bang out content for the sake of it. I wanted purpose. That’s why I began to break themes up every week:
First Friday - Original Short Fiction
Second Friday - Fridge Philosophy
Third Friday - The ChOW: Author Interview or Writing Update
Fourth Friday - Extra Mustard: Random topics, observations, or media suggestions.
If he’s writing this much non-novel content, he’s going to want to maximize the opportunity and repurpose those items.
Placing “Fridge Philosophy” in my Substack already has a purpose, but I see potential in reformatting it in a book. But that takes its own work, requiring additional reflections.
If he’s going to maximize the opportunity, he’s going to write more stories and participate in the writing/reading community.
To introduce myself to the greater writing community, I joined several groups, finding clever ways to expand my reach, find kindred souls, and explore different writing genres. I found
and and for their prompt parties. I also participated in Prompt Battles with and . Here’s my Flash FictionIf he wants to participate in the writing/reading community, he will need to write more fiction.
Inspired by,
, , and especially , I am embarking on an ambitious (for me) serial fiction project. Originally, I planned to release a section on the first Friday of each month. But then I wondered if readers would want to read more than once a month. So, perhaps I should release it on the first and third Fridays of each month, right?I started to feel a well of toxic anxiety bubbling up. What happens after June when this serial is done, and there is an appetite for two short stories a month? I’ll have to double my short story production, rewrite my next novel, run the business, write flash fiction and my other posts, plus regular life. Eeeeek!
STOP THE MADNESS, I’m stuffed
My plate is full, and I cannot add any more unless I want to wake up with creative indigestion in the middle of the night.
Here’s what’s crazy: I want to do it all and more. I love the process of writing and creating. Even when I sit in front of the computer on rewrite number three, I still feel the charge of creating, and the process drives me further. But like ice cream, red meat, and other foods, I can’t overindulge.
I’ll have to be okay with releasing my serial once a month, allowing me to do everything that makes this Substack so much fun and explore more ways to improve the reader experience. Neither the reader nor I want to burn out and chase content. I want to be intentional and send quality information to your email every week.
Things may change, but for now, be ready for an exciting monthly serial coming the first Friday of the month, and get ready for more Fridge Philosophies, CHOWs, Flash Fiction, and Extra Mustard. I’m grateful for your readership and always am looking to serve the readers with my writing.
Thank you!
Side of Mustard:
This week, I conducted an experiment. I typed in a Prompt into Chat GPT: “Give me a synopsis and character for a spicy mystery.”
It spat out a female detective in New Orleans investigating a jewel theft. I then asked it to give me an outline for a three-act novel told in 20 chapters and a prologue.
Interesting. I prompted the AI to write the book in 50,000 words, but that was too big. So I asked it to write Chapter 1 in 2500 words, which was more like 1700. Then I asked AI to write Chapter 2 in 3000 words. I went through every chapter and ended with a novella of 30,000 words.
Don’t worry, I’m not going to release it. It was clunky in some spaces, but it wasn’t bad. With a little work on language and some further character development, it could pass for something a human could write.
I comment because AI is here and, with some touches, can quickly produce generic fiction. Will this affect one of the niches we see in self-publishing? At the very edge of ethics, it can create a whole story outline that creators can use to fill out a whole story. AI is not going away.
Our differentiator is writing compelling stories with multiple layers, twisting formulas, and daring ourselves to lean into our creativity.
Have fun!
Pretzel Bites
Interior: Chinatown. Before it was the limited series on HULU, it was a book released in 2020. I was looking for a novel that hoisted underrepresented voices into the spotlight. Interior: Chinatown sent up Asian stereotypes from “Kung Fu Guy” to “Tech Guy” to the Chinese Restaurant. In doing so, it highlighted the silly archetypes Asian characters are often typecast and fleshes them out into full human beings. The book was satire at its best.
As a limited series, the send-ups are clear, but the satire isn’t as biting. In some ways, it’s spoofing of procedural cop shows (notably Law and Order) overshadows the cultural message it’s trying to bring to light.
I enjoyed both, but I recommend the book.
A Bit of Optimism Podcast.
In this episode, Simon Sinek talks with Robert Waldinger, a professor, psychiatrist, and director of an 86-year-long Harvard study on happiness. I found this episode fascinating as they discussed the findings of this study, which began as a study of 724 teenagers through every stage of their adult lives since 1938. Some findings they discussed:
Good relationships keep us healthier and happier.
Loneliness is toxic.
Engage in the things you care about.
Engage with the people you care about.
Your undivided attention is the greatest gift you can give to another.
Dr. Waldinger also has a Ted Talk with more than 50 million views on the subject
A dope and innovative way of describing your writing journey
Vince, glad to be an inspiration. go for it. from what I have read of your stuff i think you have the particular style that pairs well with serialization