Author: Betty

Dear Kindle Vella: It’s not you, it’s me.

I fell in love with writing serially until I didn’t. For me, the lack of regular feedback made it difficult to feel motivated to post. But that’s my fault.

One of the first decisions I made this year (aside from my “Late Start” post) was to remove myself from Kindle Vella and admit that it’s not the right platform for me. I enjoy writing serial fiction. I loved discovery writing with it and coming up with interesting cliffhangers in each episode. The problem is that to make the platform viable, I need to be a much more consistent writer. And more prolific.

Perhaps I need to be a better writer, as well, with a better idea.

When I first started, I was surprised by the bonuses Amazon handed out, and for a couple of months, it felt like I was really earning some money with my writing. But I still didn’t keep up with the pace and found that with each episode that went without comments or feedback, without a sense of people actually reading my story, the little bit of bonus money wasn’t enough to keep me writing. I may have dreams of supporting myself with my writing, but money has never been the motivator for me. 

I’m like an old Chevy in the winter, hard to start, but put me at the top of a hill and I’ll keep going.

So, my specific goals for January are: Getting the first Season of Wound revised and extended a bit to be published as the first novella in the series. Finishing up Art History and getting that ready to be published as well, because the sequel, Lacrossed Lovers is just itching to be written. Both of those titles will be released on Kindle Unlimited (at least at first). I’d like to finish up a couple of short stories and post here, and I need to hop into my new weekly flash fiction as well (I’m adding another tier just for that. Stay tuned!)

I have no idea what I’m going to do with Just a Blue Moon Phase. I like some of the characters, but first-person present is not something I enjoy writing.

In other words, I’m trying to align my practical goals with my year-long theme of “FINISHING!” I’m even writing this blog post nearly a week early! Go me!

How do you take your big ideas and break them down into workable goals? I could use all the suggestions!

*swish* (⊃｡•́‿•̀｡)⊃━⭑･ﾟﾟ･\*:༅｡.｡༅:\*ﾟ:\*:✼✿

Late Start

It’s the time of year when we make promises to ourselves and post them publicly, in the hope that it will keep us accountable.

There’s no real rule, nothing written in the universe, not even etched in the ancient ruins of past civilizations, that says you have to start anew on the 1st of January. Sure, there may be nods to a time of beginning, perhaps a cataclysmic ending that suggests a new start, but no one is going to put a ticket on your head for breaking the resolution rule. Resolutions are all about buying stuff anyway.

This year I am purposefully not buying stuff (aside from eBooks, which don’t take up room in my tiny space) because I have often begun anew with good intentions and grand designs and then wake up (usually within the first three weeks) to a stack of stuff that I’m ignoring and now have to make room for. In some places, it’s called the ADHD tax. I call it a pain.

I struggled with goal setting though, since there are actual things I’d like to and need to accomplish. I have bought and tried many systems and apps (I’ve discussed this before) but I never follow through. This is a song I’ve sung many Januarys. It’s my Auld Lang Syne.

In the past few years, I’ve seen people talk about a “word” of the year, and I think that’s part inspiring and comical. I thought about having the word “FINISH” as my word of the year for 2024, but I am acutely aware that the universe likes to take your wishes, twist them, hit you in the gut with the twist, and dare you not to say thank you. I’m not taking chances that the thing I end up finishing is myself.

Ultimately it’s a choice between whether I want to write or not write. Do I want to sit here, a year from now, and have the same conversation with myself (and then with you)? Or do I want to look back and think, that’s some stuff I got done? Go me.

I know, I know. But it’s January. Let me have my illusions.

*swish* (⊃｡•́‿•̀｡)⊃━⭑･ﾟﾟ･*:༅｡.｡༅:*ﾟ:*:✼✿

Indie gurus’ academic problem

Full disclosure, I suppose – I was listening to Kevin J. Anderson’s latest 20Books presentation on my commute and had to stop after about ten minutes. So many indie gurus like to demean English teachers, particularly professors, when they’re really talking about singular examples, or perhaps a construct in their head. These straw teachers are easy to dismiss to make a point, but I think that’s lazy and does nothing to help the current lack of critical thinking we have here in the States. I don’t know where indie gurus think critical thinking comes from. I posted this out of frustration.

Indie publishing has an elitism problem: the big chip on its shoulder when it comes to academia. Some still struggle against the outdated idea that indie publishing isn’t “legit” and use English teachers as scapegoats. I get it, and…

Perhaps “your” English teacher had a gatekeeping issue. Perhaps “your” English teacher wanted to designate between “literature” and “trash.” But the vast majority of people teaching English are not like this anymore. In the 1960s and 1980s, sure, and…

Most 2023 English professors are contingent and precarious. Most can’t earn a livable wage working at one college and take on additional classes. Most are members of marginalized communities. Most may not have health insurance, and…

The public discourse is against them since our classes are the first and last place a student will be exposed to critical thinking and unfamiliar texts. Our classes may also be the only place a student feels their voice is valued, and…

Sure, some prioritize “classics” over “genre,” but as we convince students they need college to succeed, we demonize the skills that a liberal education provides. The “English major” is a running joke, but…

When indie gurus blame English teachers, they forget that a good number of us may teach English. The romance writing world, in particular, is full of teachers. You can’t be the rebel indie writer if you’re singing the same song as the hegemony, and…

I’ve never worked with an English teacher who wasn’t dedicated to lifting student voices, and who strived in the face of administrative hurdles or massive burnout. Telling writers that their English teachers ruined them is lazy advice.

I use strategies I learn from indie authors to help students enjoy writing, only to read another guru blog post or watch another presentation that paints all English teachers with a brush dipped in a 1960s-era bucket, and…

(Not all of that advice will work with academic writing. As someone who writes both fiction and research, there are big differences between genre expectations. Anyone who dismisses the challenges of a genre they don’t write should not be taken seriously.)

I didn’t put this paragraph in the thread because it felt mean and focused, which wasn’t the tone I was going for. I put it here because it accurately represents what I was feeling at the time. (And, in certain indie author areas, could essentially uncover one of the sources of my frustration.) Today I was excited to learn some new productivity tricks, but again I was told that I was the problem. The indie gurus are too successful to use an academic straw man in order to pander the same advice Heinlein published 70+ years ago.

English teachers are not your enemy or your reason for failure. Look at your real gatekeepers. Learn from them, I guess, but then cast their attitudes aside.

Your voice and your story are what matter.

I added the following paragraph when I omitted the other paragraph since I needed to keep it at 11 posts: I teach composition and try to make time to write. I succeed, and then I fail. But above all, I love the process. I love student writing and I love getting them to love their own writing. Don’t make this harder.

You can see the original thread here, though I don’t get a lot of exposure (which is fine, I don’t want to give “X” my money.)