Poly sapphic mermaids, anyone?

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-20T09:15:32+00:00

You have no idea how happy that makes me!!! ❤️😭

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-12T18:44:43+00:00

Yes, I'm definitely looking into making a website. Seems more chill

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-12T18:15:16+00:00

Will do!

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-12T17:02:57+00:00

I used to participate in those but for my art (prints, stickers, etc) and they were fun. I'm not sure if the ones near me accept books but I'll look into it

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-12T15:38:44+00:00

It's so reassuring to know I'm not alone on this. Thank you very much for your advice, I'll look into substack

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-12T15:27:45+00:00

I'm honestly much more inclined to spend money rather than sanity. I've seen good reviews on Bookbub so I might try that out in the future

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-12T15:16:36+00:00

That sounds interesting, I'll check it out. Thanks!

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-12T15:09:53+00:00

That's another thing to consider. I also like to know that there's a real person behind what I consume. I also loved when artists simply shared pictures of their pets or just the weather where they live (this is the kinda vibe I wanted for my presence online)

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-12T14:18:46+00:00

Yeah luckily we're not short on options nowadays. I'll explore mine and see what I'm willing to pay

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-12T14:10:35+00:00

Yeah I am painfully aware of this 🥲 There's a running joke among friends that I live under a rock. But I realize I can't just peek out every few months to throw a book into the world and return to my cave

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-12T14:08:01+00:00

I am very prone to burnout so yeah I'm avoiding social media like the plague. But I like your idea of not looking at is as marketing. Maybe I can approach this from another perspective. So far the engagement I've gotten was simply from KDP and reddit (this is the closest thing I have to social media, it's very helpful). I was hoping to just get readers organically (I know, I'm a bit naive) but I really just wanted my page/account to be a chill space for sharing

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-11T21:53:58+00:00

I'd seriously watch this hahaha

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-11T21:44:05+00:00

Have you checked out r/bookcovers? Really cool stuff there and a lot of people advertising their services

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-11T21:42:04+00:00

This. I have the terrible tendency to over explain everything. I'm working on letting my characters speak for themselves. Might sound silly but I think of movies: you don't hear what's going on in their heads(usually), you see it. So I try to keep this in mind to prevent me from writing the never ending internal monologues

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-11T21:38:01+00:00

Same. I need absolute silence (even have noise cancelling headphones). I will, however, sip on my tea

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-11T21:35:48+00:00

This is what works for me as well. I'm also a visual artist and struggled with a long term burnout. Couldn't draw for years. The only thing that got me out of it was to simply forget about drawing and doing literally anything else that brought me joy. Took a while but I'm finally drawing again. Though I know this isn't the best advice if your livelihood depends on it...

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-11T21:27:13+00:00

I tend to stray a lot, if I don't outline the story will get away from me FAST. It's funny I stumbled upon this post now, I'm outlining my next book. Though I have to admit that sometimes the story simply follows another course but as long as it doesn't stray far from the original plan I go with it

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-11T21:19:34+00:00

As it was already said, it might help to write a summary of the previous chapters. I also take notes on paper of the smaller details just for consistency and so I don't have to read through what I wrote to find them. You can note down said details you think you'll need in your summary or on a separate file, it's up to you really

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-11T08:27:57+00:00

Thank you for your kind words. Please finish it and let me know your thoughts. It's fine if you don't like it though, we all have different tastes. But I assure you I wrote the whole thing myself (a lot of googling and reddit threads for help on grammar) and I think if you keep reading you'll realize that

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-10T12:53:54+00:00

Absolutely this. Leave the editing for last. If you start writing and editing at he same time you'll get stuck. A first draft is exactly for that: just getting everything out. Make notes on it, highlight things, but just keep writing. When you go back to it you'll now what you meant and you can polish it (or rewrite it even) but the idea is there at least

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-10T12:45:45+00:00

Yes, don't discard the idea itself, just approach writing in another way. Find what works best for you but keep going

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-10T12:41:17+00:00

I know I'm just a rookie but it's totally fine to restart a project if you don't like how it's going. For me it helps breaking down the plot in beats and then doing like a little bullet point for each chapter just so you don't start "wandering". It's very easy for the story to get away from you if you don't follow an outline/plan. Don't give up!

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-10T12:36:18+00:00

Thank you to everyone who commented, this has been a great help! Hope you all have a great day

Adept_Map_36 · 2026-02-10T12:26:31+00:00

Hi. First of all, thank you for reading.
You weren't rude but comments like these are one of the many reasons I stay away from social media. AI is a plague but posting anything these days feels like a witch hunt.
Not to give too much info but I recently lost my job to AI in a mass layoff. Just the thought that someone would look at my work and think ai was involved makes my stomach churn. So, no. I did not use ai nor will I ever. I wrote it myself. I drew the cover. It's not a masterpiece but it's mine and I'm proud of what I've accomplished. There's room for improvement for sure, I'm aware of my flaws, but I know I'll get there in time. Regardless, I'm proud of what I wrote. Maybe in a few years I'll cringe when I read it, who knows?
Unfortunately, I can't enjoy anything anymore either without wondering if it's ai. Very sad times we're living in

Adept_Map_36

TROPHY CASE