Has writing and publishing changed you?

[NoTalentHack]

Absolutely. I just pulled the trigger on my first self-published ebook. It's been a helluva journey, especially for as short a time as I've been doing this. I'll be honest: I wish I had listened to all of those teachers in high school and college who told me to keep writing. But better late than never, right?

I'm happier, I feel more fulfilled, I've worked through some stuff, I'm a better husband and parent, more confident, etc. The only downside is that I basically dropped almost all of my other hobbies. Oh fucking well.

Now pardon me while I shill:

I wrote Overcoming Burnout for the Geek Pride event here this year; it's sort of the Issue #0 of my Secret Lives of Superheroes series of novellas. It's going to stay in place here, but I've also pulled the trigger and published it through Draft2Digital. It's only up on Smashwords so far, but it should filter out to B&N, Apple, and the others in the next few days. It's going to be free on those sites for a couple of weeks, so I'd appreciate it if y'all could go grab a copy and rate it!

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1405764?ref=

 

[NoTalentHack]

Congratulations on taking the plunge! I love Draft2Digital! Hope you sell a million copies!

Thank you! I’ll settle for, like, 10 at this point.

 

[CuttingEdge]

It has, and yet it hasn't.

It hasn't in some ways because I really have a dysfunctional family, to the point where I grew up in a foster home, so no one close to me knows I write, much less published nine, main stream, non-erotic novels, a memoir, and two children's books. I am just the same person I have always been. But as a writer it has not changed me, because while I tried to write a western, and a historical fiction novel set in the late 1700's, I really struggled with them being a different style and genre that what I was used to writing about. I was a little disappointed in that, as I want to be well rounded on the books I write, but two months of writers block sent me back to my own written genre.

But it has changed my writing to some degree. I just find it easier to write now that I have a proven system for me. Now a novel does not take four months to write like it used to, and I can look for passive voice and other vices in a systematic way that I struggled with at first. I just have more confidence now, and find I put more effort into characterization and plot now, then I do in making sure my first draft words are perfect. I know I will clean them up later, because I have in my previous novels. With confidence like that, I can pound out 15,000 words in a day, knowing getting the story down first is the main thing.

 

[bestkeptsecret678]

As a musician and former music teacher, I sometimes find it difficult not to listen to music without analyzing it, for chord progressions and melodic and harmonic flow, as well as critique the performers. I have a hard time in simply relaxing and listening.

I think the same has happened as I read stories here. I seem to struggle to read for fun, and often am thinking of ways I'd rewrite lines and scenes in some of the things I read.

Precisely the opposite for me, although coming from my lens as a novice writer. I am so much more forgiving of others writing now, with my new appreciation of what it takes to create quality work, to genuinely develop characters, and to take the reader on the desired journey.

 

[CurvySassyAJ]

In my mind I am more arrogant and less inclined to chat with the "little" people.


Lol...... yeah right. I am still the same old moody one I was before.

 

[nice90sguy]

It's made me more self-aware. Before writing, I used to suspect I was a pervert, now, I really know.

 

[Smuttyandfun]

As a musician and former music teacher, I sometimes find it difficult not to listen to music without analyzing it, for chord progressions and melodic and harmonic flow, as well as critique the performers. I have a hard time in simply relaxing and listening.

I think the same has happened as I read stories here. I seem to struggle to read for fun, and often am thinking of ways I'd rewrite lines and scenes in some of the things I read.

I think I do the same. Probably not intentionally, but since I started writing I look at story with a more critical eye. I think because I'm probably doing a little editing while I read, which I'd do with anything I'd write.