Cons, Comrades, and Coalescing, Oh My! [TC&tC]
The Cat & the Comma Issue # 30
I always struggle to know how to open the little intro section of my newsletters, to be honest. There’s only so many ways I can establish that time has come once again. I think that’s why, for the longest time, I made these whenever I felt like it. It’s only in the last couple of years I’ve felt the need for more consistency.
In any case, August is over with. So let’s talk about how that went, shall we?
Misc. Professional Update
After a long, long time to think, I have put ASMLP back on itchio. My profit share with the site is set to 0 and is unlikely to change unless MAJOR improvements are made, so any money made will come to me directly—minus any fees or what have you. In truth, itchio is the best place in terms of its bundle feature and the community that has blossomed on it. As such, I see no reason to deprive myself.
But I did remove the adult tag. Because fuck being de-indexed.
As you may have seen on my social media, I went to Worldcon! It was a ton of fun for the most part—and incredibly exacerbating in others. I met some new people, made some friends, and even pitched The Distance Between Stars and Salt at a pitch event to much success! Go me! Events like this can be tricky, because a lot of times you don’t learn a bunch that couldn’t have been learned from some research, but sometimes it is best to get to go to panels. Plus, Worldcon had “table talks” where you could talk 1 on 1 with particular individuals. In my case, I talked to an editor at Analog about short story publication, a Sr. editor at Tor, and a couple of super cool authors! That part of the con was most worthwhile to me.
And, most importantly, I saw my friends. That was worth more than anything else I did.
September is shaping up to be a slower month still. I have a book signing at Wit’s End Books in Stanwood, WA, which I am fairly excited about and will be happening on September 6th! I love being there, Here’s hoping I do decently, sale-wise. But…other than that, not much planned. Just trying to peck away at TDBSaS still.
Which leads me to…
Writing Update
For obvious reasons, I didn’t do a whole ton of actual writing for the first half of this month. A lot of my time was dedicated to preparing for, attending, and then recovering from Worldcon. That said, I did pick up some steam in the last ten days. I got some work done, such as on The Distance Between Stars and Salt, which now sits at 57,602 words.
Here’s a snippet of where I’m at right now:
“Love does not leave the ones it cares for in a box, Seren. You say I am so much more than I think? How can I be, when you are all anyone cares to ask me of? When my own wants and desires… my own life is but a speck of sand that was lucky enough to have been carried on your clothes? For years, I have been driftwood in your sea. That’s all our family, our friends… It’s all you have ever let me be. Because you loved me. Because you wanted to protect me.”
We were sobbing now, knees knocking together as we guided each other into a sad heap on the floor. I cradled your face with both hands now, the details blurring through my tears.
“You love me. I understand that. But that love has not allowed me to grow. Isn’t that what you should want of me?”
It was, I understand, a conversation long-overdue. One we had allowed ourself to dance around for years. I, desperate to be worthy of your light, had shrunk myself down to nothing at all. And you, having not known any better, had let me.
If you’re intrigued by this project and what comes out of it, you can currently read the whole zero draft—or up to chapter 15 of the first draft—if you become a member of my Patreon! The latest update even has all the formatting, so you can see what it will sort of look like as an actual book!
Currently, I am sending this work to alpha readers as it is written, and anticipate opening for betas by the end of the month. Lastly, I am working on posting the first draft onto public writing websites such as Royal Road and AO3. You can read the first bits of draft 2 for free here or here!
Also, I’m starting a new writing journal again! Thanks to ECCC and Worldcon, my notebook got full again. Time for a new one! I am still waiting for it to come in the mail. I’ll likely be sharing pictures of it on my Instagram, as well as maybe some recaps of my older journals. I don’t know yet.
Finally, let’s bring out the word tracker.
And now, stats:
For the month of August, I wrote a total of 8,187 words and an average of 630 words per session. And here’s an updated breakdown of what stage of writing I’ve spent what amount of words on, too:
A fun thing you may have noticed: I have officially wrote over 100k words this year across all my projects and stages! That’s quite neat to think about.
Really hoping I finish TDBSaS this month and can get started on the second draft. The chart will start looking quite different once I do.
Lastly, it appears it is time for the yearly rotation of Those Who Emerge from Ashes in my mind yet again. I wrote a half-baked query letter for it for Worldcon, at least. Now I need to…figure out some comp titles. So far it’s “If Homura Akemi was put into the world of FromSoft’s Dark Souls franchise”, but trad publishing really likes it if you have book comps. Especially if they’re recent. Because, at least for a bit, I would like to try and send this project through the grindstone that is traditional publishing. Just to say I tried, you know? And if it doesn’t go anywhere, no big deal because I can turn around and go self-pub instead. I would like to do a livestream soon working on the outline. Wanted to do that yesterday, but I ended up waking up from a nap in pain which is…rude. So, no stream.
I don’t know. I’ve been bitten by a “try trad/go hybrid!” bug lately. Maybe it was seeing all the trad pub authors at Worldcon (though it must be noted I’ve had these feelings since BEFORE then). Either way.
Media Update
I don’t know what it is, but I have been struggling so hard to stick to one book lately. I’m still reading Sanderson’s Warbreaker off and on (and yes, I DID make him sign it, and then I cried about it afterwards), as well as Name Her Holy. I also heard August Clarke read his book Metal from Heaven and I am incredibly intrigued! So I did pick that up to read as well. In general, thanks to Worldcon, my tbr has gotten just a bit longer! But…I am struggling to finish anything thus far and I cannot pinpoint why.
In terms of games, I have returned to the siren song of Final Fantasy VI, been giving Triangle Strategy a fair shake finally, and picked Final Fantasy XIV back up. Mostly because I FINALLY found the pens I need for my OC’s adventure journal that I keep. XIV is a very big game and it’s nice to have a documentation of my progress.
Lastly, I saw Writing Excuses live!! This is so big for me because I’ve been listening to them for years and have truly learned a lot from them. Even wilder, my voice is officially on an episode!!! They did a Q&A live at Worldcon and I got to ask them a question. I believe that episode is Patreon-exclusive, but it’s still incredibly nuts to think about. I am, even in a tiny way, now a part of something I have loved and listened to for years. Makes me a little misty-eyed to think about.
Blog and Video Update
“Sapphics in SFF — What Worldcon is Missing Out On” is officially available to watch! I am in the middle of working on a transcribed version for accessibility purposes (may even make that a post here), but you can see the video right now! Listen to me and five incredible sapphic authors talk about sapphic SFF, our experiences in the SFF space, our thoughts on the Worldcon debacle, and more! We all worked really hard to make this happen, so it’d be great if you watched!
Otherwise, I released “Long-Form Projects, Publishing Too Early, and Audra Winter” a couple of days ago. As the title might suggest, it is a sort of meditation on the whole Audra Winter situation, especially how hers and my writing careers have been similar, what I observed during it, and the precedent I’m concerned this situation might set.
Next up, I finally finished a thinkpiece about mental health and productivity, which will go live…soon. Unsure when yet. Thinking about giving it one more pass. And, as I mentioned earlier in this newsletter, thinking about doing a stream working on an outline for TWEfA. We shall see.
The Cat Recommends
I like to use this space to shout out other indie writers, cause I think we could all use a boost from time to time. This time, I’m using the space to shout out Camilla Andrew! Long-time subscribers may recognize the name, because I’ve shouted her out a few times. This month brought the publication of And the Age of Summer Will Rise, the third and final book in the The Essence of the Equinox trilogy! Congrats, Cammie, on such a major accomplishment!
When there’s nothing left to burn you have to set yourself on fire…
Having chosen a torrid love over political ambition, Laila must face her greatest challenge yet—that of married life as the star bride to the demon king of Mortos. Despite her best efforts to acclimate to her new crown and country, she finds herself ill-equipped to deal with the schisms starting to form across multiple competing factions. As well as the toll it takes on her husband’s fraying mask of civility. With the web of deceit slowly unravelling the true nature of Darius a constant looming threat, a meddling-mother-in-law, and scheming nobles, can this star-crossed pair hope to make it to their first anniversary intact?
Across the sea, the solarites slowly recuperate after a devastating act of terrorism. With tensions high and emotions fraught, a division soon forms between those intent on keeping whatever frail charade of peace can still be maintained with Mortos and those intending to shatter it completely. As a high-stakes game of backstabbing and betrayal ensues, the consequences promise to be far-reaching from the beaches of the south to the mountain peaks of the north, leaving everyone involved forever changed.
You can read more about And the Age of Summer Will Rise and purchase it here!
The Cat Thanks
One of the perks for higher-tier patrons is shout-outs at the end of newsletters. Special thanks to Ceph and Larkspur. If you want to have your name here with theirs, subscribe to my Patreon!
And that’s a wrap. I wish you well on all of your endeavors and hope you stay safe.
Kindest regards,
Alex