A big yes to this post — very inspiring Troy. Excited for the launch of LAMB this Tuesday, which is most certainly a culminating moment in your time of YES.
To yes!!! 🥂 My goodness this was so inspiring, thank you. And bless you for making this free as it's an invaluable resource. I'm thrilled you said yes, many times over. My bookplates arrived today and I got all teary eyed thinking about the moment I'll stick them inside my physical copies of Lamb. You're an inspiration, Troy 💜
The power and grace to just keeping marching forward, with an unending “yes” escaping your lips as you do is unparalleled in its magic. Kudos to you my friend. You inspire me and I’m sure many others. :)
Belief in yourself, this is it, Troy! And you've already touch so many of us here on Substack with your work. I'd say that's a win already as is taking the big step of publication. I hope more people keep discovering your work.
Thank you Kate - if Substack's taught me anything it's that the writing life doesn't have to be lonely with friends like you. Here's to lifting each other up! 💜
What keeps you going is saying yes to yourself! This is the best mantra ever and could be your next book! It's a great reminder to all of us to keep showing up. I appreciate that you called us to consider what we will do if it doesn't work out the way we hope and the important thing is to keep showing up. Thanks Troy❤️
You’re a leader and inspiration for us all Troy. Saying yes to ourselves and letting the work ripple outwards from that joyous insistence is powerful stuff.
Helpful read. Thank you. The writing i can do, day in and day out. It’s the editing, structure, and courage to publish that I am struggling to find my way on. As this needs funding beyond my self-publishing route. It has been and continues to be such a steep learning curve for me as I transition from a corporate Excel spreadsheet to a creative page-turning career.
You're in the right place, Wendy - just know that you're not alone on your path, and it always scariest when you're doing something for the first time. It may not get easier, but it def gets less scary. ;) Thanks for your comment.
Good for you, Margaret! I'm seeing a few new publishing imprints coming out of Substack, it would be great to see the ecosystem expanding into these new areas. Best of luck, and thanks for popping in!
You tell like it is, Troy. Good on you. I've been to The Show (2-book deal with St Martins Press) and it's not all it's cracked up to be. There is no Easy Button in the writing life.
On a separate note, if you're game for trying all the options, you might consider a crowdfunding campaign. You probably won't get rich, but you will get some cash and real connections with readers who are dedicated fans. (Be forewarned, it is a lot of work.) Russell Nohelty over at Author Stack has some excellent resources if you want to explore.
Thanks for that, David! I'd thought about it, but there were so many other things to do it sort of fell by the wayside. I've been thinking about trying out different strategies for different books, so maybe #2 gets a crowdfunding effort.
At this stage, I only recommend that my clients pursue traditional publishing if they have good connections with a strong literary agency or even a publishing house. Even so, one client of mine who has a truly fantastic book and now a truly fantastic agent is still dragging along in rejection hell, just waiting for one person to say yes to her. It's depressing and slow and she deserves much better.
My favourite stories at the moment are the self-published authors who did just well enough to get spotted and picked up by one of the "new" houses who focus on finding potential that is already out there working. They get a bigger distribution deal and more marketing, and they still get to rake in the profits after receiving 100% of the royalties from those first sales. If you want to be published badly, I really think self-publishing is the way to go, and see what happens about traditional publishing later.
You might be right, R - Brent Hartinger's article was interesting about developing the platform first, and then publishing later. We can take heart that the path is the same for everyone, whether trad or self-published. I imagine there was a similar shift back in the day when you could no longer just submit direct to a publisher, but had to take a step back to go through agents (Big 5, that is.) Everyone was probably wringing their hands then too. xo
We are so lucky you said yes, over and over.
It's funny I didn't even realize it until I wrote it - thank you Maia!
A big yes to this post — very inspiring Troy. Excited for the launch of LAMB this Tuesday, which is most certainly a culminating moment in your time of YES.
It's our expectations that takes us on a journey of "no". The wonderful part of a mid-life crisis is the re-configuration of our expectations.
https://open.substack.com/pub/writerbytechnicality/p/its-here?r=3anz55&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
To yes!!! 🥂 My goodness this was so inspiring, thank you. And bless you for making this free as it's an invaluable resource. I'm thrilled you said yes, many times over. My bookplates arrived today and I got all teary eyed thinking about the moment I'll stick them inside my physical copies of Lamb. You're an inspiration, Troy 💜
Oh good, I'm glad they arrived! Thank you my dear, it's easy to brave with friends like you. ❤️🩵🖤
Fuck yes, Troy!
I love it, brother.
The power and grace to just keeping marching forward, with an unending “yes” escaping your lips as you do is unparalleled in its magic. Kudos to you my friend. You inspire me and I’m sure many others. :)
There's no other choice! ;) Thanks brother
Exactly 💪
Yes, yes, yes! Thanks for sharing the Bad on Paper interview—rejection is such familiar territory for us writers!
You're welcome, Andi - it synched so perfectly with what I was talking about, it was a great link. Thanks!!
Belief in yourself, this is it, Troy! And you've already touch so many of us here on Substack with your work. I'd say that's a win already as is taking the big step of publication. I hope more people keep discovering your work.
Thank you Kate - if Substack's taught me anything it's that the writing life doesn't have to be lonely with friends like you. Here's to lifting each other up! 💜
What keeps you going is saying yes to yourself! This is the best mantra ever and could be your next book! It's a great reminder to all of us to keep showing up. I appreciate that you called us to consider what we will do if it doesn't work out the way we hope and the important thing is to keep showing up. Thanks Troy❤️
Thank you for your generous comment, my dear - you're right, it really would be a good thru-line for a book. 🩵
This is yet another great post. Realistic, open, honest, and lovely.
Thanks Sharon! We do it for the love of writing, otherwise, we wouldn't do it. :)
You’re a leader and inspiration for us all Troy. Saying yes to ourselves and letting the work ripple outwards from that joyous insistence is powerful stuff.
Yes, perfect - it's all in the ripples (not the crashing waves) and the joy of doing the work. Thank you my dear xo
Helpful read. Thank you. The writing i can do, day in and day out. It’s the editing, structure, and courage to publish that I am struggling to find my way on. As this needs funding beyond my self-publishing route. It has been and continues to be such a steep learning curve for me as I transition from a corporate Excel spreadsheet to a creative page-turning career.
You're in the right place, Wendy - just know that you're not alone on your path, and it always scariest when you're doing something for the first time. It may not get easier, but it def gets less scary. ;) Thanks for your comment.
Yes!!!!
That's the spirit! xo
My thoughts exactly. As a long time writing coach, I knew what my clients were up against. So I just started All Girl Publishing.
Good for you, Margaret! I'm seeing a few new publishing imprints coming out of Substack, it would be great to see the ecosystem expanding into these new areas. Best of luck, and thanks for popping in!
Fuck yeah!
Language 🤪
You tell like it is, Troy. Good on you. I've been to The Show (2-book deal with St Martins Press) and it's not all it's cracked up to be. There is no Easy Button in the writing life.
On a separate note, if you're game for trying all the options, you might consider a crowdfunding campaign. You probably won't get rich, but you will get some cash and real connections with readers who are dedicated fans. (Be forewarned, it is a lot of work.) Russell Nohelty over at Author Stack has some excellent resources if you want to explore.
Thanks for that, David! I'd thought about it, but there were so many other things to do it sort of fell by the wayside. I've been thinking about trying out different strategies for different books, so maybe #2 gets a crowdfunding effort.
At this stage, I only recommend that my clients pursue traditional publishing if they have good connections with a strong literary agency or even a publishing house. Even so, one client of mine who has a truly fantastic book and now a truly fantastic agent is still dragging along in rejection hell, just waiting for one person to say yes to her. It's depressing and slow and she deserves much better.
My favourite stories at the moment are the self-published authors who did just well enough to get spotted and picked up by one of the "new" houses who focus on finding potential that is already out there working. They get a bigger distribution deal and more marketing, and they still get to rake in the profits after receiving 100% of the royalties from those first sales. If you want to be published badly, I really think self-publishing is the way to go, and see what happens about traditional publishing later.
You might be right, R - Brent Hartinger's article was interesting about developing the platform first, and then publishing later. We can take heart that the path is the same for everyone, whether trad or self-published. I imagine there was a similar shift back in the day when you could no longer just submit direct to a publisher, but had to take a step back to go through agents (Big 5, that is.) Everyone was probably wringing their hands then too. xo